Nacho Libre

Nacho Libre

with blonde hair,

a six pack,

fierce moves,

and a killer smile.

Getting ready for the big day.Sweet little chicken, Cooper. Lil' Chick, Nacho, Poodle and Ariel. BFFhahahahaha. This picture of Gray cracks me up. That's her REAL hair!Sweetest poodle ever! Mama love.

My sweet goldie.

Happy Halloween!

Hope you all had a great weekend! We celebrated Halloween yesterday with our good friends. Our neighborhood had a parade from one park to another and at the end there was a party in the park with a few games, food, etc. It was such a beautiful day and we had a lot of fun seeing all of the kids dressed up.

Gray decided he wanted to be Nacho Libre and I must say, it was a good decision on his part. We wanted him to be bare chested (like Nacho) but because we were afraid he might be too chilly, we had to add the onesie. At first Gray was a little upset and thought it might ruin the costume, then he realized how much attention the ladies were giving him...now he won't stop doing crunches.

Hope you all have a SPOOK-TACULAR Halloween!

BoO!

Happy Halloween!

cake in a jar.

For two of my best friends birthday's we had brunch at my friend Emily's gorgeous house. I brought these cakes in a jar that were inspired by the photo below and also by a friends "cake cup" company in Brooklyn, Bee's Knees.

You can see that mine did not turn out like the photo below. I must have tried making these 4 different ways. I tried baking them in the jar, twice...once with less batter. I couldn't get them to cook all the way through before burning on top. I then tried baking them in a pan and using the lid to cut out perfect circles (that's what they did below), but I quickly realized the circles crumbled apart while trying to layer them in the jar. After 3 days of experimenting, I then decided to crumble up the cake and call it a day. ARGH. Now that I know the way it works best, it is easy as pie...or should I say cake?

I made two flavors. One is yellow cake with vanilla frosting and candy corn sprinkled in the middle and on top. The second is spice cake with apples and pecans and a cinnamon cream cheese frosting. Let.Me.Tell.You. This dessert is only for the serious sweet tooth. There is SO much cake and it is SO sweet. Drew and I couldn't even finish one together.

I really photographed these jars for practice, but thought they were blog worthy in the end. ;)

Hope you all don't OD on candy this weekend!

courtesy of babble.com

Catorce

Gray and "Otto the Rocker."
I decided because Gray looked so tough in his motorcycle outfit, he needed his tough guy blabla.

Tough guys don't smile.
Gray must be tougher than Otto.

Love this one. It cracks me up.

Drew said "He looks like a little B-boy."

That's tough, Gray.

Sweetness.

14 months old.
Let the good times roll!
Happy Birthday Gravy!

Treat Yo' Self!

My drink at The Kitchen [Upstairs]. Bulleit bourbon, absinth, ginger...POTENT!

My big surprise!

My new favorite beer.

Drew picking out our delicious bottle of wine

Bastianich Vespa Bianco 2008

“Zlikrofi”
Munson Farm Squash and Amaretti

“Maiale Arrosto”

Eden Farm Pork Loin, Sweet Potato, Maple, Hazelnut and Sage

“TORTA DI PERA”
First Fruits Farm Red Bartlett Pear, Hazelnut, Caramel and Mascarpone Gelato

6 years!
Drew and I celebrated our 6 year anniversary on Saturday! The plan was to go to Potager (our favorite place in Denver) for dinner. Once we got there Drew circled a few blocks trying to "find a parking spot." After circling a few times he drove off saying..."I know where we can park!" He proceeded through downtown Denver over towards The Highlands (another neighborhood in town with great places to eat.) I guessed we were going to a new place (Linger) that we have been wanting to try. On our way over, he said..."I can't remember how to get there from here," and took the on ramp to I-25 north. Once this happened, I knew we were going to Boulder, although I still didn't know where we were eating. I have been wanting to eat at The Kitchen and Frasca for a long time now, so I was hoping for one of those! Once we got there we started walking towards The Kitchen and Drew said "We are going upstairs for a drink and then we will be leaving. We have somewhere to be at 9:00." At that point I figured it was Frasca. If I know anything about Frasca, it's that it is hard to get a table without waiting weeks and you settle for late reservation times just for the chance to experience the food!

It was AMAZING! We had such a wonderful time. It was truly the best anniversary gift I could have asked for ( i live for amazing food/wine experiences.) We had so much fun! Our saying from the night was "Treat Yo' Self!" If you watch "Parks and Rec" you will laugh. Probably the best line EVER on TV. We must have said it a hundred times, hence my post title.

I am married to the coolest man alive. No doubt.

The Great Pumpkins

We made it out to the Chatfield Pumpkin Patch yesterday afternoon. The Chatfield Pumpkin Patch is only 1 weekend a year and is a small festival with food, crafts, animals, facepainting, etc. It was CHILLY and packed! The good news was because of the terrible (or wonderful, as I think it was) weather on Saturday nobody was out picking pumpkins, leaving us a ton of great options.

Gray had the time of his life. Once we put him down with the pumpkins he was so happy. He played the drums on our chosen pumpkins and smiled and laughed the whole time. It was awesome...HE is awesome. :) I have to admit I wasn't totally thrilled about Gray growing up. I actually LOVED the teeny, tiny baby stage. But, this last month has been such a blast with. He has become a little person. SO fun, SO bright, SO cute, SO challenging! It has made letting go of the baby stage so much easier. Although, I guess...he will always be my baby.

Gray's first bike ride

Dad's bike ready to tow Gray.

Drew getting Gray strapped in.

Not sure what he is doing with his hands.

Got my fanny pack and helmet on...ready to go.

Lookin' good boys!

Gray's first helmet was horrible. Because of its shape, it pushed his head forward in the trailer. So Drew went and got him a new helmet...much better. We were kind of bummed because it is so important when towing and 1 year old in a trailer that he or she have an aerodynamic helmet to help decrease the drag. ??? SERIOUSLY? Why would a 1 year old need an aerodynamic helmet?

Anyway, Drew came home on Gray's birthday after work with the trailer in his car. He was so excited. He has been wanting this for Gray since before he was born. The first ride was going great until his helmet slid down over his face...then we had to turn around. We then got Gray his second helmet, which also slid down over his face on our way back from the store (causing another meltdown.) We hadn't put enough pads in the helmet to make it super snug. Hopefully now, we have it figured out...not that bike riding weather will be here much longer. We hope we will be able to get a few more rides in before the winter weather is here to stay!

Happy bike riding!

*These pictures are from almost 2 months ago, that's why Gray looks a little younger! :)