oh gelato.

 photo by josh.liba

I forgot to mention our stop at a yummy gelato shop in Vail.  I had the coconut and lemon gelato and combined it was delicious.  Of course, it was super chilly out, but the gelato was worth it!  Are you a fan of gelato?  

Vaaaaail.

view from the eagle's nest, photo by me

 

 me riding the gondola, photo by the bf

Super. Awesome. Weekend.

It started with a scary drive through the mountains but once we got through that, the weekend was perfection!  Once we arrived in Vail, my cousin directed us in dropping our luggage at the gondola and then we grabbed a delicious, delicious dinner (plus delicious, delicious beer) at a restaurant called Garfinkel's.  Afterwards, we ourselves rode the gondola to the tippy top of the mountain.  We expected my cousin to take us to some random shack on the mountain but no, he actually lives inside the huge gondola building at the top!  I couldn't stop gushing about how cool his living sitch was.  I'm sure I drove him crazy. :)

The next morning, we decided to have breakfast down in the village.  Because we were already at the top, to get back down to the bottom we had to ski down.  And by saying we "had" to ski down, we had the opportunity to ski down.  We had the whole run to ourselves on perfectly groomed snow.  It was so cool!  After breakfast we skied all day and even though we all got separated half way through the day, we all had a blast.  The mountain was so big and there was so much to ski!  We're already planning our next trip out there and will definitely be skiing more than one day.  After a day on the slopes, we had dinner at a great pizza place called Vendetta's.

The next day, we slept in and then had breakfast at an awesome place called the Westside Cafe.  I had captain crunch coated french toast.  Yes.  And it was sooooo good!  The boyfriend had banana bread french toast.  Also soooooo good.  After breakfast, we grabbed our luggage, and got a start on the road.  It was hard to leave such an idyllic place, but we know we'll be back!

Recap:  We stayed at the TOP OF THE MOUNTAIN, skied an awesome day all day Saturday, ate amazing food for nearly every meal, and had a great time with the cousin.  I can't wait to hang out with him again and am so glad he invited us to see him!

leaving, again.

 photo of me by RR during a past field project

I'm heading into the field today for the first field project of the season.  I'm itching to stretch my legs and walk miles and miles, all while getting paid.  Oh the joys...

Tomorrow I'll do a full fill-in on the Vail weekend (aka super awesome weekend).  Keep your eyes peeled!

road trippin'.

photo by -RobW-

This weekend the bf and I are going to visit my cousin!  He lives in Vail, CO, works at the ski resort there and lives on the mountain.  ON THE MOUNTAIN.  Yeah, it's going to be a good time.  The plans are to head down Friday, ski Saturday and maybe Sunday, go out on the town every night we're there, and have a rockin' good time!  I'm sure that there will be great pictures had so I'll be sure to update you on the weekend when we return! 

P.S. Wouldn't it be fun to road trip in this super cool green bus?  The answer is yes, it'd be so fun!

art projects.

photo by -mrsraggle-

Creativity has been flowing through my veins lately.  Unfortunately, I've been too busy to put any of the ideas to the test.  Time!  I need time!  Hopefully in the upcoming weekends, I'll finally be able to get creative outside of my brain.  Not this weekend though...this weekend the bf and I are going to Vail to visit my cousin (and do some awesome skiing)! 

Back to the ideas.  Here are a few that I've been tossing around.

Photo series with the Diana

I've finally got an idea for a photo series (which I'll tell you about after I flesh it out a bit more) but I want Spring/Summer light instead of flat Winter light.  That means this project has to wait a little while longer.  Sad...but when it's finally time, I'll be ready!  I also want to try some basic portraits of individuals or couples, but again, I'd rather do it in Spring/Summer light.  Till then!

Painting Project

I've seen this done a couple times, and I'm ready to attempt something similar myself.  Here are the two links I've seen (here and here), both with a different take on the how-to bit.  Cute, non?  We'll see how it comes out!

P.S.  I just found this diy project and it looks so fun!  Maybe I'll do both!

Baking Bread

Some may say that baking bread is not a creative expression, but I say it is!  I'm of the opinion that baking and cooking are both artistic endeavors (or at least, they can be) and in the case of baking bread, for me it will be.  I have found the perfect no knead recipe but can't seem to find the time for the two rises it calls for.  Perhaps I should do the main rise on a Sunday and then the shorter rise the next day.  Hmmm...I think I'm on to something!

Those are the ideas I've been playing with lately.  Once I've completed them, I'll be sure to show them here!

everyone is irish on march 17th.

photo by cobalt123

 Happy St. Patrick's Day folks.  I hope you're wearing green!  Enjoy some green beer, corned beef and cabbage and keep your eyes peeled for any tricky leprechauns. 

photo by James Jordan

I have a friend who is an Irish Dancer and surely we'll be seeing her dance tonight.  If you have the chance to see Irish Dancers, do it.  It's an awesome thing to see.

live music.

photo by jesse.millan

I'm a conditional fan of live music.  I don't love being in a huge arena and so far back that you're essentially listening to their (muffled) cd while being jostled by giants that somehow only come out of the woodworks when I actually want to see something. 

What I do love is going to an intimate show with pretty close seats (or the kind of place where everyone can see) and having a real experience with the band.  Some bands that I've seen this way are Stella Luce, Murder by Death and the Dovekins.  All awesome.  All even more awesome because they play in smallish venues.  I'm a short person.  Really short.  And quite often when I'm at a larger show, I can't see a dang thing because giant mcgianter always stands right in front of me.  It never fails.  But smaller venues seem to either have better viewing all around, or there is more room to move around and get a better view.  And the sound quality in small venues?  While some of these bands may not have the most up to date sound equipment, because you're close to them, the sound is raw and amazing. 

Next month Ani DiFranco is coming to Laramie and we have 4th row tickets!  It's going to be amazing!  What's even more awesome is that the venue she'll be playing at isn't very large so I know already, I'll love her show.  I can't wait!