March and April Favorites

Welcome back to my monthly round-up of favorites! In the spirit of growing and evolving, this space looks a little different. I want this type of post to become a resource—sharing where I’ve been and eaten and listened to, in hopes that you can also enjoy these things that have brought me joy, from fabulous restaurants to hikes to roads less traveled.

A lot has happened in the past two months, so buckle up!

Places we’ve been

• Grand River Health (Rifle, CO) for our vaccines! Both doses!
• Casa de Nelson (Grand Junction, CO). We spent a day with my parents as a pre-emptive birthday celebration. Love them.
• Station 26 (Denver, CO). A delightful brewery experience after a year away. This was also a new brewery for Chad. It was great to share this gem with him—and the 30 dogs who were also there.
• Casa de Bills-Bustillos (Denver, CO). We’re so blessed to have visited our best friends to see their new home. Beautiful! Lovely! Fun! Five-star rating.
• My hometown (Gunnison, CO). I had a last-minute potential client meeting mid-week! I went there and back in an afternoon. It’s about a 3.5 hour drive.
• Durango, CO for a long weekend. Chad had some work in town, so we made a long weekend out of it! Durango was a blast, and my parents were generous enough to watch Wally for us. 🙂

What I’m excited about

The past two months have been a lot of things. I’ve been busy and motivated, stressed and lazy. I’ve felt it all. Here are a few things that have been happening in my life that I’m exited about.

• Being fully vaccinated. Though the second shot of Moderna came with a day of feeling under the weather, we are SO thankful to have gotten our Fauci ouchies. 🙂
• I am going to be assistant coaching high school softball at Basalt High School. I answered an ad online, and I’m so happy I did. I need a connection to the community, and I have a lot of passion to share. I’ll be working as a pitching coach primarily. 🙂
• Sunshine. It’s the best. It has helped us tremendously for yardwork motivation too.
• I finished two books! My first ones in a while (ooof, dry spell). First, Love Your Life by Sophie Kinsella. Second, A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini (oh my god, one of the best books I’ve read).
• I’ve been moving my body and being healthy. Walking Wally and making time every day for some movement has been a much-needed boost.
• Lots of new work projects!
  • I worked with a colleague on a social media calendar for a start-up company that will be selling Christian t-shirts. This was a short and sweet challenge, and our calendar is really impressive if I do say so myself.
  • I also teamed up with some colleagues to create a proposal for a dentist office re-brand. (I mentioned it in my post about three good things.) I just heard back that our proposal has been accepted! Soon I’ll be handling social media and blogging for this office.
  • I recently started creating a newsletter for Spoke and Vine motel in Palisade, CO. They asked me to expand to social media as well, and I’m excited to do more for them!
  • As of April, I have a new insurance agent as a client—I’m handling the social media for Lisa Thomas American Family Insurance Agency in Pagosa Springs, CO.
  • My mom has started her own business, Dancing Lotus Artistry, and we are working together to launch her original art. I’m ecstatic to help connect audiences to her one-of-a-kind creations.

Things we’ve watched

As usual, we’ve consumed a lot of television and movies. (Note: especially Disney Channel Original Movies. I went through a phase.)

Activities we enjoyed

• Skiing at Sunlight. We finished up the season on a high note!
• Rollerblading (kind of). I’m trying to learn! It’s extremely difficult for me so far.
• Watching high school softball. Studying up for my coaching job, with plenty of sunscreen and sunflower seeds.
• Wally’s birthday! He turned one on April 13! (Cue the sobbing.) Our sweet pup got extra treats, a big bone, a nice long walk, and a lot of cuddles.
• High alpine coaster. I was asked to ride the Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park‘s Alpine Coaster ride as a model for the chamber’s annual magazine. The cover shot! It was a cold, cold morning before the park opened to the public, but so fun to ride down a mountain side!
• Lots of yardwork. We’ve been cruising and trying to clear out several spaces in our yard for a garden and seating area.
• Hot springs soaking at Durango Hot Springs. This was my birthday gift from Chad, and it was lovely! My first time at this hot springs, formerly known as Trimble.
• Brewery hopping in Durango. We went to several new spots, crossing off our master list of breweries on the western slope.

Foods I ate

• Brunch at Sassafrass (Golden, CO). This was DELICIOUS. I ordered a heavy-loaded brisket poutine, along with beneits and a snickerdoodle latte. It was heavenly.
• Lunch from Jersey Mike’s (Denver, CO). Chad and I wanted to try something new that was quick and easy. I got a roast beef sammie and it wasn’t bad at all.
• Homemade barbacoa tacos. Jessica Bills-Bustillos is a fantastic chef and these tacos were so damn good.
• Lunch from The Ale House (Grand Junction, CO). My parents treated us to a delicious meal from this local spot. I wanted to try something new. My fish and chips were delightful.
• Birthday dinner at Kanpai (Glenwood Springs, CO). I wanted sushi for my birthday celebration. This was our first time at this spot on Midland Ave, and we’ll be back.
• Brews at Sunlight. On closing day, we enjoyed some beer and sunshine at the ski resort.
• Post-ski tacos at Slope and Hatch. We love Slope and Hatch in Glenwood—my crispy fish tacos were a delightful way to end our ski season.
• Weekend dinner from 88 Grill. On the weekends, Chad and I will sometimes order from New Castle’s 88 Grill. They have delivery (the only place in town) and they have a mean burger.

Durango

During our weekend away, we ate SO many delicious meals in Durango, CO. We were full the whole time!

• Breakfast at Oscar’s Restaurant
• Coffee and pastries at Jean Pierre’s café
• Pasta and wine at Primi
• Dinner and beer at Carver’s
• Takeout from Eat Zawadi
• Sipping chocolate and espresso at Animas Chocolate and Coffee Co.
• Ice cream (and a brownie sundae) at Cream Bean Berry
• Beer at Ska Brewing, Animas Brewing, and Steamworks Brewing
• Rooftop drinks at Balcony Bar & Grill

Music I listened to

• Up – Cardi B. I find myself singing, “I know that’s right!” all the time.
• Peaches – Justin Bieber. This is a catchy, song-of-the-summer kind of single. I’m here for it.
• Montero (Call Me By Your Name) – Lil Nas X. Great song, amazing video. I was so impressed by his visuals and creativity.
• Fearless (Taylor’s Version) – Taylor Swift. The entire album is SO GOOD. I especially love songs “from the vault,” which are new releases!

Stuff I posted

Stuff I bought

• Eye glasses. I got two new frames from Eyebuy Direct. They are SO affordable and I love my trendy specs.
• A lot of dog treats and toys! Chewy is a great source, along with Walmart.
• Evolve meals. These are pre-packaged, healthy options that ship all over the US. I went for several ala cart entre items and used the discount “Kennedy15” for 15% off.
• Bulk coffee. I always get Starbucks ground coffee bags from Amazon.
• Shower glass spray. Okay, we’ve let our glass shower doors get pretty gross (soap scum central). I got this spray and it helped clean things up, kind of amazingly.
• Roller skates. I already have roller blades (which I’m finding extremely difficult, lol). I wanted to also get some skates to compare and contrast. I also got some socks and protective gear to go with.
• Alani Nu products. I got some new pre-workout! I also got some a prebiotic supplement, energy drinks, and a BCAA recovery drink as well. These are on the pricy side but I really appreciate the flavor and cleanliness of these products.
• T-shirts from Moose on the Loose. This shop in Durango was great and I loved their souvenirs.

Photos I took

Here are some of the photos I deem worthy of sharing!