4th of July plans?

Yes, it is only Wednesday night... June 30...but I am already thinking about this weekend!!! What do you have planned? So far we have nothing planned. We're thinking about hitting up Vita in the Highlands for dinner and then watching the fireworks from Invesco. And then maybe a hike up Maxwell Falls on Monday? Never been there so I can't really say if it's awesome or not.

Any suggestions?

Lala's Wine Bar and Pizzeria

Soooo last night Matty and I hit up Lala's in Gov's Park (http://www.lalaswinebar.com/) for wine and pizza (notice the order of words there?). I had just finished Day #2 of my awesome new job, and I was in desperate need of a good glass of white wine and a delicious pizza.

The place is always loud. Not sure why because it's not abnormally busy, but it's just loud. There was a small event going on, but still...not that many people to make it that loud. Whatever.

We sat in a booth along the low side of the bar and ordered our $5 Happy Hour wines (any wines under $10 are $5 each, and then any wines above $5 are half price until 7 p.m.). We also ordered the meat and cheese selection for $14...freaking delicious. And then we ordered pizzas! Matt got Beppe's Pizze...a wonderful mix of cheese, pepperoni, caramelized onions, and Greek olives. Hell yes! I got the Pizza Artista..cheese, pancetta, other meats, arugula, and balsamic. AHHH. Perfect.

This place is great because it's low key (expect for the noise), it's easy to just walk right in (parking sucks though), and the food and wine are always awesome (that's the truth!). Plus, the Happy Hour rocks and the prices are pretty good. All in all a good place to hit up on a week night when you're looking for good food and a cool environment.

OH and they also support the Polo Classic, so I like them.

Denver Polo Classic Weekend

If you didn't make it to this year's Polo Classic at the Polo fields in Littleton (Santa Fe and Mineral-ish), put it on your summer list for next year. This AMAZING event is put on by the Denver Active 20-30 and raises tons of money for kids' organizations. And I mean tons...like over $300,000 in three days. That's serious money.

The Denver Active 20-30 is a men's organization made up of young professionals between the ages of 20 and 39, and these guys work so hard to put this fantastic event together with really great sponsors.

Basically it's a three-day extravaganza...Friday night is the black tie dinner sponsored by Capital Grille, Saturday is the family polo day, and Sunday is the big championship polo day. Each day has fabulous food, an open bar, great entertainment, a raffle, a wonderful silent auction, and, of course, the best people-watching of the weekend. Everyone gets gussied up, and it's really, really fun.

Tickets are pricey, and table costs are even pricier, but it's all for children's charities, and it's truly a three-day party not to be missed!

http://www.denverpolo.org/.

Park Burger!

YUM YUM YUM...last night I met some friends at Park Burger (www.parkburger.com) in Platte Park. My God I love that place. I usually get the veggie burger (but of course they also have beef, turkey, etc.). It's a home-made veggie patty with all these yummy veggies and an absolutely delicious bun. And of course we got the sweet potato fries...sweet and salty. But the regular fries are delicious as well.

The menu is small (just like the restaurant), but the flavors are amazing. And when I'm feeling bad, I get one of the shakes...like Oreo. Ah!

There was a pretty significant wait for a Thursday night, but that always means the place is awesome. Plus it's fairly affordable. And great for kids/families. We had baby Carlos with us, and it was a perfect place for him.

A perfect dinner after a night of partying at Elway's!

Elway's Concert Series TONIGHT!

Tonight is night #1 of the Elway's Summer Concert Series at the Cherry Creek location! This is not to be missed! It happens every Wednesday night (band starts at 6:30, but the "seating" opens at 5) through September 1 on the patio behind the restaurant. The weather is nice, the cocktails are delicious...and the people-watching is second to none. Get there early because the place gets packed. See ya there!

P.S. Under a Blood Red Sky is playing tonight...awesome U2 cover band...love it

Cocktails at Black Pearl

Last night Matty and I went to Black Pearl on Pearl Street in Denver (www.blackpearldenver.com) for a celebratory cocktail. I FINALLY landed the job of my dreams (well, hopefully it will be the job of my dreams), and we wanted to celebrate with some special cocktails. Black Pearl was just the place! The little patio out front was definitely the place to be, but there was no room. So we took a spot inside at the cool little bar and enjoyed a few libations.

I tried the Pink Lemonade (citron vodka, strawberries, lemon) and the Black Pearl Cosmo. Both were DELICIOUS, and I am still dreaming of them. For food, Matt ordered the grilled romaine salad and the calamari. WOW...both were awesome. The calamari was soooo good....sweet, spicy, crunchy...awesome. The grilled romaine was great, too...you could totally taste the grill flavor.

Anyway, if you are looking for a chill, quiet and hip place with great food and cocktails at a moderate price, check out Black Pearl for sure.

P.S. They have Happy Hour from 4-6 p.m. and a pretty cool wine series happening on the first Thursday of every month. Go to their website for the info.

MW OUT!

Long Weekend in Beaver Creek

Hey peeps! Sorry I haven't posted in a few days. We were up in Beaver Creek for Matt's birthday and Father's Day. Such an awesome weekend! The entire fam made the trek up to the mountains for three beautiful days of hiking, biking, eating, drinking and spa-ing. SO necessary!

We started out with a boat ride on Lake Dillon Reservoir in Dillon. You can rent these nice 22- foot pontoon boats at the marina (www.townofdillon.com/index.aspx?page=109) for $135 for two hours and just tool around the lake. We brought a picnic lunch (and plenty of alcohol) and just took in the amazing scenery. We also stopped at the Yacht Club on the other side of the lake from the marina (www.dillonyachtclub.com/) and took a vacation tequila shot (you know me...I can never turn down alcohol).

After our lake adventure, we continued up the mountain to the Hyatt at Beaver Creek (http://beavercreek.hyatt.com/hyatt/hotels/index.jsp). What a beautiful hotel! It's right on the mountain and beautifully decorated. There were a lot of kids up there for some reason, but that really only affected the pool during the day...and the fire pit at night during the nightly free s'mores party!

We had dinner at the hotel...pretty good. A bit pricey, but good food, drinks and ambiance. I really loved their bar (of course) and the dessert. Afterward we walked around the village, which wasn't that busy, and then we crashed for the night.

The next day, we got breakfast at the hotel and then Matt, Chelsea, Bill and I hiked up to Beaver Lake (Dan and Lorraine biked around Vail). I would rank this as a medium trail...a bit harder than a trail walk, but not bad. It took us like 2.5 hours round trip (but we were moving quickly). It was absolutely beautiful. The lake was sparkling. I would recommend bringing a picnic lunch and hanging out at the lake. This trail and lake is exactly what you would expect from a trail and lake in the mountains...amazing scenery, fresh air, sounds of running water and good cardio! (www.trails.com/tcatalog_trail.aspx?trailid=HGR076-042B)

After the hike, the ladies hit up the spa in the hotel for massages! WOW what a great massage! The spa was OK...not a huge spa...but the massage was one of the best I've had in a long time. Go like 30 min. early to relax in the steam room, but other than that, there's not much else to do. (www.allegriaspa.com)

We had dinner at The Blue Moose (www.bluemoosepizza.com) in the village...good pizza...not amazing...but good enough (try the Buffalo Wing pizza...YUM)

Sunday we headed back toward Vail and walked around Vail Village and the Farmer's Market. Why have I not walked around Vail in the summer before? It was gorgeous! There was free parking in Lionshead, and then we just walked over to Vail Village and walked around the Market, strolled along the river and cruised through the Betty Ford Gardens. It was soooooo pretty!!!

What a wonderful, relaxing weekend. Just a perfect summer weekend in the mountains.

I will post pics soon!

Happy Hour at Delite

These warmer temps have me creepin' out of work early for Happy Hour specials! Yesterday, Alyssa and I hit up Delite on Broadway in Denver. It's easy to miss (literally right across the street from Goodwill, next to their dinner restaurant Deluxe...like Broadway and Ellsworth), but once you're there, you can enjoy some pretty awesome Happy Hour deals, like half off select wines, well drinks and food. The place is kinda dark and cool, but it has a great roll-up garage door at the front, so on hot days, it's awesome to sit in the front of the restaurant and people watch the strangeness that is Broadway. I think our total tab after four glasses of wine was $12.

Check it out... www.delitedenver.com

BRUNCH!

God I love brunch. We went to Mona's Restaurant (http://www.monasrestaurant.com/) the other morning for brunch, and it just re-affirmed my deep, passionate love for that meal. My main reason for loving brunch so much? You can drink before noon without anyone judging you (not that you do, but you know what I mean). Other reasons I love brunch so much? Sweet AND savory food options, little or no make-up required (unless you're going to, say, the country club, but that's a different thing), drink specials, fun and happy people around you, all you can eat brunch buffets, a variety of coffee choices, etc. etc. etc. I could go on. But here's a quick list of our fav brunch spots in Denver, in no rank or order at all:

1. Snooze (http://www.snoozedenver.com/)
2. Lucile's (http://www.luciles.com/)
3. Mona's (http://www.monasrestaurant.com/)
4. Duo (http://www.duodenver.com/)
5. Dixon's (http://www.dixonsrestaurant.com/)
6. Toast (http://www.toastygoodness.com/)
7. Wash Park Grille (http://www.washparkgrille.com/)
8. Panzano (http://www.panzano-denver.com/)
9. Black Pearl (http://www.blackpearldenver.com/)
10. Gaia Bistro (http://www.gaiabistro.com/)

What are your favs?

DATE NIGHT: Cooking Class at The Kitchen Table

With all this depressing rain, it was nice to get out of the house and have a date night with the hubby last night. I had bought Matt a cooking class at The Kitchen Table (at The Landmark in Greenwood Village) for Christmas, and, because life gets in the way, we were finally able to go last night! The class was focused on the foods and cooking style of French Provence...AND the wine to go with...my favorite part, of course.

The class starts out with a quick lesson from the chef instructor in the dining room, and then everyone goes back to the kitchen area and pairs off in stations of two (there are like 12 people max per class). The instructor walks around and guides the class through the dishes. We made this tomato goat cheese thing, a striped bass with grilled veggies and a creamy dessert with some sort of brittle...clearly I was not paying attention to the names of the dishes. But everything was AMAZINGLY DELICIOUS! And the best part was we made it ourselves :)

The class lasts about three and a half hours, which includes the eating of the food and sampling of the wine. Seriously, the food tastes great, and the whole experience is so fun. The chef instructor is awesome, too. I also love that everything is set up for you...you just go back to the kitchen and start cooking.

All in all, a fantastic date night that you should totally do. The class makes a great gift for anyone and could be fun to do with girlfriends or family or whatever. The only drawback (besides parking at the Landmark, which sucks) is the cost per person for the class. Our class was $75/person, but I have seen ones for $200/person. However, when you consider the cost of eating out... a meal like that would end up costing at least $50/person...and then you throw in the cost of the instructor...and it's really worth it. Plus, it's SO fun.

Check it out... http://www.kitchentablegv.com/

Grapes & Hops...not so much

Wellllllll Friday night Grapes & Hops at the Botanic Gardens was not that awesome... primarily because it was a freaking downpour...but also because the set up was awkward and strange.

The line to get in was the first bad impression (they didn't have an efficient check-in process), and then they had all the vendors under one big tent, so when the rain really started coming down, everyone crowded under the tent, and you couldn't get to any of the food or beer tables. Also, the lines for the beer tables were crazy long. And I think that was because they gave you these plastic beer mugs when you checked in, and you were supposed to use them for sampling...but that just created long lines as you waited for the beer people to fill up everyone's mugs (instead of just having pre-filled cups ready to go). Does that make sense? I finally just gave up and left to get a cab.

But the night was not lost! We FINALLY got a cab (while huddling under a bus shelter in the pouring rain) and went to Cherry Creek Grill in Cherry Creek North (http://www.cherrycreekgrill.com/) Ah! I finally got my glass of wine and was able to relax. The food was (and is always) awesome. Seriously, try anything, and you'll be impressed. And the atmosphere is warm and cozy.

Afterward, we went to the Milwaukee Street Tavern for a quick, tipsy game of mini bowling and a cocktail. http://www.milwaukee-st-tavern.com/

Soooo even though the night got out to a rough start, it ended well, and we had a great time! I would recommend only going to the Grapes & Hops if the weather is nice... wear comfy shoes and bring your own lawn chairs to chill and watch the band (which was playing Ricky Martin's Livin' la Vida Loca while I was bee-lining toward the exit).

Grapes & Hops at Denver Botanic Gardens - TONIGHT

Hey hey hey...we are going to check out this event at the Denver Botanic Gardens tonight... http://www.botanicgardens.org/content/garden-grapes-and-hops

It says it's sold out, but I'll bet you could call them later today, or just show up tonight, and see if you can buy tickets at the door.

I'll let you know how it is so you can put it on the calendar for next year, too!

Vita in the Highlands

I was in desperate need of a girl's night last night, so my friend and I hit up Vita in the Highlands (http://www.vitadenver.com/). The rooftop patio is awesome...so awesome that there was no room for us when we arrived at about 6 p.m. after I had sat in traffic on I-25 AND Speer Blvd. for a freaking hour. ANYWAY, we checked out the scene on the rooftop patio (young professionals, mainly) before heading downstairs to the front patio to partake in the 2 for 1 Happy Hour drink specials until 6:30 p.m. We didn't get too crazy - just wine, which was a delicious, crisp Pinot Grigio. And we ordered Happy Hour sliders ($3 each) and some crazy version of nachos (called 7 hour pork, $5) which was also delicious. The downstairs patio did eventually fill up, but the scene is truly upstairs on the roof...for the people-watching, of course, and the awesome views of Downtown. Check it out this summer!

Trivia Night at Reiver's (and Bonnie Brae Ice Cream)

Hello Peeps! Last night, while the rest of Denver was at Red Rocks for Film on the Rocks (which is totally cool and we will be checking it out soon for sure), Matty and I went to Reiver's on Gaylord Street in Wash Park for Tuesday Trivia. Each time it reminds me of how stupid I am. How do I not know what river runs past an obscure town in West Virginia? But sometimes I surprise myself. Author who coined the term "nerd?" Anyway, if you like trivia, check it out on Tuesdays at 8 p.m. They give free pitchers of beer and other prizes to winning teams in each round - there are three rounds - and the game lasts about two hours. Oh, and it's FREE to play..."free"...my favorite word.

There are also a million TVs in there to simultaneously catch whatever sporting event is on that night. Last night happened to be Game 3 (I think) of the NBA Playoffs. So in between trivia questions, my husband was having a conniption fit and freaking out whenever Kobe missed a shot.

I should mention as well that the food is pretty darn good for a sports bar. I had the Italian Chicken Sandwich...which came on focaccia bread with mozzarella and pesto. YUM. Last time I had the veggie wrap. My husband recommends the Buffalo Chicken Sandwich. Pretty typical bar food (one time I ordered chicken nachos twice...once as our appetizer, and then again as my entree. No, I am not kidding). But you can get salads, sandwiches, etc.

If you cannot find parking, use the free valet across the street at The Tavern. But don't forgot to tip :)

http://www.reiversbarandgrill.com/

Oh, and I have to admit that we also went to Bonnie Brae Ice Cream afterward. Ah summer! Mint chip and death by chocolate? Yes, please!
http://www.bonniebraeicecream.com/

Denver Animal Shelter

Tucky, my sweet Superdoggie, this one's for you! I have been volunteering at the Denver Animal Shelter for two weeks now, and I can honestly say it's one of the most rewarding things I've ever done.

Since we adopted Tucky from the Dumb Friends League just over a year ago, I have felt the need to give back...more than financially. And since we live about three minutes from the Denver Animal Shelter, I choose to volunteer my time there instead of at the Dumb Friends League (which is an amazing shelter, too!).

I first attended a two hour volunteer orientation at the Shelter prior to actually committing. They walked everyone through the Shelter, explained the whole process and were very thorough. Then, on a separate date, I had a one-on-one volunteer interview with the Volunteer Coordinator. Basically she just wanted to get a feel for who I was and what I was looking to do for the Shelter. Then the next Saturday, I was volunteering!

At first it was a bit overwhelming because there are a lot of kennels in a very small space. But I quickly got the hang of it. There are rows for adoptable dogs, rows for dogs on hold (just came in, need to be evaluated, on hold for owner, etc.) and rows for sick dogs or pit bulls (illegal in Denver). Also, there really isn't a set volunteer structure. You just show up and stay as long as you want, which I totally love.

So you just start at one kennel and work your way down, taking the dogs out on walks in this small yard behind the Shelter. They are all so sweet and SO excited to get out!!! Some of them are very scared at first, but then when they understand that it's "walk time," they totally get it. The whole thing is very bittersweet because you are there making the doggie's day a little better, but you also realize that they have to go back into the Shelter after their walk...and their future is undetermined.

And these are GOOD DOGS. I mean, they are really good dogs who have just gotten the short end of the stick in life. A lot of them have been given up by their owners who no longer want to care for them. And yet the dogs still manage to keep their spirits up and wait for their new owner to come and love them. Ahhhhh...drives me crazy! I want to take them all home! There are labs, bull dogs, Chihuahuas, boxers, mutts, everything. There is truly a dog for everyone there. Most of them are trained, too.

So I guess what I want you to take away from this is...

#1 PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE adopt your next dog from the Shelter (any shelter)

#2 Please volunteer! There were only three volunteers (including me) last Saturday and about 50 dogs to walk. We can't get to all of them! Please visit http://www.denvergov.org/Default.aspx?alias=www.denvergov.org/DenverAnimalShelter

It's Rockies Season

Finally, the weather is warm...and that means Rockies games for me! You must add a Rockies game to your to-do list this summer! We grabbed some apps and drinks at The Keg before the game and then walked up and bought our tickets at the ticket booth for the game against the Dodgers. Super easy and so fun. Nothing says summer time in Colorado like a relaxing game at Coors Field. A must do!

Casa Bonita, Baby!

This past Friday, we joined about 12 friends at the legendary Casa Bonita on Colfax for a birthday party. And let me just say WOW. That place is truly an experience! I had heard about Casa Bonita and seen the great Southpark episode, but never in my wildest dreams could I had imagined what I saw...

First off, the place is located in a weird strip mall, so that totally threw me off. Then, you walk in and stand in line to order and pick up your food...like cafeteria style. The man in front of me was wearing a pretty awesome shirt (see pic below).

After getting your food, the waiter escorts you to your table. And that's when things really get awesome. The restaurant opens up into this carnival fantasy land of cliff divers, mariachi bands, costumed people, an arcade, a cave and so much more!

Did I mention that this is a Mexican restaurant? But do not expect the best Mexican food you've ever eaten. We ordered the chicken enchiladas (all you can eat) and a marg. The food wasn't as bad as I expected, but I do think the cheese was fake. And the marg was way too sweet for me. But whatever! You don't go for the food!

After eating, we spent about 2 hours exploring the madness that is Casa Bonita. We watched the cliff divers show, played skeeball, took an old western photo, walked through Black Barts Cave and basically closed the place down.

This is truly a Denver experience not to be missed! You must go at least once!

This is seriously this guy's shirt