Summertime Book Club

Last weekend we met up for Book Club! 

We held it at Bernie's house this time (Katy's mom), and she had us out on her lovely & comfortable patio.  It was a beautiful morning in the shade - we drank mimosas, and just gabbed & gabbed.  

Katy made this AMAZING homemade dip too (on top of the cucumber slices - with the smoked salmon piece - yum!) - she said she made it by blending together garlic scapes with cream cheese, and some other spices!  It was SO good, and I'm going to definitely have to give it a try!  

This month we're going to read American Gods by Neil Gaiman.  I've been wanting to read this book for a while now (this was my pick), and I hope it's as good as I have heard.  Neil Gaiman also wrote "Stardust" and "Coraline" if you've ever heard of those - but this is an adult novel, and considered a masterpiece.  Which probably means I won't understand it.  HA!  

Anyway, hope you are enjoying your summer so far!  Happy reading! 

Mid-Day Beer Tasting Adventure

Since I already posted about some wine tasting I did recently - how about some beer tasting too!?  

Colorado is an amazing hub for small breweries, and a couple of weeks ago my friend Korey called me out of the blue, around 3pm on a Tuesday. 

Korey: "Hey, you're home from work right now, aren't you?"
Me: "Uhm... how did you know that?"
Korey: "I'm kind of stalking you. We're going to taste some beers.  Wanna come?"
Me:  "Shit yes I do!"

And so we went! 

I guess there was a big Beer Special article in 5280 Magazine recently, talking about all the small micro-breweries in Denver which is what inspired our little beer drinking adventure.  Our first stop was Black Shirt Brewing (BSB), which is ridiculously close to my old house, and I'm so bummed I didn't know about it before! 

They only brew red beers, which they do VERY well.  I LOVE red beers personally, and it was very refreshing to not have it all about IPA's.  Ha!  Although the ironic part is that was my favorite red - their Red IPA Chinook!  Never thought that would happen... 

The atmosphere in there is super cool too - low lights (it almost feels like you're walking into a place you're not supposed to be), and all of the tables are made from old train car floors!  So awesome. 

Our next stop was Our Mutual Friend, just down the street.  They were also very good, and had a great selection of different types of brews.  I loved the atmosphere in there too - although it was pretty busy and bustling by the time we got there (with the happy hour crowd & all), it was still a lot of fun. 

You can kind of see the list of brews on the wall in the back there too... 

My beer-tasting buddies for the day!! 

Mmmmmmm.... beer. 

I'll definitely be heading back to these places again!  I knew there were a lot of great breweries in Denver, but I didn't realize some were so close to home.  It's definitely worth going & exploring these little places - they're pretty amazing, and you might even make a new friend.  

Moral of the story?  If someone calls you mid-day and wants to take you beer tasting - you say YES! :) 

Happy Thanksgiving!

I'm going to be at the parent's house for a few days, but before I left I wanted to be sure to wish you all a very Happy Thanksgiving!! 

Do you want to know what I'm thankful for?  
Well, I'll tell ya! 
I'm thankful for... 

- beautiful snowy mornings
- giggling babies
- wagging doggie tails
- cupcakes
- family 
- friends
- love
- sympathy
- really good hugs
- comfortable shoes
- a warm bed
- sunshine
- rain
- juicy apples
- home

....and oh so much more.  I'm so grateful to have so many wonderful people in my life, and to be just who I am.  My heart is so filled with love & happiness right now! :)

Hope you all have a wonderful & safe day!  
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!  

Images found via Pinterest or We Heart It. 

Tom's Urban 24 - a visit to the new downtown diner!

The other day I met up with a few friends from my old job for an early happy hour at the brand-spankin'-new Tom's Urban 24-hour Diner on the corner of 15th & Larimer in downtown Denver.

Look at these lovely ladies!

They had some pretty awesome stuff on the menu, and some crazy drink cocktails that we absolutely had to try!  My favorite was the "WTF;)" - I can't remember all of the ingredients, but it contained whiskey, Coors light, red wine, orange juice, etc.  Sounds weird, but MAN it was good!

Susan got herself a "Coffee & Donut" - maple bacon doughnut, a shot of doughnut vodka, espresso, and espresso liquor.  Wowza.

And I think these may have been probably the most delicious deviled eggs I've ever had.  Truffled Deviled Eggs?  Yes, please!!

This one was my drink #2 - I can't remember the name, but it was champange with rose water syrup and some other yummy goodies in there too.  OH so good!!

How about that happy girlie!  And that pizza was friggin' amazing - cheese, arugula, mushrooms - YUM!  SO good.

Anyway, you guys should definitely check this place out if you have a chance.  It really is open 24-hours too!  And the menu is freakin' huge.  I kinda wanted to try everything!

Coffee stop

Last week on my day off I took a little coffee break with a few friends! 

I think I was the only person who didn't bring a laptop, but ah well!  It was nice to hang out and chit-chat over a good ol' cuppa joe. 

   
It was a pretty lovely Wednesday morning to hang out!  

And on top of it all?  The coffee shop was giving away FREE seeds!!  How awesome is that?  Our garden is going to be bigger & better than ever next year, and I am totally excited about it.  I may have grabbed a bit much, but hey, might as well stock up. :) 

Mmmm - coffee time! 

My hair is really starting to grow out, huh? 

Fall walk in the Park with Katy

Yesterday I had a day off so Katy and I went for a long walk in the park!

It was a beautiful day - the sun was out and warm, but there was a bit of a chill in the air.  It was just lovely!

Katy didn't make good friends with the geese (but man, it was fun to see her chasing them off!  Ha!)

We are a couple of colorful girls!

Stretchin' it out!

Well Katy made friends with at least one animal that day!

I saw this pile of leaves and I told Katy "Let's walk over here!" - we actually walked single file for a block or so, just so that we could both crunch through the leaves and kick them all around.

It was a wonderful way to spend an afternoon with a good friend!
We're going to enjoy as much of this weather as possible before the real cold weather hits! :)

My friend Alyson - and her adventures

I used to work with a pretty rad girl named Alyson - she did graphic design where I work.  Then one day she told us she was quitting to live and work on a farm in Oregon for 6 weeks, then travel to another farm in California and see where she went from there.  

My jaw dropped.  I was so jealous!! 

She has completely inspired me to take a similar travel some day.  She started a blog called Sock Buns & Work Boots to update us all about her adventures.  I read it every day, and hope to someday share some of her experiences! 

Here are just a few photos about what she's been up to for the past few months from her amazing blog...

How cute and totally awesome is that?? 
 
This is one of my biggest goals to reach when I have my debt paid off.  I want to do the same thing!  My debt is holding me back though, because I still have to make minimum payments every month - and these are all unpaid internships.  You just go, work on the farm, learn, have fun, meet people, and they provide food & housing (even if that means just a spot to pitch your tent).  

It sounds amazing, and it's something that I will definitely do - hopefully next year, or at least by 2014!

What do YOU want to accomplish in the next year?  
The next five? 

Would you live & work on a farm for 6-weeks?  Get your hands dirty and live off the earth?

All photos are from Alyson's blog - and all are hers!