Virginia Trip

We took our first trip without the babe, since she was born, and made a long weekend out of a trip to Virginia for my colleague Katie's wedding. My mom took care of Amelia so we could enjoy some quality time away together, and so much needed sleep!

We spent 4 days in rural Virginia, and had a wonderful time exploring the local wineries, breweries and cideries. Virginia has earned a place in our hearts, and we're hoping to be able to get back there sometime for vacation. The green, rolling hills were absolutely beautiful, and the people were so hospitable and welcoming. We stayed in Bridgewater, Virginia so we explored the Shenandoah Valley American Venticultural Area (AVA), and we also took a day trip to Charlottesville, where we met up with our Denver friend Treece and explored the University of Virginia campus.

Katie and Jeff, the newlyweds! Their wedding was absolutely beautiful and had such a relaxed, intimate feel. The wedding was outdoors and the reception in a rustic barn, decorated with hanging lights that twinkled under the stars. It was magical, and their families were so welcoming. 

We had a delicious breakfast at The Pigeon Hole, located near the University of Virginia in an area called "The Corner." We had breakfast with our friend Treece, who we met in Denver and now lives in Virginia, and his friend Phil, who is the man behind Cutaway cycling gear. Like most college campus areas, there were lots of great places to eat and grab coffee, and we really enjoyed exploring.

And of course, we had to go find the Zeta Tau Alpha house so I could snap a photo!

The beautiful Shenandoah Valley

This is a photo of the winery we went to, Pollak Vineyards

I have to admit, I'm a bit of a cider aficionado. I try to never buy the same brand at the store, and I enjoy tasting different styles from parts of the country and the world. So, when we spotted cideries on the map, naturally we bee-lined to the nearest to check it out. We ended up at Bold Rock cidery and brewpub, a brand we had picked up a 6-pack of the night before (before realizing we would be stopping there the next day!) It was delicious, and possibly my new favorite. Unfortunately they don't distribute beyond the Virginia/DC area. The cider is a partnership between a guy named John, who bought the land in Virginia, and Brian Shanks, a world renown cider maker from New Zealand. The rest is history - they're expanding rapidly and becoming a local (and Denverite) favorite!

Breakfast at The Pigeon Hole

The Rotunda at University of Virginia. Set in the middle of campus, this is the site for their annual graduation ceremony. The path up the middle has to be re-sodded every summer because the thousands of footsteps of graduates destroys the grass every year. The campus was rich with history and stories about the founder Thomas Jefferson. We also drove to Monticello, TJ's homestead. We didn't have enough time to take in everything, and would love to plan a trip back to see more of Virginia's history as well as to tour DC.

Harps Visit Colorado 2.0

Our college friends, Matt and Andrea Harp came out to visit us again this year, for Colorado 2.0 - the 4th of July trip is becoming a tradition. They asked for the "Colorado Experience" so that is what we gave them! The trip started with a hike to hanging lake, a beautiful hike just out side of Glenwood Springs Colorado.

Note: Trail is difficult. Yes, it was. But, the end was totally worth it!

Views of the canyon from the top.

The lake was crystal clear, absolutely beautiful.

We stayed the night in Glenwood Springs at the historic Hotel Colorado. I don't think you can get much more Colorado-authentic than that! We also introduced them to the Glenwood hot springs and enjoyed some time relaxing that evening.

The next day we drove to Fort Collins and toured the New Belgium Brewery - We've had reservations for this tour for 3 months because its difficult to get a reservation. We were very excited to finally get to see the factory and were very impressed by the tour. All around, very successful trip and a great Colorado weekend.

Matt and I both won a beer on the brewery tour - I won the trivia question, which was "How many bottles are produced per minute?" and the answer is "700." Matt won a beer because he was the only home-brewer on our tour!

Canvas and Cocktails

The Rocky Mountain Alumnae Chapter of Zeta Tau Alpha hosted a social night at Canvas and Cocktails. We had a great time and come home with beautiful works of art! The studio is set up with mini easels and everyone gets their own canvas, brushes, water and paint. The instructor selects a painting to teach that evening and then instructs the class on how to create the painting. You also have the option of creating your own masterpiece, and straying from the "lesson." I have really wanted a painting of aspens for our second bedroom, so that is what I created, and Ashley painted a chandelier!

Wine and Jazz

To the mountains! A fun weekend in Keystone for Wine and Jazz...

Either they reused glasses from last year, or someone made a major typo when ordering the glasses for the 2012 event...

I have found the one whom my soul loves. - Song of Solomon 3:4

Another wonderful Valentines day with my love. Valentines day is our anniversary of dating, and this year is our 6 year anniversary of when we started dating. Christopher had a wonderful evening planned, with dinner and then chocolate and wine pairing downtown. The night ended in the Peaks Lounge on the 27th floor of the Hyatt, overlooking Denver and the mountains in the distance. Even more magical than Disney :)

Happy New Year!

We got home from our trip to Missouri and we were both sick. Chris shook it off a bit quicker than I did, and by New Years eve, I was still trying to catch up on rest and beat my sinus infection. We ended up touring Stranahan's Whiskey Distillery (Colorado whiskey) with some friends and having dinner at the restaurant onsite. Later we headed over to a friend's house for snacks and good conversation. Below are photos from the tour, and tasting.

 

Copper kettles where the whiskey magic happens...

This was my reaction after the whiskey tasting...

Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper owns this barrel because of it's significance. I may get this wrong, but I believe there are 52 gallons in a barrel, so the 1,000th barrel was 5,200 gallons, which is similar to Denver's elevation of 5280 feet.

Our 3rd Year Anniversary!

We like to celebrate special dates in our lives for a full week, so when it's time for a birthday or anniversary, we have a full week of celebration! I can't believe how fast three years has gone by both being married and living in Colorado. We've had so many wonderful memories over the last three years and I can honestly say, though I didn't think it was possible, I am even more in love today than I was on the day I said "I Do!" 

 

Flowers at work...

Anniversary dinner celebrating Chad and Michelle + Our 3 year anniversaries, both in November. We celebrated together at The Melting Pot - the fabulous fondue restaurant in Littleton, Colorado in an old Carnegie Library... the architecture is incredible! It's definitely one of our favorite restaurants in Colorado because of the setting and ambience.

This is a photo after our date night dinner, where we completely forgot to snap a photo at the restaurant! Chris found this great wine and cheese bar in Westminster > Here. It was a bit of a drive, but definitely worth it. We ordered flights of wine, one 2 oz pour of three different wines, and also ordered a cheese and meat tray. We had a great time sampling the different wines, many of which were grapes and blends we were not familiar with. The cheese and meat platter was served with apples, bread, crackers, cranberries, walnuts, Colorado honey, apricot preserves, dijon mustard, and figs. Delicious! These were our cheeses:

Walnut Gourmandise - Cow’s milk. France. Soft, buttery and with a hint of sweet served drizzled with Colorado wildflower honey. A customer favorite with its smooth and creamy layering of cheese and crunchy walnuts.

Prima Donna Red – Dutch Cow’s Milk. Full bodied, and full of flavor. Tiny salt crystals burst in your mouth as bite down. Then it suddenly melts and turns to cream in your mouth. Absolutely wonderful & served with a drizzle of Balsamic glaze. 

And our meal looked similar to this:

The meal was WONDERFUL and we will definitely have to frequent this gem again.

We stayed downtown Denver and watched the Parade of Lights from our room! This was our first Parade of Lights and it was so much fun that we've decided to go every year.

More balloons at the Parade of Lights.

We even got some snow for our anniversary! It was beautiful, and really put us in the mood for Christmas time, the most beautiful time of the year!

The Omahamas

Last weekend we made a quick trip to Omaha with our friends Dave and Kate Stone. Kate is from Omaha and we split our weekend between staying with The Tyler Danforth and staying at Kate's parents house on a lake. We had a great weekend, with great (old and new) friends.

We spent Friday exploring western Iowa wine country, and to our pleasant surprise, found some great reds that needed to make their way back to Denver. We spent some time chatting with the vinter/owner of Prairie Hawk Winery, learning more about himself and his wines.

Friday night we hung out with Tyler, Dave and Kate, Kate's sister Kalen and her boyfriend Bill. We did dinner downtown Omaha and explored Old Market. Omaha has so much to offer, it's a neat town with lots to see and do. The highlight of the night were the slides in a park downtown. Chris and Tyler had a friendly race, and according to Chris (contrary to what the video shows), he was the winner.

We were excited to be back in the midwest, the home of Quik Trip, and we made several visits during the short time we were in Omaha!

This is a view of the lake at sunset. We enjoyed a football-filled Saturday and lake-filled Sunday with Kate's family. They were so kind to host us and we enjoyed spending time with the fam. Overall we had a great weekend and we hope to visit Omaha again sometime soon!