Gettin' Crafty

Sometimes I go through crafty spells- crocheting, scrapbooking, gift wrapping, cake balling...

The creative bug hit me again and it was quite the process! But, i love the way it all turned out!

It all started with this picture

I love everything about this picture. I knew I wanted to gift it to my grandparents for Christmas somehow. My first thought was to put it on canvas. There were several daily deals going around for canvas prints- however they were all for 16X20. A little too big for what i wanted and of course they didn't offer deals on a smaller size, which was pretty pricy. Next option i came across was a google offer for a home decor store. They had this frame that i loved, but the photo space was only 4X4. That just wouldn't do this picture justice. (My grandma used to sing us the "bushel and a peck" song all the time growing up. So, the frame was fitting.) I figured i could make something similar, but just do it bigger. I went to Hobby Lobby and got all of my supplies and was ready to go. I had it all laid out when my Hubs asked what i wanted the focus to be on- he suggested that the way it was laid out, the focus would be more on the words than the picture.

Good point. So i scratched that idea. and did some googling for bushel and a peck frames. I came across this lovely sight and my project took a whole new turn. I love her stuff. It's so unique and personal, but the focus is on the picture with the words just being a special touch. So i did my own version.

Here is the finished product. I'm so proud of the way it turned out!

Shrimp Pan Roast

Oh, the pan roast!  The first, and only, time i've had pan roast was almost 3 years ago at the Palace Station hotel in Vegas.  My sister had taken me there with some friends.  It was delicious!!  You can read about that trip, and the pan roast, here. 

For whatever reason last week i had a craving for pan roast.  I did a quick search and found a recipe that sounded easy enough.  I was super nervous to try it, just in case it didn't turn out.  But, it was delicous!!!  SO good!!  The hubs took some bread and scraped every last drop out of his bowl.  It was that good!  Highly recommended!

Wednesday's Words of Wisdom

"Never jump into a pile of leaves with a wet sucker."

~Linus, It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown

 

 

 

Things I Love Lately

~Apple cider
~Lazy weekends
~Fall weather
~Scarves
~Good blog reads
~Trying new recipes.  And having them be a hit!
~Long walks with the hubs
~Being crafty
~Mini quiche for breakfast
~Pedicures
~The Mount Lindo cross by highway 285.  It's a cross of lights that greets me every morning on my way to work.
~Cozying up under blankets
~Instagram.  Love the different effects you can do with your pictures
~Changing leaves
~David Crowder Band.  One of my top 5 bands of all time.
~The smell of clean laundry
~The sound of rain
~A good, honest mechanic who is there to take car of me when my dad can't!

I feel like my list is pretty simple this month.  But, sometimes, it's the simple things in life that make it the most enjoyable!

Wednesday's Words of Wisdom

Pumpkin Patch

I love lazy weekends.  They're few and far between, but when we get them, i enjoy every second!  This last weekend is the 1st weekend we haven't had anything planned in months.  

Friday night we ventured over to the movies and saw Argo.  It was a great movie!  Highly recommend it.

Saturday we went to the pumpkin patch at Chatfield Botanic Gardens.  We picked a great weekend to go.  The crowd was small and they were still a lot of good pumpkins to pick from!  

They were also doing a pumpkin haul race.  We didn't know it was going on, but it was a blast to watch.  It's a 2 mile race where you carry a pumpkin with you.  I think some people were a little overambitious and didn't realize how heavy the pumpkins would get!  One guy actually had a 50 pound pumpkin!!  

People lining up at the start line with their pumpkins.  After carrying our pumpkins to the car, I was SO glad we didn't sign up for this!  My arms were dead tired!   

 At the gardens they have these tractor pulled hay rides to take you back to your car

 A view of the corn field.  They cut a maze into it as well.

 Ben and I

I love this picture 

The pumpkin patch with barns in the background 

Ben found his perfect pumpkin!  

 My great pumpkin

Just the 2 of us

After the pumpkin patch, we grabbed some sandwiches and headed over to Ketring Park in Littleton for a picnic.  It was a perfectly gorgeous fall day!  

Anniversary Getaway

For our 2 year anniversary, we went to Golden and spent the night at the Table Mountain Inn.  We stayed at the same hotel last year as well.  Unfortunately it was rainy and cold all weekend, so we didn't get to most of what we planned!  But, we had a good time together, crappy weather and all!  We walked around town and did some shopping.  We watched some football and grabbed some dinner.

 It was definitely sweater weather! 

 These 2 pictures are looking out of our room

We grabbed breakfast at our hotel.  We had several friends rave about how great their brunch was.  And they were right!  It was delish!  

 Ben and I getting ready to head out of town.  Our hotel is behind us and in the picture below.  

Happy Anniversary, babes!  I'm looking forward to what the next year brings! 

Wednesday's Words of Wisdom

Date Night!

Ben and I took a couple's cooking class at the Kitchen Table.  It was AWESOME!  We had so much fun!  Our theme for the night was Napa Valley- Fall romance amongst the vines.  We made a 3 course meal where each course was paired with a wine.  

When we first got there we were greeted with a glass of champagne and appetizers.  The class consisted of 12 people and 2 chefs.  The chefs introduced themselves and went over what the evening would entail.  

The evening was completely hands on where we made everything from scratch on our own.  The chefs took us through each recipe step by step. They walked around to each station offering tips and making sure we didn't burn the kitchen down! 

Our first course was rock shrimp ravioli with a roasted yellow pepper sauce paired with a Rutherford Ranch Chardonnay. It was so delicious!  We made the pasta ourselves- and i was amazed at how easy it actually was.  It was the first time I've ever made pasta! We prepared the filling and yellow pepper sauce and then cooked the raviolis in boiling water.

Our finished raviolis.  I can't even begin to tell you how delicious these were!  Probably my favorite of 3 courses we did. 

Our second course was Coriander-marinated cornish game hens with Smashed red skin potatoes and Olive-oil poached artichokes.  It was paired with a Robert Sinskey Vineyards Pinot noir.  I missed taking a picture of this course, which I'm really bummed out about.  They looked so good!  The birds were a perfect golden brown color.

I learned so much during this class.  They went over basic knife skills (who knew i was holding my knife wrong all these years!) I learned tricks for mincing garlic, how to easily dice an onion, and how to take the skin off hazelnuts. 

During this course I learned so much!  I learned how to truss a bird- (cross it's legs) without string, how to de-bone it and how to separate it- the breasts, the thighs, etc.    

Our final course was a Chocolate hazelnut molten lava cake paired with a Bera Brachetto Piemonte.  One of the chefs made ice cream for us to enjoy with the cake.  I've never made a lava cake before, and always thought the "lava" is inserted into the cake.  Wrong.  It's all the same batter!  To keep our hazelnuts from sinking to the bottom, we put a layer in the middle of the cake and garnished the top with them as well.  

 Our finished cake and ice cream! We were stuffed by the time we were done! 

Here's a picture of the kitchen set up and one of our chefs, Gian Luigi.  He's straight out of Italy, in case you couldn't tell by his name!  Each couple had their own little set up- stove, oven, and work surface.  I felt like we were on a reality show for the Food Network!  

This is the dining area.  The window on the left looks directly into the kitchen.  Between each course they had an employee come in and bus the area.  They reset the place settings and got rid of all the dirty dishes.  We didn't have to worry about anything other than cooking!  I could get used to not worrying about dirty dishes.  

Our group was a lot of fun and everyone was super friendly.  The evening lasted about 4 hours start to finish.  Both Ben and I highly, highly recommend checking this place out!  They have tons of classes and cuisines to chose from.  And if you need someone to go with you, chances are we'd love to!  

Year of Racing

Our  year of racing is over and we did it- a race a month for a year plus one for good measure.  We found some new favs, some we’ll never do again, helped benefit a lot of charities, and had a great time!

Best expo- Rock’ n Roll.  The expo is huge.  They have tons of vendors booths giving away samples.  You can buy clothes, shoes, tutus, or get taped up.  And it’s super organized.

                Runner up- Littleton Airlife Memorial- they had the best vendors and raffle prizes.  Snow cones, brownies, bagels, and the Melting pot!  They gave away movie tickets, restaurant gift cards, and a new bike!  They also had flight for life helicopters and SWAT trucks on display for people to check out.

                Honorable Mention- Blue Shoe Run- silent auction and you can play with the surgical robot

Best scenery- Camp Eden 5K.  This race was in the mountains along a dirt trail.  Beautiful mountain views!

                Runner up- Woodland Park Mayor’s Cup. This race also had great mountain views.  Nothing like having Pikes Peak stare you down in your final mile.

                Honorable Mention- Yeti Chase- This race took place at Bear Creek state park.  Right at the foothills you had mountain views, horses, and lakes.

Best course- City Solve Adventure Race.  This race literally took you all over Denver and you got to pick the route.  Solve different clues and figure out what is the fastest route around downtown.

                Runner up- Airlife Memorial.  The course was along the Platte River trail, which is where I normally run.  It was nice to know exactly where you were and where you had to go

                Honorable Mention-

Best music- Runnin’ of the Green.  Nothing kicks off a race quite like bag pipes. 

                Runner up- Woodland Park.  They had a jazz fest after the race.

                Honorable Mention- Rock ‘n Roll.  They do a great job of providing on course music and a concert afterwards.

Best finish- Woodland Park Mayor’s Cup 10K.  I finished 2^nd in my age group, got a ribbon, AND my picture taken with the mayor!  

                Runner up- City Solve Adventure Race.  We finished 7^th overall

                Honorable Mention- Airlife Memorial.  The race course was along the Platte river trail, which is where I normally do my runs.  Knowing the course in and out definitely helps!

Best Shirt- Yeti Chase.  A super cute tech tee

            Runner up- Rock ‘n Roll 2012.  Great color and cute design.

Honorable Mention- Naked foot 5k.  Overall, I didn’t like a single thing about this race.  Except the shirt.  Tech tee that literally says “I ran naked in 2012.” 

Hardest Course- Camp Eden 5K.  Even Ben didn’t finish in under 30 minutes!  Plus, there were people getting sick on the course. 

                Runner up- Woodland Park 10K.  Altitude and hills aren’t my thing.

                Honorable Mention- Naked foot 5k.  Over half of the race was in grass that had been overly watered and turned into marsh.  

Best Race Environment- Rock ‘n Roll Denver.  Tons of supporters came out and lined the course.  Plus, my parents came out, so that was fun! 

                Runner up- Runnin’ of the Green.  Lots of runners and a lot of people dress up for this one.

                Honorable Mention- City Solve Urban Race.  It was more of a everyone’s out to have a good time race than a race, race.  They had a costume contest and gave away best tweet prizes. 

Favorite moments- Tulsa Turkey Trot and the Blue Shoe Run.  Running with my family is so much fun!  It was also awesome having my parents ring cowbells for us at this year’s half marathon. 

                Runner up- Start of the Airlife memorial.  They released white doves before the start and to signify the start of the race, all of the of the fire trucks and ambulances turned on their sirens. 

                Honorable Mention- Seeing a dog pee on a bag full of bagels at the finish line of the Christmas Carol Classic.  I was so glad we grabbed one before that happened!

October- Rock ‘n Roll Denver half marathon

November- Fleet Feet Turkey Trot

December- Christmas Carol Classic

January- Yeti Chase

February- Valentine’s Day Race

March- Runnin’ of the Green

April- City Solve Urban Race

May- Airlife Memorial

June- Camp Eden 5K

July- Naked Foot 5K

August- Woodland Park

September- Blue Shoe Run & Rock ‘n Roll Denver

Wednesday's Words of Wisdom

Thankful

Today is our 2 year anniversary and I am so thankful for my husband.  We’ve definitely had our rough patches, but the good times far out-weigh them!  I thought today would be a perfect opportunity to let you know just how thankful I am for you.

 

 

I am thankful that you pray with me and for me

I am thankful that you make me laugh

I am thankful that you tell me I’m beautiful- even when I wear sweats

I am thankful that you take care of me when I’m not feeling well

I am thankful that we can watch and talk sports together

I am thankful that you encourage me in working out

I am thankful that you know the importance of family

I am very thankful that you are a great cook

I am thankful that we go to church together

I am thankful that you have good taste in clothes

I am thankful that you always bring extra pillows up to the couch just to make me more comfortable

I am thankful that you listen

I am thankful that you challenge, encourage, and support me

I am thankful that you’re optimistic- even when it gets on my nerves J

I am thankful that I know you love me

I am thankful that you make me coffee in the mornings

I am thankful that you get along with my family

I am thankful that you’re a hard worker

I am thankful that you’re good with directions

I am thankful that you make me feel special

I am thankful that you’ve made progress in your communication skills

I am thankful that you get me- good days and bad ones

 

I am so thankful for you!  I am thankful that I get to spend life with you and grow old with you!  I love you, Benjamin “Eugene” John Witter.

Wednesday's Words of Wisdom

Not for Nitsies

Carb loading is not for nitsies.  I've been following the runner's world diet where 50% of my calories come from carbs, 25% from protein, and 25% from fat.  Overall that's been going well.  I can generally hit those percentages pretty close.  But, with the Rock 'n Roll half coming up tomorrow, Ben and I have upped our carb intake.  Runner's world suggestes upping your carbs to about 85-95% a few days before the race.  You can read the article about it here if you're interested in it.  Let me tell you, Woah Mother!!  It makes a HUGE difference.  I love carbs so i was super excited about this.  Without changing my daily calorie intake I felt SO full, and bloated, and fat.  I felt like Violet in Willy Wonka just waiting for the Oompa Loompas to come roll me around.

 

Wednesday's Words of Wisdom

Things I Love Lately

~God. This might seem odd, as i'm always thankful for God, but this year i've really grown in my relationship with Him. And the more I learn, the more in awe i am. Our families have gone through some rough patches this year, but God has provided peace, comfort, and healing through all of it.

~Rainy days

~Football season! CU is off to another rough start, but the Broncos have Manning!

~When my hubs brings home flowers for no reason

~Getting to spend time with my sister and bro-in-law

~My new running gear. I recently got compression socks because my shins were hurting. And they're fabulous! But, you can't wear compression socks with capris- it just looks goofy! So, i got a running skirt! It doesn't ride up and it's comfy. I take back all of the bad things i ever said about running skirts.

~Great deals! Ben and I found running shoes at 60% off! And i got this super cute bag for 70% off!

~Relaxing days with the hubs. We recently bought a disc golf set and road our bikes over to a course and played a round. I love doing things like this together!

~The fall crispness in the air

~Starbucks soy chai latte

~Feeling more confident

~Friends that challenge me, push me, and encourage me

~Beth Morre's Daniel study. I think i've mentioned this one before, but it's still going, and i'm still learning A LOT! Daniel is SO much more than a fiery furnace and a lion's den!

~Getting excited for Christmas. The past several years i haven't been excited at all. I usually get the holiday blues. But this year- i'm all over it! Ben and I have already created our gift lists of what to buy poeple, and i've already come up with a few ideas for our Christmas card. Look out! No promises on the Christmas music though...

~Coach McCartney's radio show. Fridays at 4 on 102.3

~Pinterest. I finally caved and created an account. It's actually really cool!

~Bath and Body Work's leaves scent. It's so fall and my absolute favorite!

~Fall tv shows. The voice and Parenthood return! Thank goodness for DVR

~Meb Keflezighi. Check out this video of his workout leading up to the Olympic marathon. It's a little long, and if you don't like running, you probably won't like it, but it's inspiring to see how hard he worked leading up to the Olympics. He represented the USA well.

wednesday's Words of Wisdom

Blue Shoe Run

On Saturday we did the Blue Shoe Run for Prostate Cancer. It was a lot of fun to go and support my dad for this race.

Melissa, Ben, and I got up super early and headed down to the race to get in some extra miles. The half marathon is in 2 weeks, so we needed the extra time on our feet!

The beautiful sunrise over the downtown Denver

The fam before the race

Mom and Dad after the race. They were featured on one of the posters advertising the race. They were presented with a framed poster

Cycling!

This weekend was jam packed with festivities, and it was all a lot of fun! Sunday the Pro Cycling Challenge was back in town. I went last year for the opening stage, and this year, Ben and I made it out for the final stage. It's so much fun! And i'm glad that this year Ben got to join in the craziness.

Ben and I out at City Park. We went for the for the final time trial stage and our spot was about a mile from the finish line.

Jens Voigt. He's my absolute favorite. Check out my crazy husband running along side and ringing a cowbell!

Tejay Van Garderen. He won the best young rider in the Tour de France this year. He finished 2nd overall in this race.

The winner! Christian Vande Velde. His team is based in Boulder. Going into the final stage he was in 2nd. He made up time to take the win!

Levi Leipheimer. He won the race last year, unfortunately he lost the lead and finished in 3rd. Check out the hubs in the background really cheering him on!

Wednesday's Words of Wisdom

Wednesday's Words of Wisdom

Ben's 30th!

Ben has been talking about how excited he was to turn 30 for about a year. I wanted to do something special for him so it would live up to his expectations. I threw a party at the house for just the 2 of us.

I decorated the house before he came home from work. It's been a LONG time since i blew up balloons!

A birthday party isn't complete without the party hats!

For dinner we had the 7 cheese pizza from McKinners. It's our favorite pizza joint in Littleton. The cheese pizza tastes like mac 'n cheese!!

Ice cream cake! Pam bought these great candles for Ben and they worked out perfectly!

Present time! Bocce set. Such a fun lawn game!

Present inside a present. Ben is the best present guesser ever. He's annoyingly good. He can pick up a present, shake it a bit and tell you exactly what's in it. I was so proud of myself this year- I completely tricked him! I think i wrapped about 7 presents inside this one

Totally worth the unwrapping. The new Garmin forerunner touch screen.

Happy 30th Ben! I hope it's the best year yet!