Weekend Things

This morning, I woke up BEFORE my alarm and it WASN’T pitch dark (the best part about daylight saving time ending!).  And as I got ready, I thought back over the weekend.  I remembered how I ordered chicken liver mousse on Friday and quickly realized I am NOT a chicken liver mousse person.  How we tried a new-to-us restaurant on Saturday and were sorely disappointed in the experience.  How the movie we saw was just okay and how I chipped my brand new manicure by washing the dishes on Sunday.

And while that might sound like a series of disappointments, I thought our weekend was PERFECT.  Because the things that first come to mind aren’t soggy pizza or how I forgot to pick up my contacts AGAIN.  Instead, I’m thinking about being blown away by Amos Lee’s voice, and waking up to Joey making me pancakes on Saturday and the most perfect running weather, and getting to order a beer and settle into our seats at the Mayan early enough to laugh at every one tripping on the exact same stair (WHY??).  Plus Sunday breakfast sandwiches and the reason I had to wash so many dishes?  Because I got to spend the entire day in my kitchen ♥

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We saw Amos Lee at The Buell on Friday night and WHOA, his voice.  I was watching it come out of his mouth and I still couldn’t believe it!  And not only can he sing, but he interacts with the crowd so naturally.  He encoured THREE times!  P.S. I was very into the 4- sister band that opened for him.  They’re called SHEL and they really rocked it.  Oh and I teased this picture of our dinner at The Nickel before the concert, and even though it looks like something that was burnt to a crisp, it was actually a charcoal-encrusted poblano, stuffed with mashed sweet potato and it was maybe one of the best things I’ve eaten this year.

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Saturday was so plan-less and perfect.  I went on a nice long run before walking myself to Base Coat for a mani/pedi.  I went the dark red route, even though Joey tried to tell me it wasn’t close enough to the holidays for red manicures.  What does he know 😛  My thoughts on Moonlight are complicated.  On the one hand, it was so powerful and heartbreaking, on the other, it was slow and lacking resolve.  But still, I’m my happiest self once I step into the Mayan.

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Sunday breakfast at Port Side, where breakfast sandwiches were enjoyed and Pumpkin Spice Lattes were sipped.  Afterwards, Joey headed out and I headed to the store before doing that new Sunday routine of prepping lunches and such for the week.  Also, I spent a good couple of hours making the chicken/broth for this Lemony Chicken and Rice Soup that we finished and ate for dinner.  Bon Appétit recipes can be a little complicated sometimes but if you have the time and patience, they can also teach you new techniques, like tempering eggs.  Result: a soup that was too velvety to be true!

Happy Monday!

Room

Come winter, Joey and I become movie theater dwellers.  And you have no idea how happy it makes my little heart to live in a city with funky old theaters that show lesser known films.  Not that I have anything against the more popular blockbusters (because we totally see those too), but the smaller pictures are just so much more creative and interesting and I haven’t already seen 90% of the important parts in the overplayed trailer.

We kicked off our 2015 movie season with Room on Saturday night at the Mayan Theater.  I invited my sister and Wayne, partly because I wanted to soak up as much family time as possible during Thanksgiving weekend and party because I wanted to show off our Denver movie theater and the cool movies they show.  (For the record, she was less impressed with the theater than with the movie…).

Room

WHOA.  The movie was so astounding and thought-provoking.  SPOILER ALERT (though if you watch the trailer you already get the gist of the plot): It’s about a mother (Joy) and her 5-year-old son (Jack) who live in Room, aka a shed equipped with a bed, toilet, bathtub and kitchen, where they live in captivity.  It slowly unfolds that the mother was abducted at 17 and Jack is the son of she and her captor.  She’s able to shield that truth from Jack, making him believe Room is the whole world and only outer space exists outside the walls.  Eventually, Jack escapes, Joy is rescued and the two of them are returned to her parents, leaving them to deal with life in the real world.

I hate to say I enjoyed the movie because there is so much about it that’s dark and depressing and all too realistic but I thought it was so well done.  The acting, the plot, the undeniable love that Joy shows her son despite having every reason to be miserable and defeated.  Jacob Tremblay, who plays Jack, is so adorable and in case you’re thinking Brie Larson looks really familiar, she’s from 21 Jump Street, you guys!  As in, total opposite of the serious dramatic performance she puts on in Room.  The range of emotions I went through while watching this movie was just insane.  Fear, anger, sympathy, hope, and even happiness.  In other words, highly recommended and a great way to start our movie season!

Wishing you all a Happy Friday!