Planning for Spring

I have said it a few times over the past couple of months but I am officially over winter. I don't want to shovel snow, wear bulky layers or feel trapped indoors any longer. Spring officially starts on friday and I am ready for it. Here are a few things I am looking forward to and planning on for the months ahead...

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What are you looking forward to most this spring?  To see my spring to do's from last year, click here.

Our Weekend in Vail

This past weekend we packed up our coziest of layers and high-tailed it out of the winter-wonderland-of-denver (there was a big storm that came in dropping over a foot of snow in 36 hours) and made our way to vail, colorado. Ryan and I joined our friends shannon + toby for a a weekend of fun at the beautiful ritz carlton residences.

The weather was quite nice all weekend; a dusting of snow but plenty of sunshine to get out and play in. We hit up the beautiful outdoor hot tub as the sun was setting, listened to live music at tavern  on the square, played cards for hours each day and even spent an afternoon on vail mountain tubing at adventure ridge. This was one of my favorite parts of the weekend; flying down the steep hills of the mountain in our inner-tubes, laughing and screaming the entire time. There were multiple lanes to go down and one of them was a photo lane; ryan and I had the cutest picture that I would have loved to share but it was $20 so, obviously, we didn't buy it. #overpricedkeepsake

We had some fabulous dinners at russel's and mountain standard along with a low-key but crazy delicious bbq lunch at moe's bbq after tubing. The conversation and laughs were never-ending and I could not have asked for better company to make such lasting memories with. This weekend came at such a perfect time and I could not be more grateful.

Weekend Update

This weekend felt like july, not february here in denver. The weather was in the 60s and 70s... there was not a cloud in the sky and I think everyone dropped their plans to play in the sunshine. I had intentions of cleaning the house and getting a couple projects completed but when you are handed a summer day in the middle of winter, you drop everything... which is exactly what I did.

Friday night ryan and I headed up north to visit my seester peyton who has nearly completed her first year of college. We hung out in her dorm, went to dinner at rio and just enjoyed reliving the glory days of college. 

Saturday we dog-sat for my mother-in-law which made rocco a very happy boy. Cooper and rocco played like crazy in the backyard and then had a nice little walk around the neighborhood in the afternoon. Ryan and I ended up snagging a seat at the chef's counter at cholon for dinner that night and had the most entertaining and tasty meal. After dinner we made our way over to matt + lindy's house for late-night beverages and an attempt to watch the interview... but we all were dozing off which just shows that #gettingoldersucks.

Sunday was again gorg so we made our way over to the pioneer for snacks + drinks on the patio with our friends cole + brian. As we sat in the sun telling stories and laughing, I had to remind myself that it is still 'winter' in colorado as it truly felt like a summer afternoon. The day wrapped up with a visit to ella bliss beauty bar as I scheduled a desperately-needed facial. To end the day with such relaxation was like putting a cherry on top of a perfect sundae. 

Pretty Pumpkins

Halloween is synonymous with pumpkins. There are literally hundreds of ideas on pinterest for carving but my favorites of late have leaned more towards pumpkin decorating versus actually busting out the knives and and getting your arms covered in gooey pumpkin innards.

(all the ladies before our crafting began  /  decorated pumpkins of all shapes and sizes)

My bookclub got together last week for our 2nd annual pumpkin decorating evening and of course, our creativity was encouraged by alcoholic beverages. Lindy hosted us at her house and after we filled our bellies with her homemade chili (so good btw), and aweing over her baby boy wade, we rolled up our sleeves and got to crafting. Lindy raided the isles of the craft store, finding supplies ranging from paints to sequins and even tiny spiders and stick-on mustaches... endless options to adorn onto our pumpkins.

A lot of the girls came with a game plan and their creations were nearly identical to their inspirations. Mary's white and sequin pumpkin was my favorite of the evening and sara's 'dia de los muertos' was also the perfect combination of spooky and adorable. I failed a bit with the pumpkins I decorated but had a blast non-the-less.

(our finished pumpkins... no need to carve them when there are so many decorating options)

The evening definitely got me in the halloween spirit and it didn't hurt that my closest girl friends were there to make it an evening full of inappropriate jokes, tons of story telling and quality time together. Check out last years fun by clicking here.

Weekend Update

The unusually warm weather in denver (we are calling it our indian summer) made for a weekend in the high 70s, low 80s. Between brunching on the patio to crunching through all the beautiful fall leaves on the streets, this weekend was full to the brim with things I love.

My sister-in-law peyton came down from college for the weekend which meant quality sister time. We had sushi at izakaya den on friday, followed by the perfect after-dinner coffee enjoyed under the stars while telling stories with her mom and ryan. Peyton then got her hair colored for the first time on saturday; she did bayalage just like I have my hair. It turned out beautiful, only adding to the good looks she already has.

Saturday night we got together with more family and close friends for an evening bbq. It was fun to have everyone together laughing and telling stories. It made me excited for the holidays to come and the festivities that are only a few weeks away.

Sunday morning ryan and I went to church with my grandma followed by a delicious brunch on the patio at bread winners. It was idyllic on every level and the best few hours of the entire weekend. The day wrapped up with an afternoon movie, gone girl, followed by a family dinner of ina garten's pasta alla vodka. 

Pumpkin Festival

Last weekend was one of my favorite events of the year, and by far the event I look forward to most before halloween. I'm talking about the pumpkin festival hosted at chatfield reservoir that I attend each year with ryan's family.

My nieces loved the hayride we took over to the pumpkin patch and could not stop talking about finding the perfect pumpkin to take home with them. They went up and down the aisles of pumpkins with intention, carefully examining each one. It was so cute to hear them shout out for their granny, uncle ryan or mommy when they found a contender. We also found a kind women to take our annual family photo together; another one of the traditions I love so much.

The weather was crisp and sunny upon arrival but by the time we were done picking through the hundreds of pumpkins in the patch, the clouds rolled in, the wind picked up and it even started to sprinkle. However, we have been going to this festival for over 10 years and we have experienced much worse (freezing temps and even flurries). The weather did not stop us from eating delicious fair food and sipping on homemade rootbeer as we strolled through the beautiful grounds.

I hope we all will be getting together next week to carve our pumpkins together. That would be icing on the cake before next friday. 

What are your annual halloween traditions? Feel free to leave a comment and share.

Chicago // Recap

I mentioned earlier this week that ryan whisked me away to chicago for the weekend to celebrate my 31st birthday and I have finally sorted through all our photos (I took a ton!) to share today. 

(john hancock building's bar on the 95th floor  /  smile  /  views of chicago  /  looking down on lakeshore drive  /  john hancock building from the ground)

To start, I had never been to the 'windy city' before but it was at the top of my list of destinations to visit. And the city did not disappoint. Honestly, it might have been one of the best trips I have been on in a very long time.

The energy.
The fresh air.
The food.
The friends we got to spend so much wonderful time with.
The views.
Oh and the food... again!

(views down the river out to lake michigan  /  walking around millennium park  /  the infamous bean  /  gorgeous foliage in so many shades)

Our friends chuck and jaime hosted us for the long weekend and put so much time planning activities, dinners and exploring for us prior to our arrival. It seems like we popped in and out of so many neighborhoods throughout our 3 days too... the west loop, lakeview, lincoln park, de paul, the loop, michigan ave and logan square. We had amazing dinners that I am already wanting to relive at chicago q and the publican plus endless tasty cocktails at drum bar, bar takito, la sirena, the signature room and lone wolf.

(ryan and I sight seeing  /  deep dish pizza at uno  /  brownstone steps decorate for halloween  /  millennium park)

We spent 2+ hours in the year-old eataly restaurants/shops... gobbling up fresh pasta, sipping wine and drooling over the cases of charcuterie, fromage and pastries. My favorite activity of the weekend was the architectural boat tour we took on friday which gave us great views of the city. Learning about all the architectural styles was also really fun and made me appreciate even the simplest of buildings in the skyline so much more. We of course had to eat some authentic deep dish pizza too, so we bellied up to the bar at pizzeria uno which swore they were the first deep dish restaurant of the city (but I am guessing this might be up for debate by anyone born and raised in chicago).

(views of the city on our architectural boat tour)

Our last day, my actual birthday, was celebrated with brunch at longman & eagle, a hipster spot that had a great bloody mary and some seriously delicious duck hash and cheesy grits! After brunch we strolled the streets of armitage ave, enjoying the sunshine and brisk fall air. I did not want the day to end as I knew that meant our departure of a city I was falling head over heels for.

(jaime x2  /  entrance to chicago q  /  subway  /  publican dining room  /  birthday bloody mary  /  publican signage)

Simply put, chicago stole my heart and I cannot wait to go back. I think my love for urban metropolis mixed with coastal views is why I feel so connected to chicago... just like my other favorite u.s. city, san francisco. My 31st birthday really kicked off with a bang; thank you to ryan, chuck + jaime for making it one that I will never forget!

Birthday Weekend Update

The first few days of my 31st year have really been more than I could have ever expected (maybe this is a sign for a spectacular year to come?!?!) My husband whisked me away to chicago for the weekend and we spent our time sightseeing, eating, drinking and exploring a city I have always wanted to visit with some of our dear friends who live there.

I will share more later this week but a few quick iphone photos to wet your whistle...

Once we got back to denver late saturday night, we wasted no time before jumping straight into some of my favorite activities this time of year... haunted houses and pumpkin patches. I then stuffed myself silly with an amazing dinner + dessert prepared by amazing parents and sister. We celebrated, ate entirely too much food and I fell asleep last night with the biggest smile on my face. 

31 is looking pretty good to me right now. 

October 1st

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Here's to a month of pumpkin festivals, spiced lattes, crockpot meals, toasty fires, hay bails, scary movies, boots + sweaters, pumpkin carving, football sundays, apple cider, trick-o-treating, layered clothing, leaves crunching under your feet, stews + soups, haunted houses, sleeping with the windows cracked and orange in every direction.

hello october, I have been waiting for you! 

This Weekend You Could...

celebrate 5280 magazine’s top 25 best restaurants issue with a progressive dinner at 4 of frank bonanno’s top restaurants through 5280 dines

take a drive to see the stunning foliage changing and don’t forget your camera to capture the vibrant colors

eat a slice or two of my favorite pizza which is only offered on friday nights at proto’s pizza, clam pizza!

grab your pink & join the fight against breast cancer by participating in the 2014 komen racefor the cure

watch an amazing and educational film about pandas, lemurs, normandy or jerusalem at the denver imax

I am so excited for this weekend. There are tons of great things going on around the city, a few of which I already have scheduled on my calendar. I hope you too, make the most of our first weekend in fall. 

Summer Lovin'... Had Me A Blast

Wow wee… the summer is officially in the rear-view mirror. I felt like this summer was a bit different than years prior, slightly less accomplished, a little more low-key and also a bit scattered. I guess that is what you get when you spend a good majority of it selling your home and boxing up your life into storage.

I cannot say the summer was a miss though, it was the exact opposite actually. I spent a lot of quality time with friends and family which ultimately is the most important thing in the world to me. There were some great memories made and I even accomplished some of the items I put on my summer to-do list. 

So as we head into fall and the cooler weather settles in, don't forget to look back on the warm days of summer...

staycations -  not only did I enjoy a night away in boulder with ryan, I also got to spend a weekend with beth in steamboat

we sold our 1st house – such a monumental moment in our life

local events - attended the denver burger battle, blues and brews, a taste of colorado, and big eat...  wow, so much food and delicious drinks were consumed!

had another wonderful weekend at wellington lake for our annual camping trip 

hosted a baby shower for my closest friend lindy before the arrival of her gorgeous son, wade 

attended a farm dinner while visiting beth in steamboat

logged countless hours at the pool with my family – just check out my instagram for the proof

I hope you too, had a wonderful summer full of monumental moments that you will look back on often. 

Quote of the Day

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Falling

Summer is still technically happening... until the 23rd of this month but if you live in denver than you know that fall is truly, in full effect. The leaves are starting to turn, the air is crisp and I am reaching for pieces in my closet to layer together. I even busted out boots twice already this week.

Fall is my favorite time of year so in the spirit of the season that is upon us in every way but the date, here is a roundup of my favorite seasonal items.

(pant  /  bag  /  vest  /  cords  /  rings  /  sweater  /  flannel  /  boot  /  bracelet  /  lacquers)

Weekend Update // Camping Trip 2014

I finally got a chance to go through all of my photos from this past weekend so I am finally ready to share our weekend camping trip to wellington lake. This is an annual trip we take with ryan's family that I look forward to every year so up until last friday, I was counting down the days to pack it up and head out of denver for a few nights under the stars.

(clockwise from top left:  arrival at wellington lake  /  a field full of beautiful aspen trees  /  the waterfall we hiked to on saturday afternoon  /  our view from camp out on the water)

This year's camp site was right on the water which was perfect entertainment for my nieces. It also gave us easy access to jump on our raft and float the afternoon away. Friday night the weather was perfect so after dinner + camp fire fun, we took our rain-fly off and slept under the stars. I woke up quite a bit that night but was instantly content when I looked up and saw a sky-full of twinkling lights in every direction. 

Saturday ryan's parents joined us on our camp site, along with our close family friends, rosie and jenny. Sadly, the weather took a turn for soggy-with-a-side-of-constant-rain and the afternoon was spent primarily under our 10x10' tent huddled together. However, this group's mood could not be deterred by the weather. We even got in a nice hike to the waterfall when the rain slowed and were able to enjoy story-telling around the campfire with s'mores in hand. 

(peyton and I  /  watching the sunrise over the lake on sunday morning  /  my nieces, kamryn and makenzie  /  the fog rolling off the lake at sunrise  /  makenzie playing in the water  /  ryan cooking up pancakes for breakfast  /  heading out on the hiking trail)

Just as we have done for the past 2 years, rocco joined us for our camping trip. He is quite the trooper, running around camp, sniffing + peeing on everything he could and even hiking. While I would say he did wonderful, the family might have got a bit sick of hearing ryan and I say, 'where's rocco'. 

While I hope we are able to fit in at least one more trip before the summer is over, I am happy that this trip was with the family I love so much. 

(wellington lake  /  luke, peyton + connor hanging out around the campfire  /  hiking towards the waterfall on saturday  /  my family: kamryn, krista, luke, me, ryan, liz, john, makenzie, peyton and connor)

Summer Concerts // Denver

Denver is lucky to have one of the most beautiful concert venues in the world, right in our backyard... red rocks amphitheater. Truly, it is amazing to watch your favorite bands perform here, seriously a bucket list type of experience. 

When summer rolls around, I cannot wait to see what concerts will be coming to town, especially at red rocks. There is nothing better than a little pre-show tailgating with friends and then the excitement of hearing the songs you sing along to in the car performed live. Below are some of my note-worthy concerts coming to town this summer. Hopefully I will get to see the majority of them in the coming weeks/months ahead!

amos lee, red rocks 8/1.
barenaked ladies, botanic gardens 8/1.
ray lamontagne, red rocks 8/8.
the head and the heart, red rocks 8/14.
bruno mars, fidlers green 8/17.
dave chappelle, red rocks 8/24.
john legend, red rocks 8/26.
zach brown band, fidlers green 9/5 & 9/6.
elton john, pepsi center 9/20.
kings of leon, red rocks 9/24.
jazz in the park, city park, sundays through labor day.

What concerts are you looking forward to this year?

Weekend Update

Welcome back from your weekend. Hopefully it was a good one for you. Mine was pretty low-key but in the best way possible; I am definitely feeling recharged for the week ahead.

Friday night we grilled out with ryan's family, told stories around the dining room table and played with rocco + cooper, an ideal way to wind-down after a busy week in the office. Saturday morning we took advantage of the warm weather and spent a bit of time at the pool. It was nice to just relax in the sun without a care in the world. As the cool weather rolled in, ryan and I made our way home for some more down time before hopping around cherry creek, having a bite here and a drink there. 

Sunday we celebrated my sister's birthday at my parents' house. The weather was beautiful which of course we took full advantage of with some more pool time and an outdoor bbq lunch. As the sun slowly set behind the mountains, my family and I headed out to the fire pit to roast marshmallows and make s'mores. We sat by the fire laughing, listening to music and just enjoying each others' company.

Weekend Update

Wow... my 3 day weekend was a whirlwind and I am back to the office not feeling to rested at all. I guess that is summer for you; busy schedules packed full from sun up to sun down. Now don't get me wrong, I am not complaining at all because this weekend was a blast... I just need an extra cup of coffee today.

I took friday off for a little pool time, sadly the weather only held up for an hour but I was not too bummed as ryan planned a little getaway to boulder for the afternoon/evening. As we have done in previous years (you can read about here and here), we stayed at the st. julien and made our way up and down pearl street before dinner at oak at fourteenth. It was the perfect break from our regular day-to-day and could not have come at a better time.

Saturday ryan and I brunched at the kitchen before heading back to denver. We spent some time at my parents house getting some sun and catching up before heading home to get things ready for a surprise baby shower I was hosting for my bestie lindy. 

Sunday morning I was up early to finalize all the details for lindy's party. I will share more later this week but I think the party was a major success and believe it or not, we truly surprised lindy when she arrived. To wrap up our sunday evening, ryan's brother's family came over for an evening bbq. Our nieces beat the heat by playing in the sprinklers and we jammed out on the partio eating pizza and salad late into the evening. 

I hope you had a great weekend too... here is to a short week before fourth of july fun! 

Summer To-Do List

This past weekend was the summer solstice... the first official day of summer and the longest day of the year. With the season now in full-swing, I thought I would put together a list of 10 things I want to accomplish before summer is over. 

1.  Have a stay-cation and explore more of colorado.

2.  String lights in my backyard for evening bbq's and al fresco dining.

3.  Get a tune-up on my bike.

4.  Write a 'best of series' for my blog (best bloodys, best tacos, best ice cream...).

5.  Attend another farm dinner.

6.  Host a huge summer party in our backyard... hopefully with a food truck.

7.  Toast s'mores in the fire pit at my parents house.

8.  Take a camping trip... more than once.

9.  Embrace a workout routine that gets me out of bed before 7a.

10.  Buy a new computer.

What are your summer goals? I would love to hear!

Dreamin of a Pool Day

Today would be the perfect day to pack up a big tote, fill it with refreshing snacks, a new book to dive into and find a pool to lounge by all day. It is nearly 90 degrees here in denver and the weather is begging me to relax in the sun. I put together my dream pool day essentials... a nautical inspired suit, classic accessories and a bit of sparkle to keep things fun. Now, if I only had an open schedule to make my dream a reality. Oh shoot. The day will not be a total loss and I will be outside enjoying time with friends + family but you know... a girl can dream of a quiet day by the pool. 

(sunnies  /  beach towel  /  link bracelet  /  wrap bracelet  /  cuff  /  suit  /  tote  /  hat)

Hope you are enjoying your saturday. And if you are outside... don't forget your sunscreen! 

Summer // Style Essentials

Summer is upon us and for the past couple of weeks, I keep gravitating to the same few items while getting dressed. For me, easy and comfortable pieces are essential, especially as the weather warms up here in denver. Add in simple gold jewelry, a pair of $5 flip flops and go enjoy the beautiful weather.

(clockwise from top left:  tee  /  denim  /  shirt  /  hat  /  studs  /  short  /  ring  /  flip flop)

My summer staples are all super affordable and available at big-box stores where sizes and colors are plentiful. My motto is to find what fits you best and stock up in multiple colors for easy mixing and matching.

What are your go-to summer pieces?