Playing House

I've started following a couple of food blogs recently (especially this one) and I felt inspired to give you all at home an idea of what I've been cooking up over here. I got quite a few questions at home about what I make for dinner. The answer isn't all that exciting. Mostly, I cook things that most people probably make at home too. I get to cook in a kitchen that is PlaySkool sized though! Last night, I made chicken stir-fry with zucchini, red pepper, onion, carrots, and broccoli, served over brown rice. YUM!!

The big stove.

Sizzzzle...

The final product. Eat UP!

Sandstorm

I was greeted with some excellent weather upon my return to Abu Dhabi. The entire city was blanketed in a dense cloud of sand. Here's a view from our balcony:

Wedding Season Finale

My lovely friend Rachel just sent me a few photos from the last wedding I attended. What a great weekend I had with my teacher school friends!! After teacher school was over, a lot of us took off on new adventures. It was great to have a little mini-reunion back in Colorado. Miss you guys! :-)

Jen, Kari, me, Rachel, and Jodi

With the beautiful bride.

Congratulations Katie and Kevin!!! xoxo

Last Weekend Home

I thought a good way to big farewell to my lovely little hometown was to head out, downtown, during my last weekend there. My friend Jeremy, who I've known since I was just a munchkin, and a few of his friends were in town visiting family (namely, his brother Andy, who's lived in Colorado Springs for awhile now), and the group headed out to Jack Quinns for a night of Irish pub songs and other Irish-related activities. This was followed by a little tour of Tejon Street, including a tiny, little beer at the World's Smallest Bar.

Rebel, Sweetheart

I'm really trying to hurry up and post stuff from when I was in Colorado so that I can move on and get back to more Abu Dhabi-related things. So here goes...

The week I got back from Taos, I scored some tickets from a gal on craigslist to see THE WALLFLOWERS at the Denver Botanic Gardens with my lifelong concert-going partner, Katharine (who is moving back to Portland, so it's a good thing I got to see her before she moved and I left!!!! I miss you, K!! xoxo)

A couple of thoughts from the concert:

1) The Botanic Gardens rocks! It is really pretty cool to see a show there. The venue is small and outdoors and the weather was great, so that made for a lovely evening. However, they DO NOT serve drinks, of any kind. So, if you are ever going there to see a show, come prepared, or head to the closest Colfax haunt and pick up the necessary items. Katharine and I enjoyed a lovely bottle of rose. Mmmmm...

2) People actually get to the concert when doors open, and you should too. When Katharine and I arrived at 6:30 pm (doors were at 6) the place was PACKED...with picnickers. Holy cow! Everyone was there with their dining room and kitchen in tow. No joke! All the people around us enjoyed a gourmet picnic during the opening act. :-( Next time we'll know.

Anyway...we didn't really care once the Wallflowers came out, because we got to stand right at the stage!! I've loved this band for a long time and have seen them a few times live, but never this close.

Happy Birthday Nana!

The third weekend of July was cause for celebration! The Saulsbury's and Campbell's got together for a trip down to Taos, New Mexico to celebrate Nana's birthday. Mom rented a house that was a short walk to the town square and close to lots of beautiful New Mexico sights.

The whole fam fit into the ol' minivan :-) We headed out to dinner at Orlando's our first night there

Molnar & Madrid

Day 2: On the lift going to the top of Taos Mountain. What views!!!

On the ride down... whoa!

New Mexico has a really big sky.

Birthday Dinner for Nana at an AMAZING restaurant, The Stakeout.

The grown-ups were at the other end of the table ;)

The patio was set up for a killer view of the sunset!

Last night out in Taos. Steve-O and I standing in front of a mural painted by George Chacon...who also owns the house we stayed in! So COOOOOOL!!!

Coors Light, Baseball, and BBQ

Pete made a quick trip out to Colorado to go to my sister's and Guido's weddings. During the short time he was there, we managed to get in a few good Colorado activities. Such as...

A visit to the Coors Brewery in Golden, CO.

They don't have tour guides anymore, just a handheld device that

narrates your journey through the brewery.

I think Pete and Ken were anxious to get to the tasting room at the end.

Not available in Abu Dhabi!

A few snaps from Guido and Angela's beautiful wedding at Hudson Gardens. Unfortunately, rain moved everything inside, but it went great anyway!!

First dance...xoxo

We also hit up the July 3rd Rockies fireworks game vs. the Arizona Diamondbacks. It was a really great game and the Rockies won! After the game we got to (slowly) move down to the outfield to watch the fireworks.

Here we are....waiting to get on the field.

It was definitely worth the wait! What a great show :-)

Pete's visit wouldn't have been complete without a 4th of July barbeque at Ken and Tracee's house! Sarah, John, Baby Caden, and Adam even drove out from Kansas to see Pete during his short stay in Colorado! (Nice job guys!)

Unfortunately, it was raining for most of the night, so everyone

had to hang out in the kitchen: Adam, Atti, Maria, and Charlie.

I was a little tired at this point: Sweater Bob, Me, Margo, and Caroline

Madrid Wedding Weekend in Durango

The weekend of June 27th brought the Madrid and Saulsbury families together in Durango for a beautiful wedding celebration. My mom rented a sweet casa on the west side of Durango in Dalton Ranch. Most of the family stayed there or in the downtown area.

Pete cooked an amazing spaghetti dinner (with short noodles) for the whole family.

Practice kiss at the rehearsal.

Location of the rehearsal dinner.

Beautiful Bride and her bridesmaids!

Something blue...

"C'mon Pete, try and keep your eyes open!"

Katharine and I showed up naked for part of the reception. LOL!

Lil bro and mother of the bride.

Mike and Katie: Suspicious behavior.

View from the scenic overlook near Wolf Creek Pass.

Hello gorgeous greenness!!!!

Bachelorette Party - CSprings Style

One of the main reasons I came back for part of the summer was to attend a few weddings. Probably the most important one was my little sisters! The second weekend home, we got some ladies together for her bachelorette party in downtown Colorado Springs. The night started off with some awesome margaritas and delicious fajitas at Jose Muldoons. There was a magician who was showing off some tricks to all of the tables, which threw everyone for a loop. Here are a few of the more memorable pics:

Three Saulsbury's: Page, Caitlyn, and me

The bride to be and her big sis!

Reaction to the magician. His tricks were really pretty crazy.

Best comment from Caitlyn: "Now I know why people used to think

magicians were sent from the devil."

Probably trying to dance to Copperhead Road, which was played a minimum of 5 times.

The whole group, towards the end of the evening:

Page, Robin, Caitlyn, Christine, Jenna, Katharine, and Katie

Welcome home

When I got back to Colorado on June 10th, I was pleasantly surprised to find out that it had been raining almost every day for most of the summer. Colorado, not being used to this kind of weather, sort seemed to come alive. It seemed especially GREEN compared to the lovely views of sand and sea that I've grown accustomed to in Abu Dhabi.

My mom's awesome garden...bursting with life! :-)

A cool looking cloud, taken from the side of my mom's house.