Hola Cottage Fix friends! It’s starting to cool down here near the coast now that we’re heading into September, and I hear we’re in for a real treat come Friday. I’m anxiously awaiting the weekend forecast which is promised to be in the upper 70’s with low humidity. I can hardly wait to open up the house and let the fresh air in. Without a doubt four of my favorite words to hear are — “Let’s open the windows!” and also “it’s pizza night,” of course!

There’s not much blooming out in the garden at the moment except the Crepe Myrtles and a tiny bright pink perennial I’m not sure the name of. We are spending many days out working in the front and back gardens making up for a long neglectful summer that was just too hot and muggy to bear. I may need to treat myself to a new pair or work boots and pretty garden gloves to help see me through! The ivy pulling is well under way out front and we’re planning a new cobblestone walkway from the driveway to the front entrance and then leading around to the backyard. We’ll switch over to stepping stones of slate or leftover pavers as the path turns the corner to our side yard.

Side garden getting ready for a stepping stone path

Picking out pavers for the walkway was a bit overwhelming, the selection of color, shape, and style is never-ending. We brought home a few samples to see what they’d look like in our yard and against the house colors. We first narrowed it down between bricks and pavers, I like the pavers. And then from there it’s all about color and pattern and if each individual paver is going to be curved or more flat and rustic. I really like the curved look because it reminds me of cobblestone.

We’re going with the darker gray color (center) laid in the four-piece random pattern (right). The lighter gray selections look closer to white when the sun is shining bright. We’re hoping to get things looking good and well under way by the end of fall. Fingers crossed!

xoxo Sally