Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. Food, family, fall weather -- it's perfect in almost every way.

Brian and I started our Thanksgiving by participating in the Memphis Turkey Trot, a popular 4-mile race at Shelby Farms. I ran the race for the first time last year and was excited Brian agreed to join me this year.

After the race, Brian came over and hung out with my family before our Thanksgiving lunch.

After our lunch (and a nap for me), we headed to Brian's parents' house for our second Thanksgiving celebration and another delicious meal!

Wedding Update

Our wedding is officially six months away! I can't believe how quickly the time is flying by. I figured it was time for a planning update.

Cake
On Wednesday, my mom and I tasted cakes with Peggy Montgomery, who's been in the cake-making business for nearly 30 years. We tried a variety of flavors and were really pleased. We plan to try cakes from at least one more person, but we need to make a decision soon!

Invitations, Etc.
We visited a couple stationery stores last weekend to explore options for invitations. There are so many designs/styles to choose from! I'm also trying my hand at making our save-the-date cards.

Honeymoon
Brian and I are meeting with a couple travel agents while he's home for Thanksgiving. We hope to have our plans nailed down soon. My passport came in the mail recently, so that's progress!

Gift Registries
Brian and I are braving the crowds of holiday shoppers next week to register for gifts. We've got an appointment to register at Babcock Gifts, a local gift shop, and hope to also register at least one other store while he's home for Thanksgiving.

Brooke Turns 24

Happy birthday, Brooke!

I can't believe my dear friend is 24 years old. It seems like just yesterday we were attending our combined 13th birthday party with our soccer team at Benihana.

Though her actually birthday isn't until Thursday, we went out to dinner last night to celebrate. Upon Brooke's request, we went to Sweet Grass -- a place we've never been.

We all forgot our cameras, so we had to use my iPhone (without a flash, obviously) for a picture.

Mile-High City: Part 2

For Part 1 of my Denver trip recap, click here.

On Friday. we drove to Boulder, Colo., just 30 minutes away. We explored the city and walked down Pearl Street, full of unique shops and restaurants, and eventually made our way back to Denver.

Once back in town we met up with two of Avery's friends, Meg and Clara, for dinner at LaLa's. Allie tried to talk us into going out for more drinks afterwards, but one bar and one Bailey's/coffee plus a huge ice cream sundae were all Avery and I could handle.

Saturday was spent at Estes Park, home to Rocky Mountain National Park. We'd planned to hike but instantly nixed that plan once we stepped out of the car. It was freezing and VERY windy! We decided a scenic drive through the mountains -- in a heated car -- would suffice. The views were gorgeous, and I was especially excited to see elk for the first time ever -- lots of elk!

We got a little lost on our way out and kept hitting dead ends. To make matters worse, we were low on gas. But eventually we made it out and stopped for lunch a local "hole-in-the-wall," MollyB's.

We couldn't help but stop in Boulder again on the way back. We had discovered the most amazing peanut butter cookies there the day before, and we were in need of a second third.

Avery's friend Tony drove into Denver from Colorado Springs to have dinner with us at Euclid Hall, a neat restaurant on Larimer Square. We finally satisfied Allie by going out to not one, but FOUR bars downtown. We were some of the only people out without a Halloween costume, but we didn't care!

To conclude our trip, we all went out to breakfast at Snooze before our departing flight. We took advantage of our 40-minute wait by walking around to see a few more Denver sights, including Coors Field, home of the Colorado Rockies. The food at Snooze was worth the wait, though -- a great way to end a fabulous trip. We can't wait to see Avery in December when she comes home!

Mile-High City: Part 1

Allie and I returned yesterday from a trip to visit our friend Avery.

Avery moved to Colorado after we graduated to do Teach for America. After a stint in Colorado Springs, she's now a teacher at an elementary school in the heart of Denver.

Allie and I left Memphis on Wednesday and headed to Nashville, where our friends Melanie and Andrea kindly hosted us for the night. We had a great dinner at a new (to Nashville) Italian restaurant, Mirko. Loved the restaurant's concept of "build-your-own" pasta.

Melanie took us to the Nashville airport Thursday morning, and we landed in Denver just before noon. Avery had to work Thursday but left us detailed instructions that helped us navigate our way to her home.

Allie and I made ourselves at home and headed to lunch at Vine Street Pub, Avery's recommendation.

After lunch, we strolled down 16th Street -- a downtown shopping area. It was during this walk that I developed one of the worst headaches ever! I thought I was just a little dehydrated, so I chugged water and took ibuprofen once we got back to Avery's apartment...but it didn't get better. We picked up Avery from school and toured her classroom around 4:30 p.m. We had plans to head straight to Alma, Colo., where Avery and some friends had rented a house for the ski season, but my headache kept getting worse. By 5 p.m. I was nauseous, and the pain hadn't subsided. I called my parents who worried I was feeling symptoms of altitude sickness, which can get pretty serious. Hoping for medicine to cure my apparent sensitivity to Denver's elevation, the three of us headed to a local emergency department. (There were no 24-hour clinics nearby.)

Our experience at the Rose Medical Center emergency room was pleasant, though. I was seen right away -- no wait! An IV of drugs and a CT scan (and an expensive bill) later, we headed home, and I was headache free! We ordered pizza and enjoyed a  night in, just the three of us.

Our second day in Denver started off much better, but I'll save the rest for tomorrow's post!