Outdoor Date Ideas for Valentine’s Day

Here are our top 5 outdoor date ideas for the day of love.

1. Grill some pizza

BBQs aren’t just for steaks and burgers! Prepare some toppings and design your own pizzas for dinner. The hotter the oven, the better the pizza so popping it on a fiery hot grill will give you a perfectly cooked dinner. Try out some different toppings - roasted pumpkin, sweet potato, walnuts, caramelized onion and mustard are some of our favourites.

Outdoor Date ideas - Grill some pizza2. Beer tasting

South Australia has some brilliant craft beers. Fill up your outdoor fridge with some local brews and have a beer tasting in your backyard. We recommend Goodieson Brewery, McLaren Vale Beer and Swell Beer. If you’re more of the cider type we recommend The Hills Cider Company's range of ciders. The beers will go down well with a grilled pizza!

Outdoor Date Ideas - Beer tasting3. Roast marshmallows

No matter how old we get, roasting marshmallows is always fun. Make use of your BBQ or outdoor fire pit and roast some marshmallows. If you’re up for the challenge (and don’t mind getting sticky) try making some S’Mores. Sandwich pieces of chocolate and marshmallows between a flat biscuit of your choice, grab it with some tongs and place it over the fire until the chocolate is melted and the marshmallow is soft.

Outdoor Date Ideas - Make S'mores

4. Outdoor cinema

You don’t need a big screen to call it an outdoor cinema! Grab some blankets, pillows, wine, popcorn and a laptop and watch some of your favourite films. If you prefer a bigger screen you can always bring your TV out. Check out our blog from last week if you need tips on how to get rid of bugs and insects so they don’t bother you during the film.

Outdoor Date Ideas - Outdoor Cinema5. Double date

Invite some friends over for a designer BBQ. Prepare a variety of burger patties, sauces and toppings and enjoy Valentine’s Day with some friends! Here’s a great recipe for homemade tomato sauce.

Outdoor Date Ideas - Double date

Have you got some outdoor date ideas for Valentine’s Day? Share the love by sharing our post with your own ideas with your friends.

5 Ways To Keep Bugs Away From Your Outdoor Party

We love hosting outdoor parties and BBQs but they can be a real pest if they attract the wrong kind of guest. We want you to enjoy your outdoor area, so here are some environmentally friendly tips to keep bugs away from your barbie.

1. Catnip for Cockroaches

To keep cockroaches away from your BBQ, scatter bay leaves or catnip in the problem area. You can also make catnip tea, by placing catnip in some boiling water and then pouring the tea into a spray bottle to use as needed. Catnip is an organic insect repellent and will keep cockroaches away without killing them. Garlic and cucumber are also known to keep roaches away – but we’d stick to putting them in your salad.

2. Say No to Scented Candles

Wasps and bees are attracted to fragrance so try and avoid having scented candles or room sprays around your outdoor living area.

3. Coins in a Bag for Flies

The most simple and cost effective way to keep flies away! Fill a Ziploc bag with three or four coins. How does it work? The fly has a complex system of thousands of simple eyes that don’t move or focus. Flies base their movement by light and the refracted light that comes through the water and off the coins confuses the fly causing him to move elsewhere. Some say this technique is nothing more than an old wives' tale but we definitely think it’s worth a try!

4. Have a GnT

Tonic water contains quinine which repels mosquitoes. Be sure to drink lots of these on a muggy day if mosquitoes are around. Okay, so you don’t have to pour gin in there – but it wouldn’t hurt.

5. Homemade Bug Spray

DEET (N,N-Diethyl-meta-toluamide) is the main ingredient of insect repellent which repels mosquitoes rather than killing them. Although effective, DEET is highly toxic and bad for the environment. We suggest trying out this recipe for home made bug spray instead.

Fresh or Dried Herbs Bug Spray Ingredients:

• Distilled water• Witch hazel or rubbing alcohol• Dried herbs: peppermint, spearmint, citronella, lemongrass, catnip, lavender, etc. I recommend using at least one herb from the mint family.

READ: 7 ways to control Colorado bugs and beetles

How to Make Bug Spray From Fresh or Dried Herbs:

• Boil 1 cup of water and add 3-4 TBSP of dried herbs total in any combination from the above. I use 1 TBSP each of peppermint, spearmint, catnip and lavender, and also throw in a couple of dried cloves.• Mix well, cover and let cool (covering is important to keep the volatile oils in!)• Strain herbs out and mix water with 1 cup of witch hazel or rubbing alcohol. Store in a spray bottle in a cool place (fridge is great because then its nice and cool!)• Use as needed. Added bonus: it smells great and is very refreshing to the skin!

Visit Wellness Mama for more insect repellent recipes.

Have you got some environmentally friendly tips to keep bugs away? Share this post along with your ideas and spread the word on how to keep your outdoor area bug free.

5 Ways to Keep Bugs Away From Your Outdoor Party

The Beauty of Polished Concrete

When thinking of outdoor kitchens and dining areas, concrete is the stuff you walk on to get to your seat. Right? Concrete is no longer the boring grey surface that you walk over and barely even notice unless it is missing. At Adelaide Outdoor Kitchens, we specialise in something known as GFRC (Glass Fibre Reinforced Concrete). We have found innovative uses for this surprisingly versatile material, with everything from bench tops to furniture.polished concrete benchPolished concrete is exceptionally solid and can be in a variety of textures, inlays, colours, shapes, and turns it into something truly unique - a real one of a kind, not run of the mill. Polished concrete can enhance any style - from country to contemporary, industrial and from traditional to modern. Glass fibre reinforced concrete is quickly becoming the product of choice when it comes to designers, architects, and home-owners. It is an incredible medium for architectural, visual and artistic expression.Because each piece is hand-crafted, the possibilities in terms of shape, size, colour, and texture are virtually endless. This makes it the perfect choice for outdoor kitchen bench tops and furniture. There are very few limitations to what you can accomplish with good design and sound fabrication techniques. If you can dream it, we can create it!coloured polished concreteDurability is a key factor in designing an outdoor kitchen, with everything being exposed to the elements in one way or another, you need a product that is going to take some punishment and keep looking good. Just a few of the benefits of using GFRC are... Highly durable and safe •Design freedom; •since GFRC is able to be moulded into almost any shape and colourRequires low maintenance • Installation is quick and cost effective •Weather and fire resistant • Polished concrete bench tops and furniture from Adelaide Outdoor Kitchens are built to your needs, around your existing, or planned, outdoor installation and to your complete satisfaction. Make your bench tops, and even whole pieces of furniture, something that is uniquely yours. Our polished concrete products are crafted in such a way to have such a certain ‘look’ so they could almost be mistaken for art installations - so much so, that it’s almost a shame to have to sit on our benches! Furniture made with this material is also incredibly strong, so there is no danger of breakage, and it would take dedicated and concerted effort to chip it. If furniture is going to be enjoyed outside, then it pays to ensure that the furniture you invest in is tough enough to take the punishment. Our polished concrete products certainly fit the bill, and then some.

Australian Outdoor Dining - Why the Popularity?

People have always enjoyed a good BBQ; beautiful sunny weather just seems to almost demand it. Food cooked outside, in the fresh air, just seems to taste so much better than when cooked in a conventional kitchen.The climate, and the great Aussie tradition of entertaining friends and family over the weekend, are the two major reasons behind the increasing popularity of this trend of outdoor kitchens.Outdoor kitchens make it easier for you to entertain your guests, without being creatively restricted by a traditional BBQ, in an outdoor environment while still enjoying the convenience and comfort of being at home.A custom outdoor kitchen will also add value to your property and can have everything a regular indoor kitchen has including a fridge, dishwasher, ice machine, pizza oven, sink and, yes, a BBQ.

Outdoor fridge can be added to your outdoor kitchen

For the full experience, you can also choose all of those little extras too such as extra storage, coffee machine, wine fridges etc.The welcoming aroma of cooking meats wafting through the air is one of the most pleasant things imaginable. How many times have you walked past a takeaway or restaurant, and have your mouth water as the scents tickle your nose?No matter what is cooking, it always seems more inviting outside.Smoke and vapours, when cooking outside, are dissipated into the air and leave your home odour free, which makes the food taste even better (sitting down to a nice sunday dinner, when you can still smell boiling cabbage, isn’t ideal is it?).Creativity blossoms in the great outdoors, as the adventurer in all of us comes out to play so do our food artistry hats; or so we like to believe.Add to this, the fact that most Australians love a good BBQ during the summer and spring months, the rise in popularity of the full fledged outdoor kitchen is not that big of a leap.The versatility of the outdoor kitchen, and the wide range of dishes that are able to be cooked, appeals to just about every outdoor chef.The BBQ is a fantastic bit of kit, and many opt to have a custom built one included in their outdoor kitchen, but it can be a little restrictive.Not only is there a limit to the kind of food that can be cooked, but many people find that they are only able cook outdoors a few months of the year.With outdoor kitchens, however, the chilly winter months need not be a barrier. It is really easy to create a cosy space outdoors with your custom built outdoor kitchen, and especially so with a fireplace and heater.

Add an outdoor fireplace to your outdoor kitchen.

We are all familiar with the snug, warm feeling we get when there is a gale blowing outside as we warm our toes by the fireside, mug of steaming cocoa in hand.Why should that amazing feeling be restricted to the indoors as you tuck into a homemade meal with your friends and family?Sitting at your new outdoor dining table, in a heated kitchen with a fireplace at the side of you while you entertain your guests is one of the most glorious feelings a host can ever wish to have.It is no wonder that outdoor dining in Australia is gaining in popularity, even in the winter months.People are naturally more at ease in the outdoors, and adventure is something that appeals to all of us. Everybody loves the idea of camping, and ‘roughing it’ - even if they do not like actually doing it.The sense of adventure that lives in all of us is tweaked by the idea of outdoor living, and while most are unwilling to turn in their keys and grab a tent, an immense feeling of freedom can be gained by going the outdoor room route.We all like to feel closer to nature sometimes, which is why we have back yards in the first place when you think about it, and entertaining outdoors is just a natural extension of that.Think of how popular outdoor events are, versus those contained within four walls. Open air concerts have been around almost since the dawn of man, in one form or another, and the fact that they are more popular now than ever speaks volumes about how important it is to us to connect with one another outdoors in the fresh air.Communal dining is one of the times that a groups of friends, family, neighbours and acquaintances are able to share ideas and experiences while having fun at the same time.There is something almost therapeutic about the whole experience that cannot be replicated any other way.The rise in popularity of custom built outdoor kitchens is not surprising. What is surprising, however, is that it took so long for it to catch on in a country made famous for its great outdoors and love of outdoor cooking.

Outdoor dining is an extension of your room

Outdoor rooms are a natural extension of the house, bringing the home and garden closer together to create a single living space. Instead of building extensions onto their homes, in order to create more usable space, many people opt instead to make use of the space already available.This makes a lot of sense, and can actually be cheaper than just throwing up walls and a ceiling to achieve the same effect as building outdoor rooms such as an outdoor kitchen.Seasonal changes need not be a barrier, and as already mentioned the winter months can become much more inviting with a cosy outdoor fireplace to gather around while you pull a Christmas cracker with your significant other over the carved turkey.Adelaide Outdoor Kitchens can provide all you could ever wish for in your outdoor cooking area, and then some.Creating memories, forging new friendships and cementing old ones is what entertaining is all about. Outdoor dining is an experience to behold, especially if you already enjoy the outdoors. And, if your friends are always wandering outside to admire your garden, they will be able to do it in true style and comfort.