4th of July Backyard Barbecue
Emmett and I are celebrating 4th of July with our family this year and all of our friends are traveling to different parts of the country for the holiday. We decided to have everyone over in advance, to celebrate early! After just furnishing our backyard and patio, it was a great excuse to host a casual 4th of July barbecue for our favorite people. Click through for some peeks at our patriotic backyard party…
Before I move along to the yard- our front porch planters are getting BIG! Look how much they’ve grown since I planted them in this post.
I wasn’t kidding when I said casual. Our friend group is really laid back and to be totally honest- being in the middle of a kitchen renovation kind of has Emmett and I exhausted. I took the easy route, grabbed a few last minute patriotic accessories, made good food, and called it done. It was really the perfect afternoon and evening catching up with friends before everyone heads their separate ways for the holiday next week.
I even dressed up the pups for our little barbecue. Aren’t they adorable in their matching bandanas? They left them on alllllll day (proud dog mom)…. until an intense game of chase, where they pulled the other’s off. I swear- sometimes they plot against me, like that. Ha!
Even though we had our backyard treated for mosquitoes, I still like to put out my citronella candles! If you’re interested in the DIY, check that out here. They’re really fun to make! I reuse the containers year after year.
I added a pleated fan to the outdoor bar cart to keep things festive. This is what it looked like at the beginning of the day…
Then… I set up the margarita station. My friends ALWAYS request these pitcher margaritas. They immediately show up and ask for one, so I’ve just started making them for every party in the spring & summer. I guess that’s my “thing” now. I’m the margarita-making lady. Haha! I haven’t decided if that’s a good or bad thing?
Emmett and I try to have date night once a week and a few weeks ago- we ended up at Lowe’s. I can’t tell if that’s amazing or lame for date night, but he ended up with a new Pit Boss smoker. It has quickly become his new hobby!
That man is smoking EVERYTHING now. Seriously- below he’s popping a mac & cheese into the smoker. I don’t even know how much money he has spent on meat the past month, but whatever makes him happy. I’m honestly not a fan of the smokey flavor (or most meat, for that matter), but I’m trying to embrace it for him because he wants me to taste test everything. Our friends said it was really tasty!
Emmett made easy grilled food for lunch, while the smoked dinner menu was finishing up. He woke up at 5am to prep everything… I’m telling you- the guy is committed!
I found these cute little picnic serving baskets at Lowe’s, of all places, and thought they’d be perfect for our backyard BBQ.
In addition to the margarita station at the bar cart, I also filled a galvanized tub with iced beverages. I’m not even going to lie… I removed all of the bottled water and beer to get a pretty 4th of July themed shot of the Jones Soda. I know, I know… I’m a crazy person. Those beverage buckets are a must for backyard parties, though!
Again, I didn’t feel like going all out with decor, but I did want to be patriotic and add pops of red & navy to the yard. Flags were an easy and inexpensive solution.
01: independence flags // 02: weber genesis copper grill // 03: blue rhino serving baskets // 04: mayne window planter box // 05: allen + roth planter // 06: pit boss pro smoker // 07: three wick citronella candle // 08: independence pleated fan // 09: urn planter
I also added a pop of red to our already blue & white window flower box. My plan is to repot the red ones elsewhere, but they worked super well for 4th of July!
As the sun set, we started the fire pit and gathered around before a thunderstorm rolled in and moved us all indoors.
Luckily, we were also able to squeeze in some sparklers before the storms unleashed… because is it really a 4th of July party without sparklers? I think not!
I hope you all have an amazing 4th of July next week spent with family and friends! We’re headed home to Kentucky and our friends are taking advantage of our home and the dogs while we’re away. Having good house sitters makes traveling so much easier! What are you all up to for the holiday? Any big plans?
You can find lots of the backyard furniture linked below, otherwise- get all of the sources here: https://roomfortuesday.com/shop-my-current-house/
