Weekend Things

I miss Adele.

But that has nothing to do with the weekend and everything to do with the fact that “Set Fire to the Rain” just shuffled up on my iPod.  In more on topic news, it finally stopped snowing last Wednesday and by Friday the sun was out, the temperature was warm(er), the girls in the office went out to lunch together for the first time ever and dang, it felt positively springy!  Which mean by 3 PM, I was planning a trip to the store for limes and blood oranges because we had tequila at home!

2 We hadn’t made margaritas in far too long and these hit.the.spot.  I just made a quick simple syrup by mixing equal parts boiling water and sugar, then used our standard margarita recipe — 2 oz. tequila, 1 oz. triple sec, 1.5 oz. simple syrup, juice of 1 lime — plus 2 oz. blood orange juice.  Is there anything prettier than blood oranges?!  Afterwards, we settled in with dinner, our margs and some Mad Men binging.  We just realized we still needed to watch the first half of the final season before the second half starts next month.

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This is Saturday.

But seriously, we spent the entire day on our kitchen backsplash and to say it was harder and took longer than we’d expected would be an understatement.  We thought we were prepared but turns out we needed a wet saw with glass tiling cutting abilities and by the time we figured that out and found one to rent it was 2 PM.  Oops!  The good news is we got the sink side tiled and most of the stove side done by Saturday night.  Joey is a trooper and did most of the stove side by himself while I reloaded us on groceries.  Also, I pretended the mastic was frosting and it made slathering it on the wall more fun.

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We called it quits around 7, then showered and rewarded ourselves with a date night.  We ended up at the Chef’s Table (or what I would call the Chef’s Counter) at Ace and had an amuse-bouche placed in front of us.  We were starving, so no argument here!  An order of potstickers, two bao buns, a side of kimchee and a giant bowl of beef red curry later, we felt much better.  Also, as we were driving home, I realized it was 9:30 PM and was like “who are these young people eating dinner out in Denver so late?”

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So we needed to get the backsplash finished on Sunday before our wet saw rental time was up, but first… breakfast!  We took my parents to Sassafras.  We’d only been once last year and had been dying to go back.  We had a short wait — where I could not seem to find an out of the way place to stand — but it was all worth it.   Because… hollandaise!  I got the Cajun Benedict and it was pretty phenomenal.  We definitely need to come to this place more often.

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Back at home, we finished the tiling and cleaned up the stuff on the sink side.  We still have to grout but we LOVE how it looks!!!  That tile matches our island so well and it looks so good with our new countertop and white sink.  Afterwards, we started feeling guilty about not taking advantage of the nice weather and went on a walk.  I’m trying not to get my hopes up about winter finally being over but it’s so hard!  Spring fever forever!

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My goal this week is to get into bed early and read every single night!

P.S. This time of year is all about finding the sunshine.

Happy Monday!

A Weekend in Santa Fe

Girls Trip!

Earlier this year I decided my mom, my sister and I needed a quick girls vacation before things got all kinds of busy this summer and Santa Fe seemed like the perfect destination.  It’s only a six and a half hour drive from Colorado, there’s crazy good food and spending hours browsing jewelry shops and art galleries is really best done with a group of girls.  So, we headed out Friday morning and spent the next few days sipping margaritas, walking till we couldn’t walk no more, ogling over the brightest turquoise jewelry, eating mass amounts of green chile (duh!) and just soaking up some quality girl time in the Land of Enchantment.

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Road trip refreshment (new favorite flavor!)

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Crossing the border

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My two favorite girls before heading into town

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Olive oil & balsamic vinegar tasting — my mom bought a bottle of this one and it was incredible!

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Cheers to the start of vacation — this was my favorite margarita of the trip (jalapeno-infused vodka!) but it was also the most expensive…

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“A Slice of Hefen”

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Blue corn pizza crust!!  When the restaurant you planned on having dinner at doesn’t have a table until 9 PM, you settle for pizza.  For the record, this one was delicious!

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Breakfast at The Pantry never disappoints.  I always order the Buenos Dias with scrambled eggs and red chile.  And then my taste buds die of happiness!

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Marimba concert on our way to the Farmers’ Market.  They were killing it!

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Farmers’ Markets are my happy place ❤

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Why do I not know how to play anything on the piano?

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Don’t ask how I managed to not buy any new jewelry…

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My sister’s response to me telling her we were walking to dinner.

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But the walk was so worth it!  Can’t go to Santa Fe without making a stop at Maria’s.

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Sorry about the poor picture quality here, but are you seeing my mom’s face?!  Perfection!

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Did you know Santa Fe is the second oldest city in the United States and that it has both the oldest church and the oldest house?  Now you know.

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There’s over 100 galleries and art studios on Canyon Road — I think we walked through maybe 20 before art started to burn my eyes.

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Fun spinning yard decorations.

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Another Santa Fe favorite — Kakawa Chocolate House

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Chocolate snack because chocolate > art galleries

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My dear sweet mother.  Who did all the driving and puts up with my sister and I despite all the (loving) jokes we make about her 🙂

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The most amazing table side guac to ever grace my taste buds.  We demolished this plate.

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Except for that one time my sister told me she hated me (sisterly love at its finest :P), it was the perfect vacation and I know I’ll look back on it fondly for the rest of forever 🙂