The Logan's Landing

Monday, May 28, 2012

Our Outdoor Kitchen

Hey! Long time no blog! We have been pretty busy with some projects in the yard and I'm excited to show you something we have been working on. Our outdoor kitchen is just about done. We have been talking about doing this for years and finally put some plans on paper and got to work. It took us a couple months and a lot of sweat, sore muscles and bleep words but I think it was all worth it. I love how it turned out! This is the before of our back patio...

We really wanted to incorporate a bar into the plan with a lot of seating. We have 5 kids and wanted to have enough room for us all to hang out. We love to grill homemade pizza so having a counter big enough to roll out the dough and lay out the toppings was on the top of my list.

I have a ton of pictures of the process. Building in the Bbq, the concrete counters we poured , the back splash and all the details we kinda made up along the way, but lets just skip to the good part for now.

Yay! Its done. Well, almost... we still need to finish the plumbing and hook up the bbq to the gas line, but you cant SEE those things, so they don't really count, right? And you know what? I am TIRED! So I'll leave that man stuff to the man, and take some pretty pictures for you.

I'm really happy with how the wood slats turned out on the island. Ever since I saw "Sarah's Cottage kitchen" I fell in love with that casual beachy look she has on her island and knew it would be perfect for our outdoor kitchen. I had to go with a more woodsy color scheme because we have a lot of reds, browns and dark iron work on our patio furniture. Combining it with the white beadboard cabinets, keeps it looking fresh and bright.

The beer tap belonged to my husbands grandfather and hung in their house, he got it when he passed away. There are a lot of fun family memories of parties attached to that tap! Its at least 50 years old, and we cant wait to use it again and create some more!

These are concrete counters that we poured ourselves. I was a little ( okay, a LOT) nervous about this part of the project. But there is a ton of info on the internet and my husband was determined this was the way we should go. I'm so glad he did because I love it. It not perfect buts that's what I like about it. It has character and hey, its outside, so who cares right?

The bar stools were a bargain we found on Craigslist for 20 bucks a piece. I just spray painted them and Mark made some new stained wood bottoms for the seats, the old snake skin ones just weren't working for me :)

Well there you have it! The Logan's Landing Bar and Grill.I hope you like it as much as we do and are inspired to create your own little hang out in your backyard. Now please excuse me while I go have a drink. Cheers!

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Not Just A Housewife

Friday, February 3, 2012

SUPER Cute Super Bowl Strawberries

I had some strawberries that are getting ready to go bad so I thought I'd show you a fun treat that I will be making this weekend for Super Bowl Sunday. I make a big platter of these every year and they are always a big hit. Best of all, They are SUPER easy!

You will want to make these the same day you are serving them, they get a little funky the next day. Its best to get the largest strawberries you can find, I usually get around 50 for a party and trust me, they don't last long. Grab a couple bags of Wiltons melting chocolate in chocolate and white. I get mine at Michaels. Wash your strawberries and dry them COMPLETELY or it will ruin the chocolate. I squeeze each one in a paper towel and have even been know to break out the hair dryer if I'm in a rush.

You melt your chocolate pieces in the Microwave at 30 second increments, stirring in between. It usually take 2 minutes, tops.

Dip each one and tap of the excess on the side of your bowl. Lay on a sheet of foil to dry.

Melt your white chocolate the same way and let it cool a bit. It runs out of the pastry bag too fast if its really hot. I just fill up a zip lock with a small tip inside to do the laces.