Making My Summer Bright with Pier 1

It's 90 degrees here in our little corner of Southern California and I know it's only May, but this weather is making me sooo ready for summer. 

As I mentioned before, we have been in serious remodel mode around here. Read about that here:

Where There Is Life, There Will Be a Mess

And now that the painting is complete, everything else that we had outside is looking a little old and shabby. Not in a cool, shabby-chic way, either. See what I mean?

I started with the question: What do we actually do on our front porch? 

Actually, we spend a lot of time there.

It only gets a tiny bit of setting sunlight because of it's north facing position, so we can sit out there comfortably pretty much any time of the day. Eric sits out there when he's working from home and catching up on phone calls.

We love to sit out there together in the late afternoon and do the recap of our day together with some iced tea. (Or maybe some Cuban Materva or a cafecito, but that's not important right now.)

Also, my next door neighbor and dear friend, Debbie comes over just to chat and catch up on the events of the week. This usually happens on a Saturday morning, with a cup of coffee. We call it our "Porch Time." It feels very comfortably Cuban in an old-school "portál" way.

So, now that the old wooden beams are torn down and the house is painted a sunny yellow, I felt like we needed to give some love to our Front Porch/Patio area.

Enter Pier 1 Imports. I had already been thinking and looking for inspiration for how to make our paito more colorful, which in 2014 means pinning ideas to Pinterest, of course.

I know. I know. Pinterest World has a wonderful element of perfection to it, which is both overwhelming and wonderful. I've always been the tear-stuff-I-like-out-of-magazines-for-inspiration type, so I like to spend time really thinking about what it is I want to do and what feeling I'm trying to evoke and then I start pinning away. 

(Also, if you don't already follow me, please consider this your official invitation to follow me on Pinterest. Thank you.)

I knew I wanted lots of color. Bright, happy, vivid, summer colors. Like there's always a party going on out on my porch. You're already catching my vision, aren't you?

I've been pinning my bright, happy, vivid, summer color on the following Pinterest board: Pier 1 Outdoor Oasis. 

Allow me to share a bit of that inspiration:

I fell in love with this beautiful wicker collection called Coco Cove. I like that it's a dark, chocolate brown, which will make the super bright pillows and cushions I plan to add pop just that much more. 

I loved that little ceramic end table thing. I found this one at Pier 1 in red and also in green. Once I decide on the cushions for the furniture, I can make a better decision about the color, I think. Although...hello...RED!

I'm shopping online for this one and having it delivered because, well, can you picture me wrapping my chubby little arms around this beauty? I thought not. Yay for online shopping. Thanks, Pier 1!

So I pinned photos of outdoor spaces and found they all had tons of color in them. "Hmm..." I said to myself. (because I often speak to myself in thoughtful tones, but that's not important right now) "I'm obviously on to something here."

I probably should have just said, "You're sooo predictable." (Of course, I'm attracted to color. Hello! Cuban!)

Pier 1 Imports is totally speaking my language. They have tons of bright and colorful made-for-Marta items.

Not really sure where or how I'd hang these lanterns, but aren't they fabulous? I took a vow I'd find a way to work at least one into my decor.

Also, I'm thinking I need a table of some sort for our coffee cups or iced tea (or Materva). We don't really eat out there, but a table is a necessary thing for Porch Time, don't you agree? 

I found that in the original Coco Cove Collection that I was first drawn to there was a small ottoman that could double as a table if I added a tray to the top. Win! (Can you just feel my creative wheels turning?)

I'm going with Bright (!), but there's something for every taste in the stores. 

So, I'm pinning, and visiting my local Pier 1, and shopping online to create a beautfully bright summer place. I promise I'll share The Big Reveal next week. 

Hurry, Summer! 

Disclosure: This is a compensated campaign campaign in collaboration with Pier 1 Imports and Latina Bloggers Connect. The opinions are all my own.