Author: Sara May

Outdoor Entertaining, Outdoor Lighting Ideas, Outdoor Safety Tips

Path Lights Offer Safe Passage

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Path Lighting

As the evenings grow darker earlier, it’s important to consider safety in and around your home.  When you come home from work or when guests arrive for dinner, be sure that the paths and walkways leading up to and around your home are properly and safely illuminated.  Path Lights help prevent tripping and falling accidents, especially when there are steps or uneven ground to negotiate.

Aside from providing safe passage, path lights add a warm and welcoming touch to your property.  They can also dramatically highlight your favorite outdoor living spaces, and protect your garden beds from being accidentally trampled by visitors who are unable to see clearly where they are walking.

Backyard Fun, Outdoor Entertaining, Portable Fun

Create Campfire Fun With Outdoor Fire Pits

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 Fire Pits and Fire Bowls

The nights are growing deliciously cooler, and it’s the best time of year to let your senses soak up the seasonal changes.  One of the best outdoor smells in the fall months is that of a campfire, and creating your own backyard campfire is as easy as loading up the Outdoor Fire Pit with the proper fuel and setting it ablaze.   Outdoor fire pits are an ideal place around which friends and family can gather for cozy evenings of storytelling, marshmallow toasting, and star-gazing.  Most fire pits come with spark guards so you’ll never have to be concerned about fire hazard from flying sparks.  Plus, a spark guard makes it safer to sit closer to the warmth of the fire pit when those fall temperatures turn especially crisp.

Innovative Solutions, Outdoor Entertaining, Portable Fun

Portable Tailgating Grill Brings Swing to the Game

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Portable Grill for Tailgating

Getting the most out of tailgating this season means having the right equipment for the job.  Standard portable grills are a handy accessory for tailgating, but many grilling enthusiasts wish they could bring along their trusty full-sized gas grill so there’d be more space for their favorite grilled meats and veggies.  It’s possible to combine the best of both worlds — portability and full-sized grilling capacity — thanks to the Weekender Tailgating Grill.

This portable grill is especially built for tailgating.  It has a full-sized cooking area and comes with a heavy-duty steel swing arm that attaches the grill to any vehicle’s standard receiving hitch.  What’s nice about this particular grill is that you can drive to your destination — whether that’s the game, the campground, the beach, or the neighborhood block party — with the grill attached securely to the outside of your vehicle.  After grilling is done, there’s no need to clean the grill before going home or worry that a messy grill will damage the interior of your vehicle.  The mess remains outside until you remove the grill at home.

Innovative Solutions, Outdoor Living Spaces

Wanted: Door Mats with Good Looks and Rugged Personalities

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Outdoor Door Mats

Finding just the right door mat for your front or back porch, patio, or boat can be a head ache, and finding a door mat that will last for more than one season can be an even bigger challenge.  Over the course of a year, rain, mildew, insects, and heavy use can take their toll on even sturdy door mats, leaving them looking worn out and ragged far sooner than you had expected.

Paying close attention to the details when you buy your new door mat will pay off.  Look for a door mat that is made of 100% polypropylene — natural fibers are not the way to go if you want your door mat to last a long time.  Natural fibers attract insects and can mildew and deteriorate quickly in moist or humid areas.  Insects are not drawn to polypropylene, and the quality of this material is unaffected by moisture or harsh weather conditions.

Door mats made with tightly woven polypropylene are highly effective in removing a significant amount of debris from the bottoms of shoes as people wipe them on their way into a home.  These door mats stand up beautifully to years of vigorous foot traffic, and they continue to look good over the long haul because they are easy to clean and maintain.  Shake any loose debris from the door mats first, then squirt them with a hose to remove any caked on mud or other dirt.  Door mats air dry quickly and look as good as new.

One final tip:  If you are buying a door mat for in front of an entry way door, be sure that the mat is a little wider than the door itself.  A slightly wider door mat makes the entry way look larger and more welcoming.  Plus, it provides visitors with more area on which they can wipe their feet.

Healthy Ideas, Innovative Solutions

Pet Beds Bring Comfort and Relief to Furry Friends

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Dog Beds and Cat Beds

My dog loves to spend as much time as he can outside — chasing chipmunks, barking at birds, but especially lounging around and enjoying the breezes blowing through his fur.  Unless it’s summer, that is.  My dog is what you might call a walking ball of super-heated fur.  His coat of fur is thick and black and generates a significant amount of warmth (even when clipped short), so summer is not his favorite season for spending very much time outdoors.

Helping my dog stay cool enough to be outdoors, though, has been as easy as providing him with a Coolaroo Pet Bed.  This portable, elevated bed allows air to circulate underneath, which naturally cools any critter laying on top.  The fabric cover on the pet bed is breathable, weather-proof, and super easy to clean with the squirt of a hose.  The pet bed also makes a comfortable place for older dogs to rest their weary bones and joints.   Coolaroo Pet Beds come in a foldable pet bed variety, too, which makes it easy to store or take along on vacations.

Any dog (or cat, for that matter) can appreciate the cool comforts of his own pet bed.  And, if your pet is as hot and hairy as mine, he’ll enjoy using his pet bed even in the dead of winter.