french food and friends

Do you have friends that are like your favorite pair of shoes? Always comfortable, easy, familiar and ready for any adventure? Well for us, that's Sam and Jenna. They are dear friends that we've known since college. However, it wasn't until we moved to Denver that we really got to know each other.

Funny story actually -  I was terrified of Jenna back in college because one day she cut me off in literature class and disproved my entire point about Odysseus in front of a room full of fellow students. Mean Jenna! (She still refuses to believe this ever happened.) But we connected during our first year here in Denver and have been fast friends ever since.

St. Pats

"Ash"pen Ridge

Weekend Snowboarding!

Dirt Bike Queens

Having extremely adventurous spirits, Sam and Jenna have always dreamt of living abroad. From the beginning of our friendship, Adam and I always knew there would come a day that we may have to say good-bye to the Van Aswegenes, but we preferred not to think about it. But now here we are - soaking up as much time as possible with our friends before they pack up and move to Amsterdam.

So tonight we decided to celebrate Sam and Jenna's move to Europe with a French meal at Z Cuisine. Yes, yes - Amsterdam is Dutch but a French dinner still felt relevant since Paris will be a quick train ride away. Not to mention, I'm not sure Denver has any Dutch restaurants.

Boy did we dine in style. We started with a salad that had four meats on it - duck gizzards, head cheese, chorizo and blood sausage. I was little hesitant to try the different kinds of meat but I refused to be one of those people that won't try new things. Not to mention, that would be terribly un-French. So with that, I was determined to at least try the salad and might I say, I really liked it!

From there I ordered the most amazing duck ever. Sam would challenge this statement because he also ordered duck but it was prepared differently. He would say that he ordered the most amazing duck ever so we'll just have to agree to disagree (mine was better). Jenna ordered fish and...you guessed it, it was the most amazing fish she'd ever had. Adam ordered skirt steak and it was also divine. We topped it all off with a chocolate crepe that was a little piece of heaven, and then wished we could exit the restaurant and find ourselves on the lawn of the Eiffel Tower.

My face usually looks like this when hanging with Sam and Jenna! Always a good time!

Sam and Jenna, we are so excited for you and this next chapter in your life. We can't wait to come visit next summer and look forward to many, many more memories together. It's only the beginning...

aloha

Sweet, sweet Hawaii, how I love you. It was five years ago that Adam and I celebrated our honeymoon in Hawaii. Our honeymoon was so perfectly perfect that Adam and I planned our next Hawaiian getaway before we ever even left the islands as newlyweds - the plan was to celebrate our five year anniversary on the island of Kauai.

So here we are five years later - yes, five! Hard to believe how fast times flies! Although the tan has faded from our anniversary trip this past May, the memories have not. We spent 10 days relaxing in Kauai and it could not have been more perfect!

If you haven't been to Hawaii or the island of Kauai I would highly recommend it. Kauai is also called the Garden Island because it's so lush, making the island exactly what you'd imagine all tropical islands to be. It's a bit more authentic than the other Hawaiian islands, which is one of the many reasons that Adam and I love it. Kauai is best known for the the Na Pali coast - lush, green, jagged mountains that shoot straight out of the ocean. It's simply breathtaking.

It's really hard to believe that our much awaited trip to Hawaii is over but now we get to share our memories with you! So with that, here are some of the highlights...

Dukes: 
Absolutely one of our favorite places to eat in Kauai so it was an obvious pick for our first night on the island. We spent the first few days of our vacation staying at the Marriott, which is just a short walk down the beach to Dukes. So before heading to dinner on our first night, Adam and I grabbed drinks at the resort bar overlooking the grounds and the ocean. We sat at the table listening to live island music when all of the sudden Adam pulled a little box from his pocket and opened it...

Now, you may not know this but I have a "thing" for leaf necklaces. I LOVE them! This particular leaf is a Maile leaf which is often used in Hawaiian wedding bouquets. Perfect, right?! I certainly didn't expect an anniversary gift but I couldn't have imagined anything better if I had. Love you babe!

Secret Falls: 
Probably our favorite memory from the vacation. Secret Falls is for the determined because it requires a bit of work to find. From what I understand, there are guided tours except on Sundays. So wouldn't you guess, Adam decided that we must go on Sunday. He refused to "share" the falls with a slew of tourists.

Our adventure started at a the Kamokila Hawaiian Village where we rented kayaks - you can't get to Secret Falls without paddling up the river, hence the kayaks. After checking in, the guy at the village gave us directions (if you can call them that) to the falls that went something like this,"Turn down the first arm of the river; paddle to the big tree at the end of the arm; beach the kayak; hike 1/2 mile through the jungle brush following the river; cross the river by holding onto the rope so that you don't fall; hike another 1/2 mile until you come to a stream; turn left at the stream; hike up the hill where you will arrive at the falls."

Ummmm, okay....

I started wondering how many people were still wandering around the "jungle brush," lost from their self-guided tour started earlier that week. But, I trusted my fearless leader, loaded our daypacks into the kayaks and started paddling. I'm so glad I did because we got to the falls without a problem and it was completely worth it! We were at the falls for almost an hour before a few other people showed up. It was like we had our own little piece of paradise all to ourselves. It was perfect!

The North Drive: 
The drive up north is a must. Driving along the ocean and through the beautiful lush landscape is simply amazing. I also highly recommend making the drive in some type of convertible - something about the convertible makes the experience a little better!

Once up north, the road ends not far outside of Hanalei. There are many hiking trails should you desire but those were not on our list this time. We grabbed a great lunch in Hanalei and then drove back towards Princeville. We had heard of a place called Queens Bath that is more of a local spot so we wanted to check it out.

Queens Bath is amazing! It's a natural tide pool carved into a lava shelf. When the waves crash against the rock, water spills into the pool keeping it nice and refreshing. It's about the size of several large swimming pools, has many colorful fish and some tall rocks that Adam spent much of the time jumping from. Another must see!

A note of caution - Queen's Bath can be super dangerous during certain times of year so be careful.

The Grand Hyatt Resort and Spa:
I don't really know what to say about the Grand Hyatt in Poipu - there are just too many wonderful things. The Grand Hyatt holds a very special place in our hearts but I'm positive that it's not just sentimental reasons that make this resort one-of-a-kind.

You enter the resort with a view that can only be described as spectacular. The open-air lobby and "frame" that looks out to the ocean are hard to describe. See...

 
The rooms are all beautiful, including marble bathrooms and large balconies for sunset watching. The grounds are immaculate and closer to a botanical gardens than a resort. And then there's the pools. There are fresh water "river" pools that wind throughout waterfalls and lava rock. There's a salt water lagoon large enough for an island, complete with palm trees and hammock. There are hot tubs tucked under flowering Hawaiian trees for late night dips. Not to mention a beautiful white sand beach leading down to the ocean. It's a water sanctuary!

The Anara Spa is also a must if you ever stay at the Hyatt in Kauai. What makes the Anara Spa so special? Open air lava rock showers, dipping pools, coco mango lotion, and uhh, did you hear me say spa?! You get the idea!

Gaylords:
Gaylord's is located on the grounds of the historic Kilohana Plantation, surrounded by over 100 acres of beautifully manicured grounds and lush landscape. The restaurant is inside a 1935 English tudor style home, which creates a pretty unbelievable setting for dinner. All the tables are in a courtyard allowing for open air dining with a gorgeous view of the mountains. Idealistic is the word that comes to mind. Hence the reason Adam and I visited Gaylord's twice during our stay on Kauai! The food was amazing (like, amazing), the drinks were delicious, the setting was captivating and the company was perfect! A highlight for sure.

Mac Nut and Chocolate Chip Pancakes:
Potentially my new favorite food. Should you ever visit Kauai, please do yourself a favor and grab some pancakes at the Kountry Kitchen in Kapaa.

Big. Freaking. Pancakes.

Waimea Canyon:
Last time Adam and I were in Hawaii we took a helicopter ride around the island, including the Na Pali Coast. This time we decided to drive up the Waimea Canyon and look down the jagged cliffs that make the Na Pali Coast. This is what we saw...

Beautiful right?!

Josselin's Tapas Bar & Grill:
Last but certainly not least. Josselin's.

Josselin's is hands down my favorite restaurant...potentially of all time. It's a tapas bar and grill that my brother and sister-in-law told us about. So glad they did because it was an experience.

Couple of menu favs:
-The Lychee Sangria: luckily Adam figured out how to replicate this superb drink at home!
-Slider Sampler: including peking duck, organic lamb and beef all mixed with various seasonings.
-Duck Wontons: there are no words.
-Roasted Feta Cheese Salad: with charred tomatoes, olives and avocado. Best. Salad. Ever.
-36 Hour Braised Pork Belly: yep, you heard me right.

No judging...we ate at Josselin's three times because it really was that good!

So as you can tell, we had an amazing vacation. We are so blessed to have experiences like these. And the best part? Adam and I grow together so much through these experiences. I am thankful for these times and for my loving husband that enjoys memory making with me!

life is a highway

Goodness gracious - I'm so far behind on posts. For the sake of capturing some of my fondest memories, let me jump back to last August for a minute.

I briefly mentioned in an earlier post that Adam really pulled out all the stops for my birthday last year. It was possibly the best weekend of my life because he made one of my lifelong dreams come true - I had the opportunity to drive a Lotus Elise!

Since you already know part of the story (it's really a must read if you haven't already), let's start with Saturday morning after the grand reveal of the Lotus...

After hopping in the chile red Lotus Elise we took off toward the mountains and headed to Morrison for our curvy trek to Evergreen. Now...the entire reason to rent a Lotus is to really test it's skills. "What skills does the Lotus have," you ask? Travel back with me to the last time you saw the movie Pretty Woman. Do you remember what Julia Roberts said in the opening scene when Richard Gere pulls up in the silver Lotus? All together now... "Man, this baby must corner like it's on rails." That's right, a Lotus is known for cornering!

Needless to say, Adam and I were happy to give the Lotus a good test drive but all the other cars on the road made it difficult to take the corners past 30mph. So, we devised a plan to slow down and let all the other cars get around the corner...then, BAM - we'd slam the pedal down and take off, switching gears as quickly as possible until we were hugging the corners so tight that we were thankful for the racing seats.

How fast were we going? Well, I had both hands on the wheel and both eyes on the road so I don't have the exact number but I will say that we pushed the needle past 60mph on some rather tight corners.

After stopping for lunch at a great BBQ joint (Dick's Hickory Dock) in Kittredge, we headed towards Mt. Evans and then over Loveland Pass - this was the absolute curviest road we could think of so it was perfect! Toward early evening we pulled into Breckenridge feeling a bit like rock stars as everyone stopped and watched as we drove down main street.

Unsure where to go next, Adam gave me directions up a road that ended at One Ski Hill Place, a beautiful resort set at the base of Peak 8. Adam then told me that we'd be staying the night so we should unload and then pick a place in Breck for dinner. With that, I pulled the Lotus to the front of the resort to unload. The valet/bellman greeted us and then proceeded to tell us he'd be happy to park our car. We said no thanks since we'd be leaving again shortly for dinner. With that he simply replied, "Seriously, I won't even charge you for valet if you'll just let me park your car." Hahah, who's ever had a valet ask to park your car for free! Pretty sure that'll only happen once in our life.

Heading into the resort, I was speechless. Take a look at the pics below to see just how amazing this place was...

After walking around the resort giddy with the idea of spending a night at One Ski Hill, we headed back into Breck and grabbed pizza and beer at Michael's - one of my personal favs.

Returning to the hotel, we sat on the balcony (overlooking the town and the beautiful mountains) and ate warm chocolate chip cookies and drank cold milk - the perfect ending to the most perfect day!

The next morning was sad...very sad. We got into the Lotus and made our way back to Denver. Determined not to burst into tears, I gave the keys back to the rental company and kissed the Lotus goodbye. But the memory lives on thanks to Adam and his thoughtful plan to make one of my dreams come true! I love you, babe!

10 years and counting...

I have amazing friends - I mean, amazing. I'm not even sure you can call them friends because they're really more like family. You see, I had the unique privilege of spending my childhood with a group of girls that would not only be my field day partners, they'd also be bridesmaids in my wedding. We have literally be friends since kindergarden. 

We missed you, Jamie!

So, you can only image how excited we were that our 10 year high school reunion had finally arrived! Five of us thought, "how much work could it really be?" so we offered to plan the little bash...

 Bah! People...let's just quickly discuss RSVP party etiquette: 

1) When a RSVP is requested, that's. not. optional. 

2) Don't RSVP and then decide 20 minutes before the party that you aren't coming. 

3) And for goodness sake, don't tell the party hosts that "you might come." What's that about? Like, are you holding out incase something better comes along?!

Oh well! Maybe party planning isn't my forte but that didn't stop us from having a wonderful time. It was so great to connect with old and new friends and meet kiddos. I'm so thankful for this crew and the wonderful memories we've made over the years. Hopefully we'll have many, many more memories in the future!