A New List: 27 Things Before 27

It's that time again. I have been working on this list for a while now and can't wait to get it out there and start checking things off. Some things you will see here are big, like having a kid or getting out of debt. Some things are fun and simple, like wine tasting or finishing a nerdy book series. I need a combination of both in order to be successful with this list. I'm ready. Let's do this.



 
1.      Finish writing 5 songs. That’s a big deal.

2.      Rock a two piece swimming suit with confidence.

3.      Treat myself to a massage

4.      Camp in a tent

5.      Get another tattoo

6.      Learn to knit (I will put this on my lists until I do it!)

7.      Record another music project

8.      Work through a few e-courses that have piled up.

9.      Gain financial peace. Get out of debt once and for all.

10.   Get pregnant.

11.   Paint some walls

12.   Not kill my garden

13.   Have a picnic

14.   Sew something. Anything.

15.   Fly in a plane

16.   Repurpose a piece of furniture

17.   See a concert at Red Rocks

18.   Go on a wine or beer tasting tour

19.   Eat at 5 places we have never tried before.

20.   Bake often. 

21.   Have a girls night

22.   Make breakfast for dinner

23.   Finish reading the Dark Tower Series by Stephen King (This was my man’s idea)

24.   Have a dinner party

25.   Read 12 novels

26.   Re-grow out my hair (Again. I just trimmed a bunch off. I miss it.)

27.   Take a road trip.

Ringing In Twenty Six

This weekend was good. I do believe that my twenty-sixth year will be the same. 

Breakfast at the Silver Grill with my parents. 

My new dress from my parents. I feel like a hip watermelon.  
Glorious summer nights  
Drinks with the best people ever. 
He prefers to drink whiskey from a measuring cup. We keep it classy, folks.



My weekend was full of good people. Vodka tonics. Drinking sangria on our porch. Staining front porches. Eating BLTs made with veggies that have are homegrown. My house is now clean.

I am ready to take on all the my 26th year has to throw at me.

27 before 27 list coming very soon.



A Summer Sangria

As one of my goals for July, I wanted to make some sangria and enjoy it on our back porch. Yes, I wanted to make something good and relax. All I really did was just throw a punch of stuff into a pitcher and let it sit there for a day or so and then: perfection. 

The recipe I created is as follows: (Feel free to toss in really any type of fruit that you want) 

1 Bottle of Barefoot Shiraz Wine
3 Shots of Brandy (I had some cheap stuff from when I made sangria for a friend's bridal shower) 
1 can of ginger ale
2 peaches
1 package of blackberries






I know some people also add sugar to this combination, but I felt that there was more than enough sugar in this already. 


Combine all ingredients into a pitcher, cover, and let it stew in the fridge for a while. Pour. Enjoy. 




Easy as that. Now I can cross that off my July list for sure. I'm actually sipping some as we speak. 



A side note: Tomorrow I turn 26 years old. It's crazy. That feels a lot older than 25. I'm that much closer to 30. Weird. But, I have been creating my 27 Things Before 27 for quite a while now. I'm excited to share it with you. 


Save the Lyric: A Movie Theater Close to My Heart

Fort Collins is an amazing place to live. I count myself very blessed to call this place home. It feels like a small town but with some big city flair. There are many establishments in our city that I would love to have around for a very long time. The Lyric is no exception. Times are changing, technology is changing. Our little movie theater, where one can drink a beer and eat a cheese plate while watching the latest indie film, is at the risk of closing it's doors.

From the Lyric.....


Fort Collins, Colorado, rest of the world, we need your help. Movie distributors and studios are forcing us to to upgrade our projectors to digital by Spring of 2013 or else they will stop providing us with movies to show! As you might imagine, this is very pricey. For two new projectors, two new sound systems, and all new seats for both auditoriums we’re going to have to raise 150 thousand dollars!

Here is what is cool about getting new equipment though:
-Digital projectors mean we will get new movies faster. Instead of waiting 6 to 8 weeks for the movie that opened in LA and New York today, we will be getting them in about 4.
-Movies won’t come to us scratched and beat up! Ever been to the Lyric and wondered why there was a green line running down the left side of the picture for twenty minutes? That was caused by someone out there mishandling the film and damaging it. That won’t happen with digital!
-We will also have the capabilities to present movies in 3D. I know many of our patrons guffaw at the thought of seeing a movie in 3D, but if you would have seen Werner Herzog’s Cave of Forgotten Dreams in 3D I think you might be convinced it can be pretty awesome. Wim Wenders, who directed Pina in 3D is working on a 3D documentary about the great architecture of the world. How cool is that!?
-New 5.1 surround sound in both auditoriums? I think the benefits of that are pretty self explanatory. Better sound makes for a better movie-going experience!
-We know our seats aren’t the most comfortable in the world, and we also know we don’t have cup holders. Both of those things will change if we can raise this money.

So what’s the plan moving forward? We’re starting a Kickstarter campaign that we currently plan to run from July 6th until August 5th to raise the money needed for the upgrades.

If you don’t know about Kickstarter, it is a super cool way for anybody to contribute to an art or community project. For contributing different amounts of money contributors receive different rewards. Some of the things we’ll be giving to our contributors (Kickstarter calls them “backers”) will be pint glasses, free drinks, really cool Lyric/Kickstarter t-shirts, tickets to an awesome after party we’re going to throw upon completion of the Kickstarter, free movie parties for you and 45 of your closest friends, a plaque with your name on it on one of our new seats, Lyric memberships, and, the ultimate reward: you get to pick your favorite movie and we’ll play it at the Lyric every day for a week. In essence, you get to subject Fort Collins to your movie tastes just like we do all of the time.
There is a catch though. Kickstarter works on an all-or-nothing model of funding. Once we set our minimum goal for money to raise we have to reach at least that minimum or else we don’t see a cent of it. Plus, we’re only going to have 31 days to do it. The whole process is going to be tough, but I know we can pull it off! We need your help though. The Lyric has already been in business for five years; please donate what you can once our Kickstarter begins on July 6th so we can stay around for much much longer.

Thank you for caring, and we’ll see you at the movies.
-Michael Putlack
The Lyric’s Social Media Guru


Time is running out and this saddens my heart. The hubby and I have already donated to The Lyric Kickstarter. As I write this, they still need to raise $33,194 in 5 days. Oh boy. Come on people! Save a piece of our beloved city.

Yard Crashers 2012: An Update

Hello. I've returned from the land of no-blogging. It's been a while. So much has happened. 

Yard Crasher 2012 has been a success. We haven't completely finished everything, but for once we no longer have the worst looking lawn on the block. Success. We pretty much sweat like crazy for three days, worked until it rained every afternoon, and I managed to only get a little bit of sun. We weeded like crazy, cut down branches, trimmed bushes, fertilized the lawn.  It feels really good to put some love into our yard. It really needed it. 

Before 

Really Before. 


After

In Progress

Yard Work Break. A Cucumber Jalapeno Margarita. Spicy!


The finished product. I will get better photos soon. We have chairs there now and a little table. 

We are still choosing stain colors. We also are planning on painting our door "Maple Leaf." 

I'll update more once I have light to take some photos.