Labor Day Weekend Things

Labor Day Weekend 2016 ♥♥♥♥♥♥

What can I even say?  This weekend felt so long and perfect and relaxed.  I’m always so pumped up and excited about Memorial Day Weekend and the beginning of summer that I tend to overlook Labor Day Weekend and the last real weekend of summer, but I took a minute this weekend to look back at Labor Day Weekends past and WHOA!  Just as good, folks.

I’ll remember this one for Rockies games, a hike with my sister, the perfect balance of home-cooked deliciousness and fun meals out, outdoor movie night, s’mores, time at Cheesman, LOTS of reading in the sunshine, peach cobbler, a 5-mile run and what felt like endless time with my favorite human.  I don’t know what magic occurred to make the past three days feel like three weeks, but I’m certainly not complaining.

If your weekend starts with pretzel bites, pimento cheese sauce and a Rockies win, then nothing can go wrong.  We had dinner at Steuben’s and even though I ate the world’s blandest hummus (and can’t stop talking about it), I still loved everything about Friday night.

Shot a text to my sister Friday morning and she hooked us up with the most beautiful hike in Eldorado Springs on Saturday morning!  Crazy People were climbing those rocks and they looked so tiny and it was kind of insane to watch.  We got back to the car as soon as the rain clouds rolled in, so it was pretty much perfect timing.

OMG that last picture… SORRY!  Back at home, we read and napped (or was that just me?), then grilled our favorite green chili chicken burgers with some squash from the garden and I’m still not over how cool that is.  Afterwards, outdoor movie and s’mores!  Totally made those graham crackers myself then did it up with some quinoa dark chocolate and vanilla Dandies.  THE BEST.   

Quick Aside: How amazing is Willy Wonka?  The effects are old yet Joey and I still found ourselves ENTHRALLED by that imaginative candy world. If that’s not the definition of timeless, I don’t know what is.  P.S. We wanted to eat everything in that candy room so bad and Gene Wilder was a PURE DELIGHT.

Desperately trying to keep up a “Sunday Breakfast” routine this fall.  Kicked things off with an incredible meal at Sassafras.  Rode our bikes to the Rockies game, then cooked another long time favorite, Beet Wellingtons!  Any meal that involves a phyllo-assembly line is good in my book 🙂

Ran 5 miles on Monday and it felt so good.  Followed by pancakes and a trip to Cheesman.  You know when you’re just looking up at the sky and life seems to good to be true?  Yeah, I totally had that moment.

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Stopped by Whole Foods post-park picnic and may or may not have bought ourselves an anniversary bouquet (TWO YEARS TODAY!!!).  Felt super romantic 🙂  Also watched Swim Fan (when’s the last time you saw that??), cooked these Spicy Szechuan Noodles that my mom and sister have been talking up for YEARS and MADE PEACH COBBLER!!!!!  Sorry, I kinda look forward to that dessert all year long.  And it was kind of incredible. 

Meanwhile, it’s a SUPER short work week since Joey and I are A+ at planning vacations for the weekend after a holiday weekend.  Not mad about it 🙂

Weekend Things

THIS WEEKEND:

Friday breakfast date on the patio at Port Side.

Co-worker birthday treats.  Got a request that it be a healthy treat, so strawbs and dark chocolate peanut butter it was!

Ditching work early to go grocery shopping, as one does.  Right?…

Repeating “they’re shishito peppers” to the cashier at least 10 times.

Pizza, beer and best friend time with Josh and Hannah (WHO IS NOW A REGISTERED NURSE!!!!!).

Little Man, because if your BFFs have never been, it’s your duty to show them the way.

Saturday breakfast in the backyard followed by a bike ride to the Farmers’ Market, a new summer ritual that I’m madly in love with.

Family picnic at City Park for my niece’s birthday.  SHE’S FIVE — when did that happen?!

Backyard beers + outdoor movie night = my heart is so happy!

Sunday morning run, followed by iced coffee and lots of reading on my porch swing.

Father’s Day lunch & my third Gose of the weekend  — don’t judge!

Food prep for the week (iced coffee, pickled veggies, “Power Salads,” the best slider buns), before GoT and all the fist pumping I did through the entire thing.  That episode was maybe a little predictable but also SO SO SATISFYING. 

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Little Man’s got pride!

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It’s official — Space Junky is tied with Salted Oreo for best flavor ever at Little Man.

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You didn’t think I’d waste all the bottoms of the strawberries from Friday, did you??

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Def did not wake up at 2 AM to strain this iced coffee.

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Bánh Mì sliders coming later this week!

So now it’s Monday (sad face) but it’s also the first (official) day of summer (MAJOR HAPPY FACE) and this weekend was a good (albeit HOT) one, so no complaints from this girl.  Plus I’ve got a hair appointment, yoga, planter box preparations, Big Brother (!!!) and happy hour plans with my mother-in-law on the agenda for this week.  Gonna be a good one ♥