Happy birthday to the sweetest little dog whose need for constant attention, love, and treats makes her even more endearing and special! Ella's a St. Patty's day pup and celebrated her seventh birthday Monday!
We are going to dress Ella up in the tutu our friend Liz made for her, and celebrate Ella's birthday this weekend when I get back from my work trip in the mountains. Andy suggested we buy her remote control car for her birthday. I think it might be more fun for us than for Ella ;o) -Breanna
It was beautiful in Denver much of this weekend! So beautiful that Andy and I were both wishing we had worn shorts on our Sunday hike! But more about the hike later. Friday was sunny and an excellent welcome to the weekend. Around 4:00 we got a head start on the weekend, packed up, and hopped on our bikes to check out a new brewery in our neighborhood. Andy went a few weekends ago and was excited to show me the place. Station 26 Brewery is a former firehouse that's been converted and they kept many of the firehouse details. And the beer is quite delicious! Good vibe and good beers? Yea, I'm sold.
Lovely sunflowers I picked-up at the market Friday afternoon to brighten-up our place.
They had six of their beers on tap at Station 26, so I tried a flight of them all.
Fire hose faucet as a coat/purse hanger under the bar. Nice, right Mom?? And on the right, the old fire pole.
Andy and I played some Farkle at the bar.
Our late evening bike ride home. Check out that moon!
Andy and Ella high-fiving back at home. Best buddies.
Saturday there was an event on campus for prospective students that I wanted to check out since I encourage the high schoolers I meet with to go to help in their college decision. It was a fun half-day event where participants take a tour of campus, the culinary and baking & pastry arts students spend time in the labs making two small dishes with the chef instructors (check-out the cupcakes below!), and there's a resource fair where faculty and staff from all areas of campus like financial aid, res life, athletics, etc. are available to talk one-on-one with families. Even though I'm not a prospective student, I felt energized about the university and the programs!
Andy and I were both feeling a bit lethargic when I got home. I spent much of the afternoon reading a new book I just picked-up at the library ("The Interestings" - have you heard of it?) before turning on "Friends" DVDs and relaxing in front of the TV.
Some of the decorated cupcakes from the preview day on campus.
Sugar flowers! Aren't they beautiful? Our baking & pastry arts students made them.
Andy helping me put together university info packets for me to bring to high schools next week.
Sunday - beautiful Sunday! We started the morning as we do most weekend mornings with one of us cooking breakfast. I made my usual frittata and hash browns (potatoes! yum!) though the frittata aesthetically did not turn out so well (see below). Afterwards we geared up for our first hike of the year - hooray!! It was sunny, warm, with a slight breeze. We headed to Eldorado Springs, just outside of Boulder. I love that hiking area because the main trail is a loop, as opposed to a hike in and then back out the same route, but there are other trails that meet the main trail so you can extend your hike if you're feeling ambitious.
My frittata fail :o( Still tasty, though! Tomatoes, zucchini, artichokes, Italian seasonings, garlic, Parmesan.
Does this view ever get old, you ask? Nah ;o)
Not the best picture of Andy and I, but in the background you can see my former work study student from Regis. So fun to see her!
There were huge ruts in the trails in some places. I think it was because of the terrible flooding that hit this area back in early fall.
Sunday night I went to a play with my friends, Christine and Lindsay. We saw a local production of "12 Angry Men" (have you seen the 1950's movie?) and it was fantastic! That doesn't even begin to describe how great the play was. It was held in the side room of a rug gallery (yea, you read that right) in Denver which was an interesting scene to begin with - I had to triple-check the tickets to make sure I got it right! The actors in the play did a phenomenal job of delivering the emotion of the characters and the interactions. I felt myself getting angry at a few of the characters as they shared their options/views! I want to go back and see it again.
Christine and Lindsay at the show.You can see one of the rugs hanging on the wall behind them.
The set was simple and perfect. This was during intermission, but during the play the 12 characters were all around the table discussing the case they were the jurors for.
How was your weekend? I hope it was as energizing as mine!
Bulletin board at a high school I visited Monday. I was so excited see two students I've been working with proudly displaying their choice to go to Johnson & Wales in Providence!
Ella hated that box, apparently, as she tried to tear it apart Monday afternoon.
Andy's new mountain man shirt. Isn't it perfect for him?
Hanging out at a coffee shop in Fort Collins Tuesday morning.
Don't these pastries at the coffee shop look lovely? Those heart-shaped breads are so sweet.
Cafe Bicyclette. Downtown Fort Collins.
Tasting some beers at New Belgium Tuesday afternoon. What to buy, what to buy...
Andy's Farkle roll at Olbio's Wednesday. Bonus points for you if correctly identify how many points this roll earned him (it was his first roll).
Cooking stuffed peppers for dinner Thursday night (thanks for the recipe, Ryan & Shanda!). Andy had to add more cheese to the dish after surveying what I'd done. Those Wisconsin people...always full of great ideas!
I didn't snap a photo, but I also spent some time on Skype with my friend, Emmy, back in Wisconsin! Her and her husband, Paul, just bought their tickets out here for May - I'm so excited to see them (in person). Next week I'm heading to the mountains again for work, so get ready for some photos of lovely scenery.
And make sure to check out Andy's review from yesterday of the Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. concert we went to last week! His review of the music and the show is spot-on, and as a bonus he added some awesome music videos for you all to enjoy. -Breanna
Hello All! Andy Here - Long time reader, first time poster (at least to this blog). As Breanna indicated, I'm going to give you a run down on the show we went to this past Saturday (3/8/14).
The show was at the Bluebird Theater on Colfax in Denver (oh how I remember the lackluster Dodos show we went to when we were here scouting out area before moving and we had these grandiose ideas of living right next to this venue). While the venue is nice, they tend to have small to medium sized acts and charge prices for large acts, which is a turn off for me. Luckily, I won tickets on their facebook page over the holidays for 2 tickets to any 8 shows in 2014! Yay, lucky me (and sometimes Breanna)! This was one of the shows I chose to get tickets to, knowing that it was likely going to be a highlight of the music schedule this year.
To start out, if you like synth heavy 80's pop, you would love the opener, Chad Valley. It was one slightly heavy man (which was a bit of a surprise based on the images elicited from the musical stylings he portrayed on stage) and a woman, both of the hipster variety. While it was entertaining at first, it became very dull and repetitive after a short while. It was just the two of them on stage on either side of synth keyboards alternating singing in this attempted soulful crooner style. Like I said, if you like that type of music, you would like this band. Since we were so excited for Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr., it was more agonizing to sit through.
Chad Valley
Once the opener was finished, you could tell the venue was at capacity. We were towards the front, and I realized very quickly that if I left to get a beer, there was no turning back. So I stayed there as long as I could, which was not difficult once the headliner showed up. To set the stage, the most prominent part of the set up was a large globe like apparatus in the middle. They also have 4 large letters, 2 J's and 2 R's, that illuminate the crowd when lit. Later in the show, we realized they had brought 2 bubble machines placed on either side of the crowd. It was glorious! Needless to say, it was easy to become transfixed with what was happening in front of you.
The band did a great job of not just sticking to their most recent material, which was nice for us. We have been huge fans of their music for quite some time and had the wonderful opportunity to see them at the Hi-Dive on Broadway in Denver about 2 years prior. That show blew us away, and this show, while still amazing, wasn't quite the spectacle we had hoped for but still sounded amazing. Even though they did not have any of the guests that appeared on their free Mix Tape (Produce Vol. 1), they still incorporated at least one song from it. One of our friends also pointed out that they covered a Rod Stewart song between songs, which I was not aware of since I am not as well versed in his musical catalog.
Overall, definitely a memorable show, though I think Breanna and I were both hoping for them to break out the blacklights and put on their neon suits to cover some Whitney Houston again. Even without that, they were highly entertaining and engaging, which was pretty evident when we left the venue and found the 2 main members of the band behind the merch stand getting bombarded by ravenous fans. As much as I would have liked to get something there from them, I realized I am too old to be like that, so we left. If you happen to see them come through your neck of the woods, definitely try to see them as you will not be disappointed!
Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr - Run
Dale Earnhardt Jr Jr - Almost Lost Detroit (Gil-Scott Heron cover)
Friday night was pretty low-key. I had tentative plans with a friend but was feeling a bit lethargic with the gloomy weather and the end of a work week, so I decided to have a night in with Andy. One of my best gal pals from high school, Michelle, called Friday night so we chatted for a bit and then Andy and I decided to make it a whiskey and frozen pizza night. We settled down in front of the TV and agreed upon (you guessed it!) "Hunger Games" for the THIRD time this year!
A whiskey old fashioned is not a simple drink to make.
Me & my beverage.
Saturday was an early(ish) morning since I fell asleep around 10:30 Friday night. I do love my quiet Saturday mornings! Andy made me breakfast while I caught-up on email with some of my dear friends (hi Becky! Alli! Randy!). We really did nothing during the day since we had tickets to one of our favorite bands Saturday night - Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. (!!!!). We met our friends, Heather and Noah, for drinks before the show. And the show, well it was awesome! Andy is going to write more about it later this week, so I won't steal his thunder.
I told Andy to show that he was cooking me breakfast, and he refused to move from this position saying "I'm cooking it with magic."
I REALLY REALLY REALLY wanted potato chips for a Saturday afternoon snack, but knew that apples with almond butter and granola was a better option. I ate potato chips about two hours later.
Andy and my beers at the tavern across the street from the venue Saturday night.
I bought Andy a journal called "In my Humble Opinion" where you complain about humans and we wrote in it at the tavern prior to the show.
That globe in the middle had videos timed to the music projected on it for some songs. It was so fun to see the scenes they prepared for their music!
Sunday started out as a quiet day. I finished my book as Andy played his video game. I headed across town for an early afternoon yoga class and JUST MISSED it! They close and lock the doors right as class starts, and I met closed doors. I called my friend, Josh, who lives in the neighborhood, to grab a wanted a patio beer (it was in the 70's here). After a couple beers with Josh I headed home and Andy and I decided to spend time together outside playing Farkle on our front stoop. Our new neighbor walked over to say hi - I guess the beers, games, and dog outside attract company! - and we ended up spending the afternoon/early evening with her, her elementary age son, and their dog chatting, drinking beers (not the kid), and playing giant Jenga - so fun!
I painted my nails. I couldn't stop staring at them as I was reading Sunday morning.
My buddy, Josh, at Local 46 Sunday afternoon.
We did not end up making falafel, but - hey! we had a great weekend :o)
