pit 'o fire: caution advised

with spring in full swing and fire pits ablaze across most of suburban America it's time to raise awareness to the blunders that can turn an ordinarily fun night into a debacle that leaves you teetering on the verge of scrapping the pit altogether and going in the direction of one of those terra cotta pot flame concoctions I see on Pinterest in order to satisfy your radiating flame hunger.  this weekend we enjoyed our first backyard fire pit and it got me thinking about some of my own fire pit faux pas.  read on for some embarrassing confessions and hard lessons learned.

let's start with the obvious - fire pits get hot - really hot.  and everything around it, yourself included gets really hot.  heed to this sound advice: stay back.  this includes your pit essentials: beer, chocolate, and flip flops.

the ring around the fire pit is not intended to be a foot rest.  flip flops will melt!

bronchitis is a real risk!  i legitimately got bronchitis last year after breathing in smoke from a fire; it was terrible!

excessively large pieces of cardboard or wood of any kind will not make the fire last longer in fact it may even destroy your pit or that beautiful full tree in your yard.

along these lines friends don't let the drunk friends stoke the fire or play with lighter fluid.

dares to jump over the fire pit never end well.

finally, just because it's dark doesn't mean people can't see how many s'mores you've actually had - nice try. (I swear I only had 4....ok maybe 6)

pit responsibly! and if all else fails and the yard goes up in flames hope for some cute firemen or at firemen with a good sense of humor.

first s'more of the year