Still Haven't Canceled Cable?

So you still haven't canceled cable? The other day I realized my household had been cable free since 2012! It’s crazy to think it's already been five years since we placed a phone call to Comcast canceled our cable subscription and sent back that crazy huge old cable box. When we decided to cut the cable cord back in 2012, we still loved TV, but we realized our TV viewing habits had changed. We no longer watched TV live, we often would wait several days before watching our 'must-see TV' or binge-watch several episodes.

Also, we got sick of never ending reruns as much as I loved the HGTV channel and the Food Network how many times can they show endless episodes of House Hunters or Cupcake Wars. You feel me! After adding up the cost, we quickly realized we were paying over $ 480 a year for cable to watch re-runs, plus factor in the additional charge for internet. It just didn’t make sense. You can read more about our decision to cut the cable cord here.

I love sharing how our family went 100% cable-free and how we currently watch TV. My mission is to convert all the cable subscribers out there into cable free households. Patting myself on the back, I’ve turned my mom, dad, sister, and friends (who said they'd never go cable-free into believers) along with my blog readers into cable free households. Below, I'm breaking down our cable-free house. 

How We Watch Television

We watch our favorite TV Shows and movies with a ROKU player which is internet streaming device, that has channels on it. You subscribe to the channels to watch the shows. The cool thing about the ROKU player is it’s only a one-time cost to purchase the equipment, no monthly fee afterward, they range between $ 29.99 - $ 129.99 learn more here. There so many options on the market to make going cable free accessible including Apple TV, Amazon Fire, and Google Chromecast. 

What We Pay For 

Roku has several channels on the streaming device you can subscribe to, some are free and some a paid. In addition to our internet each month we have three paid subscriptions with Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Prime (love that two-day free shipping option!!) We pay around $28 bucks a month and have way movie movies and TV show options compared to when we had cable. Thanks to HULU we’re still able to enjoy all the current TV shows on the major networks. 

Plus, I’m able to enjoy my favorite BBC TV shows from across on the pond. Last month HULU added a bunch of TV shows from HGTV, so now I can catch up on House Hunters International and The Property Brothers. One of my favorite free channels available on the RUKO player is PBS. I’ve freaking love PBS! Their period TV shows are bananas my recent favs: Victoria and Poldark (free if your currently subscribed to Amazon Prime) and Call the Midwife. 

I also like the CW channel which is free and allows me to watch my new favorite teen suspense 'who did it' TV show Riverdale. Have you seen it? It's a little campy, yes but I got hooked. 

SPORTS// We're also able to watch sports on ABC live or ESPN the channel. We haven't missed one game of the NBA Finals. 

In the past we tired out SlingTV which is paid subscription that allows you to have access to 'live TV on the major networks.' I don't know if it was our internet connection, but the connection always felt rough and spotty and certainty not worth the $ 19.99 monthly fee. Online streaming is becoming more and more popular and with popularity brings more access to watching the hottest favorite shows, I can now watch many HBO or AMC shows thanks to my paid subscription with Amazon Prime and HULU.  

Oh! I should share how we watch new releases since it can take a while for Hulu & Netflix to have new movies available. We often rent movies on Amazon Prime for $1.99 - 3.99 depending on the movie. I love the option to rent new movies, I also love being able to rent older movies thanks to Amazon Prime. Specifically movies from my childhood that I know my kids would enjoy. We recently watch Arachnophobia, that movie still makes me jump and gives me the chills!   

Evolution of Netflix / Hulu / Amazon Prime 

It's so exciting how much Netflix / Hulu / Amazon Prime have evolved over the years; they’re changing the landscape of TV as we know it. Seriously those three are #GameChangers. Only a few short years ago Netflix was just Netflix and Chill lol. Now Netflix is creating TV shows,  documentaries and even making movies! Did you catch The Crown on Netflix, it was incredible. I’ll be honest it took me two episodes to hooked but once I did I was all in, I’m patiently waiting for Season Two to arrive next year. I also totally dug Stranger Things, my teen and I got hooked last Summer. 

Amazon Prime also has some fantastic TV shows they’ve created. HULU is killing it! They have created some amazing TV shows they refer to as HULU Originals. Let’s talk about The Handmaid's Tale, are you also watching it? I’m currently watching it very slowly and still deciding on how I feel about it. I will say its fascinating and eerie how fast society can flip, that part gives me the chills.

Binge-able TV Shows I love 

What did we do before binge watching? Gone are the days I used to wait for TV shows week after week, I typically let my TV shows stack up for a while before watching. I seriously live for weekends that are super chill, which means I’ll stay up late and binge watch. Below are a few of my favorite TV shows that are binge-able, yup its made up word! 

Period TV Shows:
Downton Abbey, The Crown, Victoria, Poldark, Underground, Mad Med, Grantchester and Father Brown 

British Shows:
Doc Martin, Happy Valley, Last Tango in Halifax, Broadchurch and Scott & Bailey

Positively Good Shows:
The Good Wife, The Carmichael Show, The Goldbergs, Switched at Birth, Riverdale, The Flash and This Is Us (which is incredible, get a box of tissue) 
 
Have you gone cable free? If so do you miss anything about cable? If you still have cable, what do you love it / loathe? Lastly, what are you currently binge watching? 

Summer In Style Outdoor Edition: Garden Patio

Today kicks off the Summer In Style Outdoor Edition home tours! I’ve invited my blog friends to share their style outdoor spaces: patios, decks, porches and more. Each blogger has an incredible sense style, and their outdoor spaces are inspiring and entirely different which makes this Summer In Style series so exciting. Creating and styling outdoor spaces that are modern, relaxing and livable is my jam! 

If you're new to my blog, welcome to Chic Little House! I’m Katrina, I love treasure hunting, interior design and celebrating living small. I share my home 1950’s rancher with my husband, two kids, and our lab puppy. Life threw us a curveball in the Summer of 2012, with a house fire. We spent the next year living in an apartment and rebuilding our home. Along the way, I made some changes to the floor plan transforming 1950’s layout into a modern home for our family. You can read more about our renovation here. I’m a firm believer in creating a home you love that's fully lived-in with intention.   

I absolutely love the warm months in Sacramento. For the past three Summers, I have been working our transforming our once little-used backyard patio space into an extension of our home. As a small home dweller, it's important to me; we use all of our spaces indoor and out to their full potential. I would define my outdoor style as a mix of California Casual Modern with a hint of East Coast style. Think relaxed outdoor vibe, a mixture of patterns, weathered gray outdoor furniture and lots of lush greenery. Check out how my patio looked last year.

I’m super excited to share how our patio is shaping up for Summer. Right next to our back patio door, we have a variegated dwarf Pink Lemonade tree. I planted the tree last Spring in a super large modern planter, similar planter here. I’m happy to report; I currently have one lemon growing and a few little lemon buds forming. 

A few Summers ago my husband and I DIYed an outdoor BBQ cart that works perfectly near the back patio door. Having an outdoor cart is essential! Our cart is perfect for drink making and holding outdoor essentials: dinnerware, glasses, and bowls. To create the feeling of an outdoor bar, I used a tray to hold beverages. Check out details for building your own cart here

Last Summer, we finally added lounge furniture to our patio. I’m a huge fan of modern, clean lines, especially in furniture. Instead of an all matching set, I opted to mix it up. I paired a modern weather grey sofa and coffee table with a pair of modern wicker chairs. We added an outdoor rug this year to help define our lounge area on the patio and make it shoe free! I love walking barefoot around my patio. The rug also helps create the feeling of an outdoor room which I dig. We have a pergola over our patio, that can make the layout a little tricky due to the columns, I setup our lounge furniture conversation style, with the sofa anchoring and the chairs facing each other.  

Summer in Sacramento can be hot, like scorching. In evenings we often get the Delta breeze which can make Summer nights chilly; I found this outdoor weatherproof basket at Home Goods it's perfect for holding blankets and pillows. I love how it tucks perfectly under our coffee table. 

This Summer, I added a few outdoor pillows on my sofa, and I’m obsessed. The blue pillows are indigo mud cloth inspired but made with durable outdoor fabric. Pottery Barn no longer carries the pillows, but here’s a similar version. I found the tropical and grey pillow covers from Etsy, love them!  The pillows add so much color and up the cozy vibe of my patio. 

Hands down my favorite element on my patio are my plants! I’m all about the more, the merrier when it comes to plants on my patio + it adds so much color and life. When it comes to decorating outdoors, I treat my plants as furniture and accessories and use a vast array of various style modern planters. 

Sources: Outdoor Sofa, Outdoor Chairs, Vine Trellis Planter, Large Chevron Planter & Medium Chevron Planter (Currently On Sale!) Large Grid Planter (similar style). Outdoor Coffee Table, Vase,  Ripple Candle Holder, Basket, Throw, Side Table / Plant Stand  (on Sale!), Mudcloth Pillows (similar Style) Tropical Pillow cover, Grey & White Pillow covers and Blue & White stripe throw.  White Modern Small Planter, Wind Chime & Hanging Planter next to door.  *I link all exact or similar in style item when the exact item is no longer available.  

I love having a lot of plants on my patio, helps my patio feel garden-like and so peaceful. My family and I love spending our mornings and evenings outside just chilling. It feels so good seeing our outdoor space come together; it's years in the making. Next week on the blog, I’m sharing my full patio and the remaining plans I have for our patio this Summer. 

Thank you for joining me for the Summer In Style Outdoor Edition, I hope you enjoyed the tour of my patio garden. Up next on the blog hop tour is the lovely Julia of Cuckoo 4 Design. I adore Julia’s design aesthetic and her tropical inspired front porch is dreamy; her style is always on point.  

What's your favorite outdoor space and how to do use it? 

Summer In Style Outdoor Edition Blog Hop Links: 

Monday: Chic Little House (me!) & Cuckoo 4 Design Tuesday: Newly Woodwards & Don't Disturb This Groove Wednesday: Cassie Bustamonte & Seeking Alexi Thursday: SG Style, ChippaSunshine & Live Pretty on a Penny Friday: White House Black Shutters & Effortless Style Blog

*direct blog links will be updated daily! 

My Small Patio: Outdoor String Lights

Hello! I normally reserve Monday for my Small Home Style design series, celebrating living small with intention and showcasing how to maximize a small home. I thought I would switch things up on my blog just a bit. As a quick reminder I'm working on decorating my small backyard patio, to transform this never used space into the perfect morning and evening chill spot for my husband and I myself to enjoy. Since my patio design falls under the category of Small Home Style, I thought every other Monday I would sharing how my design plan is coming along. You can read more about my design plan for the space here. 

Over the weekend, we hung string lights outside our patio from our house to our large tree we have in our backyard. Below I'm sharing how we hung the outdoor string lights, plus a round-up of pretty outdoor string lights to add ambiance to your outdoor spaces. 

Originally, I planned on using Cafe Lights I bought on Amazon, they arrived but it wasn't meant to be. The lights I originally bought while lovely needed huge amount of watts - I even checked our breaker and everything looked like a go, but once we plugged them in it tripped our breaker. We tired a few ties but it wasn't a go, I sent them back. Thankfully, Amazon makes it super easy to return! 

This ended up being a happy accident! I came across these pretty Smith & Hawken Canopy Strings Lights while at Target. I LOVE the look of these string lights so much better, the pretty metal canopy over the light bulbs, adds a cool modern vibe under the my tree. Plus thanks to the metal canopy addition, the lights don't get lost under all the branches, it just adds to the ambiance. I'm also thrilled that they look so much more expensive than they actually are!! Win Win. For this project we used to sets of string lights, each light string has 10 lights. 

Psst, place the order online and pickup in them pup in the store and save 10% 

How to Hang Outdoor String Lights from a House to a Tree 

  • We hung a black outdoor extension cord from the plug, running up the side of the house ( Most likely I'll paint the extension cord in the upcoming week so it blends in and secure it in place) 
  • We used 5 Steel Hooks. The first two hooks guided the the extension cord up and under the eve of our house. 
  • The third hook is attached to the upper trunk area of the tree, then placed the string light into the hook going back to our house. The string light goes into the next hook and then back to the upper tree trunk area, the string light ends at the tree. 

Tips on Hanging Outdoor String Lights

  • Determine the pattern your lights will hanging before getting started. We created a Zig-Zag pattern since the tree is behind our patio and house, this pattern looked best. 
  • The string lights are placed a a few feet higher on the tree and a under the eves. They are hung high enough enough that you can't 'reach-out' and touch them. 
  • We hung them nice and taught, but gave them a little breathing room so that can move a little in the wind. If your placing string lights a great distance, I would consider adding wire that can be attached above the string lights. 
  • We plan on keeping out string lights up April though the end of October since the 'winters' and I use that word very loose are mild in Northern California. 

Last night, I got to see them in action and I'm in love!! I shared a quick video on Instagram Stories sharing how they look at night, user name @ChicLittleHouse click here to watch the video before its gone!! FYI: You may have have to be logged in on on your phone to watch.

The lights add such a pretty layered element to our patio during the day and look evening better at light. So much ambiance! I was in heaven last night, since our tree is so full and pretty right now, I love seeing all the lights under the green canopy. No joke it felt magical. 

Here's a few quick details about my patio so far (see picture below) I choose the Standish Love Seat for the patio and went with the Standish Coffee Table, both Target. The love seat is fantastic, modern and comfortable!! The cushions are a dark grey and currently in the garage, I'm still waiting for the outdoor cover to arrive before the cushion go on. I'm obsessed with the Iris Chevron planter, so obsessed I also have one in my larger patio I planted a Japanese Aralia inside, they love the shade and this spot in my backyard gets a crazy good amount of shade. Again the string lights are Smith & Hawken Metal Covered String Lights. Looking for modern planter ideas for your outdoor spaces, check out this post. 

What's Next? You ask. 

Next up, we're planning on building two trellises that will be placed on either side our patio, we planted two Happy Wanderer vines last month that will flourish once we get attached to the trellises. I also plan cleaning our gutters, ugh they look a little dingy to me. I found a homemade solution on on the internet, that I'm going to try out. It's going to be a messy job, but I'll be so much happier. 

Then, I want to address that awful red worn off painted fence. Who in the heck paints a fence red?!? It's a don't like a HUGE don't. We inherited the ugly red fence with our home, so maybe I'll spend some time sanding that junk off? + Clear out all the junk behind the patio.

Regardless I do see either a large Rose of Sharon bush growing in front of the fence or butterfly bushes!! Both flower, are evergreen and get crazy big once established. Having a large green flowering bush behind the outdoor sofa would look amazing! We also plan on freshening up the mulch in the entire front & backyard. We like to freshen our mulch once a year, I'll share deets on Instagram once we do. 

Once all the work mentioned above is completed, I plan on adding more plants on the patio, because honestly the more the merrier. I love how much more lush a patio feels layered in plants, they make happy and make the whole look I'm going for much better. Looking for modern string light indoors to brighten up your outdoors for the Spring and Summer? I got you covered! Below is a round-up of pretty String Lights. 

Modern Outdoor String Lights 

I'm so excited to start our next project to get our patio ready for Spring and Summer! It's already looking so much better and I know in a few weeks its going to feel transformed! Any questions on how we hung the outdoor string lights? What outdoor projects are you working?