Denver’s Riverfront Park
On Sunday, we went to my sister’s for brunch in Arvada, and then we figured since we were out of the Boulder bubble, we might as well head to Denver. When I lived downtown, I lived in what can only be described as a frat house for young professionals. Unspeakable things were likely happening in that rooftop hottub with the incredible views. A saving grace was being across from Riverfront Park and LoHi, which I still love to this day and the neighborhood continues to get better.
Here are my picks for this hood after you walk along the Platte River.
1. Little Man Ice Cream - Supposedly this is not the best ice cream in Denver, but I think it is and it is definitely the best ice cream experience. Mad love for the salted oreo and for ordering ice cream out of what looks like a giant milk can.
2. Masterpiece Deli - Hands down, the best breakfast sandwiches in Denver (pictured above). But get the bagel. The English Muffin is plan B for if they run out of bagels, which was my Sunday travesty.
3. REI - I hate the outdoors but this REI anchor store makes me want to leave with a kayak every time. It’s housed in what used to be a train museum and the architecture makes it worth the trip.
4. Savory Spice Shop - The best place to get spices in the world. Love all of their variety packs and their giant tub of cinnamon sticks.
5. Root Down - It used to be a gas station and is way better than Linger, it’s sister restaurant that used to be an obituary. Linger has the better views but Root Down is less of a scene (barely) and has better food. I might be in the minority in this opinion. I dream about their lamb sliders.
6. Mona’s - A good brunch.
7. Paris on the Platte - I have been ordering crowbars from here since high school when it still had a bookstore and the neighborhood was this side of sketch. A nostalgic choice but I still love it.
And if you want my honest opinion, skip Lola’s (amazing guac and patio but horrible drinks and service).
The End.
Alexis’ Baby Shower
I met Alexis in 2008 when we worked at rival PR agencies, and we were in a leadership program run by the Denver Chamber. We went for wine one night and started talking fashion, and we kept talking really obscure designers and Vogue and photographers. Kindred spirits as it were. We’d get together and buy a bunch of foreign Vogues, Elles and Harper Bazaars and wine and squeal over thousand dollar shoes. It was the best. Then I moved to Boulder and then Alexis moved to California. I blame the lack of Alexis influence in my world on the fact that I have become to Boulder-y and never wear makeup anymore.*
Alexis came back from California to Colorado for her baby shower for her soon-to-be world’s best dressed boy. (Please check out her Pinterest board on baby boy style.) Racquel and Alexis’ mom did an adorable job with her shower that echoed Alexis’ travel theme for the nursery. They held it at Highlands Garden Cafe in Denver, which had a great private dining area connected to the patio.
*The reason I no longer wear makeup and go everywhere with wet hair has nothing to do with the fact that I am lazy.
The See You Next Time at Salt. I liked it but I didn’t love it.
Sara threw the most amazing birthday party for her dog Parker. Before you’re like…wait…she threw a party for her dog…go over and read the story. Her love for Parker is adorable and speaks volumes about her big heart. My favorite detail is that she had a step-and-repeat for people to take pictures with their dogs. Speaking of dogs, Clare and Drew got a new puppy, Boris von Snicklefritz, and he is a puppy heartbreaker.
There is an upcoming farm dinner on June 23rd in Boulder where the meals are paired with jazz music. It’s the first pop-up dinner in a series called Chromatic Kitchen, and I am hoping I get tickets.
I read Lean In finally. Wow. I can’t believe that this book was ever controversial. It had such an awesome message in the book. She was perfectly clear that everyone should be confident to make their own choices about their career paths, but that if you wanted the top rung, here were some things to think about.
I’m late to the party on this but the Instagram feed of Vogue photographer Claiborne Swanson Frank is a nice dose of eye candy.
Film on the Rocks, a series of films shown on Red Rocks, just released their summer schedule. Tickets for Princess Bride are purchased.
My company is holding a conference called Big Boulder in three weeks and the speaker lineup is sick. David Karp from Tumblr is speaking, as are some very impressive people from Twitter, Facebook, WordPress and more. Not too bad for a small 50+ person company based in the west.
I ordered two new dresses from J. Crew Factory this week with their awesome sale. I will probably need to branch out from navy at some point but now is not that time. (Polka dots // stripes)
We had another meeting of my book club, Women Against Scurvy, last week and it was down to the wire to finish the book, but I made it! I was reading until a half hour before the book club but I have yet to shame myself for showing up.
This month’s choice was Defending Jacob, and I liked it way more than last month’s pick of The Dinner. Great twist at the end! It had a very similar thread between the two — nurture vs nature. However, I’m not sure I’d recommend the book. I liked but I didn’t like it enough to advise you to pick up your own copy.
Better than the book was the company and the food. Stephanie hosted and made chicken orzo soup, roasted vegetable salad and the world’s best lemon cake. Killer.
The cutest part of our book club is that all of our boys get together while we’re meeting. There are no books involved, but from what I can gather, there is alcohol.
Next month we’re reading Middlesex. This is spectacular because I’ve already read it, and will not be rushing to finish the night before.
Kate Spade Surprise Sale
My co-worker was telling me how sad she was that a bag she wanted from Kate Spade had sold out, and I told her to cheer up because the Kate Spade Surprise Sale usually happens in June. Which was awesome because guess what was in my Facebook feed when I got home?
The Kate Spade Surprise Sale.
Surprise! The green number above is on its way to me. Happy Monday indeed. The rest pictured are ones I was definitely considering as well. Such a sucker for bright colors. So definitely do not “need” this purse.
Colorado on the second day of May. Taken from the awesome Instagram of Drew Frey.
My co-worker hates shopping for clothes, so I recommended that she signup for StitchFix and they send you five items to try each month, and you can send what you don’t like back. It was so much fun to see what they sent her, and she decided to keep all 5 items. The experience was flawless and they even sent index cards on how she can wear the outfits.
I think we finally settled on a wedding venue. At first, we figured we’d have the ceremony outside and the reception inside. And then the most miserable April to have ever existed happened, and we decided we needed an indoor ceremony for a Colorado wedding in April.
Whit made homemade nutella, and it makes me wish she still lived in Denver so I could beg her to make me some. (Fun fact: The nutella made in America has trans fat in it while the Italian stuff doesn’t.)
Sarah blogged about the amazing cake pops she made for Beerster. Sarah may be in fact a certified genius when it comes to cake pops.
When Vikas and I actually get to move into our house, I want a tiny library. We will likely build the tiny library long before our house is finished.
High Fashion’s Ambassador to the Midwest. This article on Ikram Goldman of Chicago is an awesome weekend read. (courtesy of erehwyna)
This weekend, I get to meet one of my closest friend’s baby boy. He’s already six-months old! Where has the time gone? When I realize things like this, I realize I need to do a better job of making time for people I love.
When I was reading LeCatch, I saw this dress from Old Navy and stopped everything I was doing to purchase it. Dreaming of strapless dresses while walking to work in snow.
For Bridget’s shower, when we decided on a tea party theme, I immediately thought a doily garland would be perfect. I also remembered that my friend Jackie had dyed doilies previously. The bride’s wedding colors are purple, so I decided to dye the edges of the doilies purple
Supplies:
- 4 packs of Wilton doilies
- Food coloring
- String
- Hot glue gun
- Wax paper
Mix up a bowl of food coloring. I wanted saturated colors so I dumped in a lot to the point it was very dark purple. Fold the garlands in half and then dip in the edges. I went through about a pack of doilies before I figured out much to dip in without having it bleed too much. Let them dry on wax paper (takes a couple hours). The colors changed a lot when they dried.
Once they’re dry, open them up and dab hot glue at each of the ends and then stick the string in. I also glued the bottom together.
Guys! Guess what!!! There was finally an opportunity to use my British royal family commemorative teacups. My sweet friend Bridget is getting married in a month, and my friend Cara and I teamed up to throw her a tea party themed shower.
This is Bridget! The first time we met was as the first day of being an account coordinator at a PR agency. She told me she had the same birthday as me. I can’t tell you how lucky I was to have Bridget as a friend while navigating my twenties. Her heart and compassion have been invaluable to me.
I handled decorations and Cara handled food. The scones she made? Ahhh-mazing.
I had big plans to sew gingham napkins for the tea party. Instead I just cut up gingham fabric, which got the job done. The purple suitcases are from Shop Sweet Lulu. Also, even though I work in a fairly serious job, sometimes when my co-worker travels to London, I ask him if they can pick up a commemorative Diamond Jubilee teacup. Thanks Seth!
Cara made this really excellent strawberry sangria! The purple straws are also from Shop Sweet Lulu. Every time I order from them, I wish I did a bigger order.
I made three kinds of garlands. The purple circle garland in the first picture, a dyed doily garland and a purple ribbon garland.
For party favors, I wanted to give out tea towels after seeing this tutorial on stenciled tea towels. First, I tried silk printing use Martha Stewart stencils. And….after I only got three out of many to work out, I gave up. I cut two hearts out of parchment paper and used those as stencils. Really, it’s the thought that counts…right?
The best part about meeting with our architect recently is that we found out we have an attic that is actually in good condition. And by good condition, I mean there isn’t anything gross up there and there are floors. No dead animals FTW! So obviously, I began thinking we should turn it into a shabby chic attic wonderland. Which will be a little tough because the ceilings aren’t as wide as those pictured above and I don’t think there are windows. But that isn’t enough to stop me from endlessly surfing shabby chic attic pictures on Pinterest.
Photo Sources: Blue Attic, Twin Bed Attic Room, Attic Library, Daybed in Attic, and White Minimalist Attic.
My book club, Women Against Scurvy, met last week. This month’s book was The Dinner by Herman Koch. The night before as I was plotting out whether I had enough time to make a cake after work for our dinner, I realized one small detail. I hadn’t read the book.
You might be able to get away with not reading the book in other book clubs, but the Women Against Scurvy are very dedicated to not only drinking but actually reading the book. Because I am unable to stay up past 11 pm, I woke up at 4 am to start reading the book since I had a press announcement hitting the wire at 6 am. And the truth is, I just wasn’t into the book at all. I figured it was the time I was reading it and because I was rushing to finish it. None of the characters were sympathetic or believable.
So I was relieved when I got to book club, and the verdict was unanimous that no one liked the book. The good news is at least this book didn’t have me bawling through two airports like last month’s book.
Thanks to Sarah for hosting! You make a killer dinner!
