Outdoor Dining at Five Marys

Camp has always been our favorite place to be on the ranch, and our farm table up there has gotten so much use over the years. Now that the girls are full force in the rodeo world, we've been spending most of our nights eating dinner and entertaining around the arena as they rope and practice barrels.

I love spending time outside as much as we can, and I especially love setting up outdoor spaces to be really inviting and fun. I really don't overthink it... I believe it's so important to relax and enjoy celebrations. It's about the people so much more than making sure things look prim and proper.

With that said... here are a few of my favorite tips if you're wanting to spend time entertaining outdoors this summer!

1.) Decorate Your Table with Natural Elements

Our outdoor tables are such a statement already, that I don’t want to take too much away from the beautiful wood. I like draping some hand-dyed indigo cloths down the middle and adding a few beeswax candles or solar glass jars on top. The indigo and beeswax yellow colors go so well together. Sometimes we’ll add sheep pelts to the benches, which is so beautiful, but other times we’ll keep them bare or cover them with some rustic blankets if it’s cold.

2.) Mix and Match Your Tableware

I love antique shopping and collecting statement serving trays, bowls, and vintage glasses. I love the look of mismatching… which works out because you’ll always have enough of something if it doesn’t need to be a set :) Most of my dishes and cups are ceramic white, pewter, glass, or wood, so the mismatched items still always go together well. I always use linen napkins and throw them in the wash when we’re done. I like to fold them up or use a pewter napkin ring to have them lay in the center of the plate.

3.) Designate a Place to Dish Up

Instead of arranging all of the food on the table, I like having a separate table (doesn’t have to be fancy!) where we can all dish up our plates, then sit down at the dinner table. I think the food always looks so beautiful displayed where it isn’t overcrowded. I keep all of the condiments over there too.

4.) Make Pitchers of Drinks or Invest in Durable Coolers

I love making a big pitcher of sidecars so you’re not wasting the night playing bartender! I also love yeti coolers… they are so durable, which you have to be around here on the ranch. I like having one of the coolers designated for water bottles, sparkling waters, sodas, etc. and the other cooler designated for ranch waters, beer, and other alcoholic drinks.

5.) Create a Fire Pit Area or Have Blankets Available

I love when the dinners turn into hang out time around the fire pit. If you live somewhere where you can’t have fires in the summer, it’s still nice to have an additional seating area, or at least some blankets handy for when it gets chilly.