Patio Palooza: In which we get crazy

I come from a long line of impulse buyers. My dad once convinced my mom to spend a Saturday at a boat show for fun and at the end of the day, they left with a 16-foot sailboat. One day, I was minding my own business when my parents called to say that they up and bought a new house for the family. My sister scooped up her puppy outside a Wal-Mart because she looked like a good pal. My grandmother was so world-renowned for her shopping abilities that she continues to get credit card offers despite having passed away more than ten years ago.

I carry on this family tradition by making offers on houses on the spot, running off to foreign countries at the drop of a hat, and asking Hubs, without fail, every time we walk into a Costco if he would like to impulse buy a TV (he always says no).

Hubs, you see, doesn't impulse buy. He's a thinker, a comparer and a researcher. I don't think I've even seen the guy buy a pack of socks without weighing the pros and cons.

So, imagine my surprise when he suggested we head to Lowe's to check out grills for fun. I knew the little gas grill we had on our shiny new patio looked a little sad, so I agreed that it was time to start the search.

As we walked among the grills, I noticed Hubs wasn't just looking - he was primed to buy. Being the impulse buying enabler that I am, I encouraged a purchase. After all, the big kid grills were sporting nice price tags and apparently, side burners are all the rage these days.

Indulging his inner-impulsive streak, Hubs picked out a grill we both liked and sooner than you could sear a tuna steak, we were the proud new owners of this Very Adult Grill.

Hubs swears our first round of burgers on this baby, which got up to 650 degrees when we were playing around with it, are the best ever. I figured anything that combines red meat, mayo and cheddar couldn't fail me. Point is: this new grill looks dang good and the old was was Craiglisted for some cold, hard cash.