Category: Beer Talk

Weekend Things & GABF 2018

LaurenLeave a comment

What can I say about this weekend except that it was the very best because: after two years, we were back at Great American Beer Fest!  Saturday was low key and plan-free and Sunday involved a last-minute manicure and baking (because it’s fall now, ya know??).  I’d relive it all again in a heartbeat!

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In truest Lauren form, I was EXTREMELY prepared for GABF — you do not even know how thorough my list making was — and my excitement level was OFF THE CHARTS.  Pretzel necklaces and Illegal Pete’s burritos are my favorite pre-fest rituals but this year was even better because Hannah and Mason dropped Josh off and I got to see that little babe crawl and bounce on our rubber cow and make only the best of faces ♥

The line to get into the fest was HORRIBLE (I think it wound the entire way around the convention center), but once inside, I forgot all about that ordeal.  Highlights included being the last group to taste Zombie Dust from 3 Floyds, a DEEP purple barrel-aged sour from Une Année, the Blazed Orange Milkshake from Hop Butcher for the World, a guy playing the saxophone on top the Melvin bus (who knows!) and get this… A SPAGHETTI GOSE from WeldWerks!  It smelled like spaghetti and tasted tomato-y in the most interesting way.  You’re probably thinking “EW!” but let me ask you this, do you like a Bloody Mary??  It’s not so different.  Mostly though, this was just the best night with the best people and I feel so happy about it.

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Joey got up the next morning and ran 5 miles (HOW??) but I needed an iced oat milk latte to revive me.  It worked, thankfully!  I realized I’d put ALL my energy into preparing for GABF and forgot to plan anything for Saturday or Sunday, which turned out to be a blessing in disguise because it made for a real laid back couple of days.  I hit up the grocery, bottled some orange-vanilla-honey kombucha, napped, excitedly snapped a picture of my little library once Joey got it set up (♥♥♥) and then we made tacos and watched Set It Up (which isn’t going to win any Oscars but we laughed).

Oh and I finished Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, bringing my HP re-read to a close and it is so so bittersweet.  I think I cried like 100x during that last book, starting on the literal first page which said something like “And now we bring you the final installment of the Harry Potter series.”  HA!

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Sunday started with a run for both of us (TEN MILES for Joey and five for me) then breakfast together before we split up for the afternoon.  I booked myself a manicure and walked over to a surprisingly quiet Base Coat and on my way back, I peeped that little library and it made me so happy.  I tackled lunches before sitting outside to read for a bit.

Once Joey got home from watching football (really needed him to get our mixer down for me :P), I got to baking because it’s fall now and we MUST.  This recipe for Whole Wheat Applesauce Loaf is one of my very favorites and I hadn’t made it in years so obviously that had no change.  I always make em into muffins (same temp, just 30 minutes less to bake) and then Joey and I each ate one sitting on the couch in the dark because having the oven on without AC is still tough (but worth it for these!).  Hope your weekend was wonderful!

Weekend Things

LaurenLeave a comment

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how amazing the month of September is because it gives us the best of both worlds seasons.  On the summer end, you have hot daytime temps, an overabundance of tomatoes at the Farmers’ Market and baseball.  On the fall end, you have chilly mornings, changing leaves and I guess football for those who are interested in that.  I’m NOT, but I do like when Joey is completely sucked into the Cowboys game and I can slip into our room and sob in private as I read Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows 😛

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Friday, we popped over to RiNo to check out the new street art that was painted last week during the Crush Walls event.  There was one main alley that looked (and smelled) great but the others were less impressive, so we ditched out and headed to an early dinner at Cart-Driver.  Love this place so so much, but guys, I don’t think I like burrata.  Why does it taste like nothing and why is the texture so gross?

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We hadn’t been to the FM in WEEKS, so my excitement was peak!  Usually when we go, I’ve already meal-planned, so I’m looking for specific stuff but since we hadn’t been in a while and weren’t sure what would be there, we decided to meal-plan around what was available.  Made it home with cucumbers, tomatoes, a baby onion, some really beautiful eggplant and THEE CUTEST CANTALOUPE.  It smelled SO GOOD.  (But tasted just okay…)

Made falafel waffles for dinner (so fun!) before heading out to see a movie.  We saw BlacKkKlansmen and it was equal parts funny and horrifying.  I was sort of distracted by the audience yelling stuff and trying to figure out why the real Ron Stallworth would continue making phone calls with the Klan while the white officer would be the one to interact with them in person.  They did not sound the same!  But, John David Washington and Adam Driver both give really great performances.

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Sunday started with a run for both of us (though at different starting times and distances) before hitting the car to head to the mountains again.  Told you leaf peeping was my #1 priority!  We passed Kenosha and it was PACKED so I’m really glad we went last weekend but also glad we drove by again this weekend because it was JAW-DROPPINGLY BEAUTIFUL.  We drove through Boreas Pass and got to see some orange/red leaves among all the gorgeous yellows.  Then we took ourselves to Outer Range Brewing, which we’ve wanted to try for a very long time and it was just as good as we’d hoped!  Grabbed lunch from the grilled cheese food truck and sipped our beers outside with a lovely view of the mountains.

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Back at home, lunches, laundry, lounging.  Oh and the Rockies won, thank god!  Later on, we made salmon and charred orange-chile broccoli for dinner.  Both were so good and both were from Cooking Light and at the same time I was eating this, I was reading about how CL has gone under!  Such sad news considering how many of our favorite recipes are from the magazine and how much joy I get from receiving my new copy every month 😦

In other news, it has been 90+ degrees for the past week and a half and I’m sort of over it.  Also, Friday is GABF and I am beyond excited!!!!!  Please tell me what summer or fall-related things you did this weekend.  I’d love to hear ♥