I moved into this apartment almost a year ago, and because it was summer and we took it for granted, Rob and I never really took advantage of some of the awesome things our apartment has to offer, like the rooftop grill or the pool on the ground floor or our awesome little covered patio. We bought a table and some chairs because we figured that's what you do, and then we sat out there a few times, but other than that, we just didn't.

And then winter came, and it never ended, and it was -20 degrees and snowed all the time. We said, "When spring comes, we will sit by the pool and read on the patio and grill everything." Spring never came (sorry Minnesotans, there's no such thing here), but now summer is here and we are doing just that.

We even went so far as to buy plants and string lights! It is seriously the coziest little porch. We have two pots with flowers, a hibiscus plant, and two herb pots with cilantro, basil, and mint.

I bought some red pillows to match the pots and kind of tie everything together--I didn't love any of the outdoor pillows at Target, so I bought a couple of regular indoor ones and waterproofed them with Rust-Oleum® NeverWet™ Outdoor Fabric Water Repelling Treatment.

Rust-Oleum® NeverWet™ contains breakthrough technology that protects virtually any surfaces with a superhydrophic treatment that dramatically repels water, mud, ice, and other liquids.

Disclosure: Compensation was provided by Rust-Oleum® via Glam Media. The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and are not indicative of the opinions or positions f Rust-Oleum®.

This weekend was mostly rainy and grey, but Rob and I had the best time relaxing and hanging out with virtually nothing to do. We slept in a little bit, drank coffee, went out for breakfast, had a great early dinner on Saturday at one of my favorite quick and casual places (look for details on tomorrow!), and just did a little bit of exploring here and there in between spending a lot of time at home.

We visited a brewery and Rob ate a magical chicken and waffle sandwich, and I got an almond milk latte with rosemary lemon syrup from Spyhouse (it was awesome). It thundered and rained off and on from Friday until Sunday morning, which really made it feel like summer is finally here. There's just something about getting caught in a sudden downpour on an otherwise sunny day that feels kind of magical.

We hit the Minnesota State Fair on Saturday afternoon and proceeded to have the most non-Paleo day in the world. French fries, fried cheese curds, roast beef sandwiches, hot apple dumplings with ice cream, buffalo chips, funnel cake-- thanks to some dairy pills and a tiny bit of self-restraint, I made it out in one piece. But there was plenty of food to be eaten and farm animals to befriend, and I didn't want to miss a bit.

We slept in on Sunday and woke up to a chilly morning, which was such a nice change after the 90-100 degree days we've been having here lately. I love this time of year no matter what, but it was a pretty good way to say goodbye to summer.

Wishing you a happy Labor Day.