ROXBOROUGH PARK.

memorial day weekend was amazing. more photos coming via the phone later this week, but i did manage to take the big camera on one outing: a hike at roxborough state park.

b was especially interested in these cacti. pretty, right?

wildlife! we had heard that this trail was a good place to see animals {including mountain lions, which, not so much on our agenda...}, but this butterfly was the coolest thing we saw on the actual hike.

 the view from the top. {of the world. it feels like that right?!}

looking the opposite direction. see the red rocks?

and the stunner: a look over downtown denver. do you see the skyscrapers?

and, on our way out, we got a show: three baby boy deer. outside the park limits, just hanging out on the side of the road.

and, the view our moms were waiting for: us! such a happy weekend - hope yours was just as great!

FIRST.

{photo from pinterest}

whoops.

i missed my first blog anniversary!

my very first post was a grouping of photos from seattle - this was pre-instagram, people. old school. now i am four posts away from 200. this blog has seen a lot in its short little life, and is now connecting us with our family and friends all across the country.

cheers to another year of over sharing online.

p.s. i gave the bloggie a facelift for its birthday. if you read this in reader, click over to check it out!

fancy wasn't my name, but this dinner was.

for my birthday, we went out to the fanciest, most well-reviewed restaurant in denver: the palace arms.

it's located inside the brown palace hotel, downtown.

right inside the lobby. we could hear the pianist playing all the way in the dining room.

photo thanks to one of our four waiters.

i just realized we didn't take any food photos. hmm. most memorable courses included: the amuse bouche of foie gras, which i was not about to try. i encouraged baker to eat it, though, which resulted in tears, the most sour/smush face he has ever made and choking down a whole glass of water. i'm laughing just remembering it. at least he can say he had foie gras, though - he's fancy now! another favorite was one of their well-known tricks: making salad table side. we got to watch another of our waiters make caesar dressing and mix up all the ingredients. very cool. 

birthday dessert special! with a candle. very cute. ALSO: free dessert plate included a MACAROON. #fancy. which, i had put on my before-26 goal list and totally forgot about. luckily, palace arms helped me get it in just under the wire.

to prove their fanciness, a private well. my coworker filled me in on this little secret. the hotel has been around so long that it has it's own well, pulling water from the local mountain springs. since it was warm out that night, the fountain water was warm. straight from the mountains.

it was delicious!

and very fancy.

birthday instagrams. plus, so many animals it's like my life is a zoo.

sigh. i am having a heck of a time organizing these photos. so, we'll just go in the rando order that blogger added them in! first up: my surprise present from b that got delivered later in the week! a new camera lense. over-the-top this year for sure, after we agreed to not do bday presents anymore. just you wait until september, sir.

so, this little guy is outside my work window every day. he will literally stick his whole body in and do this crazy teeth clinking sound that scared the beejesus out of me the first time i heard it. i finally shut the window on him and what does he do? taps his hand on it! can you see his little palm, like "hello? i am out here!"

 

art and michelle's little lady, goya. 

 

ahh, super sweet {literally} birthday present from my work bff, sandra. i was shocked and touched! and everyone at work was very jealous.

flowers from b. they still look beautiful, a week later!

my birthday present to myself, a birchbox subscription. 

haha! birthday text from jade! super cute, thanks mom. 
 

noodles and co sent me a coupon for my birthday! free pasta dish, thanks for the casual fancy patio dinner noods!

book club with my prsa girls. very thankful for midweek wine breaks.

tons more iphone photos to share - coming at you later this week. maybe i'll tempt my squirrel coworker into another photo shoot. you never know.

getting artsy.

this weekend we went downtown to check out the ysl exhibit at the denver art museum. the museum is right beyond these red pillars. unfortunately, the exhibit sold out for the first time that day. but, we were downtown anyway, so i finally got to take photos of some of the crazy installation art that i've driven by.

doesn't this make you think of beauty and the beast when all the furniture comes alive and helps out? {my swiffer could hop up and mop these floors anytime it likes.}

the public library is right on the other side of this building.

mini-mountains. 

horse on a chair. 

in the very center of downtown.all the occupy denver residents watched us walk around and take these photos.

there we are!

it was another great weekend, capped off a costco run, getting my birthday gift all set up and sleeping approximately 20 hours on sunday. and that is my kind of weekend.

mother's day.

it's the second old-school photo of the week. sidebar: i am still upset that i can't wear my hair in those kind of bangs anymore!

i mentioned it in my birthday post, but having me as a child was not the easiest of endeavors. from wrecking my car to crying about cheerleading drama to bringing jade home one summer day before senior year {surprise!}, i think you can imagine it.

luckily, i was blessed with two amazing parents. my mom is one of the most patient, understanding and empathetic people i have ever known. she passed to me her ability to get embarrassed for people she doesn't know, her terrible singing voice and penchant for humming, her love for hohos, and her heart for special needs children and adults. i'm also pretty sure that she is the only individual ever who regularly sweeps her floors more than once a day. {sorry to all past and present roommates that i did not inherit that trait.}

every day i can tell that i look more and more like my mom. it's only now that i can appreciate that and hope that i can grow to become like the wife, mother and person she is.

happy mother's day, mom!

hello siri.

b outdid his other over-the-top gifts with this one! so excited to get it set up and going. who wants to facetime?!

thanks for all the birthday wishes! more photos from my wonderful day coming soon.

26 years.

it's my birthday! twenty six. i feel so much older than that and so much younger, all at the same time.

a tidbit for every year i've been alive, some i've known forever and some i just figured out last week {aka number 26!}:


1. moving across the country is really hard and really expensive.
2. sometimes the most worthwhile things are also the hardest.
3. never be embarrassed if your favorite restaurant is not the most fancy {taco bell, represent} or your idea of a good time is not the wildest.
4. comparison is the stealer of joy. i think i read this somewhere, but no truer words have ever been spoken. no matter how many of your friends are married, having babies, own a home and also have time to run marathons. {HOW?}
5. know your weak spots. i worry too much, cannot say no to sugar, speak without thinking and have a terrible memory, unless it comes to grudge because that i will. never. forget.
6. being an adult is harder than it looks.
7. you should choose a college major based on a real career that has actual job openings.
8. you can do pretty much anything you put your mind to.
9. only ask the opinions of a few trusted individuals who really have your best interest at heart. otherwise, you're just airing your business for others enjoyment.
10. being a vegetarian takes a lot more work than just saying no to chicken sandwiches from wendy's.
11. but, i'll still never eat pork again.
12. our parents did so much for us that went under- or unappreciated. i cannot imagine having me for a child. especially ages 16 through 18.
13. there is no purer love than a dog for its owner.
14. find out what kind of wine you like by age 25. after that, shrugging and saying "pink?" kind of loses its cuteness. {and if it lost it before that, i don't wanna hear about it.}
15. running can change your mood. so can brownies.
16. letting yourself fall in love with someone is way harder than it was in high school, but way more worth it. never, ever settle.
17. just say no to drugs. and cigarettes. that stuff will literally kill you.
18. know how to present yourself. there's a place for humility and there's a time to be confident in your skills.
19. always have a back-up plan.
20. make goals, meet them, celebrate it, repeat. if you're not improving, then what are you doing?
21. don't waste money on what my dad would call "blow gums and trinkets". if i had a dollar for every, well, dollar i spent on stupid stuff between ages 22 and yesterday, i'd be super rich.
22. don't let anyone make you feel bad about your favorite music. miley, garth and hanson for life.
23. don't judge people from outside appearances.
24. friends you make in your youth understand you more than any new friend can. it's like we say in girl scouts, "make new friends, but keep the old. one is silver and the other's gold."
25. money spent to visit your family, be there for your friend's wedding or support a good cause is money well spent.
26. 25 is in fact NOT the age that you have to have everything figured out. who knew?!

lately.

gift box from tricia! so sweet. she knew i had cut back since moving to denver, and knows my love for magazines. {okay, and wine!}

a beautiful - and unique - arrangement from shari for my birthday! the vase is like a concrete brick, very cool.

d.p. dough, an athens favorite, available in denver. b was excited, to say the least.

the sky out here is unlike anything i've ever seen. this was our view on the way out to thornton for dinner with friends michelle and art. on the other side of the mountains it was a purple color. it later ended up storming like crazy - VERY rare out here.

dessert made by art. yum.

and the tiny blip of a view we got at the super moon. that storm brought in unusual cloud cover and we all but missed the big event. just heard on the evening news that it'll be this big again in 2029. i am marking my calendar right now.

after great weekends, the sunday sads are worse than usual. here's hoping for an amazing {birthday!} week!

tres.

tomorrow is our three year smoochiversary. THREE years!

on cinco de mayo 2009, we told each other we liked each other. we weren't officially boyfriend and girlfriend until august, so get excited for another mushy post at that time.

this photo is from that july when we went on a rafting trip to the ocoee with a big group of people.

we barely knew each other, but i already knew that he was the one for me.

who's that lady? hint: it's me.

my birthday present from my parents came - and look what it is! a full dish set! and not just that, but the dish set i blogged about six months ago. it makes me cry that my mom read back and saw that and then went and bought it for me. she didn't just order it online, she cleaned out the nashville store, called the denver store and then ordered the rest. eight sets worth!

i feel like quite the lady with a real set of dishes now.

which is good timing, since i'll be in my late 20s in less than a week.

i've got the itch.

 

{with my girl theresa right around the block from the chinese theater} 

this news story means it has been a YEAR since i was in LA for the biggest loser finale. look at all the crazy stuff that has changed since then! i don't live in nash anymore, my hair is super short {sniff, sniff} and my friend hannah is now a celebrity.

i looked through the photos again - and sent a particularly funny one to the group of friends i went with - and it has given me the itch to plan a vacation. unfortunately, i think moving across country probably counts for 2012.

plus, i'll be back in ohio in june for tricia's wedding and then we are praying that we can go to camp this year. my friend shari will be having her aunt contact the monks in nepal {no, really}, but you can send a wish up for us, too. 

happy may!

 

{pinned}

it is MAY! can you believe it? i can't.

it is a combination of lots going on and nothing happening all at the same time here. i am hoping may will prove to be its usual wonderfulness, full of birthdays, celebrating mothers and lovely weather. i'll also cross my fingers that i make time to get back to this blog. for now, happy may!