Sheesh, what a WEEK.
Family with health issues. A dog that licked a dead porcupine (really). Stress surrounding work and future kiddos. Trying to shake that last bit of head cold. When it rains, it pours, right? I was in need of a reset button, so I filled this weekend with intentional happiness. It worked!
First, I had to get out of the house. So I took myself out to at delicious lunch on Saturday. I sat under a giant ficus tree, sipped my coffee and munched on roasted beets and grilled salmon. (Project Reduce Gluten has been successful so far!) There’s something wonderful about dining alone in a bustling restaurant. People-watching is awesome.
After lunch, I indulged myself with one of my new favorite pastimes: wandering around vintage shops. I dropped into Now & Again and was greeted by two wagging little beasts (on a fab couch).
These kinds of shops are like museums to me- trinkets of eras gone by, each with a story- a past. Who owned these things? What was our world like then? I find it very easy to get lost in the nostalgia. I also find it very easy to bring some of that nostalgia home with me.
My treasure hunt continued at Emilie Jayne. You’ll recall that the last time I stopped in, I came home with old/new things to love. I particularly adore my cookie jar!
Even though it was just a few weeks since my last visit, it was like a new store- filled with a whole different batch of things.
I did have things in particular I was looking for, but I didn’t find them. Not surprisingly, I toted some fabulous things home with me anyway. How amazing are the old snowshoes? And the Aretha LP? Not a scratch.
My new juice carafe was begging for homemade lemonade, so I pulled out the juicer, made some rosemary-honey simple syrup, and filled her right up! Everyone knows my juicer makes me happy.
Instead of going out to dinner, John and I opted for date night IN and tackled a new culinary adventure together: Beer Can Chicken. Can we talk about this? Who is the genius that thought the best way to cook a whole chicken was to stick an open beer can into it? SO WEIRD. And so brilliant. I poured a honey-rosemary cocktail and took care of our side dishes while the BBQ Master dealt with the chicken.
Sides: Roasted Fingerling Potatoes with Garlic and Rosemary and Sautéed Broccolini with Lemon and Butter. I just love the little purple guys!
Before the beer can was involved at all, the chicken needed a spice rub. John pulled an impressive lineup of spices and rubbed that little chicken down! He made sure to get some of the spices under the skin, too. Cholula wasn’t sure she should be watching this.
After shoveling out prepping the BBQ, it was time for the beer can to, um, disappear. We only needed a half of a can, so John properly disposed of the rest.
Guys, the chicken and beer can became one. It was time to cook this bird!
And there he sat for at least an hour.
This little guy turned out to be delish– mostly, I think, because of John’s Magic Spice Rub. What a spread!
Date night IN was a success. It was so much fun because we did it together.
I woke up on Sunday filled with anticipation. Superbowl Sunday is absolutely a holiday in my family, and John agrees that it’s meant to be a social event. None of our crew was having a party this year, so we decided to spend the morning skiing at Snowbird and stay the night up there. We’d watch the game at one of the bars at the resort. Making strangers into friends through high-fives during one of our beloved national pastimes? It sounded like a blast!
It was quite a bluebird day. As we drove up the canyon, the snow seemed whiter than usual, set against the stellar blue sky. My sweet hubby kept it mellow (for him) and skied the groomers with me all day. It was my first time on my snowboard in more than a year, and I could feel it in my legs from the first run. But we had a ball, laughing and soaking in the February sunshine on the lift. And what a view. I’m lucky to live here!
Once my legs started to burn (and after a couple of snow-in-the-face tumbles), we called it a day. We headed inside, changed our clothes, and grabbed a bite to eat. We had some football to watch! I felt that a cocktail called The Big Easy was appropriate for a Superbowl game being played in New Orleans. It helped me get over the shock of seeing this (1992?!).
For the actual game, we headed down into the Tram Club. This bar is dark. It kind of smells like fried food. But it had a fire blazing, some Superbowl drink specials, and giant televisions everywhere. Perfect! We settled in on some leather couches and enjoyed the unexpected company of some friends who just happened to come to town to ski right then. FUN!
When we woke up the next morning in our Iron Blosam condo, I was sore. Like, ‘I took a significant digger on my snowboard’ sore. But the stunning view, the retro fabulousness of our condo, and my sizeable bath product take kept my mind off of achy muscles!
As we headed down the canyon, toward the yucky inversion SMOG of Salt Lake City, I said a silent “thank you” that we no longer lived down here. That additional layer of gloom would have been difficult for me this week.
Up and out of the bad air we went, until we were home again in Park City. The sky was blue, the air was clear, and after a fabulous weekend with my handsome mountain man, my spirits were lifted. The issues from the past week had faded. I had rebounded. Some fun in the sun and a change of scenery did the trick.
That is, except for my sore muscles. Hot tub, anyone?
I hope you had a glorious weekend, too!
the usual bliss 
I love Date Nights IN – so much fun to spend time together cooking and having a few cocktails. That chicken looks so delicious – YUMMERS! I could use a hot tub after packing and moving and have barely put a dent in the unpacking. Happy Monday:)
The unpacking is the best part though- you get to find a new home for each little thing! A hot bath works just as well!
The chicken was so good. I never do whole chickens- I’m always intimidated! Now that we’ve done this interesting method, I think I’ll hunt for a traditional tasty roast chicken recipe.
Date nights in are fun…and we will have to try the chicken. I’m still a bit squicked out about the dog licking a dead porcupine…though. 🙂
She only had one quill in her tongue. The vet took care of it and she was extra spoiled. Dogs are gross!
I’m so sorry about the stress, but SO happy you had such an amazing weekend! Beer can chicken (known as beer butt chicken ’round my parents’ house) is the BEST. I have no idea which genius came up with the idea, but I also agree that they were the best person to have ever lived.
Poor Cholula! Was this a backyard friend that she licked or a double-gross roadside find?
Double gross roadside find! Must have been hit in the neighborhood, because they were just out on a stroll near the house. Luckily, it wasn’t bad. But BARF.
Great weekend. I hope yours was, too!!
I took a few significant “diggers” on my snowboard this weekend too!! It was actually my first time but a girlfriend of mine is an instructor so I had a lot of coaching and by the end of the weekend felt like I was really doing it! It’s amazing what a change of scenery can do for you especially if it’s combined with great food and outdoorsy fun!!
Oh, stick with it. The first few tries at snowboarding are painful and discouraging but you’ll have an A-HA moment and then it’s just a matter of improving on the basic! Plus, a little sunshine never hurts in winter!
I completely agree!! I am pretty sure I had one of those A-HA moments but unfortunately it was quickly followed by a pretty hard fall that ended my snowboarding for the weekend! But bruises will heal and I definitely want to stick with it! I am a little tried of rental equipment though and thinking that perhaps it’s time to get my own!
That was my motivator in the end. My boyfriend at the time spoiled me one Christmas with all of the gear, so I felt like I had to give it an honest try. Going with a friend who’s an instructor is awesome. My biggest tip is to stop when you feel yourself getting tired. It’s so easy to get injured then!
That is EXACTLY what happened to me last weekend! Right before we started down the run I mentioned my legs feeling really tired and not two minutes later it really wasn’t a pretty sight! Lesson learned 🙂 I’ve also started a ridiculous squat regime to try to strengthen those muscles and hopefully it’ll be better next time!
It’s all about the legs! My calves are what kill the next few days…and my quads… and my booty….
I’m sorry it’s been a rough few days. Sending you lots and lots of positive thoughts. You certainly turned it around though because that looked like a fabulous weekend! I really wish we lived closer. I’d insist you have us over for beer can chicken. We’d bring the wine of course:)
xo
I would totally make you and your man dinner! We’d have a blast! Someday, it will happen. 🙂
My dear friend, who grew up on a farm in Idaho, calls that dish “Beer Up the Rear Chicken.” Seeing that little guy perched on the can in the grill made me laugh out loud. So happy you got some time to re-charge and relax. Sending you calm and peaceful thoughts for the week ahead!
OMG that is a hilarious name for this chicken! It’s true and weird! We kept laughing about how funny the bird looked, propped up on his “can”. Re-charge is a great word for it- I really did. Thanks!!
Ugh. I hate it when I lick dead porcupines. Hope this week is easy breezy, lady!
So far, so good! Thanks, Tori!
Sounds like a good turnaround of your weekend! Vintage shopping and a snowboarding retreat with a yummy homemade dinner thrown into the mix there too.
It was pretty fabulous. I’m still sore…
I love the vintage goodies you found! There is nothing that will get you out of the funk more than a little stroll, a little people watching, and some thrifting.
Ok, now two tips from mother over here on making babies….I hope I’m not offensive because I don’t know your exact situation. If so, I’m sorry! 1) No hot tubs. They kill the reproductive goodies! 2) Stop thinking/worrying about it (So hard not to!). Stress also kills the reproductive goodies! Just some things I’ve learned on my quest for babies 🙂
Ah, no hot tub. That one is sad. The stress part, I’m doing great! Positive thinking is the main ingredient (other than the obvious…) :).
LOVE my new thrift store haunts! I’m always worried places like that will burn down, and all of the irreplaceable treasures from different eras will be lost. I should save ALL of it…:)
Are you serious? A dead porcupine?
You had me at ‘Retha. There’s at least 20 songs of hers I know by heart. Sang ’em all in my car today loudly just because I saw that pic! Those little shops are just magical, aren’t they? I wish I had a drive like that to help me rebound. Sadly, it’s tennis or sit out by the creek. No mountainous beauty like that. Cheers, Amber!
She licked the porcupine and got a single quill stuck in the center of her tongue. Hello, vet! She’s fine. Just dumb.
I love the shops filled with nostalgia. The Aretha LP was a serious find! It’s all I’ve had on my record player since.
Sitting by a creek sounds pretty fabulous…!