Fort Collins Road Trip

Two friends & I headed out last Thursday morning for a trip to Fort Collins, CO. We left at 9am & got home at midnight!! I saw the Rocky Mountains on the way there & a super fantastic sunset on the way back. (That photo was not edited, by the way!) I had a checklist of "to-do's"---both necessary AND fun items included. And I got all them checked off, crossed out, & scribbled done. All except one item: I have had these certin socks for about 16 years (is that gross?) that I got from REI & they are the bestest! They are grey, but on the toe & heel, they are black with this extra cushy cushion-ness. Oh, they are so cozy! I wear them every winter & my feet & toes are happy when I do. But earlier this year they got their first hole. Sadness. I was too busy having fun at Barnes & Noble on our road trip to head next door to the REI. There's always shopping online I guess. (Which I do a LOT more now since moving to this small town.) But in this instance I need the touchy feeling sock moment before purchasing. Anyway, that was random.

Now for the pics!!



On the way to Ft. Collins we saw this vehicle. haha!



For lunch we ate a YUMMY restaurant: Five Guys Burger & Fries. SOOO tasty!! They dump the fries in your bag. It looks like a mess, but it was Oh. So. Delicious. They could have stacked the fries on my head & I would have still eaten 'em.





Though I'm a jumpy photo fanatic, I was stretched a bit by doing SUCH a public shot. But you know what? It wasn't bad at all!!!!

Sarah & I got Susan out of her sporty shoes, into some animal print high heels. Rowr!!!

I made a game of our shoe shopping moment. I think I found one of the ugliest pairs of shoes in the joint. Around the ankle are chains. Grody. I kept my socks on for the full dork effect.

Dressing room jumpy fun! Sarah, in the dressing booth next to mine, heard the jumping & hopping & giggles & said, "What ARE you doing??"

Those are Sarah's legs outside the dressing room. haha! I'm so happy to have friends that play along.

I combined 2 of my favorites: a photo booth & a jumpy photo.

I not only love this photo for obvious reasons, but I also love it because we are all 3 very different people & I just realized this pic shows our differences in a subtle way. Susan (on the left) is wearing jeans & some sporty casual shoes. I (center) am wearing Converse & high-cuffed jeans. Sarah (right) is wearing super cute & stylish gold sandals.

Even as we were shopping, we all had our stores we wanted to hit & places we wanted to see. As I walked into Michael's craft store, I softly sang a melody while lifting my hands towards heaven. I was at home.

Susan walked into REI. And she was home.

Sarah walked into this giant store with purses & shoes everywhere. She was home.



Tres nerds.

One of the things my gal pals were SURE to take me to was the Great Harvest Bread Company. Oh. My. Gosh. You walk in & you get a free slice of bread. And this is not wimpy slice. It was SO yummy! I purchased a loaf of cinnamon swirl bread (I think that's what it was? It was cinnamony & sugary & sweet & kinda gooey & really delicious.) From now on, wherever I go, I'm scouting out to see if there's a Great Harvest Bread Co.on my route!!

♥

Road Trip

Ok, I am about to fall over with sleepy-ness, but I wanted to write real quick. I cannot explain to you how tired I am. I have been working all day (& the past few days) on party prep stuff for Zoey's birthday bash this Saturday. People think I'm crazy to do so much, but I love it! It's exhausting AND happy work all wrapped up into one giant crafty bundle.

Anyway, I feel like this is the eve of Christmas. I get to wake up tomorrow & go on a road trip with 2 of my girlfriends! We're heading to Ft. Collins, CO for the day. It's not often that I get out of this small-town for big city adventures.

I expect silly & random & spontaneous &--OH! I can't wait!!

Extensive choices in shopping, dining & entertainment?? It'll be like a dream....

♥
Oh, & for some reason I can't get pictures off my camera card onto my computer, which is why my iphone has been providing the visuals these past few posts. This particual photo is from the bathroom in McDonald's yesterday. (Zoey's real birthay was yesterday.) I picked her up at school with eight big rainbow colored balloons. Mr. WhiMSy love didn't think I should do that. He thought she might get embarrassed. But she came running out, beaming & excited at the balloon welcome. I later found out that it was the HUBBY who was the embarrassed one. Whatev. haha! Zoey had gifts waiting for her at home & then we went to the mall so Pazely could pick out a prezzie for her sister: a diary with lock & key!! (Sweet!!) And then it was on to McDonald's for dinner. (Zoey's choice.) And then home for a bedtime story. We finished up Charlie & the Chocolate Factory & THEN we read the missing chapter from that book that I recently ordered. ("Spotty Powder") A fun-filled birthday day for sure.

I'm Back. Bridgeport Style.

I'm back! For reals!! Ahhhhh....this feels absolutely wonderful! I have missed you blog & blog peoples!! Even though my iPhone has pacified my internet cravings, THIS feels stinkin' AWESOME!! Howsabout a picture???? Or 50?????

Sit back, yawn if you want, & get ready for sharin' time. Here's the "Travelin'" portion of my photos:

Cheeto Walrus Teeth (anything to help pass the time, ya know?)

We were so amazed by the beautiful sky. Especially on the first day. I tried capturing the rays of light shining through the clouds, but my point-n-shoot can only capture so much.

Despite catching the electricity pole in the photo while driving, the sky at sunset was AMAZING. We couldn't stop oohing & aahing!

The windmills were rather majestic. I had never seen any upclose before. Look at that little fence post in the forground to get a  better clue of the massiveness of those things!! It sounds odd, but they were breathtaking.

The long road ahead. Rather daunting.

We hit some snow on one of our stops. I really had no idea where we were half the time. But the girls LOVED it!

I was so in love with the minute detail of every single snowflake. I tried capturing some on my black glove. Look at the perfection!

Cheese. I didn't cut it.

Rest stop jumpy action. Getting the wiggles out after being cooped up in a car.

Zoey joins in on the action. Lovin' those purple toilet stall doors!

One more before we hit the road for another few hundred miles!

Wyoming Maps.

Some rather awesome seats outside a Subway somewhere in either Wyoming or Nebraska.

Wish this were a better photo. The white snow covered hills blending in with the white windmills was so cool looking!!

Abe-tastic! We stopped--in 1 degree weather to see this giant bronze statue of Abe Lincoln's head. I was so cold I cannot even describe it.

Nebraska scenery.

Me & my new house. I keep thinking how funny it will be when the "locals" see me hopping around town. haha!

The upstairs is now officially unpacked. And I unpacked my first box from the art studio tonight. The mannequin head residing in that box TOTALLY FREAKED ME OUT! I seriously jumped back & felt my heart shoot through my chest. So my advice is: if you're packing mannequin heads (or heads of any sort really) LABEL the boxes.

More tomorrow!

♥