I’m left here once again wondering where the weekend went. I had a weekend, I’m sure of it because I wasn’t stuck in a grey, lifeless cubicle but it wasn’t relaxing at all. I kicked off the weekend by going to Sushi Train on Friday night (we won’t get into how this was my second trip there this week) with friends and enjoyed sushi, conversation and way too much food. I’m all for all you can eat sushi but after a potluck at work, my stomach wanted nothing to do with sushi or any food that came in large quantities for that matter.
But I got my moneys worth and was in perfect ready to sleep mode right after. I would have loved to sleep in but instead we woke up early and made our way to Colorado Springs. My friend was having a Lia Sophia party and even though I don’t need to buy any jewelry at the moment, I wanted to see what they were all about. Basically it’s like a Mary Kay or Thirty-One party or any of those companies that has a consultant and you buy from them then pyramid it down. They had a lot of cute stuff but even with the “sale” going on, it was out of my price range. We’ve had absolutely beautiful weather this past week and since the weather was still cooperating we went to my favorite place in the Springs, Garden of the Gods, to walk around.
That view NEVER gets old. There were so many people and four legged friends roaming around the park, it made for a great day! It’s been near empty the times that I’ve been there and I’m not used to seeing so many people at every turn. We didn’t do any hardcore hiking because it’s mostly easy trails throughout the park but I forgot how gradual the inclines are there. We would be walking upward and I didn’t feel like we were going up in elevation, my lungs begged to differ. Afterward we made our way over to Colorado Mountain Brewery for some beer and yummies.
I am confident saying that it was the best food and service that I’ve ever had in a brewery….and I’ve been to a lot of breweries that serve food like Thr3e Wiseman Brewing Company, Trinity Brewing Company, Boulder Beer Company, Phantom Canyon Brewing Company and 3 Floyd’s. We sat in the upstairs area which was very quiet for being a brewery overlooking the bar area (which has tons of tvs) so you could still watch a game without the bar atmosphere. Our server was awesome, giving suggestions on food and quick with refills. What I especially loved was the ingredients and combinations of their menu items—they have standard restaurant fare such as appetizers, burgers, pizza, pasta, etc. but with a twist. Instead of plain jane chicken quesadillas, they had duck quesadillas with a mango salsa and bison poppers in place of regular jalapeno poppers with bacon, cream cheese and jalapenos. We were all hungry that instant so we shared two appetizers—truffle fries and bison poppers.
They are not stingy with their portions at all. There were six gigantic bison poppers, generously packed with cream cheese and ground bison. If you’re afraid to try bison, don’t be, it’s not gamey at all and has a smooth flavor along with the rest of the flavors of the popper which then gave you a little punch of heat after a few seconds. There were three of us and we couldn’t even finish the truffle fries which were perfectly seasoned and had a lot of cheese on them as well. But I made the mistake of ordering a full meal on top of the appetizers which I knew I would regret but everything sounded amazing! I got the fried fish tacos which came out with one solid piece of fish atop spicy, creamy cole slaw and then topped with a fresh mango salsa. I tried to eat it but it quickly got awkward since the piece of fish was so big so I ended up cutting it up then just eating the fish, cole slaw and salsa. I never thought I would enjoy fish tacos here in Colorado but this place proved me wrong, it was bomb.
The only thing that separates liking and loving this place? They are a brewery and I left not knowing anything about their beers. Our server asked if we have ever been there and we said no and she didn’t tell us if the beers were made there or what the story was (which I like to know if I’m supporting a local place). Beer was on my mind so I asked for a beer menu but she said they didn’t have any which I found off since *ahem* brewery is in the name of the restaurant. She spouted off what types of beers they had without names so I’m not sure if they have any and they had about three different IPA’s so I went with the regular IPA. It was pleasant and hoppy but nothing memorable.
Sunday was yet another busy day with an early morning walk with Linx. Sunday mornings is my favorite time of the week—it’s new, quiet, peaceful and you can’t beat getting the old blood flowing on a leisurely walk.
I’m still getting used to my new hood so it’s been one exploration after another and I’m having so much fun while doing so! It’s so refreshing not living in the hood worried about random hobo’s walking by or sketchy people visiting my drug dealer neighbor (although I do miss the aroma of KFC in the air). I can freely walk around without feeling harmed or on edge and that is priceless. The only thing that would have made my morning better was if I had a hot cup of coffee and a Sunday newspaper so I could clip through the coupons. Truth is I don’t have a coffee maker here which is a bit insane since I love coffee more than sunshine and butterflies. My old roommate had a magical Hamilton Beach coffee maker that ground up the beans and made a smooth and strong cup of coffee. All I have is a crappy single serving coffee maker that I’ve used a handful of times and haven’t been impressed. I got a $50 gift card to Target for my birthday and have been toying with the idea of putting that towards an espresso maker. While I love a good latte or cappuccino, I don’t think I would use it as much as I would like to so a Keurig may be in my future since I could get a cup fast. But then on the other hand, I would use it more on the weekend than anything which means more time to make drinks and get creative in the process so perhaps I should look into an espresso maker. Oh first world problems, how I love thee.
But back to Sunday…..I wish I spend the day doing exciting things like Saturday but it was anything but. I made my way to the gym and decided that I will be canceling my membership there and going to another gym instead. I pay $30 a month and don’t go there as much as I should and just don’t like it. People have asked me what I don’t like about it and honestly, I can’t put my finger on it but I just don’t dig the vibe when I go there. The staff isn’t friendly and often I don’t get a greeting when I walk in and the place itself is just dingy. A lot of people have told me about 24 Hour Fitness so I think I’m going to check them out but it’s still up in the air. I just hate going to the gym to cancel my membership because they drag out the process so I had a genius idea—go to the gym at 6am when the people at the desk are (hopefully) too tired to haggle, cancel and be on my merry way!
And since it was a gorgeous, sunny day, I spent it inside furniture shopping. I’m in my 30’s yet I’ve never had new furniture or anything like that so in my quest to feel and be an adult, have decided I’m going to get a real bed frame instead of some crap ass Ikea bed frame one like I’ve had in the past.
God, I forgot how much I hated that bed frame and just seeing it again makes my blood boil. While I love Ikea’s low prices, I’d rather sacrifice money in my checking account before buying a bed frame from there again. Unfortunately I didn’t fall in love with any furniture while looking on Sunday but I have some other places in mind and hope to find my new furniture soon.
When I got home, I prepped meals for the week including a fun, new recipe I’ve been putting together in my head with butternut squash but more on that later 
I started some crockpot chili which is perfect because it started snowing on the way home from work today so it was instant comfort in a bowl!
I know I shouldn’t be complaining about having too much to do during the weekend but sometimes it would be nice to go back to the days when I lived in Charlotte. I had absolutely nothing to do during the weekend and would pray that the weekend would speed by just so I could go back to work for something to do –how sad is that? I am thankful that I have more of a social life here with great friends, a wonderful boyfriend and the gorgeous playground that is Colorado but sometimes it would be nice to do nothing and have no errands to run. Now I totally get why people have their groceries delivered! Now to get some beauty sleep! This is the first full, five day week that I’m going to be working in 2013 so I need to mentally and physically prepare and rest is a must. To those out there who had a less hectic weekend, let’s trade places soon!