We are very thankful to be celebrating 42 years of marriage, as we also celebrate our new home, Royalview, and our new blog, Across the Lake.
When you begin a new marriage, you never know where life may take you together, and we are so grateful where we are now. Sometimes it seems that the time passes so swiftly, but when I take a long look back, I realize that it really has been quite the journey. Willie was 20 and and I was 18 when we wed, back in 1983.
People sometimes ask what our secret is to a long-lasting marriage. For myself, I do not think there is any one secret, just love. True love can pull you through everything you face together.
Woo Hoo! We finally have outdoor seating at Royalview!
It’s been a few months in the waiting, but it is all coming together now.
Here’s our before photo. We’ve had a couple of plastic chairs to suffice during our wait. We had, I believe, 7 projects that needed to be completed before we could set out any nice furniture. Let’s see… first there was power washing of the entire house, gutters installed (full house), whole house generator installed, propane gas tank installed, whole yard major landscaping project, septic tank pumping (that was a curve-ball), and outdoor ceiling fan replacement. Yep – that’s 7!
But hey! We made it! Hooray!! Now we get to relax outdoors in comfort and joy.
Firstly, I knew I wanted an outdoor rug to go with our indoor theme, so I chose this pretty Nicole Miller New York Country Danica Indoor/Outdoor Area Rug in the color Blue/Gray.
The rug arrived very nicely rolled and wrapped in plastic.
Willie and I were able to easily unroll and place it where we wanted. It’s a nice heft, but not too heavy to move around.
The patio furniture set we chose is a 6 piece set from MIXPATIO. It’s from Amazon of course. I do like to state that Willie and I are now Amazon Associates. We love ordering from Amazon so much that we thought it would be nice to be able to share our favorites with you.
The outdoor furniture set we chose, and they do have options, includes a sofa, a marbled-look coffee table, 2 chairs, and 2 rocking chairs. We opted for white metal with beige cushions.
I think this set is so cute! I love how the arms curl around. Reminds me of a sleigh style. The backing is beautiful, so it looks very nice when looking out our backdoor window. They even have a lovely wicker edging/trim along the bottom sides. They are very well done, and very heavy, let me tell you. I somehow managed to help Willie tote the couch from our garage to the back porch. I did have to take frequent stops to set it down, but we made it . I love that this furniture is heavy. It’s a great quality and I will not be worried about it blowing away, I can assure you. This set is made with a steel frame.
The cushions are waterproof and very easy to maintain. We’ve not had these out very long, but I’ve already wiped off something that got on one of the cushions. From where, I do not know… but thankfully it came off easily, and we just had a very big thunderstorm last night (Easter night), and everything survived in good shape. The cushions are not wet today at all, so great news.
The tabletop on the outdoor coffee table has a lovely white/gray marble look. It actually matches our indoor countertops. Yay, bonus!
So, now as our little sign says, we can sit and relax.
But what about the 2 rocking chairs, right? Well, I chose this particular set with a plan already in mind. I wanted cute rockers for our front porch, so we can sit out there and enjoy our view of the lake from our hilltop.
Aren’t these just the cutest?
We’ve already received compliments from neighbors, including this very special neighbor, Carlton.
He came by to see what was going on over here, and hang out with us for a little while.
I will tell you, this outdoor furniture set does require full assembly. We ordered this in March, and Willie’s had time to tinker around with it, getting all the pieces put together and then the covers on the cushions. Everything was shipped separately and received on multiple days, but it all came in, and in a timely manner. We weren’t in a hurry since we had other projects in line before we could get this all set out.
We’re both very happy with how this set can be used on both our front and back patios. We’re really enjoying it and happy to have comfy seating.
Till next time, stay safe, and follow your joy! God is truly good!
MIXPATIO Outdoor Patio Furniture Set, Metal Frame Outdoor Furniture with Waterproof Cushions, Nicole Miller New York Country Danica Indoor/Outdoor Area Rug, Lake House Outdoor Decor, Conroe, Texas, Lakeview Home
Ohhhh…. I love outdoor lights at night…. How about you?
This is one project I couldn’t wait for. I’ve been praying for a beautiful garden all lit up at night for several years now, so I was very excited to shop for some gorgeous lighting for our new gardens.
I knew I wanted to shop my favorite go-to, Amazon, as they always have a very large selection of everything to choose from, and I love being able to shop from home sometimes, so yeah, they definitely had some exciting offerings to choose from.
We went with three different varieties of solar lights. Swaying Outdoor Lights (or Firefly Lights), Cracked Glass Ball/Globe Lights, and Pathway Lights (Lantern look).
Everything arrived very quickly and very nicely boxed.
Everything was pretty much assembled and ready to go. The only assembly was attaching the posts to the Pathway Lights, which Willie accomplished brillliantly.
We love that all the solar lights we purchased are automatic on/off. You just have to set them to “on”.
We acquired all the lights in March. It is now April and they have been coming on like clock-work every evening, and staying on all night long. I have risen very early before sunrise, and they’ve all still been on, and shining bright. They are all so beautiful, and have been very durable as well. The only evenings that they have not all stayed on overnight, has been due to rainy days. On sunny days, they are good to go, which makes perfect sense; they are powered by the sun.
They add so much enchantment, so effortlessly. Let’s take a look from our front door at dusk:
Royalview’s Front Door Lighted Path
We love this view so much, and now it’s been made extra special with the addition of the Solar Pathway Lights.
These lights are all just too much fun. As our gardens have grown, the lights still are holding their own, and shining tall and bright every night. We couldn’t be more pleased with every one of them.
Which is your favorite? Or, are you like me, and love them all? Feel free to leave a comment!
Till next time, stay safe, and follow your joy! God is good!
Johanna and Willie
acrossthelake.blog
(Willie and I are Amazon Associates. All links that you follow from our posts are directly connected to Amazon. Any purchases you make from our links will earn us a commission. Thank you!)
Solar Lights, Solar Pathway Lights, Solar Cracked Glass Ball Globe Lights, Solar Swaying Lightening Bug Lights, Amazon Finds, Amazon Associates, Garden Lights, Texas Gardens
Wow, you guys, look how stunning the color is on our “mystery” Dianthus’ blooms! I’m still not sure of the species. I Google Lens’d my photos, and a lot of options came up: Dianthus Plumarius, Neon Purple, Fuchsia, Sweet William, Floral Lace Lilac, Jolt Purple, and more.
All I know for sure is, that they’re gorgeous, and I adore the color.
I’ve taken several photos over the past couple of days as they have been opening up. Here’s one from afar so you can see how tall this plant is, compared to the other plants in the garden. When this was planted up front, it was a lot smaller than the others.
Very Tall, Bright Pink Dianthus
You can see how many more buds are getting ready to open. This will be glorious in full bloom.
Bright Pink Dianthus
There was no filter used for this photography, and no edits. They are just this vibrant.
Beautiful Fuchsia Dianthus
Bright Fuchsia Dianthus
I hope you enjoyed the blooming of our Dianthus as much as we have.
Till next time, stay safe, and follow your joy! God is truly good!
Johanna and Willie
acrossthelake.blog
Bright Pink Dianthus, Flower Garden, Spring Flowers, Fuchsia, Hot Pink Flowers, Texas Flower Garden
I cannot begin to tell you how thrilled I am that Willie and I are beginning to get our bedroom decorated. Certainly now feeling more like home here at Royalview.
We’ve been searching for a little while now for the bedding that we wanted to have here at Royalview. We love the look that we’ve achieved in our main living/dining room areas, and want to keep our theme going throughout our home, but without being too matchy. We came across this rustic quilt set while at the dentist’s office, actually , and thought this could be the one. This quilt/cover is lighter than a comforter, so it will be perfect for us now, going into the warmer months ahead.
It’s really quite lovely. It has the look/feel of a quilt, and I do love how the blue and white patterned pieces look very similar to the area rugs in our living and dining rooms. (See previous post re: Area Rugs)
I love that this quilt brings warmth to our bedroom, with it having not only the blue and white squares that go with our whole house theme, but also warming beige and browns. It enhances our bedroom furniture very well.
This gorgeous sheet set we chose from Feather & Stitch, really gives our bedding an overall wow-factor in pattern explosion.
This is really rolling out the country home theme here, but with elegance.
Here’s a peek at our dresser decor:
I told you we’ve been shopping! Various pieces shown here were shopped at Mimi’s on Main, Conroe, TX, and Hobby Lobby.
We still have a little ways to go, especially in our bathroom, but we’re getting there, and it does feel so much more homier now. Couldn’t be happier with how everything is coming together. It’s been so much fun shopping with Willie, and then yesterday, working together to get our room decorated. That’s what it’s all about. Building a happy home together with much love.
Till next time, stay safe, and follow your joy! God is truly good!
Johanna and Willie
acrossthelake.blog
Amazon Associates, Rustic Bedroom Decor, French County Home Decor, Lakehouse Decor, Rustic Quilt Set, Paisley Sheet and Pillowcase Set
The task of choosing the floor coverings for Royalview has not been taken lightly. We definitely wanted blue and white area rugs to go with our Lake House/French Country Home theme, as well as something that would be easy for us to install, and care for. We looked through a lot of designs and loved this Vintage Medallion Carpet that we found on Amazon. It is a washable, ultra thin, low pile area rug that really checked all the boxes for us.
It is so soft. It feels wonderful under bare feet. Now, this rug is thinner than any we’ve ever owned, and at first I wasn’t sure how we’d feel about it, but you know, it was easy for us to unpack and lay down ourselves, so that was an instant plus.
It lays very well. We’ve owned this now since February, so we’ve been living with it for a little while to see how it performs, and we’re still loving it a lot. We opted to not get padding, so it’s very close to the floor, but we’ve been fine with that. It seems to keep us from having any tripping issues as well, since it is thin to the floor. We have not had any slipping or movement issues either. Win, win, win, on this one.
We’re really enjoying the color and pattern of this beautiful area rug as well. The color tones are perfect for our furniture. This particular rug that we chose comes in different colors and patterns. This one is a Vintage Medallion Carpet in Blue-06, and we got to choose the size we wanted, which is 8×10.
We’ve enjoyed this rug so much, we decided to purchase another one for our dining room, this time in the size 6×9.
We think these rugs are really beautiful. They have a vintage, worn look, but still have vibrant color. Perfect for the look we’re trying to achieve in our home decor here at Royalview.
I wanted to also show you a closeup of our table decor. I purchased a vase with a faux floral arrangement from the brand Leftover on Amazon for our table, and we’re very happy with it.
I chose this arrangement for it’s vintage country style vase, and the wispy blue, purple, and white faux florals. It’s so pretty, and has some eucalyptus sprigs as well.
The big surprise in our dining room table decor is the large blue and white platter.
Would you believe I’ve had this and didn’t even know it? It’s the truth! I brought this along with us here to Royalview without even realizing it. I had some old platters that were apparently handed down to me? Given to me? by someone in my family. I was going through some of our boxes and found this with the other platters. I was so shocked. It is perfect for our home here.
I couldn’t have even imagined a more beautiful or fitting piece of decor for Royalview, and apparently I’ve had this for years without even realizing.
It’s like it’s meant to be here with me now at this time, and at this place.
But, back to our floor decor, here’s a picture of how the rugs look in both our dining and living room areas combined.
Project Decorate Royalview has been in full swing around here lately. We’ve had several fun decor shopping sprees this past week, which included a fun birthday shopping spree with my Aunt Bunny at Mimi’s on Main, in Conroe, TX, and a spree at Yesterday’s Treasures in Willis, TX.
On Bunny’s birthday we traveled to downtown Conroe to visit Mimi’s on Main. Mimi’s is a very charming antique mall with so many beautiful things to see.
Aunt Bunny at Mimi’s on Main, Conroe, TX
This booth up front caught my eye right away with that fire engine and Flapper fashion. So fun!
Fun Antique Finds at Mimi’s on Main, Conroe, TX
Easter decor was in full display.
Easter Decor at Mimi’s on Main, Conroe, TX
So many beautiful things to shop.
Farmhouse Decor at Mimi’s on Main, Conroe, TX
We enjoyed visiting all the different vendor booths at Mimi’s. Bunny really liked the old books, and we came across a little child’s tea set just like the one we used to play with together when we were children (Bunny and I are only 6 years apart in age). There were a lot of things there that reminded us of our childhood. Perhaps we’re antiques too!
Tea for Two Poem, Antique Books at Mimi’s on Main, Conroe, TX
We had such a great time browsing, and I did find several pieces to bring home with me. Yay!
I found these 2 cuties together so I purchased them together. They are now residing on our entertainment center in the living room. I love their distressed white washed look, and I’m collecting quite a few bird figurines, so perfect! I do not know what the other figurine is exactly. It reminds me of a chess piece. But it’s really pretty and ornate.
Cute Ceramic Pieces from Mimi’s
I love this next piece. Willie picked this out for me to hang my jewelry from. I almost didn’t get it, but now I’m glad I did. It’s so pretty, and makes my necklaces so easy to store and choose from. There are smaller little hooks on the inside portion where I’m hanging my bracelets. White wash distressed look – bingo!
Antiqued Jewelry Holder from Mimi’s on Main, Conroe, TX
Willie and I had another antiquing spree the next day. We invited Bunny to join us, but she had another engagement. Hopefully we can meet up with her sometime soon at Yesterday’s Treasures. This antique mall is in Willis, Texas.
This was our second visit. I found a lot that I loved on our first time around, so we went back again to spend more time there looking at everything.
Yesterday’s Treasures Antique Mall, Willis, TX
I absolutely love all the blue and white kitchenware and dishes residing in one of the booths.
Beautiful Blue and White Kitchenware and Dishes from Yesterday’s Treasures, Willis, TX
I picked up this vase and brought it home with me. I saw it previously and left it behind, but this time I got it. The big incentive was a marked down price from $20.00 to $12.00. It is huge. 18 inches in height.
I know the paint is kind of gaudy, and that’s why I didn’t pick it up the first time, but I’m thinking paint project… I have another piece (woodwork) that I brought with me to Royalview that I’ll be painting soon as well, so we’ll see what we can do with this one too.
Here are some other finds from Yesterday’s Treasures that are now residing at Royalview:
Fun Antique Finds from Yesterday’s Treasures, Willis, TX
This setting is on the top of our entertainment center in the living room. Everything pictured is from Yesterday’s Treasures except for the wood riser (Amazonaffiliate link), and the worded metal plaque.
Check out these cuties we picked out for our coffee table.
That little horse caught my eye, it’s so ornate and the pattern on it’s body compliments the table runner and our living room rug so well. I’ll share our Amazon rug finds in a future post. They’re really pretty. But the table runner is from Amazon as well. This is a Blue and White Peacock print. Here is our Amazon affiliate link to that. I ordered two of these. This one’s size is 13×60. I also purchased a 13×90.
Also in the coffee table setting is an antiqued white lantern in which I placed a cute little blue bird that has rocking chair legs. The lantern was a fun surprise. There was a couple (vendors) who were packing up things in their booth, and I stopped by to ask them a question, and they asked if I would like the lantern. I said yes, and they gave me a $20.00 discount. It was priced at $35.00, and they sold it to me for $15.00.
Rounding out the Yesterday’s Treasure coffee table setting is a really pretty glass bowl. This one caught my eye as it was casting the most beautiful blue hue at the antique mall. I need to find the right lighting to get it to glow the same here. The top portion has a milky hue in which you can see the iridescence.
I just really love how I am able to find pieces that go together to create a unique look and feel in every setting. I call the setting on our entertainment center our Alice in Wonderland Setting. All the items came from different booths and I wasn’t really going for any theme, they just all ended up going very well together and had the Alice vibe to me after I arranged and set them all together.
This last Yesterday’s Treasure setting is on an end table that we brought with us. I first purchased a blue and white lamp on a previous visit to replace a lamp that we brought with us that no longer matched our decor, then on our next visit, I found some more goodies to complete the setting.
The faux books were an Amazon purchase since I knew that was something specific I needed to add some height. The ones I picked out are so beautiful and they are actually storage boxes as well as lovely decor. The larger blue book says Oscar Claude Monet, and the beige book on top says Rembrandt Paintings and Portraits. So classy. The wooden butterfly is from Hobby Lobby (yeah, those are other hauls). So I had already purchased those 2 items to go with the lamp, but it needed something else, so I had that in mind while shopping at Yesterday’s Treasures, and found the 2 bird plaques and the wooden bead garland to pull it all together. I’m really loving it now.
So, as you can tell from this post, we have been shopping decor in local small business shops, local big box stores, as well as our favorite go-to, Amazon. It has brought about a very eclectic mix of items, and I’m having so much fun curating different but complimenting looks for all the areas around our new home.
We have also purchased wall decor, but have not hung any of that as of yet. We’ll get to that next hopefully. Willie is also working on putting together patio furniture we purchased from Amazon. Looking forward to that getting all set up. We have an electrician coming out to install a new ceiling fan under our patio, so there’s a lot of things going on over here, as usual, and we are loving it!
Till next time, stay safe, and follow your joy! God is truly good!
Johanna and Willie
acrossthelake.blog
P.S. I’ll leave you with some more fun moments from Bunny’s birthday outing!
She’s such a ham!
Birthday brunch at First Watch
They brought out Bacon Cornbread for her Birthday Cake
Thank you to the very friendly Manager for Bunny’s impromptu birthday cake!
Emma from First Watch. She’s a blast!
Thank you First Watch Willis, TX for a very fun and delicious birthday brunch!
Antique shopping Conroe, Willis, Texas, Decor Haul, Home Decor, Lake House, French Country Home Decor
Royalview can now be visited by front door! And I can now walk down to the mailbox from our front door, and bonus, there’s another pathway leading to a swing/garden area off to the left of our home.
This is just so fabulous. Before Eagle A Improvements began our project, it was quite a task to enter Royalview by the front door. Delivery people and visitors were often confused as to how to approach. You’d have to first go into the ditch, and then climb the hill to get to the front steps.
And our back yard is now complete! We are loving our new tiered garden.
This is so special to me. I could envision this garden upon our very first visit to see our new home. At the time, there was a huge stump that was left by a felled tree from a hurricane, but I could still see it in my mind’s eye. Albert could see my vision, and brought it to life. I am so grateful.
See how it flows naturally with the land. The hillside had it’s very own design already in place, and Albert followed the natural lines to create this beautiful garden.
Thank you Albert, and thank you Eagle A. Improvements team. Everyone at Eagle has their own “superpower”, or talent, and everyone went above and beyond. We are super impressed with this team of young people who are all family and friends. They’ve really put together a dynamo group.
Till next time, stay safe, and follow your joy. God is truly good!
Johanna and Willie
acrossthelake.blog
Best Houston Landscaper, Landscape Designer, Eagle A. Improvements, Custom Built Landscape Bridge, Custom Build Tiered Garden
So exciting! Eagle A. Improvements have designed 2 bridges to be built on our property. One on the South side, and one leading to our front door. The first of the 2 bridges is now complete. The first one completed is the bridge on the South side, which is actually the side that gets seen the most from the road, as we sit on a corner lot.
They did such a wonderful job! The bridges are much larger than we had anticipated. I, myself, had pictured just a small one-person width little bridge in which to cross, but these could most likely afford a golf cart across!
Here is a look at the South bridge from the road.
These bridges are the brain-child of Albert (I’ve been calling him Albert Einstein), of Eagle A. Improvements. He has fabricated and constructed these all by hand.
We couldn’t wait to try it out as soon as we were given the go!
This has been quite the journey! I don’t think we could even imagine it now without the team from Eagle A. Improvements LLC. They have been so wonderful throughout the entire process. These are very entrepreneurial young people with big goals, and even bigger hearts.
We’re certainly going to miss seeing these smiling faces everyday. They’ve become like family to us.
They will be back, however, this this coming week to paint the bridges and do some final tweaks.
This has been a very joyful event in our lives and we feel privileged to have been able to collaborate with this fantastic team to bring our dreams to life.
Till next time, stay safe, and follow your dreams! God is truly good!
Johanna and Willie
acrossthelake.blog
Best Landscape Designers Houston, Conroe, Texas, Young Entrepreneurs, Landscape Bridge Construction and Design
We are now on day six of our complete yard transformation. Things are looking really great, and we can now see the finish line. The only projects left to complete as I am posting this blog, are the two bridges that are being built in the front.
I’ll be posting quite a few before and after photos for you to see and compare, for every area that is being upgraded or restored, in a later post, but for now, I’d like to get you caught up to speed as to how everything is looking right now.
The front Southern garden area is really quite a highlight here. It sits right at the front corner of the property, and is the most visible. We’ve already been receiving a lot of slow-downs to catch a look, passers-by.
There will be a bridge across to get to this area, and it is complete with a covered swing, in which we can sit and view the lake from our yard. So excited!
We ordered 2 of these wooden outdoor swings from Amazon, and they both arrived very promptly. They are really pretty and add a special touch. You can click on our Associate’s Link to get one for yourself!
There is just so much to show you, the team from Eagle A. Improvements have been working seemingly non-stop over the course of this past week, tending to every little detail with care.
Special thank-you’s to Keren and Albert. They have been here every day working and making sure all is done precisely.
One of the most spectacular areas is the descending path that they’ve creating to help us and others reach our front door atop our hill. These steps were handmade by the Eagle A. Improvements team, along with a cross path that takes you to another garden/sitting area that overlooks the lake on the Northern side of our property.
There has been quite a bit going on the in back yard as well. They had to do a lot of digging for irrigation and also for drainage. The backyard has been re-sod and gravel lined, and the garden is now complete. Here is the back yard this evening.
Willie and I couldn’t be happier with how things are turning out. We’re both anticipating how the bridges will look. They should complete them both by tomorrow, and then they will be painted white next week.
Till next time, stay safe, and follow your joy! God is truly good!
Johanna and Willie
acrossthelake.blog
Landscape Design, Houston, Conroe, Texas, Home Improvement, Land Improvement
Across the Lake 