Aspen II

As promised, I wanted to share a few more of my Aspen pictures with you. I'm slowly starting to come down off my Colorado cloud, but every time a friend posts an album of the weekend to Facebook I'm taken right back up.

Above is a shot of me having a staring contest with Sunkist's adorable lab Trooper. Really it was me trying to take a self-portrait of us, but she wouldn't take her eyes off of me. Quite the cute result, I'd say. Below you'll find her brother Henry resting his little chin on the porch railing gazing off into the Basalt hillside. I've spent the past few weekends with friends and their dogs and I know you shalt not covet your neighbor's pets, but I can't help it. Many women of or around my age start to get the baby bug. Forget the baby bug. Babies still make me squirm with unease. I do, however, have a serious case of the puppy bug. My days of being a young, hot dog-owner are slowly fading. I think I may have to do something about this sooner rather than later.

I begged Sunkist to take NavyHawaii and me to the Riverside Grill in Basalt before I headed to Aspen. It's my favorite bar in the area. It reminds me of the Big Sur River Inn as you sit on a deck overlooking (practically in) the rushing Fryingpan River below. We only grabbed a few beers but it was enough for me to leave happy and glowing I'd paid a visit to my spot.

From one favorite spot to the next. We had a lot of scheduled activities during the wedding weekend, including a 9-11 tribute run the morning after the bachelor/bachelorette parties and a pre-wedding swim practice, but luckily our afternoons were free. And for one of these afternoons, hitting Little Annies was a must. I dragged a few lucky souls with me to experience the goodness of Little Annies and they were not disappointed. Not only is the inside charming and cozy -- rife with warm woods and red and white-checkered tablecloths-- but they serve the best comfort food I've ever tasted. Below is DCDude's curry chicken salad sandwich.

"So I take it the bread is just for show and I'm not supposed to actually pick it up and eat it like a sandwich."

"I think that sounds about right."

"Are you taking a photo of this for your blog?"


The rehearsal dinner was at the Hotel Jerome - the 100th time I'd been there and second time for a rehearsal dinner. The Jerome has a great bar I used to frequent when I lived in the Aspen area. It was always popular for its anti-sports-bar-sports-bar vibe and delicious burgers.

Warrior's family just killed it Friday night. Totally killed it. The party was Western-themed and everyone was encouraged to dress up. Below you'll see my outfit warming up and ready to get its groove on. The best part about this costume was my mom actually bought me the bright red shirt a long time ago (and Dad shipped it to Aspen from home in Conn.), thinking I'd wear it on a normal non-Western-themed day. Hmm...

"Where did you get that shirt?!"

"Umm, besides it literally being a shirt off Anne Hathaway's back in 'Brokeback Mountain,' my mom bought it for me years ago. Thought I could use it since I wear white button-up shirts..."

"Shut up. Ahahaahaaaa!"

At least now I don't have to stress about my Halloween costume.

We were in the back banquet room of the Jerome. It was truly incredible what they did with the place. They fully transformed it into an old saloon straight off the set of a John Wayne movie. I later learned they wanted to have an ice skating rink in the middle of the cocktail room (where we jumped around taking pictures before the sit-down dinner), but Warrior's parents thought that was a tad excessive.

Instead we had a pianist and two lovely ladies who would bust out into show tunes (I died when I heard them singing "Oklahoma!") in between walking around with trays of whiskey shots and jumping up on the bar to dance. What a show. I had hoped to get on the bar with them at some point in the night, but after drinking my weight in whiskey I thought it best not to barhop under the influence.


Below is the corner where the beloved popcorn wagon used to reside. RIP popcorn wagon. It was the home of many a wonderful drunk night's end in Aspen (and the sight of where my married friends CalGal and Spirit met). I was saddened and surprised to learn it was no longer functioning as a late night snack place.

I ventured up Ajax one afternoon. I was trying to find the Ute Trail and with the help of signs pointing in every which way, I got miserably lost (and a rather cumbersome bloody nose in the middle of the hike sans tissues). I was wiping my nose with leaves like a freaking pilgrim. I probably should have just gone over to Smuggler.


Below is the beautiful mountaintop altar where Warrior wed his woman T. We were incredibly lucky with the weather. It didn't rain a drop during the ceremony, but it started pouring during the reception. We were stuck for a while once the party ended because they wouldn't operate the gondola in the rain and lightning. I wouldn't have minded getting stranded on the mountain for the night. I met someone and I have an idea he would have kept me warm and dry in the rain. It also would have made for a gosh darn fun sleepover and some good stories (and maybe a few missed flights -- oh wait that happened anyway) the next morning.

Wishing I was still stuck on that mountain...

God I love weddings.