Ichabods in Colorado

We are pretty involved with Washburn University. John graduated from there and currently works for Washburn, and he was just elected to the Washburn Alumni Board of Directors. For several years now, Washburn's first football game of the season has been against Colorado School of Mines. The game this year was in Golden, CO and we talked about going. Plans solidified when I found out Ray LaMontagne and David Gray were going to play Red Rocks the Monday after the game. I talked John into it and in turn, he talked Javier and Brenda into going with us. We turned it into a fantastic weekend!

Drove to Denver on a Friday, I scheduled a detour at the outlet malls in Castle Rock, everyone bought something at Coach! We made good time and checked into the Sheraton Denver West--we got great rates using Hotwire. That night Washburn Alumni gathered at a sports bar near Cherry Creek for a get together. Our friends Robin & Scott were there and we had a lot of fun visiting and trying new beers. I'd done a little research and read about a burger place in the Cherry Creek area, after hearing some more great things about it, that's where we went for dinner. Cherry Cricket was nearby...food was great and we had a blast hanging out at the teeny bar in the back, talking with the bartender.



Washburn played on Saturday, it was sunny and warm, and we cheered the Ichabods on to victory. Yes, Ichabods. If you need more info on why the Ichabods are the Ichabods, go here. "What's an Ichabod?"
We stopped at a joint right across from our hotel for happy hour...Jose O'Shea's...seriously some of the best margaritas I've ever had. And I love margaritas.





Sunday, we drove to Colorado Springs. We had brunch at the Broadmoor and it was outstanding...gorgeously done, everything you could possibly want. We changed into some casual clothes and took a drive. Patsy's for some saltwater taffy, then checked out Green Mountain Falls, where John and his family vacationed for years. Finally ending up at one of my favorite places, Garden of the Gods. A few hours were spent here...



At the end of the day, we were finally hungry again and I casually mentioned that there was a good German restaurant nearby, Edelweiss. So happy that the gang said that sounded good! Oh my goodness, I was in heaven...gemichste salat, rahmschnitzel, spatzle.

On Monday, we touristed up and got out to see a few things. Breakfast at Snooze in Denver was a very wise decision. So was the Denver Museum of Nature & Science--it was free that day to Colorado residents. We tried to pay but they waved us on through. Then back to Golden to tour the Coors Brewery. Time was running out but we stopped at another place I'd read about, Empanada Express, right there in Golden. Venezuelan empanadas and arepas, some fried yucca and plaintains...all good!

Breakfast nirvana...


Beer(!!)Tour...


We were worried about getting to Red Rocks on time...we had general admission and wanted to make sure we got there to have seats together. I was warned about the trek to the amphitheatre but I truly had no idea. Combine the altitude with my general outofshapeness, and I was wiped out by the time we made it to our seats. Brenda thinks they should take pictures of us and put a sign at the bottom of the steps..."If you look anything like these two women, don't attempt".
It was worth it, the show was great...beautiful setting, gorgeous night.



We packed a lot into that long weekend! I love Colorado and hope we can go back soon.

My kind of town...

Chicago is. We went for a long weekend in July with our friends Javier, Cheri, Scott & Robin and had a blast. It was John's first trip to Chicago and I hadn't been in over 15 years. The trip was planned by Washburn Alumni, but it was very much a do your own thing kind of trip.


We started off with a Chicago architectural boat tour and I highly recommend it! That night we went to a great cocktail party hosted by Washburn for us and Chicago alums. We drank all of the free cocktails we could, then walked to the original Pizzeria Uno where, amazingly, our group of 7 got right in and ate ourselves silly.



The next day was spent in Wrigleyville. Drinks at a friend's apartment, Cubs game, and more drinks at Murphy's Bleachers. Again, we found ourselves happy & hungry, so we trekked all the way to a Costa Rican restaurant we'd heard of, Irazu in Bucktown.


Saturday was spent negotiating Michigan Ave. where Transformers 3 was filming. We had breakfast at a place we'd spotted the day before, e.leaven, delicous! We made it through the crowds and did some shopping. We ended up on the 96th floor of the Hancock Center for two and a half hours drinking the most delicious mojitos we'd ever had. Then we hit Tiffany's where Cheri did some major damage and John bought me the sweetest pair of earrings. I've decided that we should always have cocktails before shopping for jewelry! Again, happy & hungry, I dragged us several blocks to get some food at Portillo's.
That night we went out for Italian at a place Cheri's friend had recommended, Rosebud on Rush. We went for a long walk afterwards and ended up stopping at Billy Goat Tavern to pick up a cheeseburger for Robin. (I think she and Scott were suffering from too much fun)




Sunday, we were a little lazy and walked to Millenium Park and grabbed some breakfast on the way. We'd flown out but were taking the train back, so we ordered pizza from Gino's East to take on the train with us. I wanted Lou Malnati's but was talked out of it. I really didn't care for Gino's East, especially when compared to the Pizzeria Uno from Friday night. Next time, it's Lou Malnati's!


It was our first time on Amtrak and we loved it! (Except for Cheri, I don't think she liked anything that day) But John, Javier and I would definitely do it again! It was a long trip, but time flew and we spent most of our time playing cards in the observation car.



We can't wait to go back!

JulySuperFunTimes

A belated post with July goings on. 4th of July party at Javier's house! A little rain, lots of beer & food and more fireworks than should be allowed. (Children pictured are courtesy of our friends Shayne & Autumn)






Soon after, it was time for Fiesta! We'd be on our way to Chicago a few days later, so we only had one night to hang out in North Topeka, eating tamales, drinking beer, eating tacos & tortas, drinking beer, eating enchiladas, drinking beer and drinking beer.

Aunt Carrie

That's me! While John was busy "working" at the Arkansas Heritage & Blues Festival, I made my way to Houston to see my friend Corrie and her children. Corrie's husband Chad was working the Festival with John, so Corrie and I had a little girls' weekend.

Corrie and Chad have been blessed with two darling children and I have loved getting to know them and watch them grow up. Unfortunately, we only get to see them once a year or so, but we do our best to make sure they remember their Aunt Carrie and Uncle John. And I love being called Aunt Carrie! Love it. Every time Carson said it, my heart melted just a little more. And I feel like we are carrying on a tradition. Corrie's father grew up with my father and are still the best of friends. I grew up calling Corrie's parents Aunt and Uncle. I think I was ten years old before I realized that we are not actually related.

Corrie and I shopped a little, drank a little, ate very well and had a wonderful time hanging out with Carson and Carly!

Cake?

We celebrated John's birthday at the end of July and the only thing the poor fellow asked for was cake with frosting. Well, he also asked for the creamy angel food dessert that Heidi gave us the recipe for. The man likes cake.

I can't make an ordinary cake. I have to try something new. So I search and search for something wicked and decadent and chocolate. And I come up with Nigella Lawson's Nutella Cake. Nutella, ground hazelnuts, chocolate ganache...I couldn't wait. Saturday comes and I wake up very excited to bake the cake. Ingredients are bought and waiting for me in the kitchen. This is a little work...grinding hazelnuts, whipping egg whites, folding into the batter, prepping the springform pan. And it goes into the oven and it smells delicious. I take it out on time and the edges look like they may be more done than I'd like. So I flip the clip on the pan to loosen the sides...but for some dumb reason, I think I can take off the side of the pan. The cake is hot. The pan is hot. But I've got my oven mitts. It went smoothly until I burn the side of my arm. I panic and try to balance the cake, but to no avail. It falls, upside down, on the stovetop in one glorious mess. Of course, I flip out and start crying. John runs into the kitchen, thinking I have seriously injured myself. "The cake...sob...and my arm...sob...and it fell...sob...and all I...sob...wanted was to make you a cake for your birthday...sob"

John was so sweet, he started scooping up chunks of cake with a spatula and putting it all on a cookie sheet. After I stopped crying hysterically, I decided to turn the chunks of cake into a trifle, layered with some ganache. It worked, but it wasn't as fabulous as I wanted it to be. There are no pictures of the glorious mess, but there's a picture somewhere of the trifle.

We celebrated his birthday with an incredible steak dinner at home. And "cake" and ice cream and movies. Not to mention, the angel food dessert I made on Sunday and took to his folks' with us. Oh, and Tuesday, my mom made Coke Cake for him. Did I tell you that he loves cake? And everyone loves John.

Fourth

I love long weekends! John barbecued some chicken Friday night and I tried to create a healthy version of potato salad. It turned out pretty well. The chicken was delish. We headed over to Julie & Jeremy's to hang out in their driveway with a dozen other folks. We did a few fireworks, but mainly we just drank some beer and caught up. John found a new cigar buddy in Jeremy.

Saturday was relaxing. We saw a matinee of The Proposal. It was entertaining, cute but not great. Certainly not laugh out loud funny as my coworker led me to believe. We were some of the youngest people in the theater, I think the median age was 60.

That night, we went to our friends' house for a small bbq. Robin and Scott had the backyard all set up for us and Scott was the grillmaster. We hung out, ate, played a little ladder golf and had a time out for the doofus who set off a firework in his freaking hand. I've never seen anything like it, what an idiot. He did end up going to the hospital, but luckily it turned out to be a very minor injury.

I made frozen margarita pie for dessert and everyone seemed to like it. It's the third time I've made it and it's usually a hit. I'll post the recipe sometime. We had a nice little fireworks show in the front yard. Scott and I had fun setting them off.

We made it out to the lake on Sunday with our friend Brenda. We took the boat out---hadn't done that in a while. Turned out to be a beautiful day. Took a few pics with John's Blackberry...

Tee-Par-Tee

This weekend John played in his first tournament at the club. He invited his older brother Tim to play as his guest. I adore Tim and his wife Jennifer and was very nervous to have them as our houseguests for the weekend. We did a lot of work, a lot of buying of new sheets & towels, framing artwork, cleaning baseboards, etc. And we really needn't have done all that, as we were all much too tipsy to have noticed. (I kid, they were very sweet and appreciated all we'd done) But tipsy we were. Loopy, silly, straight up drunk.

The weather was perfect for golfing and the guys had a blast. We stayed up late Thursday night, drinking wine & listening to music. On Friday night, my folks, Uncle Robert, Greg & his girlfriend Kerri joined us for party food and cocktails. We ended the party on the front porch around 3am...too much fun. I wasn't sure if John would feel up to another round of golf! Jennifer and I slept in and spent the rest of the day reading magazines and napping.

The tournament ended with dinner & dancing on Saturday night. I haven't dressed up in a little while so I had fun with white slacks, a sparkly top, gold heels and fake hair. I love fake hair and I'm taking that thing with me to Vegas in the fall!

We said goodbye to our guests this morning and have spent the day recuperating. I am sooo not ready to go to work tomorrow.

There are some pictures somewhere...if they surface, I'll add them later.

Eats

What a busy weekend! I was happy to go to work on Monday, just to get a break.
I finished painting the large guest room Friday night. Bunny Gray from Benjamin Moore. I tried the Aura paint and was mostly happy with it. The color is more blue than I wanted, but it works. I need to hang the sheers and put on the new bedding to get the full effect.

After a much needed pedicure on Saturday, I hit the grocery store, home, the frame shop and a mattress store. Then headed to Mom's where we dug out the headboard, footboard and rails stored in her garage. We are adding a twin bed to the guest room and Mom is letting us use her childhood bed!
John and I cleaned house and prepped stuff for dinner. Our friends Heidi, Todd and Brenda came over. John grilled and we all talked to Javi via Skype. Heidi and Todd brought dessert and it was delicious!

Here's the recipe, Heidi's notes included...

***Heidi’s Cream Cheese Angel Food Dessert***

2 small pkgs Dream Whip
2 - 8 oz. pkgs cream cheese (we used the 1/3 less fat version), softened
1 C. powdered sugar
2 C. half & half, cream or milk (we used 2% milk; my mom uses cream)
1 9 x 5 angel food cake (we used most of one of the round ones from
Dillon's), cut or torn into bite-sized pieces
Topping - any kind of berry (we used blueberries and strawberries) or
canned blueberry or cherry pie filling
1/2 chopped pecans or other nuts

Mix dream whip, cream cheese, 2 cups cream/milk/half & half and
powdered sugar (we let ours mix until it was about pudding
consistency); fold in cake pieces. Spoon over nuts in a 9x13" pan.
Sprinkle with berries or put fruit pie filling on top. Refrigerate.
To serve, scoop out. Serves 12-15.

Sunday was spent gardening and doing just enough laundry to get by. Exhaustion hit just as I was needing to get stuff ready to take to Mom & Dad's. Aunt Margaret & Uncle Jack are in town! So everyone got together for steaks. I brought Aunt Carrie's Loaded Mashed Potatoes, which were well received. Prepare mashed potatoes as usual (usual for me is butter and evaporated milk, salt & pepper). Add bacon bits, lots of sour cream, grated cheese, more salt & pepper---spoon into 9x13 dish and top with more grated cheese. Bake for about 30 min. at 350 or so. I mince green onion and serve on the side for those who wish to top their dish.

No cooking tonight! Going out for Mexican and just one or two margaritas. I hope to have the energy to do some more work upstairs while I watch Real Housewives of New Jersey. Don't you judge me.

Weekend

Last week was lousy and no good. And we were sickly. But it ended well. And we were happy.


A trip to Macy's to buy the pot I've wanted for a while now. Then dinner with friends and we didn't mind the wait for a table, we sat outside and caught up and told stories. Off to Javier's to teach Brenda how to play Texas Hold 'Em. John and I stopped at Wal-Mart to buy poker chips and I suggested we get deodorant and razor blades because everything really is cheaper at the evil Wal-Mart. We were full and giddy, laughing at our odd assortment of goods. "Poker makes us sweaty", we told ourselves and boy, we thought we were hilarious.






On Saturday, we were invited to a pancake breakfast at Robin and Scott's. Robin is from Liberal, where they race on Pancake Day against Olney, England.
http://www.pancakeday.net/

She fed us and several more people. They were delicious and we'll be back next year. Robin said we'll wear aprons and race in the backyard.


Sunday came and it was time to use the new pot! I made vegetable beef stew. Brenda and Javier came over and we looked through cds, adding music to our various mp3 players. Then we ate and drank and ate some more. We watched the Oscars and I found the bottle of white port we'd opened in December. John and Javier wrote down our votes and if your picks didn't win, you had to do ten jumping jacks. It was the most fun I've had watching the Oscars, I think, ever.

Just a good end to a lousy week. The kind of weekend where you fall asleep happy, not really minding that tomorrow is Monday.

Small goals

We usually spend vacations someplace other than home. The university is closed and John has the whole week off. And I had vacation time to use, so here we are. I usually start vacations with goals...places to visit, books to read, souvenirs to look for. I need to set some small goals for this week or I'll feel like it's time wasted. Go to the grocery store, clean our bedroom, get some crochet done. And find a chocolate fondue recipe to use on NYE. My mother-in-law gave me a small cookbook from the late '60s, "It's Fun to Fondue". The focus is primarily on cheese but there are three dessert fondues, followed by other dessert recipes. Check this one out.

Fruit Garnish A La Suisse
seasonal fruits (bananas, pineapple, peaches, pears)
ketchup
chopped almonds

Cube or dice fruits and combine. Season both for color and taste with ketchup. Garnish with almonds. Chill and serve.


Ketchup?!? I'm having a hard time imagining this one. I think I'll pass.