Backyard Beach Oasis

I'm calling this "BEACH WEEK", in honor of our upcoming family vacation to Hilton Head, South Carolina.  I am sooo ready to put my toes in the sand, I can hardly stand it!  

We had a new deck installed a couple of years ago in preparation for C's graduation party. Since then, Honey & I have been working to create our very own backyard beach oasis.  It's a little piece of tropical heaven right out my back door.  It's still a work in progress, but I absolutely love it so I thought it was time to give you all a peek at what we have done up to this point.

It all started when Honey found this outdoor rug at Lowes.  "It looks a lot like water, don't you think?!" he said.  I wasn't completely in love with it at first as I am more of a neutral girl, but as soon as we laid it out under the table I was sold!  The pattern in the glass of the table top intensified the "water" effect!  Bonus points for Honey!!

The green striped umbrella was the next find, also from Lowes.  Again, Honey's creativity came into play.  "It's your palm tree on the beach," he says.  :)  Gotta love him!!

I found an idea for a unique side table on Pinterest using a large flower pot.  We filled it with sand, added a few shells collected from past vacations, and then covered it with a piece of beveled glass.  Don't you just love this little palm tree!!!  It's called a Pigtail Palm.  It was just too cute to pass up.

Speaking of palm trees . . .

I love tropical plants!  This one we purchased last summer, but unfortunately it did not like the indoor environment we had it in over the winter.  (Note to self: find a new spot for it this year!)  As soon as we were able to bring it back outside again, it perked right up with tons of new growth coming in.  :)  We ordered the solar Tiki Torches off of Amazon.  They provide the most beautiful glow at night!  

I may have a minor obsession with succulents.  :)

I fell in love with these little beauties immediately and knew that they would compliment the touches of pink in the larger plant.  Not to mention, they reminded me of starfish!  :)

No self respecting beach should be without an abundance of shells. . .

And last but certainly not least, our newest addition . . . the Japanese Winter Hearty Palm. Yes, you read that right ~ winter hearty!!  We ordered it off of QVC.  It can withstand snow, ice & temperatures of 15 below zero!  (SQUEAL!!)  I will finally have my very own palm tree in the backyard.  The directions were to plant it in a pot for the first year, then we can transplant it into the ground come next Spring.  I am so excited to watch it grow.  One of my favorite things about vacationing down south, is seeing that very first palm tree.  It never fails to bring a huge smile to my face!  Now I will just have to look out my kitchen window for a glimpse of that view.  It sure as heck is going to make doing the dishes a much more enjoyable experience, that is for sure!

We still have more ideas and plans to make this our little piece of tropical paradise, but for now I am loving spending as much time as possible out here.  There are many a nights that we can be found sitting on the deck relaxing after a long day, hanging out with friends or simply just enjoying the peace and tranquility that the atmosphere brings.  Now the only thing missing right now is a cocktail . . .