Rice A Roni - The San Francisco Treat

We do our best to take advantage of any time off of work, so a four day weekend presented a lot of options.  Matt found a killer last minute deal to San Francisco and the Memorial Day weekend was decided.  Great food, interesting neighborhoods, the ocean, shopping, and museums were some of the few things we took part in.  We had an absolute ball and are crossing our fingers for some added federal holidays.  

The crab chowder, in a bread bowl no less, at Fisherman's Wharf was incredible!
Matt "the birdman" showing off his wing span on the banks of Alcatraz
Alcatraz as approaching
God Bless America
A tall statement - we had to see if it was true
There's a submarine and battleship docked just off of Fisherman's Wharf.  On Memorial Day a ceremony was performed for soldiers who had been aboard those two ships (and others) during WWII. 

Also near the Wharf was a mechanical museum where they had a ton of turn of the century mechanical entertainment.  It was basically an old sort of nickelodeon where you could pay a quarter and have the magician predict your future, see a wooden barbershop quartet move their legs to the music, see what the belly dancer does on her day off, watch the piano play by itself... and more.  We LOVED it!  
We did our fair amount of shopping and here's Matt trying on his new shirt for size - lookin' good!

The cartoon museum was awesome!  Their exhibits totally varied from The art of Stan Sakai and his samarai bunny (which Matt collected as a kid), to the featured objects from the recent film, to newspaper cartoons over the course of the last century.  It was really great and a nice change of pace. 
So, San Francisco is cold - wished we could've seen the opera or the ballet (pictured behind me), but we were between seasons.
He's so sensitive and artistic
We walked ALL OVER the city exploring the different neighborhoods and really got a taste for the city.  Pictured are some colorful houses in the neighborhood made popular in the 60's -  Haight Ashbury.  
Matt showing off his cleansed palette. 
The palette cleansing culprit - a blackberry sorbet served at Cuba d'Asia
We ordered the tasting menu at fabulous Cuba d'Asia, so we tried a lot of different flavors and were very pleased (and full!)
Clearly food is a big part of travel for us.  We ate breakfast at Mel's one day - it was so so, but a good picture.  
A French cafe where we dined for brunch.  We were spoken to in French, and the menu was in French - it was legit. 
China town
Me making a Hindu pose in front of the China Town gates - appropriate... er.
Crossing the bridge on the 5th floor of SMOMA (San Francisco Museum of Modern Art).  We're both big fans of Modern and Contemporary art and loved exploring this museum. 
We all need one of these.  This is within the Clift hotel that Philippe Starck designed - it was really simple, all about textures and beautiful chairs, we loved it!!!

UFO's and Ticklish Babies

So we've slacked with the blogs. Like everyone, we're busy. Whatcha gonna do? We cruised down to Texas last week to visit Candice's brother and his wife, Jonny and Kaylene.

Clearly, this beautiful little family are the stars of Lubbock Texas. They were the perfect hosts. Each morning we were awakened by the succulent smells of healthy, homemade breakfasts that tasted amazing. We then worked our buns off doing a new workout program called P90x. It was a great workout you can do at home and judging by their svelte/muscular physiques, I'd say it works.

We got some Japanese take-out, consisting of some teppanyaki steak and lobster and a bunch of sushi. Good stuff.

Laila, was in full effect. Cutest thing ever. I liked it because I think she liked me better than Candice. This never happens, bless her little heart.

We even got to bathe her. One of the highlights for sure.

Like many things in life you think you're prepared for a certain moment until you get there and find you're totally blown away. The Enchanted Forest is just such an experience.

It's a game filled with wonder and gnomes. Not so much a game as much as it is a lifestyle. Like a near death experience I have a hard time explaining it's complexities and nuances. If you feel like something is lacking in your life, I'd like to personally invite you to step into the Forest.

Jonny, Kaylene and Laila it sucks we live so far apart. I'd like to cast my vote in for Colorado as possible move locations after you've exhausted the fine town of Lubbock. Much love.

We kinda went out of our way to experience Roswell, NM on the way home.

Bigger than I thought, this little town consists of a military base and alien themed everything. Don't believe me?
The alien tax preparation and loan place.





Alien themed Mickey D's





Alien light posts

We also visited the UFO museum and research center. It was here that the story of the Roswell incident was laid out for us in mind numbing detail. They had affidavits, time lines, original radio broadcasts and dioramas, yes, dioramas!

After having scoured and sorted the mountain of information presented I personally feel like there was indeed a government cover-up at Roswell. Without going into all the details, I think that the wreckage recovered was probably from a government top-secret balloon project intended to detect weapons fired at the U.S. from the USSR. With that said, there may have been an alien crash there. Many original witnesses went to their graves insisting they saw alien wreckage and bodies.

Interesting/dorky stuff I know, did I mention we have a DVR full of X-files? The museum was predictably filled with long hairs. In this picture, two long hairs appear to be posing as some sort of devil and angel on my shoulders. Coincidence? you decide.The scariest things we saw in Roswell were these denim shirts embroidered with alien images.

After seeing and reading all this interesting and insightful information, I know what you're thinking, "why are you wearing the same outfit the whole weekend?" I'll let you ponder that until next time.

We put the Gay in "Gay"la

It's been a busy couple of weeks, full of streamers, balloons, and festivities... well sort of.  We had our annual Denver Health Foundation gala a little over a week ago, and I've been working over time and then some to make sure it went off without a hitch.  I'm breathing again which is a good sign and only worked a couple of hours this past weekend, also a good sign.  I had Matt by my side during the whole event, Ginger and Doris volunteered as well and they were all life savers!! Yay to it being over and us raising a lot of money for a great need!

 It was a Latin theme this year, and the ballroom looked amazing!  The table cloths were multiple colors with different Carmen Miranda (sort of) centerpieces of peppers, fruit, birds of paradise, and palm leaves.  We had salsa dancers during the program, Tambarasas - mexican marching band during the silent auction/cocktail hour, a children's mariachi band, carnivale stilt walkers during the silent auction, and a salsa band Que Mando.  Lots of entertainment.

The Live auction went well, above are our five items being advertised. Below are two of 10 silent auction categories; Sports & Recreation, and Office, Home &  Garden.  Ginger Matt and I put together the two pictured display tables.  

El Destroyo

A picture's worth a thousand words.  Machine guns are cool.  Megadeath seemed like my only option.  Please forgive me.  Adieu.

  

We put the "butter" in Butterflies

For Relief Society (women's church group) I was put in charge of making the party cupcakes. So we (Matt & I) decided to have fun with it and spruce up your typical little frosted cake.  We have a tried & true chocolate cake recipe that we topped with green tinted cream cheese frosting and added some small green sprinkles for texture.  

The butterflies are made out of chocolate that we piped on with frosting bags - first the brown outline then the colored center.  We had to move quickly because it would harden fast.  Then we used toothpicks to blend them together and make patterns and swirls, finishing them off with some white sprinkles on the wing tips.  We made each wing separately then piped the chocolate body on last once they were assembled on the cup cakes.  
Showing off our wax paper that we outlined the butterflies on - definitely something that requires such a stoic expression.
Tired yet pleased.

Matt's B-day + Laguna Beach = Good times

When the day starts out with scones, clotted cream and jam - nothing can go wrong!  Such was March 3 - the day of Matty Lee's birth.  Gifts and food were plentiful, and that weekend we were off to Laguna Beach for more celebrating and Grant & Rachel's wedding.  

French 75 - fab restaurant in LB.  Unfortunately the week prior was 52.80 week in Denver and we were a bit overloaded on fine dining (is there such a thing?).

The ocean never ceases to amaze and inspire - wish we lived closer, but the mountains certainly hold their own!
Grant + Rachel's reception was at this gorgeous home with it's own private beach.  It was absolutely stunning and they're super happy together - CHEERS!

Gettin' my groove on (in a very white girl sort of way) and loving every  minute of it!
What's a beach reception without a bonfire and s'mores?  

Restaurants, Restraunt Week and Getting Fat

It's the time of year when a couple can binge at Denver's favorite eateries for the attractive price of $52.80. For most establishments $52.80 buys two people an appetizer, entree and dessert. Here is a list of places we went and what we thought of the experiences.

Lola-This high-end Mexican restaurant never disappoints.
We opted for the Roasted Corn Soup: crawfish tamalitos & salsa munoz, I then went with the Chimichurri Steak: sweet potato fries, long cooked spinach. Candice being the lover of fish that she is, went with Seared Red Snapper: butternut squash, cilantro-garlic sauce, crispy knob onions. The meal to this point was sublime. The dessert was a take it or leave it dish that sounded better than it tasted. of Dark Chocolate-Piloncillo Roll: whipped cream filling, roasted brown sugar pears.
Out of ten we'd give Lola 8.5-9.


Alto-The decor is sophisticated and the staff seemed courteous and prompt but that's where the complements end. We both started with the Old World Onion Soup - gruyere crouton gratin. It was similar to traditional french onion soup except the broth was less flavorful and there wasn't a large mound of melty cheese to accompany each sippy bite. I proceeded with a buffalo short rib which was again, under-seasoned and candice went with salmon which she thought was "pretty good". We finished with profiteroles which tasted similar to the ones your cheap boss gets for the office party from Costco.
Alto 6


Samba room-Latin nuevo served in luxurious Cuban-inspired decor. To amuse our bouches we went with the mini arepas and the short rib in a port wine demi glace. Both were flavorful and were wonderful latin interpretations. Our mains included Banana Leaf Wrapped Salmon with Mango-Shrimp Sauce, Yucca Mash & Asparagus and Churrasco Style Flank Steak with Cuban Black Beans, Saffron Rice, Red Onions, Avocado and Tomato Mojo. For finishers, guava empanadas and a rich tres leches were selected. All courses were magnificent.
Samba Room 8.5-9

Palace Arms-Located in the historic Brown Palace hotel this unique restaurant oozes ghostly grandeur from another era. I kept expecting to see the ghosts from Disneyland's haunted castle also enjoying the bargain that 52.80 week affords. A Caesar salad made tableside was a fun way to start the meal. Next up was All Natural Filet of Beef Rossini - Brioche, Swiss Chard, Foie Gras, Madeira Demi Glace. Candice enjoyed Great Lake White Fish - Pumpkin, Chestnut, Beurre Blanc. You'll notice a boring trend that my dear wife and I employ. We usually get the same proteins at fine dining restaurants. In my defense I thoroughly enjoy a nice bit of lobster or crab to accompany my beefy slab. Sad but true. We finished with a bread pudding bananas foster that knocked our socks off. It should be noted that Candalinicus received a fresh rose at the conclusion of our meal and the Matre 'D remembered our names as we exited. Classy joint to be sure. Overall, we felt like this was the best bargain for 52.80 week. Everything just felt like it was a bit of a step-up from other restaurants.
Palace Arms 10

Our fat has multiplied but so has our happiness. Praise be you 5280 week. Until next year. Adieu