Birthday weekend

This weekend, we went up north to hang out with family and friends and to start celebrating birthdays! Friday night we headed out to Ft. Collins and hit up Coopsmith's with the Wiederspans and Hungenbergs.  After dinner we headed over to Kilwin's for ice cream. if youve never been to Kilwin's, i highly recommend it!

Saturday, Ben and Casey completely surprised Melissa and I by creating a gourmet dinner- complete with wine, crab legs, steak and chicken, and jazz music! They even sat out dresses for us to change into!  It was a perfect night.

Casey and Ben all decked out, even with their aprons!

Our dinner spread!

Me and Melissa 

Me and the hubs! Love that guy

Melissa and Casey

On Sunday we met up with my parents and went out to dinner at the melting pot.  It was so delicious! 

I love my family!

On my birthday, Ben took me to D Bar Desserts downtown.  This place has the most amazing desserts! Ever!  I had the cake and shake. You get to chose between a chocolate or vanilla shake and it comes with the most decadent piece of chocolate cake you've ever tasted! 

Ben had the cherry waffle sammie- sweet waffles with vanilla ice cream and cherry compote.  

I think I gained about 20 pounds this weekend. Totally worth it! Bringing in the 30's right!!

Wednesday's Words of Wisdom

Things I Love Lately

~Nike outlet.  You can find amazing deals!  New running shoes for $40??  Yes, please!
~Contacts.  A new year, a new me!  I made the transition from glasses to contacts.  It was so, so, so hard to put them in and take them out at first, but now that i'm used to it, i love them!  I can see clearly and not have to worry about always having my glasses with it.
~My job.  I've been there for just over a year now and it's been such a blessing!  I've been given more responsibility, i'm making the most i've ever made, and there isn't a lot of office drama.
~Fresh fruit.  It's one of my favorite things about spring/summer!
~Rain.  Rain is my favorite and it's even better when it's accompanied with thunder!
~Going paleo.  I changed my eating about 3 weeks ago.  I've cut out all grains, dairy, and processed sugar.  Basically anything processed.  The first couple of days were tough, but I now feel amazing!!  I haven't had any stomach issues and i'm enjoying red meat again!  I've been experimenting with new recipes (some hits, some misses) and slowly getting the hubs on board.  Another big benefit I've noticed is my sleep!  I get such amazing sleep!!
~My contigo thermos.  I don't know if I've mentioned this before, but I love it.  It keeps things hot for 4 hours and cold for 8 or so.  And it doesn't spill if it's knocked over!
~The library.  I can't remember the last time I was at a public library.  Ben and I have started going and I enjoy perusing the aisles.
~Summer bbq's.  The warm weather!  The lawn games!  Good friends and good food!
~Long weekends

Dinner Date Night

A few weeks ago Ben and I went to The Kitchen downtown.  It was delicious!  One of the best meals out I've had in a long time.  My boss gave me a gift card here as it's one of his favorite places.  We took full advantage of free money and went all out on this dinner! 

We started out with burrata bruchetta and it was so good!  I'm not sure what was on it, but it was amazing!  For the mains, I had pork loin with spaetzle (a German dumpling) and Ben had the lamb sirloin.  For dessert we split a tiramisu.  

We were completely stuffed by the time we left!   

Ben and I enjoying our night out

The door

The bruchetta

This is one of the light fixtures.  It was really cool! 

Our delicious dessert!  The perfect ending to an amazing meal! 

Needtobreathe

Ben and I went to the Needtobreathe concert on Tuesday at The Ogden.  It was amazing!!!  They are one of my favorite bands and they put on an awesome show.  They are so energetic and entertaining!  If you ever get the chance to see them, you definitely should.  Ben recorded a great video, but i'm not sure how to post it....stay tuned! 

Their opening band was Drew Holcomb and the Neighbors.  You should check them out as well! They've had 2 of their songs featured on the tv show Parenthood, which is also one of my favs.

 I didn't take this picture, but I LOVE it.  

 So great! 

Ben picked up this snazzy hat, but i think it looks better on me....

Things I Love Lately

~My kitchenaid.  I've loved my kitchenaid since my parent's gave it to me for my birthday a few years ago, BUT, did you know that it shreds chicken??  Yes!!  In like 20 seconds your chicken is completely shredded into perfect little shreds!
~Finger nail polish.  All the different colors!  It's so fun and sassy.  One of my current favs is NYC New York Color.  It's really cheap at Target and it lasts about a week without chipping!
~The Voice.  I love the new vibe and comradery between the judges this year.
~Cycling season has begun!  Ben is the one who got me hooked, but i think i'm more into it now than he is!  My favorite team is looking pretty strong so far.
~Instagram.  I love the different filters you can add to your pictures.
~Ribbonwick candles.  It smells delicious and looks really cool when it burns.
~Sunrise coffee walks.  With the occasional warmer weather Ben and I have been getting up early on Saturdays and go for a sunrise walk.  Of course we have to have the coffee to go with it.
~My new Garmin watch!  It's so complicated and fancy.  it tracks distance, elevation, heart rate, calories, and many other things that i probably don't even know about yet!
~Diet A&W Rootbeer.  It's so good and reminds me of growing up!
~Compression socks.  I've been putting them on at night after my runs, and they make my legs feel so good!
~My boatshoes.  They are some of the most comfortable shoes i have!
~Baseball season is back!  We made it to opening day this year and i'm excited to catch more games this year.
~Sliced bananas with honey and cinnamon.  Super yummy snack!