Oh, Denver. It had been too long since our last acquaintance and my weekend trip was, once again, too short. Here are the highlights folks. ‘Til next time Colorado!
flying + great outdoors + wedding + best friend + art + greasy pizza + tattered cover books + food adventures + red rocks + local stuff + rei flagship + brewskis + airplane sunset
I took a little day trip to Springfield, MO after hearing about some good eats & vintage shopping in town. The place that caught my eye most for a lunchtime bite was the Aviary. Fellow bloggers had posted pictures and raving reviews about this quicky little creperie in town. I knew before I even got there that I would love it, and guess what – I totally did/do! The Aviary was a cozy spot on the corner of two streets with large windows that let in the perfect afternoon light and allow you to people watch while you eat… if that’s your thing. It’s my thing. There are nooks with love notes and varying other fun things to keep your eyes busy while you sit. Even the bathroom was so adorable! I still regret not going back to take a picture with my iPhone.
For lunch I ordered a savory crepe from the menu, the farm fresh chicken and veggie, with a side of the most amazing blue cheese smashed potatoes. Seriously. I could order just the potatoes for a meal. Yummm. I was tempted by the sweet crepes for dessert, but I was too perfectly full after my meal that I didn’t want to ruin it. You know? I highly recommend this place if you’re in the Springfield area, enjoy crepes, and like dining outside of the cookie cutter norm.
Journey could be credited for some of my best memories in college. Drunk karaoke on the dance floor. Staying up late with brothers at Relay for Life. Pumping through studying with lots of coffee. Let’s be honest. I love me some Journey, and I love me some Pat (that woman can STILL kill it).
The show was great. What made it amazing was thinking about all of these great college memories with my college bros who attended with me. We had a blast, and I couldn’t have loved the night more. (Unfortunately, this was the second outdoor concert in a row that it rained for!). We had cheap seats, but were able to jam out to all of our favorites.
This was a somewhat spur of the moment and unexpected accomplishment. When I moved to Kansas City, I acquired lots of hand-me-down pieces of furniture to fill my apartment. Don’t worry, I didn’t have anything pawned off on me that I didn’t want.
My family moved when I was eleven and items that did not “go” with our new home were put into my great-aunt’s basement temporarily. Thirteen years later, I raided her basement and rediscovered this old rocking chair my parents used to have. It was in tough shape after not being refinished in decades (literally) and spending lots of time in a dark, unfinished basement. I knew this would be my project. My man had been on and on about being able to take a rocker onto my back porch to smoke cigars and drink scotch. Guess this was fate.
I managed to transport the rocker and it’s offensive fabric covering (check out those rust/blood stains? woah) to my new place. After stripping it down and having it sit “naked” in my apartment for a few weeks, I finally got off my butt and went to the burbs for fabric. Decorating my apartment is something I am constantly working on. I realize it won’t happen overnight, but coming up with inspiration was helpful in determining a direction. My color palette includes light and dark grey (slightly warm), dirty yellow/golds, bright greens, and teal. Try to think slightly 60s/70s vibe with a modern twist and bold patterns. I set out thinking I would recover the chair in a pattern appropriate to this scheme (stripes, stripes, stripes). Unfortunately, not all patterns that were idealized in my mind 
came to fruition in the store. I felt somewhat down after my first trip and didn’t know how to approach the chair. With a night’s sleep and some brainstorming, I went back to Jo Ann’s still thinking I’d walk away with a pattern. Wrong.
Grey denim. This was the rational – I love denim. Grey is part of my color palette. I can easily change up my decor in the future without having to reupholster my chair. The denim is on sale. Okay… that last one wasn’t really that important! Well, you can see the result and frankly, I’m in love! This chair is beautiful and will wear with time in a unique way. Time to test it out on the porch…
In the heat of summer, Buzz Under the Stars hosted a concert by the river front. I ditched work early to make it down there on time. The weather forecast was mixed and the humidity made me sweaty, unhappy, and thirsty. Fortunately, the music was good.
Alabama Shakes performed first. I was somewhat surprised by their opening, as I was more stoked to see them than most of the line up. Their set was great to dance to with some fun beats. Overall it was really laid back and the crowd was pleasant. Near the end of this set, the skies started to look all doom and gloom. Since I hadn’t eaten and didn’t particularly care about the Silversun Pickups playing, I went to wait in line for the ATM to snag some snacks while waiting for the show to go on. The one complaint (minus the weather) I had about this show was the lack of ATMs. Apparently no one working this had ever planned an event before or they would have put more ATMs on the site…….. and filled them completely before the evening.
Midway through the longest line of my life, it started to sprinkle… then get windy… then sprinkle more. Needless to say I hightailed it out of the park when the concert venue announced they were postponing the show until weather cleared. The park is close to the river market, but honestly a lot farther to walk when facing mini-tornado conditions. There was a crazy amount of wind picking up sand, blowing it in my eyes, and it started to pour when I was almost to shelter. I sprinted the rest of the way to Minsky’s – my safe haven – for pizza and beer. It worked out well, as the show didn’t resume for over an hour and a half later.
I braved the cool weather and mist to watch Garbage perform. After all, they’ve put out some good tunes over time (and who doesn’t love an accent!). Unfortunately a fight broke out at the front of the crown midway through their set and threw off the whole evening. I can’t exactly say what happened due to being halfway back, but it interrupted the song and threw off the rest of their set. Fun was up next and since it was much later than anticipated due to delays, I skipped their performance and opted to go home and curl up in bed where it was dry. I’d already seen Fun perform at Middle of the Map and wasn’t all that impressed, so all worked out in my favor.
I knew purchasing a computer would be both a fun and painful part of my list… but in all reality, it needed to happen. It was a blast picking out what I wanted in a new machine. My little apple laptop has been great, although five years of college didn’t leave it in the best condition. I wanted a machine with more power, memory, and something that could edit my photographs, plus double as my tv for watching movies (sorry folks, I don’t do cable). Let’s just say that this bad boy has to be down for a lot! I’m a busy girl and I need my computer to keep up with me.
I picked out this refurbished 27″ iMac from the apple refurb store. Most of the computers on there have never been used, but were custom order returns or had slight damages to their boxes (thus rejected by consumers). I would definitely recommend ordering from this part of the site if you see something that fits your needs since you can get an upgraded machine at a discounted price! My first big girl paycheck rolled in while Missouri celebrated tax free weekend … fate. I ordered my iMac that Friday (saving over $100 in taxes!) and had it delivered to my local apple store (no s&h fees). How smooth is that? It made forking out almost $1,700 just a little easier.
While I still have a million things to update on it and transfer over on my laptop, I’m enjoying the transition. I did get my Europe photos up and am loving the way they look. This screen does wonders for pictures! I can’t wait to start editing and posting the bits and pieces…
So, I know this doesn’t exactly count as literary, but I might have to fudge this piece of my list a little in a year when it’s wrapping up. After all, this beautiful quote did come from a document – it just happens to be from the state of Minnesota instead of a book.
I lost all photos of the before/during/after process except for the above (thanks instagram!) due to my iPhone’s unfortunate reset. I had a great experience at Mercy Seat tattoo in Kansas City, MO with the support of my lovely friend Chelsy. We had a great day in the city and went out for brews/lunch in Westport after I was inked.
I’m
happy to be adding more to my body and have a little birthday tattoo planned for this fall. It’s not literary, but what’s more important is to focus on collecting relevant, beautiful pieces that I’m happy with and ready for. If the literary piece doesn’t come in the next year… you know what? That’s okay. I’m going to be getting tattoos long beyond that…
*EDIT: I realized while getting ready today that layered into my many, many meanings behind this tattoo, there actually is a literary base! My mother used to read the classics to me as a child. Pride and Prejudice, to this day, still makes me think of home. This font is derived from Jane Austen’s handwriting, the very author of that book… Literary indeed.
Sorry for the edits – just keeping in mind personal privacy! I wrote this for a gal at work in a card project we did for her pregnancy leave.
I love me some free music. Let’s just throw that out there.
Luckily, Kansas City is pretty good about providing entertainment to those poor recent grads (like me)… unfortunately, the beer at these shin digs is outrageous! Young the Giant was playing downtown at P&L during my first week back from Europe. I went with a few friends to check it out and, despite the heat, had a fun time. Apache Relay opened the show and I’m glad they did. Hailing from Nashville, these guys put on a good set – enough so that I looked them up after the show and enjoy their tunes. They might be hitting my iTunes account sometime soon…
Young the Giant put on a good set as well. While they’re not in my top bands, by any means, they were still energetic and the crowd was responsive. Honestly, having those two things and good company is all you need to put on a decent show.
101 Things in 1001 Days 