On my front porch looking in...

Come join me on a tour of my front porch. Sit and stay awhile :)

Let me first say that the primary reason I picked this floorplan was because of the exterior, and the main reason I liked the exterior was because of the shutters. So you can imagine my disappointment when I was told that our shutters were on back order and would not arrive until after closing. We had to wait almost two weeks after moving in before they finally put them on. So here is the final exterior shot you (may or may not) have been waiting for!

Yay for our cute little shutters. I've always wanted a house with shutters.

Okay, now to officially start our tour of the front porch...

This welcome sign was a moving gift from our builder. When Nick and I opened it, to be honest, we both weren't really crazy about it. Its not something I would ever pick out myself. Its a little more traditional than I usually go for. But the more I thought about it, the more I saw the possibilities. I had Nick hang it next to the front door, and now I actually quite like it!

Here's a look at our doorway. Still a work in progress...I'll probably add a wreath and some plants eventually (once the weather is warm enough for me to stand to be out there!) I will talk a little more about these lanterns in a later post.

In addition to the shutters, another reason I liked the exterior was the front porch. While not HUGE, there is enough space for some picturesque adirondack chairs. I've been eying these chairs from Garden Ridge for years, just waiting til we got our own house to get some of my own :)

Nick's parents got us these two rockers and the side table for Christmas this year and we had to do everything we could to not open the boxes and build them right away. But we waited, and this was one of the first projects we tackled when we moved in.

I originally didn't even think to put pillows with them, but one day on one of our many trips to Home Depot, I spotted some outdoor pillows and think they add a good splash of color to the mix.

But I did not know how I was going to decorate that little side table. I saw this cute display on a blog, and was planning to decorate our entryway table with something similar.

So I started searching online for old milk jugs before we even moved. These are surprisingly hard to come by! I was finally able to find some on eBay for a good price. I bought them, and then...uh-oh! All of a sudden, I wasn't feeling that idea for the entryway table. It may or may not have to do with another idea I saw in another blog that I liked better...those decorating blogs are dangerous! (You'll hear all about the what I decided to do with the entryway in my next post)

Well, I knew Nick wouldn't be very happy if I scrapped this milk jug idea after spending money on a bunch of jars. Then I had a lightbulb moment and realized this would be perfect for the little table on the front porch. Honestly, I think its much cuter there than it would've been on the entryway table!

To create the look, I filled the jugs with white river rocks (which I bought at Michaels). The flowers are also from Michaels. I have always looked down on using "fake" flowers, but honestly, they add so much brightness and they never die! Plus, they can always be replaced with real flowers when guests come over. Anyway...I picked something with a long stem and a simplistic bloom like my inspiration picture. I actually like my version better because the flowers are a little more substantial.

So thats our front porch. Its actually one of my favorite places in the house so far. Everytime I drive up, its just that little burst of sunshine that makes me happy :)