*This post is sponsored by Walmart and affiliate links are used. All opinions and product selections are my own!

Hello hello!  Talking about our outdoor deck today.  I’m so excited about this little project I’ve been working on recently!  When we designed our house I loved the idea of having an upstairs balcony deck.  We have beautiful views of neighborhoods, open greenery and a golf course behind our house and I wanted somewhere that we could sit and enjoy the view!  We seriously debated putting our master bedroom upstairs so that we could enjoy the view even more off of our bedroom, but ultimately decided to put the kids’ upstairs and us down.  It’s easier for us to not be up and down stairs all day plus now that our kids are older it’s nice to have a little separation!  The upstairs has become the “kid zone” and is where my kids and their friends all hang out.

What I didn’t factor in was just how HOT this back deck would be.  It gets hit with direct heat during the day and we’ve talked about possibly putting an awning or something over it so that we can use it more.  But other projects/life got in the way and for almost 7 years this deck has sat empty.  When everything shut down and my kids were forced to spend more time at home I noticed my girls started using the deck a lot more.  They were pulling out a chair or towel to sit down and talk to a friend on the phone, coming out on the deck to do TikTok routines, pulling out a blanket to sit on together to chat in the evening, etc.  When Walmart reached out to me to possibly partner on a backyard space makeover I was thrilled!  I knew exactly what I wanted to do. :)

I found so many fun outdoor furniture options!  They have everything you need to update an outdoor space.  I ordered every item for this easy deck makeover at once and took over Addison’s room when it all started to come in.  Everything shipped so quickly and once it all arrived I got to work and had the new deck set up in 30 minutes!

Here is our upstairs deck “BEFORE” (after a good sweeping!). :)

And this is what it looks like today!

Honestly this came together so quickly and turned out even better than I pictured!  I’m just kicking myself that I didn’t do something like this right after we moved into our house.

My main priority was creating a cozy spot for my girls to sit and I fell in love with this Best Choice 3 piece wicker set.  I bought the tan, but it also comes in a grey and black and is a perfect little set for relaxing and having a conversation.  It’s so comfortable and I love the style of the chairs!

(*sidenote.. if any of these products you are interested in are showing they are out of stock click the blue “get in-stock alert” button.  Most items come back in stock quickly and you’ll get an e-mail alert once they do!)

I knew a few real plants would be perfect to add some greenery and color to brighten up this space and when I found these modern planters with wood stands I was thrilled!  I’ve seen identical planters for a much higher price and couldn’t snatch them up fast enough.  (I have the medium and large sizes.)

I bought some plants and transferred them.  One hasn’t perked up yet!  Let’s see how long I can keep these babies alive.  I’ll probably have more luck just turning them over to my girls to water.  I feel like I’m cursed when it comes to potted flowers and plants!

This cute outdoor striped rug was perfect to create a little sitting area and my girls have loved having a soft spot where they can be barefoot and not worry about the hot deck hurting their feet.  (My rug is 6×9.)

I also fell hard for these cute blue Ikat outdoor pillows – the set of two was just $19!  The ceramic lattice garden stool was another fun find (I told my girls I might want to move that somewhere inside later but they aren’t parting with it!).  I bought this beautiful faux fern to add some greenery and these cute little faux lavender plants to set on the stool.  Happy I don’t have to water and take care of too much in this space. :)

In the summer my kids will mostly be out on this deck in the morning or evening when we aren’t getting such crazy heat, but I wanted an option for shade in case they ever do want to spend time out here in the afternoon.

I was so excited to find this Best Choice Market Patio Umbrella!  It comes in so many colors and looks just like the other outdoor umbrellas in our yard but for a fraction of the cost.

You have to also buy a base to help hold it down so I purchased these water weights.  There are also other options you can choose from here.

The umbrella opens huge and adjusts just like the others we have.  It’s seriously such nice quality for the price!

A perfect solution for having instant shade when they want it!  To shade both chairs I can just pull the umbrella to the middle of the deck.

Now this space is perfect regardless of the weather. :)

This was such a simple makeover and I can’t believe the difference it made.

Now everyone wants to hang out on the deck!

It was a good reminder to me that you don’t have to have an elaborate plan, a lot of time and a lot of money to makeover and enjoy an outdoor space.  I didn’t put anything here for years thinking the furniture would be expensive and that we needed an awning or something large for shade.

Most of the time all it takes is a cute set of chairs, a durable rug and some pretty flowers.  Real or fake.

Or both. :)

I don’t want to waste any more time not enjoying the view!

These two wanted to sit out here a few nights ago with their drinks and a snack and I snapped this pic quick.  (I’ve been loving this cute divided plate for fruits/veggies for the kids this summer!)  I’m not sure what Ad was talking about but it must have been funny.  Ha. :)

My kids are so excited about this deck makeover (they were honestly all 3 giddy when they came home and I showed it to them!).  I love it too!  Plus I’m thrilled that they have another spot to hang out since it’s looking like we’ll still be spending a lot of time at home this Fall.

Open the umbrella and bring on the TikTok dances. ;)

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*affiliate links used

We’re back!  Took a quick trip over the 4th and it feels good to be back home.  We were starting to get a little tired of so much home time so it feels good to feel good about being back in our routine. :)

{gingham pillows – just $12 each!/similar flag lumbar pillow/tassel trim pillows/white tray/diamond rug/similar outdoor set on sale}

It made me happy to come home to all of my patriotic decor even though the 4th is behind us.  It’s cheering me up so I’m going to keep it up through July.

(sidenote:  these cute navy gingham pillows are favorites for spring/summer decorating – size 20×20 and they are only $12!  They come in lots of colors.)

{similar flag banner – just $13!}

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Do you leave your patriotic decor up through the summer?  Crazy to think that before we blink it will be time for leaves and pumpkins!  All things Fall are so up in the air right now.  It’s hard to know what life will look like for all of us at that point!  Adding seasonal decor always cheers me up so I’m looking forward to Fall decorating because keeping our home inviting and cozy is one thing that I can control right now.  We are all spending a lot of time in our homes so it feels especially important this year.

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I’m working on some organizing projects around here and will have more to share soon!  Yesterday I just focused on getting us all unpacked, cleaning the house, buying groceries and laundry laundry laundry.  Always a busy re-group day after we take a trip!

Here are a few pics from our mini vacation.  We love going to Park City in the summer and have had this trip booked for a year.  We were torn on going with the virus situation but decided to do it last minute (drive instead of fly) and to just be as safe as possible.  I’m so glad we did.  Once we got there we spent the entire trip outdoors and it was absolutely beautiful!  These pics are straight from my phone with no editing.. so pretty isn’t it!?

We honestly just hiked every day!  Kenny and I woke up early and hiked in the morning and then we’d get take out for lunch and then hike in the afternoon with the kids.

{favorite tank/Align leggings in grey sage/Natori sports bra – loving this!}

The Park City mountain trails are absolutely breathtaking!  My husband is always happiest in the mountains.

We also watched some fun movies together and enjoyed long drives.  It was a pretty chill summer vacation and really not that much different than what we’ve been doing at home, but the change of scenery was what made it feel special.

Quality time with these 4 is always my favorite.

So is the Park City white barn.

My sister lives in SLC so we drove to her house for the last couple of days to spend the 4th with her and her family.  My brother and his family came too and it was so much fun being with them all again!  Especially with everything Car has gone through this year.  Love her so much and I’m just beyond grateful every second of every day that she is ok.  (Breast cancer for those of you who are new here but things are looking really good so far!) 

The kids were SO happy to be together again.  Nothing beats cousin time!  We usually spend the 4th at my sisters and go to a parade and then swimming and a big firework show at a nearby club, but none of that was happening so we had to get creative!  Instead we kept them busy with tie-dying, water games in the backyard, a piñata full of candy and our own firework show.  Honestly it was one of our best years yet!

My sweet niece is getting so big!  Spending time with her is always a good thing and she had 3 teenage babysitters at her beck and call!

Mid day we sent all kids upstairs for an electronic break so that their parents could have a break!  All cousins are pictured here other than the oldest and the youngest who decided to take naps. :)

Always in my happy place with these two.

Car and her husband made the most delicious meal and so many fun desserts.  They always go above and beyond for the 4th when we come!  We of course ate NON-STOP.  I’ll be working this little weekend off all month!

I found this cute top on Amazon right before our trip.  Felt a little Dukes of Hazard in it but festive for the holiday. ;)

I didn’t get pics of our do-it-yourself firework show in the parking lot behind my sister’s house but I so wish I would have.  We were cracking up at the guys!  They had a little too much fun blowing things up.  Ha.

Such a fun week.  I hope your July is off to a good start!  I’ve got a list of projects that I want to wrap up before my kids start school (even if they’re starting school in their bedrooms!) so now that I’m caught up on housework I’ll be chipping away at those in my free time.  Be back soon with progress. :)

SIDENOTE:

I had some July 4th weekend sales rounded up to post and then our weekend was so busy with family I didn’t have time to get the post up.  The MAIN sale I was the most excited about and wanted to share is still going!  T3 is having a huge sell (20% off) on all of my favorite hair tools through July 12th!  I absolutely love their products.  I’ve used their twirl trio curling iron for years.  I use all barrels, but love the 1 inch the most.  (It’s my go-to every day and what I used to get my hair curled like it is in the 4th pics above.)  Their Cura blow dryer is my favorite and I have the grey but it now comes in this cute pink color too.  Honestly if you don’t have thick hair any blow dryer will work, but if your hair is at all thick and takes longer to dry I would highly recommend trying it!  I went through so many blow dryers before I found “the one” and this is it. :) They have some great deals on styling sets too and I picked up this detangle duo.  Just wanted to share for any other hair tool/product lovers like me! :)  *Remember to use code FRIENDS20 at checkout! 

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Happy Friday!  How was your week?  Good I hope!  This week flew by so quickly for me.  Summer days are long but the weeks are short.  Ha. ;)  I’m sharing my new pool towel rack today.  I’m so happy to finally have a solution for our outdoor towels!  When we finished building our house and bought patio furniture I invested in some cute pillows and these nice striped pool/beach towels.  I’ve loved them!  In the summer when we entertain large groups of people I set them out on the bottom of our lounge chairs for everyone to use.

Or I hang them on these hooks in our little outdoor pool bathroom that’s on the side of our house.  (They are on sale this weekend!)

During the winter months when we aren’t using the pool as much I store all of my pillows and towels in my little mudroom closet.  We’ve used these pillows and towels for 5 summers now and they are still in great condition because I bring them in when we aren’t using them.  I don’t like to use these striped towels for my kids’ every day use so that I can keep them nice for entertaining, but also because the towels are huge!  I bought the largest size (that was all that was available when I bought them – now you can buy pool and kid sizes).  My kids are in and out of our pool all day most summer days (with or without friends) and they just need smaller towels to use to dry off quickly.

I have old pool towels that they use for every day, but because I make them re-use them (so that I’m not washing towels ALL DAY EVERY DAY) our yard usually looks like a mess of random towels tossed over all of our outdoor furniture.  It’s a beautiful sight to see out of our french doors every morning. ;)  It hasn’t been a big deal, but I knew I could come up with a better solution so I started looking for pool towel racks/hangers on-line.  There are a lot of options but everything I found I either didn’t love the look of OR it didn’t hold enough towels OR it cost a lot more than I wanted to spend.  So I started thinking outside the box about what else I could use and found something I’m so excited about!

Then I had Kenny assemble it for me.  While he watched Moana with the kids.  He loves Moana.  He seriously loves all Disney/kid movies a lot more than he loves assembling things for me so by pairing the two together I make it seem like a better deal.  I’m tricky like that.

Ready to see my new pool towel rack?

It’s actually a coat rack!  And it’s EXACTLY what I was looking for!  You can find it HERE.  This could be used in so many different ways to organize!  I love that it has lots of hooks and racks below to set clean, dry towels or pool toys.  I ordered these new pool towels that look like our other pool towels but are a lot smaller and less expensive for every day.  (It looks like most colors of these exact towels are sold out, but I’ll link to lots of fun towel options at the end of my post).  What I really wanted was towels that were smaller and light weight – perfect for my kids to use and reuse every day and a lot easier to wash when I do need to wash them!

This coat rack has so many hooks!  I can easily hang lots of towels or wet suits out to dry.

Remember my cute vintage style hobnail pots from my last Friday 5 post?

I found a perfect home for them!

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For now my towel rack is sitting by this outdoor furniture set.  I’m loving that my kids always have a towel when they need one AND a place to hang their wet towels after they use them.  Also bonus that my towels match the pillows so everything looks more put together.  No more random old pool towels all over the yard.  Mission accomplished!

{faux white hydrangea stems/similar marble coasters here or here}

Last summer I had real flowers outside on these end tables but this year I went with faux.  It only took 3 of these hydrangea stems to fill my vase!  Now I don’t have to worry about watering them/switching them out.

The simple addition of the towels and my pots made this spot feel more cozy.  It also helps that my white cushions are now sparkling clean!

Remember how dirty they were before?

They look brand new again!  (Details on how I clean my outdoor furniture here.)

I have no doubt my pool rack won’t look this tidy all summer and that’s fine (although the coordinating towels will help!).  I’m just excited to finally have a place my kids can hang their towels and suits.

I thought I’d share this in case any of you are looking for a similar solution for pool towels or for wet suits from time spent running through the sprinklers!

It feels so good to have this area scrubbed, clean and decorated.  Now it’s time to get cozy on this couch, watch the kids swim and enjoy it!

:)

Happy Friday everyone!

*P.S.  I updated my SHOP page (so many cute things I’m loving right now) for anyone who is interested!

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