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My husband and I have always loved throwing a good party.
The kind of party where you can bring your kids, a dish of your favorite food and enjoy some great grilled goodies — compliments of my husband, Mr.I-Could-Grill-Every-Day. Summer get-togethers have always been our favorite because you can sit outside and let the kids play while the grown ups had a chance to catch up. Since both my husband and I come from military families, July 4th is not only a great day to celebrate freedom — but also friendship and family. But we had two, small problems: our patio (or lack thereof) and my husband’s poor little beat up grill. My husband would have to spend half the party standing (and sweating) and the grill because it was so small and we needed so much food. Then, once the food was ready, everyone had to search for a level spot in the yard and pull up a lawn chair — the patio was not fit for socializing.
We decided this year we’d do something about it.
Not pretty, is it? This is the first day we broke ground in preparation for our new, stone patio. I wish I could say the porch only looks that bad because of the construction — but the truth is: it always looked like that. Full of ‘stuff’ and no place to sit or visit. When the patio crew showed up the first day my husband said, “I trust your design. I trust your work. I just NEED this patio by the 4th of July. Whatever you have to do – do it.” And so it began.
But, I knew we needed more help than just extra space. We needed a welcoming area that said “Come and sit down for a while”. I also wanted badly for my husband to get the grill of his dreams. I’d tried to talk him into purchasing a new grill before, but he always brushed it off and thought of something else we needed instead — never thinking of himself. I searched Sears online catalog for grill deals and sales — along with ideas for a patio set to rest in after a long day of cooking. I’d heard about the benefits of ShopYourWay rewards at Sears as well – and was thrilled to find the perfect grill on sale!
Knowing we had a smaller area to work with, I also checked out the Sears Style Hub for ideas on how to best use our space. When it was time to pick out some furniture and accents, the Sears Local Ads let me in on a secret: the chairs I liked were $10 off at our local store! SCORE!
I waited until we got to Sears to tell my husband that we weren’t shopping for just chairs — he was getting a grill too! He was thrilled! He couldn’t believe he was finally getting a gas grill — he even talked to our sales associate about it, “This is the first gas grill I’ve ever had. My whole life! First one. Wow!” He got down on the ground and inspected every inch of it and couldn’t disagree: this was the perfect grill.
Then it was my turn! Patio furniture, here I come! I knew we didn’t need anything gigantic. Just something cozy, classy and functional. The chairs I found on the Sears Local Deals website were perfect — and only $49 each. There was also a glass top matching table. Perfect for our evening tea and coffee!
Thanks to several days of heavy rain, our patio is still under construction (boo!) – but it will be done by this weekend – we’re so excited! I still want to get some new potted flowers, patriotic paper lanterns and a nice outdoor rug – but take a look at the awesome improvement after just one trip to Sears:
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My husband is eager to check out Grilling Is Happiness to find tips on how to use his grill and even recipes for great meals (I think I heard him reciting BBQ sauce recipes in his sleep last night!). Meanwhile, I’m going to keep an eye on the ShopYourWay specials on Twitter and see if I can find more to add to our new party central!
Is your patio, porch or deck in need of some social TLC? Check out the amazing selection of grills and patio sets in the Sears Outdoor Catalog:
You can also Win BIG this Summer in the #GrillingIsHappiness Facebook sweepstakes (6/1 thru 7/7)! #CBias
Don’t forget to check out Sears on Facebook or Twitter – and keep up with the latest products, deals and sales! Follow along with others as they bring life to their outdoor living when you follow #SearsPatio or #GrillingIsHappiness
Our patio adventure is far from over! I’m looking forward to sharing more about our construction, the final result and all the delicious recipes we’re sure to cook up on our new grill! Stay tuned!
I am a member of the Collective Bias™ Social Fabric® Community. This content has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias™ and Sears. #CBias #SocialFabric
