Girls Night Out and Back Porch Decor
I am hosting Girls Night Out and thought it would be fun to enjoy it on our back porch. We can stay warm and I added new back porch decor.
Nothing is cozier than an evening on our back porch. It’s covered, has a wonderful fireplace and heaters in the ceiling! I am hosting Girls Night Out and I cannot wait to show you what I have done.
Girls Night Out
A Girls Night Out is one of my guilty pleasures. Gathering my girlfriends together on a “school night” to hang out by the fire and gab is one of my favorite things, but we don’t get to get together very often.
We are all so busy that sometimes throwing out a random last-minute invite is when everyone is available! For tonight’s girl’s night out, it is going to be a BYOB – bring your own blanket!
It’s been cold here in Southern California and while we have a fireplace and heaters in the ceiling of the back porch, it’s cozier when everyone has their favorite blanket. And, we are all-weather wimps here in California!
And since we are leaning into the guilty pleasure part of the evening, I thought, what if, instead of the basic charcuterie board, I did a french fry board instead! Of course, I included many dipping sauces to choose from also.
Winter Porch Decor
I am loving the winter decor inside the house, so I brought it out onto the back porch also. I made some new pillows and then shopped my home for everything else.
You probably recognize the advertising pots I posted about yesterday. I am just so in love with them so I hung them on one of the hanging shelves next to our fireplace.
I also ordered more of the blue hydrangeas that I have in the family room. They are such a gorgeous shade of grayish-blue. Now I have them throughout the house!
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I also stocked up on some birch vases. Birch is perfect for a winter aesthetic! I also recently found the pretty robin’s egg blue-footed bowl that was perfect for holding the napkins. I can think of a bazillion ways to use this new bowl!
How to Cook Frozen Fries in Air Fryer
I really don’t know what I did before I had an air fryer. I now cook so many things in the air fryer, one of them being frozen french fries.
Before the air fryer, I never made french fries. I wasn’t about to use an entire bottle of oil to fry them and baked fries were usually too soggy. I also rarely ate them at a restaurant because they aren’t healthy and there was way too much guilt involved when eating them!
My air fryer, however, makes perfectly hot and crisp french fries in a quick twenty minutes! I simply set the air fryer to air fry, add 20 minutes to the timer and shake the basket about halfway through. That’s it!
Perhaps it is too easy?
No chance.
My airfryer is the Ninja and it has two fryer baskets. To serve warm fries all evening, I alternate the cook times of the baskets. Every ten minutes a new batch is ready! It works perfectly.
I have one girlfriend whose go-to order at a restaurant is a salad with a side of fries. She is coming tonight, so I thought, let’s do a fries and sauce board instead of charcuterie! I used five sauces, ketchup, Chick-Fil-A sauce, honey mustard sauce, cojita cilantro sauce, and homestyle ranch.
A little something for everyone. This was so much fun to build! And I used a green wood frame mirror because it was so unique and fun!
I used a variety of frozen fries. I picked waffle fries in honor of the Chick-Fil-A sauce, crinkle-cut (my personal favorite), shoestring fries, shoestring sweet potato fries, and steak fries.
Needless to say, the fries and sauce board was not only a surprise but also a HUGE hit.
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Below are some of the items I used to make our back porch warm and cozy!
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what air fryer are you using? it is always hard to know what brand to buy. The porch looks lovely. Can’t imagine being outside though since here in Ohio it is very cold!!
I always felt artificial flowers were for artificial people 😊. How wrong I am! When we became owned by our current Ms. Kitty, fresh flowers became a no-no. I’m now the proud possessor of MANY silk flowers that change with the season or holiday.
BYW: hydrangeas are my favorite. I just ordered the dusty blue and blue on Amazon. Here in SW Florida I keep potted hydrangeas on my front porch but alas, they don’t keep more than 6 months or so.
Love the idea of a frycuterie board!
Thanks so much Barb! I totally agree
How did you keep all the French fries hot when cooking several batches. It’s a wonderful idea for an appetizer. You are so clever.
I kept cooking them throughout the night!
Yes, what brand air fryer, please. I gave one away as I couldn’t figure out how to use it!
LOVE LOVE LOVE that you use artificial flowers though out your home. After living in Alaska for so many years, I came to depend on those to add color to our home especially during the dark winter months. I moved back to the south and almost felt ashamed that I didn’t use fresh flowers all through the house. So, I am glad to see that you use them also during all months of the year and living in sunny California.
I do want to say, now there are artificial flowers and there are artificial (dare I say plastic) flowers.
Great blog
I love using them! Thanks Suzi!
LOVE the hanging shelves next to your fireplace !!!
Thanks so much my friend!
What a great idea …..what lady doesn’t love french fries…..my favorite are the steak fries at Red Robin and their Campfire sauce is to die for on fries…..
Oh I love that sauce!
To quote a Canadian tea advertisement;Red Robin, Campfire sauce, Chick-fil-a, not in southern Ontario, pity.
Hanging out with girls is the best! I love this space you have created with the outdoor fireplace. It’s just so cozy and you have it decorated so nice.
So true Tammy!