Weekend Things

Wow, wow, wow.  This weekend was so good!

I recently realized that I’ve vacationed every September since 2014 and while it’s meant really good vacation weather, it’s also meant missing really good weather right here in Colorado.  We’re only 11 days in, but I’m already LOVING this month and being able to spend it fully at home.  These last few moments of summer — it IS still technically summer — are so so precious and I’m taking full advantage of each and every warm weather second we have left.

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Friday, Joey dropped me off at Base Coat for a “Quick Coat Mani” and I got an A+ on my nail care report card.  As in, my manicurist told me my nails looked really good and there was barely anything for her to do, then complimented how moisturized my hands were.  I walked home afterwards, feeling really good about myself, ha!

We grilled up some chicken for dinner, then decided to be fun young people and go to a 9:30 PM movie at the Sie FilmCenter.  Get this, we’d never been there!  But we’d been wanting to check it out and they were showing “California Typewriter,” a documentary on typewriters that featured Tom Hanks and John Mayer, so I was sold.  There were only four of us in the theater, but whatever because the film was so interesting and there was a full bar and we were in our happy place.  Mark my words, this will NOT be the last time we come here.  Also, can I borrow someone’s typewriter to send Tom Hanks a letter?

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Saturday morning, we woke up, ate breakfast then biked over to the Farmers’ Market.  We have officially reached the point in summer where I live in paralyzing fear that this is finally the last week peaches will be for sale.  Luckily, they were still there this week!  Plus baby cucs, — including two that reminded me of those pull-apart popsicles — shishitos, giant corn and a baguette that Joey biked home with and it made me love him so much.

Afterwards, I dug around in our out of control tomato bush, read in the hammock, made another batch of granola, hit up the grocery store and basically just felt really chill for the entire day.  It was honestly so nice and relaxing and I’m just now remembering that I even took a nap.  More days like this please!

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But the main event of Saturday was actually later that night, at Dining Al Fresco!  This is an event the restaurants of Larimer Square put on a few times a summer, where they extend their patios out onto the street, giving diners a chance to enjoy the summer weather and eat underneath the string lights.  We got to witness the entire sunset over dinner and I could not get over the view.  It was prettier and prettier every time I looked up ♥

As for actual dinner, we signed up to eat at TAG and honestly, they did NOT have their shit act together.  They totally botched our reservation and sent out the wrong food, but those string lights made for the most magical dinner atmosphere and the taco sushi and black miso cod were both incredible so I’ll just leave it at that 🙂  I already can’t wait to do this Dining Al Fresco thing again next year!

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Sunday started with another 6 mile training run (it went GREAT!) then we cleaned ourselves up, only to get tired and sweaty all over again biking to brunch (<– still Summer Bucket Listing!) at the newly opened (or should I say reinvented?) Candela Latin Kitchen.  It used to be Central Bistro but recently closed and reopened as a Latin restaurant with a taco-stacked menu and while I still need to get there for HH/dinner, the chilaquiles on their brunch menu was CALLING TO ME and so we had to go.  I think one other party was sitting inside, but we were the ONLY ones eating out on the patio and I couldn’t understand why because the food, service and vibe were all AMAZING.  Get here, Denverites!

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The rest of the day featured more hammock reading, Rainbow Veggie Bowl prep, a kombucha field trip, dinner and me hiding in our room while the Cowboys game was on.  I roasted some salmon and served it with this Tomato-Peach Salad with Tofu Cream plus that baguette for dipping and it was all so summery and fresh and good.  All those tomatoes are from our garden and that makes me incredibly happy.  I guess the Cowboys won but whatever because, more importantly, ROCKIES SWEPT THE DODGERS!

Hope you all have a lovely (and for those of you in Hurricane Irma’s path, a SAFE) weekend!

Weekend Things

If you want to start your weekend off with a bang, make a spontaneous decision to leave work early and hit that new restaurant you’ve been wanting to try, then watch a Rockies win!  

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We’d been wanting to try out Señor Bear since it opened a couple of months ago and they just so happened to be launching their happy hour service on Friday so we kind of HAD to go, right?  We sat out on the patio because: still summer!  Then sipped our drinks — I got a frozen cranberry margarita and it was STRONG — and basically ordered one everything on the menu.  Can you even believe how cute that little Gordo Crunch is?!  Tasty too!

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Okay, not to brag, but I’m 15-2 on Rockies games this season.  Just sayin!  We won on Friday and I was like “sweep, sweep, sweep!” but then we lost on Saturday and Sunday and I’m taking this as a sign that I really am the key to the Rockies winning 🙂

If you want to ensure that you don’t get to sleep in on a Saturday, go to Yoga on the Rocks but then make up for it by drinking coffee and getting a manicure with your sister afterwards.

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Doing yoga in the sunshine at Red Rocks is a truly beautiful experience but holy moly, is that 5:30 AM wake up call rough!  I wrangled my sister into going with me and she later told her manicurist “my sister made me go to Yoga on the Rocks this morning,” so I think she really enjoyed it 😛  Afterwards, we walked to coffee then walked to get breakfast burritos then got our nails done.  Just going to say, it was definitely NOT the best manicure I’ve ever had…

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Garden Season 2017 is winding down — except for the legit pumpkin patch and all the butternut squash we have in our yard… — so we pulled a bunch of carrots and decided we maybe let them grow a little too long because that red one was HUGE!  But it was majorly beautiful too.  I think we went to the grocery store and I made  pizza dough later?  I woke up at 5:30 AM and I don’t think my brain was working properly.

If your Summer Bucket List includes going to the drive-in, but this is the last weekend you could possibly go before their season is over and they’re playing The Nutty Job 2 (NO), then just make your own drive-in experience in the backyard. 

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In the words of Joey, “we’re awesome and we should do this more often!”  Strongly agree!  We rented Passengers because we felt we should watch a action-packed blockbuster to get the full drive-in experience, but I just want to tell you that this movie wasn’t very good.  There was dramatic music and people speaking in passionate tones — all signs that something serious was happening — but I was laughing?  I don’t think that’s what the movie creators were trying for.  This just in: Chris Pratt is funny and all, but he might not actually be a good actor.  And even though J. Law has won/been nominated for serious acting awards, she might not be either.

If you want to make up for an early Saturday morning, do NOT go for an early morning run on Sunday.

FAIL!  Did I mention Joey and I are running a 15K at the beginning of October?  At first, I thought “I might as well just run a half marathon!” but then I realized a 15K (9.3 miles) is almost FOUR MILES SHORTER than a half, and that’s pretty significant.  We’re doing a quick little 7 week training program to get ready so we ran 5 miles on Sunday morning and even though I was totally out of energy during that last .25 miles, we did it and it feels really good to be on a structured program again.

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Afterwards, we chilled out for a bit then I showered and got ready for afternoon plans and Joey made us lunch burritos for the week!  I LOVE when he does that.  Salads-in-a-jar are wonderful but sometimes you need a quick break and the best way to do it is with double cheese burritos, right?  Also want to let you know that Joey’s burrito folding technique is top notch.

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Said “afternoon plans” involved lunch and Frozen Live with my mom, sister and niece.  Lady date!  We had lunch at BriDer — they totally forgot my sister’s order and I was like “guys, you’re embarrassing us both in front of our new diners!” — then joined all the little girls in blue dresses and blonde wigs at The Buell for the show.  I just need a minute to complain about the mom next to us who chose the middle of “Let It Go” to leave the theater, when the intermission was literally 30 seconds later.  WHY?!  Also, in my professional honest opinion, two-and-a-half hours is too long for a childrens’ show but my niece was happy and an afternoon spent with your family at The Buell is never bad.

P.S. LOL at the very educational song about Hygge that they added to the show!

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Remember last summer when we made these fish foil packs and I burnt the living hell out of the potatoes and the Spanish Chorizo we spent $7 and multiple grocery stores trips on?  Or did that not traumatize you as much as it did me?  Well we re-made that meal and I’m happy to report we fully redeemed ourselves.  Turns out they even have “Chorizo Espanol” right at the deli of our regular grocery store and I could get the exact amount we needed.  Soft potatoes with crispy edges, salty Chorizo, that compound butter and perfectly flaky fish?  Yes please!

And if you want to know my opinion on last night’s episode of Game of Thrones, get ready for an earful!  I just want you to know, I called it to Joey last week so in addition to being the Rockies whisperer, I’m also the GoT plot whisperer.  Oh and Happy Eclipse Day!