31 July 2013

Tuna


If you haven't noticed, I have am slightly obsessed with animals. And dogs may just top the list. A few weeks ago, I found out about this guy -- Tuna. He's a chiweenie ... (wait, please tell me that alone is not awesome!) Anyhow, he's a chiweenie with an aggressive overbite. Back when we had our greyhound, I remember going to the kennel and seeing another greyhound with an overbite and being completely smitten. Brian doesn't share my love for canines with an overbite, so someone else was lucky enough to adopt him. Anyhow, I really look forward to my daily dose of Tuna on Instragram (@tunameltsmyheart) and since today is his birthday, I thought I'd share him with you too. Enjoy. (Photos courtesy of tunameltsmyheart).

30 July 2013

Park City :: Day 5

parkcity-day5-1
parkcity-day5-2
parkcity-day5-4
parkcity-day5-5
parkcity-day5-6
parkcity-day5-7
parkcity-day5-8
parkcity-day5-9
parkcity-day5-10
parkcity-day5-11
parkcity-day5-12
parkcity-day5-13

The day has come for us to leave beautiful Park City. Fortunately, we had a full day before we had to travel home, and got to make the most of it. We drove over to the Olympic Park, where we got to see some young kids learning to ski jump, and some aerial skiers practicing their jumps into a pool. Afterwards, we drove back into Park City and rode the Town Lift. We were going to get off and walk around a bit, but despite the fact that there wasn’t anything there, thunderstorms around us and a dark cloud that loomed above us the entire way made us think otherwise. Fortunately, we stayed dry. (I really can’t imagine many worse places to be during a thunderstorm than on a chair lift.) Since it was lunch time, we walked over to Uptown Fare for lunch, then over to High West Distillery for a little whiskey and dessert (a cinnamon coated Krispy Kreme with whiskey ice cream and caramel – ridiculous). As we were driving to the airport, we received an email from the airline letting us know our flight had been delayed, so we made a little detour into Salt Lake City. Since we had a few minutes, we walked around Temple Square, which is absolutely massive. And then, sadly, it was time to leave. We had such a great time. Thanks Utah!

28 July 2013

Park City :: Day 4

parkcity-day4-2
parkcity-day4-3
parkcity-day4-1
parkcity-day4-4
parkcity-day4-5
parkcity-day4-6
parkcity-day4-7

You guys, we love this place. It is so breathtaking. This morning, Brian met up with Claire and another SRAMie for a huge climb ride. I knew that would not be for me, so I went out on my own for a ride. I wasn't sure it would be a smart move, but picked a trail that a lot of people ride, and went for it. I was pretty proud of myself. The plan was to meet up with the others on the trail, but I ended up riding the whole thing alone. I had a pretty big climb myself, some of which I walked up. Once I started heading down, I figured it would be best to just turn around so I wouldn't embarrass myself with the powerhouses. It was a good call. Coming down was much easier than the other day, and I went a lot faster than I thought I would. I ended up meeting the crew near our hotel, and ended up just calling it a day. A very fun day. It was awesome. Later in the afternoon, we met up with the others downtown at Park Silly before Claire had to leave for home. In the evening, Brian and I went to The Farm at The Canyons for a delicious dinner, then drove around for some mountaintop views. Really, we absolutely love this place.

Park City :: Day 3

parkcity-day3-1-0713
parkcity-day3-2-0713
parkcity-day3-3-0713

We checked out of the Silver Baron Lodge, and really had nowhere to go until we could check into our other hotel -- The Chateaux -- later in the afternoon, so drove around a bit. We ended up checking out The Canyons, then somehow ended up at the outlet mall! Now, if you know me at all, shopping is not my thing and usually the absolute last thing I want to do on vacation. But Brian and I really are in desperate need of some new things, and ended up scoring today. We checked into our hotel, then had a late lunch at Stein Erikson Lodge. Later in the evening, we met up with Claire and a couple representatives from SRAM at High West Distillery. Brian and I were still completely full, so enjoyed an Old Fashioned. Before meeting up at No Name, Brian and I grabbed some sushi rolls at Yuki Arashi. Another fun day in Park City! I really like this place.

27 July 2013

Park City :: Day 2b

parkcity-day2-7-0713
parkcity-day2-10-0713
parkcity-day2-9-0713
parkcity-day2-8-0713

In the evening, it was time for the reason we are here -- the Park City pART PROJECT. It was the gallery stroll tonight, and the opening at the Kimball Art Center. The room was consistently packed with with people and a total of four pieces have sold already, which is fantatic. The show is going on for a month, with an online auction early in August. There are some really amazing pieces. It's always so exciting to see these events come to fruition. Claire joined us from World Bicycle Relief -- and besides being a great spokesperson for the organization, she was a fun and interesting person to meet and get to spend the evening with. After the opening, Hilary from the art center had a massive party at her house. Which was one of the most stunning places I've ever set foot in, by the way. It was such a perfect night to get to hang out with some of the people I've been working with virtually for months, and meet some of the artists who made the event happen. It was a gorgeous evening.

Park City :: Day 2a

parkcity-day2-1-0713
parkcity-day2-2-0713
parkcity-day2-3-0713
parkcity-day2-4-0713
parkcity-day2-5-0713
parkcity-day2-6-0713

Since the SRAM guys were across the way at Ride Camp, we were fortunate enough to borrow some of their awesome mountain bikes for the day and hit the lifts in Deer Valley for a beautiful ride. It's been a few years since I've been on a mountain bike, and I relearned some things about myself today. 1) I don't really like to go fast down hills (or in this case, mountains) on a bike. 2) I have an incredible ability to freak myself out. 3) Switchbacks are not my friend. 4) I'm really not very good on a mountain bike. But here's the thing! I want to be good on a mountain bike and I love the idea of mountain biking. It seriously was such a blast and such a beautiful ride. I have to admit, I started out wondering if I'd ever get down the mountain. But when I saw civilization again, I got a little bummed out it was coming to and end. I'd do it again, for sure. We were starving, so after rising off my dusty legs, we went to the only place available available for lunch -- the restaurant at St. Regis. After a ride with the funicular up to the hotel, we enjoyed a well-deserved pineapple mojito (and ginger martini for Brian) enjoying the views.

26 July 2013

Park City :: Day 1

parkcity1-0713
parkcity2-0713
parkcity3-0713
parkcity4-0713
parkcity5-0713

Brian and I are currently in Park City, Utah. Friday night is the opening for the pART PROJECT at the Kimball Art Center. This is the second pART PROJECT I've gotten to work on, and I just feel so lucky to play a role in it. Unlike New York, the Park City pART PROJECT is happening due to the passion of one of the board members, Hilary. She's handled most everything, including curation, artist relations, etc. Brian and I had a 6:00 am flight, so arrived in Park City nice and early. Fortunately, our room was ready early and omg, you should see it. It's a amazing one-bedroom apartment at the Silver Baron Lodge. Let's just put it this way, we are very comfortable here. After dropping off our stuff, we headed back into town and strolled the streets before having lunch at the High West Distillery & Saloon. That Charcuterie & Cheese Board was amazing! Bison pastrami, yum. After meeting Hilary at the art center to check out set up, we visited the SRAM tent at dealer camp, which was going on right outside our hotel room and where Brian knew a number of people. Later, in the evening, we met up with Hilary and her family, and Mark Castator who was the winner of the NYC pART PROJECT, and who has another piece in this show, at Vinto for dinner. It was a really great day.

21 July 2013

A Visit with the Frigs

frigvisit1-0713
frigvisit2-0713
frigvisit3-0713

Our good friends The Frigs just got back from their extended European vacation. They have been enjoying some well-deserved time off before their busy lives start up again and were able to come up for the weekend for a little visit. We absolutely could not wait to see them. On Saturday, Chris & Brian intended on doing an open water swim. But with water temperatures at 49 degrees, they wisely backed out so we just ended up hanging out near the beach. That evening, Maria & Robbie came over for dinner too, which was really nice. Sunday morning, Chris & Brian hopped on their bikes and rode to Racine to watch the Half Ironman. We relaxed at home with the kids, then went to the playground for some sand cakes, before meeting up with the boys for lunch at the Yardarm. Luckily, we already have another date on the calendar to see each other soon. It's been way too long -- we definitely need to make it happen more often.

More Babies

babycardinals-0713

Yesterday, H discovered we have another nest. This time, it's cardinals! Between the turkey (that is still wondering around our yard by the way), the robins, and now this, we feel like we have a little sanctuary going on. Interesting fact: we noticed the male cardinal was around the nest a lot so I did a little research. "The male cares for and feeds each brood as the female incubates the next clutch of eggs." And, "Pairs mate for life, and they stay together year-round." Isn't that crazy? Anyhow, they are so ugly they are cute. And man, are they loud!

Update:  07.22.13. Here they are a couple days later. Is it just me, or do these things grow like crazy? They are still so cute though, aren't they?

 morecardinal-0713

19 July 2013

Looking Happy


The camp that H&C went to posted some pretty great photos of their week there. Yep, it's safe to say they had a great time.