Colorado Trip

Last week Alan and I were here...

...with our sweet friends from Saint Louis, Laura and Mike. They invited us to stay at their house in Silverthorn, CO and go skiing with them. We had a blast! We got in on Wednesday night and ate dinner at the Dam Brewery which was a fun little place to start our trip.

Thursday morning we woke up bright and early and headed to...

...which is about 20 minutes from the house. I was a bit nervous as this was my first time to ski out west, but everyone was super great giving me tips and patiently waiting at the bottom of the runs as I worked my way down the trail and got the hang of things.

Here is Laura and me at the bottom of a "blue" - quite proud of ourselves :)

it was beautiful!

We headed home around 5 o'clock and got there in time to see a gorgeous sunset.

Friday morning before heading off for the day

We went to...

...because: 1) we got "buy one - get one" lift tickets, 2) great mountain that's not as crowded as some of the others, 3) great "after-skiing" drinks according to Laura, more to come on that later!

Ready for the day to begin!

We were all a bit sore but also a bit more confident. The weather could not have been better!

Around 4 o'clock we headed to the lodge for an "after-skiing" drink: homemade Irish cream = delish!

On Saturday, we decided to take a break from the slopes and hit the shops so we went to...

...where we ate a yummy lunch and then just walked around the cute little town. I am actually really glad we didn't ski that day because it was super crowded as a result of the long weekend.

best of times with the best of friends

On our way home Saturday night, Mike drove us up to the top of the mountain where you can see the whole valley. I told Laura that Alan and I love to travel but that we both want to make it a point to see more of the US because we live in such an amazing country with so much to offer.

Our trip came to an end much to quickly, but we had the greatest time catching up with friends while seeing an incredible part of the country. Life is good!

Heart Day

Yes... Alan and I celebrate Valentine's Day. I know it's one of those cheesy hallmark holidays but we decide every year it's a fun chance to get out for no other reason than to enjoy our time together. This year we are back in Knoxville and went to dinner at the Northshore Brasserie.

It was delicious!

Alan surprised me with a rose (he said he didn't want to get a whole bouquet because we are going out of town tomorrow)

...and we both got cards that neither of us had a chance to write in yet, ha! I guess that's one of those things that happens after being married for a while, can I argue it the thought that counts?! Happy Valentine's Day friends, we are hitting the slopes tomorrow!!!

54th Grammy's

Alan and I are super excited watching the Grammy's tonight and are on the lookout for our friend, Dave Barnes, who was nominated for "Best Country Song" of the year! Hears to hoping he receives this amazing award!

Dave Barnes

We have also spent some time today packing and getting our ski stuff together for our trip to Colorado on Wednesday! We are going with Laura & Mike and I cannot wait to see them! Stay tuned for details of the fun times to come!

Superbowl Weekend

This past weekend, Alan and I went to my parents' house on Friday night to celebrate my sister, Christa's, 19th birthday. Christa is a freshman at UT this year and I am vicariously living out college again through her crazy shenanigans. Elizabeth and Patrick came in town for the fun so it was a great chance to catch up with them.

Saturday began at SoHo in turkey creek where I met Becky for a long overdue pedicure. Becky and her husband, Mike, are super busy traveling with their jobs so I felt lucky to have the morning to catch up with her.

That night Alan and I went to the Edwards for Brayden's 1st birthday party. There was a great turnout!

Becca did a fabulous job with all the sweet decorations, everything was perfect :)

Brayden wasn't sure what he thought about everyone singing to him, bless his heart!

Sunday we went to church and then out with friends to Casa Don Gallo, one of our favorite mexican cantinas. It makes my stomach hurt sometimes, but I don't care.. it is that good. That afternoon we spent some time making a few dishes for our evening events. What you ask? Just a football game some people like to watch called the Superbowl. We headed over to the Martins a little before kick-off.

Alan and I came bringing "THE BEST" Spinach Artichoke dip (thanks for sharing, Elizabeth!), mac n cheese, and a squares board.

The game was great and hanging out with friends was even better. Amanda had prepared a delicious meal, Alan and I ran the board for the first 3 quarters, and the Giants won! Great weekend!

Bijou, Basketball, and Birthday

Alan and I began our weekend Friday night at our favorite restaurant downtown: Downtown Grill & Brewery. We love this place! Everything from the atmosphere, the food, and the locally made beer- it's a fabulous place to unwind after a long day or go out for a good time!

After dinner, we walked down the street to the Bijou Theatre to see Donna the Buffalo.

Donna the Buffalo follows no playlist and has an eclectic variety of songs with roots in old time fiddle music, we loved it!

Alan and I got box seats which was a fun place to enjoy the show :)

We had just as much fun watching the crowd as we did listening to the band

Saturday was the UT vs UCONN basketball game and Alan went with my dad. My parents are from Connecticut and both went to UCONN so of course my dad shows up sporting his UCONN apparel. Alan didn't mind it though, and then of course was happy the Vols managed to pull off the W!

Sunday afternoon, Alan and I went to Wyatt's 1st Birthday Party! Wyatt's parents, Danielle and Clayton, are in our Wednesday night Bible Study and we have loved getting to know their sweet family since moving back to Knoxville. Danielle made delicious cupcakes!

At first Wyatt wasn't sure what to think of the cupcakes and everyone singing to him...

...then he decided he liked it!

Our friends, Amy and Jared, came with their precious 10 day old beautiful baby girl, Elliot "Ellie" Faith. We loved seeing her for the first time and getting to catch up with them!

We're now watching the playoffs and getting ready for Monday. All said... fantastic weekend!

Weekend Activities

We kicked off the weekend on Friday night at Altruda's with friends. It was a blast! It was so much fun to catch up with Amanda & Chris and Becky & Mike. We have all been so busy with the holidays, it seems like it's been forever since we've all gotten together.

Saturday we got an early start to the day with the UT vs. Florida basketball game with Ashley & Watson. Ashley & Watson are friends from college who now live in Greeneville and are pregnant with their first child- a baby boy! It was so much fun catching up with them and watching the Vols pull off an exciting game and a great win! Go Vols!

Sunday afternoon, the ladies from our Bible Study, along with other friends, attended a baby shower for Amy. Amy and her husband, Jared, are pregnant with their first child- a baby girl, and are due any day! We are so excited for them and cannot wait for Ellie to arrive!

The weekend concluded with dinner and a movie at home. We watched We Are Marshall (had to watch a football movie since we are right in the middle of the play-offs) which was just as great as the first time I saw it and still made me cry, I swear, I can be the biggest baby when it comes to such sad but sweet stories. All in all, fantastic weekend and ready to hit the ground running tomorrow!

Happy New Year 2012!

Good-bye 2011 and Hello 2012!

Alan and I had a phenomenal weekend ringing in the New Year! We went to Nashville and stayed with Patrick & Elizabeth who have recently purchased their first home in West End. You can read up on their home improvements and creativity here :) Colin & Rachel were with us too which was a real treat since Colin is still in training in (far away) San Diego with the Marines. So recap on the weekend: we got to Nashville on Friday night, ate in (Patrick made us a delicious BBQ Chicken Pizza) and just spent some time catching up. Saturday morning, the girls went out to run errands and do some after-Christmas-sale shopping while the guys stayed at home to watch football. That afternoon we went to Green Hills where we did some more shopping and made a stop at one of my all-time faves, The Cheesecake Factory, for an afternoon treat. Saturday night we went over to some of Patrick & Elizabeth's friends' house for a New Years Eve party. They have a super fun group of friends and we had a great time meeting everyone.

We left there around 9:30pm and went home to then take a cab downtown. Got downtown around 11 o'clock which left us just enough time to hang out for a bit and get up close to where the "music note" would drop at midnight...gotta love Nashville!

The evening could not have been better! The weather was perfect, Alan of course loved the people watching, I loved being with my sweet family, and we just had a great time. I will say, there was a fight that broke out near us literally right after midnight so that was a bit of a distraction (crazy what some people will do after too much alcohol) but all in all, fantastic night.

Rachel, Elizabeth, and me

Patrick, Alan, and Colin

Such a great night, Happy New Year!

2012!!! Is going to be great, I can tell already!

Sunday we went to Patrick & Elizabeth's church Grace Community and then out to lunch where Maggie joined us. We spent the afternoon hanging out and then we all went out to dinner at Maggiano's where we all ate way too much and re-emphasized our resolutions to get on better diets... ha! All said, great weekend, loved spending time with the fam, and so excited about 2012!