painting – Life as Lauren

Wait, not “a weekend in Breck,” but “the best weekend in Breck!”

Gah, I just had the most fun ever while staying in a real log cabin in the mountains for Hannah and Josh’s bachelor/bachelorette party. Joey and I drove up Friday afternoon with the bride-to-be and Josh’s sister Kellee and were greeted by the most gorgeous cabin (seriously those mountain views!) and a fun group of people who were so excited to celebrate all weekend.

Oh and we even had our own hashtag (#KingBBParty). This was obviously the top concern for Fletcher (the Best Man) and I.

Is this real life?!

While we were waiting for a few other people to show up to the cabin, we broke into the beer (Snapshot for the win!) and played a few games. I was coerced into playing my first game of pool and I WON! And it only took minor coaching. And by minor, I mean someone had to tell me which ball to go after, where to stand and at what angle I needed to aim. Totally minor. Oh and those maracas? Apparently they were in the cabin and the boys all decided Josh had to carry them around for the weekend and if he dropped one, he’d have to take a shot. They mysteriously disappeared by Saturday…

Burgers, jalapeño shots (as in Josh is taking a shot of tequila FROM a roasted jalapeño!), more pool, hot tub time and Cards Against Humanity rounded out the night. Joey and I got into bed at 1:30 AM which is WAY late for us. And okay, I might be the only person to ever think this, but I kinda like Apples to Apples better than Cards Against Humanity. But I also three way tied for the win so that’s really all that matters, right?

On Saturday the guys and gals split up to do our own things, so we started out with a tea party! We had our own private room upstairs and got to taste a bunch of flights of tea. We all felt so sophisticated and we got to leave with our own bag of tea. Such a cute activity! After tea (and oh my god those pastries!), we headed to lunch for a little day drinking and salads. For the record, that Mule was strong!

Our last girls-only activity of the day was to this cute little ceramic/canvas painting studio, where wine was purchased (duh) and some super cute things were painted. Hannah did that mountain landscape on a plate then had each of us girls put our finger print as one of the rays of sunshine. Seriously, how cool of an idea is that?! She is the cutest. The boys happened to ride by while on their bike bus tour so we all went out to see. I hear that thing is harder to peddle on than you’d think.

After we were done painting, we walked to meet the boys at their final bar stop, but we may have had some fun taking pictures along the way. How cool are those Colorado benches? And where can I buy one? Oh and please note those fun “Team Bride” buttons Hannah gave us all. I supplied the pink beads 🙂

How amazing is that last picture?! After we met up with the boys, there was a round of shots for the girls and a bunch of group pictures. The forecast for this weekend wasn’t looking all that great but it turned out to be so sunny and beautiful outside. Which made for a great time out on the patio. Fletcher and I got those t-shirts for Hannah and Josh and I loved how they turned out! Hannah’s said “Fit for a King” (which is Josh’s last name) and Josh’s said “A Han’s Man.” Get it?! Fletcher came up with those sayings and I thought there were so great!

Of course there was also the drunken debauchery that’s basically required at a bachelor or bachelorette party, but I seriously thought the whole weekend was so fun. I cannot believe my best friend of 23 years is getting married in a little over a month. Cue the constant waterworks every time I think about their wedding. I couldn’t be happier for the two of them 🙂

Whew! Do you ever have a weekend where you end up feeling more tired than rested? Because I just had one. And I’m kind of excited that it’s Monday and I have to be sitting at my work desk. Emphasis on sitting. We did so much house work this weekend. But first! A fun Friday.

P.S. This is a food-heavy post. You’ve been forewarned.

Guys, I got contacts on Friday morning! I’ve had glasses with a minor prescription since college but I rarely wear them because I hate seeing the frames in my periph so I’ve just been squinting at the TV guide and missing turns because I can’t read the street sign until I’m passing it. I finally got contacts and life is easier now. I took my fully functioning eyes to a concert on Friday night to celebrate. Or because I was already planning to go to that concert.

To say I’ve been excited to see The Head and the Heart in concert would be a huge understatement. I adore this band and I’ve been anxiously awaiting the day I got to see them live. I’d like to pretend we got there early because we were that excited, but it was like 10% excitement and 90% wanting to get one of the few seats so I wouldn’t have to stand for 3 hours. And that’s what we call adulthood.

Anyways, they were every bit as good as I thought they would be. No, wait, even better! Call me a uninformed fan, but I had no idea they had two male singers. Totally thought it was just one voice on their albums. Oops! I’m so glad we got to see them. My heart was soaring when I got to hear “Shake” and “Rivers and Roads” in person. Chills just thinking about it 🙂 Also, some guy got on stage and proposed to his girlfriend, didn’t invite her on stage, then proceeded to celebrate and hug all the band members while she just stood there in the crowd. Dude, come on.

Saturday involved lots of house work — we picked paint, got to work on the kitchen and the living room and hooked up our new range! — and take out. We tried this pizza place down the street for the first time and despite not having stellar reviews, we actually thought it was really good. I’m a fan of anywhere that offers a bunch of veggie-licious whole wheat dough options so this was a win for me. Then the annual viewing of my favoritest Christmas movie. You think I would be sick of it but no. Not even in the slightest.

Sunday started with this bad decision.

Dear body, please have a more consistent reaction to caffeine. Love, Lauren.

This was my attempt at having a super productive day and don’t get me wrong it was super productive. It was also super jittery and anxious. I will never learn. After I had more than adequately caffeinated myself, we tackled more painting, a trip to Ikea, a trip to the grocery store, cooking in our so-close-to-being-back-in-one-piece kitchen, un-packing boxes of kitchen stuff and a shower where I’m fairly sure I forgot to rinse the conditioner out of my hair… Oh, and our Christmas lights are finally up. Yay!

Then my parents came over to see all the progress at the house and to take us to dinner for their anniversary. If that sounds backwards to you, then that makes two of us. I tried to encourage them to enjoy a night out on their own but my mom insisted and I’m not one to turn down dinner. Plus I suggested they make reservations at a restaurant we had tried to go to on Wednesday night, only to find there was an hour and a half wait. If that kind of traffic on a week night isn’t a sign of a good restaurant, I don’t know what is.

I think the popularity might have something to do with these little margaritas.

Turns out it makes more sense to order the large margarita and share it, rather than all order a small or medium for ourselves. Joey tried to convince both my sister and I to order a large and both share with him. Yeah, nice try. Mass consumption of chips, guac, enchiladas, rellenos, burritos and sopapillas ensued. And by the end of dinner, a majority of the table felt sickeningly full. Who ordered those sopapillas?! Oh, right…