Rainy Day Dreaming for Sunny Days Ahead

I've been feeling some serious rainy day blues this week :( here in Minneapolis it's been chilly, rainy, gloomy, and gray since Sunday - wait - Oh-geeze-crap-no... Is it only Wednesday?!  Okay, sure it's only been four days but honestly it feels like a full seven day week should have gone by!  Time seems to creep by pretty slowly when the morning, afternoon and evening are the same kind of gray I suppose?

In an effort to shake off this rainy day funk, I've been looking for some fun outdoor landscaping, gardening, and decorating ideas.  We can only hope all these April showers mean May flowers and sunny days ahead, right?!  The hubby and I have spent the last few summers cleaning up the look of our yard and deck (along with a post tornado revamp & tree planting) so with all of that back-breaking work behind us, I'm hoping to have a little fun with getting it to have a cozier feel...

Images via Completely Totally Madly | Home Ideas | Real Simple | Flickr | Mrs Sunshine | Tansuo8 | Elle Interior | Randy Interiors

I'm mainly thinking we need more greenery on and around our deck, some kind of pretty outdoor lighting, and perhaps adding some more privacy with climbing vines?  I'm digging those slouchy vintage style chairs & planters grouped in varying heights.  Can't wait to get my hands dirty, come on SPRING!!!! 

I guess it's good to get a head start on my outdoor ideas/to-dos when it is rainy & crummy outside so that I'm ready to go when we get our first warm sunny day- also makes me shutter at the thought of how crazy Home Depot will be on that day but I know I'll still end up there, happens like that every year!   

***   What about you?  *** 

Feeling some rainy day blues too?

Have you started on any outdoor ideas or to-do's?

What other ways have you added subtle outdoor privacy screens/walls?