2020 has been the year of ups and downs, with probably significantly more downs for all of us.

We’ve spent way too much time at home, doing our best to come up with something else to keep us busy; be that baking, decluttering, wall-papering, painting, building…whatever!

We decluttered in spring, extended our living spaces using every porch or patio we have access to to try and make it through the summer and then, guess what…decluttered again in the fall. 

Now we’re coming up on winter and all those lovely living spaces have had to be packed away to get ready for the sprinkles of snow I just saw fall outside my window!

Cue the customary season change trip to Ikea and Canadian Tire…

Now I’m sure we’re not the only ones, in fact I know that we’re not! With so many of our neighbours enjoying their outdoor fire pits, we’ve often had that comforting smell of “fireplace” spread across our backyard.

So I decided to jump on the bandwagon! Now, we do have a stand alone heater which has been great but this will be a little more enjoyable for the kiddos and give us the perfect spot to roast those marshmallows and have that cup of hot chocolate! (Stay tuned, I’ve found the best Hot Chocolate Bombs made by a small local business!)

So step one was to find a fire pit that was actually available and in stock!

I found this beauty at Canadian Tire. Super affordable and easy to put together. Done and Done. I’ve attached the link HERE.

For chairs I debated between plastic, rod iron, resin, wood and whatever else came upon my screen.

However if you’re trying to find inexpensive outdoor seating in mid November…FYI, anything cheap isn’t in stock and therefore not available!

So the reality is, I decided to go with what I came across in the as-is section of Ikea!

And actually I’m quite happy with them! They’re wood, so will have to be stored in the garage when not in use, however they stack and the truth is, this isn’t going to be a frequently used space, so it’s not like we will have to move them back and forth all the time. (Also speaks to the point of why I wanted it to be inexpensive!)

So now I have the basics, time to put a little decor into it. I took a trip down the rug and candle isle. Picked up a few faux sheep rugs to place on the actual chairs, a throw blanket for each seat and some candles and lanterns. Finish it off with a string of Christmas lights and a cute faux boxwood wreath (if you know me, you know I have a thing for wreaths!), and voila! I think we have a pretty cute little spot to roast some marshmallows! 

Still a few things to go…I’ll add some greenery around through some arrangements I’ll make, but it’s a start and a pretty good one at that!