Our Outdoor Living Favorites To Make Our May Genuinely Better

May is the month the backyard actually becomes part of the house again. Here’s are out outdoor living favorites – everything we’re using to make the most of it — from the garden we skipped last year to the backyard movie nights we’re not skipping this summer.

If you’ve been following along here, you know that last year was a year of transition for us. We moved, we adjusted, we figured out the new rhythms. A lot of things didn’t happen that we’d planned — including the garden. No tomatoes, no jalapeños, no fresh herbs. I missed it more than I expected.

This May feels different. The yard is starting to look like ours. The evenings are long and warm and worth being in. And somewhere between setting up the raised bed and testing the projector screen in the backyard, I realized we’d quietly assembled a collection of things that are making everyday outdoor living genuinely better.

This is our May favorites roundup — the things we’re actually using, actually reaching for, actually glad we have. All Amazon finds, all affiliate links, all real opinions.

Starting Outside: The Garden We Skipped Last Year

We didn’t plant anything last year. Moving takes everything — the time, the energy, the seasonal rhythm you’ve built up over years. And while I made peace with it, I also missed it. There’s something specific about growing your own food, even just a few things, that changes the way summer feels. More tended. More intentional.

This year we’re keeping it simple and starting smart.

Raised Bed with Mesh Cover — I went with a raised bed and mesh cover combo this time. It’s being delivered today and I’m really excited about the whole project. The mesh will keep the birds and squirrels and rabbits out without blocking sun or water. This year’s plan: tomatoes, jalapeños, green onions, basil, and cilantro. Things we actually cook with. Things that taste noticeably better when they come fifteen feet from your kitchen door. I look forward to sharing this adventure with you.

Gardening Gloves, Garden Tools, Loppers, Clippers— We’re still actively shaping this yard into what we want it to be. There’s real work happening — clearing, planting, building toward a lot of outside living this summer. Good tools that are actually comfortable to use make that work feel like progress instead of a chore. These have been in steady rotation since we got them. I really love how well they are made, and I think they will last for a long time.

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The Backyard Evenings We’re Designing For

This is the part I’m most excited about, honestly. We have a yard now that can hold an evening. A fire pit. Space. And we’ve been building the setup to actually use it.

Outdoor Projector and Movie Screen — We got this last year and it completely changed what a backyard evening looks like. There’s something about watching a movie outside that feels like an event even when it’s just a Tuesday. The setup is genuinely easy, the picture is better than you’d expect, and it has become one of those things that makes people say we should do this more often — which is exactly what we want our yard to feel like. If you’re looking for a simple way to make your backyard feel like a destination, start here.

S’mores Kit and Roasting Sticks — For the nights when you want something to do with your hands around a fire. We have a fire pit, and we weren’t using it enough. The s’mores kit fixes that. There’s a simplicity to roasting marshmallows that makes everyone feel like a kid again, including Tom, which is really saying something. It’s also one of the easiest ways to turn a regular evening into something people remember. These are the telescoping forks we got and they work great.

Covered Charcuterie Tray — This earns its space completely. The cover keeps everything from drying out or attracting bugs outside, it looks put-together without any effort, and it goes everywhere — backyard nights, the porch, a cooler bag for a day trip. We reach for it constantly. If you entertain even occasionally outside, this is one of those things you’ll wonder how you lived without.

Portable Water Jug/Cooler — When you’re actually spending time outside — gardening, a long evening, a day trip with the dogs — you need water that’s accessible and cold. This one lives on the patio and rides in the car with equal ease. It’s one of those boring-but-essential things that makes the whole day work better.

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Protecting Your Face (This One’s Personal)

I got significant sun damage on my face from a really bad burn when we lived in Abilene, Texas. That was years ago. I still deal with the effects. So face protection isn’t optional for me — it’s part of getting ready to go outside, as automatic as putting on shoes.

If you’re in your 40s or 50s and you’ve been casual about sun protection, I’d gently encourage you to stop being casual about it. Your future self will thank you. Here’s what I use:

Zinc Sunblock — Zinc sits on top of the skin rather than absorbing into it, which matters when you’re managing existing damage. I resisted the white cast for longer than I should have. The formulations are genuinely better now. This is what I reach for every single time I go outside.

Baseball Cap — The other half of the system. Sunblock plus a hat, every time, no exceptions. I’ve gotten to the point where leaving the house without one feels wrong. A good cap that actually fits and doesn’t fly off is worth finding and keeping.

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The Hair Tie Situation (Finally Solved)

Stay-Put Hair Ties for Thick Hair — If you have thick hair and you’ve spent years watching your hair tie end up on the ground or stretched out and useless within a day, these are the answer. They actually hold. I keep them in my bag, in the bathroom, in the car. Once you find hair ties that work for your hair, you buy multiples and you don’t look back.

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The Dogs Come Too

Gracie and Gus don’t stay home when we go somewhere, which means their gear needs to be as ready as ours. We’ve gotten the system down:

Portable Dog Bowls — Collapse flat, take up no space, always in the bag. Non-negotiable for any dog who goes on adventures with you.

Dog Treat Jar — Keeps treats fresh and accessible. Worth it for the organization alone.

Dog Car Container/Seat — This one changed how car trips feel for everyone. The dogs have a defined space, the car stays cleaner, and the whole thing is just calmer. If your dogs ride with you regularly, this is the upgrade that makes the most difference.

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The End of the Day

Epsom Citrus Body Wash and Epsom Bath Bubbles — These are for the end of an active outside day. There’s a specific kind of tired that comes from actually using your body — gardening, yard work, a long evening on your feet — and a soak with Epsom is the right answer to it. The citrus scent is somehow both energizing and relaxing. I don’t fully understand the science of that but I’ve stopped questioning it. It’s a good bookend to a day that was spent outside, which this May, is the whole point.

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A Note on What This List Is Really About

None of these things are complicated. None of them are expensive in the grand scheme of what a summer of outside living produces. What they have in common is that they make the good evenings actually happen — the ones where you’re outside with people you love, eating something good, watching something together, working in the dirt, watching the dogs run around — instead of almost happening because the setup wasn’t quite ready.

The Fully Lived Framework — which we’ll be launching for beta this fall — talks a lot about designing for aliveness at every scale. This list is what that looks like on a Tuesday in May. Not a grand gesture. Just the right things, ready to go, when the evening is good enough to be in.

Go live the life you have.

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