My 28th Birthday

I began my 28th birthday by running the Galloping Goose 10K around the beautiful Quincy Reservoir. It was a great start to a wonderful weekend. After the race, Adam and I drove up to The Ritz Carlton’s Bachelor Gulch Resort in Beaver Creek. After enjoying the soothing grotto, we ventured out to the hot tub to sit in the rain. Saturday evening we treated ourselves to some delicious champagne and an awesome dinner at Spago.

On sunday, my friend Kathy threw one of the most thoughtful birthday parties ever. She made a ridiculous array of amazing appetizers and treated me like a queen! It was very special. All weekend I was reminded of how fortunate I am to be surrounded by such lovely people.

My personalized ice cream cake from Adam

Vegas with Adam and Stef (kind of)

Last October, Stef recruited me to help her with a beautiful wedding in Vegas. It was actually the largest even the Wynn hosted to date  (besides Steve Wynn’s birthday party). She was a bridesmaid at the wedding so she was (thankfully) forced to enjoy herself (for at least part of the weekend). Stef and her friend Amy did all the hard work ahead of time and brought me on for the weekend as a runner. For those of you not familiar with this position, it’s basically the gopher that runs around like a crazy person doing whatever he/she is told. I find it surprisingly fun, although that may be because I only do it a few times a year. In any case, Adam decided to make a little vacation out of it and enjoy the sun and the pool while I worked my tooshie off. We were able to enjoy a great brunch with Stef and her parents on Sunday morning and O by Cirque du Soleil on Sunday night.

The view from our room at The Wynn

Adam’s checking out his new camera with pics of Vegas

The Bellagio

The only picture of me from the weekend. I am sooo exhausted after working until 4am the night before (Oh, and did I mention Adam and I thought it would be a good idea to dance until 3am on Friday night before my 19 hour day on Saturday??)

Glod Family Trip to France

Last fall (September 2010), Adam’s parents treated us to an amazing family trip in France. We spent about 10 days exploring Paris and the south of France – drinking lots of wine, eating amazing food and touring beautiful places. Follow the photos below to enjoy our wonderful journey.

Saturday in France: Notre Dame and Montmartre

Arrival at our boutique hotel in the Latin Quarter

Adam, already enjoying the walkable city

Notre Dame

This awesome chain candy store all over france

An adorable cafe in Marmount

ahhh – so french

Sunday: Versailles with Adam

weird modern sculpture things ruining the beauty

what are they thinking??

The Eiffel – Lisa was right, its soo much better at night

Our beautiful walk from the Eiffel back to our hotel

The Latin Quarter at night

Monday: Travel to Avignon

waiting for our monday morning train to Avignon – the locals may have led us a bit astray when they said just show up and pic ur tickets.

needless to say we arrived and somehow fit everything into one car

In Avignon, we stayed at the most charming bed and breakfast. The streets here are crazy – one way, all brick, crazy little things, and this was tucked away, unnoticeable by anyone passing by. I wish I had more photos to share.

The town is also breathtaking. I could take pictures of the architecture all day.

Everyone needs ice cream – especially at a quaint little place like this in the South of France.

Adam being a bit of a goof in the Avignon parking garage.

Tuesday: Beautiful wine country in the South of France

Chateauneuf du Pape to be exact

Orange – Beautiful amphitheater - Ashleigh and I went shopping instead

Gigondas – great wine – beautiful town!

Wednesday: Gordes and Roussillon

Thursday: Le Beaux & Aix-en-Provence

Friday thru Sunday: NICE!

Sunday night: Back in Paris

ONE AMAZING TRIP!!!!!!

Adam Turns 30

For Adam’s 3oth birthday (August 13, 2010) we headed to San Diego. While Adam had been there a few times, it was my first visit. We decided to stay on Coronado Island where we could be super close the the beautiful beaches. We arrived on Thursday night, enjoyed a casual dinner on the island and got a good night’s rest.

On Friday we rented bikes and road to the zoo, one of Adam’s favorite places ever. We spent 5 hours there (my attention span was definitely waning) before riding home and getting ready for dinner. We enjoyed a wonderful, seafood-filled dinner at Peohe’s before heading downtown for a night of dancing. We danced, and danced, and danced. It was the perfect way to celebrate such a special occasion.

Saturday, we awoke feeling a little groggy. It was time to go to the beach. We spent the whole day enjoying the ocean and getting a little too much sun. We realized that evening that we’d turned into tomatoes. Needless to say, after enjoying a few beers and food at the local brewery, it was time to sleep off our sunburn. Plus – we were staying at the world famous Hotel Del – so who wouldn’t want to spend as much time there as possible!

On Sunday it was time to go. After a relaxing brunch, we headed to the airport. Despite our serious sunburn, we couldn’t help but realize how much we needed and enjoyed the weekend away with just the two of us.

Happy Birthday to the most amazing hubby in the whole world.

We’ve Moved…Twice

So, back in July, Adam and I sold our wonderful house on Umatilla. Wanting a little more flexibility and freedom, we decided house-owernship wasn’t the right move for us (no pun intended). Luckily, we bought in an amazing neighborhood and were able to sell with little effort.

However, two days before the closing we did run into a bit of an issue – the electricity stopped working! I (always cool and collected…well not always..) wasn’t too worried about it as these things happen all the time, right? Adam knew this wasn’t good. We called Xcel who came out and informed us that it was’nt an issue with the electricity in the house (phew!) and that it wasn’t a problem with the electricity to the condo complex (phew!). Except, that meant that the line running between the main condo box and our house was split (eek). That meant that somewhere along the 30 feet of wire, about 15 feet underground, was a broken line. Adam, being somewhat of a miracle worker, was able to find all the right people, in one day, to come out and fix the issue – literally moments before we handed over the keys. Check out the pics below for the debacle. Good times!

After selling the house, we moved into a beautiful loft apartment one block away. Being in a money-saving mode, we offered to let the landlord keep it on the market while we lived there for a discounted rent. The place hadn’t sold in one year, so we figured what the heck. Little did we know, we’d stage the place and it would sell in two months. In fact, the weekend of our housewarming party, we found out we needed to move.

So, here we are, two blocks away from that apartment, in our new home (well at least for the next 12 months). And…its not just us. After our successful sale, Bri and Howie decided to sell their place. Well there were other reasons too, but I’ll let her get into those on her blog. Needless to say – their house SOLD IN 24 HOURS, and they were homeless. Luckily, we have a very big living room and they get to live in half of it. Yes, they are living in our living room. We are very happy to share our place with them though as they find the home of their dreams.

Locating the wire

Greta trying to help

It was very deep!

The damage (now fixed for many years to come)

Steffie Turns 30

On June 26, one of my most amazing friends ever, Stefanie, turned 30. We celebrated with a girls weekend in LA. Thursday night I was fortunate enough to have Stef all to myself. We kept it casual and just relaxed at her place. Friday the girls started arriving and we headed over to her boyfriend Adam’s super great hotel, The London West Hollywood. After a very enjoyable pool day, we went to a traditional Italian Restaurant called Dan Tanas. It was delicious!

Saturday we spent another great day laying by the pool, appreciating the fact that with age comes the opportunity to travel and spend time with great friends. Saturday night, Adam (unexpectedly) treated us to another amazing dinner at a Mexican restaurant in Hollywood. We then stopped by the Chateau Marmont for a few cocktails before jumping in to bed for some much needed girl talk.

Sunday was spent saying goodbye (and laying at the pool for a few more hours). After an early sushi dinner, Stef and I fell asleep, anxiously awaiting our night at the Ojai Spa and Resort.

We woke early on Monday to take one of Stef’s crazy fitness classes and after our usual Starbucks routine, headed to Ojai. Our arrival was breathtaking. The resort is absolutely stunning. We spent the rest laying by the pool (yes…again) and enjoyed a lovely meal at one of the many restaurants on site.

It was sooo sad to say goodbye on Tuesday. I just didn’t want it to end. Maybe one day we can all move to the Ojai Spa and Resort and spend the rest of our lives being pampered.

Happy Birthday Steffie!!! I am so happy I was able to spend such a wonderful weekend celebrating with you.

Court, me and Stef arriving at the pool

Yummy Italian at Dan Tana’s

The very sweet Bella

Torry, Stef & Liz

Enjoying the roof-top pool

The beautiful couple

Me, Liz and Stef at the birthday dinner

Court and Torry

The Chateau Marmont

Our room at the Ojai

Our walk to the pool

Stef smelling the flowers

Post dinner

Me at one of about a million pools at the Ojai Spa and Resort

The beautiful gardens – the entire grounds looked like this

Stefanie and Siamese twin…her computer

Celebrating Diana’s 60th in Moab

Over Memorial Day weekend, Adam and I met his parents in Moab for Diana’s 60th birthday. We drove out during sunset and enjoyed every minute of the ride. The changing scenery between Denver and Utah is consistently breathtaking.

We arrived late Friday night and enjoyed a casual meal at a local restaurant. Saturday morning we arrived at Arches National Park and began our exploration of the beautiful, sandstone arches. Diana, Adam and I enjoyed a very adventurous 5-mile hike, while Chet took dozens of pictures with his fancy new camera. Post hike, we lunched at the Moab Brewery and took a short nap at the pool. That evening we drove back to the park to view the arches during sunset.

Sunday was Diana’s birthday. She and Adam hiked The Fiery Furnace, while I stayed back to wrap up a few projects for work. Early afternoon we headed to Canyonlands National Park. The view over the plains and of the mountain ranges was stunning. After several hours, we headed back to Moab to get ready for a very special birthday dinner at the Dessert Cafe.

As always, Adam’s parents were excellent company. Adam and I feel so fortunate for the chance to spend time with them, especially on Diana’s 60th.

Happy Birthday, Diana!

Near the entrance of the park

One of the first arches

Balancing Rock

Super cool formations

The beginning of our hike

Pretty pink flowers

Diana and I at Landscape Arch

Diana and Adam at one of several overlooks

We climbed this stuff!

Our destination – look closely to see Adam standing in the arch

A gorgeous view

The arches at sunset

Another beautiful view

Me & pups

More sunset pics

Hottie

The in-laws

Sunset pics

Diana and me

The Fiery Furnace

More awesome furnace pics

Canyonlands

The Canyon

Classic

An arch-like structure – notice the view through the formation

Don’t fall!

Me & pups

The Glods

Father & Son

Beautiful yellow flowers

Chet & Diana (on her 60th birthday – amazing!)

Check out that view

The texture was unreal

Blue blue skies

More texture

More pics of us

Little white flowers

The Dessert Cafe

An amazing meal

The very happy couple

Soooo cute. Happy 60th Diana!