I'm Back!!! And With An Easy Outdoor Makeover!

Okay y'all...I know I have been m.i.a. this whole year, but I have good reasons... First off I got married to the love of my life and had my dream wedding and honeymoon in May (all the juicy details to come later). In the meantime I will post some other travels Amos and I did and the house projects I managed to fit in during all the chaos of planning a wedding. 
Since summer is upon us I figured I would show y'all a very cheap and simply way I spruced up my back sitting area outside. 

Here is a picture of what our deck looked like when we first moved in last March.

Here are some pictures almost a year ago of the back deck, with an outdoor set I got from Joss and Main (for around 500 dollars), and a table and chairs set from Amos's dining room in his old townhouse (I believe they are from Ikea).

Here Amos and I hung up string lights and old lanterns to add soft lighting. You can see a really pretty picture, taken at our engagement party, of how the lights look at night, here. 

Here is what the spruced up back deck looks like now!! All I really did was hang up white curtains, using clear tacks, so I can easily remove them and put them back up. Below is a list where I got everything. Most of the small decorative items I already had, but were just put away in our utility room with little to no use. 

So like I mentioned above, the only things I really bought and added to the deck were the curtains and the rugs. Everything else I already had and just styled it so that it worked in the space. I usually try to hit up the sales after each seasons, so like for Target, after summer is over, you can find great clearance items, like pillows, rugs, etc. I am fortunate enough to have a space to keep these sale items over a period of time as I continue to accumulate different decorate items over the course of the year. I played around with different knick-knacks and try to figure out what I like and what I didn't, and because it is outside and summer I played around with lots of colors. I did keep the curtains and other small items white so that it also felt like a retreat, which it has. :) 

Here I am enjoying a glass of red wine....

Here is a list of the items: 

Outdoor seating set (~$ 500)- Joss & Main

Outdoor dining set (Repurposed) - Ikea

Rugs (Large colorful one ~$30, small colorful rug ~$8), Pillows (~$10-~$15), Pitcher and glasses (~$2-$10), silver lantern (~$15) and fake flowers  (~ $8-$10) on coffee table, white curtains (~$20/per two panels), hanging lanterns (~ $10/each) - Marshalls/TJ Maxx/ Homegoods

White Candle Holders (using as plant holders), ottoman pouf, white head with planter, string lights (All on Sale! ~$5 -$20)- Target

Purple Flower Tray (On Sale! ~$15) - Biscuit 

Two Tall Blue Wood Lanterns (~$35/each) - The Nutcracker Market at NRG held in December

Pink wine glass - Anthropologie

Hope everyone has a great summer!!!