Monday, November 5, 2012

Chicago

A few weekends back we took a trip to Chicago.  Chicago has been on our "must go" list for awhile, plus we had some airline miles that were burning a hole in our pocket. So we booked it. If you follow me on instagram you know that I had a timeline for our weekend. Simply because I wanted to see as many sites as possible and Ryan wanted to try as many restaurants as possible. There had to be some organization to it all!


When we first arrived we took the 40min subway ride to our hotel downtown, dropped our bags and headed out for our first Chicago dog. We ate at Portillos. Meh. It was nothing spectacular, pretty "chain-y."

After Portillos we headed over to the Museum of Contemporary Art. The highlight was seeing the  works of Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec. They also had a large collection of modern furniture which I love, love, loved. Later that night we had drinks on the 95th floor of the John Handock building.  This is the place to go to see the spectacular views of the city. For dinner we went to one of Chicago's famous steakhouse, Gibsons. Gibsons was awesome! Their steak and chocolate mouse cake are so goodLook at the size of the that cake "slice." 
Day two of our trip we headed out to the suburbs, the Oak Park neighborhood. We took a tour of Frank Lloyd Wright's home and studio. He designed several homes, like the one below, in the area. I was pretty excited to see the works of such a famous architect.  After we walked around checking out all the homes we grabbed lunch at Giradano's, an iconic Chicago pizza place.
When we were finished with lunch we headed back into the city.  We walked down to Navy Pier, and I talked Ryan into riding the ferris wheel.  Luckily they had a Garrett Popcorn location at the pier. Below is what they call the Chicago mix, carmel and cheese. It sounds like a gross combo but it is seriously so good. Some friends of ours brought us back some on their recent trip to Chicago and I had been craving it ever since.


Later that night we went to a popular nightlife place called the Aviary for a small bite. For dinner we ate at Le Colonial, a French Vietnamese restaurant.  Yes, we did a lot of eating.
The next morning I snicked out, and brought us back some pastries from a little neighborhood bakery called, Floriole Cafe and Bakery. Like most of the places we went, I had read that they were the best in town. It was pretty delicious. I picked an assortment of pastries and at the last minute order a loaf of their sourdough. I am so glad I did! It rivals San Fransisco bread for sure.



We had a few hours left before we had to head to the airport. We walked over to the famous shiny "bean" also know as the Cloud Gate. From there we toured the Chicago Art Institute. I might venture to say this is one of my favorite art museums that I have been to. The museum was filled with world famous artist and some of their more popular works. They also had an entire section dedicated to Architecture and design, so much inspiration in one place!


Our last meal in Chicago was one more Chicago dog from Gene And Judes. This is exactly how I had imagined it to be. Cash only, three things on the menu, and a bunch of Italians with thick accents running the place. Not only was the hotdog delicious, they cut their fries right there. I am craving one now.

Sunday, November 4, 2012

Happy Halloween

Introducing Cowboy Ryan and Mrs. Owl
Hope everyone had a Happy Halloween! These pics were taken at the end of the night, thus mine is falling apart, I guess that is what happens when you wait until the last minute to make your costume. At this point my beak was taped on with scotch tape and my feathers are getting ruffled. Oppsy. Costume inspiration here, adapted for big kids. See our costumes from years past, 2011, 2010.

Tuesday, October 9, 2012

Date Night: Boulder Dinner Theater

Have you been to the Boulder Dinner Theatre? We drive by it all the time, but nothing seemed to catch our attention until they were featuring Avenue Q.  Avenue Q has won awards for Best Musical and Best Score. I think they said it perfect, "Avenue Q is part flesh, part felt and packed with heart." I was a little sceptical given the puppet approach, but the play is totally geared toward adults. It is silly, laugh of loud entertaining. Go see it! (but eat before you go, haha the food...not so much)

Happy Birthday Dad!

We took my Dad out to celebrate his 59th birthday. Next year is 60, that's a biggie! We had heard nothing but good things about Lola in the Highlands neighborhood so we headed there. It is right next to Little Man so any excuse to get ice cream sounded like a good plan. The restaurant was okay.  I think I over hyped it for myself, but as always Little Man was delicious. If you are ever in Denver you should go! Salted Oreo is the best. Happy Birthday Dad!

Monday, October 8, 2012

DIY: Wrapping Paper

A while back I bought the Ikea MALA drawing paper with no purpose in mind.  I find myself using it for all kinds of things, but mostly to wrap presents.  I like it because you can customize the paper anyway you choose. For my dad’s birthday present I used my Lotta Jansdotter stencil creating an argyle pattern. I tied a yarn bow and it was done. Inexpensive, simple, and what any parent wants, a bit of homemade :)

Mud Season

In the spring we took advantage of mud season, sneaking away to Aspen for the weekend. Well we did it again, only this time we went to Vail. Mud season is the best for two reasons: 1/2 price hotels and 1/2 price restaurants. Sadly, we barely missed the height of the changing colors; most of the aspens in the mountains have already lost their leaves.  I love all the architecture in Vail, if you didn't know better you just might think you were away in some Swiss village. We did nothing more than relax and have a good time.

Sunday, October 7, 2012

Mood Board: Boy Meets Girl

My sister was in need of a room make-over.  This room needed to function for a toddler boy and a teenage girl. Not the easiest combination, but she was off to a great start and together we came up with this mood board. I love how it turned out! Perfect for boy and girl, young and old.


For a complete list of sourcing check out our Pinterest Board.

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Rocky Mountain NP

Colorado sure is picture perfect. A trip to Rocky Mountain National park, and one last hurrah before Janelle starts back to work, yet another reminder that summer is coming to an end. Sad face.

Monday, August 13, 2012

Birthdays and Such


Happy Birthday to us, Happy Birthday to us... summer is a busy time for birthdays!  Janelle was in town for her birthday this year so we had a party and celebrated her quarter life!  The birthday girl requested an almond poppy cake with white chocolate butter cream frosting.  I opted for an ice cream cake, half funky donkey the other half mud pie.
Ryan took me to see the Broadway play, Jersey Boys. We both really, really liked it. I was surprised at how many songs I actually knew.  I haven't seen very many plays, but this one just might be my favorite. For my birthday I got a nightstand, wooohoo! You know your getting old when you are excited to get a nightstand, but seriously our entire married life I have been with out a nightstand so this is big.

Sunday, August 12, 2012

Painted Coasters

Thank you Martha for the idea to spruce up my coasters!