The Moment I Wanted an iPhone 4

So the iPhone 4 comes out but I am the girl that just upgraded to the 3Gs over Christmas so you may have heard me say "Oh whatever. I don't like the squared edges." or "It feels heavier..." or "Yeah, cool that it has a flash and video chat but I just don't know if it's worth it...."

And then I was at lunch with my cousin, Andy, who always has the hot shit. He knew the way to sell me.

"Alright, Kate, check this out." He hands me the phone and I see myself and, as you can tell from the below, it takes me a minute before I realize what's happening.

My own PHOTOBOOTH?

Sold.

For Pep

Pep is one of my very best friends. We laugh. We eat. We drink. We fight. I tell her things that sometimes I wish I hadn't. But then realize I just can't help it. We just have that kind of bond.

I am lucky enough to have the kind of relationship with my mom where I can call her and when she says, 'What's up?' I can say 'Nothin'. Just callin.'

Which happens about 3 times a day.

The rest of the time is filled with such things as...

Movie Sundays. Dog walks. HGTV. Wine. Shopping. Airport trips. Phone calls. Disneyland. Pittsburgh. The Bachelor. Cards from summers at Dads. Lost. Secrets. Ogling over babies. Wreath decorating. Flap. Photos. Napa Valley. Pepisms. Egg hunts. Noodles. Driving to get Gordie. Heartbreaks. Gossip. Halloween costumes. Orchids. Reading. Paper machete turkeys. Cupcakes. Mother/Daughter nights w/ the Bruners. Games. Hypnotism for picky eating. Cookie baking. Tap dance. Laughs. Patience. Understanding. Best friends. Trust. Love.

Ma, you do so much for me - I am forever grateful and can't wait to continue to grow up with you by my side. Thank you for this blessed life. Words could never repay.

Just remember that I will always love you more than Owlie loves his mom.

Happy Birthday.

Denver, I Love You

I spent July 15-21 in Denver with two of my best friends, Lindsay and Josh Wickler. I knew this was going to be a good trip when I got a call from the Wiz at 11 a.m. Vegas time that day, "Hey! So I'm at the liquor store....."

Lindsay picked me up from the airport Thursday night and upon arriving to her house around 1 a.m., cracked open not one, but two, bottles of wine. Up until 4 a.m., we slept in on Friday and took our time before getting to Happy Hour to meet Dawn Vier and Mr. Chad Wood. I hadn't seen Dawn since Nicole's wedding in Florida last year, so I was happy to catch up and congratulate her on her own engagement. She will become Dawn Wood on October 2.

After our happy (3) hour - we headed to the Capitol Hill neighborhood and stopped in to a little place called the Beauty Bar.

Denver just opened their BB location a few weeks ago and when we arrived around 9 p.m. - the place was d-e-a-d. "Maybe it just hasn't caught on yet. Or maybe its like the one in Vegas and doesn't get going until 11 or so..." "Yeah but Kate, we have something here called last call...." So I went to close out our tab and told the bartender we were going to head up a few blocks to Uptown Bar but we'd be back. "Oh you should definitely come back because at 10, we have something called the Get Back and its these guys that come in from Vegas...." GET OUT. I was just at the Get Back Vegas two weeks ago - we'll definitely be back.

We walked the few blocks to Uptown to meet up with Michael (Granquist) and there I found that in Denver, you can bring your dog to the bar. After that blew my mind and we polished off a few drinks and shots, we headed to the Get Back for a dance party under the most intense disco ball I've ever seen. I even met a boy there and had brunch with him the following day in Golden - I realize that that statement makes it sound like I was not a lady but I was! I went home to Pine and then went to Golden in the morning to meet him for brunch. Get it straight, HSCOOC!

The rest of Saturday brought some recovery time followed by a BBQ hosted at the Wickers. Check out this view from their perfect little mountain house.


We danced the night away on their deck while sipping on Raspberry Lemonade Vodkas. This is what summer is made of, my friends.

Sunday we headed down the mountain and over to Westminster to spend some time with my family. When we arrived to Andy's house, we were greeted by him and his pug, Tegan, who wears a bark collar that sprays citronella, which is apparently set off by a dog's bark or Katie Knoch's laugh. You had to be there but let's just say I was smelling like citronella for the rest of Sunday. We also met Squishy Cat, the ugliest-and-therefore-cutest-cat I have ever met in my life. Not to mention - such a lover.

Aunt Karen and Doug were in town and treated my cousins, the Wicklers and myself to some 5-way Grilled Cheeses at Mimi's Cafe. There were a total of 4 grilled cheeses at that table and I just felt so warm and full of love around all that cheese - and my family. After lunch, the group went to see Inception where I am surprised Devin and/or Andy didn't punch me for continuously saying "Ohhhh so hot oooooooooo soooooo hot!" every time either Leo or Joseph Gordon Levitt came on the screen. Highly, highly recommend this movie. And don't worry, there were a few times when I was like "Um hope I'm following this OK....." but it all came together beautifully.

Monday we spent the day in mountain towns. We first headed to Evergreen for some lunch and beers on the patio at Little Bear and then went to the lake for some paddle boating.

Afterwards, we headed to my favorite mountain town, Morrison for our ritual stop at Morrison Inn for 32 oz Margaritas and some of the best chips and salsa on the planet.




That, followed by Happy Hour at Holiday Bar with some Big Buck Hunter, made for one hell-of-a-evening.


THEN we stopped at Crossroads in Pine (down the street from the Wickler's) so our designated drive, Josh, could tie one on. There, I had my first shot of Jameson.**

**I will not be drinking Jameson again.

Tuesday - oh Tuesday - brought that Kings of Leon concert (and rain). I won't rehash my last post to you here but I will repeat that it was one of the best nights of my life.

Wednesday, we wrapped up the trip with lunch with the Granquists back in Evergreen - complete with some white wine and a nice Italian meal in the middle of the day before I had to catch my plane back to Vegas.

Thank you, as always, to my host the Wicker's - for an amazing week. This trip brought plenty of wine, giggles, memories, dancing, photos, drinking, buck hunting, eating, dreaming, talking, sleeping, adventuring, reading, rainbow-spotting, movie watching, music swapping FUN.

The Rainy Days Ain't So Bad When You're the King

I am currently sitting in the Denver International Airport, awaiting my plane to arrive to jet me back to Vegas.

I've been in Denver for the past week and although the whole trip has been something to remember - we certainly saved the best for last with the Kings of Leon show. Last night ended up being one of those nights that the Wicklers and I will look back upon when we are 80, reminiscing about the time we saw the Kings of Leon, drenched in rain and how it truly was a once in a lifetime experience. The show was held at Comfort Dental Amphitheatre (worst name ever - used to be Fidler's Green for those of you familiar with the area.) The weather all week had been gorgeous - actually, a little hot for the Denver area (I kept hearing I "brought the heat") - but still, sunny, with maybe a shower in the afternoon to cool everything off but that was about all to report.

Until last night, around 7 p.m....right when we were arriving to the show......there was a slight sprinkle, Linzi turned and asked me, "think we should grab these umbrellas?" "Na, I am sure they would just be more of a hassle." Well, kids, you know what is a real hassle? Torrential downpour. Yup, by the time we were through the gates, we were desperately running around trying to find a poncho or three.

After about 15 minutes, we were soaked through and through. And then I just decided to embrace it. With a 24 ounce Miller Light in my hand and two of my best friends by my side, about to see my favorite band in the whole world....I just decided that this was livin'.

It ended up being one of the best nights of my life. What an experience, to see the Kings, under a summer rainstorm in the middle of Denver, CO. Along with their nearly two hour set, came thunder and lightning. The photo above is a view from the show (obv). We perched ourselves at the top of the hill and had the most amazing view of the show with the city lights and mountains in the background.

We all know my love for KOL, so as you can imagine, I was having the time of my life - smiling and singing and dancing the night away.

Thank you, Denver, for a night I will never forget.

The Greatest Place on the Planet

"You know what we should do sometime? We should go check out the Pinball Hall of Fame."

I have said that exact sentence too many times to count but last week, I made it happen. Payton's little sister was in town so we were in search of something "kid friendly" in Vegas - we'd already seen Toy Story 3 so.....

Oh! Oh! Pinball! We could totally take her to pinball!

So we went, on a Monday evening, around 9 p.m. I walked in with $12 in my wallet and walked out with ZERO but a whole lotta fun happened in between. I beat the Meyers there and found myself wandering up and down the aisles, having childhood flashbacks (I specifically remember spending hours playing the Simpson's Pinball Party at every arcade in my younger years). I was just dying to stop to put quarters in almost every machine that I passed. The only thing I could think was why I had wasted so much of my life not being here.

Not only is the place a photographer's dream come true but they have popcorn. And orange sodas.

The place is 10,000 square feet of machines dating back to the 50s through the 90s (which, from what I understand, is when the pinball craze died out). There are 152+ games, all costing $25-$1. The best part? The place is a non-profit, donating all of their excess revenue to non-denominational charities.

Some of the machines have a little piece of (hand-written) paper with the game's history on it. As I was playing a machine from 1957, I just thought about how romantic it was to think of a cute little couple in the 50's playing this same game while out on their second date.

And then I also spent a lot of time thinking about how I would just have to take my dad, Mr. Carl Knoch, here the next time he is in town. This place would be a dream come true for him. Star Trek, Star Wars, Rocky and Bullwinkle.....now if they only served Old Fashions and played Elton John.

We spent a good two hours there, and the only reason I left is because I ran out of quarters. Otherwise, I'd still be there right now.

My face was as lit up as those machines the entire time we were there and I plan on going back again and again.....but this time, with a full $20.

Love for Love

I don't know if you've heard, but Kid Sis just got a great new gig working for Cirque Du Soleil. One of the perks, is that she has to go see all of the shows and I was luckily enough to be her date to LOVE tonight.

I hadn't been to a Cirque show since I was 9 and saw Mystere.

After tonight, I don't know why I've been wasting the last 18 years. Love was the most visually stimulating show I have ever seen and would you be surprised if I told you the music was a trip in itself? Yeah, I didn't think so.

I've always enjoyed the Beatles, although I do not own any of their albums and didn't particularly have a favorite song....I do now though, about 30 of them.

I am sure that I was clapping and saying WOW and OH MY! at totally inopportune moments throughout the show but I was just blown away, I couldn't contain myself. I would like to try any of the acts they did in the show but I am so clumsy, I would be sure to (seriously) injure myself. Everything was just perfection. The acts with the songs - the lighting, the cast, the theater itself and the white sheet of magic LOVE LOVE LOVED LOVE.

Thank you, Kid Sister for something I will remember for the rest of my life.

In short, I would like to live under the sea in an octopus's garden with this show.

Sparklers

I countdown to the 4th day of July every year - not for the hamburgers, but for the sparklers.

It's become a tradition now to stop the day off, by six packs or so, get warned by my mother not to burn any holes in my clothes or myself, and light 'em up.

And, of course, capture it all on film.

And may I present, the Sparkler Battle of 2010. Since this is my blog, I can fib and tell you that I won.

Happy Birthday, America. I love you and all of your sparkle.

A Dream Come True

Next time you see me, you might notice that my hair is shinier, my nails, stronger, my nose less sniffley, my bones more in tact, my arms looking buff, my skin looking blushed, my smile looking brighter. All thanks to these treats, excuse me, vitamins. I see an overdose in my future.

For the kid in all of us.

In Action

Last night was the First Friday of July.

And so we celebrated. With dance.

And dance I did. Xazmin takes off within the first 10 seconds but don't worry, I kept the party going.