Our first BBQ

 

We hosted our first BBQ at the new house today and it was great. Great company, great outdoor space to entertain, great food (or that may have just been my take since I was coming off of my 10-day cleanse of clean eating and pretty much ANYTHING would have tasted good).

 

Part of Chris’ team at work was really put through the ringer recently with extremely long hours playing catch-up, making corrections and staying on top of their day-to-day responsibilities. Chris might as well have been out of town for 10 days straight with the amount of time that we saw him, but he has an awesome team and I’m always thankful for them. To many people Chris works long hours, and he does. Don’t get me wrong. It’s just that this is nothing compared to what he used to work. He is at the same company, but all the hardwork is starting to pay off. They are much larger now having grown from 8 employees to over 130. He has a team now that he can share the load with. So, while he does work long hours, I so appreciate that we have him to ourselves more often than before.

 

That said, when he wanted to have him team over for a thank-you BBQ, I was all for it! Without this team, my husband would be working even longer hours and I know what that is like. So, with our Reno trip just barely passed and our Memorial Day weekend at the lake done, it was time to frantically finish the only bathroom on the main floor (OK.. get pretty much everything done except the walls so that people could at least have a restroom to use) and get our outdoor-but-covered entertaining area ready.

 

Of course Mom had to help. No one throws together a party overnight like my mother. And reinforcements were called in to help with the kids (thanks again Grandma) while I ran around like a crazy woman creating a menu of pulled pork sandwiches, chicken apple sausage dogs, fresh fruit, veggies and dip and chips. I couldn’t possibly have a proper BBQ without that perfect antique wash bin that I saw and should have bought to hold drinks so, I had to fit that errand in. Thank goodness it was still there!

 

 

Mom lent me her cute ant plates that she has had since… well, I remember them in high school.. and the adorable table used as a buffet. Lesson 1 when hosting a party: shop family. Need a table? Extra chairs? Adorable sign telling people it’s not what’s on the table but who is in the chair? Don’t reinvent the wheel. Call around first. In our family, someone one already has what you need.

 

 

 

 

Simple mason jars with flowers and others with bird seed and tea lights sufficed for a laid back table. I think we ended up with 4 long tables that I covered with painters’ drop cloth to give it a more unified look. We were able to fit all 19 of us in the breezeway at “one” table.

 

 

In the back corner you can see our newest purchase. The patio heater. Chris insisted we needed one and thank goodness. I didn’t realize how much they have come down in price. We have already used it countless times! Yes, we have a covered outdoor area now, but that doesn’t mean it is always warm out there. With this baby, it can be and they sell them in all colors now. We went with a hammered bronze look.

 

Summer is just around the corner (we’re in the Pacific NW so, we won’t really see it until July), and I can’t wait to use this space more!