Here we are rolling into August and it feels like summer just got here 5 minutes ago! Even though the dog days of summer are upon us, there is still lots of patio season left!

If you’ve been following me for awhile, you know we recently moved into a new home that already had the cutest little backyard deck built. And by little, I mean no big at all!! We already had some patio furniture that we had inherited from my mother-in-law a few seasons ago (12 but whose counting!) and a “two small” outdoor rug, so we have slowly been adding a few little things to breathe new life into our outdoor space.

That’s where Wayfair comes in! Mid-season is a perfect time to shop for sales and sometimes just adding a few pops of colour can bring any space back to life.

The current indoor/outdoor rug we had was much too small to use under our conversation set so we picked this larger red and white indoor/outdoor striped carpet and it was the perfect choice. It immediately became the focal point of our outdoor space. It is bright and cheerful and screams summer!

We do a lot of entertaining and because we don’t really have room for an outdoor dining set, we really needed some sturdy side tables. These ones from Wayfair look like they came with our existing 12 year old conversation set….they are truly a perfect match. They are sturdy and functional and the perfect size.

And of course, living in Canada, we all know it wouldn’t be summer without mosquitoes! These beautiful red hurricane lanterns are perfect for our citronella candles and guess what? I can re-use them again at Christmas time, talk about double duty! The same with these Canadian flag stools. They came as a set of two and they are my favourites! Not only do they provide extra seating or can double as an ottoman, the tops lift off and they provide storage. How perfect is that? And everyone LOVES them! My son is already asking if he can use them in his bedroom when summer is over.

And last but not least, I am always the first to admit that I do not have a green thumb. In fact our home is full of faux plants that I jokingly call my “fauxtanicals”! This set of two succulents are perfect accent pieces for the deck and when the seasons change I can easily transition them inside. I love the added texture of the black ceramic pots and wood grain legs. They are so cute and you definitely can’t tell they aren’t real so it’s a win for me and my patio!

Now that our outdoor patio/deck looks beautiful and is set up for entertaining, it’s time to look beyond our little bbq and start thinking about adding a Smoker. We cook outside on our bbq for at least 7 months out of the year, sometimes longer if our winters aren’t too bad, we love love love it. So naturally the next step would be to add a Smoker. We have been researching them, saving recipes, being envious of our friends and neighbours who have them but we haven’t yet taken the plunge. Did you know that Wayfair has a vast selection of Smokers? These are a few of the models we have been looking at on Wayfair Canada . We want to hear from you! Which one of these is your favourite? What should we look for in a Smoker? And last but not least, what’s your favourite recipe for your smoker? Leave me all your tips, tricks and faves in the comment section, we would love to hear from you! And to shop our Wayfair finds, simply click on the images below

Lets hope these dog days of summer are beautiful, slow and lazy. Let’s savour every moment of patio season we have left!

Cheers!

Michele xo