adjusting.

I'm in the middle of adjusting from life pictured on the left { sunny CA life filled with wineries, great food and the best company a girl could ask for } to life pictured on the right { non-stop cuddles, snowy adventures and bottomless hot tea } in less than 48 hours.  

It feels so good to be back in our cozy cabin that is slowly getting buried by snow day by day. 

Happy almost 2015, er'body!

.ribbit.ribbit.

I have a sweet girlfriend that I work with who not too long ago was going through some relationship turmoil.  She's young, beautiful and is dating in a new-to-her town.  She has met some boys she liked, some she thought she liked, and some she most certainly didn't like.  Every few mornings she'd be at my desk with an update looking for some advice and help off the dating ledge.  One morning after dishing out my advice she sighs a big sigh of relief, exclaims how much better she felt after our chat and then said "How do you always know what to say?!"  I smiled, took a little pause and the only thing I could come up with is:

I've had to kiss a few frogs.

While it's such a corny and overused phrase, referring to kissing a few frogs to find your prince, it's so true.  After my girlfriend walked away from my desk that morning I couldn't help but thinking of those  boyfriend frogs that I once had.

---
The boyfriend who was receiving Match.com notifications and emails while we were together.
The boyfriend who would never go on a coffee date with me because, and I quote: "I just smoke weed every morning to wake up instead of drink coffee."
The boyfriend who only expressed his emotions in songs.
The boyfriend who lived in Iraq/Japan/HI while I lived in ND.
The boyfriend who lived in WA while I lived in CO.
The boyfriend who lived in NM while I lived in CO.
{ what can I say, I was a serial long-distance-dater there for a good 5 years }
The boyfriend who during our breakup alluded to having used the mindset that we had "just been friends" for the past 3 months.  Oh, great.  What a fun 3 months that had to have been for him.
The boyfriend who had a secret folder of 100+ photos on his computer that 8 years later I still wish I could un-see.  Yes.  Those kind of photos.
The boyfriend who would have rather smoked weed with his lesbian roommate than hang out with me.
The boyfriend who was a little too close with his mom.
The boyfriend who was a little too mean to his sister.
The boyfriend who wanted to eat Fast Food morning, noon and night.
The boyfriend who cried more than I did.
The boyfriend whose glass of vodka I mistakenly took for a glass of water and took a big swig.
…consequently; The boyfriend who drank way too much.
The boyfriend who would get so caught up in playing video games in his dark apartment all.day.long. and would forget your 6pm dinner date.  ON A TUESDAY.
…consequently; The boyfriend who didn't have a job.
The boyfriend who talked in baby talk to his sister.
The boyfriend who had a crush on my roommate at the time and would never set foot in our apartment.
---

At the time that many of the above happened, it truly felt like the end of the world.  In hindsight, none of them were that big of a deal { except for the computer folder with massive amounts of porn on it.  That one really was a big deal. } rather they all just helped my journey along.  They helped me gain confidence and perspective in the really ridiculous world of dating.  They helped shined light on this handsome man who walked up to me at a Broncos tailgate some 3+ years ago.  They helped me realize that Hunter was so very different than any man I had ever dated.  They help me appreciate every dinner Hunter cooks for me, every surprise he plans and every way, big or small, that he proves how much he really knows me.  They help me cherish every thing he says that sends laughter piercing through my body.  They help me relish our many moments of adventure that we share.

So this one is to you, ex-boyfriend frogs.  Thank you all for being painfully wrong men so I could find my painfully right man!




It should be noted that each isn't example isn't different person - it's all really just 3'ish men total.

the weekend.

It doesn't surprise me in the slightest that I have only 3 photos I have to show from the weekend.  It was one of those weekends that was over in a BLINK of the eye while cramming in tons of work + play.

After I got off work on Friday, Hunter and I geared up and had an after hours cross country ski up Emerald Mountain!  There were 1,000 reasons it was the most fun but the top ones being: The entire trail was illuminated perfectly by the full moon which was more romantic than you ever want to hear about, we passed at least a dozen other after dark adventurers and knowing that I live in a city where multiple people want to exercise in the snow + cold + dark on a Friday night makes me stupid happy, I got to mentally check off side trails and markers along the main trail where we had spent mountain biking all summer long and finally: we knew there was beer at the end of the tunnel as we met up with Hunter's dad for brews and dinner when we were done.  The Boat needs fresh snow something fierce, so it really was more like ice skating than cross country skiing but it was so crazy fun and I can't wait for a good dump of snow to head back up again!  

The rest of the weekend consisted of working both Sat + Sun, a fun girls night in on Saturday, few hours skiing up the big mountain Sunday morning and ending our weekend with my company holiday party.  I was wiped out come Monday morning { noon and night }, but feel a little more back in the groove today.  Bring it, week!

p.s. 16 days until Christmas.  Ahhhhh freakout!

p.p.s. I finally got on Twitter!  Got a Twitter account?  Am doing Twitter now?  I don't even know the cool kid lingo much less how the heck to navigate my way through the darn thing, but come say hi if you are a tweettweet regular!

i made this :: roasted beets + squash lentil soup

The other night Hunter asked me "How much time would you say you spend thinking about food on a daily basis?"  I'm embarrassed to admit that wasn't the first time someone has asked me that question, and I'm sure won't be the last time.

Between planning our Bountiful Basket pickup, Door to Door Organics delivery and the meals to fill our week, plus juggling Hunter's and I always changing schedules, I have to admit...I think about buying, preparing and eating food a lot.  The main reason for this thinking and over thinking can be attributed to reallllly trying to minimize eating out, picking up lunch a few times a week, grabbing a morning juice etc. and is all in an effort to prepare most of our meals at home.  I'm currently reading Julie and Julia while simultaneously listening to the audiobook  Cooked by Michael Pollan.  Safe to say I have home cooked and home prepared food on the brain.  I just finished a really interesting { to me! } section in Cooked talking about the decline of home cooked foods + meals, and he discussed how we give up time at night to cook a meal and instead use that time for watching tv, spending the night on our computers + phones while eating take out food.  He made such a great point on how even when we do carve out time to "cook" at home, so much of the time we are simply heating up already cooked and packaged pasta to pair it with already prepared jarred sauce.  Michael gave the challenge to cook once a week/month something you'd typically buy.  Examples being granola bars, bread, pasta, pickles, beer etc.  So!  It's given me the extra kick in the pants to make the effort of cooking more meals at home instead of picking something up out of laziness and convenience.

Needless to say, I've been thinking about food quite a bit on a daily basis.  Ha!

Last Wednesday night, I was on my 3rd day of a nasty cold, Hunter was out of town and I had given in to the thought of veggie broth + toast for dinner again.  That was until I saw Katie post her Spiced Lentil Soup with Roasted Beets & Delicata Squash, and did a quick mental round up of ingredients at home to realize all I was missing for this soup was the beets.  I knew my evening dinner was set!  I ran by the store lickity split for 2 beets and within seconds of walking in the door I had ingredients on and in the stove.  

Ya'll.  I can't even express how delightful this soup was.  I never say ya'll!  That's how good it is.  The roasted squash + beets were the perfect addition to the intense harmony of spices in the soup.  I loved the flavors and the addition of coconut milk gave it a really creamy and satisfying comfort while the lentils were enough to make sure you were full after one bowl.  Sadly, the entire pot of soup was gone in 24 hours { Hunter did return from out of town and had some, so I didn't eat the entire pot!  Though I could, would and wished I had. }

This one without question will be put into heavy rotation at the Madfield Casa { along with her thai coconut curry soup that I can't get enough of.  This girl knows her soups! }.  Man oh man.  I wish like crazy I still had some of this in the fridge/freezer at home.  I'll need to whip up a batch when we get back from Thanksgiving for sure!

I love soup.

First Annual Friendsgiving!

Living in a more secluded small mountain town makes you realize how much was taken for granted while living in a bigger city.  The list of importance changes weekly, but these are the ones that stick out to me lately:  Accessibility to craft stores, accessibility to a BWW,  accessibility to a plethora of pho restaurants and accessibility to DIA.  My parents and I had much back and forth regarding holiday travel for this year.  It is about a 4+ hour drive from Steamboat to DIA in Denver which feels like a lifetime compared to the 20 minute drive I was used to for 6 years.  There is also the unknown factor of traveling during the winter months with questionable and rather unpredictable roads.  When it came down to it, we decided it was best I only go home for one holiday this year and that holiday would be Christmas.  Yes, I am 29 years old, yes this is my first Thanksgiving away from home and yes I am sad about it.  My parents are the ultimate hosts and I wasn't only disappointed in missing Thanksgiving { and the over the top ridiculously good food, and if I'm being honest the wineries }, but I've just been missing them fiercely so knowing I had to tack on an additional month until I got to see them was hard for me to come to terms with.

::some favorite memories from Thanksgiving spent in CA::

But!  There are some good things that are coming from me staying put for Thanksgiving.  I'll get to spend it up at Snowy with Hunter and his family { I'm tearing up right meow at the thought of seeing his niece and nephew again.  I miss those little wiggle worms like crazy. } and this will be my first ski season in the 4 ski seasons that I've known Hunter that I'll get to be at Snowy for opening weekend, which I'm so excited about!  There are also the pluses of forgoing crazy holiday traveling, fighting crowds, days spent at the airport + travel etcetcetc.  Once the decision was made that I wouldn't be going to CA, it made it our personal mission to start new traditions here in Steamboat.  We were out hiking one Sunday and I asked Hunter to start brainstorming ideas of ways we could make this Thanksgiving season special.  Without much thought, we both pretty much decided on hosting a Friendsgiving right off the bat.  It's easy to throw around "Yeah!  Yeah.  We'll host a Friendsgiving!" but when the weeks started magically ticking down and we had to make some decisions on the date + guest list + menu, it hits you square in the face just what we signed on for.  

Hunter has a handful of his high school best friends who have also moved back to the Steamboat area { yay! }.  They all have delightful wives/fiancés that I feel so lucky to have really hit it off with.  So!  We invited a few of the men + their spouses and a few other Steamboat friends I've gotten to know over the past few months. 90% of the guest list all went to High School together and Hunter actually works with { oh, this is going to be confusing: } his good friend Tony's wife Camilla's sister Hestia { did ya keep up with that?! }.  I've gotten to know Hestia, Camilla and our friend Emily { who also went to high school with everyone } well over the past few months because we all did a 10 week kickboxing class together!  Ok, this is getting confusing - let's keep movin' along with the story telling.  A normal person would have just said "We had some really great Steamboat friend's over for dinner!" but of course I have to take it a step further and talk to you about Hunter's coworkers.  NE WAY...

I'm so sad that I took no { literally, zero } photos of the finished food/table presentation.  I did get all the recipes online, so I'll share the menu that way!

For light appetizers, I served my go-to veggie dip again with carrots + celery + peppers + cubed homemade bread!  We also had some pickles + black olives + stuffed green olives of both jalapeño and garlic that went like hotcakes.  I really wanted to make this jalapeño dip, but didn't want people to fill up too much on the appetizers.  Next time!  For the meat, I doubled this recipe of stuffed turkey tenderloin w/cranberries + butternut squash + kale + pecans and we { aka Hunter } grilled up a marinated pork loin.  I also made these accordion potatoes which is a delicious and easy peasy potato recipe I've made, and will continue to make, time and time now.  { I omit the lemon because I think I'm one of the few people who really don't care for cooked lemon/lime in majority of my dishes. }  For stuffing, I used this bacon and bourbon stuffing recipe and while it was good, I'm not sure I would make it again.  If it did, I would cut the amount of liquid used and ask a professional { aka a carnivore } to fry up the bacon because I don't think I did a very good job.  Ha!  We also had brussels sprouts with melted shaved parmesan cheese and a creamy rice + broccoli dish that some of our guests brought!  It was all served with freshly homemade buns { yes, freshly made that morning } { toot toot! } { <----- horn = tooted } and plenty of wine + beer and holiday punch to keep us all warm and happy.  Emily brought a few pies and deeelicious carmel bars which ended the night on a sweet note.  I felt really good about the menu + amount of food as we weren't hit with a fridge full of leftovers.  All we have left is maybe 1 or 2 servings of stuffing and that's it!

The entire evening was a huge success.  We played a few quick rounds of Catch Phrase and spent too much time looking things up on Urban Dictionary.  While we had good intentions of playing Cards Against Humanity + a few other games but the conversation kept flowing and I got to hear dozens of stories and memories from Hunter's childhood.  I'll take that over an insulting card game any day!  { but I do love me some CAH }

The Thursday before we hosted Hunter text saying "A coworker needs help with a shift on Saturday.  I'm working 7am-3pm."  My first response was AHHHHH FREAKOUT! with the realization that I would then prepare an entire Thanksgiving meal for 8 people by myself.  I quickly snapped myself out of the freakout by reminding myself that, like it or not, I'm really bossy and territorial in the kitchen especially while preparing food for an event/gathering.  I started early and gave myself enough time to feel good about what food I was working on + time spent cleaning the house.  At the end of the night after everyone had left and we were laying in bed, I was looking out the window at the lightly lit backyard with the massive snowflakes falling and had this wave of appreciation fall over me.  I felt so thankful for the food on the table, the full house of friends old + new, the memories made and the ability to put it all together and take it all down.  I am also thrilled I can cross off both Host a Friendsgiving and Cook with Cranberries from my Fall To-Do List!

We leave on Wednesday for Snowy for actual Thanksgiving and is it bad to say I'm a little relieved the meal isn't falling on us this time?  I'm looking forward to being able to kick back with a warm beverage, zoning out to a football game and helping out in the kitchen when my help is necessary.

So very much to be #thankful for this year!

the weekend.

Haaaappy Monday, friends!  This weekend was good for the heart and soul { and stomach! }  It was one of those cozy winter weekends where I left the house a total of 3 times: Once on Saturday to pick up fresh rosemary and placemats from Hunter's dad's house.  Second time on Sunday to buy a new massive snow shovel { hello 12+ inches of snowfall over the weekend! } + a new French Press and the third time Sunday night for a night date at the gym.  Saturday we hosted our first Friendsgiving and it was a beautiful and delicious success.  It consisted of constant prep from 7:45am until 4:45pm when the first guest arrived, but it was well worth it.  Sunday was our lazy day where we watched football { and I crocheted! } for hours and hours on end.  I am thrilled for the 3 day work week and secretly love the crazy snowfall outside.  

Ladies night!

Last Wednesday I hosted our first soiree in our new house - a quaint girls get together with some women I work with!  Anyone who was within 50 feet of me the past 2.5 years know the main thing I missed from storage was my wine glasses + white dishes.  I talked about those sum bitches time and time again.  I could not wait to plan a little party and get to use them all.

Growing up, my mom hosted every event for Thanksgiving + Christmas usually Easter and most family birthdays.  I have been immersed in food/party prep for as long as I can remember.  While I hated it most Christmas mornings as it always meant we had to open our gifts crazy early and clean up our gifts crazy early to start cleaning and preparing for family to come over I am crazy thankful for those habits and memories now.  

I made everything from scratch that I could, including juicing apples for hot apple cider and cooking up dried black beans for a few of the dishes { <--- a recent thrifty obsession I'm sure to bore you with....I mean blog about soon }.  Everything turned out so great!  It was a chilly willy nilly night out so cuddling up in front of the fire with warm { spiced! } apple cider while filling our new home with laughter and memories was beyond perfect.

Here are the recipes that I served which were pulled from my party planning Eat, drink and be merry Pinterest board.

//Taco bites  These were crazy easy and came together in a snap.  I cooked up the turkey and prepped the toppings the night before.  All I had to do was get my wontons + muffin tin ready { I used 2 small wonton wrappers per bite } and pop them in the oven for 8'ish minutes.  I will, without question, make these again for another party.  

//Black bean egg rolls Another easy peasy go to!  I've made these once before and will continue to make them again.  They are a little more time consuming as you have to roll each one, but given enough time the rolling is so therapeutic and satisfying!  { omg who am I - that sounds like a crazy person talking }.  These were the biggest hit of the party.  The recipe is so easily adaptable for what you'd have in your fridge/is in season.  Deeeelicious!

//Bruschetta While delicious and one of my girlfriends said "I'd eat this entire platter if you would let me!" I'm not sure I'd serve it at a party again.  The bread got soggy from the topping and who the heck likes soggy bread?  Maybe I would serve toasted bread with the topping on the side.  

//Sandwich on a stick These were fun to make and I loved the way they looked on the table.  I simply used spinach, deli turkey and deli cheese with a side of honey mustard.  If I could have found cherry tomatoes at a good price, I would have added those, too.  Next time I would use arugula like the link calls for, but I wasn't sure of everyone's preferences and we had a big thing of spinach at home to use up.

//Funfetti dip or as my guests warmly named it Crack Dip.  It's one of those you love to hate to eat
{ andeatandeatandeat. }. I brought the rest to work the next day and I was thanked and cursed for bringing it and introducing it to people.

I also made our favorite Knorr's veggie dip which is so easy because you can mix it all together the day before and the flavors are so much more pronounced by the time it comes to serving.  

It was such a beautiful evening and I am so thankful for each and every one of these ladies who joined. I always feel like a house is never a home until it's been broken in with a night filled with laughter and warm memories.  These ladies did just that and I la-la-la-love them for it.  A few of them even asked if I'd taken the entire day off from work to prepare the evening's nibbles + dranks and considering all I did was leave at 4p to make sure everything was on the table when the girlz got over - I'd consider that a huge success.  I think my party planning extraordinaire mother would be so proud. ;)

We are hosing Friendsgiving on Saturday { ahhhhhhhhhhfreakout! } and I just hope and pray it comes together as well as this party did!

the weekend.

This weekend was pretty good for being pretty bad.  Jaime and Ryan had been planning a Steamboat { #dreamboat } weekend for about a month now but leave it to { that bitch } Mother Nature to go and ruin it all.  It's happened once before with My Mary, so it only makes sense that she had to strike twice. The weather report was calling for, and I quote, "Hazardous and nearly impossible travel." so while I do know it was wise to cancel the trip, I couldn't help but bum all weekend long about it.

We managed to sneak in quite a bit with the cold + snowy + freezing weather and canceled plans.  Saturday we woke up to snow, snow and more snow.  Hunter and I tag teamed breakfast.  He cooked one of his mom's famous meals, and I cooked the potatoes I can't stop making { and eating }.  We snuggled in on the couch for a few Food Network episodes before venturing out to run some errands.  Hunter knew I had a crappy day on Friday, so he helped make it better by surprising me with buying some Christmas lights! We hung a few outside, I broke down and finally bought good winter boots and while I'm still coming to terms with the fact that I own a pair of boots with fur on them, I can't deny they are warm and waterproof as shiiiz.  We put them to use and went for a snowy hike up Spring Creek which got us all sorts of twitter-pated and excited for winter activities.  We've begun planning our ski trips and enjoyed visions of weekend cross country/snow shoe adventures.  Heart eyes for days!  The rest of the weekend consisted of a Stranahan's event at a local taproom, The BARley, late night walks in the snow, cursing at the TV screen { Broncos, I shake my fist at you! } and a loooooong evening soak at the Hot Springs followed by cooking up some homemade pizza.

I swear at any point this weekend I had a warm beverage in my hand, cycling through warm cider, hot chocolate, hot tea and of course coffee.  This weekend was a really wonderful introduction to the winter season. Now! to plan Jaime and Ryan's next visit...

fall favorites // GABF + Denver!

Through Hunter's brewery we were able to snag Great American Beer Festival tickets before they were opened up to the public which is a big whoo hoo! as they typically sell out in 15 minutes or less.  So crazy!  We bought the max tickets we could, 4, the day they were opened up to us and decided the Who What Where When Why would just figure itself out later.

Hunter, his dad, their friend Dean and myself { the Who of the weekend } met up downtown Denver Saturday morning and the GABF { the What } festivities began!  Hunter's dad has the hookup with a 21st floor condo in downtown Denver { the Where } so we stayed in the heart of Denver all weekend.  We extended our trip through Monday to make a long weekend out of it. { the When }.  And the Why?....well because, craft beer that's why.

I'd been to two GABF's in the past { back before it got to be such a huge event GABF would donate tickets to my old work in exchange for production time to promote the event } and I'm not ashamed to admit my main goal in attending those Festivals was simple: Drink as much beer as possible.  This time around, it was a far different { better! } experience going with 3 beer aficionados.  GABF had rolled out a new mobile app since I'd been, so the 3 men had spent a lot of time mapping out which booths we needed to hit up. It was far more organized going with them than my other 2 visits and this time I felt like I got so much more out of the evening!  We saw tons of breweries that we'd been to on our travels, spent some time with the Steamboat breweries that were represented at the Festival, ran into some friends and all around really enjoyed the evening and experience.  When we left GABF for the night, we went to Wazee Supper Club for some grub { a fool proof Denver favorite! } and when it came time to order drinks, the 3 of us in unplanned unison said WHAT DO YOU HAVE THAT ISN'T BEER?!  Ha!  Needless to say, we'd beer'ed ourselves out for the day.

It was a stunning fall weekend in Denver and it felt good to be city dwellers again for a few days!  Before/after our GABF Saturday night session, we enjoyed a few tried and true favorites { Wynkoop Brewery + City o' City + Wazee Supper Club + Brooklyn's + Scratch } and indulged in some new-to-me dinning { Jelly }.  All weekend long we walked blocks and blocks and I soaked up all the sights that hold countless Denver memories for me.  Sunday morning, Ashley + Sara + Jaime and I met up at Jelly for brunch.  Those truly were some of the best 5 hours of the weekend.  The 4 of us hold an  astounding amount of memories, inside jokes, respect for one another, love and laughter.  We were coined The 20 Something's when we all worked together and were { and still are! } thick as thieves.  A morning with these ladies was exactly what I needed.  I'm still riding out the pure bliss that comes from calling them my best friends.

Jaime also got Hunter, Bob and I on the list for the bitchin' tailgate that my old employer/her current employer hosts for each home Broncos game.  The tailgates are always thrown with such flair and there is a general buzz of excitement/anticipation in the air with all the Broncos fans in attendance.  The tailgate was a double whammy because not only do we love Broncos, we love tailgates { read: free beer + food }, but we love Jaime and Ryan and we love the opportunity to spend as much time with them while in Denver as we can.  At the tailgate, I was also able to catch up with several old coworkers whom I've known for 7+ years which is always a kick in the pants.  Somehow we found ourselves hidden in a storage shed with an old friend taking Jagger shots and it felt just like the old days.  After the tailgate we hopped a pedicab to a nearby bar for game time.

Hunter and I were able to pick up a few boxes of storage/items that were still at Sara's house from when we on/off lived with her over the past few years and made a trip to went crazy at Target for items we would need for our new house.  { it's amazing what seeing the inside of a Target does to a girl who had to quit the Target habit it cold turkey. }

The weekend was perfectly perfect.

check it, fall!

I'm really feeling the fall season this year.  I want all the things cuddly, warm, knit/crochet, homemade...er'thing.  Give to me all the fall things.  So!  Here is my 2014 Fall To-Do List to follow up my 2013 Fall To-Do List!

make some spicy, pumpkiny, deliciously fall dessert.

I had this on my list last year, but totally failed at following through.  I don't like baking and don't necessarily like eating anything super sweet { so whyyyy set this as a goal, Beth?! } but I want to try something new by baking something new.  Here is a spicy, pumpkiny deliciously fall desert that I'm eyeing right now.

host a christmas girls craft night!

I had a faaaabulous group of women in Denver who would get together once every few weeks for a craft night  - we had so much { drunken } creative fun!  I've started planting the seed with a few girlfriends in Steamboat and we have a craft in mind...now all we have to do is put the plan in motion!

cook with cranberries!

I've never cooked with cranberries { secret: I've never liked cranberries but in all fairness haven't actually had them in a while.  So!  Why not see if I do or don't like them as an adult? } that weren't dried or canned, and I think it's high time I've tried.  I'm thinking of starting out easy by making this brussel sprout + cranberry dish because I love brussel sprouts that much.

make this persimmons salad!

We've received persimmons in our Bountiful Basket the past 2 baskets and guess what.  We don't like persimmons!  { this is a horrible theme }  Butttttt - my vegan soul sister Lindsay sent me this recipe that she made for her Thanksgiving last year and it was a huge hit at the party!  We actually have everything needed for the recipe at home so really what is there to loose?  Weird fact: I had a dream about this dish last night so it has to be a { weird } sign of some sort.

throw a friendsgiving!

Holidays to me are all about traditions - and I really want to start a new Friendsgiving tradition in Steamboat.  It's been rather difficult making any weekend plans with a part time weekend job - but this is important to me and we'll find a way to make it work!

make pho { again }!

I have been dreaming of homemade pho since Hunter and I made it a few weeks back.  I want/neeeeeeed to make a huge batch of the broth to freeze for those chilly fall/winter evenings { or really, morning + afternoons, too }.  Nomz.

stovetop simmered fall spices on the stovetop!

I was candle shopping this afternoon and about dropped dead in the store at how expensive they've gotten { #frugal #inflatedsteamboatprices } when I realized I could simmer some of my spices + fruits on the stovetop and achieve the exact same end result!  After a quick Pinterest search, I've learned that it's called Stovetop Potpourri, which isn't my fave.  I'm sticking with Stovetop Simmered Fall Spices.

the weekend.

This past weekend was one that will keep me warm for quite a while.  Everything lined up perfectly making for an active/busy/productive/silly/relaxing weekend.

Mary and I spontaneously planned another 12 hour mini-mountin meet up in Dillon.  Even though we talk obsessively every day minute by minute but it wasn't until we met up and I heard her sweet giggle that I was able to realize how much I miss my Mary.  My Mary who has been a sister to me for more than 8+ years.  My Mary who approaches every situation with care and creativity.  My Mary who is so damn lovable and perfectly silly.  We had a really wonderful 12 hours eating, drinking, laughing, laughing and laughing.  I love that girl too much.

The rest of the weekend was filled with working + beer drinking + football watching + final mountain bikes of the season (him) + spending time soaking up the sun with coffee and bailey's in hand while reading Julie and Julia (her) + bed and breakfast cooking (us).  It's Monday now and the snow is aggressively falling and will continue to for the rest of the week,
but (!)  I feel so warmed from the memories over the weekend (cliche) that I don't mind the snow one bit (truth).

the weekend.

It was a really beautiful weekend up here in The Boat.  The weather on Friday was absolutely phenomenal considering it was the last day in October.  I spent Halloween evening downtown with a really dear friend and her entire { darling } family.  Steamboat closes down their main street and the town + families pour in for trick or treating from business to business.  Spirits were high with the wonderful weather and it was so fun to see the creativity put into each costume.  I was home by 7:30pm with a glass of wine and scary movie on, which I consider a huge win.  The rest of the weekend consisted of working { both H + I }, chili making, and most importantly relaxing.  I've been working weekends at a part time job for a few months now and I can't even express how much I appreciate a day off now.  The weather yesterday was perfect for an early breakfast out with Hunt, gym time, with some serious r&r.

i made this :: zucchini fritters

We got 2 huge zucchinis in our Bountiful Basket over the weekend.  I have a secret: Zucchini is one of my least favorite vegetables.  We always had a huge garden growing up which immediately equals zucchini meals all summer long.  I think because we ate it so much growing up mixed with it's rather bland and somewhat spongey texture { <----- exact reason I strongly dislike eggplant } is why it's low on my ZOMGGIVETOMEALLTHEVEGGIES list.  I had been juicing them throughout the summer, but I wanted to try and stretch my Bountiful Basket and make more meals out of it...less juices.

I turned to trusty Pinterest and of course found a vegan zucchini recipe within minutes.  Zucchini fritters!  I've wanted to try making potato fritters for breakfast/brunch for quite some time now, so I figured this would be a good introduction to the Fritter World.  The recipe looked quick, easy and I had 90% of the ingredients on hand.  In an effort to reduce buying extra ingredients, I omitted the kalamata olives and capers in the tomato sauce { even though they sounded amazing and we are HUGE olive/caper fans in our house! }, used a white onion in place of green onions, used fresh parsley versus dried oregano in the fritters themselves and omitted the lemon juice because I had juiced the lemon we had on hand for lunch { there goes my theory of less juices more meals }.  Oh, and I was able to add a generous amount of basil to the sauce that we had leftover from our pho and quite a decent dash of crushed red peppers because #spicy!  

Is it ok to admit I had low expectations for this meal?!  I am not fluent in frying thing in general, and may have set our pesky smoke alarm off a few times, but!!!! they turned out so so good!  It was yet another meal I was raving about the entire time we ate it.  When I first planned this for dinner, I had thought Hunter was going to be out of town but he ended up being home { yay! } so I was a little nervous when I knew it had to feed and fill up 2 people.  We each ate about 3-4 fritters and finished up all the sauce and I was completely satisfied!  I have another large zucchini left and would most definitely make these again.  I think some roasted { or raw! } garlic would be really yummy in the fritters themselves and there are a dozen+ ways to dress up the sauce.  Next time I would serve it up with a salad + crispy bread, but all in all I am thrilled with how this turned out!

fall favorites // my james!

We had a vvvvvvery special guest come visit us at the beginning of September - my best friend Jaime took  made the trek up from Denver to Steamboat for the weekend!  

James got to Steamboat lickity split on Friday and pulled up at the house just a few minutes before I got home from work.  As I was rounding the corner and saw their familiar vehicle in the driveway, I instantly teared up.  When I saw her beaming beautiful smiling face behind the steering wheel, the tears started flowing.  I always feel incredibly thankful when dear friends take the time to come up to our neck of the woods for a visit and quite simply, I had been missing my James.

After we got the hugs and tears out of the way, we settled in for some champagne { Sofia - our very favorite! }, cheese + crackers + girl talk.  After talking, talking and more talking - we eventually headed downtown for First Friday ArtWalk which was so special to me.  Jaime, Ryan and I along with her sister Gina and my mom have quite the history of amazing memories held at ArtWalks.  I was over the moon when I realized that Jaime would be in Steamboat for First Friday!  We all went when my mom was in Denver nearly 4 years ago, and no joke at least once a months my mom still brings up how much fun we all had.  Plus, the hilarity of a trip to ArtWalk I went on with Jaime, Gina and Ryan are still some of the greatest inside jokes we reference to this day.  Anyway - James and I had the most fun moseying around downtown Steamboat, drinks in hand among the crisp air and setting sun.  We ended up at Aurum for a shared dinner around the outdoor fireplace with delicious mixed drinks flowing.  The night ended with a long soak in the hot tub, still talking each other's ears off.  It was one of those nights that was a beautiful reminder of it doesn't matter how many days, weeks or months that pass, the bond between best friends never fades - rather grows quite a bit stronger.

We woke up the next morning and set off to Freshie's which isn't just a favorite of Hunter and I's, but also happens to be Jaime's favorite breakfast joint in town!  After we dinned, we changed and jumped into the truck for a short drive out of town to show Jaime some Steamboat hikes that you just don't know about unless you are with a local.  The timing of the hike was right as the aspens were starting to turn yellows and oranges, so the views were incredible.  The trail was ours and ours alone { save for a group of 3 we bumped into while hiking }.  We talked, we laughed, we enjoyed the comfort of quiet that really can only be found between dear friends.  

Another reason I was extra thrilled that James was in Steamboat that particular weekend was because one of Hunter and I's favorite breweries, was hosting a Farm to Table Dinner!  I knew it was right up our alley and bought tickets without giving it a second thought.  Sadly, Jaime's husband couldn't make it due to a last minute work commitment.  This was the part of the trip where he was missed the most as I just know he would have loved drinking round after round { after round after round } of local beer and hearing about the local produce + meats that were prepared for us.  We thought it was hilarious to keep talking as if Ryan was with us - He just ran to the bathroom!  He took a little longer nap.  He'll  be right back!  We got the smallest { seriously....the smallest } table available and laughed our way through the 3+ hour long meal.  Things started to get a little weird towards the end when every.single.volunteer.worker.there. reminded us time and time and timeandtimeandtime again that we could take our drinking glasses home with us but! it wasn't until they announced the table settings were also available to take home that I got out of control.  THE FLOWERS WERE IN MASON JARS and screw the flowers, I wanted those jars.  I may have gotten so worked up on this fact that it wasn't until we jumped in a cab and were a good 5 minutes from the brewery that I realized I had completely abandoned my cell phone at the bar where I picked up said free flower arrangements { and one really weird candle holder that I still am perplexed by to this day }.  We then took Jaime to another local favorite - The Laundry, where we enjoyed more beautifully mixed drinks { and talked more about how much Ryan would have loved the restaurant }.  We hoped around town to Carl's { too much DJ and unsunsunsunsuns jams, less leisure vibe } then ended at The BARley { which had zero unsunsunsuns jams and wonderful leisure } before a quick walk home.  

Our time with James was short on Sunday as she had to be back in Denver for a work commitment.  We got up and I served up my favorite breakfast potato scramble along with a fresh green juice and we sent her on her pretty little way.  Even typing this out almost 2 months later, I still feel the strong love and thankfulness that I felt that very weekend.  This is a woman whom I adore and have adored since the day we met 7+ years ago.  Her in her pinstripe pants and polka dot shirt, me { nervous and sweating } in my tweed skirt and black button down shirt that was missing buttons.  Jaime and I hit it off in a really beautiful way my first day of work at my past job and have quite literally been inseparable since.  We stay up to date on each other's lives with weekly emails, FaceTime calls, phone calls and text messages.  We never fail to leave out even the smallest detail that might not matter to anyone else, but it matters to us.  

See Jaime's trip recap here!  Though mine is quite a bit late in publishing, it is one of those memories and trips that I wanted on this blog to reflect back on in the years to come.  I am simply giddy as we are already planning her and Ryan's return trip to Steamboat in a few short weeks!  Eeepppp!  

Cheers to the very best of friends!

the weekend

in no particular order

full days working

new book reading

brewery visiting

breakfast cooking 

cleaning + organizing

curry making

friends binge watching

meal planning

hammock laying

We also logged a few hours bundled up in blankets and hats enjoying a bottle of wine in our backyard on Friday night.  No questions asked it stole the show as best moment over the weekend.

summer lovin'

I'm still digesting all of the adventures + celebrations + weekend fun that we experienced over the summer.  While this post is delayed in being published, I've been writing and assembling it for a few weeks { scratch that - a few months!  Slowest blogger award goes to... }.  It is just so hard for me to begin trying to get everything down on "paper" { blog + paper?  blogper? } without writing everything.  So I give to you, my summer as condensed as I could condense it : >

My sweetest + silliest friend and her plus one came up for a quick/long weekend for the 4th of July.  This was right around the time I was really struggling with friendships here in Steamboat, so Sara's infectious laugh, insane sense of humor and sharp honesty were just what my heart and soul needed right at that moment.  I am forever grateful for her, our memories we've made over the past 7 years and our memories we have yet to make.  I love that woman more and more while always falling short with words to communicate that to her.

My best friend of 15+ years, my soul sister and the strongest part of me got married to the love of her life in Montana.  I was a hundred different shades of proud standing up next to her as she said i do.  Hunter and I made a week long road trip out of it and the ridiculous adventures we experienced on our drive there, the week we spent in an out of this world amazing VRBO rental, the rare happenstance that lead me to get to see one of my dear Bremerton friends(!!!!), the precious time spent with my parents + the dearest of friends from high school are memories that won't leave me anytime soon.

My parents made a 2 week road trip out of Amie's wedding, so they stopped in Steamboat on their way back home!  My dad had visited Steamboat back in the 70's but it was my mom's first time in The Boat!  I loved having them here and showing off our favorite spots in Steamboat.  I am forever grateful for their love, support and the spontaneous silliness they bring to my life.

Before Lindsey decided to move to Steamboat for a month, she was in town for a long weekend { her and our friend Kristy participated in the Tour de Steamboat.  Hello, inspirational! }.  I was able to steal a few hours of their time and host a brunch at the house!  It was everything a summer morning should be built of: coffee, fresh green juice, mimosas { duh! } followed by breakfast pizza { with homemade crust!  toot toot! }, my most favorite breakfast potatoes, breakfast cookies, fresh fruit and avocado toast.  We followed it up with a few hours laying in some shade in the backyard talking about everything and nothing at the same time.  Every ounce of me was filled with love, gratitude and appreciation that morning.

Hunter, Bob, our friend Judy and I made a somewhat spontaneous trip to the always gorgeous Lake Powell!  Luck is on my side as Hunter + his brother + dad all have their pilot licenses and access to several airplanes.  A road trip from Steamboat to Lake Powell can be upwards of 8+ hours, but in an airplane it is a zippy 2 hours!  We left early on a Saturday morning and were on the water with a cold adult beverage in hand by 10am.  The weekend was spent leisurely drifting around Lake Powell while listening to story after story of trips the Maddox family took to Powell throughout the boy's childhood.  That lake.  That boat.  That spot is magic to these men and I feel beyond honored to be let in on that sacred adventure with them.

Of course my trip to Denver back in August is not to be forgotten.  Mary has always been the most gracious host and I loved our weekend together!  We did everything from a Red Rocks Concert, Yoga on the Rocks....oh ok I know you've read all about it here, but I never want to pass up an opportunity to brag up my amazing friends and family who held me up in times where I truly didn't think my legs would take another step.  I still haven't stopped carrying the love of this trip with me day after day.

My birthday!  Goodness me was I spoiled rotten this year.  My birthday breakfast was presented to me by the most booootiful waitress in all the land { Hi, Rou! } with my very favorite acai bowl and a birthday candle!  I was treated to my most favorite biscuits and gravy mid-day, an amazing lunch with a dear friend and then shot out of work { 10 pounds heavier } an hour early so Hunter and I could check into our hotel room for the night!  WHERE, my sweet friend Emma went above and beyond to upgrade our already discounted hotel room to a suite!  Hunter and I relaxed a bit with a few drinks and gifts before meeting a few really wonderful friends of ours for adult beverages + small plates.  We retired back to the hotel room a bit early where I could indulge in my ultimate indulgence which would be eating dinner in bed while watching TV.  A rather simple request, this I know.  We never ever were allowed TVs in our room growing up, so when I get a chance to relax in bed while eating, it makes for a really happy Beth.  The night ended with one of my favorite pizzas in town, a nice hot tub soak followed by a nice long bath tub soak { I'm so predictable, I know it.  What can I say?!  I know what I like. } before drifting off to sleep with my heart about to burst and a smile the size of Texas.

My birthday weekend!  There is a small chance { we are talking like 99.9% out of 100% chance } that I put the pressure on Hunter rather strong this year to have a really amazing birthday weekend trip planned. It sounds incredibly selfish, this I know.  BUT, my last two birthdays were off the charts { here and here } and I really didn't want our tradition to die this year because of silly restrictions like work schedules.  We went back and forth between deciding on a repeat trip to Lake Powell, a weekend long backpacking trip or a van + biking road trip.  In the end, the van + biking + camping road trip won and man alive am I glad it did!  Hunter planed the entire weekend with not only my favorite snacks, breakfast foods, drinks and dinners but he kept our route and final destination { Crested Butte!!! } a surprise.  I did not stop smiling the entire weekend.  The surprise of a Saturday morning soak in a small mountain town hot springs totally set the tone for the weekend followed by insanely gorgeous and secluded camping spots, leisurely visits to { two! }  breweries and a distillery.  I logged my record of 20 miles over 2 days on my mountain bike { a record for this newbie mountain biker! } and made best friends with a few dozen cows that Hunter and I still talk about to this day.  We fell in love with the town of Crested Butte and dreamed of what it would be like to relocate our lives there.  Everything about it was pure bliss and I still can't get over his creativity and how well he knows me.

Final camping trip of the summer!  Over Labor Day weekend, Hunter and I loaded the WZL up and met Lindsey for a final weekend in the great outdoors.  I remember when Hunter and I would go camping in Washington and he would say "I really can't wait to show you how easy it is to go camping in Steamboat.  You drive for an hour and when you reach your campsite you feel as though you are so far away from Steamboat." and drive for an hour and feel as though we are far far away from Steamboat is what we did!  Watching the stars sparkle in the darkness, in the comfort of quiet between best friends and a good cold beer in hand while being wrapped up in blankets and cozy sweaters { yes, plural } was a main highlight of the trip, hands down.  Another highlight for me happened while driving to our biking trailhead. I was fighting anxiety, nerves and butterflies in my stomach { embarking on a 13+ mile difficult mountain bike ride with two pros made me incredibly anxious } when out of no where Lindsay starts playing Amos Lee's Windows are Rolled Down and a swelling of love, appreciate and gratitude filled me to the brim and I shed a few tears out of pure happiness for being in that moment.  The bike ride ended up being incredible { also incredibly challenging }, but incredible nonetheless.  The views, laughs and accomplishments that we experienced are totally priceless to me.

In between these big summer moments, I had dozens of small moments worth remembering.  Likeeee, seeing 2 incredibly meaningful concerts.  Amos Lee at Red Rocks and Paper Bird in Steamboat!

{Semi permanently } Dyed my hair for the first time in 1.5 years then cut 6+ inches off.

Managed to klutz myself through the summer and wound up in an ace bandage three times.

And spent each and every Tuesday night mountain biking with a fantastic group of Steamboat women in a 2 hour long biking clinic and every Wednesday night playing softball on a team with my coworkers.  I can't hardly believe I don't have photos of either of these events, but I guess it is a testament to the amount of fun/work that was had!

PHEW.  That was an amazing summer.  I already have a few highlights from Fall that I would love to share.  Note to self, Beth: Post said events every few weeks versus every few months to avoid a blog post with 1,000 too many words and 100 too many photos.

i made this :: PHOMG

It's no secret after this and this post that I am a phonatic.  Hunter and I found a good pho restaurant in Bremerton last summer but other than that, we kind of took some time away from the pho.  I know, I can hardly believe it as I type it either.  A few weeks ago on a rainy afternoon Hunter and I had a lunch date at Noodles and More { one of my favorite restaurants in Steamboat } and ordered tofu + veggie pho for lunch for the first time in several months.  Since that day, the pho cravings are back...and they are back in full force.

Classic Beth: I found a way to get back to Noodles at least once a week, a lot of the time, twice a week.  It quickly turned into a situation where I never even had to order with the waiter as they knew when they saw me walk in what I would be ordering.  This was really { really, really } good for my happy stomach, but really { really, really } bad for my { assumed } MSG intake and my wallet.  Like a gift from the We Want You to Keep Eating Pho but Also Want to Help You Save Money Gods, this blog post entered my life, and I knew what I had to do.

I had to make the pho at home.  I just had to.

For all intents and purposes, this recipe came together in a snap.  Hunter and I went for a hike after work last night and when we got home, I got to cookin'.  

I have this awful habit of omitting ingredients in the recipe if I don't have it, don't feel like buying it and/or don't trust their flavors.  That being said, I had a few changes to the recipe; I left out the fennel, cardamom pods and coriander seeds. The main reason for leaving these out was having just moved we had quite a few unexpected expenses in trying to build our pantry back up and the cheap Beth just didn't have it in me to spend an additional $10+ dollars on those 3 ingredients.  I'm thrilled to say that even without those flavors in soup, the broth turned out exceptionally well.  I was stunned.  Stunned!  My friend and I Phil often talk about the risk of star anise and cloves overwhelming the broth.  The first step in the broth recipe calls for dry roasting the cinnamon sticks + anise + cloves until they were aromatic.  It smelled fantastic but a little voice in the back of my head kept nagging about how this whole broth was going to end up being a clove broth and I was wasting all this time, energy and ingredients for a clove broth.  In the end, the broth was lovely and not clovey at all.

At the very end I threw in some thinly sliced carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, onions, cilantro and some roasted tofu into the broth pot to lightly steam before serving the soup over some brown rice noodles.  We topped with bean sprouts, basil and jalapeño and used hoisin sauce and sriracha to spice things up.  Being the Humble Chef I am { ha! }, all throughout  dinner I couldn't/wouldn't stop exclaiming how amazing dinner was.    It was so good that next time I think I will do without the tofu, which is basically unheard of for me.  Phil had the idea to make a huge batch of the broth to freeze in small batches to pull out for individual meals which I think is brilliant and most certainly something I will do in the near future.

I was so excited/hungry that I didn't get a close up of the bowls, but just trust that it was off the charts.  Now, all we have to do is find our pho spoons from storage and our home pho experience will be 100% complete!

I'm off to publish this post and go home to my beautiful pho leftovers.  #phobsessed

We made it!

Amazingly enough, it really only took about an hour and some change to move from Bob's house to our new house.  I can thank the fact that we only moved about 6 blocks and how over the past 3 years we are constantly donating/purging/downsizing our things so we really didn't have that much to move.  At one point I was so bold to even call us minimalists, but Hunter shot back "Do minimalists have 2 yoga mats???" Touché.  But (!!) minimalists or not, we are in our new house, about 90% unpacked and happier than a pig in shit.  We were crazy enough to host Hunter's dad and our friend Judy over for the Broncos game last night { #PFM! #510 } and found time to cook up a bunch of yummy finger foods for the game.  It was what I called a "low sodium" meal strictly because we realized halfway into cooking that we don't own any salt.  Ha!  Moving problems.  A grocery store trip is seriously in order at some point today.  

Give a ring if you want to come to our cozy cabin on the creek!  I'll keep a beer cold for you.