IT'S BEGINNING TO LOOK A LITTLE BIT LIKE CHRISTMAS.

it's december! it certainly doesn't feel like it here, but we braved the 70 degree temps to head to a local tree farm and find our christmas tree.

it's family-owned and operated and they had a bunch of dogs running around, ready to be pet. we took advantage of that - we did not take advantage of their offering of gorgeous blue spruce, though. $65 is a biiiit pricy for something we'll have for just a month.

see - t-shirt weather! b picked out our tree and cut it down. it was quick and easy.

so quick that he talked me into stopping at left hand brewery on the way home.

we even did a tour! check out those goggles.

the view on the ride home. not very much snow up there, but it still makes for a beautiful backdrop.

decorated tree photos coming soon - we're hosting a holiday get-together for my prsa committee this week, so hurried cleaning and organizing starts... now!

BRANDON IN CO! PLUS, THE FORT COLLINS BREWERY TOUR.

this weekend we had our second visitor: brandon! instead of a fully-planned weekend, like we did with courtney, we decided to focus on one thing for b's visit: beer.

 

that landed us in fort collins for a day of brewery visits. first stop, the aptly named: fort collins brewery. the guys loved the presentation of the tasters and the service was really great.

on to a bigger name: odell's. we sat outside and enjoyed the 75-and-sunny day.

 

 

us! i included just because my hair looks pretty long, which, after my veg stint last year, i thought may never happen.

next up was new belgium. fat tire is my drink of choice in colorado, so i had to have a bit.

thank you to the random lady who let us do a photoshoot while b was in the bathroom.

coopersmith's was on the list for food purposes, but since we had already eaten at the pickle barrel, the guys did a tasting. i tried a sip of the punjabi and it was by far my favorite beer of the day.

from there, the wonderful designated drive {that'd be me} took us 20-minutes back toward denver to left hand brewery. by this point, it was about 8 p.m. and the guys had been at it since 11. but, they weren't too rowdy, and left hand ended up being a favorite of the tour.

b and b at the end of a long, beerful day.

we're so happy you visited brandon! we'll see b again {and mosby!} in just two weeks in nashville. counting down the days!

LOWRY BEER GARDEN.

to celebrate our official move in, we spent saturday evening at the lowry beer garden. first, it's within walking distance to our new place. automatic two thumbs up. and, it's located inside an old airplane hanger. {lowry is the old airport base. more about our new neighborhood coming in a post soon!} and, they serve soft pretzels, a personal fav.

it was 90+ at 6:00. forgive the frizz hair. i am also whiter than i have ever been in my life because i am scared to leave the house without sunscreen. i'm sure i'll thank myself in 40 years. {i hope.}

dun dun dun dunnn, soft pretzel. really good, plus spicy cheese. nom.

the beer garden is known for their burgers. b agreed that they are fame-worthy. 

a night at the beer garden was a great welcome to lowry - we are so happy to be here!

instafood. or, what's on our phones lately.

brunch at snooze. they boast an hour plus wait all. the. time.

happy hour with anna lisa at lala's. 

photo by b. one of the most-used gifts i've ever gotten him. {glasses from west elm.}

pho from pho 95! still not as delicious {to moi} as miss saigon, but pretty yum, and b gives it two thumbs up.

happy hour with a new friend at bar car.

and one of my hunny bunny! hope you all had a great easter!

last of nash: yazoo brewery tour.

i don't care if this was a month ago and i now live on the other side of the country: the yazoo tour was one of the coolest things i ever did in nashville.

it was on the we-must-do-this-before-we-move list, so it was crossed off our very last weekend in tennessee. and, brandon came with us!

these are dehydrated hops. one of the most interesting things about yazoo is that they partner with so many other businesses in town. so when they're done using a bunch of ingredients they pass them along. like, after yeast is done making the beer... yeasty...  they give it to local bakeries. or after the grain is used they give it to local farmers. drunk cows? i had to ask baker all these details, it's hard to remember after a few weeks. {plus, they totally give out generous samples on the tour, so that doesn't help my memory either.}

gigantic beer makers!

bottling. the labels on all of yazoo's beers are hand drawn by the owner/founder's wife.

 

and then, after your super-worth-it $7 tour, you end up in the tap room, where you can drink to your heart's content.

i know i should be drinking coors light, but i can't deny that i could go for a dos perros right now. 

please come to colorado, yazoo!