END OF DENVER: TAG BURGER BAR.

ohmygosh, these are the blurriest photos i have ever posted on the blog. not this one, or even the next one, but around photo four you are going to feel like i took these at warp speed.

too bad for your viewing pleasure. but, i still wanted to share, because this was a great meal with even better friends.

i had been to tag burger once during lunch with my favorite coworkers. it was quiet and the service and food were amazing. i thought i had found a little undercover gem. suffice to say i was a bit surprised when we walked in last week and it was bumping. advice to denver people that want to eat there for dinner: make a reservation.

our waitress was awesome! i got the cocktail she recommended - the black rose, a blueberry/prosecco mixture - and the burger she said was her favorite - the colorado proud. i loved both very much.

duck fat fries. addictive.

and because, when in rome, deep fried oreos with nutella topping! they were as bad/good as they sound.

aand, apparently it only took one drink for me to get the blurs! but, look who it is: andy and anna!

tag burger bar: a great choice for our last night in the mile-high city.

DEJA VU.

wasn't it just yesterday we were holding this pose before leaving our nashville home?

 

you know what we didn't have last time, though? professional movers. hallelujah - they made the whole move 100 times easier.

we waved goodbye to all our stuff on friday morning, and headed out mid-afternoon saturday. here's hoping our semi-truck driver paul arrives in seattle in a week with every single box. if you're reading this tuesday, we are probably somewhere in montana. {say a quick prayer we beat the snow that is allegedly headed our way!}

how many pounds of stuff do you think we had? here's a hint: our driver said we have way less than most people. one bed, a loveseat and enough clothes to fill up six wardrobe boxes. ready for the grand total? 3,300 pounds!!! what weighs that much?!

and one last glance at our empty home that we were so grateful to live in. a garage, two point five bathrooms, giant closets, neighbors we knew and walking distance to our favorite little spot. seattle, get ready, you've got a lot to live up to.

JANUARYGRAMS.

it's been a while since i've done an instagram post. probably because i haven't been doing anything cool enough to take photos of!

did you watch the inauguration on monday? my favorite quote was "that is our generation's task - to make these values of life and liberty and the pursuit of happiness - real for every american." i really loved the whole thing. mentions of climate change and equal rights for woman and marriage for all!

umm, i am obsessed with these popcorn chips. i don't even have words for how good they are.

drinks at my goodbye happy hour with work people at punch bowl social.

margs is one of my favorite denver spots. we've been there twice in the last month to get it out of my system. luckily, i already have my mexican restaurant picked out in seattle.

view from lunch downtown.

and a selfie of us enjoying the beer garden, something we will really miss. 

we leave denver sunday - wish us a safe drive, good weather and incredible patience during our four-day trek!

ON SAYING GOODBYE.

there is a lady at work who arrives the same time i do every day. she gets dropped off right in front of the building by her husband. each morning they have the same routine: kiss in the car, hug, she gets out and says "i love you" while gathering her things, then she stands and waves goodbye with her hand in the air until he is out of the parking lot.

i mean, i am very into baker, but my first thought was "geeez lady, give it a rest!" i have watched them do their morning routine for months. then one morning she was being dropped off by what looked to be her mother. she hugged her, said "i love you" and then proceeded to wave until her mom drove out of sight. i was so taken by this that i waited to walk in with her and said with a laugh, "you are very passionate about your goodbyes!"

her response: "you never know when it may be the last time you see someone."

today is my last day of work. i had my last prsa committee meeting a week ago. the final cocktail club hung out earlier in january.

it is very strange to leave a city where you have no roots. with nashville we knew we'd be back. but, we won't even have lived in denver for 365 days. it is like 2012 is this weird lost year. so much happened and we built an incredible life here. but, now it's over.

so, when i say goodbye today, i hold it in my heart that it's not goodbye forever, but just for now. thanks for everything, denver.

colorado sunset watercolor.

END OF DENVER: LINGER.

linger is one of the hottest denver restaurants right now. so hot, in fact, that you can't even get a reservation. typically when a place gets that big, it has to be overrated. so, i wasn't interested in rushing there, until i knew we were moving. then, i knew we had to try it before we left.

the earliest reservation we could get in the weeks before we head to seattle was at 8 p.m. i'm not going to lie, i am sometimes in bed by that hour. but for the amazingness that we had heard linger is, we took the 8:00 reservation. by the time they brought out the complimentary ranch popcorn, i knew we had made the right decision. {popcorn is a top 10 favorite food for me.}

check out our coat check ticket: lucky number 13! i got "the rum diary", which was fantastic. i hate sweet drinks, so this was perfect. it's a mix of liquor with some lemon bitters.

linger is known for small plates. we basically ordered one of everything, so prepare yourself for food photos. these were the sweet potato fries with chipotle ketchup, which were wonderful. we couldn't even finish the serving.

scallops with acorn squash. i'm not a fan of squash, but b really loved it.

felafel! coincidentally enough, the last time i ate felafel was in seattle in 2009. this was incredible - one of my favorite bites of food from the evening.

 

saving the best for last: mongolian bbq duck bun. i haven't had a desire to have duck since eating it for the first time in china, but this was mind blowing. just, so perfect. sigh. i could eat a million of these mini buns right now.

linger: housed in an old mortuary and killing it with their food.

END OF DENVER: PEAK'S LOUNGE

this weekend we got to check something i've had on my denver to-do list for a long time: peak's lounge.

the bar is ranked as one of the best places to see the sun set in the city. here's the view when we first arrived, around 4 p.m.

pear martini, a house specialty, for moi and a dark beer, per usual, for b.

pretty sky, just 30 minutes later.

this good-looking man. dressed up in christmas presents from his momma.

dessert splurge. a lemon meringue, a guinness with caramel and a maple with chocolate-covered bacon. 

goodnight beautiful city.

FROM SEA TO SHINING SEA... KIND OF.

since we're all reminiscing and whatnot with the new year, here's a random post for you. i've lived in three states in my life and all are wildly different. my heart still belongs to each of them a little bit and i thought i'd share some of my personal pros and cons of my homes from the midwest to the south to the west.

the worst: poor ohio. it has a bad rep, but the rumors about the economy are mostly true. there's just not a ton of diverse career opportunities there, though i do have friends who are super successful in their buckeye-state-based jobs {hello tricia and betsy!}. also: you will never live somewhere where people complain about their home state more.

the best: my favorite thing about ohio is that there seems to be a shared experience among people that grew up there. b and i were raised 138 miles from one another, but we have SO many similar traditions. i also enjoy the local fare {pierogies!}, the fact that most people know how to drive in all types of weather and our undying desire to root for the underdog {ex: the cleveland browns}.

the worst: though a booming city, nashville is still very much in the south. it's in the bible belt and you would be remiss to think that everyone lives a liberal lifestyle or is okay with you living one. i got more than one "bless your heart" when i lived there, and if you know anything about the south, that isn't a compliment.

the best: nashville has some of the friendliest people you will ever meet. there is rarely a honk on the highway and i always felt safe walking alone around town, even at night. the food is beyond wonderful and it is also within driving distance to some other amazing places, like new orleans!

the worst: i get flipped off an average of once a week while on the road and i have never been around more aggressive drivers. denver is also super landlocked {am i the only one who thought it was right next to california? oh, i am...} and there is no culinary specialty, unless you count beef, which i do not.

the best: colorado is the most beautiful place i have ever lived. the sky opens up straight from heaven and i have never seen more stunning sunrises or sunsets. there is a ton to do here; regardless of if you enjoy outdoor activities.

four years, three states and what feels like three different lives i've led. i can't wait to see where life takes us next.

XMASGRAMS.

here are some quick pics from our holiday. too much mimosa for moi. one of our fav gifts: a toaster from my mom! it's off our registry, which was a theme of presents - we also got some pans and an oven mitt my dad would describe as "bad boy." speaking of my dad - he sent me this photo of miss. jade in all that snow they're having in ohio. he TEXTED it to me. so 2012, my dad is.

more gifts - i am inlove with those jcrew gift boxes. the necklace and scarf are pretty amazing, too. this kate spade frame from betsy made me cry. our halls, decked.

christmas stuff is getting packed up later this week and on wednesday our tree will be out by the curb. {denver offers free recycling - they turn all the trees into mulch that you can go pick up at no cost in the spring, so cool.} we are full steam ahead into 2013!

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!

MY FAVORITE THING ABOUT DENVER.

... is by far the beautiful show the sky puts on for us.

here's saturday's sunset, straight from the camera, no editing needed. 

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!