Last week we had our first visitor! Steph came out to see us, as she was on a break before starting her new job (Hope you have a good first day today!). On Sunday we drove out to Estes Park and Rocky Mountain National Park. There is a hotel in Estes Park called The Stanley where Dumb and Dumber was filmed (ok and it also inspired the Shining, but really in our minds it is famous because of Dumb and Dumber). Here are some pictures from our day.
Our First snow!
Early this morning Annie went outside to this:
Later we woke up to this:
I’m sure it will be gone in a few hours but still pretty exciting to me!
Raven’s, Food, Friends and Rings
Sunday was of course Raven’s Day, and we were headed to Andrew and Christina’s house in Golden to watch the game. Andrew and Bobby were roommates at Lynchburg and he was one of the Best Men in our wedding. Andrew and Christina moved to Golden over the summer, and it is so nice to have a few people we already know out here.
We decided to do the cooking this weekend. Bobby pulled out the Big Green Egg and smoked a pork shoulder.
He also made some coleslaw with the cabbage we got at the farmer’s market, and I made a pecan pie. It is so nice to have all of our kitchen unpacked and be able to cook together again and feel settled.
Andrew and Christina also had some BIG news to share this weekend. They are engaged! They spent the weekend hiking and camping in Rocky Mountain National Park, and Andrew proposed on Saturday. We (ok maybe I!) have been anxiously awaiting for this day, as we helped Andrew pick out a ring when he visited us back in June in Baltimore, and it was very hard to keep the secret, especially since we have been seeing them more now. They are a great couple, and we look forward to celebrating their big day, whenever and wherever that may be!
Perfect Little Saturday
This past Saturday we got up earlier than usual to see Martha run in the Denver Marathon. Bobby, Annie and I were there to cheer her on around the 6 mile turn in City Park, which is within walking distance of our house.
Afterwards, we headed to the Cherry Creek Farmer’s market. They had a nice selection of fruits and veggies, but I neglected to take any pictures there. Here is what we ended up with:
We picked up a purple pepper – I am interested to see what it tastes like. And I couldn’t resist the beautiful sunflowers. After we finished our shopping, we headed to the gyro stand. All of the food trucks there looked delicious, and we can’t wait to try another one next time. Maybe the Denver Biscuit Company?
Hobby Lobby
Friday afternoon I had already finished all of the things I had on my list for the day (tried out a new yoga place down the street, registered my car and got Colorado tags, and finished unpacking my clothes), and I didn’t want to sit around the house until Bobby got home from work, so I decided to head out to Hobby Lobby.
We didn’t have these in Baltimore, and I had heard good things about the store, so I figured I would go and explore. It is basically a JoAnn’s and Michael’s combined into one. My main objective was to pick out some new knobs for the dresser we picked up the night before. I came across these:
Here are the before and after photos of the dresser. I was finally able to unpack all of my clothes and our room is coming together very nicely. It is quite a change to not have my “cloffice” anymore, but it is nice to have all of our things in one room.
Who doesn’t like fresh milk?
Driving around Denver and the surrounding areas, you will see many of these boxes on the front porches of the homes.
The day after we arrived, I submitted an online request for weekly dairy delivery from Royal Crest. A few hours later, I received a call from the dairy and next thing we knew they were at our door with a free half gallon of milk and information about signing up for their services. We got our very own box and we were good to go!
Yesterday was our first delivery. Aside from milk, we also ordered a few other items. Everything is delivered right outside your door by 6am. They even throw a little snow in the box to keep things cold. I think I was maybe a little too excited for our first delivery – I was out there checking right after I woke up!
We are looking forward to checking out a farmer’s market this weekend. We were spoiled by our farm produce from Flying Plow Farm all summer, so much so that it has become difficult to just buy produce in the store because the farm stuff tastes so much better!
The Big Move
So we are here. We have officially been in Denver for a week now!
Last Tuesday we started out on the two day drive. Those in Baltimore are probably pretty familiar with this sign at the beginning of I-70:
Annie was such a good doggie in the car. The hotel was another story. Here she is, her always-smiling self:
After two 12+ hour days of driving, we arrived in Denver on Wednesday night. After unloading our things at our house, we headed over to Martha and Trent’s house (Bobby’s cousin and her husband) to spend the night. They so thoughtfully put together a little welcome basket for us, complete with some peaches, coffee and a gift certificate to The Lamb Shoppe for me! I am looking forward to checking out the store in the near future.
Our things arrived on Saturday, and we have been unpacking and getting settled since. It was so nice to have our bed back – we had been without our things for a week and a half. Annie seems to be adjusting well – she loves her backyard, and on Sunday she was exhausted after watching the Raven’s game, all decked out in her jersey.
I hope to keep this blog updated as much as I can so that I can keep all of our family and friends involved in our lives out here. A tour of our house and lots more to come soon. I will leave you with a sneak peak of our home until next time…
Disney Weekend Getaway!
A few weeks ago Bobby and I decided to plan a little weekend getaway. Bobby had off Friday for Veteran’s Day so it was the perfect opportunity to take a trip.When Bobby suggested Disney World I was a little apprehensive. Sure, I LOVE Disney World. But Bobby isn’t as much of a fan. It actually took a little bit of convincing to get me to agree on the location. I think I was afraid that he would hate it and then I would never get to go back, so I figured I had to make sure he had as much fun as me. It was the perfect weekend to go – the Christmas decorations were up and it was the last weekend of Epcot’s Food and Wine Festival. We packed so much into our 3 day weekend I think we were in bed by 9 every night because we were so exhausted. Friday took an early flight to Orlando and got to Animal Kingdom by noon. Here we are on the safari:
After a few hours there we went on over to Hollywood Studios, and my favorite ride of all time – Tower of Terror. I was able to convince Bobby to get on and afterwards he said to me that it was the best ride he had ever been on, BUT he would never do it again. I guess next time I will be riding alone! At dusk we headed over to see the Osbourne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights. This was an awesome experience. There was fake snow, Christmas music and tons upon tons of Christmas lights. We just stood there admiring it for quite some time.
I think (I hope!) this trip changed Bobby’s opinion of Disney. There is plenty to do for adults; I feel like we would have needed so much more time to cover everything. Disney actually has some really good restaurants – on Sunday night we did a Chef’s Wine Tasting dinner at one of their restaurants, Flying Fish. I told him we should go back this weekend every year! His response was maybe every 2 years. Hey that’s better than never!
Winter…I mean Fall Weekend Fun
From the weather this past weekend you would think Christmas was coming instead of Halloween. But the snow was very fitting for what we had in store this weekend.
Saturday, Bissy and I had planned to work on making our Christmas cards. I know, I know, it’s not even November. But with a busy month coming up filled with Disney, Thanksgiving and Spain, Saturday was the most opportune time, considering we would like them to go out before, say, December 24th. But more about the cards later – after they have been mailed. Don’t want to spoil the surprise! Let’s just say a trip to the ribbon outlet in Hagerstown and Sally the sewing machine were involved.
Sunday morning, I whipped up a double batch of one of our favorite breakfasts, Steel Cut Oats with Apples and Raisins courtesy of Annie’s Eats. Bobby loves to take this to work with him in the morning for an easy breakfast at the office. I have been making a double batch to provide leftovers for much of the week. If you have never had steel cut oats, you should definitely give them a try!
Then we headed out the door to the Raven’s game. And it was a little cold. But we got to hang out with friends we don’t usually see and the Raven’s won!
Argh I hate you squirrels!
This past weekend I picked up some pumpkins and mums to decorate our house for fall. 
It makes our house look so much more festive and colorful. Please note the doggie in the door. I think she likes them too.
Fast forward to a few days later:
Ugh squirrels… I asked Bobby if he would take his bb gun out and shoot them scare them. But he declined. Any tips on how to keep these critters away?
a Guy, a Girl & a Poodle 