Me Before You

Saturday after the wedding I well... everyone woke up feeling like we had been hit by a truck, I mean Mom and I were sick! It sucked! Ha! SO I called Massage Envy and surprised Mom with a facial and head massage and I got a massage that afternoon and she loved it! That little 1 hour of me time really made us feel like human beings again, which was good because I had plans that night! Let me tell you... I am so lucky. This group of gals planning around my trips home to see me... I mean I couldn't love anything more. My friend Crystal even drove in from Tulsa just for dinner and our movie! And that is something we all share... a love for books and books that become movies! So of course we had to see Me Before You!

We all met at our old stomping grounds the Moore Warren theater and had dinner in the balcony and then went to see the movie we have been waiting for! And let me tell ya that the entire theater didn't have a dry eye EXCEPT for me... I have a cold heart! lol, no really.. I mean I felt it but no tears. And no, the entire movie is not sad it is a beautiful love story. I mean the cast is perfection and I literally fell in love with both of them all over again. I literally could not have loved this movie anymore. 

 So gals, thank you for the perfect ending to my trip I don't think they really know how much it meant to me! And I was lucky enough to surprise everyone with leftovers from the wedding.... Cookies, Seed Packet Favors and Popcorn!
Here is the trailer..... GO SEE THIS MOVIE

Becky's in DA House Part 2

After we headed back to Denver from Estes Park we had 2 more days filled with fun! I was so excited to take them to Castle Rock and show them the house we are buying and the community there! They both LOVED it... they went on and on about how perfect it was and that was SO nice to hear. It was just nice to be able to share that with someone! The Becky's then wanted to go see our office and visit Matt and that meant the WORLD to Matt and I!  The fact that they really wanted to see and experience our life here in Denver speaks so loudly to the type of friends they are!

Tuesday night was kinda our "Girls Night Out" and of course we took the typical front porch pics.......

 Becky K and I have a thing for Bravo Top Chef so of course I had to take her to one of the former contestants on Top Chef Masters place here in Denver... Euclid Hall! Becky was showing us how regal she felt at dinner! And the meal? TOO Die for! I mean really!

 Check this out.... it was meant to be we found graffiti with their name on it and you can see the storm rolling into Denver in the background!

 Next up I took them to this place I discovered call Upstairs Circus and it was the COOLEST thing ever! I mean for real!

 This place is a "Craft Bar".... a full service bar and then you go to the Craft Bar and pick out a project to make! I made a leather tassel necklace, BB made a leather clutch and BK painted a picture for her office! We literally had the best time! I cannot wait to take all my guests here from now on!

 On the last morning I took them to the Historic Union Station for brunch at Snooze and we then headed over to the Molly Brown house and took a tour!

I think you can tell that when I dropped them off at the airport..... they were exhausted... a sign of a wonderful trip!!!!!! xoxox

Becky's in DA House Part 1

When I picked up my 2 girlfriends whom are YES both named Becky we hit the road and headed to Estes Park! The 3 of us share a love of books, history and hauntings and we got ALL 3 at The Stanley Hotel!

 We took the History/Haunted Tour of The Stanley and it was super fun although our Tour guide was a bit of a dud to say the least. This is the Music Hall which is suppose to be one of the most haunted buildings on the property!

 I loved seeing original pieces from the 1800s and being immersed into the history of the building. And we all know I love me a good paranormal show and ALL of them have filmed here, so being where my favorite paranormal shows were filmed was awesome!

 This is Room 217, the room that Steven King stayed in and the room that prompted him to write The Shining! SOO cool!

 This is a little memento left by Steven King when he filmed The Shining the Mini Series at The Stanley!

 This hotel really does frame Estes Park, it is on the hill overlooking the town below and it is just stunning!

 This is the view from the front porch of The Stanley and we literally could not have asked for better weather while we were ..... which is a good thing because the hotel has NO AC!

 Would I JUMP at the chance to stay the night again? NO! The bucket list is crossed off... I will be back to visit but I won't pay $300 to stay in an OLD room with NO AC again! One and Done!

 How cute are we? ha!

 I was the Becky's paparazzi so I had to do a little Selfie!!!!

 On the way home we took the longer drive thru the Roosevelt National Forest and stopped at one of my favorite places called The Church on the Rock also known as the Malo center.......

 I mean doesn't this just look like we were transported to someplace back in time? This place was equal parts creepy and breathtaking!

 The drive was so peaceful and I loved seeing the mountains, streams and random cabins like this one out in the middle of nowhere!

 On Monday we spent the morning taking in Estes Park and doing a little shopping!

I felt like not only did I give them a check on the Bucket list but I showed them some true Colorado sites! Stay tuned for another post on our Denver shenanigans!

One Last Road Trip

 Saturday I made my last day trip in Ohio and I could not have spent it with anyone better.....my friend Kylee! We took a day trip to Cincinnati and I had the most wonderful day, I truly did! She was such a good sport she agreed to letting the crazy in me come out for a little bit!! So we crossed the bridge and went to Kentucky.....

I told her the story and legends of Bobby Mackey's "The most haunted nightclub in America" on the ride in! Although I was never able to go inside and take a tour I just wanted to go visit one more time! I mean if your "into" paranormal at all then you know this place is one of the TOP places and for me to just be there was really neat!

 I love saying I have been to a place that all the Paranormal shows have been and filmed at as well as countless books and articles! Kylee was intrigued for sure!!

 We then had lunch at this amazing Mexican place in the heart of downtown Cincinnati.....Bakersfield OTR!

I literally ate so much I didn't even eat dinner that night! I LOVE that I have a foodie soulmate in Kylee!

 Next we went to a place I wanted to go to with Mom but we ran out of time....The National Underground Railroad Freedom Center! I was so glad that I went back to visit this place, it was amazing and worth the trip.

The first thing you see is the quilt exhibit and it was breath taking, this picture does not do it justice at all. Clearly this is not a quilt from the time of slavery but these quits told the story of slavery much like the slaves told their own stories thru quilts. You can't see it but to the Right is an entire wall of windows that over look the Ohio River and the Bridge to KY and it is stunning. We also learned that right there on that river and bridge slaves were brought in and sold on ships. 

 This building is an actual slave pen, a place slaves were held in shackles until they were sold. This is not a recreation this is THE actual slave pen and in fact this is the last slave pen known to still be around in the entire United States. The family donated it to this museum along with the original ledger of the Slave owner listing out the slaves worth.

 The benches, the bars, the wood, the beams.....are all original. The floor use to be dirt and so the museum put in this wood floor and the stones you see are the actual stones that made the hearth (stove) that the slaves cooked on. They were then turned into the walkway for museum guests to enter the pen. In fact just inside on the wall the slave pen owner has his name carved into the wood. It was hard to explain just how being in this building makes you feel. It was hard to wrap my head around that fact that the wood I was touching was touched by such sadness.

 This museum was stunning all the exhibits were incredible, the artifacts such as shackles from a boat that transferred slaves to the US were unreal to see in person. The museum is 3 floors and goes to a newer exhibit of Modern day Slavery around the world.... such as Sex Slaves, Indentured Servants and forced child labor.

 This is the original First Edition of 12 Years a Slave by Solomon Northup, I love books, I love history and to see this book in person was beyond incredible.

This museum is a must see if you are anywhere near Cincinnati! You can learn more about the Freedom Center HERE!

I have read many novels set in the time of slavery and for me to visit this place and be immersed into the real life of slavery was something I will always remember. In fact 2 characters from The Invention of Wings who were real life abolitionists were mentioned at the museum which was really neat. You can see my review of that book HERE!
To read my review of The House Girl another book set in slave times that I loved click HERE!

#friends

This weekend we had a real treat..my friend Crystal from Oklahoma and her husband came to visit!! They were on a road trip of sorts to visit family and we got to be one of their stops! I'll swear....we tried to show them so much of Columbus that I am exhausted! 1 day and 2 nights is quick!

Ohio State had a bi-week so we took them to the stadium to the the "horseshoe"......I tried to make Crystal and David do the OU at the Ohio State stadium but as you can see they felt stupid! HAHA

 YAY.....Someone is here to actually take a picture of Matt and I!! CHEESE!

 We took them to Jeni's Ice Cream of course.......we have to take all our guests to get one of "Oprah's Favorite Things" and I was so excited to find out their Holiday flavors were out! I had Eggnog and Pumpkin.....too die for!

 Crystal is a big reader like I am and in fact we were in book club together in Oklahoma (which I miss so much) Of course I had to take her to the Historic Book Loft in German Village, I knew she would love it. What bookie wouldn't want to go to a building that has 32 rooms of books and had been around since the founding of German Village? Here is a quick history of this place.....
One of the nation's largest independent book stores, The Book Loft of German Village, is located at 631 South Third Street in Columbus, Ohio, just a few blocks South of the state capitol building. The pre-Civil War era buildings that once were general stores, a saloon and a nickelodeon cinema, now are home to 32 rooms of Bargain Books
We got some new books that were signed.....SCORE!

 Before we went to see Thor on Saturday night I wanted Matt to take a picture of us and go figure....Oscar wanted in too!! He is so silly and all the animals were smitten with Crystal and David!

 It was so neat being able to share somethings I love with friends, sometimes you don't know how much you miss home until a piece of it comes here! I am so glad Crystal and David stopped by to visit us!!!!

A Walk down Twihard Lane.....

 I thought that on this "Twihard Eve" we would take a walk down memory lane!!!
In 2008 I had been married a year, was on my 2nd year of Junior Hospitality Club and I was a few months away from our Book Club forming in Feb 2009. In JH I met a girl named Natalie and we instantly bonded over books. We both had read the Twilight books and were excited that they were being made into movies! We were so cute and naive that we didn't even know this was going to be a "Thing"! We decided to go see Twilight together and this is so funny we showed up just like 20 minutes before only to be shocked at the pandemonium. I remember us walking in the theater and as we had to make our way to the very front realizing that this was going to be something really BIG! Fast forward to now, Natalie is still one of my closest friends and I am so thankful that a little book called Twilight started our friendship.

 New Moon
When New Moon came around our book club was formed and luckily we realized that we needed to plan ahead.  After pushing the Twilight books onto everyone in book club (they thought we were crazy at first) we started our tradition of seeing them together! I remember that this night we had a "pre-party" at Becky's house where we watched Twilight to get excited! Team Jacob!

 New Moon also started the tradition of Becky and I waiting outside (sometimes in the rain) to wait for Warren Balcony tickets to be released months before! Cheese..........

 Eclipse
The next year we all met early in the Warren Balcony to eat dinner before watching Eclipse and having dessert in the balcony! I look back with such fond memories of the anticipation of each of the movies! I love how when the trailers would come out we would text each other with excitement, I love how we planned our night weeks in advanced and I LOVE that I have a group of friends who never judged one another for being so giddy over a vampire movie!

 Breaking Dawn Part 1
One year ago this Sunday on the 18th we got together for Breaking Dawn Part 1. And of course since this was the movie that held the wedding we were SO stoked! Man this was so fun! Miss you girls.....

 Fast Forward to NOW! Breaking Dawn Part 2 comes out tomorrow and this will be the first one that I will be seeing on my own. Yes, Matt is going with me but it isn't the same. (Sorry babe) And oddly I didn't even buy my tickets until yesterday, without my girls I am just not as excited. I had planned to fly home but with my brothers wedding being the weekend after Thanksgiving there was no extra money laying around to do so! Yes, yes it is just a movie....I know!!!

You know, I loved looking back and thinking about the good times I had with this group of women over the last 4+ years! I think they know that I will be there with them in spirit! I am gonna leave you with the trailer...........Get excited!