memorial day weekend highlights

// Willa had her last day of her first season of soccer. She did great with all the drills and practice, but had trouble with the scrimmages against other teams. Glad she tried it, but don't think we'll be signing her up for another season for awhile.

// We got bánh mì at Vinh Xuong Bakery 2. So good. I love the spicy tofu with added avocado. I think they're the best in Denver, but please correct me if you know better! Last time we were there the kids didn't love their sandwich, so this time we got them pork egg rolls and sesame balls, which were both a hit. Willa even asked us to order her a second egg roll! Dan also got a quail egg and pork bao from their refrigerator case to eat a couple days later and reported it was delicious. Also, if you go for lunch get their coffee! The best. 

// After Vinh Xuong, we walked across the parking lot to the Pacific Ocean International Marketplace. I was delighted to find frozen radish cake so I can make Char Kuih Kak soon, and then we bought way too many sweet treats. The best thing about Asian cookies, let me tell you, is that even though they have plenty of crap in them, they don't taste super sweet. They're just the right amount of sweet. The kids also loved looking at the live sea creatures for sale. Cam was squealing as he watched the crabs scramble overtop one another.

// On Sunday, we made a cherry galette and lots of other deliciousness for a BBQ with my sister. Dan grilled Colorado trout and corn, and Alison made a fantastic salad. Willa set the table and was very proud of her (plastic) flower arrangement centerpiece. We also made delicious cocktails and mocktails with cherry juice. The kids were floored when I rimmed their mini martini glasses with sugar. Livin' large! 

// On Monday morning we hit up a newish playground which was a ton of fun for all. Then in the afternoon I drove wayyyyy too far to get Willa a bike for her birthday (shhhhhh don't tell!) at REI. 

// 20.5 weeks! Told ya I was ready for maxi dress season ;)

Hope you all had a wonderful Memorial Day weekend! 

mother's day weekend

So many things about parenting have surprised me over the past five years. Stages have come way earlier than I expected them to, both in good ways and in bad ways. Willa's ability to express her appreciation and love for me completely caught me off guard this year. I, perhaps, might have expected that when she's 10, but not at 4. However, when she's 10 I might be sorely disappointed, eh? Parenting is unpredictable, that's for sure. 

I truly love being a mother. I always like a good challenge, and parenting is the greatest challenge I've found in life so far. I also love how my experience in this role has helped deepen my own appreciation for my mother. So often, I realize how my mother must have felt when I did or said something to her. Or I ponder how she might have parented in a certain situation. Or I just ask her! 

I wasn't able to spend time with my mom this Mother's Day, but otherwise it was a fantastic weekend:
The kids were delightful. We had family in town visiting. I got a massage. I ate lots of good food. I drank a smidgen of wine. Willa made me tons of artwork. I slept in until 7am on Sunday. Dan got me a completely unexpected and absolutely fantastic present. The weather was great. 

^^fancy family dinner @ north in cherry creek with grandpa and cuppy. willa filled up on calamari and didn't eat too much else until dessert. cam loved the tortelloni. and dessert. i liked everything.^^

^^"M" pancakes for first breakfast on mother's day. and brunch with friends at abejas for second breakfast. both delicious and highly enjoyable.^^

while i was snapping...

I've been given a hard time lately for a dearth of Instagram photos. I used to post at least once a day, but in recent months I've waned. Mostly, my aging phone has been to blame. Every picture I took was blurry and not Instagram-able. But, also, I must admit, Snapchat has been dominating my social media time. I really like Snapchat. It's fun. And quick. However, Snaps do indeed disappear unless manually saved, so I best post some pictures on this here blog lest we forget everything we've been up to lately. Here's a roundup of pictures from the past month or so!

^^spring has been coming and going, but i think the nice weather is finally here to stay!^^

^^biker cam! we've been biking a lot more, but the two kids are pretty heavy in the trailer, so when the whole family bikes, we put one of them on the back of dan's bike.^^

^^one of those bad shots i referenced from a roller-skating birthday party!^^

^^flowers on our cherry tree!^^

^^that montage is called: "eating out with kids is fun..."^^

^^so much magna tile fun with grandpa!^^

^^yay for backyard time!^^^^celebrating A&J's birthday!^^

^^girls' spa day in boulder for our dear friend sara's baby sprinkle!^^

^^mother's day lunch at taste of thailand. SOOOOO GOOD!^^

^^her "celebration of learning" at school. she was so excited to show us what they'd been working on but mostly she was thrilled to "be in charge" all night. ;)^^

^^pizza delivery race at her school's field day!^^

tulum, mexico :: places we went

Just one more post about Tulum. We gotta talk a few deets: Places to go! Things to see! It was our first visit, and we were only there a week, so we are obviously the farthest people from experts on the area. Nevertheless, there were several places we really enjoyed during our trip, and I want to share them. Some are places I found before our trip through online research, while others we stumbled upon while there.

PLAYA MAMBO ECO CABAÑAS There are lots of hotels in Tulum, and all of them are small and locally-owned. No big resorts. But there are lots of choices. We wanted to be right on the beach, and somewhere that was more rustic, so Playa Mambo sounded like a good choice from what I'd read online. It was.

We reserved through booking.com and rented a bungalow with ocean view. There are two of these available. Both have the beach and ocean as their front yard. They are also a bit bigger than "cottage" options because they have a sleeping loft. I thought this would be a good option for the kids. It was a small loft with a window, accessible by ladder. It worked out well for Cameron; he slept up there in his travel crib and it was good for naps because we could go in and out of the cabana without disturbing him. Willa was freaked out. She slept on a mattress by our bed.

Pros:

• Location. Playa Mambo's beach was beautiful. They had a small number of beach chairs/beds with umbrellas. There were several good restaurants nearby, as well as a mini-mart just outside the gate for cheaper beers and other snacks.
• The hotel provided breakfast to guests. Coffee, fruit, and pastries. Eggs and such were available at an additional cost.
• The staff were efficient and friendly. Our room was cleaned daily. The staff offered the kids beach toys on our first day.
• Overall, Playa Mambo had a great vibe. It was laid back and casual while still being stylish and well kept. It seemed to attract friendly people; we enjoyed interacting with many of the other guests staying there at the same time.

Cons:

• No fridge. No cold drinks. No way to store perishable food.
• Breakfast. We wanted to enjoy it because it was part what we were paying for, but it wasn't quite enough. It was our first breakfast and then we'd go find a second breakfast.
• Cash only. I alluded to this in a previous post. It is absurd that a place that charges what Playa Mambo does per night would not take a credit card. Or at least PayPal or some other electronic option. This was really to their detriment though; we would have bought many more piña coladas if we could have paid with plastic.
• Value. While we really enjoyed our stay at Playa Mambo, it didn't feel like a great deal. It was "eco-chic" which, in some ways, just meant "budget." There was no air conditioning. The shower was a trickle. We only got new towels every few days. All of this was totally fine for us, but I'm not sure it matched the price point.

//

RINCÓN POBLANO I didn't want to spend a week in Tulum and only be at the beach. (However, the beach was really nice!) We ventured into town one of our first days to check things out. The town definitely had a less tourist-focused vibe.

My favorite thing to do when I travel is to do everyday activities like locals would, so it was nice to just walk into this random restaurant off the main street and have lunch. It ended up being a great choice. It was relatively empty; just us and one Mexican family eating lunch. The man working was quite friendly and the food was delicious. We ordered taquitos and a mole. And beers. And a smoothie. Willa got quite into smoothies on vacation!

//

LA OÑDA A few doors down from Playa Mambo, this place advertised "Best Pizza on Earth." Now, I'd have to disagree with that bold statement, but the pizza really was quite good. The service was friendly and the beers were cold.

//

BOLAS DE POSTRE (Balls of Dessert) Being on vacation was no different than real life; the words "if you X, you can have ice cream" somehow at some point were uttered by some parent. That was much easier said than done however. On Tulum's beach road, everything is run by generator, so freezers are few and far between. Willa was a good sport about it, but we did feel compelled to find ice cream at least once during the week.

We'd seen an ice cream cart when we were driving to and from town, so on one of our last afternoons, we finally decided to walk down the road to find it. It was a bit of a walk; Willa was asleep in the stroller by the time we arrived, but it was so worth it!

They called it "superfood ice cream" and all the flavors we tasted were divine. The Vegan Papaya Almond Bliss was my favorite, but the Cacao was also good and the Tamarind Jamaica was really delightful and refreshing. Willa initially said "yucky" when the chocolate came out (3 year olds!) but I think she was just thrown off by the nuts and other textures. She ended up devouring it. As did Cam.

There were no real cons about this place for us, but my only somewhat negative thought was that all the soymilk they were using might not fly in a trendy American city, but that was no problem for me (tofu foreva!).

//

ZAMAS The New York Times told me to go to Zamas in the morning for the view and the huevos rancheros. So that's what we did. And, unsurprisingly, NYT was right. The service was great, the food delicious, and the location on the beach was fantastic. This breakfast is a really happy memory for me; I'm so glad we went. (Notably, Cam cried through most of the meal. See, another vote for traveling with kids! Even when they cry it's still a happy memory!)

//

LA EUFEMIA While Tulum was overall a great travel destination, and we really enjoyed our time there, there's no getting around the fact it's quite touristy. Perhaps it was once off the beaten path, but beach road is now the path. It's full of folks from Brooklyn or London (or Denver), looking for some tasty tacos. Luckily, just a few places down from our hotel, was La Eufemia. It ticked all the boxes for me: casual, fun, delicious food, good drinks, reasonable prices, and an authentic vibe. It was the only place we went twice. It was also the only place we spotted the young, hip staff from our hotel eating after they clocked out.

They had a 2x1 drink special the first night we were there, and we didn't really think it through before Dan ordered a piña colada and I ordered a mojito. So when 4 drinks came to the table, we were like, "hey, I guess we're having a big night!" The second time we went, we were ready and just ordered one piña colada. Although I don't judge anyone who enjoys multiple. They were good!

//

LAGUANA KAAN LUUM The morning I did my paddle boarding + yoga outing, they took us to this public lagoon. SUP Tulum has their own private lagoon, but it was quite windy that day, and Kaan Luum was smaller therefore less wind.

It was beautiful. When we arrived at 9:45am we were the first ones there. By the time our class was over, around 11:30, there were probably 20-30 locals there swimming. The sandy bottom of the lagoon was pretty squishy, which took some getting used to, but the water was gorgeous and a perfect temperature.

//

SOL Not a place, but I feel compelled to note that while on the beach, the refreshing taste of Sol made it my preferred cerveza.

Salud, amigos!

doughnuts! donuts! in los angeles!

To start, apologies for the grammatical situation in this post's title. When it comes to two acceptable spellings of a word, you're supposed to pick one and stick to it. But I have trouble doing that with the word "donuts." Because, you see, even if I pick one, then I'm going to go eat donuts at a place like Sidecar Doughnuts (or Johnny Doughnuts!) and there I've gone and contradicted myself. Just one of my many donut problems. That's not really the point, though. What I want to tell you about is: Sidecar Doughnuts in Santa Monica. We went while we were in Los Angeles in January, and it was phenomenal. So good!

Before our trip, I'd researched donut places in Los Angeles, and didn't come up with much. (It's highly likely that I was interrupted by one of our smaller family members and then didn't get a chance to resume my search.) I'd heard about a place in Koreatown, but as soon as I saw a picture of a donut with Fruit Loops on it, I was out. When our plane touched down at LAX, I didn't have a donut shop on our agenda.

But. Driving from the airport to my brother-in-law's place in Santa Monica, we happened past Sidecar Doughnuts. It looked legit. A quick internet search returned promising results. A few mornings later, we found ourselves there at 7am. (They open at 6:30. Plus one for them. Early opening time is high on my extensive list of donut-shop criteria.)

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I probably should create my own donut-rating system, but let's save that for another day. For now I'll just say these are solid donuts. Lots of options of both the cake and yeasted varieties. Their flavors bordered on what I'd deem too dessert-like, but stayed mostly in safe territory. Their "daily" options were a good bet, while the monthly specialities seemed to get a bit fancier (sweeter). The Saigon Cinnamon Crumb and the Huckleberry were my favorites.

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They have two locations in Los Angeles, so if you're ever there, check them out! Also, Stumptown Roasters coffee. Nuff said.

hello, L.A.!

We headed to L.A. last month to visit Dan's brother for a long long weekend. We had a delightful weekend packed with several fun activities. Both kids were terrified of the ocean's waves, but they loved the beach, so we enjoyed our fair share of sand in our hair and between our toes. We hiked in Malibu, and I hit up a Dailey Method class in Venice. Combine all that with family bonding, and it was an all-around great trip. Thanks so much for hosting us, M&S!

^^first trip with her very own suitcase. she was so excited.^^

^^post-flight beach walk: getting our wiggles out + thrilled to see the ocean.^^

^^afternoon at santa monica beach followed by piggyback snoozes and smoothies.^^

^^tree pictures: can't stop. won't stop.^^

^^venice, i like you. after taking class at the dailey method there, a teacher recommended i try the bulletproof coffee at another kind of sunrise. it did not disappoint.^^

^^ICYMI: homemade fries are AMAZING. look at cam salivating.^^

^^in this moment, at venice beach, we learned that willa can write her name!^^

^^i was so excited to check out salt & straw since it's kinda a big deal on the national artisanal ice cream stage (that's a thing, right?) and i'd never made it to the portland location. venice to the rescue. i ordered a kids' size, per usual, but it was a legit small portion, so i had to indulge and order a second flavor. totally worth it.^^

^^dan and i snuck out for a late night dinner at cassia in santa monica. it calls itself a southeast asian brasserie. i love the things restaurants come up with! (seriously, i do.) to me, it had a definite LA vibe. luckily i'd packed one fancy outfit, ha! the food was really good and the martini i had was fantastic ("gin, imbue vermouth, blanc vermouth, lemongrass tincture, orange bitters, smoked quail egg" - the quail egg scared me at first, but it was just on a toothpick like an olive would be, and it was delicious!). the whole grilled sea bass was the best thing we ordered. fresh herbs!^^

^^there is an awesome playground at tongva park in santa monica. when we walked by it the first time, the kids were asleep, but we knew we had to go back. indeed, they loved playing there. there was also a water feature for hotter days. wish we had more of those in denver!^^

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^^beautiful, BEAUTIFUL hike in malibu to round out our trip.^^

january highlights

So far, 2016 has been go go go. Great great great. That's cheesy way to summarize, but it's totally accurate. We've had a lot going on so far this year, but it's been all good things. No better way to summarize than in pictures:

^^fancy clothes + family pizza night to ring in 2016.^^

^^new year's day walk around sloan's lake. it was COLD. cam had a busted lip from falling on our shoe bin.^^

^^my parents came to visit mid-month. we went to the western stock show. willa had new boots from texas thanks to her aunt and uncle. she got a light-up hat courtesy of her grandparents. she was thrilled about all of the above.^^

^^lunch at osaka ramen. i was sick and probably shouldn't have even been there, but willa was full of energy!^^

^^i'm not sure i've expressed my love for it on here yet, but the chariot is an absolutely fantastic piece of baby/life equipment. we bought it previously-loved from another family and even though it was far from retail price, it was still an investment. but it's been worth every penny. i like to fully maximize it's capacity on the regular. on this day, after a trip to the grocery with my parents, cameron had to ride home in the ergo on my back.^^

^^lunch with my mom at sushi rama. conveyer belt sushi is always fun. not the best sushi ever, but the speed, options, and portion size make it worth the visit. they did, notably, NOT have highchairs, which to me makes a certain statement. however, willa didn't notice the vibe and happily selected a few choice sushi plates off the belt.^^

^^our family needs, conservatively, 5 slices of pizza for dinner. the price of a whole pizza at atomic cowboy is roughly the same as 5 slices. so you're basically getting 8 for the price of 5. plus the staring eyes of everyone sitting around you. what can i say, we like pizza?^^

Happy February, folks! I have more January pictures to come though...always a bit behind these days.

burmatown, california

Last month, I went on a trip ALL BY MYSELF to California. I was there for some work stuff, but also as a mini vacation and a chance to spend time with family.  And I was so lucky: they really made sure I had a fun and restful stay. On my first night there, they took me to Burmatown in Corte Madera.

Obviously, I love an Asian restaurant! And San Francisco boasts numerous exceptional ones. During a previous visit, we went to Burma Superstar in the city, but I dare say Burmatown was better. It was sensational. From the ambiance to the food, everything was divine. The service was exceptional too. And the tea leaf salad! Who doesn't love tea leaf salad? Well if you haven't had one, you probably don't know you love it...But you should try it. Preferable this one. (Although I imagine one in Burma would probably be pretty darn good too...)

Anyway! Everything about Burmatown was delightful. Perhaps I was influenced by the profound enjoyment of dining without little kids to wrangle. But, it doesn't really matter. A fantastic eating experienced is colored by several factors, and the stars all aligned that night. Thanks so much R + B for such a wonderful dinner and visit!

urban adventures in boston

Oh my goodness I have been so terrible at blogging lately. Where have I been? What have I been doing? I'm not sure. Or, I kind of know, but I best go through my pictures and get it DOCUMENTED so I can remember. Thus the need for my blogging. So let's start with the highlight of the fall: late last month, we flew east for my sister's wedding! The festivities were on Cape Cod, but we added on some time in Boston to visit friends and to have a little family vacay.

^^for our first few days, we stayed with our friends rachel and rob in southie. we wasted no time inside, and hit the streets our first morning there. first notable sight: this oddly skinny building.^^

^^it was late september, but boston was bringin' it with the heat. luckily in these photos you mainly take in the blue sky. it was quite pretty. i'm always a sucker for art installations amid skyscrapers. and WATER! living in denver makes me appreciate water so much more than i ever did when it was near.^^

^^LOOK! my children are sleeping! in a restaurant! that had NEVER happened before. yet it always seems to happen to the moms who live in cities whose blogs i read. so, apparently, when you hoof it around the city all day, your children are apt to fall asleep. and they stayed asleep as we found our table at the barking crab and started in on a beer. cheers to that!^^

^^did i mention water!? after our day walking around the city, we headed down to the beach for grilling and dinner al fresco. willa loved checking out the beach, and rachel and rob made some delicious chuar!

^^i have whined in the past about my kids being challenging while traveling. but i also try to toot their horns when they've been great. this trip, they were TROOPERS. they dealt with the different places and schedules and people and lack of routine like champs. i was so proud of them! and proud of our parenting too.^^

^^we arrived in boston on a thursday. on saturday, my sister got to town FOR HER WEDDING. but up first on her agenda? babysitting for us so we could go to oysterfest! she is the best. and oysterfest was a fun event! i was definitely satiated and then some. the hama hama oysters were the best hands down if i do say so myself. and the duck khao soi dish from jamie bissonnette was my favorite dish we sampled. obvi.^^

^^next day, we made our way to the north end to get in touch with dan's roots. i mean, to get some italian sandwiches. we went to monica's mercato & salumeria, which did not disappoint. we did, however, learn that it's a good idea to order ahead! they clearly take sandwich making very seriously, which i appreciate, but that takes time.^^

^^we were lucky enough to spend a few nights staying smack dab in the center of the city, and had fun exploring boston commons, newbury street, and more. there was, of course, a lot of eating. you can never go wrong with a georgetown cupcake.^^

^^GIRLS' NIGHT! fancy drinks at townsman followed by some lovely generic international lager with hot pot!^^

^^since we've been home, willa's been talking a lot about wanting to go back to the east coast so she can ride the subway. and she wants to know why denver doesn't have a subway (me, too, sista!). so clearly the day we took the T to cambridge made a big impression on her. i had fun too. i saw MIT for the first time which was really impressive! such a different vibe than harvard.^^

^^we are going to round out the memories of our urban fun in boston with this series. let's call it "willa happily devours a talenti ice cream bar in broad daylight. while wearing socks and sandals."^^

SUCH A FUN WEEK! THANKS TO EVERYONE INVOLVED IN MAKING IT SO GREAT!

more donut complaining

We are leaving in the morning to fly east. My sister is getting MARRIED! And we're making a vacation of it; spending time in Boston before heading out Cape Cod for the festivities. But to distract myself from our inability to pack light (that'll be another post), I'm going to write about donuts. And how Denver is still failing on that front.

Ok. Failing is a blatant overstatement. The multiple donut establishments in the area are providing totally servicable donuts. But no one is hitting it out of the ballpark. New places keep opening but they are not satisfying my intense need for a donut exactly like one from Seattle's Mighty-O (Side note: It expanded recently! In Ballard now! And Capitol Hill!).

We recently biked down to Lohi on a Saturday morning to check out Habit Doughnut Dispensary. I had high hopes. Probably much too high. Definitely much too high. But Lohi! Old brick building! Donuts! Donuts.

Let's be positive. Here's what they had going for themselves:

• Solid yeasted donuts. The dough was the right amount of puffy and held its shape when you took a bite. And it wasn't too sweet.
• Decent varieties. I'm a bit of a purist. I don't want fruit loops on my donut. Don't you dare give me an artificial flavor. I just want some thoughtful flavors with an appropriate amount of sugar. Habit was okay in this regard. They delivered on some, but others were a bit over the top.
• Good hours. A donut place has to be open early. Period. End of sentence.
• Friendly staff. Welcoming, knowledgable, efficient.

Positives are boring. I like to complain. Here are my gripes:

• No cake donuts. Wtf? Is it an altitude thing?
• Whiskey? Huh? They advertise alcohol to go with the donuts. I'm pretty sure that's a silly idea, but even if I were to go with it, I'd expect some high-quality bourbon. But no. They have little plastic shots by the cash register. Not enticing.
• Free coffee. Habit is right next door to Carbon and both businesses are under the same owner. But they're not really connected. Two different outside doors. Habit offers free drip coffee when you buy donuts. I've never been to business school, but that seems like a terrible idea. If you weren't giving me free coffee, I'd go buy a $4 latte next door. I would have enjoyed the latte more than the drip coffee too, but I'm a sucker for free things. But now all I remember is bad coffee.
• Candy store? The also sell other "necessities" like candy and laundry detergent. An interesting concept, but it's not so much corner store-y as it is gimmicky. I just don't imagine they'll sell much of that stuff. But again, I am no business expert so maybe it's me who's missing something.
• Atmosphere. The space Habit occupies is primo. But they obviously weren't aiming to make it a comfortable café. Most of the space is devoted to baking (I assume?) with just a small counter and limited indoor seating. Even though the donuts were good, it didn't feel like a place I'd want to linger.

Can't wait to go donut hunting in Boston! And no, I will not be eating any Dunkin'. I'm surprised you'd even ask.

fathers' days

It's been a busy month. A festive month. A really good month. My mom was here on her birthday. Then came Willa's birthday! And then, last weekend, thanks to a variety of forces coming together, my family was all in town for Father's Day. We did it up on Saturday and Sunday with a baseball game, a brewery trip, dinner at our favorite Malaysian restaurant, and lots of laughs.

When you don't live in the same place as family, the time they take to come visit is so special. It can sometimes be overwhelming to pack a lot in to a short time, but the memories we make are something I truly cherish. As Willa's getting older and understanding more, I hope she, too, forms her own memories that she can hang on to. I know she will. (It seems unlikely this blog will be around for her to look back on...but who knows where the future internet will go?) She has such a wonderful time with the family and friends who come to visit, but she's just now starting to to comprehend that they have to leave. It's hard when good times come to an end. Life lessons, I suppose?

^^parents!^^

^^future uncle jakob is an amazing child/toddler/baby holder (jackpot!). here he is showing willa the baseball stadium.^^

^^ball parks offer overpriced beverages for everyone.^^

^^love this shot.^^

^^willa's working on her photography skillz.^^

^^waiting on the bus. <3^^

^^beer drinking is a good thing to do on father's day, no?^^

^^me and my men.^^

^^lots of fun street art near renegade.^^

^^since there wasn't a food truck at the brewery, we decided to head to one of our all-time favorite eateries: makan malaysian cafe. it's an awesome place to be any day of the week, but on sundays they have "family dinner" options that give you a sampling of several dishes. i'm always a fan of sharing, but it's also definitely the way to go for people unfamiliar with malaysian food.^^

^^willa loved the family-style dining as well. she tried more than usual, including a fish ball. this was supposed to be a fist bump to celebrate, but it turned into some kind of fist bumb cheers combo.^^

^^we rounded out the weekend by waiting in the long line at little man for way too much ice cream. always a good choice. winning! (but seriously, their "single" is about 6 scoops of ice cream. they should revisit their size names.)^^

Huge thanks to everyone involved for such a fun weekend. xo!

a week and a brunch with nana

Yesterday was my mom's birthday. We were delighted to be able to spend the day with her for the second year in a row, even though she lives across the country. She was here the past week and we had such a nice time spending time with her. And needless to say, we were overjoyed and so thankful for her help with the little ones. It's amazing what a difference it makes to have another person around. To celebrate her birthday and the end of a great week, we went to brunch at Block & Larder. The restaurant opened late last year and has become our go-to for going out without kids. It's a fun place to enjoy just a drink and a snack at the bar, but they have a very extensive menu focused on in-house butchery so you can certainly get a hearty meal.

They started offering brunch more recently, and it seemed like a place nice enough to celebrate a birthday but not too too nice to take the littles. It was indeed a great place for a family brunch. The only thing that worked against us was that when we got there at 10:45 there was only one other table filled. So any noise made by a small person echoed throughout the whole place. But once we were finishing up, closer to noon, a few more groups had come in, including 2 other babies.

The brunch menu was solid and more straightforward than their dinner fare; 12 entrée options and just a few sides. And drinks of course. We went with the Oyster Rockefeller Benedict and the Breakfast Bread Pudding. We don't go out to brunch too often, but when we do we almost always opt for one savory dish and one sweet item for our "breakfast dessert."

Cam was uncharacteristically crabby when we first sat down, but once the food arrived his mood did a 180. He was delighted to eat eggs and an English muffin. My mood improved too, actually.The bread pudding was decadent and absolutely delicious. The benedict had great flavors, but I'd say they were a bit stingy on the oysters. (We had two at the table; one had 4 oysters and the other had just 3.) I had a peach bourbon bellini which was just the right amount of sweet. It could have been a touch colder...or maybe I should have finished it faster? But all in all, it was a great brunch. Good food, company, and atmosphere. All the right ingredients.

Happy Birthday Mom! We love you!

auntie al. cupcakes. noodles.

happenings from life lately:

^^my sister visited last week! we were all so happy to spend time with her! and i got to help with some fun wedding prep since she's getting married in september. that's cam asleep after the excitement of bridesmaid dress shopping. plus, the future-weds share the same birthday (how cute is that!?), so we celebrated a bit early with nutella cheesecake!^^

^^while al was in town, we made a trip to the source for tacos and other fun. willa recieved flowers from her future uncle and was over the moon. she also learned where carnitas come from.^^

^^it's birthday party season! all willa's friends are turning 3, and she's enjoying lots of cupcakes. cam has been wearing his party pants.^^

^^last week i got to go to both uncle and bones. denver's asian noodle hotspots! yum. uncle reigns supreme for me...soft shell crab bun!? and that's a lamb noodle dish that basically made me feel like i was in china. but, bones is great too. a bit more happenin' i'd say, which is fun.^^

^^C is 6 months! i've been inspired by Baby-Led Weaning, so we're offering up food in the form of carrots and such...but all he really wants to do is watch his sister. the other night he ate some pizza sauce off the counter and tonight i think he had some broccoli. adventures in child rearing!^^

frikadelle + other fun

FRIKADELLE!!!! That's German for "meat patty." Apparently, during the industrial revolution, German immigrants in NYC needed a way to eat them faster and on-the-go, so they put the frikadelle between two slices of bread, and the hamburger was born. We had frikadelle a week or so ago, thanks to my friend Marret who was visiting for a few weeks last month. She's from Hamburg, Germany, and was an exchange student with my parents 10 years ago (what!? 10 years!?). It was so fun to have her here to spend time with us. We were able to reconnect, have a lot of laughs, and eat a lot of good food. And it was amazing to watch her get to know the kids. (The day we took her to the airport, as I was getting Willa ready for her nap, she suggested we take "a lot of planes" to Germany "next weekend." Melted my heart.)

^^There's the frikadelle. On greens with roasted butternut squash and potatoes. It was delicious. Marret made the disclaimer that it wasn't really a "German dinner" that she made us. But, I say, she's German and she made a dinner that she would make at home, so that's pretty much a German dinner. No? Whatever you call it, it was healthy and delicious and it was so nice of her to do the cooking. (Not to mention all the dishes she did while she was visiting!)^^

^^There was a sunny hike with Willa's playschool group. And on another day, a trip to the mountains to snowboard!^^

^^Falafel was made! ^^

^^And a marzipan cake! (Willa is always game to help with baking. She loves to cook and/or knows she'll get to lick some batter.)^^

^^We went to Union Station and hit up Zoe Ma Ma for lunch.^^

^^Willa learned where Germany is. Or at least that Germany, is.^^

^^Pizza salad and gelato at Parisi!^^

^^Girls' night out at The Source. Comida tacos of course. Hold the cilantro for Marret. And the avocado thanks to my newly developed intolerance (aka the worst development ever!).^^

^^Most importantly, chocolates were exchanged.^^

THANK YOU for coming to visit Marret! We loved having you!

friends + burgers

Our neighborhood is undergoing massive changes. Store front after store front is coming up for sale, mostly being replaced by bars and restaurants. It's sad. It's exciting. It's controversial. But when it's 5pm and I haven't planned any dinner, it is quite nice to have more food options within walking distance.

Last week, we were lucky enough to have a good friend visiting, and a future family member in town as well, so we all met up and went to dinner at Royal Burger. We'd been a few times before, but I think they've finally hit their stride. We got there around 6 (a.k.a. baby hour, as shown by the baby present in every other party at the restaurant), and by 6:30 the entire place was packed. They have great burgers, solid fries, and decadent floats, as well as delicious salads. Another key to their success is that they've managed to strike a nice balance between casual and hip, making it a great place to grab a bite no matter who you are.

One thing to note: all of their burgers are cooked medium well unless you specify otherwise. Our server didn't even ask. (She was just a teeny tiny bit surly though, so perhaps it was her?)

^^"the turk" with beef instead of turkey. (i ordered the veggie, which was good, but not something i'd get again.)^^

^^i was quite pleased slash surprised that she chose edamame over fries with her kids meal!^^

^^so happy to have marret in denver!^^