Fort Collins Brewery Tour-Check

Last weekend, we went to Fort Collins with our good friends. We each reserved a room at the Armstrong Hotel. The hotel is right off of College Avenue and checks out complimentary cruisers. We arrived at the hotel around 11 on Saturday and immediately grabbed our bikes. This was such a fun Saturday. All day we had the biggest smiles on our faces and were so happy to be cruising and boozing. We rode our bikes to each of the following breweries: New Belgium-Odell's-Fort Collins-Funk Works-CopperSmiths. Each brewery has tours and tap rooms to hang out in. We did the New Belgium tour and then just enjoyed the tap room patios of the rest of the breweries. Fort Collins is an active and charming town. There are a ton of outdoor activities to do and restaurants/bars to enjoy. This will definitely be a weekend we repeat!

Pura Vida

Adam and I went to Costa Rica for 9 days over my Spring Break. It was a wonderful trip and reminded us of our honeymoon! As a keepsake for us, I want to post pictures and a quick highlight of our trip.
Pura Vida!
Adam and I were really looking forward to enjoying a couple different parts of Costa Rica, and we were so glad we planned a stay in Arenal and Manuel Antonio. At the end of our trip, we both wish we could have had some more time in Arenal but what we had was awesome!
Mountain Paradise

While in Arenal we stayed at two hotels, Mountain Paradise and Nayara. We went horseback riding, canyoning, enjoyed the hot springs and relaxed by the pool! 3 nights were not long enough to truly enjoy the volcanic region, but everything we did was well worth the time we spent traveling to and from each destination.
Nayara

After staying at the amazing hotel, Nayara, for a night we jumped on another puddle jumper to Manuel Antonio.
Each plane ride our hands were sore from squeezing so tight. I would not have traveled another way, but it was a little scary! After arriving in Manuel Antonio, we learned our hotel did not have air conditioning. We were perpetually sweaty the entire trip, but the view and vibe of the town made up for it. It was a tease going from Nayara to a hotel that had very few of the amenities it had offered, but I felt at home within a couple days. While in Manuel Antonio, we went zip lining, took a sunset sailboat trip, enjoyed a couple beach days in Manuel Antonio National Park and ventured to different spots for breakfast, lunch and dinner each day.
Enjoying a vacation just the two of us was a memorable way to spend the two weeks I had off for spring break. Can't wait to plan our next trip!
Pura Vida-Pure Life-All is Good

Recipes

The past month I have really been trying to mix up our dinners by experimenting with different recipes. I have made four recipes I found on Pinterest within the past couple weeks, and they have all been very successful.

Petite Lasagnas: Super cute and really tasty!
canyoustayfordinner.com
Won Ton Wrappers
Ricotta
Spaghetti Sauce
Meat
Onion
Mushroom
Seasonings
Mozzarella
Start with won ton wrappers in muffin tins and then layer with ricotta, meat sauce, and then mozzarella. Add another won ton wrapper on top and layer again.
Bake for 10 min. or until cheese is melted.

Chicken Cannelloni with Roasted Red Pepper Sauce: The sauce was awesome!
myrecipes.com
cannelloni shells
4 cups chopped chicken(I used rotisserie)
2 containers chive and onion cream cheese
1 package frozen spinach
1 cup mozzarella cheese
Italian breadcrumbs
garlic salt
Combine all ingredients and then cut cannelloni shells lengthwise and spoon mixture in.

Sauce:
alfredo sauce
roasted red peppers
3 oz. parm cheese
Blend all ingredients together and pour over pasta.

Bake for 25-30 minutes. 350 degrees
The picture makes the dish look really orange. Don't let the color scare you!

Chipotle Chicken Enchiladas: Oh so good!!!
Check out the recipe here: It was a little long to type. :)
http://www.pink-parsley.com/2009/08/chicken-enchiladas.html

Cheesecake stuffed strawberries: Going to make these for every party now!
http://www.thesweetslife.com/2011/08/cheesecake-stuffed-strawberries.html
2 lbs fresh strawberries
package cream cheese
4 T powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
graham cracker crumbs

Hole the strawberries and set aside.
Mix the cream cheese, powdered sugar, and vanilla.
Put mixture in piping bag or zip lock and fill strawberries with mixture.
Dip in graham cracker crumbs.

Holy yummy and easy!

Mammoth Game-Check

Friday night, Adam and I went to our first Mammoth game. I had no idea Denver had a professional lacrosse team, so it seemed like a good idea to take free suite tickets and check it out. It is crazy how quickly the Pepsi center changes between basketball, hockey and lacrosse in one season, and it is quite the experience checking out each sport and the crowds they bring. With that being said, the crowd and the game were completely different from what I expected. I thought I would see polo shirts and sweaters tied around shoulders for sure, but not in the least. The fans were pretty rough around the edges and avid lacrosse people. It was pretty engaging and reminded me a lot of the Avalanche games.

Apparently cow bells are huge at Mammoth games, and luckily we had a veteran fan with us who supplied multiple cow bells for our suite. At one point during the game the crowd started yelling, shot..shot..shot.. shot.. shot..everybody. We of course quickly joined in excited to act like we knew the chants. We were very confused when a couple minutes after the chant, an old man in front of us starting ringing his cow bell lanyard and then proceeded to take off his socks and run down to the field. Within seconds, hundreds of socks were thrown on the field. I guess they were yelling, socks..socks..socks..socks..everybody. Now we know.

I have come to the conclusion that all games are fun with good company and a drink in your hand.

Art Museum-Check

Today Adam and I enjoyed an amazing lunch at Stuebens in Uptown before venturing down to the art museum.

First of all, Stuebens is delicious. We got a perfect table on the front patio and enjoyed our peaceful Sunday afternoon. Adam started off with a Bloody Mary, which I found to be quite enjoyable, not being a Bloody Mary fan. I started off with a Gin Fizz, which consisted of two whipped egg whites, orange bitters and gin. What a surprise. Lunch was greasy and filling! Probably not the best choice after a hard workout this morning and planning to walk around the museum after, but we definitely enjoyed the outing!

The art museum is well worth the visit for all Denverites or any visitor. The modern architecture and clean cut walls of the building are a site to be seen. The structure of the building and sculptures surrounding the building allow your eyes to wander from one piece of artwork to the next.

The art museum is divided into two buildings and is connected by a sky-walk. The first building(The Hamilton Building) and then the North Building. The Hamilton building consists of more modern art. Adam and I tend to enjoy modern art, but some pieces are a little too out there for us. We stumbled upon a suitcase in one corner with a talking head. We couldn't help but burst into laughter. The north building has seven different floors. Each floor has a different cultural collection.

The museum was very easy to maneuver, and can be done in a couple hours or you could spend half a day there and do lunch in the sky-walk area.

I think we would both love to go back when they have the van Gogh exhibit later this year.

Check out the different floors and exhibits here: http://www.denverartmuseum.org/explore_art

Colorado Bucket List

Adam created a Denver bucket list last August, and we have failed to put it into action and hold ourselves accountable. This bucket list is just for fun and to keep us trying new things opposed to a checklist we have to complete before a certain time. Some are only for Adam as he is a little more intense than I am. A couple of these we have done individually, but in order for us to check them off the list they have to be done together.


Colorado Bucket List

Ski all vail resort mountains
Bike mt. evans
Camp in RMNP
Fly Fish the CO River
Hike a 14'er
Snowshoe in the Rockies
Hike Hanging Lake
Hike glacier lake
Raft AR/CO River - Royal Gorge
Peak-to-Peak highway
Seven Falls
Stay at Beaver Creek Westin
Red Rocks-Concert every summer
conquer top 5 restaurants-Keep trying new places
Denver Museums(Art, Nature/Science, Botanical Gardens)
Win Big at Black Hawk
Telluride Bluegrass Festival
Broncos Game
Nuggets Game
Rockies Game
Avalanche Game
Rapids Game
See Play/Musical/Ballet at Performing Arts Center
Great American Beer Festival
Fort Collins Brewery Tour

So with all of these to do items we can happily cross off a couple.

Nuggets/Rockies/Avalanche-Check
We have been fortunate enough to go to a Nuggets game, Rockies game and Avalanche game all in Adam's company's suite. What a way to watch a game!

Ballet-Check
We had a wonderful brunch at Woodsley and Beatrice(a really trendy yummy restaurant off of Broadway) and then headed to the ballet with a group of friends. We saw Swan Lake. I thought it was wonderful, but I will just say it might take a little convincing for Adam to join me at another ballet.

Hike Glacier Lake-Check
What a beautiful hike this was. I stumbled across this hike in 5280, and we are so glad we ventured up to Idaho Springs to do the hike. It was a short hike, but straight uphill. The lake was breathtaking and created a relaxing atmosphere to hang out for a little.

Red Rocks-Check for one summer
We saw David Gray and then Zac Brown Band the first summer we moved to Denver. Last year there were not any bands we were dying to see, but I have heard the lineup this year is great. Looking forward to many more concerts at this unique venue. Watching a concert among the natural Red Rocks is surreal. From the venue you can see the beautiful downtown lights as well as get a glimpse of a full moon when the weather allows.

Peak to Peak-Check
The perfect time to enjoy the Peak to Peak highway is in the fall when the Aspen trees are changing. The Peak to Peak begins at Estes Park and then slowly winds down toward Denver. The Red Wood Forest has been the only other drive we have done that is worth chatting about, and in my opinion they are comparable. The Aspen trees quickly change from green to yellow, so there isn't much time to catch this view, but it is well worth it. The mountainside is painted with yellow, red, orange and green and is a sight to be seen.

Hoping to continue working on checking items off the bucket list!