Coors Brewery Tour & TUBING in Golden, CO

As mentioned before, I had one crazy weekend!  

Sunday we hit the Farmer's Market, then made our way to the Coors Brewery in Golden, CO to take a tour.  John still hadn't ever done a tour of a Colorado brewery since he's been living here (shocking, I know), so we figured it'd be a great day for it!  

A little added bonus about Golden is that they have a fantastic river that runs right through the town that's PERFECT for tubing.  I still had never been tubing before (you basically just sit in an inner tube and float down a river - simple fun!), so we thought we'd kill two birds with one stone!

All geared-up & ready to go!

Riding the bus to the tour - so excited! 

John gettin' tasty with the grains they make beer with...

I was actually a bit dissapointed with the tour - it was kind of boring.  They gave you these little phone-things, and an automated voice told you all the info.  It was long-winded facts, and nothing terribly exciting.  We still had fun though, and that's really all that matters!

And now I can say I did it too! :)

Those are some big copper... thingies.  For beer, and stuff.

Becca on the tour - learnin' stuff!

Ryan & Becca - taking a break to taste some Coors!

I was really hoping to put a glove on a bottle of beer and wave it away a-la Laverne & Shirley (or Wayne's World, doing an impression of Laverne & Shirley).  Alas, the whole area was closed off.  Probably for good measure!

These guys had WAY too much fun in the gift shop.  Haha!

And the best part of the tour - FREE BEER!!  We each got 3-free 10oz beers just for doing the tour.  Pretty rad!  I started with a Blue Moon Summer ale, then had a Killian's Irish Red, then had a regular Blue Moon.  I didn't even know that Coors brewed those beers - they were delish!
 

A toast with friends! :)

Afterward we headed to the park area and got ready for some tubing fun.  This was pretty much the only picture I got of that portion of the day, as I didn't want my camera to get wet!  Ha!  I love that it's right in the middle of a near-spank!

More pictures that Ryan took with his waterproof camera....
This one was obviously pre-getting totally soaked!  Ha!  

Becca & I walking to the tubing site.  Oh my goodness - it POURED on us!  I could barely see where I was going, hence my squinty expression!  Haha!  
 

And note to self:  Next time remove eye make-up BEFORE getting soaked.  HA!  I look like a raccoon!  Or the Crow, according to another of my friends.  
 

John floatin' along with his beer.  The water was kinda shallow so you had to kind of suck your butt in and clench your abs to not bonk your booty on the rocks.  Luckily the rocks were smooth though, so they weren't too bad.  
 

Our little group of thrill seekers!  Ha!  I love this picture - such a great group shot! 

We had SO MUCH FUN tubing.  It was hilarious, and we giggled like 5-year-olds the entire time.  It was probably some of the best free fun I've had in a long time.  We will definitely be doing it again soon!

Probably with a little less beer this time though... I need to take a break from the beer.  Ha! 

No Carb Portabello Mushroom Pizza & the Perfect Snack

This weekend was CRAZY (really fun, but pretty darn crazy), and included all of the following: 

- Yoga on the platte river with Katy & Geneva

- Drinking a bit too much at Mile High Spirits 

- A 60-minute massage at Spavia (I finally used this - it was a Xmas gift!)

- Shopping with my momma (her treat - what a gal)

- A surprise concert at Red Rocks with Geneva (Cake with the Lumineres!)

- Loadin' up on foods at our local Farmer's Market 

- Coors Brewery Tour

- Tubing in Golden, CO with friends & Kendra from A Grimm Tale

- Catching up on episodes of "Felicity" (just started re-watching it on Netflix!)

- Not getting enough sleep...

I kind of need a weekend for my weekend!  Haha!  Pictures to come... 

But firstly, a new (and delicious) meal that John and I had last week! 

We've been trying to do the South Beach Diet the past couple of weeks.  It's been good, but I've missed fruit SO MUCH.  It's funny that I have been missing that more than bread, rice, and pasta.  Who'd have thunk it?  Anyhew, we really REALLY wanted pizza one night, so I got some Portabello mushroom caps, and we had some low-carb pizza fun.  It was so easy too! 

Portabello Mushroom Mini-Pizzas

Each cap serves 1 person - customize them any way you like! 

- Portabello mushroom caps (1 per person)

- Tomato sauce / marinara

- mozzarella cheese

- ricotta cheese (a couple of dollops, optional)

- arugula

- zucchini

- onions

- red pepper flakes (optional)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Meanwhile build your pizzas!  Place the caps top-side down on a lightly oiled cookie sheet.  Top with sauce, the toppings of your choice (I used zucchini, arugula, onions, ricotta cheese and mozzarella), and sprinkle with red pepper flakes, or Italian seasonings. 

Bake in the oven for about 5-10 minutes, or until cheese has melted. 

Enjoy! 

These were so good - and John and I didn't even miss the bread.  We will definitely make this one again! 

Today we could finally start having fruit again, and thank GOODNESS it's still peach season.  I would have totally cried - I'm not even kidding. 

I had an amazing breakfast of whole-grain toast with part-skim ricotta cheese, sliced peaches, and a drizzle of local honey.  It was everything I hoped it could be. 

For my mid-morning grumbly tummy I had what I am deeming the Perfect Snack: 

 

An organic brown rice cake with a slice of Swiss cheese (zapped in the microwave for 15 seconds), and a locally-grown plum.  DELISH, and perfectly satisfying! 

More fun & updates to come from the weekend!  Hope yours was wonderful. :)

 

Cooking Show - Photos!

Remember how I told you I'm going to be doing an online cooking show soon?  

Well, we had a photo shoot with Joseph from Champa Street Productions a few weeks ago, and here are the photos that came out of it! 

We had tons of fun, and I'm absolutely in love with Joe's doggie (an old Beagle dog that just wanted his tummy scratched).  

Hopefully the website will be done soon, and we can start filming our 3rd & 4th episodes (we already filmed 1 & 2).  I'll keep you posted! 

Have a wonderful weekend!

I am SO ready for FALL!

August will be here so very soon, and although we're technically only about 2/3 of the way through the summer, I'm still SO ready for fall! 

As you may know, I'm a bit obsessed with autumn.  I just adore that time of year when the air gets cooler, the leaves change colors, and when you have to start snuggling under a blanket to stay warm.  There's just so much magic in the changing of seasons.  

It's also been so darn HOT in Colorado, I'm ready for some cooler weather!  Haha! 

I also want to wear my awesome new moccasin boots that I ordered recently that just came in:
 

Aren't they just the CUTEST??  John called me a hippie, but I so don't care.  These are way too much fun. :)  And they were part of John's little treat to me, so I technically wasn't breaking my spending fast.  WIN!  


Here's where you can get a pair for yourself, or find another amazing pair of boots for ridiculously cheap.  Seriously - best shoe website I've ever found. 

Anyway, back to fall.  I just can't wait for all of this...

Mmmmm so ready for some apple cider!  LOVE CIDER!  There's a booth at the Farmer's Market that has so many wonderful apples and makes organic cider that I am in love with.  Can't wait!

Yeah, that pretty much sums it up for me!  Haha!

This is kind of the perfect picture of where I'd love to be when autumn begins... it looks so darn peaceful!  Beautiful view, a blanket to snuggle with - the only thing it's missing is a good book!

I just adore fall bike rides - the crisp air, the breeze in my face.... and arriving where you're going without being a big sweaty mess is always nice too. :)

 
Big cozy sweaters!

Hair color that matches the season...

Oh, and of course I'm SO excited for big huge scarves!  Wrap myself up in 'em.  Heck yeah. 

Are you as excited for fall as I am??


All images found via we heart it, or on pinterest.


 

Lazy Weekend / National Anthem

It has been hot hot HOT here in Denver - but I'm still walking to/from work as much as I can.  Here's a little tuft of a cloud that mocked me on my way home (we need more of you for shade!  Please tell your friends!). :)

Friday night I went to my parent's house, and hung out with my sister, my mom, and our good friend Deb.  We watched movies, drank wine, ate delicious food, and had a wonderful time!  It was so great to see everyone and catch up.

The next morning we had a leisurely breakfast, and Dimitri (my beautiful little kitty), soaked up the morning light.

"Yes?  May I help you?  I'm a bit busy being ridiculously cute right now..."

Taryn and I stopped at the grocery on the way home, then I met up with Stacey for lunch.  

Afterwards Stacey & I stopped by M.A.C Cosmetics at the mall, as I decided I needed a new utterly amazing lipstick to go with my new haircut.  I ended up getting a matte red color (Viva Glam I), and it's AMAZING!  It was more expensive than any other lipstick I've ever purchased ($14.50), but it stays on pretty much forever without looking cakey, and without flaking off.  It's magical, and worth every penny!! 

I'm not really a crazy-expensive-makeup kinda girl, but this stuff was worth it.  I know what you're thinking.... "But what about your Spending Fast, missy??"  Well, I had a bit of extra money to spend (personal reasons), so I wanted to treat myself.  Don't worry - I still put a big chunk of it towards my debt!  I'm actually excited to fill you guys in on how far I am now.... but I'll get to that later. 

Saturday night I went to the First Bank Center in Broomfield to sing the National Anthem for the Denver Roller Dolls' mix-up bout!  It was pretty amazing, and I was a bit nervous due to the sheer size of the venue.  The acoustics were pretty awesome though, and I felt like I did a pretty darn good job.  The anthem is a pretty darn difficult song to sing, but I feel like I'm getting better at it.  Practice practice! 

Here's a video!  I'm teeny tiny (I forgot to show the girl filming how to zoom in), but you can hear me loud & clear!  Pretty cool:

Saturday night we hung out at George & Katy's and had some dinner & wine and watched a movie.  Sunday I hit up the Farmer's market for all kinds of goodies, and we celebrated Nico's first birthday!  I can't believe Nikki's little boy is 1-year old already... so crazy how time flies.

On to a new week!  I need to attack some personal goals again (working out daily, learning new things, motivating myself, finding inspiration) and get back on track with some stuff.  I feel like I've been trying to discover new things about myself, and learn more about who I am and what I want to do with my life.  It's a very transitional time for me, and I need to figure things out.

Kinda heavy, but I'm trying to start my week off light! ;)

Hope you all had a great weekend too!