Another Equestrian Lounge Update

A few weeks ago, I started turning a shaded piece of ground into the ranch's official Equestrian Lounge. You can see the first post here and the second here. While it's not quite done, and frankly, I am discovering that it may never be as I keep adding things, it is looking more and more developed. Here's a quick tour.

So far, I've procured two tables and four chairs. Once my new chairs arrive at home, our old set of four will go out to the ranch, completing our seating arrangement. We've also cleared away all of the old fencing panels. I've raked all of the leaves and sticks (several times in fact - that will be a never ending job), so that the ground is now neatly swept. I've planted some vinca and succulents in the Zen Rock Garden and over the weekend, my amazing husband came out and helped me plant three hydrangeas with wood chips and a rock border, both of which we found around the ranch.

This little hydrangea garden is so pretty.

The peacock thermometer also arrived and fits perfectly beneath the base of the grandest sycamore tree. As you can hear in the video, the wind chimes really give the whole place a truly relaxing feel. Sometimes, I sit down and have a hard time getting back up. 

So when it's hot, we'll know HOW hot.

On Monday, I also picked up our new Equestrian Lounge sign. I am not sure why I felt that this was an absolutely NECESSARY piece, but it was, and I am not at all sorry I had it made. A friend of mine, with her spouse, recently launched a small (but hopefully growing into something BIG) custom sign shop on Facebook. These ladies can do just about anything. Not only did they do the lounge's sign, but I also had them do a poolside patio sign for our house.

I LOVE them both!

If you'e local, and even if you're not, the ladies at Eldi's Little Shop are amazing. I picked the sizes of the signs, the color of the stain, the fonts, the wording - every element was custom. The entire order was also very reasonably priced, and they got it done really fast. You can find them on Facebook, or you can reach Lauren at 661-332-3716.

For an idea on size, this one is 6" x 24". The patio sign is 2 feet by 3 feet.

For now, all I am waiting on is the chairs. This whole project started out costing me nothing. We snagged an unused table from the ranch owner's backyard and scavenged up a few discarded chairs. Total cost: zero. And then, I started to imagine what it could be.

When "free" is anything but.

The next thing I knew, I was adding things left and right to shopping carts all over the internet. Did you know that hydrangeas are pretty expensive? No? Me neither, but you're looking at $81.12 worth. And that doesn't count the cost of the vinca plants, the wind chimes, the thermometer, the custom sign, or the new patio table and chairs for my house. My husband wouldn't have been too happy with me had ours mysteriously disappeared. 

In the end, it will all be worth it. Even now, without all of the chairs, the lounge is still getting plenty of use. Soon, it will be one of those things where we wonder how we ever lived without. ​

​Now if only we had a ...