Tag: GABF

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 ♥

Weekend Things, But Mostly GABF

Lauren4 Comments

It’s official — Great American Beer Fest is my new favorite holiday!  I was like a kid on Christmas morning all day Friday and when 5:30 (okay, more like 5:45) hit and I was walking my little beer loving heart up to the first booth, I think I was the happiest I’ve ever been.  I recounted something like 30 beer samples and though it all became one big (mostly IPA) blur halfway through, it was seriously the best time ever.  Good thing I have lots of other fall-time events to look forward to, otherwise I think I’d have the post-GABF blues real hard.

Now please enjoy some badly taken photos from the festival.  It’s hard to juggle your phone and your sample cup while not entirely sober 🙂

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The best way to prepare for GABF is with an Illegal Pete’s burrito, duh.

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Festival entry was so much better/smoother this year!  First, they herded us like cattle into separate corrals then a real life bagpipe band marched down the main aisle, then they unleashed us corral-by-corral.

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Made a beeline for Black Project Spontaneous since they were out by the time we got to them last year.  It did not disappoint!  Joey got lost at some point and posted that last photo asking people to let him know if they saw me.  We eventually reunited and yelled “HUSBAND!” and “WIFE!” to each other from across the hall.  Normal stuff, nothing to see here 🙂

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Couldn’t pass up a brewery serving from an RV, plus they had blueberry gose!  “Cannabis Beer” is a thing, apparently and guys, it does not taste good.  Got a pin with that smiley face on it.  The volunteer handing them out asked if he could put it on me.  Um that’s a major no.

In all seriousness, I tasted some really bad beers but also some really good ones.  Mainly, Elsewhere from Black Project, Field to Ferment from Fremont Brewing, that Blueberry Gose from Destihl Brewery, Head High from Kane Brewing, Art Car IPA from Saint Arnold, Hop Drop N’ Roll from NoDa and even though everyone gave me a hard time for going to a local brewery that I could visit anytime, the Codename: Superfan from Odd13 (Louisville, represent!) was incredibly good!  Cannot say the same for the mushroom beers from Scratch Brewing…

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I happened to schedule a facial AND a massage for the next morning, so after walking to grab a pumpkin spice latte from Cherry Bean (serious yum!) and snapping a quick pic of Joey, in which I’m pretty sure he was still “under the influence,” I headed out to enjoy some major relaxation.  Spent the rest of the day brewing beer with Bobby and Becca then we started Stranger Things.  Not gonna lie, I’m a baby and it’s really freaking me out so far.  Getting some serious Slender Man vibes.

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Went on a nice long run Sunday morning then refueled with breakfast at Duo that, while toasty because we were right in the sun, was impressively good.  From the French Press to the freshly baked chocolate chip muffin with perfectly softened butter to my bacon scramble and crispy potatoes, I had zero complaints.  Afterwards, we had a birthday party to attend then I hit the grocery and prepped our salads for the week.  This one but with this dressing.  Is it lunch time yet?

What did you do this weekend?

Any locals who also attended GABF??