I believe I can fly.

While this song title is near and dear to my heart, this movie trailer is giving it a run for its money!   

I Believe I Can Fly (Flight of the Frenchies) is an upcoming documentary showcasing a new fad that combines tight rope walking and base jumping!  This trailer is insane, y'all...absolutely awesome and terrifying at the same time.  I was definitely short of breath by the end of it.

Happy Friday!  Hope this gives you an adventurous attitude for the weekend ahead :).


I Believe I can Fly ( flight of the frenchies). Trailer from sebastien montaz-rosset on Vimeo.

Linsanity leaves NYC.

I don't comment on sports much here, but this is just too good.

Coming Soon | White Buffalo Trading Co.

I've decided to begin a little side project and open up an Etsy store! The store will be called White Buffalo Trading Co., and I will be selling ombre antlers hand-painted by yours truly.  I chose the name White Buffalo because the antlers come from the Gunnison Valley, where my family has vacationed for years.  In this valley, there used to be a White Buffalo that roamed a local ranch.  I used to look for this buffalo on every drive between Crested Butte and Gunnison. So, it seemed only fitting to make a little tribute to this iconic figure of my youth.

Hope you enjoy the teasers you see above!  I'm hoping to have the store open by the beginning of next week.  And trust me, y'all will be the first to know!  Feel free to comment if there are any special colors you would like to see.

Wedding Hair Round-up

Wedding season is in full effect!  And whether you are a bride or a bridesmaid, you need to have some seriously great hair.  I used to have a go-to blog bookmarked, but now it's gone!  So, I figured that was a sign to do my own collection of inspiration...

First, classy up-dos for those windy outdoor weddings!

And then, some romantic long looks.

Music Mondays (one day late) | Dirty Projectors

Today, the new Dirty Projectors album was released.  The album is entitled Swing Lo Magellan, and it. is. wonderful.  If you enjoyed 2009's Bitte Orca, you will find this album well worth the wait!  Here's the video for the single 'Gun Has No Trigger.'  Enjoy the weird loveliness!

Our First Wedding Anniversary

 Today marks my husband's and my first wedding anniversary.  I am so thankful to have this man in my life, especially over the past year.  This day also just makes me want to go back to Colorado and celebrate with our friends and family all over again!  I love you, Garrett.

Nora Ephron, we'll miss you.

I was not suspecting to hear about the death of one of my favorite screenwriters and directors this morning.  It really came as a shock, and my level of sadness (for someone I didn't know personally) surprised me.  It's always sad when celebrities die, but I think I really believed in what Nora was trying to do in life. She entertained the masses, while giving women a very unique voice. And she gave us some of the most memorable and romantic movie quotes of all time, while also being quite the feminist.  She once described her character development this way - "I try to write parts for women that are as complicated and interesting as women actually are."  Nora always seemed to write female characters that every woman I know wanted to be - women who want to create a full life for themselves, but don't always know how to do it AND are usually semi-neurotic. 

 
She also gave some of the best advice possible in a commencement address she once gave.  I absolutely love it!  Here's a nice big excerpt and my favorite part of the speech.  See the entire speech here.

"We have a game we play when we're waiting for tables in restaurants, where you have to write the five things that describe yourself on a piece of paper. When I was your age, I would have put: ambitious, Wellesley graduate, daughter, Democrat, single. Ten years later not one of those five things turned up on my list. I was: journalist, feminist, New Yorker, divorced, funny. Today not one of those five things turns up in my list: writer, director, mother, sister, happy. Whatever those five things are for you today, they won't make the list in ten years -- not that you still won't be some of those things, but they won't be the five most important things about you. Which is one of the most delicious things available to women, and more particularly to women than to men. I think. It's slightly easier for us to shift, to change our minds, to take another path. Yogi Berra, the former New York Yankee who made a specialty of saying things that were famously maladroit, quoted himself at a recent commencement speech he gave. "When you see a fork in the road," he said, "take it." Yes, it's supposed to be a joke, but as someone said in a movie I made, don't laugh this is my life, this is the life many women lead: two paths diverge in a wood, and we get to take them both. It's another of the nicest things about being women; we can do that. Did I say it was hard? Yes, but let me say it again so that none of you can ever say the words, nobody said it was so hard. But it's also incredibly interesting. You are so lucky to have that life as an option.

Whatever you choose, however many roads you travel, I hope that you choose not to be a lady. I hope you will find some way to break the rules and make a little trouble out there. And I also hope that you will choose to make some of that trouble on behalf of women. Thank you. Good luck. The first act of your life is over. Welcome to the best years of your lives." - Wellesley Class of 1996 Commencement Address

We'll miss you, Nora. 

Music Mondays | Vacationer

This past Saturday, I went to see Tennis at Record Bar.  To my pleasant surprise, I really enjoyed the opening band Vacationer.  Openers are often hit or miss - and this band is a hit in my book! 

  Trip by Vacationer

 Oh, and by the way, Tennis is spectacular live!  If you ever have a chance to see them, don't miss out.

Luxe Mountain Weddings

Our wedding from last summer is featured today on Luxe Mountain Weddings!  I never got around to doing many wedding recaps, so this is a great place to see it. I'm glad there are blogs dedicated to mountain nuptials - I absolutely loved the natural, outdoor setting!

Spaghetti Squash with Chicken and Veggies

You may have seen spaghetti squash all over Pinterest lately - I know I had never thought twice about the vegetable before people started posting it as a healthy alternative to pasta.  A couple months ago, I decided to buy one of these mysterious veggies at the grocery store.  Then, I googled how to cook it and threw together a little recipe that ended up being uber tasty and easier than expected!

So, here's the recipe I threw together and have made on pretty regular basis ever since.

Ingredients
Spaghetti Squash - one squash will feed two people easily, but I always cook two so that I have left overs!
Olive Oil
1/2 Yellow Onion, chopped
2 cloves of Garlic, pressed or chopped
1 package of Mushrooms, sliced
2 Tomatoes on the vine, chopped
1 package / bushel of Spinach
2-3 cups of shredded Chicken (previously cooked)
1-2 Tbsp of Butter
Salt and Pepper to taste
Grated Parmesan for topping
 (Feel free to use any veggies you have on hand! These are just the items I had around the kitchen.)

 To cook the squash and get the tastiest results, I prefer baking it in the oven.  But if you are pressed for time, microwaving works too. Here are directions for both methods that I've used:

Microwave
- Pierce the squash in several places with a knife
- Wrap in saran wrap
- Microwave for 10 mins turning the squash every few minutes
- Let squash cool, then cut in half lengthwise and deseed

Oven
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees
- Cut squash in half lengthwise
- Deseed and sprinkle with salt and pepper
- Bake for 30-45 mins until squash is tender

Here is a photo after I baked some squash this past weekend:

 

Now, it's time to prepare all the 'fixins.' First, you want to heat up a few tbsps of olive oil in  rather large pan.  Then, go ahead and saute the chopped onions and garlic in the hot oil for a few minutes until the onions are translucent.

Next, go ahead and add the sliced mushrooms.  These will take about 5-8 minutes to caramelize.

While the mushrooms are cooking, this a good time to pull out the spaghetti squash (as long as it's cooled off!).  To pull the 'spaghetti' out, just use a fork and scrape it along the squash lenthwise.  You'll be suprised how easily it comes apart!  Then, just set it aside for later.

Once your mushrooms are cooked to your liking, then you can go ahead and add the tomatoes.

After the tomatoes have cooked for a minute or two, add the spinach.  Don't worry if it looks like a lot!  The spinach will wilt pretty fast into a quarter of it's original size.  At this point, you can also add a little salt and pepper to the mix.

 
Once the spinach is cooked, add in the shredded chicken.  I just used a rotisserie chicken from the market, and it works really well.  But you can also boil some chicken breast while you are baking the squash, as well!

Make sure the chicken is warmed up and mixed in well with all the 'fixins.' And then, add in the squash you've already shredded and set aside.

Heat up everything together for a few minutes.  Add a little more salt and pepper.  This is where I also add a little pad of butter, but you can also add more olive oil as a healther substitution.  Serve with a little grated cheese and fresh cracked pepper on top! Voila! Healthy and delicious meal!

Enjoy!