Backyard Patio Furniture Links + Plant List

If you've been following along on IG (@worlds.of.hope), you will have seen that we recently overhauled our backyard and transformed it in to the European Garden of our dreams! It was a bit jungle like before, with weeds and dirt and overgrown plants, and now it has more of an elegant and peaceful feel! We put in a beautiful pool, raised beds and garden, a diamond stamped patio, and lots and lots of landscaping. It's stilllll very much a work in progress, but if you saw the before + after pictures, you'll know that a ton has been done! 

Patio Furniture

Since sharing on IG, I've had so many people ask me for links for our patio furniture. We found some items new, but a lot of it we found on FB Marketplace! I've linked everything below! 

Better Homes & Gardens Lilah 4 Piece Outdoor Conversation Set

I saw this set online and knew it was the one! It has the look of Serena and Lily, without the hefty price tag! It truly is an amazing deal! The cushions are SO comfy, and the furniture feels sturdy! We will have this for years to come!

AMMSUN 7ft Patio Umbrella with Fringe Outdoor Tassel

Holy Moly, these umbrellas are SO cute! I've received so many compliments on them already, and they are actually under $100 which is amazing. I bought two, and we have one in our pool! 

Safavieh Home Collection Callista White Wicker Club 

I actually found 8 of these chairs on Facebook Marketplace and almost died of happiness! I've been scouting on these wicker chairs, as they are on every English and French manor house on Pinterest haha! Kev was an angel and drove 2 hours to get them (which the kids and I, haha it was an adventure!) 

Jeco Wicker Chair, Set of 2

I needed a few chairs for the fire pit area, and saw these on FBMP as well! However, I did happen to find them on Amazon for you. They are really comfy, fit the cottage vibe, and hold up to the elements outside! 

PLANT LIST! 

The second most asked question I receive is if I would share what plants we used to make our English cottage garden dreams come true! We live in zone 9, so I wanted to curate the cottage plants that would actually do well in our zone....Here is my list! 

Iceberg Roses

Lambs Ear

Lavender

Hydrangeas

Boxwood Hedges

Alyssum

Pansies

Salvia

Daisies

Dahlias

Impatiens

Privet 'Texanum' (Which are the big green topiaries on either side of our backdoor. We found them at Home Depot last year, and they've held up great!) 

Lots of Herbs (Rosemary, Oregano, Thyme, Basil, Parsley, Mint)

Vegetable Garden (Tomatoes, Zucchini, Cucumber, Strawberries)

I hope this is helpful! Happy almost Summer!! xoxo 

24 Hours in London with Kids

London is always a good idea, even when you have a short amount of time. As Kevin and I have previously spent time in London (want to see what a travel post in 2012 looked like? haha, blast from the past right here!), we decided that this trip we would just spend 1 day in London with the kids before we flew to Italy to meet up with my family. 

Lucky for us, some of our dear friends Matt and Esther live right in the heart of London and welcomed us into their home. We had a whirlwind few hours introducing our kids to this grand city, and here is what we did! 

We took the underground to Green Park, which is the closest stop to Buckingham Palace. We walked our double stroller right up to the gates of Buckingham Palace and let the kids peek at the guards. They thought the guards were hilarious! While it may seem insignificant, I'm really thankful my kids were able to see the Palace while the queen lived there. It feels special that they experienced her in office before she passed away. 

From Buckingham Palace we walked through St. James Park so the kids could see some of the sites we had studied in homeschool before we left...namely Big Ben and Westminster Abbey. It always takes my breath away to see such iconic sites right before my eyes. What a gift travel is, and then to see it through the eyes of my children is a double blessing! We also squeezed our entire family in to one of those iconic red telephone booths which was quite a feat, haha!  

We walked across the bridge (which is an iconic spot for a picture!) and the kids soaked in the sites of the London Eye (and asked to ride it about 100 times, in which we said "no" because it's quite expensive! haha). Right past the London eye is an incredible park and playground called Jubilee Gardens. We let the kids play there for quite a while. Wow, what a view from this playground! 

Then we took the underground back to Islington where we were staying with our friends and ended the evening with delicious food and friendship at their house! It was a short but very sweet trip! 

However, stay tuned because my mom and I are taking my kids back to London this October and we plan to do more kid related things in London:) 

As usual, if you have anymore questions on traveling with kids, don't hesitate to reach out via comment, email or IG (@hope_engaged)

Bourton-on-the-Water with Kids, Cotswolds England

I'm convinced Bourton-on-the-Water is the best home base when traveling with kids in The Cotswolds. Besides being an absolutely adorable little village, it is overflowing with kid friendly things to do.

Bouton-on-the-Water sits on the River Windrush, and has the most adorable little bridges throughout the village. In the summer, when we stayed there, kids were creek walking as the water is very shallow. Every evening we walked down to the green on the river and had a picnic. It was so dreamy.