Besties, Broncos and Breaking Dawn

I love weekends. I bet you’ve never heard anyone say that before. I especially love weekends that I get to get away with my love and go see one of my favorite people. My college roomie, Sara, lives in Boise with her boy-toy, which is thankfully only 3 hours away. It is our tradition to see all of the Twilight movies together, so we used Breaking Dawn: Part 2 as an excuse to plan a trip over there. We even made sure Boise State had a home game on the schedule so we could go party with the tailgaters cheer on the Broncos on the sweet blue turf.

We were greeted late Friday night with delicious tapas and even more delicious wine. I’m not very good at taking pictures because I’m usually having too much fun, but we probably looked something like this…


…but 5 years older. And just imagine my face full with stuffed mushrooms and homemade fries. And red teeth. The party poopers boys went to bed early while we stayed up too late chatting. I love bestie time.
The next day, which came way too soon by the way, was football day. Boise State pretty much sent Colorado State crying all the way home. It was 35 to 0 at one point. Needless to say, we left the rain and wind after the 3rd quarter to go find a cold beer at at bar since the campus is dry. Don’t they know they’d make way more money if they just let the drinkers drink?!


After having some drinks with some Pumpkin Spice vodka, and making a drink in a water bottle to smuggle in the theatre, we headed out to have dinner. We had our first course at a sushi place that included two rolls and sake bombs. Then we made our way to a Vietnamese restaurant for some Pho. Sidenote: I had no idea it is pronounced ‘fuh’. You’re welcome for that little lesson. It was quite delicious, and if you live in a big city, I highly recommend hitting up more than one restaurant in one night.




Then it was time for this.



And it was amazing. So amazing, that after a certain part in the movie, my dearest Sara yelled ‘mother-&!@#$%’ because we were so stressed out. And I laughed. It really was a great movie and all I have to say is being turned into a vampire did wonders for Ms. K-Stew. Oh, and I need my future daughter to look like Renesmee. Holy adorableness.

After the movie, we met up with the boys at one of the coolest bars I’ve been to in awhile. It’s called the Space Bar and it is full of sweet, old coin-operated arcade games. So, bring some quarters, buy a cold beer and play Pac-Man. Or Donkey Kong. Or Mortal Kombat. Or pinball. And then pick some music on the jukebox. It was quite the crowd and the clientele you would expect to see, but it was nice to see such a unique place doing so well. If only I could come up with a sweet idea like that…
So, long story short, I love weekends and need to be bitten by a vampire, stat. Hope your weekends were just as awesome! What’s the most unique place you have been recently??

 

Park City, UT {1st Anniversary Getaway}

For our first Anniversary trip, we wanted to have a little getaway, but not too far from home. Somewhere we’d never been, somewhere with mountains, and somewhere cheap(ish). Park City, being only 2.5 hours away, gorgeous, and in its off-season, was perfect. We rented a little condo for two nights and had a blast. A concert in Salt Lake, delicious meals, and a big kid’s dream, it was a perfect weekend. How about I show you in photos again…

…Except, the only time I had my camera out was on Sunday. Oops. I’ll just say the concert was fun. I made up my own song…

“Holy moly, teeny bopper, overload. Holy moly, we are, so, old.” Repeat.

Even though we were older than 3/4 of the crowd, it was a blast. Imagine Dragons is my new favorite band. Seriously, there were so awesome live. The rest of the line up included The Wombats, Group Love, The Used and Neon Trees. And there was beer. Beer + Live Music = Happy Prathers.

If you go to Park City, eat at The Eating Establishment. Mimosas and AMAZING eggs benedict. It doesn’t get much better than that. Okay. Sunday. Park City has what’s called the Alpine Coaster and Alpine Slide. It’s every little (and big) kids dream. I’ve always wanted to go for a ride (that’s what she said) on these babies. I figured they’d be silly, but holy moly, they were so. much. fun. Even Travis said he’d ride them again. Do it. Seriously. Oh, and I highly recommend Park City in the early fall. The leaves were changing but it was still 60 degrees, and the crowds are smaller. Perfection.

You control the speed on your sled thingies, and let me tell you, those things haul butt. One girl said she has seen someone go over the edge they were going so fast. So. Freaking. Fun. Technically we weren’t supposed to race, but Trav won. He had a head start though. Cheater.

Travis and I rode the coaster together. The kid said you go faster with two people, so really, we had to. You ride the coaster slowly up, and then haul down. You control the speed in this, too. I wanted to ride it again and again and again. Don’t even think about saying that’s what she said.

We stopped at the Tanger Outlets on our way out of town, which is in Park City, and left with nothing. Can you believe that?! If only I wasn’t such a cheap-skate. It’s worth a stop though. So. Many. Stores. And then we came home. But we like our house so it was okay. Plus, Riley missed us. I can’t wait to go back to Park City when the snow falls. It really is a beautiful, fun town. Now to go win the lottery so I can retire and buy a home there…

Dirty Weekend Adventures

Life is crazy. Two weekends ago, we made our way to Boise for a fun weekend with my BFF and old college roommate. It was a blast and went way too fast. Floating the river, cold beers, grilled turkey burgers, house shopping and a delicious brewery was all wrapped up in two days. I didn't take any photos but I did manage to snap one for instagram.

 

 Gorgeous, no? She's the one I have to thank for making me obsessed with wine and teaching me a little about cooking...and for keeping creepy boys away from me because they always were after her! Ha! I'm so thankful I met her in the dorms and I'm glad she's only 3 hours away!

This past weekend was finally the Dirty Dash in Missoula, MT! Holy fun, batman. If the Dirty Dash or any other fun mud run comes to an area near you, do it! Even if you haven't ran a day in your life! It was such a blast that I didn't want it to end. I'm waiting on some photos so look out for a full race recap in the next week or so. Until then, here are just a couple teaser photos:

 

This is before. Ignore my squinty eyes, but don't ignore my sweet pants.

 After. We were dirtier at one point, but a few of the obstacles kinda clean you off.

This was taken after the race. I'm dirtier than I look, I promise!

It was such a blast and it has made me a little more excited and a little less nervous for the Tough Mudder next month. I'm still terrified though. Being shocked while swimming?? An ice bath? 12 miles? Yikes.

I brought two of my girlfriends from Pokie with me and met my other BFF and her friend in Missoula. It was such a fun weekend. We decorated our shirts, drank wine, ate food, ran the race, got pretty, and went downtown. Missoula is a really fun college town with a neat downtown and a pretty awesome College Football team. Go Griz!

This is my other BFF, Elishah. We've been besties since the 4th grade and she's the sweetest person you'd ever know. She is a chef and made all the cupcakes and cake for my wedding! So yummy. It's been a few great weekends and I'm excited to be spending this one at home! Our dirt yard needs some TLC. I'll leave you with one more instagram photo (follow me @ jstjessontheloop, I'd love to follow back!)

This is our view while laying in bed every morning. I will never put blinds up! Have a great Thursday!

p.s. Next Monday is our First wedding anniversary! This has been the best year of my life and I plan on recapping our wedding adventures next week!

A Girl, a Boy, and a Convertible…

There once was a boy and girl who went on a lovely trip...

They had to get a rental car. The cheaper the better.Since the boy is a salesman, it's hard for him to say no to other salesmen.

The boy was convinced that they needed to upgrade.The weather forecast was looking awfully niceand Colorado has some beautiful scenery to take drives through.The girl looked at the boy and said 'Do what you want'. She would have said no.

Cheap-skate.So off the boy and girl went in their mid-life crisis convertible.The girl ended up being happy with husband's decision. This doesn't happen very often.She happened to love the wind blow through her hair and smell the fresh, Colorado, mountain air.They made bets that each of these houses had at least 3 convertibles.Yogi and Boo-Boo probably do, too.Pit stops were made at local bakeries.Yummy juice, and delicious dips. The boy knows how to keep his wife happy.The adventure ended back home with a songand an amazing sunset.

If you ever find yourself in Colorado, DO the Peak to Peak Highway drive, with or without a convertible. You won't be sorry. We didn't have time, but we would have loved to enter the Rocky Mountain National Park. Someday. 

Happy Thursday, everyone!

p.s. If anyone is looking for someone to swap buttons with, check my Swap page!

A Colorado Wedding

What a wonderful Labor Day weekend! The long weekends seem to always go by so fast! I hope everyone had a great one full of adventure, fun and shared with the ones most special to you! I know I sure did. It was also mostly drinking and eating. Yay for Colorado beers!! For this post, I’m going to let the pictures do most of the talking. You’ll be seeing photos from my Aunt’s rehearsal dinner and her wedding. The wedding was very simple and gorgeous, so mostly you’ll just be seeing my beautiful family with the beautiful background. Tomorrow I’ll be back with pictures from our drive on the ‘Peak to Peak Highway’ in our mid-life crisis car convertible rental car.

Uncle Scott. Worse than the kids.

Aunt Kory, Aunt Eileen (the bride), moi

The Bride's Mom aka my Grandma and hiking/travel buddy

Father of the Bride aka my Papa

Always getting picked on...

Delicious food from Whole Foods for the rehearsal. So yum.

The backdrop of the wedding ceremony in my Aunt's backyard. So pretty.

Had to show the bride's shoes!

The cake...after the two little ones shoved their fingers in the back. haha

Eileen and I following the ceremony. She needed a beer right away!

I did the wedding hair. First time ever. No practice. I think it turned out great! My Grandma made the hair piece.

The sunset was spectacular.

The happy bride and groom. I love this picture.

These are just the photos I was able to snap. The professional took more of the detail pictures which hopefully I will be able to share soon! The Bride had fresh flowers that we put together the afternoon of the wedding. It was so worth the savings and a lot of fun! It was a small wedding of mostly family and a few close friends. It was such a special weekend and I couldn't be more happy for Eileen and Brian. She is like a big sister to me! I hope you guys enjoyed the photos!