When it comes to my birthday, I usually think up a few different grand ideas of what I want to do. However, as the day approaches, I always get so busy that I just never follow through with my own plans. This year was different, though. I wanted to have a party that could be relaxed, fun, and give people an excuse to eat lots of food. As Shawn and I racked our brains figuring out how to get all three of those things into one space, a message from my best friend about a BBQ acted as a lightbulb moment for me. Shawn and I have a unique living situation. We live in a house that has been converted into three different apartments, and my parents own the house that we are currently staying in. They also live next door to us, so we currently share a huge backyard with them. It's a beautiful space, and last summer they put in a fire pit so we could gather as a family and hangout. With all of this and also the idea of a BBQ in my head, I just dove right in to wanting to have a backyard bash. The biggest challenge was figuring out where everyone would sit. I found that 84 Lumber sold picnic table blueprints with the wood for just $97 (compared to tables at other stores which were around $300). It did mean that we had to cut and build the tables, but Shawn...