saturfunday

Saturday brought a gorgeous, 78 degree day.  What better way to spend it than outside.  Even better, at the golf course.  I’ve played golf off + on since I was pretty young.  My dad is an avid golf player and taught me most everything I know about the game.

I haven’t played in a few years, but it’s always fun to go out for a round of 9 holes.  When you haven’t played in awhile, 18 holes can be a bit frustrating.  9 is perfect!

We walked + carried our bags for exercise.  Definitely a good workout, hauling the clubs around.

Grandpa Peter, got a little crazy with his pull cart. 

I shot pretty well, considering how long it had been since I last played!  For the most part, everything went where I aimed, but not always too far. ;)

 

Couldn’t ask for a prettier day. 

For dinner, we headed to one of our favorite Old Town spots, Crown Pub.  We eat here pretty frequently, and haven’t had a bad experience yet.  Although there are only a few veggie options, they are all stellar.  Especially the King’s Curry.  It is full of veggies + the sauce is phenomenal. 

We dined with crazy Peter, Michelle + Devon.

I ordered the soup of the day, which was wild rice and mushroom.  It turned out to be one of the best soups I’ve ever eaten.  I also ordered the house salad, which is topped with a lot of fresh veggies.  Their salad dressings are also amazing.  Yesterday, I chose the charred shallot + basil creamy vinaigrette.  Delish!

Nice night out with the huz! 

I think I finally caught up on sleep from when my mom was here.  Today, I was off to the gym by bike, and had a great workout.  Then, I headed to Pat + Natalie’s house to do a maternity photo shoot.  I’m trying to start a people-photography business and wanted to use Pat + Nat as test subjects.  Although extremely different from food photography, it’s a fun + rewarding new challenge.  Posing people is not easy!  I spent about 2.5hrs photographing.  We tried a handful of different scenes + outfit changes.  It was so much fun and Natalie was glowing.  Pat + Nat cannot wait to be parents, and I cannot wait to become an Aunt!!

I’m only about 1/2 way done editing and will have more to show soon, but here is one of my favorites so far! 

This week is INsanely busy!  Natalie’s baby shower, that I’m planning, is Tuesday evening.  Monday + Tuesday will be full of prepping food + decorations.  I can’t wait!  Also, late Monday night, Eric + Kelsey arrive in Ft. Collins.  Not for a vacation, but to LIVE here!!  Eric is a good friend of ours from Charlotte.  He was the one that let me run my granola bar business out of his house!  I wasn’t able to run it out of ours, with the dogs.  Right before we moved to Colorado, Eric + Kelsey met and started dating.  The 4 of us hung out, practically everyday before we left.  Anxiously awaiting their arrival!

Okay…one more photo… :)

Hope you have a productive Monday!

Ashley

50/50

Today we worked our hinnies off!  But we also had a fun + relaxing morning. 

50% work 50% play 100% fun

Before I get to Thursday, let’s talk about Wednesday.  My mom and I finally made it to see Bridesmaids.  Pretty hilarious!  Nice 2 hours of relaxing + laughing.  We also hit up the J.Crew outlet.  All of the women’s clothes were 40% off and then an extra 15% off because my mom is a teacher.  It was like shopping at J.Crew with Target prices!!!  Dangerous!  I picked up a handful of things I love.  A few pairs of shorts [which is miraculous], a few really comfy tops [one pictured below], 2 button downs and maybe one or two more things.  It was fun to have a little clothing-retail therapy, instead of Lowes, Home Depot, and Bed Bath + Beyond.  I think I’ve only bought about 2 articles of clothing since November!

For dinner, we headed to one of our favorite spots, Tasty Harmony.  I’ve talked about this restaurant pretty frequently.  It’s veggie/vegan/GF friendly, with huge portions + delicious, creative, seasonal food!

Super cute inside.  Casual + comfortable.  Haven’t had a bad meal yet!

I think I told my mom about their nachos every single day since we got back to Colorado.  I was anxious for her to try them with the cashew cheeze sauce!  [The white sauce below is vegan sour cream.  The cashew cheeze was on the side]  I like these more than real cheese nachos!

Cashew cheeze drizzled all over top.  The three of us chowed down on this plate!

We were so busy anticipating our food, that I forgot to photograph it.  My mom got their mashed potatoes and lightly fried mock “chicken.”  The “chicken” is house made seitan.  Before going GF, I had a few bites of this and it was outstanding.  My mom said she was a little nervous about it, but she absolutely loved it.  Raved about it, in fact!  Their gravy is also amazing.  mmmmm

Chris got the tempeh reuben + mashed taters with gravy.  I got the “yogi plate”, which is a millet + quinoa mix, steamed greens [chard that night], + grilled tofu.  It also comes with vegan ceaser dressing that is out of this world delish.  The tofu is probably the best I’ve had.  Tofu texture perfection!

Clean plate club!

This morning, we were up bright and early.  We took a lovely walk through my neighborhood and enjoyed the gorgeous weather.  Then we went for a scenic drive through the foothills.  We drove all along Horsetooth Reservoir, which I had never even done before.

The water was a vibrant blue.

Photo-op time!

Cutie mom with the wind in her hair. :)

New shorts!

I’m so glad we waited until Thursday for our touristy day.  It was the best day of weather yet!

We drove along the reservoir and got out a few times for photos and fresh air.

Self timer action!  I set the camera up on a park grill. ;)

A half eye blink, ice cream shoveling photo.  We stopped at the famous Kilwin’s for some deelicious ice cream.  I got dulche de leche.  I have a thing for caramel. 

Don’t let my pasty legs blind you.

We walked around Old Town + Downtown, and I showed my mom my favorite shops.  She always loves seeing the places I’m always talking about.

We got back to the house around 3pm and then it was go-time.  My mom said she wanted closure on the house, so she could feel like we accomplished a lot when she left.  Believe me, even before all we did today, we accomplished A FREAKING TON.

The porch was a disaster.  We started there are really organized and consolidated.  After we build a new shed, we’ll be able to move everything on the porch into that.  Then, maybe in the fall or next summer, we’ll be completely remodeling this porch. 

The plastic corrugated “windows” have got to go.  We’re going to make it all open air, but keep the columns + ceiling and put in a new floor.

Once the porch was organized, then we were able to sift through everything in the house, consolidate + move more to the porch.  When I say sift through everything in the house, I mean sift through everything in the house.  We were on a roll!!

Wait until you see the photos tomorrow!

This room has exploded about 18 times now.  I think we finally made a LOT of progress with it today. 

Sitting at the dining room table right now and looking around, I’m in shock.  I cannot believe what we were able to get done today.  We even made our last Lowes + Target run at 9pm tonight. 

Nothing can stop us!!

Except some much needed sleep.  My mom leaves tomorrow mid-morning.  I got to spend one full week with my Ohio family and two full weeks with my mom.  I wish we could do this more often, but I’m so thankful that we’re able to do it at all! 

Major {love + hugs} to the most amazing mom + dad.  Ever.

Gooooooooooodnight.

Ashley