Friends come to town!

We had our first house guests, Lindsey and Ashley, over the weekend...four whole days to be exact! I was so excited to play hostess and show them around the Mile High City. We packed so much into four days that I am still recuperating from all of the fun!
They got here mid-morning on Thursday, so once we made the long trek back into the city from the airport, it was time for lunch. We went to Vert Kitchen, which has amazingly fresh foods and a cute patio out back where you can enjoy the weather. Then I took them down to the S. Pearl St. shopping area where you can find little boutiques, quirky shops and local restaurants. We also stopped by Cherry Creek mall; I had been boasting about all the stores that were there...Wilmington pales in comparison. It was apparent that I had not been to Southpoint Mall (Durham) or Crabtree Valley Mall (Raleigh) in a long time, since the girls were familiar with many of the same stores. Oops! It was fun just to catch up and chat with these two! I miss all my girls! I wanted them to get a feel for what we love about our neighborhood so we walked to the S. Gaylord shopping area for Happy Hour, where of course we did more talking! We also enjoyed some local brews and tasty apps. We made it back to the house in time for dinner. Zack bought a small grill so we could have a real cookout...such a thoughtful husband! I knew we would be doing a lot of eating out especially with all the things we had planned, so I figured we could all use a meal in: grilled chicken, fried okra, sweet potato fries and a fresh arugula salad. Although I love our Le Creuset square grill pan, I forgot how good grilled chicken on actual grill tastes.

For Friday, I had planned for us to go to the Coors Brewery Tour, but first we went for a morning walk in  our local park, Washington Park. The girls couldn't get over how green everything was...one of the very first things I noticed too once everything started to bloom.

Wash Park

We made it to Golden in time to eat lunch with Zack at Woody's Wood-Fired Pizza before heading to Coors. Zack and I stumbled upon this place when we went to brewery tour, and couldn't stop thinking about their pizza. I have already probably told you about this place in a previous post, but it is seriously good eats! The crust is just amazing, and you drizzle honey on it when you have eaten everything but the crust. Don't knock it until you try it! Once our tummies were full, we headed off to the Coors Brewery. Even though I have done it before, it was so much fun with these two...all giggles! 

Woody's

Even though it started to drizzle a bit, we weren't going to let it get in the way of our time in Golden. There are so many cute little places on the main street so we stopped in a few of them before heading back to Denver. I wanted to show Lindsey and Ashley downtown so I made reservations at one of the restaurants Zack and I went to during Restaurant Week: Vesta Dipping Grill. It was even more amazing than I remember it being before! After dinner, we headed to one of the many rooftop bars that are located downtown. On our way there, Zack noticed that Pennywise, a band he listed to back since middle school, was playing. His eyes lit up like a little kid on Christmas. It was seriously too cute. He stayed there while us girls went on to the bar. Depsite the rain, we had a fun time! Old school music (think Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch), a hopping bar, and great friends! Zack met up with us after the Pennywise show where he had a blast and even brought me a t-shirt (so sweet).

All dressed up for a night out!

Saturday, we woke up to a dreary chilly day, but we were determined to get out and about. I took the girls to the REI store, which is the flagship store; it is enormous. It is typically busy, especially on a Saturday, but apparently it was also their anniversary sale which equals their busiest day of the year. Go figure! We didn't find any good deals though, and headed back to the mall. Since we had some time to kill before the Eric Church concert, and it was yucky outside, we saw "What to Expect When You Are Expecting"...a movie I knew I wasn't going to get Zack to go see! It was cute; your typical girl movie! 

Like I mentioned, Saturday night was the Eric Church concert at Red Rocks. Only Ashley and Lindsey had tickets, but Zack and I hoped to find some there. We underestimated the popularity of Mr. Church! There was not one ticket to be had out there! Well, we did come across ONE ticket but it was $150...and that was cheap compared to the tickets advertised that week on Craigslist. It was cold, but Ashley and Lindsey had a great time though!

View from our tailgating spot

The girls' view from their seats...love the city lights from Denver at the top.

Sunday's weather was a complete 180 from Saturday. We made our way downtown via the light rail for the Rockies game. You have to get there early for tickets in Rock Pile, which is the cheap seats area, but I swear the best view! We went to Falling Rock Tap House for lunch before the game; Lindsey's friend Kristen suggested it and what a great suggestion. The burger with green chiles and guacamole is a must! We had beautiful weather at the game. After the game, we met up with friends at a cool bar called 1 UP where you can play all sorts of games, like SkeeBall and large version of Jenga. So much fun! I have mentioned Steuben's before...our favorite food spot here, and the sister restaurant to Vesta Dipping Grill. We took Lindsey and Ashley to dinner there on Sunday night. I think the girls would agree about how good the food is! And we introduced them to the Moscow Mule. Another must!

view from the Rock Pile...if you sit high enough you can see the Rockies in the background.

Monday morning came too fast, and I wasn't ready for them to leave, but the time had come. I am so, so, so glad that they came out to see us, and I hope they had as much fun as I did!!! And thanks to Lindsey for all the great photos!!