Alfredo's Vinyl Party

My friend Alfredo . . .

. . . hosts the best parties. I have been to a number of his gatherings and they have yet to disappoint. This weekend Alfredo invited us over for a Vinyl Party to kick off summer. It was very simple; people brought over their favorite vinyls and a selection of them were played throughout the night. There was BBQing, eating of so many yummy foods, great people, music listening, dancing, great conversation, games (Cards Against Humanity, anyone?) and plenty of pictures.

Will and I had fun learning of some new bands and chatting with everyone. I brought balsamic quinoa salad (recipe tomorrow!) and it seemed to be a hit. I'm ready for more summer nights with great friends. I'm now craving some live outdoor music, too. Thanks again, Alfredo, for always being lovely and putting together equally as lovely parties.

Memorial Day Weekend

This weekend was again not very adventurous, but it was still plenty eventful! We had plans to hike all weekend, but those plans kept getting pushed aside thanks to all the rain. As much as I wanted to get out and explore, I didn't mind the quite, relaxing weekend with my love one bit. Here's a look at what we spent our time doing instead.

Friday: Will and I made one of our favorite recipes for dinner, Green Lentil Soup with Coconut Milk and Warm Spices. It has been a little uncharacteristically chilly outside lately, so warm curry soup was a perfect treat. Plus, this soup is pretty healthy! Not to mention super delicious. I recommend it. We also spent the evening relaxing and catching up on a bit of TV. If you haven't seen the latest Bill O'Reilly episode of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, you are missing out. Oh, those two.

image source: the traveler's lunchbox

Saturday: Saturday we had a bit of sun; we lounged about in it all morning listening to good tunes and playing with the pups. Saturday was also national wine day which I obviously celebrated accordingly. A glass of wine in the sun? Yes please. A glass of wine with lunch? Yes please. A glass of wine, or two, or three with dinner? Yes please. We had a lovely dinner over at Will's parent's house, and Pippin had the time of his life when Bill (Will's papa) handed him a steak bone to gnaw on. Oh goodness, that was one happy (and slightly confused) pup. He also rather enjoyed the chickens, or he would have had we let him run around like a crazy after them.

Sunday: We had rain almost all day. I didn't mind. We did decide to get out of the house for a bit despite it and saw a lovely movie and grabbed dinner after. We saw The Reluctant Fundamentalist at The Flicks. It is the best film I have seen in a very very long time. So beautifully done. Such phenomenal acting by Riz Ahmed. I can't say enough good things about it. After the film, we walked across the street and had a bite to eat at Tablerock Brewpub. I had the lemon quinoa salad. I could write a song about it, it was so tasty. Will had the pesto blt. I finished the night with a good book reading session.



Monday: We were hoping to drive to Leslie Gulch for a day of hiking and exploring, or at the very least hit up a trail here in Boise. But alas, rain. My dad did manage to squeeze in some grilling before it really started to pour, though, and we enjoyed a little barbecue with my family. Other than that, I was forced to play a bit of some dancing game on Bee and Tyler's wii, we got grocery shopping done for the week, and I spent a lot of time curled up with my book.

Mostly, I was just happy to spend so much time with this lovely guy. I hope your Memorial Day Weekend was fun and relaxing. I hope you got to enjoy more time outside than I did! Oh goodness, the fact that today is Tuesday feels so weird, right?

Table Rock and Big City Coffee

Saturday mornings just may easily become Mama and Sister time. I've enjoyed spending the past couple early Saturdays with them. Today is quite a lovely day in Boise, just look at that blue sky, although it may be a little too warm for my liking. It is going to be 80 degrees today! Crazy. So we got up nice and early (well at least for a Saturday) and made our way over for a hike up Table Rock. If you're from Boise or have been here, I'm sure you know Table Rock. The trail starts down by the Old Idaho Penitentiary and ends up at a nice flat plateau top over looking the city. I can't count the amount of times I've hiked it. It's a fairly short hike but still a little steep; perfect for a Saturday morning. The trail was full of plenty of other enthusiastic hikers and yellow wildflowers. We saw hot air balloons this morning too! Have a mentioned that I love Boise? I was so excited that it was nice enough to wear my Chacos out.

M mom may have lured me out of bed with the promise of breakfast, too. We headed to Big City Coffee down in the Linen District after our hike. Please excuse our morning/post hike faces. Big City is a place I've heard of lots of times, they've got a good reputation around town, but a place I had somehow never been to before. I'm so glad we went! It is definitely one of those places that as soon as you walk in you just know you are going to love it and that you'll be old friends. I ordered a breakfast veggie wrap and an iced hazelnut americano. Their coffee is really good! And I'm a huge coffee snop, guys. I guess that just naturally comes about after working in a coffee shop. The food is great too! I loved what I ordered. I should also mention the salted caramel brownie was one of the best brownies I've ever tasted. Not to mention the atmosphere is lovely. I'll definitely be back!

I hope your weekend is great so far. The rest of my day will be spent running errands and spending time with family. Tomorrow Will and I are finally headed to Leslie Gulch to hike for the day! What are you up to this weekend?