Outdoor Living Zone

This Sleeping in a Camping Tent Thing is New to Me

Fri, 30 Jul 2010 09:30:34 GMT

The time has finally come when we will be taking outdoor living to another level when we go camping this coming weekend. The kids have been talking about it all summer and we've ordered the camping tent and have everything ready to go. In fact, last night after dinner, I was sitting on the outdoor patio and the kids came out and asked if I thought they could pull out the tent and see how hard it was to set up. They both wanted to be able to know how to get things done once we arrived at our camping site and didn't want to spend all their time trying to learn how to set up the camping tent then. I figured it was a good idea, plus it would keep them busy, so I gave them the go ahead. It also gave me an idea, so I went inside and grabbed the GARMIN 010-00632-00 ETREX VENTURE® HC GPS RECEIVER that we found at RC Campout whose online store can be found at http://www.rcampout.com so that I could learn how to use it before this coming weekend. My husband and I have wanted a GPS for a while, but when I ordered this one, we knew that it would come in handy with our first ever outdoor living experience. I'm still a little nervous about the trip, but I've been assured that it will be full of fun and adventure, and I guess I'm about to find out. I grew up in the city where my idea of a camping tent was draping my bed sheet between the furniture and playing under it for hours with my siblings.

My husband and his family grew up camping and so he's always had a difficult time understanding why I'm not keen on sleeping in the woods. I do think this will be fun, since I know it's something that everyone is looking forward to so much, and I'll make sure that the GPS keeps us on track. The guys will do some fishing, and since the weather is supposed to be good this coming weekend, I'm hoping we don't have to worry about sleeping in the camping tent in the rain. I'm really going into this experience as though it were an adventure, and who knows, I may just decide that I love it. One thing is for sure, it will definitely be something I’ll never forget.

A Great Way To Remember Outdoor Living

Tue, 27 Jul 2010 07:06:06 GMT

Living in Arizona can be both a very hot and very lovely life. During the larger part of the year, most Arizonans will find themselves experiencing outdoor living. Our family spends many of our days outside spending time together and now I finally have a great way to capture all of the memories. I went online to a great store and found a gorgeous red six in one camcorder. I love to record our outdoor living adventures and my new camcorder is the perfect addition to our gatherings.

I would not have thought to buy a new camcorder, but when I saw the one I ended up purchasing online, and how cheap it was, I had to! I had never imagined that such a nice product could be so affordable. What is so much fun for my family, is that we are planning a huge party at the end of the summer to view the outdoor living parties that we had. I cannot wait to share in the memories of our loving family as we sit together and watch the videos together.

Camping without a Camping Tent is Going to be Great

Wed, 21 Jul 2010 06:32:22 GMT

I will be the first to admit that when our neighbors approached us about taking a camping trip, the firs thing that crossed my mind was sleeping in a hot camping tent and waking up with bugs crawling all over me. Obviously, that is probably a little on the dramatic side, but since I’ve never owned a camping tent or slept in one, I wasn’t sure what kind of fun that would be. I think they could see my concern and they assured me that it would be caravaning camping, which is something completely different, at least in my eyes. I don’t consider that anything remotely the same as sleeping in a camping tent, especially since there is a real bed and air conditioner. We said yes to their invitation and it looks like this weekend is when it will all happen. We’re going to be on the road for a week and will stop at different locations and spend the night. I’m surprisingly very excited and can’t wait to see where this little adventure takes us. Who knows, maybe John and I will like it so much that we’ll decide to rent a caravan of our own.

Outdoor Living Was Never More Appealing

Fri, 09 Jul 2010 07:39:13 GMT

When we moved to Arizona a few years ago, we learned that hanging out in the back yard during the hot summer nights is a past time that most of our native friends have grown accustomed to. Lets face it, if we did not hang out at night, we might never see the outside. In Arizona during the summer, the only outdoor living is done in the night time. Luckily, I found an online store where I can buy everything we could possibly need for our outdoor living and I have saved a ton of money. Besides the monetary value in shopping online, shopping from the comfort of my home has been a time saver and has kept me out of the summer sun.

I am so glad that I do not have to go out and drive all over town to buy the indoor and outdoor living items that I want. I could not imagine having to take my poor kids all over town to go on a shopping spree, instead, we stay in the air conditioning, put on a movie and I take out the lap top. I cannot wait for our evenings in back yard and every item that I buy for the yard and patio makes our outdoor living so much better.

Nice Touches For The Outdoor Patio

Fri, 09 Jul 2010 07:29:24 GMT

My husband and I are happy to say that we have just purchased our first home. We have only been living in our new place for about a month, but we have already begun to make really nice decorating choices for both the inside of our home and the outside patio. In the month that we have been in our house, we have had several get togethers and most all of them have taken place on our outdoor patio. I have discovered the best online store where I have purchased almost everything we have out there right now.

All of the friends that have come over to share our new house have mentioned how awesome the outdoor patio is and have questioned me abut where I find all of my fantastic items. The second thing they ask me is how I am not broke after buying a house and spending a fortune on decor. When I write down the name of my favorite outdoor patio decor online store, they are always in shock that I am such an online shopping enthusiast.

Explosive Outdoor Living on the Beach

Sat, 03 Jul 2010 10:55:29 GMT

I was really jealous when a friend started telling me about her Fourth of July weekend plans. Her roommate’s family has a house on a beach about an hour away. They are going up there for Saturday and Sunday night. Apparently, there is a cool fireworks display over the water near where they live. It is going to be a BBQ, bon fire and all around outdoor living under the explosive colors of fireworks on Sunday. The fact that they have a piece of sand right near the fireworks is awesome. I’m sure there will be plenty of crowds to maneuver where I’m going. Yesterday she came over and told me this but also showed me some outdoor furniture she had found at RC Campout. She bought it for the beach but also for future camping trips planned later this summer.

Between the Fourth of July, sunny weather and camping, this is going to be another memorable summer. I hope that the weather where you are is clear and cool for Sunday's outdoor living. I’ve been through rainy Fourth of July celebrations, they are not nearly as much fun.

Web Savings Enables Sweet New Outdoor Patio Furniture!

Sun, 27 Jun 2010 10:36:20 GMT

I am not sure how many people think to turn to the web to find deals on things like outdoor patio furniture—but if you ask me, just about anything and everything that you could ever want to get your hands on these days can easily be found for a rather grand bargain online! I like to really look around when I am doing my online shopping. I have found that in this manner that I can not only uncover the best bargains, but the selection is rather vast as well, to say the least! About two weeks ago my wife and I finally decided that we really could use to get some new outdoor patio furniture for our patio, as the chairs were starting to fall apart and the table was very old out there. We like to enjoy evenings on the patio, but the outdoor patio furniture was just making it terrible. So we hopped online and were blown away by the different kinds of outdoor patio furniture that they had to offer. Now that patio is adorned with sweet new furnishings that have greatly enhanced the look, feel and ambience of it!

Can’t Forget Mosquito Spray While Outdoor Living

Mon, 21 Jun 2010 14:11:58 GMT

My blood must be extra sweet because whenever there are mosquitoes around I always seem to attract families of the insect. Mosquitoes are the most annoying factor of outdoor living. Whenever a camping or cabin trip is planned, it always ends up next to a body of water. Whether it is a lake, stream, river, or ocean, mosquitoes lurk about when the sun starts coming down. At the beginning of July, I’m headed up north to a friend’s cabin. From what he has told me, there are some seriously big bloodsuckers up there. As soon as I heard this, the next time a computer was in front of me I clicked onto RCampout at http://www.rcampout.com/ and moved a bottle of Cutter 6 oz. Skinsations 7% DEET Insect Repellent (Pump) into the digital shopping cart. There is no room to mess around in a mosquito heavy area. A bunch of itchy bumps after a night without any protection can ruin a trip.

The last thing I want to think about when outdoor living is insects. There is too much other stuff to do. My friend did say there is a stockpile of Deet candles around the cabin and outdoor patio for increased protection. At least we aren’t sleeping in a camping tent. One time, after a long night around the fire, I retired to the camping tent and forgot to zip it all the way. Mosquitoes snuck in and I woke up with three huge bumps on my face where the bloodsuckers had their way. They were so big that my friends broke laughing initially and then asked if I needed a doctor. From that moment on, I double-check the camping tent zipper before going to sleep every single time.

Just to be safe I went back to Rcampout.com and found myself another bottle of Deet spray. Right now, it looks like we are going to be at this cabin for four days. That is a lot of time outdoor living. I will not let the bugs win on this trip. I want to know what good these insects do. It seems like their only purpose is making our lives uncomfortable. Now I’m ready and anxiously waiting the outdoor living trip. From what I’ve heard the river adjacent to the cabin has been teaming with fish. With a new fishing reel, it is going to be a great opportunity to find my cast again. It will also be a great time to learn how to cook fish since my friend is a pro at that.

I Love Spending Time On My Outdoor Patio

Tue, 08 Jun 2010 07:09:54 GMT

Most all of our friends have shared the same dream of owning a home for quite a while. When the dream finally became true for my husband and I, we really wanted to share the experience with all of our friends and family members. We came together one weekend and made plans to build an outdoor patio and share it together.

Some time has gone by since then and now we have the outdoor patio of our dreams. Most every weekend all of our family members and friends can be found sharing delicious pot luck brunches together under the lattice shade of our patio. Although, one thing has changed since we began our adventure... we have a baby now!

I love to get up with my son and take him outside to enjoy the cool breeze and shade on the outdoor patio. He loves to spend his days laying on the patio coloring, playing and day dreaming. I had always dreamed about the things I enjoy so well now and I feel so grateful to be able to share these wonderful places and moments with the the people I care about most.

Time Ticking for Camping Tent Trip

Tue, 08 Jun 2010 06:53:08 GMT

It is finally June and that means it is almost time to pull the camping tent out of the closet and head out into the wilderness. A few friends have been planning an outdoor living adventure for about a month now. We figure that the end of June to early July is the prime time to get out there. It is finally June and the days are flying by. It will not be long now before we are on the highway, driving a few hundred miles north towards rivers, forests and mountains. We want to be out with Mother Nature soon after summer officially begins.

A couple of us planning to go on this trip grew up together. We know of a river that is great to raft down and camp next to in the summer. The water does not start calming down until the end of this month. I’m no pro at rafting down a river so it is not worth risking life and limb when the water is too high. Outdoor living brings people together. Sitting around a campfire is a bonding experience of sorts.

Love Our New Outdoor Furniture

Tue, 08 Jun 2010 06:52:22 GMT

I had no idea when I showed my husband some outdoor furniture that I’d found online for a really great price two weeks ago, that he would actually order it without telling me. Yesterday afternoon a delivery arrived and when they asked me to sign for it I knew I hadn’t ordered anything so I was hesitant. The guy assured me that the package was for our address, so I accepted it and he put the boxes on the porch. I opened the first box and realized as soon as I did that it was the outdoor furniture that I’d been looking at. Before I finished opening everything else, I called my husband and I could tell by the tone in his voice that he was smiling about being able to pull off the surprise without me finding out. He said he knew that we really did need some new outdoor furniture and he also liked what I’d found and the price was right, so he decided to order it as a little surprise to me. I was surprised and by the time he got home last night, I’d moved out the old outdoor furniture and set up the new. It looks great and it’s so comfortable.

Retreating to Outdoor Furniture

Thu, 27 May 2010 06:56:44 GMT

I have been trying to get work done early each day to leave more time for outdoor living during the afternoon. We are not quite into summer yet but the daytime temperatures in Southern California are perfect even though it is still very brisk at night. Our apartment has a large patio that we have been adding outdoor furniture to ever since moving in a few months ago. It started with a simple foldable chair and now there is a tall fake plant, glass coffee table and multiple places to sit down. It is really nice to go out there and read, eat or talk on the phone. I just love having a place for outdoor furniture to retreat to after working much of the day inside on a computer.

As the sun gets hotter and hotter it is going to be even nicer to get out there and relax. Online retailers have been great assets in making our patio a fantastic place to be. I don’t have a lot of extra money to spend but I can get more while online shopping. It is the real advantage to clicking buy instead of swiping a bankcard.

A Year Later I found the Outdoor Furniture

Thu, 27 May 2010 06:51:52 GMT

Last summer when my husband and I spent a week at a cabin in the woods, we fell in love with the outdoor furniture that they had on the front porch. Every evening we would sit outside and relax as the sun went down, and we mentioned several times how we wished we had this particular outdoor furniture in our back yard. I even went as far as to take pictures of it so that I could look for it around town, but I never found what we were looking for.

A few days ago I was going through some old pictures and I came across one of the outdoor furniture. I immediately remembered how much we loved it and decided to browse online and see if I could have any luck finding it. It took me a little while, since I didn’t know the name or designer of the outdoor furniture, but eventually I did find it. I also found that it was less expensive than I anticipated it being, and I ordered it. I didn’t tell my husband, and I’m hoping it arrives when he’s not home so I can set everything up in the back yard and surprise him. I can’t wait to enjoy it whenever we want.

Outdoor Living without Getting Lost

Tue, 25 May 2010 12:40:58 GMT

There have been more then a couple occasions after pitching the camping tent in some remote forest or desert along the west coast where myself or someone I was with got turned around either getting back to camp or on the way out. Last time I got lost the camping tents, outdoor furniture, cooler and supplies had been loaded in the truck and we were all ready to go home. Before my ride was about to pull out we noticed a few items in the bed including the standing propane BBQ were not secure. The rest of our pack pulled out onto the trail prior to us seeing this. They had no idea we weren’t behind and kept on their way down the dirt trail towards the main road at least 5 miles away. Later we found out they didn’t realize we were gone to getting back to the main entrance. At the time, we didn’t think anything of it because we thought we knew the way out.

Well we didn’t. One wrong turn led to another and instead of going down the mountain, we went higher before pulling off the trail to get our bearings. On a positive note, the cliff-side vantage point we found on top of a massive boulder right off the road offered panoramic views of a pine forest and a small city way out in the difference. After taking a couple pictures, we tried it again and 30 minutes later were out onto paved roads.
All this could have been easily solved with a GPS but we didn’t have one each time we go lost outdoor living. This year I’m ready to buy a new camping tent and GPS for the coming months. I went to a tried and true outdoor living retailer called RC Campout at http://www.rcampout.com/ and found the GARMIN 100042200 GPSMAP® 64 MB 60CSX (WITH BAROMETRIC ALTIMETER & COMPASS) pictured above. Light, powerful and ready for adventure, this cool piece of 21^st century tech is exactly the kind of thing to have for a safe summer of hiking, camping and outdoor living.

Recently I met a guy who has lived where I’m at now for many years so he has an intimate knowledge of camping tent locales and outdoor living recreation. Turns out he loves nature just like me. He has been a great resource in ideas and places to go as the weather heats up. Not long from now, we will be into June and then will come the Fourth of July. Time really starts to fly over the next few months.

Outdoor living vacations are here

Sun, 09 May 2010 01:45:12 GMT

Summer time is just around the corner, with Memorial Day just a few weeks away. This means for many, camping tent season will become a popular and inexpensive getaway. Once school lets out, the vacation plans of caravaning camping and other outdoor living vacations will start to take hold. Most here in the desert southwest will go camping up north to cooler climates. Another popular option is taking the camping tents and heading to California for some beach camping and other adventures. The next few months will have many families and folks just enjoying whatever outdoor living they have time off for. I have been enjoying outdoor living just sitting on my outdoor furniture and reading the paper or book whenever possible. Even that simple pleasure is all I need to feel rejuvenated to get other things done. Later on in the summer, our family will go north to enjoy the different scenery and stay a little cooler. This is the time when most everyone enjoys some type of outdoor living vacations, it is good for the soul.

New Camping Tent to Get First Usage This Month

Sun, 09 May 2010 01:34:36 GMT

I really adore going on the many different camping trips that I embark upon with my family and friends each year, and this time around I am very eager to get my next trip underway because I have a brand new camping tent and some other gear that I added to my collection; gear I found online for some great deals. I realized during my last camping trip that my camping tent needed replacement, as there was a tear in the side and bugs were getting in all over the place. Lucky for me, I was able to easily find a new camping tent online for a hard to pass up bargain to replace my old, torn camping tent with. Now with yet another great camping trip planned towards the end of this month—you can bet your bottom dollar that I am very antsy to get out there and break in that new camping tent. I also picked up some other new gear while shopping online, like this awesome new lantern that uses powerful LED lights instead of gas!

Time for New Outdoor Furniture

Sun, 09 May 2010 01:27:11 GMT

The weather has been so fabulous the past couple of weeks that my husband and I have pulled out our outdoor furniture from the shed and set everything up so we could enjoy the sunshine. We both spend a lot of time outside during the warmer months, and having evening BBQ’s with our friends is one of our favorites.

I noticed when we set up the outdoor furniture that it was looking a little worse for wear and mentioned to my husband that maybe it was time to invest in something new. I didn’t remember the outdoor furniture looking so tattered the year before, but he agreed it was time for something new. Since we’ve had great luck with finding fantastic prices online, we agreed that I would look for some online and once I had an idea of the prices, we could compare them locally and through other websites. It didn’t take me long to see that the best place to buy outdoor furniture is definitely online and I found a set that we both loved and would look great in our back yard, so I ordered it. Now I can’t wait for it to arrive so we can get the outdoor furniture set up and start enjoying it.

Dad’s Happy With Online Savings I Showed Him on Camping Tents

Mon, 03 May 2010 01:44:46 GMT

With several planned camping trips that I and my family and some of my good friends have this year in the works—my father has decided to join in on some of our adventures with us. I couldn’t’ be any happier to have dad come along, but there is some gear he needs first; like a new camping tent. I was actually talking to him about where he could shop online for a new camping tent just the other day over the phone. He asked me to email him some great stores where I bought my camping tent and other camping gear at so he could really shop around. But I took it a step further: I looked around online for a little bit until I uncovered a few really grand online superstores that had lots of camping tents to choose from, but that were on sale for some hard to beat values and some pretty big savings. If there is one thing that is true about my dad it is the fact that he LOVES to save money. Then again…who doesn’t?

How My Wife and I Saved a Fortune on Our New Outdoor Patio Furniture

Tue, 27 Apr 2010 00:16:24 GMT

There are some things – like the really nice looking outdoor patio furniture that my wife and I recently purchased to finally finish off decorating our new home in Tempe – that are just awesome. Because we had been using these cheap plastic patio sets, you know the ones that are really cheap; outdoor patio furniture that is not made to last. And we really felt like it was greatly detracting from the appearance of our patio. However, we decided that if we put our heads together and shopped around online that we could easily find some great deals on outdoor patio furniture, and finally complete that porch in the backyard. The biggest surprise for us was how many great online stores we were able to easily find that have tons of selection of all sorts of different outdoor patio furniture, but not at the prices you would suspect. After shopping around for a little while we finally decided upon this really nice complete set that has a table, umbrella and five matching chairs—and we got it online for a smoking bargain!

Outdoor Patio Cooking - There Is Nothing Like It

Wed, 21 Apr 2010 04:27:17 GMT

I could not wait to buy our new home. The biggest reason is that the outdoor patio was huge. It measured a whopping 40 feet by 45 feet. This outdoor patio was made out of simple patio brick, but also had some areas where it had a wooden inlay. The best part of this outdoor patio was that it had an area where the previous homeowners had a great looking fountain.

Once we moved in, I knew that there was something else we were going to do. My husband is the world's best at cooking with a dutch oven. I do not know how he does it, but he can make the most mundane ingredients into a mouth watering, gourmet meal. I love it when he goes outside and started getting the fire ready for the dutch oven. This outdoor patio did not have an open area for a fire, but it was large enough where we could choose a corner to place a permanent area for the dutch oven.

While my husband was getting the outdoor patio ready, I wanted to buy him a small gift for the occasion. I started looking online for something that would be a reminder of what we were doing. I looked at different tools, utensils, and even a few dutch ovens. But, I remember my husband telling me to never buy him a dutch oven. Not because he didn't think I could, but because he had his already "broken in".

Eventually I came across a website called RC Campout. This website, which is at www.rcampout.com, is a large online shopping site full of camping supplies and tools. I noticed a dutch oven cookbook. The GSI Dutch Oven Cookin had some things that we had never tried before, so I bought it. Once the outdoor patio was set up for the dutch oven, I handed my husband his gift from RC Campout.

It might not seem like much, but he loved the cook book. In fact, he has cooked on the outdoor patio every night since I bought it. We are halfway through the book and I have had some amazing meals. My husband is even thinking about adding another dutch oven to the outdoor patio. However, I was thinking about another water feature. I found some great looking lights at the RC Campout website that would look great floating around at night while he is cooking. Although, another dutch oven on the outdoor patio would mean less cooking for me. What a tough decision!