Wednesday, May 27, 2015

Chicago and Mother's Day

Over Mother's Day weekend, my mom and I headed out to Chicago.  The trip was originally planned so that we could attend a memorial for my grandmother.  She passed away on Christmas Eve just this past December.  I was lucky enough to have her at Jay and my wedding in October. And I am incredibly thankful for the time I had with her and the huge impact she had on my life.

So... mom and I headed to Chicago! There is a HUGE, long backstory to the whole memorial shindig, but I will just say that my mom and I paid tribute to my grandma in the best way possible, and in the process spent some quality time together.
mom and I on the train
First though... Chicago. It is always fun going back to my hometown.  I got to spend some time with my dad, Portillos, a museum (Communication and Broadcast museum) and some deep dish pizza were all a part of that!

Bozo and Cooky! My childhood right there

Gino's deep dish... yum!

The next few days were spent in the company of the lovely Miss Eileen.  She and her hubby Matt let me stay with them for a few days, and it was AWESOME!! I miss having her around all the time.
E and I, can you tell we are cold?

on the boat tour

in the clouds

She and I played the ultimate tourist and took the architectural boat tour on the Chicago River.  Cold out, but so fun! We totally nerded out.

On Mother's Day, I spent a bit of time on my own in the city, and then mom and I got together and celebrated.  She and I went out to dinner at the Mario Batali eatery called Eataly. It was a super unique experience and we loved it!


The next day we paid tribute to my grandma.  We took the train out to the Lincoln Park Zoo.  We wandered the gardens there, looked at the animals and had a great time, despite the rain.  We had lunch at the infamous R.J. Grunt's and then walked around a bit before heading to Ghirardelli for an ice cream sundae.  I know it all sound strange. But it was honestly perfect. My mom and I will miss my grandma everyday.  However, her being gone doesn't change how much we loved her and helps us focus on our own mother-daughter relationship!







Fun news!!!

So... some fun news came up the other day (ok, a couple weeks, but I am behind) about our wedding!  When Jay and I were planning and creating and planning and stressing over all the little details of our wedding, I turned to the awesome website offbeatbride.com  for inspiration.  After a few months of trolling through the blog, I joined as a tribesmaid.  Meaning... that I had access to all the other members information, ideas, thoughts, concerns, etc.  So I was able to turn to them for help!  It was awesome.

Anyway... long story short. After our amazing, beautiful, wonderful pictures came back from Brandy, I went ahead and submitted our wedding to Offbeat Bride to be featured.  Now...that website receives a TON of submissions.  And they do not guarantee that any one wedding will be chosen.  With that in mind.... I share with you, our wedding featured on Offbeatbride.com!!!!!!!!!!!

 Emily & Jay's beer-themed Denver courthouse and brewery wedding | @offbeatbride


Friday, May 22, 2015

Spring Hikes!!

Spring has sprung! Sort of. Well, not really at all if you look at how the weather has been for the last 3 weeks. It has rained for the last 9 days straight.  9 DAYS!  I mean, we need the moisture and all... but where is the sun?

To help bring some sunshine to my life... I am going to (finally) post about some hikes from April.  Anne and I went, Jay and I went and all three of us went together!  I love it.

Anne and I headed up for a hike at Mt. Galbraith.  She and B had done that one last summer and didn't like it.  They had a hard time navigating the trail markers.  I finally convinced Anne to try it again, and we are glad we did!  We went counter-clockwise on the loop and it was much more obviously marked!




Let's see...  Jay and I headed down south for a hike at Spruce Mountain.  That was a 5 mile hike that felt easy!  It was a beautiful day too, which helped.




Then Jay and I hiked up at Mount Falcon.  Anne and I started our hiking adventures there nearly 2 years ago!! I love it up there.  Surprisingly. when we went, there was still some snow on the ground.  (Yes, I am aware there is a lot of snow on the ground in the mountains now, don't remind me, its May)



The three of us then did a hike up near Boulder.  Meyer Ranch hike.  That was really nice as well, but not one you'd want to do in the heat of summer.  It was very open and unshaded.  But still really cool!  We saw some pretty serious fire damage from wildfires a few years back.


Anne and I showing off our awesome pants!




The last hike that Jay and I did (so far) was out at Roxborough State Park.  Its a really pretty area rimmed by the same red rocks that make up the Red Rocks Amphitheater.  It was a lovely day then too!!! Bring my sunshine back, Colorado.







So many more hikes to do this summer. I can't wait.  We just have to hope it stops raining long enough to get them in!!!