the weekend

Chris and I had our first "normal" weekend where nothing move related really had to be done.  I think it's safe to say we are officially moved in!  We're pretty organized and have mostly everything hung up on the walls.  We still have some home maintenance items to cover, but we are definitely feeling settled.  I love our kitchen.  Chris added knobs to the kitchen cabinets (and bathroom cabinets) that immediately makes it look more put together and nicer.  We have a newer dishwasher, that works like crap that we'll hopefully get replaced in the next two months, so that's unfortunate, but comes along with getting to know a new house.  I hope to take pictures and share them with you soon.
On Friday night Chris and I had a dinner and movie date night.  Since Christmastime we've tried to go see Les Miserables three different times.  Each time unsuccessfully for whatever reason.  Last time we tried it was because the movie theater was no longer playing it, I was super upset, because I specifically wanted to see this movie on the big screen.  So thankful for Chris, as he did some homework and found a theater in Denver where it was still playing.  We started the night at Big Easy Creole Kitchen in Cherry Creek.  Super good New Orleans style food.  We had great service, and great food.  The atmosphere is nice, and we will definitely be going back.

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Les Mis.  I first heard of this movie in HS.  When I was a Junior and going to London over spring break, we got tickets to go see this show.  My first thought was "what's the big deal?".  Back then I didn't really get it.  But I played along because all of my drama friends were thrilled.  Once we arrived at the show our seats were so high up we couldn't even see the very front of the stage.  I remember loving the singing and that they had a rotating stage.  But after the show, I still had a sense that was I was missing something.  Since then I've seen the show 2 or 3 times on stage (the last time was an amazing HS production!) and was really looking forward to seeing the movie, knowing it would provide more details. 
I loved it.  And now I want to see the show again and take Chris.  I wish I had more to say, but I don't think I could do the movie any justice.

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Saturday we had a early morning, taking the cats to get their shots, and checked up on.  Otis isn't adjusting well to the new house (pooping about once a week, right in the living room).  This is a problem in our house.  We have brand new carpet (installed in November) and I really don't want cat stains ruining our new house.  This is super tuff on me, and I just hope the pooping spells are done with.

I met my friend Sarah for lunch at Little Anita's.  I love my time with her.  It had been a super long time since we had gotten together, and I'm so glad that we did.

We did some errands, and got some curtains for the bedroom.  Then our friends Andrea and Ryan came over to check out the new house, before we headed out to dinner, for the first night of Denver Restaurant Week.  ...it's almost my favorite time of year.  We went to Ghost Plate and Tap.  This restaurant wasn't prepared for Denver Restaurant week.  Poor management all around.  The food and drink were decent, but the timing was horrible.  We got our first and second courses right away, waiting a good 20+ minutes for our entree, then dessert came immediately.  Had to keep asking for more water and drinks, and when our main course was waiting for so long the kitchen was so disorganized that they brought out our first and second courses AGAIN!  By the time dessert did come one of the desserts was out, and so another selection had to be made.  For whatever reason, the restaurant just didn't prepare for what was obviously going to be a busy night.  Needless to say, I would go back, but not for dinner.  They had some pretty awesome happy hour cocktails and appetizers, so if I were to go back that's what I would go for. 

Sunday was a snow day!  We got about 6 inches, so we left the house early to go grocery shopping for the week, and stayed in the rest of the day.  Chris was the amazing husband he is, and cleared the driveway a couple of times, along with going out to get the snow off of the satellite dish.  We played some cribbage (our new game of choice) and watched some TV with New Mexico Cheeseburgers cooking in the crock pot!

I had a great weekend with some quality people, and quality time well spent.

How was your weekend?

Chili Rellenos Casserole

I've had my Body for Life cook book for awhile now.  But I'll be honest and say that I haven't ventured much past the Taco Pasta.  Until my husband found this recipe and wanted me to make it.  I had looked at it (pre-husband) but thought it seemed too complicated, and complicated and I in the kitchen just do not get a long.  But what husband wants, I try to get.  I've made this twice now, and I knew immediately upon having it the first time I would make it again and share it with all of you.  It's a little hard to make (in my mind), but oh so good.  I did make some not so healthy modifications noted below. 

What you'll need: 3 cans (4oz) whole green chiles, drained.  Monterey Jack Cheese (I used a hot pepper blend).  1 1/4 cup egg substitute (I used 2 eggs).  1/2 cup flour.  1/2 cup skim milk (I used 1% low fat milk).  Cheddar cheese (I used a mexican style blend, just whatever yellow cheese you have on hand). Chili powder.  Green onions.  Salsa (I omit this altogether).

 To be honest I had never even heard of whole green chiles coming out of a can before.  But you open 'em up and you get an instant New Mexico Fall smell!  It's fantastic!

As noted, make sure you drain the chiles before you take 'em out.  Place them out on a paper towel.

Stuff the peppers with the cheese.  This is the slightly messy part, but perfect for snacking! The recipe wants you to cut up cheese and place a piece in the chile.  I just stuff it with the shredded bagged stuff.

Mix together the flour, eggs, and milk.  I should have added a 3rd egg.  Probably just depends on the size of the egg.

Pour the mixture over your chiles, add a layer of the cheddar cheese, and sprinkle some chile powder on top. 

Bake for 35 minutes @ 350*, or until toothpick comes out clean.

And serve with spanish rice, and put on green onions as a garnish.  You're also suppose to add salsa on top.  Again I haven't done this, but the dish is just as good I'm sure!

Being from New Mexico and loving cheese, this dish is wonderful.  I can definitely see it has a regular in my household.  It's not overly spicy and the flavor is fantastic!

Body for Life: Chile Rellenos Casserole
3 cans (4oz) whole green chilies, drained
Monterey Jack Cheese (enough to fill/stuff your peppers)
1 1/4 cup egg substitute (or 2 or 3 eggs)
Cheddar cheese (enough for topping)
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup skim milk (or whatever milk you have on hand)
1 tsp chili powder
2 green onions
1/2 cup salsa

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Coat a baking dish with cooking spray.
Lay whole green chiles out on a paper towel.
Stuff chiles with cheese, and place in baking dish.
In a mixing bowl, whisk together eggs, flour, and milk.  Pour mixture over chiles.
Layer cheddar cheese over chiles and mixture, and sprinkle chile powder.
Bake for 35 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

ENJOY!

Where I've been Eating

I know I've said it before, and I will say it countless time now in this post and in the future.  I love food.  Food in general is a great thing.  It tastes good, it creates memories, and gives us nutrients for our body.  Something I appreciate even more than food, is good food, ...great food.  A meal shared with a loved one is just about my favorite thing.  Food and sharing a meal is hugely social thing.  As a society I think we base lots of things around food and what our next meal is going to be.  Lately I've had some truly fantastic meals.  The food was great, the company awesome, and an original and fun atmosphere.  So I thought I would take the time to give my .02cents of unoriginal reviews, because truly all I have to say is everything was great, and the food was so tasty... but hopefully I do have some highlights that are worthwhile.
First off is Lola.  Chris and I went here a couple of weekends ago on a double date, with my new friend and co-worker Andrea along with her fiance Ryan.  I was super excited for double date experience and anxious as I wanted the night to go well.  Upon entering the restaurant I loved the atmosphere.  Very chic with Latin touches.  Not too big, not too small.  We were seated right by the kitchen which was sorta annoying, but I guess someone has to sit there.  The menu was a little bit different, but something I didn't really mind as it definitely makes you read all of the details.  We ordered drinks and tableside guacamole!  Super good.  I immediately did a scan of all of ingredients going into the guac (as I make a pretty good guacamole myself) and the big differences I saw were tomato's and garlic.  I put in a diced tomato and I don't put in garlic.  It's been awhile and now I don't even think I can remember what I had.  I just took a peak at the menu and I remember now.  I had the Pan Seared Corvina, which is a white fish.  Very tasty, and my favorite part were the rock shrimp fritters.  Chris' dish was fantastic.  He had Calbo De Mariscos, which was like a seafood stew.  Simply awesome.  The other great aspect for this dinner was the company was lovely.  We sat and enjoyed the food, but also enjoyed each other.  We were easily at the restaurant for almost 3 hours!  I love a nice long leisurely meal where everything just flows and time is of no worry.      

 The Squeak Beak: weird name, awesome food.  I do pretty extensive research when selecting a place to eat, and my dining experience at the Squeaky Bean was no different.  It recently got a 4 star (out of 4 stars) rating through the Denver Post (which in the past it have never given a 4 star rating...ever!) and lots of great reviews via Yelp.  I also learned that the original location had closed a year ago to relocate and open up at new location this past June.  Chris and I dined here this past Wednesday before the Aerosmith concert. We arrived and immediately took notice to super small menu.  The menu was categorized into three sections: vegetables, fish, meat.  The prices seemed pretty reasonable, but we were thrown off.  Our waitress was super nice and immediately opened up when I confessed that the menu was confusing, and if she could us her "spill" about the restaurant and menu.  She graciously went through each element and advised that "whatever we were to pick out we would have fun!"  We started with the Shrimp Curry, which was so delicious.  They were these little shrimp wraps with curry sauce and little lime zest puree balls with coconut.  So light and refreshing!  ...I wish I had taken pictures of our food at all of these restaurants, it's just not a habit that I have!  For our main dishes I had the Pork Loin and Chris had the Fried Chicken.  Mine was so good, with flavors of peach and onion, with this little corn pudding thing on the side (it looked like a stick of butter).  And Chris' chicken was so tender and juicy!  Fabulous flavor!  The only negative to this experience was my dish had two slices of the pork.  And one piece (the smaller portion) was pure fat.  So that was not enjoyed.  The end of the meal we got a visit from this fabulous cheese cart.  We got some (free) samples and ended our evening. 

 I've read about Linger for a very very long time, and have heard such amazing things about this place!  I had tried to go in the past, but reservations were hard to come by unless I wanted to eat dinner prior to 4pm or after 9pm.  So for this occasion I planned way in advance.  I made reservations for four at 6:45pm about two months ahead of time.  So seriously if you want to check this place out, let this be your warning: plan ahead.  I would advise making reservations at LEAST 6 weeks prior, unless you do want to eat dinner at 9pm on a Saturday night, or want a table on a Tuesday night.  This place as an amazing roof top bar with a fantastic view of the Denver City Skyline (that's unfortunately half way being covered up by nearby apartment buildings going up).  Even when we arrived at 6:45pm our table wasn't ready so we went up to experience this roof top bar!  It was gorgeous!  Once we were seating at a comfy 1/2 circle booth we immediately read the menu and wanted one of everything!  This place is a great spot to try a little bit of everything and the plates are meant for sharing!!!  This menu literally takes you around the world and is split up by countries.  So if you are looking for a particular cuisine, you'll most likely find it here! We got a ton of plates: Sesame BBQ Tacos (so flavorful), Wagyu Burger Sliders (these were actually just ok, but they come with Sweet Potato Fries w/ chipotle ketchup, and I just love sweet potato fries), Ceviche (light and fresh, w/ mango!), Pho-Real Spring Roll (super good), Me Krob (now I had never heard of this, but Michelle immediately wanted to try it as it's been referenced in a "Sex and the City" episode, and had she not suggested it, I would have never gotten it, and I'm so glad that I did.  All I can say is the complexity of the flavors in this dish is amazing, and everything mixed together is just something you'll have to try, because I can't even describe it), Scallops (just love scallops all around).  And I think that's all.  Needless to say we left this super fun dinner extremely stuffed.  I can't wait to go back and try and round of new selections!  It was great to share everything and enjoy the view (as we were right next to the window) as the sun went down.

Michelle, me,and Kari @ the roof top in Linger

 

Saturday a group of friends and I went to Zengo.  I heard of this place on the Food Network a few years ago, and have been wanting to go since.  Super fun Latin/Asian cuisine.  This place had super fun drinks and some sushi that we started with.  I had the nightly special with was a Halibut with a potato cake, mushrooms, and lentils.  The flavors were super delish.  I'll talk more about my experience at Zengo in another post, but over all everything was fantastic!  

As you can tell I've been super busy, and one of the big highlights for me in this busy craziness going on around me is the food.  Eating definitely gives me that moment to sit back and enjoy those around me and have a fun evening and experience!  I absolutely love going to restaurants I've never been to before, and these were all first experiences for me, which was half the fun!  I high recommend any of these places if you ever visit Denver, or live here and want some good food!

A New Habit

Old habits are hard to break. Creating a new habit, this is even harder. Getting into the grove of Weight Watchers hasn’t been easy. But then again I haven’t made it priority. Even worse, is that I haven’t told Chris that I joined. I did speak to him about joining some plan, doing something. And he encouraged me and told me that he would be supportive. Well, how can he help when he doesn’t know that I’m on a plan and that I need his help to hold me accountable? Not that I expect him to babysit me with every bite of food I put in my mouth, but I am around him during most of my meals, and well the afternoon/evenings are the most difficult. Part of my point is, had he known that I joined WW 2 weeks ago, he wouldn’t have suggested going to get ice cream last night, and I most definitely would have said no. That’s what I like to think anyways. That even though I’ve felt ready to begin the last part of my weight loss journey, I wasn’t ready to accept Chris’ help in it. I suppose part of it is in my head. Ok, maybe all of it. That I’ve done all of this by myself. Without having to really depend on anyone. That’s what makes this round so different.

So this my attempt to get back on track. I’ve always wanted to take pictures of what I eat and show you guys. So this is what I’m doing. Here is what I ate today, and the points associated with that. I figure if anything this will help hold me accountable and give you yet another peak into my world.

Now for the points. I have yet to actually use Weight Watchers to track a whole week. Now they make it easy enough to find and track the food that you eat, they even have an app that I downloaded on my phone. So truly I have no excuses to not take advantage of this. Anyways, right now my I have 30 points to get me through the day. I also have a PointsPlus budget of 49 that lasts me all week. I think I need to figure out what this is, because to be honest as of right now I have no idea what that gets me or how to use it.

For breakfast I had Quaker Instant Oatmeal, Raisin, Date, and Walnut. 4 points.

1 cup carrots. 0 points

2 cups strawberries. 0 points

½ a kiwi. 0 points.

Right off the bat, the great thing about Weight Watchers, fruit and veggies don’t add to your daily point value. I know that I need to be careful of the fruits, as some fruits contain a lot of sugar. But I like the idea that if you are hungry, you don’t have to sit and starve yourself. You can eat something colorful and nutritious!

My morning meal is also when I take my pills. My daily vitamin and fish oil.

My mid-morning “snack” is a cup of coffee. Fancy coffee. It’s regular coffee stirred in with Maxwell House International Latte in Vanilla Caramel and non-fat Hazelnut creamer. And oh my goodness it is good. I look forward to this snack every morning. I’m really not a big coffee drinker, but this helps me feel like I’m having a little treat. I just used the last of the creamer this morning, so for the rest of the week I’ll just be using the Vanilla Caramel Latte stuff with hot water. Once that is gone I plan to transition to hot tea, as that has no points.

Coffee with cream and sugar. 4 points.

I learned early on you don’t want to drink your calories…or in this instance points. Which for me isn’t really an issue. I can easily go from coffee to tea, but the other issue I know I’m gonna have is with alcohol. Now by no means do I drink a lot. And neither does Chris. But do we enjoy a glass of wine or some other alcoholic beverage on occasion? Yes. I would say on average we’ll have a drink about once or twice a week. For the next few months eliminating alcohol will be hard. It’s a social thing. But I know it has to be done.

Next is lunch. I like to eat between 1 and 1:30pm…for me the later the better, because the afternoons are hard for me. Once I eat lunch I feel like I could just keep on eating. And that’s when my bad snacking usually happens. Monday lunches are usually the same for me. Salad from the grocery store. We do our grocery shopping on Sunday’s. So I grab a nice salad to have for lunch on Monday. Today’s pick is a “Dried Stone Fruit Salad with chicken”. A mix of green leaf lettuce and baby greens, grilled chicken, dried fruit, red onion, red grapes, walnuts, feta cheese, with a pomegranate blueberry vinaigrette. Mixed in are also some carrots, and a couple of cut up strawberries that were on my plate this morning.

Salad. 6 points (what really got me on this salad were the walnuts and feta cheese).

By the time I finish my salad I am starving. This is usually what happens when I eat lunch. And I hate it. I’m more hungry after lunch than before I even started. I seriously feel I could eat forever and not get full. I don’t know why this is, but that’s just how I feel. After my meal I want dessert. I usually bring some snack or protein bar, but today I forgot! Ugh. To help me through I chew on a piece of gum. Gum is the perfect “trick” to get your mind thinking it is eating something, plus no points!
Thankfully my afternoon passed with meetings, so I was distracted with that, instead of just sitting at my desk thinking about my hunger. I didn't take a picture of it, but shortly before I left work I ate an apple.

Afternoon snack: apple. 0 points.

Once I got home I had my delayed dessert.

A chewy granola bar: 3 points.
For dinner I made a spicy sausage pasta, in a cream sauce with mushrooms, with a side of green beans.

This used the rest of my points for the day.
Dinner: 13 points.
Another speaking point I want to make is water. I’ve never had difficulty drinking enough water. I can’t remember when I started this habit, but truly the majority of what I drink is water. I have my handy dandy Camelbak water bottle right at my desk (I keep one at home too, for my workouts) and fill that about 3 times a day. It holds a little more than 24 ounces. So before I even leave work I’ve had around 72 ounces of water. (Yes, I go to the bathroom a LOT!)
So that is today in a very long nutshell! Obviously lots of information. That's going to be used primarily for me. I've had the idea of taking pictures of what I eat for awhile now, and I gotta say it makes you think. Well it makes me think. About what I'm putting in my mouth AND how much. I didn't want to up-load 20 pictures of a ton of food. I'm proud that for the most my meals were colorful.
I hope that this will help me throughout the rest of the week, and tracking my food. I had hoped to get in a workout today to get "activity points" but that didn't happen, and am going to go for later in the week. Plus I need to figure out how exactly the activity points work.

Things are in full force. And I hope to be successful.

Denver Restaurant Week

Who knows how long I had lived here before I found this small little treasure. If I remember correctly my first experience with Denver Restaurant Week was back in 2008. A co-worker and I went to North. Then last year my friend Jill and I went to a few different restaurants, and this years I experienced four.

This 2 week event lets you explore Denver and all of the fantastic food it as to offer for just $52.80 per couple. The restaurants come out with pre-set menu’s usually with 3 or 4 courses, giving you a few options for each course. So no, not a full menu to chose from, but some highlights to give you a feel for the restaurant and flavor.

The first place Chris and I went to was Rodizio Grill. This was set up as a double date through one of Chris’ co-workers. Needless to say this type of restaurant isn’t my top pick. I’m not much of a red meat-eater and this place is pretty much all red meat. I’m also not a fan of eating fast. I like to eat slow. Like super slow. Enjoy my meal, enjoy the flavor of the food in my mouth. This place comes with an all you can eat salad bar that includes some starches for your meat. Then with a flip of a coin type thing on your table you get bombarded with people coming up to your table giving you a serving of whatever meat is on their carving board. You get a lot of food very quickly, and it’s a lot to keep up with.
Overall, yes the food was good. But the rush of food coming onto my plate just wasn’t a big highlight for me.
Would I go back?: No, April. Yes, Chris.

The second place was The Coral Room in Highlands. This specific neighborhood in Denver is so cute! I’m really looking forward to showing Chris this area when the weather is warmer and you can enjoy walking outside. This restaurant was my pick. Chris and I took my friend Michelle when she was in town a few weeks ago. Very nice restaurant, and excellent meal! A place like this is what 5280 week is all about. I can remember exactly what I had. When we arrived it was still happy hour, so in addition to our first course we got some additional appetizers to share. Classic fried calamari and coconut tempura white prawns. Both of these had different sauces that accommodated the food beautifully. So delicious! For my main entrée I had the trout. So tasty, and just the right portion. Dessert was bread pudding with cranberries! Seriously so good.
Would I go back?: Yes, April. Yes, Chris.

Third was Cru – A Wine Bar. My friend Julie and I selected this place on Larimer Square to enjoy after a hard day’s work. I picked this place because I knew Chris wouldn’t like it. This place was just ok. Super small restaurant, a great wine list (obviously), but food was just eh. Nothing really stood out. In fact I can’t even tell you what I had, and I experienced this place after dining at The Coral Room. So that right there should tell you something.
Would I go back?: No, April. No, Julie.

Last was The Palm Steakhouse. This place is a chain although not like Applebee’s. It’s a nice steakhouse right downtown, and was Chris’ pick. My man is your classic meat and potato’s type of man. So a classic steakhouse is right up his alley. Especially if you can get a nice cut of meat for somewhat cheap. Sadly, this place didn’t live up to our expectations. I myself am always on the lookout for a great steakhouse just for the sole purpose of having someplace nice to bring my dad when my parents come visit. My dad is extremely picky with his restaurants and the food and overall atmosphere have to be just right for him to enjoy his dining experience. So I was hoping to enjoy this place, and hoping that the atmosphere would be one that my dad appreciates, but knowing my dad, I know he wouldn’t have liked this place. The restaurant itself is huge, and holds a lot of people. I myself felt right on top of the other two couples that were seated next to us, and the staff is just everywhere. I think their service was too good. A ton of wait staff all around just waiting to fill your water glass after you just take one sip. It was annoying. And the food? Again just ok. Chris had steak, just ok. I had the ravioli, which I did enjoy, but nothing so extravagant that I just can’t go to the Olive Garden. I think for the price it was worth it, and we are both glad that we didn’t go when the only option would have been to eat off of the full regularly priced menu. Neither one of us had a drink, so we had a somewhat decent 3 course meal for a little more sixty bucks. But had it not been restaurant week, the price probably would have been almost double, and most definitely not worth it.
Would I go back?: No, April. No, Chris.

Honorable mention goes to Cafe Colore. I've always wanted to try this cute little Italian place I see across the street from Larimer Square. My friend Sarah and I dined here last Saturday and it was so delicious and flavorful that I can't wait to go back. 5280 was sadly over, so we made our selections from the everyday menu. I myself wasn't that hungry, but still managed to eat quite a bit! We started off with the calamari. This was a little bit different, as it was not fried calamari. I would say maybe it was sauteed or possibly grilled? But it was tossed with banana peppers, linguine pasta, and a lemon butter sauce. My mouth is watering just thinking about it. For my main course I had a side arugula salad with a peach balsamic dressing, and freshly grated parmesan cheese, and the tomato bisque soup. Are you hunger yet?, I know I am! Arugula is easily my top lettuce of choice, and a peach balsamic dressing?! Delicious! Simple flavors, but paired together it's a party in your mouth. I realize I'm get a bit cheesy about this food stuff, but wow it was seriously great. Then came dessert. Sarah and I shared the tiramisu. Tiramisu is one of my favorite desserts. All I can say is that this dessert was the perfect ending to a wonderful meal. Home made with melted white chocolate and fresh strawberries. Wonderful.

Would I go back?: Yes, April. Yes, Sarah.

So that’s this year’s 5280 in a nutshell. I’ve heard some amazing feedback about a steakhouse down south that I plan to take Chris to next month (sshhh it’s a surprise, so don’t tell him) and I can’t wait to give it a try.
Why 5280? If you are unfamiliar with the significance of this number, let me enlighten you. 5280 feet is exactly a mile long, and where Denver sits above sea-level. Hence “The Mile High City”. And so the smart PR folks who originally thought of having Denver Restaurant Week thought it would be clever to have the price point be $52.80 per couple for your meal.

For me, this is one of the huge perks of living in a big city. Having events like this, trying new restaurants, and getting to experience different food. I absolutely love going out to eat, and trying places I’ve never been. Thankfully Denver never has a shortage of good food, or new restaurants for me to try!

healthy cooking 101

we workout together, we party together, we go to events together, we shop together, we travel together, and now we cook together. well we've cooked together before, but tonight we had only healthy food! tonight my friends and i all gathered at christina's house for some healthy cooking. as usual a fun time was had by all! everyone brought a healthy dish to share, along with the recipe. good times. we had a little bit of everything. some soups, veggies, mashed potato's, wanton's, stuffed peppers, and desserts.

these desserts are made out of sweet potato's and garbanzo beans. (not pictured are brownies made out of black beans.) all so good, seriously!

prepping

yummy!

i made some green chile chicken enchilada's found on sparkpeople.com.

everything was delicious! all the kids played while the adults chatted and enjoyed all of the fabulous food! what a fun saturday night i had!!

elliptical 30min treadmill 30min

what's old is new

I have a new friend, that used to be an old acquaintance. Jill and I went to high school together. I didn't really know her, but of course knew of her. We have a mutual BFF, Michelle. Shortly after I moved to Denver, Jill moved to DC. Then last year she decided she wanted to come back West, but didn't want to go back to NM, so she picked Denver as the next best thing.

Jill came out to Denver for the first time in November with Michelle. And Jill moved to Denver the first of the year.
Since then we've hung out quite a bit. She came out for my birthday, and so has met my big group of friends, and she fits right in. We went out the night she finished taking the Colorado State Bar (did I mention that she's a lawyer?!), she was at the Mammoth game last Friday, and last night we went to the Village Cork for Denver Restaurant Week.

Jill and I @ the Village Cork

the Village Cork

via*

We had a fabulous dinner. We got there early and enjoyed a happy hour drink and appetizer. My dinner was a delicious jicama salad, salmon on spinach and pine nuts, ended with a pound/lemon cake with raspberries.

Jill and I

I'm super happy that Jill and I hit it off as friends. It really isn't that much of a surprise as we both have Michelle in common, and we love her. The dynamic that I have with Jill that I don't have with a lot of my other friends is that like me, she is single, and out there in the dating world. So we get to tell stories, and give advice, and can be empathetic as we both know where the other is coming from.
I truly look forward to my time spent with her, and look forward to more dinners and hang-outs!

elliptical 30min
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just looking NOT eating

so this post is a little bit weird for a couple of reasons. this is a post in honor of some pretty awesome wedding cakes.
here is why it is weird:
wedding - i'm currently not dating anyone, so the idea of a wedding for me is pretty far fetched.
cake - something i currently can't eat.

none the less doesn't mean that i don't want both, so why not put them together!? plus in all honesty i have many details of my wedding planned. ...when/if i ever get married, it'll be awesome!

i like this one because of the colors and the random patterns on both tiers

love the scrolling on this one, and the midnight purple color is gorgeous

i love this one because of the fresh flowers, not my color of choice but still beautiful

love the colors and the details of this one

love the square shape and the colorful gerber daisies

the last one shown comes from a grande finale. the awesome bakery in louisville. when/if i do get married this will be the place with the honor of providing me with my wedding cake!

elliptical 45min
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~something I love~

fresh cut strawberries

super yummy. lately when doing my weekend grocery shopping i get a tub of
these beauties and cut them up to enjoy for breakfast.

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i have half on monday and the other half on tuesday.
mix it in with some oatmeal and i'm almost in heaven!

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gotta love this time of year for the fresh produce alone!

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why living in a big city is great

one of the advantages of living in denver, is all the cool stuff that goes on here. and all things in moderation right? denver has what they call restaurant week for $52.80 for two people. you get to go out to eat at a place you wouldn't normally, have 3 or 4 courses for $52.80. the 5280 is a big promotional thing here because that's our elevation. plus that's exactly one mile, hence the mile high city. we have 5280 magazine, hotels that have a rate of $52.80, and restaurant week. i'm sure we have other things, but those are the things i can remember off the top of my head. so i invited my new friend katherine to join me at a restaurant downtown tuesday night for dinner.
we went to the 9th door. it's a tapas bar, and it was lovely. everything was so good. trying new things always gets me excited, and this was the perfect excuse.

hydro 60min

a quick trip

this past weekend i was in albuquerque. i arrived saturday morning at 10:30am, and left sunday afternoon at 5pm. it was a quick trip, and the real reason for this trip will be reviled in a future post.
saturday night my parents took me to one of my favorite new mexican restaurants for dinner. papa felipe's. i got me some red chile and sopapilla's with honey. it truly is "new mexican comfort food at its best"!

abs/legs
elliptical 5min
zumba 60min

a thing of beauty

so i've mentioned in the past 2 blogs this spring fling cake. the question: what is spring fling cake?
well as of thursday i had spent 30 years of my life deprived of this fabulous cake.
my boss recently started doing a monthly celebration of her teams birthdays and service anniversaries. thursday was one of our managers 30th service anniversary! (crazy to think that i was just 2 weeks old when he started working for what was Mountain Bell at the time.) jerri (my boss) wanted to do something special to congratulate alan on his accomplishment. she mentioned this spring fling cake. i had never even heard of it before.
lets just say that it is good enough to be worthy of its very own blog post.
this cake comes from the market at larimer square in downtown denver. i had heard about the market a few years after moving here, saying i had to go there if i ever wanted a really good dessert. i think i've been there once, and i honestly couldn't tell you why or what i had.
back to this cake.
its a white cake (my favorite) and jerri says it has zucchini in it. with a whole bunch of layered fresh fruits in and on top of it! it was so good, and so moist. to die for. i'm pretty sure the market is my new best friend. the market's website doesn't have any information as to what exactly is in this cake, so i really can't tell you anything except for that.
if you want a reason to visit denver, let this be it. i'll even come share a piece with you!

abs/legs
elliptical 25min
dance jam 60min

details and pictures

savannah was a blast. we had a great time. all of my friends know of one another, but have never really spent a lot of time with each other. one of the things i was looking forward most to in savannah, was seeing my 3 best girl friends click, and become friends. it was a great sight to see. plus i got them all to myself! as an only child, i truly enjoyed that part as well. i've been on girls trips before and usually by the end there is a little bit of tension. and for me that didn't happen on this trip. we all got along. and i knew that we would. all of us are open, honest, no drama type of gals. we are all easy, and just want to have fun. and that is what we had. actually we had a blast. truly a trip of a lifetime for me.

the savannah airport to pick up michelle and kari

this is probably my favoritest picture of this trip.
our hotel was dark and beautiful, and had grand chandeliers all over.
me, tina, kari, and michelle

dinner night 1

the company was number 1 for me on this trip. number 2 was definitely the food. oh the food. southern food. wow! in new mexico you get chips and salsa with everything, in savannah you get fresh warm biscuits served with butter and apricot jam. the apricot jam was a great touch. i'm one to believe that when someone passes away they give you signs to let you know that they are there with you. the apricot jam for me was my grandpa egan, who i was extremely close to growing up. he had this awesome house in santa fe, nm and had a huge backyard with lots and lots of apricot trees. when us grand kids would visit, he would pay us 25cents for every bag we filled of apricots. the main thing grandpa egan made with these apricots was jam. when the waiter put the apricot jam on our table i immediately turned to my cousin kari and said "grandpa egan is here with us" and got a little teary eyed.
this restaurant is beautiful. it's in what used to be an old bank. very cool!

tina, me, michelle, and kari

michelle, me, kari, and tina

the festivities for our first night in savannah was a haunted pub crawl. savannah is a very very haunted city, and i thought this would be fun. we went on one of the cheaper tours, and the stories weren't really all that scary, but it was so super fun.
i don't have pictures of the 2 other bars we went to, but the second one had this drink that was a long island sweet tea, and i swear you couldn't take the alcohol in it at all. the third bar was a martini bar. i had a white elephant, which was like a chai tea! yummy! michelle got a reese's peanut butter martini, again so yummy!
after the pub crawl we went up to the roof of our hotel, where there was a fun bar and the drinks continued!

michelle, kari, me, and tina

our hotel had cool artwork everywhere. this was on the ceiling of the hall way leading to our room. it's kinda like a shadow box. so pretty and different.
savannah day 2 was spa day! which was perfect because it rained all day on saturday. the spa was so beautiful, and located in our hotels sister hotel.

michelle, kari, and i

we were treated to champagne!
michelle, me, tina, and kari

dinner night 2 was my "birthday dinner" and elizabeth's on 37th
this dinner was amazing. that's all i'm gonna say.
michelle, me, tina, and kair

savannah day 3 was walking around. we walked all around river street, lots of shops, and beautiful sights.

the waving girl

river street

making taffy!

michelle, tina, me, and kari on river street

tina, kari, me, and michelle

the historic district

savannah dinner #3

michelle, tina, kari, and i

the hotel

this trip came together exactly how i pictured it in my head. i am so blessed to have such good friends travel such a long way to spend this time with me. they took time away from there families, work, and normal everyday lives to experience this with me. what made it even more special, was for all of us this was our very first trip to savannah. we laughed, told stories, ate great, new, and interesting food.

below is the final agenda i sent out to the girls, just so i can have to look back upon:

Savannah Weekend

Friday January 15^th

· Dinner @ 6pm the Pink House

o 912-232-4286 – 23 Abercorn St

· Ghost tour @ 8pm Haunted Pub Crawl $10 (www.ghostsavannah.com)

o 912-604-3007 – Departs from Moon River Brewing Co 21 W Bay St

· Drinks on the Roof

Saturday January 16^th

· Breakfast @ Goose Feathers Café/ or hotel restaurant

· Poseidon Spa 10am – 1:30ish pm

o 912-721-5004 – 700 Drayton St

· Lunch – someplace easy for a snack.

o I couldn’t really find a place near the hotel we’ll be at, except for the 700 Drayton which is inside the hotel. The prices are kinda high, but I figure we won’t want to eat too much (but I think we’ll be hungry) so maybe we can share a couple of entrée’s between the 4 of us.

· Birthday dinner @ 7pm Elizabeth’s on 37^th (www.elizabethon37th.net)

o 912-236-5547, 105 E 37^th St

· Birthday outing to Jazz’d Tapas Bar (www.jazzdsavannah.com)

o 912-236-7777 – 52 Barnard St

Sunday January 17^th

· Workout

· Brunch @ 11:30am B. Matthews Eatery (www.bmatthewseatery.com)

o 912-233-1319 – 325 E Bay St

· Shop/walk along River Street

· Trolley tour?

· Dinner along River Street

Monday January 18^th

· Go home

45min elliptical

abs/chest/back

10min treadmill