The Professor's Homework Assignment: Tiki Time

She said "Dog Days of Summer" & I said "Welcome to my cabana!" The Professor brought back her homework assignments by asking us to recall our summer days & how we cope with the heat. Well, my husband & I turned our lifeless little backyard into a tiki oasis over the past couple years.

Tiki bar with a few of my favorite repro cups.

You can see how we did it in this article on Offbeat Home, because that's where I got the idea originally. We used a temporary carport structure to provide shade & then decked it out with rugs, furniture, a bar, & tropical decor. Over the past two years, & especially this spring, we've upgraded & fully decorated to achieve our dream of a Hawaiian- / Jamaican-inspired touch of paradise hidden away in Silicon Valley. I bought a ton of themed crap on eBay & Amazon, plus we found things at the local hardware store. I sewed pillow covers & crafted floral touches. And those neighborhood cats have made the cabana their home, which we don't really mind.

Last year, we started hosting Tiki Thursdays & have continued this year. Basically, one Thursday evening every month during the warm season, we invite friends to come over after work for fruity rum drinks & snacks out in the cabana. Just a chance to chill & socialize. It's been a lot of fun!

My husband & I also grill dinner every so often in the cabana for ourselves & even for friends. Last year, we had a Fourth of July BBQ, & we were all surprised to find out that the street behind ours was having a block party with HUGE fireworks (which are usually illegal here). So we got quite a nice show. And we pulled out a couple of our own sparklers too, bought out of state (don't worry, we used them in the driveway, nowhere near vegetation :-).

The cabana with tiki torches lit.

A sparkler on Independence Day 2013.

So that's my favorite way to deal with the dog days of summer, at least at home. How about you? Join in with your homework assignment or share in the comments below!