Crab Feast

Saturday brought the 2nd Annual Cousin Day at Water World followed by the Inaugural 'I Got Crabs at Andy's House!'

The first just involved two 29-year-olds running around a water park on a Saturday afternoon. The second involved a group of friends from all over Denver, with a few of us residing from the east coast originally, getting together to crack a few crabs and a few laughs on a summer night.

We had shipped the crabs straight from the source - Maryland. 78 Blue Crabs arrived, pre-steamed (thank God) and pre-seasoned in Old Bay (but don't worry, we had extra). My dad had shipped us Utz Potato Chips (Original and Crab) and even a few editions of the York Daily Record and the Baltimore Sun. We ate crabs off of Michael Phelps abs. How was your Saturday?

Of course, about 6 minutes in to the feast - it starts to spit on us and then the thunder starts to roll in. Andy declared, "We're not moving!" but as the paper (and our hair, jeans, etc.) began to soak, it was decided we could, indeed, go inside.

As the moans and groans took place from our feast being disrupted by Mother Nature, Graham promised us a rainbow at the end and well, he came through.

And yes, that is the view from Andy's new house. I swore to him that I would never again give him a hard time for living in Westminster. The house is amazing. And I cannot wait to spend Christmas there this year.

Three hours later (not an exaggeration, have you ever sat down to a crab feast?), with Old Bay on our fingertips and bellies full of crab (a few of us even suffered a few minor injuries - freakin' claws), we decided that this needed to be a yearly tradition.

Next year we just need a few less crabs or a few more people - you in?

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. 
 

Window In to My Soul

I had someone recently tell me that all anyone needed to know about me could be found in my laugh and in Gordon.

This warmed my heart more than you could ever know.

Pengs on Trains

For my birthday, Linz told me that she was not going to get me anything materialistic but instead, made plans for us that would involve me needing to dedicate an entire Saturday for an activity together.

I'm obviously very good at shopping for myself. I'm also very good at planning birthdays - making it hard for those in my life to surprise me. She decided this year she was going to make it happen. Never one to have been surprised, I was ecstatic at the idea. I told her I just needed to know what to wear - could I wear a dress? Flats? Lipstick?

Yes, she told me. I could wear all of the above. It would take us two and a half hours to get to our destination and the activity itself would be two hours. She also said that what we were doing would involve drinking (surprise!).

The car ride was stocked with snacks, good music and lots of laughs (she knows the way to my heart - we haven't been Pengs for 15 years for nothin'). Before I knew it, we pulled in and I saw it.

THE ROYAL GORGE TRAIN.

This has been a dream of mine since moving to Colorado. I am absolutely in love with the idea of trains - there's something just so romantic about them. And this particular one happens to go through the Royal Gorge (hence the name). And, you guys, when we boarded they actually called "All ABOARD!" 

Swoon!

The trip itself took two hours (or three tequila sunrises) and the train is complete with an open-air deck where you can stand and see the Gorge. The only thing that could have made this trip any better was a guy named Bob, wearing a bolo tie with a handlebar mustache to tell us all about the history of the Gorge and the world's highest suspension bridge (956 feet high and a quarter mile wide across the canyon!). Oh wait, Bob was there!!!

When the train arrived back at the station, we were not ready to exit. Can't we just stay and do it again and again?

So, Pengs and I made a promise to each other to make the Denver to San Francisco train happen within two years. And thank you to her for making this making this girl's train dream come true.

One of 30 adventures before 30 down. 29 to go - all aboard!

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.

Almost 30.

I turned 29 on June 7. Newsflash, right? Which, basically - is almost 30.

28 was supposed to be a magical year. And to be fair, there was plenty of magic to go around. 28 allowed me to get my feet sturdy on the ground in Denver, be a maid-of-honor, learn to ride my bike in the city, introduced me to a ton of new friends, got me back on a pair of skis and most of all, brought plenty of love in (and out) of my life.

I was happy to see 29 knockin' on my door and celebrated in true KK fashion (aka a week's worth of events). It started with wine flights at Cru in Larimer Square on Monday with the Scream team. Tuesday, my two dads took me to a delicious dipping dinner at Vesta. Wednesday, Langhorne Slim at the Bluebird to end 28 on a tambourine bangin' note and I rang in 29 with a mimosa brunch with Linz at Steuben's. June 7 carried on to a cheese/champagne picnic in the Botanic Gardens and wrapped with a group dinner with my new Denver family at Stella's and a stumble home from Streets of London.

 Oh, and then - we danced. Friday night, my Den girls and I hit up Lipgloss at Beauty Bar. Club Monster Katie would be proud to know that I am 29 and still dancin' until closing time.

Also, back on Memorial Day week - right after my last post, I saw Bon Iver at Red Rocks. You guys, I had joked about going to Red Rocks to see Bon Iver and crying and then I went to Red Rocks to see Bon Iver and cried.

 

 

Seriously, best performance I've ever seen. Hands down. If you ever have the opportunity to see him live - do it. And I know what you're thinking - Bon Iver = nap time but he doesn't. He had at least a 12 piece band with him and rocked. the. place. out. And apparently, the tears. Seriously, I've never been so moved.

And I hope to look back on 29 and be able to say the same. I want this to be the year that moves me. The year that moves me boldly and confidently in to 30. And also, I'd like to keep all the love IN the door this year.

Here's to movin'.....