Denver 2011

Cowboy Crooner and I had the chance to go to Denver in early October - our first trip away from Squirrely! Here's a little recap of what we did for the long weekend we were there...in case you ever find yourself in the Mile High City.

We stayed downtown at The Curtis. I think it's a good choice for a downtown hotel - close enough to everything but not right in the middle of everything. Its floors are themed, and we happened to get #13, the scary floor. Really?! So in honor of our buddy (who always dresses up as this guy for Halloween)...see this photo of one of the pictures on our floor:



Saturday night we ate at Wynkoop's, the local brewery. I have to say I was impressed with the food and one of the specialty beers Cowboy Crooner got was really good! I had the Monterey Chicken sandwich - great choice.

Sunday morning, we tried to go to Snooze, but the wait was just too long. So we happened upon Hi Rise, just a few blocks away from Snooze. Just a quaint breakfast place with huge square biscuits!



When Cowboy Crooner and I go on trips, especially to big cities, we love to just walk around. So for the rest of the morning we walked up and down and all around downtown Denver. I think the highlight for Crooner was stumbling upon this:



THE original REI. But no fishing kayaks. Boo.

Also visited the Tattered Cover Bookstore. But I felt like I was back at home at Square Books. I'd say we're fairly metropolitan in this little college town.

For lunch, we went to Rioja. The loaded potato gnocchi was very good though a little rich. Fun tables out on the street - all of Larimer Street looks like this!



My conference for work, which is what took us to Denver, was in the afternoon....

So then for supper, we headed to The Ninth Door. I am now fascinated with tapas and would love some good recipes if you have some! We got the flash fried avocado. Wow. Wow. Wow. The mushroom and rice croquette with sherry sauce. I don't drink straight sherry, but I think anything cooked with it is delicious! The spaghetti squash...what a fun and yummy food. And the chicken and mashed potatoes with...yes, sherry sauce. I highly recommend this place - probably my favorite!

Monday was a free driving day. We had to first visit the new Ikea. I had never been to one before, and oh my, you can get anything and everything you need for your house there. We bought Squirrely a big stuffed puppy, which she affectionately calls PupPup.

Then drove onto the Red Rocks Amphitheater. What a beautiful place to get out and walk around. We were so close to the Rockies but didn't really have time to go all the way there...so this place certainly allowed us to enjoy a beautifully different part of the country!





Then on to the Coors Brewery Tour in Golden. Again, Crooner had a big time here...and it's free!



Golden was a quaint little town, and I was again reminded of my current hometown. I'm so thankful to live where I do! But check this out...there's a guy fishing in the stream just outside the Coors Brewery. We thought that was kind of funny and almost postcard-worthy.



Then we headed back to Denver to meet a sweet friend for supper at Osteria Marco. The Burrata appetizer was good enough to last me through the night! But I also got the portabello panini. Yum.

I know there was a lot in Denver we just didn't get to see and do, and maybe we'll go back one day. But for a quick weekend, I think where we went and what we ate was perfect!

Tidbits to Taste ~ 11.2.11

I wish I had a picture to put at the top of this post...but I wanted to share these two links before I headed to bed.

Adorable {and just-what-I've-been-looking-for} ABC Scripture Cards

Great post on suffering by Tim Challies, reviewing Ligon Duncan's book, Does Grace Grows Best in Winter? Worth pondering over and meditating over and praying over...and over...

Night night! [Squirrely's new phrase...and it's so so cute.]

Tidbits to Taste ~ 10.13.2011

[Squirrely was tasting a lot at the time of this picture!]

Every now and again, I stumble across some great things on the internet, at my grocery store, in a book.... and I think I need to share them with you all. So this group of posts will be called "Tidbits to Taste." [like when cooking and it says "to taste" - you can have as much or as little as you'd like]

Mighty Leaf Tea - particularly their loose leaf Sunburst Green Tea

These prayers for my husband

Ruby by Bonnie and Camille [project design in the works!!]

Some of my favorite fall cookies - on the menu for the weekend

Think this would be a fun thing to make - not sure where I'd put it, though!

Quilt fever

I have a confession. I love fabric. Like, loooove fabric. I think I'm an addict. But it could be worse, right?

So I made my first quilt for a friend of mine who recently had a baby. And I guess I have her to thank for my new obsession. And my mom to thank for my sewing machine!

I used the Fandango collection from Kate Spain and the Stacked Coins pattern from the Moda Bake Shop.

Starting on my next project and will share soon!

I know you've missed me...

....all ZERO of you who read this blog.

But as I was just making homemade spaghetti (my mother's recipe of course), I thought of a few things that I needed to share with cyberworld:

1. It's amazing how much grease 2 lbs of ground beef can produce while you're browning it stove-top.

2. I need to wear an apron every time I cook. Maybe even while I iron or mop, too??

3. How is it that I have nearly 60 cookbooks (58 to be exact), and yet I still have some must-haves on my wish list? Casual Cooking and Southern Living's 2011 cookbook.

4. I went on a lunch date with Cowboy Crooner and Squirrely. We didn't really talk a lot. But it was still a sweet time. Literally. Because we had an oatmeal cookie for dessert. I've got to figure out that recipe.

Guess it's on to ironing now. Which apron should I wear?

See you next time! You better be here.

Daily Drop Cap Test

esiring Domesticity. Isn't this fun?!
For more fun, check out her Web site at www{dot}dailydropcap{dot}com.

Hi, it's me.

So I'm like many of you. I said I wasn't interested in having a blog. I wouldn't know what to say, much less expect anyone else to be interested in what I didn't have to say. But I love to read blogs and have lots of favorites that I hope to share with you over time. And I thought, "Maybe I can just share what's interesting to me? Maybe I'll pass along a favorite thing or idea or song or recipe or whatever to someone who might be looking for it?" So here we go.

Desiring Domesticity. That's me. I desire to be domestic. That is, to care for my home, for my family. I'm not at home 100% of my week. I am an academic advisor to students at our local University. I really enjoy it, especially the relationships that I've been able to build over the years. But I don't think it's a secret that I would love to be at home 100% of the time, with my sweet girl. You'll know her as Squirrely. I would love to bake bread, sew quilts, take Squirrely on lazy walks, tend to a garden, and the list could go on. But for now, I'm trying to do this domestic thing while advising and thanking God for giving me opportunities to do both at this time in my life. One last thing. You need to know Cowboy Crooner. He's about as handsome as they come and can really really sing. Really. I'm so very glad he's on this little journey with me and me with him. So here we go!