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By Dave and Mary
Front Porch Appeal Newsletter
Issue #122 February 2022
We've reached February already!
We hope this finds you and yours well and enjoying this new year as it unfolds.
For the two of us, this month is a major milestone in our lives...our 50th wedding anniversary on the twelfth.
We are high school sweethearts and have been best friends since our first date on November 10, 1969.
Back in 1972, we never could have fathomed celebrating 50 years in the year 2022.
Nor could we have imagined building our lives around our mutual love of porches and having YOU in it.
Thank you, thank you for being here, this month, this year.
We appreciate our blessings and you are certainly one of them.
Inside This Edition...
- Tis the Season - Valentine Day is for Everyone
- Imagine the Possibilities - Painting Your Front Door
- Porch Ideas Network - All About Color
- Porch Entertainment - The Pizza Connection
- Inspiration and Tidbits
- We Appreciate Our Porch Sponsors
- Thank You As Always
Flowers, notes of kindness, friends and more
Valentines Day isn't just for couples.
Not at all and if Valentine Day isn't your favorite because you believe it's just for romantics, then we hope we can change your mind.
Valentine Day can be a perfect time to let the people most important to you know they are appreciated and loved.
A simple card to someone you care about may just be the inspiration or validation someone needs.
The clerk at the store, your postal delivery person, your next door neighbor or co-worker will appreciate a note of kindness, a single flower or a bit of sweets.
Why not make Valentine Day a time to meet with friends for a yummy meal or get take-out with your children?
Maybe it's a day to pickup grocery store bouquets that you share with a friend and keep one for yourself?
You see, Valentine Day can be celebrated with so many people in so many ways.
What a wonderful day it can be!
And yes, Valentine's Day is also a reason for decorating your porch.
We can't forget that!
A Valentine's Day front porch - photo courtesy of Karen Pivonski Lewis
Our Valentine porch decorated with tea towels,a bit of ribbon and a swatch of denim
See our tutorial for these easy Valentine pillow toppers
Why not take a look at our Valentine porch decorations?
Isn't this a gorgeous red porch?
February is a wonderful month for decorating with red!
Painting your front door can have amazing results.
The right color paint can help sell your home faster, create amazing curb appeal, and can change the overall look of your home.
Perhaps the most colorful front doors can be found on Victorian-style homes like the one below.
This front door makes a statement
Begin by determining the overall effect you want to achieve.
Vivid, warm colors like orange, yellow, or red can have dramatic effects.
Whereas tranquil, coolers like green, purple, or blue have a more calming effect.
Here's a chart (from Modern Masters®) depicting some of the latest color trends.
Modern Masters® front door color chart
Architecture can also play a role in choosing the right color.
For example, Arts and Crafts homes use rich tones in combination with neutral colors.
Choose earthy tones and distinctive colors for Colonial style homes whereas dreamy and creamy pastels work well on cottages.
Find more architectural house colors here.
This homeowner chose the Modern Masters® color Serene (275274)
for their front door paint color
February is a great month to begin researching the right color for your front door because spring is just around the corner.
We make it easy to learn more about front door paint colors and how to beautifully paint your front door.
Speaking of colors, if you are anything like us, we know great color combinations when we see them. We have difficulty, however, in choosing them.
So, we asked Lori Sawaya, a color expert and strategist and the proprietor of the Land of Color.
Lori explains how you can use the colors in your permanent fixed elements on your home to match accessories in addition to clarifying some misconceptions about colors.
Listen to Our Audio Program: 00:28:11
Speaking of Valentines Day, who doesn't love a good pizza?
Dave and I especially love pizza that is homemade.
In fact, when the two of us were dating as teenagers, he loved to come over to my house because my mom made wonderful pizza.
That was before pizza houses became popular.
In fact, my mom's pizza was the only kind of pizza we ever had till we got married.
So with that in mind, we invite you to listen to our son's podcast that tells the story of pizza.
Whether you listen to this on your porch or in your car, you'll be amazed at the connections between Mario Puzo, Yogi Berra, Al Capone, and margherita pizza!
Margherita pizza connections
Tidbit: Attracting Wild Birds in the Wintertime
You can have fresh water for the birds even when it's freezing out
One of the ways we attract birds in the winter is to provide them with clean fresh water.
Learn how we keep the water from freezing - because that makes all the difference!
Inspiration: Break the Rules
I received the book, "Penguins Can't Fly" by Jason Kotecki, as a Christmas gift and it's full of thought-provoking "rules" that we simply follow because they are there.
It flips these "rules" on their heads.
For example, we often are told to act our age, but William James says, "Boldly refuse to act your age."
And here's something worth pondering...:
"How old would you be if you didn't know how old you were?"
Thanks to Satchel Paige for that great thought.
We value and appreciate our relationships with our sponsors. May sound corny, but it's true!
Our sponsors are like family to us - very fine, good people and we are proud referring their services and products to you.
They each have amazing business ethics and at the top of their game in what they can provide to you.
As we begin 2022 we wanted to make sure you were have access to these fine companies.
The Porch Store creates these wonderful porch swing beds
In addition to many other gorgeous products for your porch
Molly Jo Daisy enjoying the small stuff
Let's remind one another to enjoy the little things, like building a snowman, taking a brisk walk or enjoying a hot cup of cocoa on your porch or in your warm cozy living room.
From our home to yours, thank you so much for being part of our porch family.
While most of us won't be sitting on our porch until warmer weather comes again, it's still so comforting to think of those days ahead.
In the meanwhile, we hope your can enjoy the beauty of winter and stay cozy indoors or outside playing in the sparkly stuff.
From both of us, may you have peace and joy in your heart.
And PS: We invite you to read my most recent Molly Jo Daisy book.
While it's a children's book, it's actually a book inside a book and some readers refer to it as a Family Book.
A wonderful compliment indeed.
We value our sponsors and the products and services they provide.
They are like family to us!
You're invited to be part of our Facebook community.
We share ideas with one another for decorating and using our porches.
We are blessed with over 17,000 followers and would love to count you among them.
Please enjoy browsing past issues of our newsletters right here.
Take a few moments of chill time.
Happy porch sitting from your friends,
Mary and Dave
Life is short. Enjoy your porch.
As an Amazon Associate and Amazon Influencer, we earn from qualifying purchases.
We also earn commissions from other companies where are are participants of their referral programs.
Here is our full disclosure about affiliate marketing.
Hi! We're Mary and Dave, lifelong DIYers, high school sweethearts, and we both love porches.
You've come to the right place for thousands of porch ideas.
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Hi! We're Mary and Dave, lifelong DIYers, high school sweethearts, and we both love porches.
You've come to the right place for thousands of porch ideas.
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We value and appreciate our relationships with our sponsors. May sound corny, but it's true!
Our sponsors are like family to us - very fine, good people and we are proud referring their services and products to you.
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