our pergola

The pergola project = finished.

I wish I had a before picture to share, because this looks nothing like it used to (obviously):

Now, here are some things about this project:

1. Steve did everything.  I just kept him hydrated and made sure he was wearing his straw country farmer hat at all times.  Sometimes I'd hand him screws, trade out his drill with his hammer, etc., but mostly I was behind the scenes, shrieking at all the progress and saying "I can't wait until its finished!"
2. We debated about the patio surface for a long, long time.  Before, there was a concrete slab which was ultimately removed.  A friend of mine gave us 120 square feet of pavers from a leftover construction job, but in the end there just weren't enough to cover the area under the pergola (we used them elsewhere).  We thought about a deck, but the timing to do a deck was wrong.  We never once hesitated to lay pea gravel -- in fact, it was our first choice.  But we weren't sure how it would look.  I think we were a little foolish to think it could never look good!  People: it is awesome.  It's 100% recycled concrete so there's variation in the color and texture.  The dogs love it, the humans love it.   
3. Now comes the fun part: "dressing it up."  These are the plans.  We have a table that Steve made from an old cypress door - the legs are cedar - so it will be fine to move outdoors.  We just need to make bench seating and voilà, instant picnic table.  Also, clear bauble twinkle lights = so happening.  
4. As far as flora goes, we have a lot of bougainvillea in the ready to tease over the pergola.  This was actually the reason WHY we decided to do this in the first place.  We planted the raspberry, coral and gold varieties last year and they're already 15' tall.  We said, "These beauties need a place to rest."  
5. And so there you have it.  Cm'on over and we'll have a party late into the night.