What Ever Will I Do?

For the first time in months - maybe a year - save one small Etsy bunny order to complete, I have no pending orders.

...I'm taking a minute to assimilate that.

So yesterday when The Mister asked me to tag along to a brief [sort of] business meeting at World of Beer (Mad Men Version 2013) ~ I had no reason not to go. Of course had I known it was a beer/sports bar (he wisely didn't tell me where the meeting was going to be), I probably could have used that as my excuse. 

So I went and drank a glass of wine and played on Facebook while he did his thing.

And the next surprise was wandering across the way to meet other friends at Jax Fish House for Happy Hour. I was told the restaurant had only been open 2 days. The appetizers were things that I absolutely shouldn't be eating right now (I've lost 5 lbs and I don't want to blow it), but they were yummy.

Calamari with mango-chile mojo & lime aioli

Grilled Fish Cakes Dynamite with sriracha mayo

And I'm making an effort to step out of my chardonnay comfort zone (aka chardonnay rut). Our cute server recommended Jax White Sangria. Sure, I'll give it a shot.

Jax White Sangria

White wine, pineapple syrup, orange vodka,

blood orange juice and fresh citrus

The sangria - quite yum.

The oysters - not a fan.

For my Denver peeps ~ both World of Beer and Jax Fish House are calling themselves a Cherry Creek location, but they are in Glendale. There is a whole new development behind the Hilton Garden Inn Denver Cherry Creek on Colorado Boulevard (and Cherry Creek South Drive). I don't recall everything that is there but there are several restaurants with more to come. 

So this morning (after a 2:30 am sudden wake-up anxiety attack ~ oh the scary things that the wee dark hours bring to one's mind) I walked into my studio and realized I didn't have an order list on my work table. Of course there's always R & D to be done; but other than a quick bunny to whip up, nothing urgent.

So I walked back out to contemplate my day over a smoothie.

I'm getting better at just winging the recipes.

Orange juice, vanilla bean yogurt,

pineapple, peach, some flax seeds and ice.

I kind of don't know what to do with myself. Until I look at my studio which strongly resembles a place where a bomb just exploded.  The Mister and I have big plans for the next week as we are going to be switching his office space and my studio space. I will be making his loft office into my studio ~ much larger and much cooler. I mean temperature-wise. Turns out my studio in the summer is the hottest room in the house - even with the AC on. So tons of work ahead moving technology and furniture and reorganizing on both our parts. It will be worth it. And keeping my mind and body busy for the  2 weeks is essential.

We are trying on an Amazon Prime membership for size. So in addition to our Hulu+ and Netflix addictions we will probably have a new one to add to the mix. Perhaps as I finish the laundry (that need to be productive never leaves), I'll sit and knit and watch some flicks. I say that but I know I will automatically flip on The West Wing because I'm hopelessly hooked again. ;-)

A Journey of a Thousand Miles. Or a Thousand Pounds.

I read an article recently about finding stress relief in your comfort zone. What does that mean you may ask? The author suggested reaching back into your childhood to the things that brought you comfort and revisiting them.  This may not apply to everyone, but there usually is a thread there ~ some bread crumbs you can follow. For some people it's movies, maybe a particular genre like comedy.  Maybe it's baking for you. For others it's skiing as fast as they can down a snowy slope. Some lose themselves in books.

And yet others wander. And all who wander are not lost. Sometimes they find themselves.

Sometimes in their own backyard.

The article got me thinking ~ and I guess I'm one who finds solace and comfort in nature. I know that since I have carved out time to resume my morning walks I can't imagine not walking every morning now. So I followed the breadcrumbs. 

It may sound odd, but I don't really remember a lot of my childhood. Yes, it was that uneventful. But I did find a crumb or two and remembered that with my older siblings 11, 9 and 7 years older than I and my little sister still a baby, I spent a lot of time alone. And I do remember walking the fields of the farm and finding little secret paths; riding my bicycle on dusty gravel roads exploring. In looking back I guess it was a little lonely but at the time it was all I knew. One thing for sure ~ it sparked my imagination.

So I guess finding myself as an adult in nature is natural. And nature still inspires me. 

And this little guy seemed to want to be my guide today.

He paced from one side of the path to the other

as if he was expecting someone (me?) ~ or worried

about something (me?).  

Bless his little heart. Y

I practiced my "catching birds in flight" skills.

Or non-skills...

And not unlike a snake in the grass (which is what I thought when I heard rustling in the weeds next to me)

A very clever pheasant in the grass evaded my lens.  Crafty bugger.

 But the shot that really got away

was when I pulled my Jeep into the park entrance 

and saw this little one eating a yucca blossom.

Ack. Adorable.

But of course there was no place to pull over

and there were antsy drivers behind me.

Damn.

So I came home to my morning smoothie

Strawberries, bananas, peaches...

with a little vanilla bean yogurt...

with a little almond milk.

So now ~ to explain the whole "journey of a thousand miles or pounds" thing...

Part of it is a metaphor for the miles I started walking when I was 5 or 6 up to the mile I walked in the park this morning.

And where will the path lead in the future?

And maybe it's not a thousand pounds. It's not even a hundred pounds. But it is more poundage than I'm going public with at this point. But the weight loss path is mine once more. Yay! 

My first test was resisting the Mister's mashed potatoes last night. If I were to list my all time favorite foods pizza and mashed potatoes would pretty much be tied for #1. Thus making them the most difficult for me to resist.

But resist I did!!

And although I can't really remember the last time 

I stepped on the scale (it was within the last week)

I've lost 2 lbs. 

And find myself in a new (lower) digit.

So yay me.

And as if Mister Potato Head and his mashies last night were not torture enough ~ he goes off to a client's all day leaving me with leftover mashed potatoes taunting me in the fridge.

I will resist!  Because 2 lbs. is 2 lbs.  And every journey starts with that one little step. 

Hot. And Cold.

I used to be upset when I would come upon a beautiful image like this

and not have the "right" lens. Today I just enjoyed it for what it was ~ a beautiful, quiet moment in nature. She watched me as I walked by and didn't move an inch. So we shared our minute or two and went back to our own lives.

I had given up on the yuccas blooming this year (they tend to bloom every other year). So I was happy to see a few buds. The ladybug was, too. 

  

I returned to my Jeep at 7:31 am and it was already 75 degrees.  The forecast high for today is 98 degrees. On June 10. Oh lordie. What will August bring?

On my short drive home I knew one thing.  It was smoothie time.

A repeat from last week ~ slightly tweaked ~

and ever so yum

I might need a bigger blender...

I'm making them for two these days.

No.

It's not what you think.

I've got the Mister hooked on them, too.

Pineapple Banana Ginger Smoothie

Super easy recipe 

This time I finely grated the ginger to almost liquid form, added more pineapple, I am helping my blender's workload by adding crushed ice and ~

remember those bananas I froze the other day?

Oh em gee. What a difference frozen bananas make in a smoothie!

First of all, the bananas will last forever in frozen form. Well, at least longer than they do on the counter. And they help make the smoothie nice and cold. You can bet I'm stocking up on bananas next time I'm at the market!

So damn good I had two.

Ok.

Three.
But it was a small glass. 

Here's to The New!

I'm the first to admit the Mister and I are creatures of habit.  We tend to frequent the same places ~ because it's comfortable, because it's easy. If we go out in the evening (and by evening I mean any time after 4:00) we're both tired after of a day of decision-making, so it's just easier.

We were reminded last night why it's good to step out of our "lazy/comfort" zone.  A friend gifted us with gift card to D Bar Denver and after a feeble attempt to find the First Friday Art Walk in the RiNo Art District our thoughts turned to food and a place to sit and relax. 

"Well," says I, "I have that gift card for D. We've never been there; want to try it?"

So off we go up 17th in Uptown Denver to find D.  We discovered later that it isn't a place one can often just "drop in" and find a table on the lovely patio or the cute inside seating area. We discovered later that it is not unusual to wait anywhere from 30 minutes to 2 hours for a table.  But as luck would have it, we pulled up right in front, had our choice of tables and sat down to relax.  On a Friday at 5:30pm.  Go figure.  The Universe was being very kind which was really nice because it's been an interesting couple of days.

It was one of those early summer nights ~ you know the kind. June has been trying to show off her summerness, even though it's still spring. Friday was a warm day in the upper 80's. But sitting under the feathery spring green leaves of this  beautiful tree with a cool breeze blowing lightly ~ well... it was pretty perfect.

The wait staff was very friendly and oh so accommodating ~ sit anywhere you would like and we'll be with you in a minute.  The menus were extensive ~ Happy Hour Menus, Appetizer and Main Dish Menus, Wine Menus and the famous Dessert Menu.

And despite my professed love of wine I find myself broadening my horizons when it comes to beverages. It could be my current obsession with smoothies but I find - after all these years - it's fun to experiment with a drink that may have more than one ingredient. And maybe little to no alcohol. And D Bar Denver was a great place to try something new.

I opted for the B-3 ~ Blueberries, Basil and Bubbles (Prosecco).

So good I had two.

The mister choose a "chai-irish" tea - chai tea and Bailey's Irish Cream.

We both agreed we are going to try to duplicate these yummy drinks at home!

Our non-healthy but quite yummy appetizer was huge bowl of Crue Fries (garlic parm fries, mac sauce, melted cheddar jack, ranch and chives with bacon on the side)

Yes, you are correct. The food coma began to set in early on...

So because I had been so decadent with my appetizer I opted for something a little lighter for my meal ~ a Not Quite a Cobb Salad.  The Mister had an awesome looking Pizza Salad Sandwich (which I failed to get a pic of) ~ it was basically a couple of slices of pizza with the salad right inside.  What a timesaver. ;-)

D Bar Denver is known for their desserts ~ they even have separate dessert menus for "Broad Daylight" and "@ Night".  We had to take our desserts home!  No room in the full bellies and the food comas were setting in deep. But we weren't about to leave a place known for their desserts without dessert!

So I will post pix of our "bag 'o' donuts" (which ironically yesterday was National Doughnut Day!); our oatmeal raisin cookies and 3-layer chocolate cake with Madagascar chocolate frosting later.  If I remember to take pix before we devour them.

Suffice it to say, we are thrilled we discovered this little gem and definitely will return!

So in the "keep trying new things" plan ~ this morning's smoothie was a new one. This Breakfast Strawberry Smoothie was super easy and very yum.

Easy peasy ~ strawberries, flax seed, vanilla yogurt,

1% organic milk and a couple of squirts of honey.

Done in a flash and even Cranky Chicken approves.

Open wide.

Enjoy.  And we did. 

Happy weekend!

A Smooth Monday Morning

Just your ordinary beautiful Monday morning in Colorado in June.

And my reward for my mile long walk (besides getting to enjoy all that) was to try a new smoothie recipe when I returned home.

Sunshine Breakfast Smoothie

A great combo of oranges, Granny Smith apple, pineapple, banana, a touch of yogurt, dash of Saigon cinnamon and some ice. (I didn't have flaxseeds but will next time!)

Very yum.

And it made a lot.

I do believe I am a smoothie convert. 

Balls Out, People! Oh My...

A sure sign that I'm a little more relaxed (as in not inundated with orders) is when I start perusing recipes.  And since I made that appointment for a physical next week (the one that took me about 9 years to make...) it's time to get healthy!  In a week!  

I'm a terrible breakfast eater ~ in that I usually don't eat breakfast. But now that my days are starting with strolls in the park around 6 am by about 8:00 or so I'm ready for a bite.

So I experimented the other day with my first smoothie. 

Yes, I know smoothies have been around for eons but I never gave them much thought. After one I'm a convert. I really liked this combo of blueberries, banana, vanilla yogurt, wheat germ and white grape juice.

Although next time I will follow the recipe and use frozen blueberries.

I do like my drinks cold. 

I liked it so much I am looking forward to trying more recipes and tweaking them to make them my own. 

Then this morning after my park walk and returning home to do the 5 minute Simba walk to the mailbox and back (she's 15.5 - cut her some slack),

I learned that The Mister didn't have meetings until this afternoon, so I decided to try this Balls Out recipe I stumbled upon the other night. (Got your attention, didn't I?)

Balls out, of course

referring to removing avocado pits. 

Such an easy peasy recipe I couldn't believe I had never tried it before.  Pit the avocados, scoop out a little extra avocado to make room for a scrambled egg.  (I'll spare you a pic of a raw scrambled egg because frankly, that would make me gag. You?)

Then I poured the whipped up eggs into the avocados. 

Obviously my pouring technique needs some work. 

Slippery little buggers, those raw eggs.

And I need to get my sprinkling skills down as well. But you get the idea. I opted for Hawaiian Black Salt (kinda' smoky) probably because I've been listening to a lot of Jack Johnson lately. (Yes the Jack Johnson that I am very late to the party enjoying and, trust me, my friends let me know I've been living under a rock.) I added some smoky paprika, too.  Obviously. You can add whatever spices or embellishments you like ~ it will be fun to experiment.

Pop in the oven at 425 degrees for about 15 minutes (your time may vary) and there ya' go - breakfast in an avocado.

Promise I'll work on that presentation.

Years ago a friend dated a guy who liked to cook 

and he always told her

"My dear, presentation is everything."

We figured out later he was gay.

Not that there's anything wrong with that.  We loved him to pieces. 

The mister opted for the super duper HOT sauce one of his clients makes. Me ~ I went with the Buffalo Tabasco.

So although we both stood in the kitchen eating these new little delights (he next to a laptop he was working on; me over my Surface researching drink recipes for the weekend) ~~ it was really nice to have an impromptu Friday morning breakfast with my sweetie.

Who, as I was making my list for the market said, 

"Why don't you pick up some avocados?"

YYY

(A little note about the pix here - with the exception of the first and last photo - which are Lensbabies, of course - these were all taken with my Windows phone. So they are what they are.)  J