Goodbye Boulder.

Tipping is good for your health : Atlas Purveyors

Laying in the grass, Plane in the sky. 

Burratta on toast with local herbs, tomatoes and olive oil @ The Kitchen. 

Digesting with Cortados @ Ozo. 

Last night was my final evening in Boulder. I started my morning with a Cafe Au Lait @ the Unseen Bean. This coffee shop is owned by a blind man who started roasting coffee out of his house, and now has a successful business, with the most delicious coffee. I mozied around town, read my book, mozied some more...soaking up the sunshine. Made my way down to Atlas Purveyors for some coconut oolong and then laid in the park for a bit and read my book some more. Emily finished up work and  met me at Shine a little after 1pm and we had a pint of their house-brewed Lager. Delicious. The conversation flows, and covers a broad range from family, food, and spirituality. Hungry, we headed to The Kitchen for a fancy and delicious lunch. Emily had the lamb salad, I had a grilled pork baguette, and we split a burratta appetizer and a bottle of Grenache. Everything at The Kitchen is sourced from organic, sustainable farms -- and in most cases everything is local. Good stuff, great service.

We were so full and a bit buzzed, so we walked next door to Ozo for Cortados. It was the first time I ever had a Cortado served in a glass instead of a paper cup - and I loved it!! So delicious. Fueled up and ready to go we went to REBECCAS APOTHECARY: be warned, this place is amazing. I spent over a hundred dollars on teas and herbs, and spent a ton of time talking with the (incredibly) knowledgable staff about lymes disease, joint pain, and candida. It was really eye-opening...I wish that we had a place like this back home....

A few blocks away, and we were at the Bitter Bar. We made it just in time for Happy Hours last call. Two margaritas. Again - the conversation was here, there, and then back again - and insightful and inspiring and full of love.

What to do after a long afternoon of beverages and a now-grumbling-tummy? Hot Dogs, obviously. Again, just a few blocks walk away and we were at MUSTARDS LAST STAND, an ancient institution around these parts. We ate and talked until they kicked us out and then it was home for bed and a movie. Something lighthearted and on the surface: Somethings Gotta Give. We giggled and sighed, it felt every bit like a grade-school sleepover.

Bags are packed and I'm headed to Denver now to meet an old friend for lunch before heading back East. I'm so grateful for my fun times here, and for Emilys amazing hospitality. This was the fuel that I needed to get through the upcoming cold months in Jersey. See you East Coasters soon....

Pre-Mission Morning

Atlas Purveyors : that Mayan calendar is CHALK! 

Morning reflections...

"Comfort Coffee" : espresso, steamed milk, vanilla, cinnamon, agave. 

Moe's "Morning After" with coffee. 

Only the Best get Baked. 

Before we left for our adventure, we fueled up. A mission without proper caffeine and food is no bueno, so we started at Atlas Purveyors for coffee. It's Ryan's favorite, probably because they have an epic, endless amount of teas. He had coconut oolong. I opted for the "Comfort Coffee", simply because I was intrigued by the name. It was espresso, steamed milk, a touch of vanilla, cinnamon and agave. Super delicious and super "comforting". I especially loved that it was served in a glass and not a mug, and I loved their coffee sleeves to protect your hands from the heat, which were cloth on the inside and recycled coffee bag on the outside. Also, the chalk art on their chalkboard was unreal. Yes, that artwork is All Chalk!

For breakfast we stopped at the famous Moe's, who's slogan is "Only the Best get Baked". I had the "Morning After" (bacon, egg, cheese and smoked jalapeños) on an everything bagel and some more coffee.

And then we were off, Summit bound so we could scoop up Kelsea (Ryan's sister) and then make it to our ultimate destination, Steamboat....

Steamboat Bound.

Paige enjoying a rootbeer. 

Me enjoying a Brek Agave Wheat brew. 

After my mellow morning I headed to Ozo, on 11th and pearl, for a delicious hand crafted caffeinated beverage. I decided on a latte and then sat outside and enjoyed my Osho "Autobiography of a Spiritually Incorrect Mystic". The sun was super bright and the temperature was about 80 degrees, but the air was still that crisp, clean mountain air that I love. Paige met up with me for the afternoon and for lunch we toured some of my favorites: a taco at the taco stand on 13th, a salad at Shine and then a beer and a BLT (with French fries, obviously) at Salt. We made great friends everywhere that we went, but our server at Shine was particularly amazing...Josh. He talked with us for at least an hour- about food, food, food, and beer, and he even gave me free samples of all of the house-brewed beers. I said goodbye to Paige and took a class @ Om Time with "Jessica". The flow was just what my body needed and she even gave us raw treats after class (raw cacao, goji berries, shredded coconut, coconut oil, and cinnamon).

I spent some time with Emily and we picked animal spirit guide tarot cards and sipped tea. She had to work at 4am the next day so I left her to sleep and went out to dinner with my friend Ryan Biddle, his roommate Sage, and Paige. We ate at Sherpa, the Nepalese restaurant in town. It was epic. Back to Ryan's for conversation and such and then to bed.

Today Paige, Ryan and I head to Dillon to scoop up his sister and then we are Steamboat bound for the Strawberry Hot Springs!!!! Can't wait!

Boulder Bliss

Sweet Potato fries with homemade aioli, *best house salad ever*, buger with pickeled onions and cilantro pesto @ SHINE. 

Picking our OSHO Tarot Cards. Super intense, super insightful, bit emtotional. Even Oshos' cards are the best.

"I think that I want to like burbon"....Em sipping Old Fashioneds @ SALT. 

Yet another epic meal at my beloved SALT (best restaurant in Boulder, hands down). Sipping on a deeeelicious Grenache from France and eating a perfectly roasted duck served over lentils and figs. 

Having a lazy morning, playing with the boxes of "samples" that Emily has, and making myself a goodie bag. 

So day one in Boulder was a success. Grabbed the AB bus from the airport to Boulder, Emily met me on Pearl street and first stop was FOOD (obviously). Emily knows that I love to eat, and she shares that same passion - so she had a list of 20 different restaurants that we needed to try (in the next 5 days haha). Everything is fresh and local and made.with.love. Our first meal was at Shine. We had bread with fresh yam butter. I had a watermelon soda, Emily had one of the housemade tonics "Fairy Bubbles" hahaha, it was delicious and nutritious. She had coconut curry with vegetables and I went big and got their organic grass fed burger on a gluten free roll - with pickled onions (epic) and cilantro pesto (epic). It came with a house salad, and the salad honestly made me excited. I don't know if it was the dressing or what, but it was outstanding. And a meal isnt a meal without french fries, so I got the sweet potato fries with fresh aioli. So far, so good. We sat and talked for a loooooong time. Emily is one of my oldest and best of friends, but we never talk on the phone. We just cross paths about once a year and have a full blown love affair, picking up right where we left off. It's so comforting to have friends like this, and I'm very grateful for all that she does for me.  For all of you who pick the "Ask Your Guides" cards with me (and theres a lot of you)...these were a gift from Emily. She also turned me onto Osho's Tarot Cards. After lunch we bopped around Pearl street and wandered into a spiritual book store, talking about Osho, Ram Dass, what our animal spirit guides might be, and all sorts of other super hippy dippy shit. She bought a deck of tarot cards, and I got a deck as well, "Messages from your Animal Spirit Guides" (I love this kind of shit). As I paid for my cards, the man ringing me up looked at me with a big smile and said "GOD BLESS YA". I got chills. He not only said my Dads most used phrase, but he said it the same.exact.way. that Dad did. I told him that my Dad always said that, and he looked back at me and chimed "Well, God Bless Him. I bet ya he's a great guy, give him a hug for me."

We walked back to her apartment, decompressed and digested and talked and laughed. We dropped off my stuff, made some Marshmellow tea (this is not like smores marshmallows, its a bark, and its great for locking moisture into the skin), and then we picked Osho cards. It's not the same as picking from the Ask Your Guides deck, you actually have to lay them out and theres a system. I cried, I laughed - Oshos fucking cards were spot on.

We grabbed a 7:30pm class back in town at Om Time (one of my favorite studios here). My yoga student and friend, Paige, from OC (who now goes to CU in Boulder) joined us. When we walked in Paige said "Cailin, I have taken a ton of yoga classes, with a ton of instructors, since being in boulder - and none compare to you." Funny she should say that, because this teacher that we had was the antithesis of me. First of all, she had that obnoxious "yoga voice" that fucking obnoxious voice - you all know what I'm talking about. She began with "this is an INvolution, as me make an EVolution, and  blah blah blah". She was rambling in "yoga talk" that didn't even make sense. If you are going to speak mumbo-jumbo, you need to BELIEVE it when you say it. This chick was just quoting every yoga instructor that she'd ever encountered. To make it worse, her "life partner" Suki Suki would let out a lonnnng, overexaggerated MOAN every 5 minutes. I didn't know whether to laugh or slap a bitch. We made it through the class, and though I was TRYING not to keep count, the instructor said "INvolution" and "cosmic dance" over 70times. We walked out and let out a much suppressed laugh. If I ever become THAT teacher, please, hit me.

Emily and I changed and then headed to my fave fave fave restaurant in Boulder, SALT. It's farm to table, sustainable, delicious food -- and every man that works in the kitchen is 6 foot tall and gorgeous. Boom. We started with cocktails, kale salad, and a farm house salad. Then came the duck egg flatbread with arugala and lemon vinagrette. Holy hell. We split the duck entree, which was just out of this world. Perfectly cooked served with an apple cider vinegar reduction, over creamy lentils and sauteed grapes, with fresh figs. Heavenly.

We were home by midnight and fell right to sleep. Emily has to work this morning but she left out all of her goodies for me to play with. A took an hour long hot bath and used about a dozen salt scrubs and face washes, toners and lotions. I have scrubbed my feet and used organic creme on my hands, I have 20 different lotions on my body right now and I smell damn good.

Heading into town now to Ozo for some of their delicious espresso...meeting Paige for lunch and yoga and then Ethiopian for dinner tonight. Boom. Boulder. 

Mountain Bound

I am a beach girl, who (secretly) is in love with the mountains. This photo is from one year ago when I drove cross country. I hiked the Hanging Lake Trail in Glenwood Springs, and it was ammmmazing.

My love affair with the mountains began three years ago in Latacunga and Baños, Ecuador. There is something totally majestic about the mountains, and maybe it's just the high altitudes, but I always feel a bit high (spiritually speaking, of course...) when I'm playing in these heights.

I'm sitting in the Philadelphia Airport now, Au Bon Pain hot tea in hand (chamomile with lemon and wildflower honey). I have my favorite traveling boots on, my beloved rucksack (50L Marmot), with my yoga mat strapped to the side. When I went to bed last night I was super anxious, I actually debated not going through with this trip. It's not even a trip, more of a "jaunt", and it's not even international...but I had hesitations about leaving my mom and leaving the comfort of my routine, and these feelings were definitely a first for me, usually I'm ready and raring to go for the next adventure. I finally fell asleep last night at 4:30am, after tossing and turning and stressing and crying all night. My alarm went off 15minutes later...

Feeling better now, excited to see good friends, excited to have some outdoor adventures. Anxious about leaving my momma, anxious about how much I'm missing my Dad, but with each sip of this Egyptian chamomile I'm beginning to relax into the next few days of fun...

Boulder, Colorado. Boom.

Foot of the Mountain

When most Best Westerns in the heart of town, on a busy street, run at about $150 a night- we got lucky with a recommendation from Emily to stay on Arapahoe Street. FOOT OF THE MOUNTAIN motel is $80/night, at the end of a quiet street, a stones throw from a beautiful park, and alongside a lively creek. This place fully embodies "BOULDER". To go for a hike, I'd simply walk out or front door and across the street onto a path. To get to town it'd take about 5minutes- and then I was seated at an amazing restaurant or hopping through cute shops. Also, I was only 2minutes from OM TIME yoga studio on broadway. All in all, an amazing place to stay and if anyone passes through this brilliant town, I highly recommend staying at these cute little cabins at the foot of the mountain...

Colorado is VERY Cool.

Arrived in Boulder around 1pm yesterday. Marny was tired so he laid down for a nap, and just as I was tying up my sneakers for a walk, I got a call from my good friend Emily Bogy. She was done work and was headed over to meet me. We walked for several miles along the river, through the mountains- enjoying eachothers company, conversation and beautiful scenery. The air here is delicious, and so is the energy. Most people have a smile on their face, and everyone seems to be enjoying the abundant beauty that Colorado has to offer. People were biking, hiking, strolling, running, and even walking tight wires (see photo)! After our walk Em went home to take care of a few things, Marn and I grabbed a light bite to eat and then I swung by and scooped up Emily for a yoga flow at The Yoga Pod. Class was great, and as always- it's particularly special to practice alongside someone you love. We said our goodbyes and then Marny and I headed to Pearl Street for some dinner. We dined at SALT, a fabbbulous organic restaurant. I sipped on a local oatmeal stout by Breckinridge Brew and enjoyed fried Greek olives, steak tartar with pickles and capers, and a prosciutto salad with pickled red onions. Epic meal, awesome service. Early to bed because this morning I headed out to OM TIME on broadway for a 7:30am Align and Flow yoga class. My teacher Amanda was absolutely lovely. My knee was bothering me a bit, but her encouragement to honor our bodies was just the cue I needed. Visited Emily at work to solidify plans for later and now off for breakfast with Marn. Namaste everyone!!