It feels so good to be sitting in a cube again after an awesome, fun-filled weekend. I’m drinking my coffee and attempting to wake up while pondering why the new dude at work insists on dressing like Brandon Walsh, sporting a vest on most days
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Maybe the lack of concentration on my end is because I’ve mentally checked out of this place because I only have nine days left at this job! I got a job offer last week for a full time position complete with benefits, vacation, sick time, 401K (I think this is the one I’m most excited about) and best of all bank holidays! I’m going to be doing a job similar to the one I did with my former bank for four years so I will be doing something more fit for my skill set (and not to mention my salary requirements). I’m just trying to keep my eye on the prize and remind myself that I only have a few days left here but it’s starting to be a little difficult because I’ve lost motivatiom. And thinking about this weekend doesn’t help at all because like last weekend, I had visitors in town and was entertaining the entire time! First was meeting with Susan and family for brunch at Lucile’s on Saturday morning. I’ve heard this was a hot brunch spot and apparently everyone else had the same idea to go there since there was a crazy wait. I got there a little past 10a and when you walked in, people were packed like anchovies from wall to wall. I was starting to get a little hangry so I fled into the arms of an alcoholic bevvie, the Cuban, a saucier version of a mimosa.
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Just as Susan and fam were walking it, we got called for our table hooray! We sat down and coffee was in order, I was stoked to see that like a true New Orleans joint, they had coffee with chicory and beignets.
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I was expecting to see more of a selection on the menu and noticed there were a few seafood options. Unless it’s lobster, I just can’t get down with the idea of seafood in a brunch dish. Something about it seems tres funky to be and not in a good way–tuna omelet? No thanks. I took the safe bet and went with the Eggs Jennifer, reminiscent to Eggs Benedict with a heaping portion of spinach.
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They brought out homemade hot sauce and ketchup and after a few minutes of the ketchup bottle being exposed to air, it started to spill out the bottle, practically exploding. Not only do you get brunch but you also get science experiments table side!
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I love the comfort level that comes with certain bloggers because there is no weird awkwardness and lack of things to talk about. It was so awesome to meet up with Susan after reading her blog for the past two years and happy she remembered I was in Denver when she on vacation!
One of my sorority sisters was also in town and I met up with her right after brunch and since I live in Colorado, beer was an appropriate way to celebrate. Plus it’s fun to think about how far we’ve come from college drinking to Natty Light to drinking real, grown up, craft beers. Since they were staying downtown this was going to be an easy feat because there are multiple breweries within walking distance of each other downtown. The first stop was Wynkoop Brewing Company.
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I’ve been to Wynkoop before but didn’t do an extensive testing. We sat at the bar and the bartender fed us sample after sample while schooling us on each beer. I finally got to try their chile beer which was perfect because a sample was just enough for me. While it was interesting and I loved the chile flavor, I don’t think I could commit to a full pint. Honestly we could’ve sat there and tried sample after sample but after three of them I felt bad and decided to order a beer-Railyard Ale
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We headed over to Breckenridge Brewery after Wynkoop. It was a nice walk and some fun scenery as well since it’s right across from Coors Field. We sat at a table and we bummed to see that they don’t do flights of beers on game days but they do give you tastings of their beers made there as opposed to other brands.
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After a few beers we decided to skedaddle and I truly relied my college days—-by missing a step and falling on my butt in front of everyone! Unlike college, I didn’t sprain my ankle like when I fell don a flight of stairs at a bar which in turn made me miss Real World auditions the next day. I guess that could be a good thing because I’m totally not the kind to go traipsing around some hip city then fighting in hot tub with complete strangers.
Then one last stop for beer loving at Great Divide, just like last weekend. Three beers for $3 made an appearance again…..
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And I wasn’t adventurous at all because I finally found ones that I liked and decided to stick with them. It was absolutely packed when we went but finally settled down after about an hour of being there.
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And after that I was done, promptly coming home and napping at 8pm. College days these are not, I would’ve just been starting to get ready for a night on the town back in my early 20′s but things change pretty quickly.
In between social outings, I actually had time to clean and cook…..two things that I feel like I’ve been neglecting big time lately. I’ve been jonesing a cool pasta salad dish lately and decided to whip up a batch of Cilantro- Avocado pasta topped with steak strips on Sunday afternoon.
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Seasoned with Meat Magic and lemon for a little citrus action going on then cooked in 1 tbsp vegetable oil in a skillet. While that and 6 oz of spaghetti were cooking, I started to make the sauce.
Besides the flavor of the ingredients the best part about this sauce was that it took no time to make! I took 1 1/2 avocados, 1/3 cup chopped cilantro, 1 tbsp minced garlic, 1 tbsp plain Greek yogurt and salt and pepper to taste and mixed together until semi smooth. I let chill in the fridge while the spaghetti was cooling off.
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Once the spaghetti cooled off a bit I added everything together for a fun, light, flavorful meal!
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Oh yeah, Cheribundi winners are:
#3 Irene
#10 Jordan D
Please email your physical mailing address to simplyshaka@gmail.com, thanks to all who participated!!
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