Around Here...

Can you guys believe that tomorrow is the first day of December? When I look back at my post around halfway through the year of the lessons I had learned so far, it was hard to imagine the year getting any more full but it has. I look forward in January of listing the second half of the year's lessons/fun stuff/memories.

December is one of my most feared and favorite months of the year. It's Christmas of course, my big 27, several friend's birthdays, my Dad's birthday and the biggest month of the year for retail shopping. I am looking forward to hitting it hard and squeezing every dollar and moment of fun out of it.

This last week flew by. In no particular order, here are a few highlights. My High Five For Friday!

1) I am SUPER excited to do the RESET cleanse with my girlfriends next week. I did it last September and loved it. I have been eating like a wolverine lately so this will be awesome. If you want to learn more, hit up my duder Jamie!!  Here is her awesome blog.

2) There has been some MAJOR MOTHER FUCKING GIRL POWER surrounding me and I am so proud! I want to give a shout out to Lindsay for rocking her new job and making positive and necessary steps in her life, my friend Michelle for putting her resume out there for a job she really wants, Karen for making the best bow dress I have ever seen for her Santa Pub Crawl, Jamie for continuing to expand her Empire and rocking her blog, Sara for getting four wisdom teeth pulled this week, Vicky for flying to Chicago and owning her residency, and for my Mom for getting the store organized and flying to Maryland for a doll show this weekend.

3) I had some personal growth this week and I am thankful when that happens.

4) The excitement surrounding the Holiday Open House at my antique store this weekend. The invite is on my Facebook. Please come out - it's a great day to see Antique Row!!

5) Several home cooked meals this last week from my cousin Joy who was in town from Nashville. We also hit up the ARC several times and got some amazing deals.


This weekend, I want you guys to think positive. Stop and look around at all that you have - I have done this several times in the last couple days and seriously, gratitude will change your life. When you run into a Grinch in the next couple weeks, cheer them up. There is so much to be happy about...but I will admit I am still not ready for Christmas music.

XO,
Rachel

Giving Thanks For Those Present and Past

Hey All! As Thanksgiving approaches, I find myself super thankful for the people in my life. I truly believe people come in and out of your life for a reason. I have been thinking also of those not with me anymore. I have thought of my Grandpa a lot.

William Ross Wallace once said: "Every man dies - Not every man really lives." I am glad I can say that for my Grandpa, he was a man that really lived. He was always happy. Grandpa never complained. Everything always tasted good, every woman was beautiful and everyday was a great day. He always saw what was good.
There was never a time that I didn't walk into a room Grandpa was in without being greeted with a beaming smile and a loud, "Hi Sweetheart!". I remember when I was a little girl, having sleepovers at grandpa’s house. That little house nestled in Englewood was a little slice of paradise. All the grandchildren loved going to Grandpa's because he let us stay up as long as we wanted and had cable which was a real treat. His basement had games and there were always so many adventures to be had. He always taped our favorite shows when we weren't there - to watch the next time we came over. I think all my cousins remember all the "Earnest P Worrel" movies. We watched those until we wore out the VHS tapes. 

He made the best grilled cheese sandwiches and we always played exciting games of UNO. 

I remember one time I hijacked his motorized wheelchair and drove it down the alley and crashed it into a dumpster. My parents never knew because even when I misbehaved, Grandpa would tell my Dad that I was "good as gold" when he came to pick me up.

Grandpa was always on the go and taking the grandchildren places. We took many camping trips during the summers when we were young and Tiny Town was a favorite spot too. I remember his camper was always fully stocked with Sour Cream and Onion Pringles. As I grew older, I remember having conversations with my Grandpa about money and real estate - even at the age of 10. He used to tell me I would retire when I was 30. Well that is certainly not going to happen but his faith in me always felt really good. After I bought my first home several years ago, the first letter of congratulations I got in the mail was from him and I have carried it in my wallet since the day I opened it. He always had so much faith in me and came to every school event and graduation. He did for every grandchild and person in his life. Grandpa showed he cared. I loved that when I was in high school and college, Grandpa had a more festive social life than I did. He was always doing something fun. He danced, sang, and he never passed a roller coaster that he didn't take a ride on.

I think that Grandpa was always young at heart and savored every moment in life. That makes me feel good inside. I can see that my Mother got her fun loving spirit from Grandpa. He was a great teacher to have, not only for my Mom and her brothers and sisters, but also for everybody.  He was selfless and kind.  He loved being a parent and grandparent. 

While brainstorming this, one of my favorite Cherokee proverbs came to mind: "When you were born, you cried and the world rejoiced. Live your life so that when you die, the world cries and you rejoice." 

So I leave this being thankful. I am thankful for my mistakes, my victories, and my opportunities. I am thankful for those that have come into and out of my life. Those present and yet to come. 

Happy Thanksgiving Friends. 

XO, 

Rachel    

Around Here...

 

Hey Friends! It's hard to believe another week has come and gone. Working so much makes my days just fly by. So in no particular order, here are 5 top 5's! 

1) THIS. Karen posted a picture on my wall last night - and this morning, it resulted in 69 HILAR comments. Check em' out. We rehashed years of fun! Thanks for the fun today Karen!

2) My amazing brother Darrel was supposed to be my Santa for my upcoming open house but the outfit didn't fit. I was hanging out at his chrome shop for about 45 minutes though - and he wore the beard and dead panned helped the customers that came in like nothing was different. It was THE BEST. Trying not to pee my pants from laughter is my favorite thing.

3) Jamie and I did a Coors promo at Snarf's - a sub shop near DU. Nobody was there and it was from 11-1AM and we HAD THE BEST TIME! We played Jenga and Corn Hole and rapped old school! It was fantastic.

4) Sunday I had my first big sale since coming back to John Atencio - I LOVE this ring. Euphoria. No really, that's what it's called! I want.

5) It hasn't happened yet but in a couple hours, I will be eating sashimi with Vicky. I can't wait to catch up with her - it's been a few months because she's been so busy with med school and I have been CRAVING sashimi for about the same amount of time. NOM.

Have a great weekend friends! XO

Rachel

Seeing 'Murika

Hey Guys! So as you know, I recently went to Boston with my sister-cousin, Britney. We had a great time. The last several years we choose somewhere to go and take a trip - except until now we have always chosen Vegas...

 

So this time we decided to see America and go somewhere smart - and here comes Boston. College and learnun' town USA!

We took the red eye out at 11:30 at night which just added to the adventure. This was the last raw vegetable we were going to have for the next 5 days. 

We landed there at 5AM Boston time (3AM Denver) and went straight to our hotel. I don't know how I screwed up the reservations but I thought I had gotten a room for the night before allowing us to check in at 5 AM but it was a no go. They wouldn't let us check in till 3 in the AFTERNOON and it was 5 AM and we were up all night! I even tried to buy us a room which would have been totally fine except the hotel was completely SOLD OUT. Crap. What do we do?

We took to the streets. We walked through China Town at 6 AM and watched the sun rise. We sat in Panera for three hours before we could board our river cruise at 9:30. 

Setting sail!

We had fun on the cruise! We got off on one stop where we posed for some fun pictures - obviously sleep deprived, we got a little out of hand. 

 Britney saved me from this - after I begged and below this picture is just too amazing for words.

 We got some Boston fried food after our big trek. 

 We had a blast. When we finally got to our room, we were pleasantly surprised with the view.

 Over the next several days, we basically ran the town. Here are a couple favorite moments. 

 Room service!

 This.

 

 Rosemary fries in Common Park

 Random Aerosmith concert!

 

 The first day! We really saw the city and took in some amazing sights!

 Random pizza party at UGrill in the college area. We had wings too.

At The Melting Pot. Date night!

We ate her a few times - 150 years young! Best clam chowder ever!

I really do love it.

This was the stereo we rigged out of a bucket and Britney's cell phone and it worked AMAZINGLY!

All in all, these two cousins had an amazing time. Until next time Brit!

Latest Food Obsession: PB2

Hey All! So I always find some kind of food find and then go nuts on it. Well "nuts" is a little apropos for this one because my latest food obsession is "PB2". It's a powdered peanut butter. You just add a little water and stir and it becomes almost completely like "real" peanut butter minus all the fat and oil! Peanut butter is a problem food for me...I just eat it and eat it so I never buy it. When I found this through my friend Jamie, I literally teared up the first time I tried it. 

It comes in two flavors - chocolate and regular. Both yummy! 

You just add a little water depending on how much you want to mix and stir! 

If you add the right amount of water, it looks like this! 

I use it on everything! There's tons of recipes out there - you use it just in place of peanut butter sans all the FAT! 

My friend Jamie makes this AWESOME shake with it. Check out her blog and recipe here! YUMMERS!

Seriously peeps - if you watch your calories or peanut butter is a trigger food for you or just want to try something new and different, this stuff is the SHIZ. It's at all Whole Foods and most Kind Soopers and online!

Happy Wednesday, make it a great day Friends!

XO,

Rachel

Around Here.

Well my Friend Jamie made an amazing list to catch everyone up on the happenings in her world and I am going to follow suit. Also stealing her graphic. (Imitation is the highest form of flattery!) So I picked 7 things for the 7 days of the week!

1. I not-so-planned stepped back into my role as a sales person at John Atencio. That job meant a lot to me and so does coming back - so that is definitely a highlight of this past week.
2. Pho with Jamie and all the wonderful plans we have to mobilize our wallets to expand!
3. PB2. Obsessed. Beyond OBSESSED. It's this amazing peanut butter substitute I guess you can say but it's made of powdered peanuts and you add water - there's no oil so no fat and it tastes almost the same. I can't keep peanut butter in my house because I eat too much of it but this stuff, I can literally eat as much as I want and not even freak. 4 tablespoons had 90 calories folks. My Mom and I have been eating this every single day at work. Thank you Jamie for inspiring me to take the leap and try it. I literally almost started crying when I tried it.
4. Awesome walk with my friend Lindsay Saturday morning. Walking and talking is so therapeutic.
5. To piggy back on that, my neighbor Kirsten and I grabbed a brisk walk in the cool air Wednesday after work. I love that because it's like your outing for the night and you get in all the girl talk but without the martinis and nachos.
6. This week has been filled with a lot of reflection and ironing some stuff out. Gotta love progress.
7. Favorite laugh of the week: STINK'S SONG Obsessed Stinky's song. It's trashy and crude and I love it.

Happy Friday Friends!
XO,
Rachel

I have a date and it only cost me hundreds of dollars!

Happy Friday friends! I seriously can't BELIEVE it's been another week. Like it went so fast, my head is spinning.

I am sure you have seen all the hilarious pictures of me in 1920's clothing with all my friends. It was a charity auction called "Donate2Date" where you bid on bachelors and bachelorettes and all the proceeds go to charity - 100%! Children's Hospital rehabilitated by little brother when he had a traumatic brain injury when he was five. I was eight and spent nearly a year at that hospital everyday after school. The nurses and programs were so amazing and Children's has always been special to me - so this event was a not to miss. My gorgeous friend Jamie was a bachelorette and my friend Michelle was my date. We also had lots of other friends there so it was fab.

Here is a favorite picture of Jamie and I!

The venue was great!

Love these ladies!

 I know I am doing "duck face" in this picture below but whatev. We look HAWT!

Now you guys know I like to spend money like an Arab Sheik so when the bidding opened for Brien, I went for it. I totally didn't expect to win - but I did. Yippie! Here's right after the win.I also got that blue hat which I am assuming is gracing the head of a bum on Broadway right now because it didn't make it home.

 Always representing, we toasted with Coors Light!

It was much to my surprise that I won - and I was stressed because I had to bid on Jamie still and I brought ONE check to try and stop me from this very situation! Here's the winning look. I was like, F*CK! LOL

I was outbid on Jamie but gave it a good shot (don't worry folks - if I won her, I always keep a stash of cash nearby for unexpected fun so it would have been all good) but Jamie went for over $500 and I was so proud of her! You GO girl! She looked amazing. I almost cried when I saw her on stage I was so proud.

YOU GO GIRL!



This was a rocking good time and we are all definitely going to go next year. They raised thousands for the Children's Hospital and we had some good clean fun! =]

Have a great weekend Smoochies! 

XO,
Rachel

High Five for Friday!

What up?! Happy Friday! It's been a bit since I have done a High Five for Friday post so here it goes and in no particular order!

1) Monday I got to see Jason Mraz at Red Rocks with my friend Alyson and her daughter Ashleigh. It was an amazing show - he is SO talented. We also brought in sushi for a picnic before the show!

2) Last weekend I worked several promos for Coors. I don't know if you guys saw all the drama involved with the shoes my Mom bought. I still love them even though they are ripping Ralph Lauren and have worn them to every promo I have worked! They are so flipping comphy!

3) Sunday my cousin Britney and I had a wonderful breakfast at Toast and then planned a rando trip to Boston in a month. We are staying at the PLAZA! We are going to eat seafood and run around the city for four days and we are super excited. We got a package where they feed us as well so we are going to be living the high life for a few days. Here's the hotel!

4) Through the help of several friends (Jamie and James!) we found my good friend Kenny a new Boston Terrier that needed a home! He already had Pete and added Chubbs to his clan on Friday! The second picture with his little teeth sticking out cracks me up.

5) Favorite Facebook laugh of the week!

Enjoy your weekend friends!

XO,
Rache;