Stationary card

Wow, I didn't realize it's been a whole month since I've blogged about anything. Sorry to my few readers...if you're still out there!

It's a little past the Christmas holiday, but I thought I'd share with you all the lovely card I put together to send out to my friends and family. Due to a code for 25 free cards I got in a drawing on Kelly's blog, I used Shutterfly to maximize my money and card output! THANKS KELLY!

This was the Poinsettia Print Holiday Card. I'm sure most people take the opportunity with photo cards to show off their family, pets, etc. Since it's just me, and I felt it would be super creepy to have a solo shot, I opted for a nice black and white photo of the Denver City and County Building all lit up for the holidays.

I think it turned out quite nicely! With the great results, I'll probably use Shutterfly again for next year's cards. Nothing like planning ahead!

Food is good

Have I mentioned that I love food? Yes, it's true. I love going out to new restaurants, trying new dishes/drinks, and, best of all, not having to a single bit of clean-up afterwards! Recently, Jordan and I tried a new restaurant, Venue, in the Highlands.

Our visit on a random Monday was necessitated by an expiring Groupon, but I'm very thankful for the "Your Groupons are expiring soon. Go use them you dummy." email that I got that encouraged us to go. Thankful on one hand that I didn't let the Groupon go to waste, and thankful on the other hand because our meal was fantastic!

Mondays are one of the three days (the others being Sunday and Wednesday) that Venue offers a set $35 price for a choice of any appetizer, entree and dessert from their regular dinner. Being the "thrifty" people that we are, Jordan and I both went for that deal.

I started off with a Spinach Salad as my appetizer. To say that I enjoyed this would be a vast understatement as my plate was practically licked clean by the end of it (but I'm a lady and would never lick a plate...well, almost never! :) ). The spinach was perfectly crisp and was covered with the most delightfully salty vinaigrette I've ever had. Bits of goat cheese, candied pepitas and golden raisins were also sprinkled throughout. Delightful!

My entree course was something that I've heard great things about through restaurant reviews and other word-of-mouth sources - Shrimp and Grits. I've never really had grits before as I've always seen them as a paste-like substance, aka something I would never choose to eat. Luckily, paste consistency was not anywhere in the picture. The grits were (I assume) perfectly cooked, piled on top of a chile sauce. I caught a good chuck of the chile sauce right on my tongue...yowza! The tiger shrimp pieces were also wonderfully cooked and dusted with some sort of spice that was delicious. Again, cleaned my plate this round, too.

For the dessert course, I opted to go with a seasonally appropriate Pear Tarte Tatin. We had received the dessert menus to peruse for our choices and I had overheard our server telling the next table that they only had one of the tartes left. Being the focused dessert fiend that I am, I literally flagged him over so I could snag the last one! It was completely worth it as the dish was delightful! The tart was complimented with a salted caramel ice cream that, if I weren't in public, I would've licked the melted bits off of the plate. I LOVE DESSERT!

Nothing fun to share about drinks here. I had a sore throat and was starting to get sick, so I just opted with a ginger ale. Boo.

Overall, I really liked Venue and would totally go back. The space is so small (seriously probably about 20'x30'), but they pack the tables in just right and the servers absolutely bust their butts to make the service go well in "cramped" quarters. If you're reading this and are in the Denver area, go try it!

P.S. Wish I had pictures to show of any of the dishes that I tried, but I was always halfway through eating each course before I remembered, and let's be honest, a picture of half-eaten food is just hideous. I'll get better at this blogging thing, I swear.

I've got plenty to be thankful for

Um...this was supposed to post on Thanksgiving but didn't. Damn Blogger. Anywho, enjoy it just a few days late...

The post title comes from one of my favorite movies of all time, Holiday Inn. The song is also my favorite Thanksgiving themed song. Mostly because I don't know any other Thanksgiving songs, but also because I really do love the song (Bing's voice is just magical).



To go with the Thanksgiving spirit, a list of things I'm currently thankful for:
- My generally good health.
- My family, friends, and wonderful boyfriend.
- Living in a great city like Denver.
- Food...good God, I love food! Trying new restaurants is a favorite activity.
- Live music - I've been fortunate enough to see a ridiculous amount of concerts this year!
- Comedic shows - Parks & Rec, Community, New Girl, Modern Family, Happy Endings and Always Sunny are just some of my current faves!

What are you thankful for?

Don't worry...

...I'm still alive. Just kind of forgot about updating this here ol' blog. No fears, I'll get better about this and hopefully will be posting so much that it annoys. Okay, I won't go that far, but hopefully posting enough to let you know I'm still alive.

Also, Happy Thanksgiving to all! May your travels be safe and your hearts thankful for all that is good in your respective lives.

XOXO,
Stace

Getting to know you...err, me

I suppose it's only right to actually tell any readers of this blog something about me. Sooooooo, here's a little Stacey 101.

I was born and raised in the Midwestern state of Iowa. I've helpfully pointed it out on the map below. My rudimentary pictorial skills have also illustrated that Iowa is the land of corn, NOT potatoes (that is Idaho, y'all...seriously). I appreciate my roots of a small-town upbringing, but am very glad to live elsewhere now.

So where do I live now? COLORADO!!! I absolutely love this state! There is so much to see and do, I just can't get enough. I mean, just look at those views!

In my years of living here, I've attempted both skiing and snowboarding in order to get into the true Colorado winter lifestyle. I'm successful at neither, but I can apres ski like nobody's business!

My family is fantastic and I love them all. I am the middle child of the bunch with an older sister and younger brother. My Mom and Dad divorced when I was young (around 9-ish), so that has been our family dynamic for well over half of my life. My brother-in-law joined our crazy family in 2005. His doctor skills have come in handy during calls about my various maladies.

The fam at sister's 2005 wedding. It's the most recent pic I could find of us all together. Divorce does that, ya know?

My sister is my best friend in the whole world. She's known me her whole life, and I really added joy to her life when I came into the world. She would certainly second this thought...if she felt the need to have an online presence. Essentially, this paragraph is just an excuse to show this adorable picture of us in our younger years. It's probably my favorite picture ever!

Our grandpa taught us the love of John Deere from the start!

The newest addition to our family is my sweet niece, Anna. She is the most adorable child I have ever seen. I can say this with authority, obviously, having seen every child on earth. I feel like being an aunt is one of my favoritest (this is a word, I swear) ever. I can hang out with her and spoil her to no end, but if things go south and she gets a little ornery, then I can give her back. It's a win-win situation!


And last, but not least, is my boyfriend, Jordan. He is wonderful and probably the most patient person I know to put up with me. He is absolutely the love of my life.

Halloween 2010. I was Marty McFly from Back to the Future. He was a ceiling fan (no, not the thing you see on a ceiling; he was a fan of ceilings, like "Go Ceilings!").

Lollapalooza 2011. Chicago. Great time.

I'm pretty sure the people that are currently reading this blog probably already know this information that I've shared, so if that's the case, you're welcome for the refresher! I'll call that good for now, but don't worry, you'll get to know me so much more in the near future! Until then...

Post #1

If you're reading this post, you are well aware that I've decided to jump into the blogging world. I've recently become very interested (okay, obsessed) with reading more and more blogs, most of which are authored by people that I've never met in my life. I had always been content with being the reader, not feeling entirely comfortable about putting myself "out there." However, a recent evening changed that mindset.

After eating an entire box of mac and cheese, I thought "Hey, this would be something funny to read about on a blog." And for once, instead of hoping to read about it happening to someone else, I finally thought, why not me? Thus, here I am.

I don't have a specific plan in mind for the blog, but my feeling at the outset is that it'll be a little bit of everything. My thoughts, plans, funny stories, favorite eats, and MORE! I hope you enjoy whatever ends up on the blog. If not...uh, too bad.

And here ends my very first (and kind lame, right?) post.