Sitges

On one of the days before our cruise, Dan and I took a day trip from Barcelona to Sitges. We had a slight incident at the start when we randomly took a train that we thought was heading to Sitges, but actually flew right past it. It wasn't our finest moment of the trip, but we figured it out fairly easily and it was the only time that we got lost for the remainder of our time there.

One of a million window shots I took along the way.

Sitges was awesome.

They have over a dozen public beaches to choose from.

They all run into each other and there is a really great overall atmosphere to the place.

Plus the beach pretty much had the softest sand of any place I have ever been. Seriously, I still think about that sand months later. Is that weird?

Since it was the first of many beaches we would go to on our vacation, I didn't really appreciate it as much as I should have. Who knew almost every other stop would have rocky "sand".

After beaching it we went up to the old church that overlooks the water.

And no, we didn't go in. Dan's motto for the trip... once you've seen one church you've seen them all.

I feel pretty certain that even though we went to Spain, Italy, Greece and Croatia which are pretty much church meccas we only went into one the entire trip.

We did catch the end of a wedding though.

We only spent half a day there, but would definitely go back and are so happy that we ventured outside of Barcelona when we had the chance.

Remember

When Melissa's eye got all red

and she walked around in sunglasses for the entire day?

 but then accidentally took them off in the subway?

yeah... me too.

I laughed so hard I cried

Did anyone end up buying this photo?

It makes me laugh.

Miss your face

 

I've edited about .05% of my photos from our trip. I plan to continually post randoms until I'm done.

I think these two might be related...

Tigers in Denver

Dan and I spent the weekend in Denver a few weeks ago, so that we could fully enjoy the Tigers series. It's the first time that they've played here since we moved 6 years ago so we were really excited.

See... Dan gives Tigers weekend two thumbs up.

We bought tickets to the Friday night game and I was able  to get free tickets to Saturday's game through work.

Dan thought the guy in red behind us in that photo looked exactly like Lou Holtz.

We got to see the Tigers up close and had a ton of fun even thought they lost both games that we attended. I blame the altitude adjustment. Hopefully they will come back again soon. :)

Getting excited!

So many good things are coming up including 3 glorious days off of work!!! I heart government holidays. Especially this one, because it's the official kickoff to Summer!

Besides that, Dan and I have plans to catch the Hangover 2 in the next day or so. We're also going to head up to Boulder on Sunday so that bright and early Monday morning we can run the Bolder Boulder!

It's pretty munch the biggest race that I've ever participated in and I've wanted to run it for the past 2 years. It's a 10K and over 50,000 people are signed up to run it this year! It's the biggest 10K in the US.

Besides being in one of our favorite Colorado towns, we'll know a bunch of people running it this year, so it should be a great time!

Even though my training since the Colfax half has gone a bit down hill over the past few weeks, I am still hoping that I can PR in this race. I never was able to write a post on my first 10K back in April, but I'll try to get to that before this race happens. I also have a 5K to write about, so I'm a bit behind.

Basically though, in order to PR I have to run this puppy in less than 57:46 (a 9:19 pace). Dan is also going to run it, so I'll keep you posted on how he does :) I'm sure well, because his training has pretty much consisted of yoga classes, swimming and an occasional light quarter mile jog with the dog!

On the agenda today: Work, 5K treadmill run, BodyPUMP, then perhaps a movie date!

Also: Happy Last Day of School Dan!! (I'm just slightly jealous, but when you're on your 8th summer of this, it gets a bit easier) :)

Do you have any plans for the upcoming holiday weekend?

Currently Loving...

the Mirra wedge from Banana Republic.

It looks like a perfect shoe to bring to Europe, but it's still full price right now, so I am trying to hold out until sale time. And if there is one thing I know about Banana, there's always an upcoming sale time! Now I just need to stay strong and be patient until it happens. Easier said than done :)

It Tastes Like Summer!

At the grocery store on monday I saw two things that mean summer to me and had to pick them up for that nights dinner.

Cherries and Corn on the Cob!!

Dan and I have found a new recipe for Buffalo Chicken Wing Sandwiches that we've pretty much had once a week for the past month so I thought I would share. It takes about 10 minutes to put the whole thing together and it's really yummy, so that makes it a winner in my book.

I found the recipe in one of the past few month's Real Simple magazines and have modified it slightly so that it's a little less caloric.

Here's what you'll need:

• 1 Rotisserie Chicken, shredded (if you can get one from Costco, then you'll probably have enough for leftovers)
• 1/2 Cup of Hot Sauce (we use Wingman's Buffalo Style Medium Sauce)
• 1-2 tablespoons butter (I tend to use less butter)
• 1/4 Cup Blue Cheese Crumbles
• Bread/Bun of your choice

And here's how to make it:

First heat the butter in a skillet and then add the chicken and mix it up. Then drop in the hot sauce and mix it again. Once the chicken is warmed through you're done! Just place it on your bread, which tastes even better toasted and add blue cheese.

This dish is normally awesome, but with cherries and corn on the cob off to the side, it was a perfect start to summer meal!

Ode to 2010

Thought I would do one more 2010 recap in photos to capture the year in one post (last 2010 post, I promise). It was really a fun year all together and seeing all of these photos in one place, reminds me that I should really blog more throughout the year to capture all of these events.

Summer Fun!

July was a really busy month for us. We had two weddings to attend and spent a few weeks in Michigan with family and friends. It was so much fun being back in the mitten. We are really lucky to have such a great network of people out there to hang out with. Since we drove out there, Charlie was able to tag along with us on all of our adventures. I'm pretty sure he had a better vacation then we did. Here he is at Dan's parents' lake house loving life by the water:

We had a great time too and can't wait to go back next year :)

30!

Meet Dan...

...he just happens to be my boyfriend of 6+ years and my best friend. This past week we celebrated his 30th birthday... well actually, we drove from Michigan to Colorado that day, so it was not much of a celebration, but I'm making it up to him this weekend because we are staying at The Broadmoor!

There's nothing we love more than hanging out by the pool and staying at nice hotels. It is the best!
If you need to find us over the next few days we'll probably be here:

Happy 30th D!

Meet My Peony Plant...

Do you notice anything wrong with this picture? For the life of me I can't get flowers to bloom out of this. It is now the third summer since I've planted this puppy and I was really thinking that this was going to be the year... no luck! Am I doing something wrong?

On the other hand my Columbines have never looked better and my Delphinium plant in the backyard is going to bloom this year for the first time in three summers too! Still working on a million projects here at the house. I'll post some updates tomorrow.

Under Construction

We've got a lot of projects underway here at 315. I'll be posting some before and afters in the next few days, but I'm pretty excited about how great things are looking over here.

Good Morning!

Books of the Moment

Back in March I posted about my book of the moment at that time. Well since then, I've continued to read the entire three book series.

It was really good and I'm pretty sad that there will not be any more books coming out in the near future. If you're looking for summer reading recommendations, this is mine. They are fast paced reads that will keep you on your toes. Over the summer when there is so much going on and a lot to do, I love to pick books that I don't want to put down. These three fit the mold. I thoroughly enjoyed them all and think you will too :)

Hi Melis!

Found this photo going through pics from our ADK trip this summer. I think you should come visit me soon so we can have more moments like this :)

Did I mention that I love gardening?

Look how pretty!

Summer Reading

One of my favorite parts of summer is finding the time to sit down with a good book. This year my 'to read' list is pretty ambitious due the fact that I'm not really taking any true vacations. I plan to post updates on my progress throughout the summer and do some small reviews in case anyone is interested. But first, an overview of my selections:

Animal Farm, by George Orwell: I got this at a library book sale in my old town in Michigan for about $1 last year. I haven't read a lot of George Orwell and know I should. It was a toss up between this and Fahrenheit 451, which I bought at the same sale. I've heard less about this book through the years, so felt like I should give it a go.

The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency, by Alexander McCall Smith: I've always been a fan of series and have heard good things from a few different people about this one. Plus it's kind of a mystery, and I wanted to diversify my genre selections this summer.

Trading Up, by Candace Bushnell: I started reading this book on a flight I took last year and never finished. I'm probably about 1/3 of the way through, so I figured I might as well put it to bed.

Bel Canto, by Ann Patchett: I've probably started reading this book 4 times already. I think the first time I tried to read it was in 2005. It's never been that I haven't enjoyed it, I just seem to get distracted with other things the minute I'm 100 pages in. I figure I either need to finish reading it now or never.

Freedom: The Story of My Second Life, by Malika Oufkir: This is a follow up to the book Stolen Lives: Twenty Years In A Desert Jail (if you haven't read this book yet, add it to your to-read list), which I read in 2002 and was just fascinated with. Malika Oufkir lived an extraordinary early life and I'm excited to see how her life continued after the last book ended.

The Reader, by Bernhard Schlink: I really want to see this movie, but am waiting until after I've finished the book so that I have something to compare it to.

Empire Falls, by Richard Russo: Dan picked this book up recently, and seeing it in my family room the other day reminded me that I had wanted to read it at one time. So, on the list it went!

Chasing Harry Winston, by Lauren Weisberger: Chick lit at it's finest. I just finished this book on Thursday, review to come in the next few weeks :)

Dead Until Dark, by Charlaine Harris: Another one I've finished already. This is the first book in the True Blood series. I picked it up because I heard such good things about the HBO show and enjoyed reading the Twilight books earlier this year. Review to come.

The Fiery Cross, by Diana Gabaldon: The 5th book in the Outlander series, which I've been reading since 2000. It's actually my Mom's and she'd like it back, so I am going to try to finish it by the beginning of August when I'll be going home to see her.

When You Are Engulfed In Flames, by David Sedaris: This is a collection of short stories that Dan and I have actually be reading to each other over the past few months. It's the first time we've both read Sedaris and he seems to be an author that we both like.

The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini: This is my current read. I've heard wonderful things about this book and actually received the sequel already as a gift, so I'm excited to read this one.

One book is missing from the stack above because I've already read it and lent it out. The Story of Edgar Sawtelle, by David Wroblewski. This was my first book of the summer and will probably be my first review on the site. So stay tuned...

What's on your reading list this summer? Does your reading list look as lengthy as this or am I just overly ambitious?