First of all! I'm partnering with method on this post, and though I am being compensated, all thoughts and ideas are our own. Thanks for supporting the people who support us!

We've been in our rental house for a few months now. I LOVE our rental house. Who says that about a rental? It might be because our landlords are so chill about changes we want to make, or the layout, or all of the windows and natural light, or everything all together. When we moved in we immediately made each room our own. The only weird thing about our house is that we don't really have a back yard - we have a weird side yard patio thing, and it's all concrete. Yep. No grass - all concrete / rock / block wall fence. Gray 4 dayz. Sad city. For awhile it's just housed toys and our grill, but everything gets pretty dusty (it turns out we live in the DESERT) so I never really thought we would use it for much more than that.

Josh had been playing around with the idea of making a table for the side yard, and so after method challenged us to #fearnomess, I got over myself and my weird aversion to our dirty concrete box yard, and we got excited planning our new outdoor space - dust or no dust! We planned a dinner party as our deadline (which is a great motivator. We usually invite people over when our house is a wreck so we'll be forced to clean it. Does anybody else do that!?) and got to work.

I can't tell you how he does it, but Josh makes the dopest things. He MADE this table and two benches (they are so sturdy, too!) and the cost of materials ended up being about $150. Good thing he had Imogen around to keep an eye on things. She's so interested in building and how things are put together - very much like her papa.

I decided to make some lil' pillows for delicate butts. I had all of this white canvas fabric leftover from a previous project, as well as some textile paints. (I love textile paints! Acrylic paints on fabric end up feeling too stiff but textile paints are made to feel so much softer.) I think I made 5 pillows in one afternoon, so it was a great simple project to knock out if you have a few hours on your hands.

Since we also dream on a budget, we don't just go buy plants for every new space. I've been learning as I go but I love propagating new plants from existing plants. A couple of weeks prior to our party, I took my very large pencil cactus plant (these things grow like crrrrraaazy) and replanted a bunch of cuttings into smaller vases. SPOILER ALERT: they're still alive! I also grabbed this paddle cactus off of a larger cactus and stuck it in a pot. They're that easy to grow. This one is already starting to bloom after being in its new home for a couple of weeks! If you're also on a budget and happen to live around Phoenix, Craigslist is a GREAT resource for cheap or free cacti cuttings. We definitely have scored over the past couple of months as we're trying to build up more greenery in the patio area!

We were able to update our outdoor lighting for about $50 at Costco. These are such a great deal - I think everyone we know has grabbed these lights, too! They really make such a cozy ambiance.

One of my favorite things about the surface spray is that method sprays actually smell NATURAL. They're not chemical-y. You spray the French lavender, it smells like actual lavender. I'll never get tired of it. We are also really big on recycling, so naturally I love that all of the method products are biodegradable, made FROM recycled materials, and are 100% recyclable. I'm happy to partner with a company that does so much environmental good, but also makes a dang good product on top of it. Because Josh sealed our outdoor table, it's so easy to spray and clean before guests arrive, and bonus: smells amazing! (Clementine!)

Time to use our space for the first time. So much fun! Thanks to our friends Anthony + Jamie (and crew!), Scott + Chelsea, and Robert + Christina for joining us (and loving on our kids!).

I'm so glad we decided to go for it with this outdoor space. Fear no mess, you guys! Make it happen and you'll be so glad you took a risk! If you haven't tried method products then head over to their site (if you sign up for their email newsletter you'll get 15% off and promos and stuff, you know the deal!). I've never bought a method product I didn't like. Which scent should I try next?!