Open House

The month of July was like one big open house - I hosted two of my best friends, two separate weeks within two weeks, I went to an open house as I considered buying my first home (not happening) and thanks to some closure over Strongbows on a rainy afternoon - my heart was, once again, one big open house.

Lisa left sea level for the mile high mid-July. Her first night here, we broke her in to Colorado with a camping trip.

The rest involved a night of Saturday Night Shenanigans (which always end with a trip to Benny Blanco's for a late-night slice of that NY pizza), bottomless mimosas (I know, you're shocked), Jazz in the Park, Film on the Rocks with E.T. and a backyard barbecue.

Linz, Lisa and I (among those few fav others) have been friends since we were 12 and we've changed, moved, loved and lost in the meantime. We've found ourselves in 2012, lucky enough to get together not just once (Lauren's wedding) but twice (CA --> DEN) and it really fills my heart with warmth and love. Yes, it's true, the older we get, the harder it is to get away and get that time with the ones who've known you the longest and have you watched you grow from girls in to women and love you just the same. But when it does happen - it reminds us of who we are, where we came from and how incredibly lucky we are to have the friendships that we do.

The six days between when Lisa departed and Chloe came from Denver: Round Two, brought the UMS which was an adventure all in and of itself. The only one who really got a break during that time was Gordon and that's only because he was in a cone.

....And heartbroken, apparently.

Chloe arrived and this trip brought us Florence + the Machine at Red Rocks (where, yes, I cried again), a movie at the Mayan with My Two Dads, dinner at Linger, rooftop drinks at the Irish Snug and Symphony on the Rocks. Oh, and champagne, of course.

Fill that in with a visit from Aunt Karen and all the times that I am lucky to drive a quick 30 minutes to meet Pengs in Morrison for drinks and well, it's no wonder July flew by.

 So I grasp at the last month of Summer with open arms, an open heart and well, always an open house. 

We'll be waiting for you. 
 

Champagneloe

 Mid-June, I was able to reunite with Miss Chloe Urban as I picked her up from DIA. It had been 18 months since we last saw each other and it had been since this weekend that we truly got to spend the quality time together that both of us enjoy so much.

She arrived on a Friday evening and true to ourselves, we stopped at the liquor store on our way to my place to pick up not one but two bottle of champagne, one of those being Veuve Clicquot Rose that she was kind enough to purchase to toast to my 29th birthday. Which was a blessing and a curse all on it's own as now that I've had the best champagne ever - the rest pales in comparison (and we all know how much this girl loves the bubbly).

The rest of the weekend consisted of walks around Denver, Jazz in the Park, Brunches, French + Forest Room 5, more toasts, more champagne and really, really good conversation. And maybe a few naps.

Chloe is considering a move to Denver and I can't tell you how happy that would make me. She has always been a voice of reason for me, with thousands of emails and texts and calls exchanged over the years since we first met at SK+G when she was still an accountant (now a nurse) and I was just a girl out of college. To think of how much we've grown since those days and how much we've got to go - including London and Paris this Fall - the idea of all the possibilities puts a smile on my face.

In the meantime, she'll be back in three short weeks to experience Florence + the Machine at Red Rocks with me, along with a camping trip and (you guessed it) - more champagne.

The Month of May

HELLO!

My apologies for neglecting you, my HSCOOC, but the month of May has been a totes cray cray obv. 

There's been dating, a Quinceanera celebrating 15 years of Scream Agency, the finale of the Voice, the premiere of the Bachelorette and then a Bachelorette party IRL for my +more who wed her now husband, Scott, on May 19 in Las Vegas.

There's been the beach, a reunion with four of my best girlfriends, kayaking the La Jolla caves in the Pacific, grilling out, eating out, eating In-N-Out, driving from CA to LV, eating blue crabs with Dad and Anne, Cracked Egg with Pep, Sammy's with Benneton (wait, is there an eating theme here?), a night of karaoke at Dino's with Kid Sis, drinks with Austin and Andi, SSFS with Eener and Anika and, of course, a rehearsal dinner and a wedding.

Which was one of the most beautiful days of my life thus far. My +more did an amazing job putting together the wedding of dreams. She looks simply breathtaking in her dress, the groom so handsome, Christopher Walken did a great job marrying them, the kids in the wedding were adorbs, the food delish, the dance floor a ton of fun and then there were the Nothing Bundt Cakes to top it all off.

Oh and did I mention I caught the bouquet?

Nothing could beat the company though, to be surrounded and completely submerged in my nearest and dearest for nine days in May was more than I could have ever asked for.

All to come home to my life in Denver - Sir Gordon and Sienna, work, the Yves Saint Laurent exhibit and brunch date with the girls (complete with dress up), Josh Wickler's birthday, dinner at Linger with Lindsey Jones and Anne and one of two concerts at Red Rocks for this week.

And there ain't no stopping because you know what's next?

June!

Sonnie

Some 'spring break' eh?

This deserved a post because I am so lucky to have the friends that I do.

The ones that are close enough in distance to get in their cars and meet me for endless cocktails. 

The ones that answer the phone every single time, even if it's my fifth call of the day.

The ones who talk you down from making an awful, awful decision after the influence of said endless cocktails.

The ones that understand that you'll be back to yourself soon enough.

And, of course, the ones that do all of the above, and would do more if they could - but in the meantime, send a smiling sunflower to brighten your day.

Thank you, Ann. Sonnie will be a constant reminder of how incredibly blessed I am to have people like you (and you, and you) in my life.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Shots of Cheese : Eighteen : Katie K. + Lisa G.

Our annual trip to Disneyland may be our day, but it is also a day that I get to catch up with Lisa Marie Hille.

Lisa and I met in the 7th grade. In band class. And our friendship has stayed as classic as the beginning of that story for the past 16 years. 

From (stinky) Koston's to her teaching me how to swallow a pill. From high school crushes to grown-up heartbreak. From Vegas to California. From MxPx to Mega Mix #10 to Cat Power. From truck rides to Indian Jones at Disneyland. From Volcom to the Gap. From the beach to Playboy parties (hey, we grew up in Vegas). From the clarinet to car dancing. From trips to Corpus Cristi to York, PA. From laughing so hard to sobbing tears. From potato requests at the In-N-Out drive thru to Yogurtland in her Honda. From 12 to 28. The best of friends.

I love you, Lisa G. Here's to another 16 years. And forever on top of that.

Katie K. + Lisa G.
Taken at Disneyland
Captured on November 10, 2011

SSFDenver

Hey, Denver - could you feel the ground shake a little bit last week? Yeah that was from Eener and I shakin' it to Watch the Throne. Could you hear the giggles coming from Apartment 17 in Capitol Hill? Yeah that was Eener and I dying over the latest episode of The Soup. And could you hear my heart break Sunday around 6 when I had to return Eener to the airport so she could get back to Vegas and being a mommy to Max?

It was a great weekend - full of eating, drinking, laughing and catching up as two girlfriends who haven't had one-on-one time in months usually do. We took it easy with Gordon - had brunch filled with mimosas and Bloody Mary's - visited Morrison - and caught a Rockies game. All in less than 48 hours.

Leaving Vegas was easy in lots of ways - but it was hard in a lot of ways, too - and Eener, you were one of those hard ways. Thank you so much for taking your first "Mommy-Free" weekend to come and visit your Knochers.

I miss you already.

Writer's Block

Well hey there, my babies! My apologies for being absent from the blogosphere for a few weeks now. I've been suffering from something they call writer's block - luckily though, I have not been suffering from life block.

As summer has progressed, so have the experiences, friendships, travels and memories. I took a little trip back to the Home Sweet Neon for Pep's 60th birthday, I traveled to Salt Lake City for the Summer Outdoor Retailer show where I got to spend a few hours with Miss Ann Westlake (Ann, how in the world did we not take one single photo together?!), I was involved in a hit-and-run car accident, I met Sebastian Evan (pictured below!), I threw a Meet and Greet at my apartment complex where I encouraged my neighbors to come down and enjoy a cold one with me and my curly dog, I finished up another season of Waka Kickball, I caught up with friends, I visited SK+G, I went to see Fleet Foxes at the Filmore, I house-sat up at the Wicklers while they went to visit the Schumachers up in Oregon, I went to WaterWorld with Andy - where we were two cousins, at age 28, acting like a bunch of 8-year-olds running around a water park on a Saturday morning, I crashed my bike, I got my car registered in Colorado (so official!), I ate empanadas for the first time, I watched thunderstorms, and today brings my first trip to Colorado's Ikea with Anne.

So, you see, it's not that I've been lacking in life - it's just that looking back on my last few posts I felt like this blog had become very "This is what we did and here are some photos." What kind of creative writing is that? Not that I don't love sharing all experiences with you guys - it's just this blog is not to recap my life - it's to be an experience all on it's own.

I've been reading a lot lately - trying to get some inspiration through others. So as I work that out, I've put together this little recommended reading list for you - and I'll even throw in some pictures so you know this isn't some kind of an impostor but just a girl getting wrapped up in life.

Read:
Freedom by Jonathan Frazen
This article from the New Yorker
The Imperfectionists by Tom Rachman
This new column from Benneton's very own Xazmin Garza
About Ryan Gosling from Esquire
Any current copy of Entertainment Weekly

Look:

+ Mores in CO

Over the 4th of July, I was not just celebrating the Independence of America but also, the arrival of my +more.

Wait...have I ever explained the whole +more thing to you guys? Because if not, you're probably WTF'ing right now. A couple years back (2 maybe?), Lauren and I were shopping at Patty's Closet in Vegas. There was a man there, who seemed a little light in his loafers but was certainly following Lauren around the store as if that wasn't the case - but I digress. We tend to get the sister question a lot. Gee, I have no idea why.


So, the man, who was an employee of Patty's Closet, asked us if we were sisters. Lauren answered that no, we were just best friends and I felt the need to chime in "and more!" - because, apparently, I just didn't feel that the term BEST FRIENDS really captured us and what we have. It still doesn't. You know what does though? +more.

Moving on.....+more came in on a Friday night and in our typical style, we decided to scratch going out for a drink and just pick up a (Sexy!) pizza, enjoy some wine, exchange some gifts and spend the next 3 hours catching up as if we don't talk on the phone 6 times a week.

Saturday brought Dazbog and bagels in the Cheesman with Gordon, followed by meeting Andy for lunch at Parisi in the Highlands. Yes, we like to eat, OK? It's like our thing.

We then headed to DAM to check out their newest exhibit - Marvelous Mud. And you know what was truly marvelous about this particular trip? It was FREE. Yeah, thanks to my shiny new Colorado license, we were officially residents and got to roam the museum for free. Which was especially good since we got there at 4:15 and the museum closed at 5 (really DAM, on a Saturday?!).






Saturday night brought more eating - this time at City O City, a vegetarian restaurant in my neighborhood that makes the best Moscow Mule in the city. Then bars bars and more bars and stump stump stump



We, appropriately, coined it 'redneck golf' as you basically take turns hammering a nail in to a tree stump - this quickly became Lauren's favorite discovery of the trip. ...Before sleep sleep and then eat eat (yum Steuben's for breakfast) before heading to Morrison for a little...oh, what's that.....DOG THE BOUNTY HUNTER ACTION?


Oh yes, my friends, that is not Sasquatch much to man's belief, but Dog himself. In the flesh. At the Morrison Inn.

I know, we couldn't believe it either so we had no choice but to burn off some of our excitement by a few games of good 'ol Big Buck Hunter. Which, as you know, and is evident below, we take very very seriously.




We stayed up in Pine that night where Michael, Lauren and I took Linzi and Josh for everything they had (or just their pride for that night) in an intense (or just really fun) game of Cranium (and of course) - SHOTSKIS!



Monday brought grill time followed by a last hurrah dinner and a movie for +mores.



As always, having a piece of home in my new home made this for a highlighted weekend of the summer.


Love you +more! Can't wait for our next reunion (3 weeks!).