the best gift i could ever receive

today while wishing me a happy birthday, one of my 5th graders asked how old i was. when i replied 28, another of my 5th graders said, "you look much younger!". i told him it was the best gift he could have ever given me. 

his even better reply was, "yeah, my mom told me you should always tell women they look younger than they really are." 

smart, smart 10 year old. 

i'm not happy about being another year closer to the big 3-0 but i am excited for my free starbucks drink, j's delicious red pepper fetticinue, and celebrating with my mom who is in town for one more day! 

about 27 and a half years ago, so chubby i could only open one eye :)

here's to a great year, 

"yeah, okay, let's do it"

this is how many conversations end with my best friend, kelly. we have known each other since grade school (i am not going to search for pictures of us from then because i have permanently exiled mental images of me in my cheerleading "uniform" from 8th grade from my brain. are you ready for this? we had to wear white polos and our gym shorts. i'll let that linger for a moment).

anyways... kelly and i really became best friends one summer during college while lifeguarding together at the neighborhood pool.  while both living in cleveland, we spent every. single. minute. together. since both relocating (kelly is an army fiance and has lived in 3 new states in the last few years), we make up for the distance by talking every day and visiting when we can. 

tanlines, circa 2006

go tribe, circa 2009

kelly does denver circa 2012

...and her most recent trip to denver this past fall

kelly and i have the type of friendship in which when one of us comes up with an idea, the other immediately says, "yeah, okay, let's do it." i'll give you an example:

kelly: "what you are doing?"
me: "just pulled into the gym, ugh."
kelly: "wanna go get a tattoo instead?"
me: "yeah, okay, let's do it."

so when i told kelly i was planning on road tripping back to cleveland for her wedding, i gave her the rundown. j and i are planning on making it a big trip; after cleveland we are going to pennsylvania, including his parent's house, a trip to his parent's cabin, and a trip to see steve and celeste. we decided having a car would be great and being able to bring lucy would be even better. with j's work schedule, he isn't able to drive back east with me though. i told kelly i was bummed and nervous because i am not a good solo road-tripper. are you sensing what's coming next?

kelly: "instead of flying to cleveland, i should fly to denver and road trip with you."
me: "the week before your wedding?"
kelly: "yes."
me: you're crazy."
kelly: "yes."
me: "yeah, okay, let's do it."

most people come up with ideas like this and then don't follow through. well, my friends, kelly is not one of those people. she booked her flight to denver yesterday. come this summer, a week before the wedding, bride and bridesmaid are making the 1,300 mile road trip halfway across the country. a girl, her best friend riding shotgun, her dog in the backseat, and her best friend's wedding dress in the trunk. stay tuned.

have a great wednesday!

weekend recap

i know i'm doing a weekend recap on the following friday but i'm okay with that :)

 last thursday i went to visit friends and their 5 day old baby. i totally love the idea of "here is dinner now let me hold your baby"; so after my friend alyssa and i handed off salmon, potatoes, and asparagus (alyssa did it all; i take no credit!), i got to spend some quality time with teddy. and oh my goodness, teddy is adorable and i am so in love already. 

i can't wait to watch teddy grow up!

on friday, our good friend steve came into town. steve and j went to high school together. steve and his wife, celeste, lived in denver for 7 years before moving back to pittsburgh last spring. celeste and i became quick friends when i moved here and we spent pretty much every weekend with them before they moved home. we miss them terribly, so it was great having steve here for a few days.

the boys went skiing on friday at copper mountain while poor little me had to work. while i waited for their return from the mountains on friday evening, i stopped for a quick beer with some teacher friends after school. we went to brewery rickoli and it was great! they allow dogs, and we are always on the hunt for dog friendly places. 

nothing says "weekend" like a beer before 4 o'clock on a friday!

on friday night we met up with friends at mile high spirits; a small batch distillery in an up and coming neighborhood (people here in denver use "up and coming" to describe neighborhoods that are "kinda sketchy but will probably be really cool in a few years"). they only serve the liquor they distill and you chose what you want it mixed with.  i recommend the moscow mules! although i must admit, the highlight of this night for me was finding out who the next bachelorette is because a friend of a friend (isn't it always?) is going to be on the season. can't wait!

on saturday we went on a nice hike at eldorado canyon state park.  we've been a few times and it's always beautiful.

i asked j to buy me this red house. he said no. 

while we spent the weekend drinking together, poor celeste was back in PA painting their newly purchased home. she came up with the idea for baby h's room all on her own and i LOVE it. seriously, no pinterest inspiration at all. she rocks.

isn't it great for a little boy?!

have a great friday!

quote of the day

i hope everyone's week is off to a good start. i stumbled upon this quote on pinterest and thought it was a great daily reminder. not to mention the little buddha is adorable. 

photo from lovethispic.com

enjoy your day! 

book club

it's already friday! i could really get used to this 4 day work week thing. i hope everyone's week is going well. 

i am a Reader with a capital R. one of those "ten books on my nightstand, get in bed at 7pm so i can read for 2 hours, can't wait for summer so i can read all day, barnes and noble gift cards are my favorite gift ever" readers. it's genetic; my parents are the exact same and i am so glad i was raised in this way. so needless to say when a friend of mine said she wanted to start a book club, i was EXCITED. 

we started about a year ago; a few friends has grown to about a dozen girls getting together about once a month to drink wine discuss the book we read. in our book club, the host supplies dinner and wine.  we keep the meal simple; none of us expect anything complicated. it takes some effort and funds when it's your turn, but the beautiful thing is, that only comes around about once a year. when i hosted a few months ago, i made this chicken tortilla soup in the crock pot and my go-to salad (spinach, strawberries, feta, almonds, and a balsamic-olive oil dressing). this month we read labor day by joyce maynard. it was "okay"; pretty predictable. 

here are the books we have read so far:

all pictures are from goodreads.com

we decided a month or two ago that we would start reading classics from time to time; hence the lord of the flies thrown in with the new bestsellers. it's been our only classic so far, but it was nice to reread what i (sort of) read in high school, ten years later.

my favorites were gone girl and the light between oceans. if you haven't read gillian flynn's 3 books, you HAVE to. you know those books that keep you up until 2am because you havetofindoutwhathappensnext? all of her books are those. warning: i slept with the closet light on for a night (or three) after finishing them. but according to friends i am the biggest baby when it comes to scary things, so take my warning with a grain of salt. 

i am really looking forward to book club in 2 weeks; since our last meeting there has been one wedding and one baby born; we will have lots to celebrate! what are your favorite reads? does your book club throw any unique twists into your meetings? i'd love to hear.

cheers to the weekend!

happy valentine's day!

happy love day! 

today is a teacher work day with no students, which is like gold to us teachers at this point in the year. i am enjoying a quiet classroom where i can get reports written and lessons planned before the long weekend.  our kids had their parties yesterday; it's always so sweet when my students remember me on holidays because i am not their "all day everyday classroom teacher". 

"i figured you wanted a flower instead of a little pack of candy."
-one of my sweet, sweet 5th grade boys

j and i are keeping it simple tonight; homemade potato soup with fresh bread from a local bakery and a BIG bottle of wine. we thought about having a fire in the fireplace but i think it's going to be too warm. i know, tough problem to have mid-february :)

i think my favorite thing about denver is the weather. when i first decided to move, people often said, "but there will be SO much snow!". i've had 1 snow day a year since i moved (compared to the 5 i had in 1 year teaching in cleveland). and even when it snows in the city, the sun comes out and melts it all away by mid-afternoon. it's pretty amazing. check out our 5 day forecast:

i'm still getting used to this being "normal"

so this weekend i am planning on washing my car, taking a long hike at the local dog park with lucy, and maybe a bike ride to check out a new local brewery. 

we LOVE our dog park! it's filled with hiking trails, fields,
and lucy's favorite part: a pond

i hope everyone enjoys their weekend and does something fun!

oops...

i just moved across the country! i'm going to start a blog and be really good about writing everything we do and my new job and how i'm feeling about living out of state for the first time and.......

oops. 

fast forward two and a half (!) years later, and here we are. a website. a creative name (the most important part, right?), and a blank draft, dated august 6, 2011, about a week after i moved. 

let's try again.

i'm a 20 something (i can only say that for a few more years, yikes) that moved from cleveland, ohio to denver, colorado a few summers ago. other than those 4 glorious years of college (diet: pizza and natty light.  wardrobe: jean skirts and too short tank tops. priorities: dollar draft night at stadium bar and grill first, class second- sorry mom), i've never lived away from home. and only a 4 and a half hour drive from my childhood bedroom, i still considered myself in the "safe zone". the "mom i'm so homesick i want to come home this weekend please come get me" zone. ok, that only happened the first weekend of freshman year, but knowing i was close to home was a comfort. 

my favorite (out of dozens) of my ohio-themed shirts.
you can find your  future favorite shirt here.

out of college for 3 years, living at home (are you getting the sense that i'm attached to home?) and teaching special education in a cleveland suburb public school, we (my pennsylvania-based boyfriend and i) decided to move. he used to live in flagstaff, arizona (never been? go right now.) and loved everything about the west. my sister had recently relocated from ojai, california (never been? go after you go to flagstaff) to denver.  i started applying for teaching jobs in denver not really sure it would go anywhere, and before i knew it i was calling j one may afternoon saying, "i got an offer, i have to be there in july, are we doing this?!"

my parents and some of my closest friends at my going away party
at our favorite summertime bar.

2 apartments, 1 dog, and 1 house later, here we are.  i'm still trying to find the balance of missing home and enjoying this adventure. some days i'm ready to pack my bags and head for cleveland, but the beauty of colorado and the forever friends i've made keep me here.  

j and i at the top of deer mountain in beautiful estes park, colorado.
please excuse the look of sheer exhaustion on my face and just focus on the view :)

my sister and i at red rocks amphitheater for a late
summer yonder mountain string band concert.

thanks for visiting!