Month: May 2013

Celebratory Weekend Things

Lauren4 Comments

Despite the fact that I had (and still have) the cold from hell — sore throat, hacking cough, barely have a voice right now — I had such a good weekend.  Well, except for the part where I skipped out on the Rockies game to go to bed at 8 PM on Friday night…

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I will say that the one good thing about being sick, is having an excuse to eat multiple meals in bed.  And then follow that meal up with a nap.

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I pulled up the audio of the Rockies game and listened to that from bed as well.  It wasn’t quite the same as seeing the game, but it was a lot comfier.

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On Saturday morning, we took a drive around Denver and when hunger hit, I opened up my Yelp app (I seriously love that app!) and found us the cutest little breakfast restaurant/bakery called The Wooden Spoon.  It was teeny tiny inside but we were able to grab a little two-person table right after placing our order of two egg scrambles with roasted red peppers, arugula, a cilantro goat cheese and baguette with housemade jam on the side.

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The main event of this weekend was something that’s been in the works for months.  Joey’s mom Lori is 50 years young today and we had a huge surprise for her on Saturday.  Her nieces took her out to get her nails done and when she got back home there were about 15 of us and a limo waiting for her.  She was so shocked!

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Then we showed up at the Rockies game and escorted her to our private warning track-level suite!  There was definitely some many tears of happiness.  And it just kept getting better, as about 20 more people arrived.

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The suite was so cool.  I basically felt like we were on the field, plus we had our own bartender, a buffet of ballpark fare, and shuffleboard (that all the guys were so into…typical).  I felt like it was my birthday!

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I was so excited to have my family and Hannah (plus her dinglehopper) there too.  Hanging out with these two girls makes me so so excited for our trip to Vegas later this month.

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My heart was so full seeing Lori so happy.  Not to mention how proud I was of Joey for being such an amazing son and helping plan such a great celebration for his mom.

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Today has been less about drinking margaritas (which is fine by my sore throat) and more about celebrating Lori’s actual birthday with Mary Poppins at the Buell Theater (I had to resist the urge to sing along with every number) and an early birthday dinner at Maggiano’s on the 16th Street Mall.

The work week starts up again tomorrow, but I am all smiles right now.

If I Were Going to the Kentucky Derby

Lauren2 Comments

Oh the Derby.

Even though I’m not a “horse person” — seriously don’t get the appeal — and jockeys kind of freak me out — why have I never seen a person that size in real life?? — the Kentucky Derby is totally on my bucket list.  If I was more organized and wasn’t too distracted by bigger/more margarita-filled occasions (cough Cinco de Mayo) during this time of year, I would throw a cool Kentucky Derby party, complete with big extravagant hats, horse-shaped cookies and bourbon.  Lots of bourbon.

Better yet, if I were actually going to the Kentucky Derby…

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I would drink this mint julep.  And several of it’s friends.  Once, on a trip to New Orleans, my mom, my aunt, my sister and I all toured the Oak Alley Plantation.  They were serving mint juleps and my mom had to specify that my sister and I were to get non-alcoholic versions.  Alcohol regulation is a little more relaxed in New Orleans…

I would place bets based on the horse’s name alone.  Palace Malice, Charming Kitten and Frac Daddy?  Yes, please!

I would put aside my disinterest in horses and jockeys and channel my inner Eliza Doolittle to cheer on the actual race.

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I would hope to God I didn’t see any horse injuries.

I would mingle with celebrities like Hugh Hefner and Kim Kardashian.  You know, people I don’t care about at all but would probably get really excited about seeing in person.  A celebrity’s a celebrity, right?

I would realize those celebrities are really boring and wish I was out with the crowd on the Infield.  I’ve heard it compared to Bourbon Street during Mardi Gras!

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And most importantly, I would wear a fabulously and obnoxiously extravagant hat.  That hopefully shielded my entire face, otherwise I don’t think I’d be brave enough to actually go out in public in it.

Because that’s what the Kentucky Derby is really about.

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Is the Kentucky Derby on your bucket list?

Do you celebrate the Derby or Cinco de Mayo?

Have you ever had a mint julep?