Aspen

Nick recently took a hut trip outside Aspen, and I had driven through it on my way to Telluride, but we really had never spent any time there so it was an obvious choice when we were trying to decide where to spend the long Memorial Day weekend.

Nick set us up at The Viceroy in Snowmass Village.  This hotel was unbelievable.  The hotel had just reopened for the summer season (they close for a month in between peak season & summer) so when we arrived it was pretty dead, so we received VIP treatment and a room in one of the penthouses! 

Nick made me a deal before we left.  He would treat me to the spa @ the St. Regis if I left him golf.  OKAY!  Unfortunately for Nick, Aspen was dealing with a high wind advisory all weekend and after talking to the golf course they pretty much told him conditions were so bad it wasn't worth his time/money.  So, he joined me at the spa!  He got a massage, I got a facial, we were able to soak in these awesome hot pools, Nick did the polar plunge, and we even got hooked up to some oxygen machines - all while drinking champagne.  Talk about being pampered!

We had lunch on the patio @ Il Mulino before the spa - glass of champagne #1!

Nick brushing off his shoulders @ the St. Regis

I stole this picture from the web because the pools were so cool here and obviously I wasn't snapping pics from inside the locker rooms at the spa! 

 Nick still relaxing after the spa...

Afterwards we freshened up and had dinner at Matsuhisa.

YUM!

Sunday morning we woke up to hike up to the Maroon Bells.

These pictures can't even come close to how beautiful they are.  (Plus some are cell phone shots)

 

The weather/wind ended up getting us again.  Our 'hike' was shortened because the wind was so intense it ended up being really chilly up there - and Nick and I completely failed to come prepared with the proper attire.... oh well, gave us an excuse to grab the gondola at the base of The Little Nell.  There was a wedding going on when we got up (something I've always dreamed of!) and I was able to sneak some pics.  It's so beautiful - I couldn't imagine any better views.  

So pretty!

 

 

15 minutes down... 

 

Nick pointed out that we got the same gondola (#97) on the way up and the way down - crazy!  

 

Afterwards we went back to the Viceroy to relax by the fire in the hot tubs with some wine & Christian Gray (That's the 50 Shades of Gray trilogy for those of you who haven't had the pleasure of reading it yet!).

We ended the weekend by hanging in the hotel lounge enjoying a long dinner & some really great conversation.  We hit the road on Monday to come home to Moe & get our bikes ready for Zach's birthday bike crawl.  We took a quick test run by riding to Lala's for a drink and reminisced on the amazing weekend.

26 years of Kellie-poo!

Happy 26th birthday to my cousin, Kellie-poo! (the Shaw's tend to attach 'poo' to the end of our names:  ex: Kyle-poo, Darrell-poo, Katie-poo, Stephie-poo, etc....).  So, I thought the most appropriate way to celebrate Kellie's birthday was through a glimpse of some of my favorite Kellie moments (that were acceptable to put on the internet).  For those of you who don't know Kellie she has an incredible way of lighting up the room, she's witty, beautiful, and a lover of all things Michael Bolton & boxed wine.  

MY FAV KELLIE-POO MEMORIES

This moment will probably live with me and all my college friends in infamy.  Kellie came to visit me back at Iowa and after a fun night out we all came back to Kellie convincing everyone that it was all about 'Shaw'.... now, the exact reasoning why it was all about 'Shaw' is still a bit fuzzy but bottom line is she talked all of us into tattooing 'Shaw' all over ourselves with a Sharpie.  (I'm sure alcohol had nothing to do with this).  Shaw on the arms, Shaw on the abs, Shaw on the face.  Like I said, I'm trying to keep the pictures I put up family-friendly so this is the most PG pic I've got from that night.  Really funny night.  

PS - sweet seashell necklace Brian.

Next up, Kellie's 21st birthday.  We surprised her with a Chicago train bar-crawl where we hopped on the Metra and at each stop we got off and went to a bar to celebrate.  For some reason @ this time in May we were not only dealing with some pretty major heat, but a serious amount of mid-western humidity.  At one of our stops, Kellie decided to hit the bathroom, after putting toilet paper down on the toilet to cover the seat (I know, TMI, but follow me here...) she came back to the table where (note her short shorts in the pic below) she had toilet paper stuck to the back of her legs - and she had no idea.  SO SO SO funny!  I definitely have a picture of the toilet paper on her booty, but for the sake of not COMPLETELY embarrassing you Kel, I'll leave it at this :)

Kellie and I were honored to be co-MOH's at my sister's wedding.  So, following tradition @ the reception we both had to go up there and give our speeches to Kate & Joe.  I go first, had some sappy-sap long speech about how Joe completes Kate, tears, love, memories, love, tears, etc... Kellie follows with what?  A little something she summed up by reading words from a Michael Bolton song.  Yes, she wished them a lifetime of 'Time, Love & Tenderness'.

(As a side note, it was so perfectly Kellie and I honestly couldn't think of a better speech for Kellie to give to Kate & Joe - but point is, she never fails to crack me up) :)

Two years ago our family (Shaw's & Tabar's) went on a trip to Lake Powell, on a 75-foot house boat.  (We coined this trip 'Shawll Taboard!'' -- aren't we creative?!)  It was typical that everyday at some point in the afternoon a storm would roll through, you'd get some quick rain & wind and then it would be over, sun came back out and we went on with our business.  One of the days, things got uglier than normal.  The wind was blowing at such an intense rate the boat was rocking so hard, the 4 anchors that held the boat docked ripped out of the ground, it started raining, then hailing and it looked like we were about to lose control of the boat.  The guys were running around trying to re-bury the anchors, cover everything on deck - I'm telling you it was REALLY dramatic at the time, movie-quality drama... and as this is all going on.... where is Kellie?   Hanging out on the island drinking her boxed wine.  This pic gets me everytime, here's all the guys after the storm (see how quick the sun came  back out?!) and then there's Kellie, slapping the bladder.  Gotta love it! 

 

I don't write blog posts this long about just anyone.  (But she's pretty funny so it's easy)  It's also not everyday that you can call one of your cousins your really good friend.  I'm happy you're a part of my life & looking forward to more memories in your 26th year!! 

England, Mexico & Kentucky

While my girls were in Vegas celebrating Kelsey's birthday, the fact that I was left behind at home didn't stop me from a good weekend.  Saturday we started the day at 3 Lions to watch the Liverpool v. Chelsea game - our friend Phil who's from Liverpool was in England watching the game so this was our way of supporting him across the pond.  Following the game we put our sombreros on and went to Las Margarita's to celebrate Cinqo De Mayo with some cervezas and guac, then we headed to Wash Park to enjoy the day with all the Derby kids, had some dinner at Parkburger and ended at our very favorite, classy hangout, Candlelight.  Here's some pics I snapped from the day! 

Phonebooth @ 3 Lions

 

Breakfast beer!

Las Margaritas

 Candlelight

 

 

Nick's hair.... kills me :)

Happy Birthday, Kelsey!

Happy quatro de mayo & a very happy birthday Kels!

Good Life

I know, majorly slacking on the posts.  I promise you my disappearance has been well spent.  Katie Benyo + roommate - I apologize if you have experienced withdrawals - come on, I'm not that exciting! :) But I do have some pics to sum up where I've been!

 My twinkie (a.k.a. my Mom) came out to visit me in early April for a girls weekend.  I did my usual song and dance where I wine, dine and shop her to death in an attempt to prove that there is more to Colorado than tree huggers and stoners.  We did what we do best = drink, gossip, drink, spa, shop, gossip, eat, drink, shop, spa, drink, eat, shop, shop, drink....  you know, we're fairly predictable and I must add - a heck-ova good time!

Dinner @ Deluxe

Drinks @ Beatrice & Woodsley

Lunch @ Cherry Creek Grill

 

We enjoyed a spa day @ the St. Julien in Boulder.  If you haven't been to the St. Julien - go, it's absolutely gorgeous.  Above's a view out the back.  We followed up our treatments with shopping and brunch at Centro in Boulder.  Since we just had facials and had no make up on we decided instead of showing people our naked faces we'd take pictures of our dessert, pumpkin spice doughnuts...heaven.

We went on a shopping trip to Costco with the MINI (which in itself was comedic, Costco with a MINI Cooper?) but came home to unload all the goodies and after I closed the trunk Nick's bike that was hanging on the ceiling fell on top of my car and dented the trunk!  Who hangs their bike above a new car??  :(

Seriously, if it was possible to marry a car, I would marry this one.  I'm so sad and I will get you fixed soon so we can go on this!!

After Mom's visit, I spent the next week in NJ/NY for work.  We were at our offices in Princeton & Manhattan.  Ended the work week at a NY staple, McSorleys. They only serve light beer or dark beer here.  No wine.  No vodka.  No Bud Light.  If you want an appetizer, your choice is cheddar, saltines and onions - OR starve - take your pick.  If you like the sounds of this coupled with sitting on peanuts, go here.  Here I am drinking dark beers with Renee & Robyn.  

- - - - - - - - -

I was leaving NYC that Friday to hurry home and meet up with Cole & Josh who were in Denver to celebrate her birthday and, of course, I miss my flight (and I promise McSoreleys had nothing to do with it!).  Luckily for me, I was able to grab the next flight out and made it back in time to hear their BIG news....

Cole & Josh are having a little bambino(a)!!!!!

I am SO excited for them.  They're both going to be amazing parents and I'm so excited to be along for the journey (and buy them baby clothes)! 

 The rest of the weekend Nick and I spent with AJ, Ashley, Zach, Court & Kels at Cheeseman Park Saturday then Wash Park Sunday.  It was an absolutely beautiful weekend in Colorado.

A not-so-rough view from AJ & Ash's condo while BBQ'n after a day in the park.  My man Nick is responsible for this great pic.

The next weekend we were off to Chicago to celebrate my main girl, Lindsey & Brian's wedding.  I left a lot the picture taking to Amy and her professional camera so hopefully we'll have some more to come but these are the moments I did manage to capture.

We had mani/pedi's and relaxed before the rehersal dinner.  Here's Jenny, Lindsey & I.

Look'n sharp Nick!

Jacqueline & Kelly getting their hair & makeup at our suite in the Hotel Palomar on the BIG DAY!!!

Lindsey's hair...beautiful!

My hair... not so beautiful.  My hair clearly requires major poofing.

Lindsey & her mom dancing to Whitney.  RIP.

Jamie & Jenny

Her beautiful bouquet & our flowers arrived!

The dress.

Here's where I lose it....she is gorgeous.  I don't have pics to show it yet, but her veil was the icing on the cake.  So so so pretty, I can't get over it.

On our way to the cathedral.  My last shot with her as a single lady.  I love you!!!

Jenny & Becki, LOVE these two.

The wedding was absolutely perfect.  Lindsey was stunning.  And as Lindsey's dad said in his speech, Brian, 'what took you so long'?!?  :)  I am so thankful to have these two in my life.  They are incredible friends and I am so thankful to have shared in their day. 

And this is what we came home to.  It's a penguin trapped in a cat's body.  Like I said, it's a good life.