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Thursday, March 8, 2012

Down Time

It's still hard for me to believe but, as of last Friday, I'm officially finished with work. I actually still feel like I'm on vacation and will be going back. It's a very surreal time, to say the least. I'm not sure why it feels like such a big deal that I've quit my job but man, it really does and it's taking some getting used to! 

I had an extremely busy last week of work and I was trying hard to focus on the fact that I'd be rounding it out by heading back to Denver. I hadn't had time to focus on my trip so it really wasn't until I was finally boarding the plane that I was able to relax and concentrate on having a few days away. I realized as I got toward the end of the week that I was feeling very very overwhelmed and in need of down time in a big way. So, I happily shifted my thoughts toward seeing Bryan and having a wonderful weekend back in Colorado.


The trip certainly started off fantastic with the sweetest surprise. He had a gift for me when we got in the car at the airport because he thought I might be sad still about my last day at work (he was right). He'd hand-carved me this awesome linoleum block with my name on it and a little garlic bulb and herb. You buy particular paint that you roll on and then stamp it onto cardstock to make notecards! It was such a thoughtful, very "me" gift. I love it:
From the airport, we headed to The Cheeky Monk for dinner. Such a cute place with an amazing beer list!

Saturday, he cooked me breakfast and we sat and talked over coffee for a couple of hours. After, we went into town and walked all over the place all day, it was great! A huge highlight was that he took me to this balsamic and oil shop that was SO freaking awesome. It's called EVOO Marketplace which is a tasting shop and they have the most amazing infused balsamics and oils in these cool stainless steel barrels called 'fustis'. I wanted to buy out the shop: 
We'd also gone into this super cute little bookstore called Tattered Cover and had lunch at Illegal Pete'sWe walked around some more to an area called Larimer Square which is so cute with shops and so on. We had sushi at Go Fish with friends for dinner and rounded out a fantastic day!

Sunday, we got up super early to go to Wildflower Cafe, which was awesome as usual, and then we drove for a bit and came back to sit outside for a while. It was so amazing out! Denver weather is incredible. The sun is warm, the air is crisp and there's often not a cloud in the sky. We decided it was very necessary to go for a motorcycle ride...my first in years...and I loved it!!! I think I need to hang up the road bike and take up a new hobby: 
We rode around for a bit and then came home to hang out before getting stuff for dinner. I cooked curried lentils with sweet potatoes and swiss chard and we drank some lovely cabernet. We also got some ciabatta and different cheeses to try which were so good. My kind of evening, that's for sure.

Sadly, Bryan had to work on Monday but I still had a terrific day. I spent the whole day outside until he got off work and it was fantastic. It was nearly 70 degrees so I read outside at Starbucks for quite a while. When I wrapped up there, I navigated the light rail (so easy!) downtown and walked all around aimlessly. I got some frozen yogurt with apples and strawberries and read again until I met Bryan. He had to drop off some work equipment across the street from a good friend's bar so we went in for a coupla beers and then we had delicious Mexican that is exactly what you can't find here in NYC.

It really was just the kind of weekend I needed before coming back to the city in anticipation of school orientation. I had a lovely mixture of relaxation and fun so I definitely felt like I cleared my head a bit. Bryan comes back to the city the first weekend of April so I'm already so very excited for that visit, as well. 

Now, it's time to focus on starting school! I feel really great about it and finally have more excitement than nerves, yay! Just a few more days...

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