Month: June 2015

Camping with the Getz Family!

What better way to kick off summer than to go camping?!

I will admit, up until last weekend, I dreaded going camping and found every excuse in the book not to go. Sleeping on the ground, being too hot or too cold all the time, bugs, no real bathroom…the list goes on and on. But last weekend I realized all of the positive aspects of camping…there is no schedule to follow, the expectations for the weekend are out the window, if the weather is right, you can rotate your chair around the campfire to be in the sun all day, s’mores for breakfast (!)…and again, the list goes on and on.

Last weekend we ventured North (and west) to the Lower Narrows on the Poudre River (near Ft. Collins) with our good friends Brian, Jamie & Tucker. We had the best time and I cannot wait to do it again! (Who’s the new girl?!) I was so inspired/excited about the weekend, when we got home, I started putting together a container for all of our camping gear and went shopping for things we needed.

Another great thing about this camping adventure…no cell reception. So we were able to unplug for the weekend and come back feeling like we just went on a retreat to a far away land. (A girl really should do that more often.)

Here are some fun pictures from the weekend

RainbowGetz Party of 4Poudre RiverIt was a little chilly Friday night, hence the hat, coats, boots and poka dotted socksburrCamping tradition: Shotgunning a beer (and I capture the moment!)
Shotgun traditionMy first chili dog! (Well technically, I had two) Great camping food, but I don’t think I will be making them for dinner anytime soon…First chili dogHeadlamps are so great! HeadlampsS’mores for BREAKFAST!
S'mores for breakfast!Poudre CanyonPoudre CanyonClassic signTake off your WadersTesting out the LifestrawLife StawMenMenTwins (Patagonia represent!)TwinsGroup picture…Tucker is so thrilled!Family photoRelaxing in the hammock
Who's having more fun?!S’more s’mores…how can I have s’more of something when I haven’t had any yet?!S'more actionAnd of course star gazing and the obsession with shutter speedCapturing the starsThank you to the Getz Family for the invitation and all the fun, we can’t wait to do it again! Now, we just need to find an open weekend.

May Happenings

May was filled with some adventures, a lot of rain and family visiting Boulder, CO. Here is a recap of what the month of May looked like for us!

May is the most important month of the year because it is my birthday month!

Birthday!My brother and I pulled off the epic “Mother’s Day Surprise” (See a few posts back for more details!)

"Take a picture so I can put in on Facebook" -MomTrying to get out of the house between the break in the rain storm one night, Tyler and I walked downtown for some Ben & Jerry’s ice cream #cabinfever

Ben & Jerry'sA fun night out with good friends!

Friends

Memorial Day weekend, Tyler’s family came to visit. We did lots of “tourist” things including…

Going downtown, shopping and walking through Boulder Creek Festival

Boulder CreekA girls afternoon at Upstairs Circus

Upstairs CircusThe Bolder Boulder 10K

Bolder BoulderBolder Boulder Bolder BoulderSeeing The Decemberists & Spoon at Red Rocks (well, technically, we saw Spoon and ran to the vehicle during a torrential downpour and left before The Decemberists went on.)

Red Rocks Red Rocks

Franklin’s BBQ- Austin, TX

This past January, Tyler and I celebrated our first wedding anniversary (now that’s something to celebrate!) We decided to celebrate by taking a long weekend vacation to Austin, TX. Why Austin you may ask? Well, 1) we had never been their before 2) it was somewhere warmer than Colorado in January 3) We have heard great things about the town and we thought we would see for ourselves what it was all about.

The trip was memorable in many ways, we did a lot of walking around, a lot of eating and some shopping in between. The food in the town was amazing. I feel like we really didn’t have a bad meal while we were there. But one meal sticks out above all the rest, Franklin’s BBQ. BBQ in Texas…it’s one of those “when in Rome” situations. Using one of our best foodie friends, Yelp, it was a definite must stop visit.

Waiting in lineWe arrived at Franklin’s around 11:00am, right after finishing breakfast. The line was pretty long already, snaking out the door and down the street. We got in line and thought, this shouldn’t take too long….almost 3 hours later, we were getting ready to order probably the best BBQ we will ever experience. Worth the 3 hour wait? YES! And the 3 hours went pretty quick. The wait staff brought us sample sandwiches to munch on while we were standing in line, offered beer and water to those who were interested, it was great. But lets get back to the food. SO good, I am not even sure how to put it into words. We ordered a little bit of everything and like Tyler said, “it was so good, you don’t even need the sauce”.

Classic signs all around this placemenuThis is it!Franklin's BBQWe debated getting BBQ somewhere else the next day for lunch but then determined, we would just be disappointed because nothing is going to live up to that meal we had at Franklin’s.

Inspired by our experience, we got home and pre-ordered Franklin’s cookbook and look what gem showed up the other day.

A Meat-Smoking ManifestoThis is not an ordinary cookbook, although it has recipes, it also tells the history and techniques that makes this BBQ so great. Tyler and I would take turns reading it until we both finished it. Inspired by the book, Tyler decided to make homemade BBQ sauce from the book and declares it “So good, we never need to buy BBQ sauce again”. And once we live in a place bigger than our 400 sq foot apartment and have a yard of some sort, I will not be surprised if Tyler builds a smoker and becomes best friends with the local butcher in town.

A Meat-Smoking ManifestoA Meat-Smoking ManifestoA Meat-Smoking ManifestoA Meat-Smoking ManifestoA Meat-Smoking ManifestoA Meat-Smoking ManifestoMoral of the story, if you are in Austin, go to Franklin’s BBQ, it is well worth the wait. And if you like BBQ, buy this book, it is a great read and the recipes are amazing.