Tiled outdoor counter

When we moved in to this house, we found a BBQ and counter attached to one of the outside walls. It wasn't in very good condition and the fact that it was right next to the house concerned us. There was a kegerator with spouts both inside and outside. Awesome, right? Except we don't drink beer.

The old BBQ finally collapsed, full of rust, and left a huge hole in the middle of the counter. We figured, since we were redoing the bathroom floor, we could use the same materials to re-vamp the counter into an actually usable piece.


The process was basically the same - clear off all old materials, layer backerboard, mud it, then lay and grout tile. For this counter, we purchased edging pieces and an extra pack of the tile we used for the bathroom. At 68 cents per tile, it was perfect.

Now we have a beautiful counter that is both useful and presentable:

On the top left corner you can see a switch box, we can hook up music, a coffeemaker, a fan on hot days, etc. so it is a very serviceable area for entertaining.

My awesome husband did a great job on this as well, didn't he?

Godzilla Haiku

Aidan turned six, yeah!
Godzilla party was fun,
pinata went boom.

Or

Lots of kids had fun
Godzilla's not so scary
in fifty pieces!

Wanna see?

We're getting ready for our oldest's birthday party in a few days, so we'd like to revisit some of our past happenings - yes, we're cray-cray around here!

On dinnerware

When my husband and I got married, we did not register for china. We're not the china sort, plus both my mother and his gave us china when we first moved in together. In the time we've been together we've had his green-trimmed dinnerware to see us through.

However.

While the green trim is lovely, we've started to lose pieces here and there, mostly due to the kidlets. A couple of dishes are chipped, also due to the kidlets. Having hosted holidays for a couple of years now, it is clear we simply do not have enough service for everyone.

Bit by bit, I would like to add some dinnerware. Given my love for all things fleur-de-lys, I would LOVE these from Anthropologie, but the price is way too scary.


Then I ran into these at Walmart:
I know, Walmart is evil, bla bla bla, but this is $35 for a 16 piece set (4 of each in the photo) vs. $16 FOR ONE DINNER PLATE from Anthropologie.

I can build a set of dinnerware that can see me through everyday and my guests through the holidays little by little. Just hope they don't discontinue them before I get all the ones I need :D