NSFV

Warning:  The following images and commentary are extremely explicit and Not Safe For Vegetarians!!!

This is the meal I got when I let Ryan be in charge of dinner.  Holy bloody meat and potatoes!

This is round two of bloody meat and potatoes because, honestly, who could eat that much meat in one sitting?  At least there is some green in this meal, thanks to the lettuce from our garden out back.

Another of Ryan's meat creations (with our lettuce again):

If that wasn't enough of a protein overload, Ryan also helped Dion smoke three pork butts last Saturday for a couples baby shower we attended on Sunday.  We loaded up our smoker on Saturday afternoon and headed to Amy and Dion's for the afternoon and dinner.  While Ryan helped Dion, I watched Amy whip up some of her magic in the kitchen.

I didn't take a single picture of the shower on Sunday but it was an outdoor picnic at a park in Golden.  It was a nice, sunny day and we were close enough to the Coors brewery that we could smell the yummy beer!

New Ride

Over the weekend, Ryan helped me pick out my new awesome ride!

I already have a mountain bike but I've never owned a road bike and once I signed up for the triathlon I wanted to have the proper bike for training and the race.  Also, I thought it would be nice to have a road bike to ride to the grocery store like we sometimes do.  I've not been fitted properly to the bike yet but I couldn't resist taking it out already and it was great!  I got it going 35 mph down a road and hopefully once I get more comfortable I can go even faster.  Thankfully I've taken a lot of spinning classes and have my own clips so it wasn't completely strange for me to ride the bike but it is a lot different than mountain biking that's for sure!  I'm so happy I got it!

Other weekend highlights included the delicious cheeseburger pizza Ryan made.  We'd both always enjoyed the cheeseburger pizza from Minsky's in Kansas City but haven't seen anything like it out here so Ryan decided to make it at home.  It was SO good!  He used the pizza crust we had purchased from the little local/organic grocer a few weeks ago and also some of the lettuce from our garden.  The weather was so nice that we were able to eat on the patio and enjoy some wine (and some champagne) with dinner. 

We also got to try a new breakfast joint, Home Cookin Cafe, after church and coffee on Sunday.  Someone in the coffee group mentioned it had solid midwestern fare so we gave it a shot.  Ryan ordered the steak and eggs and said it was the best steak and eggs he'd ever had.  I couldn't resist the pork tenderloin sandwich and it was also super delicious.

It was another great weekend for R and R!

Hush

Tonight Ryan took me to the most AMAZING dinner!  It was a private/secret dinner that is invite only and features an up and coming local chef in an interesting venue.  They've apparently been held at art galleries, private garages, etc.  You must sign up to be notified of the events as they are never posted far in advance and the themes and locations are always different.  From what I can tell these events are hosted maybe every other month or so, which makes it seem extra special to me.  The group that puts on these dinners is called Hush Denver.  I had heard of events like this but didn't realize we had them here!  Tonight the theme was pork (pure awesomeness) and it was held on the patio at the cutest little restaurant Colterra, in Niwot, which is just a little north of Boulder.  There was a live band playing and we were under a huge maple tree in the cute little Old Town area.  The meal was five courses with drink pairings for each course.  The sommelier would come by and explain each wine and why it was chosen.  A couple of the wines were the Wild Hog brand, which I thought was kind of cute considering we were eating pork with every course.  The last course, an ice cream sandwich with oatmeal raisin bacon cookies (yes I said bacon...and it was awesome), was actually paired with Great Divide Chocolate Oak Aged Yeti, a local chocolate stout beer.  Here is the menu:

And here are some pictures of us and the surroundings.  It rained a bit during our dinner but we were under that ginormous tree and an umbrella so we never got wet and it was absolutely perfect to be dining outside.

I think this might be the best dining experience I've ever had.  It was so intimate and lovely and tasty.  What a wonderful time!  I have such a nice husband to treat me to memorable experiences like this.  :)

I will have to write more about the rest of the exciting weekend in another post as this girl is a little tired.  Hope everyone has a great week!

Giggle

All of my tax colleagues know I have three dogs but one specific colleague took a particular interest in Peanut when he found out she was a 6 pound shih tzu/poodle mix (called a "shih tza poo").  By "taking an interest" I really mean "making fun of" as he immediately started calling her "The Step in Poo" and has never once called her Peanut.  Because he took such an interest in her I decided to surprise him with a little gift.

Before he got into work one morning I replaced his mouse pad with that fine custom piece of work shown above.  :)  I did get some laughs out of him so I think he appreciated it.

Sicky

Poor Ryan has been sick all weekend.  He didn't start feeling too terrible until Saturday morning so at least on Friday he was able to go pick out a new mower and use it, which was very exciting to him.  Apparently this new mower has a variable speed control system and some type of built-in under carriage washer...features that Ryan finds quite convenient.

As Ryan was sick we ended up cancelling Saturday and Sunday plans with friends but I was able to use some of that time to train for my first triathlon.  My training consists of bike riding, swimming, running (the three events in a triathlon) and weight lifting.  Wow, is it ever difficult to get back into swimming shape.  I knew it was going to be tiring but I didn't realize I would feel wasted after just wriggling into my Speedo.  I should have known then that I wouldn't be utilizing my flip turns that I was so excited for, considering after swimming one length of the pool I needed to stop and catch my breath!  Hopefully this starts to get easier so that I'm able to successfully complete my race.

I also was able to spend some time reading The Witching Hour by Anne Rice (yes I'm still on my Anne Rice kick).  This book is 1,000 pages so it's taking me a little longer to read than most books.  It's really good, though, so I don't mind. 

I tried to feed Ryan spicy foods all weekend to help clear his sinuses but it hasn't been working and he can't really taste anything.  At least I've been able to enjoy hot wings and smoky beef tacos.  He suggested I put him in Bumblebee with no ventilation and put a shrimp boil on.  Hehe.  I hope he starts to feel better soon because I know it just kills him to be still for more than 15 seconds at a time.  You know he's feeling terrible when he's on the couch in the middle of the day!

At least he was in good company with all the fur babies.

Dim Sum

On Sunday after church and coffee we went out for dim sum with our coffee group and it was delicious!  Dim sum is a meal where small Chinese (Cantonese) dishes are served a la carte (literally off of carts people push around the dining room) accompanied with tea.  The tables have giant lazy susans so the dishes can be shared family style.  Dim sum is something I remember and cherish from childhood and I love being able to share the experience with others who haven't had the opportunity before.  Unfortunately I failed to take any pictures but everyone seemed to enjoy it as we had nothing left on the table.  :)

Later that day Ryan finished planting some flowers and then we had delicious kabobs.  Nothing says summer like pretty flowers and grilling out!

Busy Busy

So far we've already had a really fun-filled weekend.  We started it off last night with dinner and drinks at a neighbor's house.   It was fun to meet new people and everything was delicious.  I had the best hummus there!

This morning we woke up first thing and dropped off Mojo for a long overdue grooming and then went for a nice trail ride at Community Ditch (his grooming takes forever).  It was my first actual trail ride of the season and as it's a pretty easy trail I was glad to get it under my belt before we hit some more difficult ones. 

Then we headed to the Denver Museum of Nature & Science to see the Real Pirates exhibit which showcased the history of The Whydah pirate ship and the discovery of it off the coast of Massachusetts in the early 1980s.  It was extremely interesting to learn the history of the ship and its occupants, as well as the history of pirates in general.  We couldn't take pictures inside the exhibit, but once we got out we did our best pirate poses.

Then we headed over to an engagement party for Chris and Bridget.  Chris was one of the first people I met when I moved to Denver as I sat right by him at work.  We've been friends since and he recently got engaged to the lovely Bridget.  So excited for the happy couple!

Then we headed downtown for dinner at TAG and then attended the Chalk Art Festival at Larimer Square.  Several blocks are closed down and chalk artists create their masterpieces in the streets.  It is amazing what these people can do!

 We ended our evening with some frozen yogurt!