What Now?

If you haven't read Ann Patchett's What now? I'd highly recommend it.  It's a super easy read, with some great perspective, and is based on her commencement address at Sarah Lawrence College - her alma mater.  As I wrote to my mother-in-law, Judy, who kindly gifted me the book when we were in CO over Labor Day, being one who always wants to do my best and wonders "what now?" quite a bit, this book is a good reminder that it's imperative to slow down, be thankful, live day by day, and listen and observe those around you.  Life is not made up of your biggest accomplishment, or your worst mistake, it's comprised of all the in betweens.  That lady who slowed you down on the Metro this morning could be the the same person who teaches you patience.  That guy on the 5th floor you find odd because he keeps to himself might be the one who helps you realize it's okay to be alone.  That child who screamed your entire cross country flight may be the reason you decide to volunteer at an assisted living community rather than a children's hospital.  What now is something we should embrace rather than question.  What now means we have so much ahead of us and equally as much to reflect on.  What now doesn't mean we've failed because we aren't where we thought we'd be, it means we have more time to make it happen.  What now means we are open to what the future holds and are excited to see where our journey takes us.  So, to all you What nows, stop analyzing What now and worry about what's next!

 - Step down from soap box, hop on United Airlines flight to Denver -

We spent Labor Day weekend with the CO O's (Colorado Oehmen's).  We deplaned Friday evening and were greeted with our all too familiar friends, dry air and low grade headache.  I swear, the minute I step off the plane my skin feels like I bathe with sand and my nose rids itself of all natural moisture.  Honestly, it's a great excuse to invest in some new skin products - preferably packed with humectant or emollient ingredients.  The CO O's live about an hour from Denver, so we collected our bags (yes, I checked a bag because we had some birthday treats for Dr. O, the grill master) and were on our way.  Thankfully, the parentals waited up for us and gave us a belated wedding gift:

In case you can't quite make it out, it is a wedding invitation framed along with a watercolor of the Chapel where we were married.  What makes this so special you ask?  1) It is beautiful, sentimental and something we'll cherish for years to come and 2) Mr. Cuddles' Dad, my father-in-law, painted the watercolor of the Chapel.  Go ahead, shed a tear, I certainly did.  I am not sure words could ever express how meaningful this gift was to Mr. Cuddles and I.  I'm also not sure words can express what a talented artist Dr. O is.  He showed me a few more paintings he's had framed recently, and let me just say, watch out Andy Warhol!  I told him we might be commissioning him to paint all kinds of landscapes and still life's for our vacant walls. 

Saturday, the DC O's and the CO O's headed to Ft. Fun (Mr. Cuddles name for Ft. Collins, home of the CSU Rams) where we strolled around old town, hit up the new Rams store (I bought my first vintage CSU t-shirt), lunched, and observed the Tour de Fat participants.  Tour de Fat, a 20,000 or so person bike parade, is basically an excuse to day drink, ride around on bikes (if you're still capable), and dress in ridiculous costumes.  I think my favorite were the shirtless Smurfs I saw chain smoking lung darts (Mr. Cuddles name for cigarettes), but we pretty much saw it all.  We were able to escape the mayhem and head back to Loveland for some college football.  I cat napped while Mr. Cuddles and Dr. O cheered on the Fighting Irish and then Judy introduced me to raspberry vodka and red grapefruit juice.  Sounds sick, tastes delish!  We sipped and gabbed a bit and then it was time for, you got it, Dr. O's grilled filet mignon, corn and asparagus.  Yum. 

Ft. Fun:

 

 

 

 

Sunday, it was on like donkey kong and Mr. Cuddles was up and attem and ready for the CSU/CU football game @ Sports Authority Field at Mile High (aka Denver).  We headed down early to tailgate with some Rams fans and boy was it a site for this SEC girl.  The SAE tailgate (Mr. Cuddles fraternity), where we posted up, was complete with your normal tailgate fare and, wait for it, a DJ!  I about died.  The DJ was spinning (is that even the right terminology?) all kinds of popular tunes, the bean bags were being tossed, and the crowd was...interesting.  We hooked up with more of Mr. Cuddles old friends in the suite - after I had to ditch my purse in a trunk and drop all my belongings in a clear Broncos tote due to new NFL stadium regulations - which was a great way to watch a bad game.  The suite was stocked with booze, appetizers and more tunes, so it was well worth the ticket price, which I later found out was a tad more than Mr. Cuddles chose to mention, but all for a good cause.

CSU/CU game:

An hour drive back and a few zzzzzz's later we awoke Monday morning to the sound of the Skaife clan.  They had driven up Sunday afternoon and spent the night so we could get some time with them.  After some Starbucks, a few "quick" stops, and a lot of procrastinating we were Red Feather Lake bound to picnic and celebrate Dr. O's birthday.  Being the grill master that he is, Mr. Cuddles and I brought him some more supplies - as if he doesn't have enough already - from our local BBQ joint, Rocklands.  I'm secretly hoping he saves at least one of the sauces for our next visit!  The weather was gorgeous, the bees were buzzing all over our Whole Foods supplies, and Eliot was playing in the tall grass with a potentially poisonous snake, so all in all it was a fun day trip.  Unfortunately, but also fortunately, we had a dinner in Denver that night so our time with the Skaife's was limited this trip.  We hope they know how much we miss them and can't wait until they are old enough, or Mom and Dad Skaife are prepared enough (ha), for them to visit us in DC! 

Red Feather Lake day trip:

Denver dinner with Laurie and George and Nick and Avery was so nice.  We missed all four of them at our wedding so it was great to catch up even though we see two of the four here in DC.  Is it really Tuesday already?  We got up, packed, and Mr. Cuddles and I headed to Coyote Ridge for a hike.  Beautiful Colorado scenery = $25.  Prairie dogs in their natural habitat along the trail = $50.  Colorado hot sun and zero shade = not priceless.  The minute we stepped on the path I could feel the heat beating through my vintage CSU t-shirt!  No pain, no gain, right?  When all was said and done I think we figured the hike was over 6.5 miles.  Hello glutes!  Next stop DEN.  Very uneventful rental car return, which is always good, but then we got to security.  Because the CO O's had given us such a nice gift, we wanted to keep it in our possession rather than ship it so we carefully packed it in our checked bag.  In doing so, Mr. Cuddles transferred a good bit of fly fishing gear to his carry-on, including some fancy-named knife.  Needless to say, we breeze through body scan 3000 only to hear "bag check!"  The strapping TSA lad saunters over, asks whose bag it is, Mr. Cuddles says "ours," and next I hear "do you have a knife of some sort in here?"  It's 4:30, our flight boards at 5:11, and we're not even on the tram to the terminal.  WTF.  Thankfully, the options were simple: go to the Post Office and mail it home or go check the bag...both of which require Mr. Cuddles to come back through security.  Obviously, we made it back safe and sound and our Aqua O's were super pumped to see me.  Mr. Cuddles thinks it's insane, but I swear they recognize my voice and know that I'm their mother and I keep them fed!

Coyote Ridge hike:

In closing, since it's Friday and I'm too lazy to make a bunch of recipe recommendations, I thought I'd share my favorite store bought appetizers.  These are super easy to call ahead, grab on your way home from work, or pick up on your way to the party!

Reduced Guilt Chunky Guacamole - perfect with TJ's white corn chips or an assorted veggie tray.

Safeway Select Caramelized Onion & Gorgonzola Pasty Puffs - if you don't have a Safeway nearby, I'm sure there are similar versions in the frozen section of your Harris Teeter, Kroger, Fresh Market, etc.

TJ's mini meatballs - serve in crock pot with a jar of grape jelly (I like Welch's) and a bottle of Heinz Chili Sauce.

Party platters - most grocery stores have party trays you can call ahead and pick up.

Chick-fil-A nugget tray - call ahead to pick up and serve with Polynesian and BBQ, or honey mustard, sauces.

TJ's Chicken Shu Mai - serve with their Gyoza dipping sauce.

Nancy's petite quiche - Costco has several frozen appetizer options as well as pre-made chicken salad, stuffed bell peppers, potato salad and more.  Nancy's also has good seafood crab cakes. 

California sun-dried tomato spread mixed with goat cheese - I personally like the Chavrie pyramids.  Serve with baguette, Melba toasts, lentil chips, or crackers.

The Perfect Bite Co. - tons of ready to serve products to make your life easier!

Whole Foods - so many prepared foods and mini desserts, and a great place to put together the perfect antipasto plate.  Around the holidays, they stock a killer almond encrusted goat cheese topped with fig spread.  It's a generous portion for Whole Foods and makes for a perfect party appetizer. 

Dean and Deluca - what can I say other than DElish.

Pillsbury Bread Bowl Bites - if you're not watching your carb intake.

TJ's Parmesan Pastry Pups - who doesn't love a gourmet pig in a blanket?

This is also a great list of store bought appetizers courtesy of Real Simple.

Cakes' Commentary
Unless you know your hostess has extras, BYO (bring your own) serving dish and utensils along with whatever appetizer or side you offer to contribute.  It's a nice way to help eliminate extra dish washing as well as put your staple on the dish you bring.  Nothing dresses up Parmesan pastry pups like a fun basket (we were given this sweetgrass style for a wedding present), with a great liner, and some fun toothpicks (we used these for late night food at our wedding) or decorative tongs.

Comments for Cakes? Please submit comments, feedback, questions, or things you'd like to see posted!