Just not right here!

14th St., NYC

Street Finds is a new series of photos. It will be a collection of odd things I find left out on the streets.

Two unopened jars of B&G pickles on the steps of a brownstone in my neighborhood.

Meatpacking District, NYC

My parents met in a ski club, so my brother and I got an early start on the slopes. Our family spent many winter and spring weekends on the slopes of Tahoe, and even made it to Vail one year. These days, it’s a rare treat, and truthfully, east coast skiing doesn’t appeal much (too cold, too icy).  This year, I decided to join some girlfriends for a late winter trip out to Steamboat Springs, CO. Luckily Mother Nature stepped in and sprinkled new snow over the mountains just before we arrived, and 16″ of powder on our 2nd day! It was an amazing trip - wonderful friends, fresh snow, gorgeous mountains, and of course, lots of laughs. I can’t wait for next year’s trip!

Day 1 was foggy and snowing, which I discovered is very rough on exposed skin as you go flying down the mountain! (Heather, Kim and Paige)

That’s me in the middle, in my first ever ski helmet!

I did not burn enough calories to justify this lunch: chili-stuffed baked potato.  Oh well, it was yummy!

Paige and Heather on the slopes

Ready to soothe our tired muscles in the hotel jacuzzi

Heading downtown for happy hour and dinner (Heather, me, Paige, Kim)

Day 2 was the big snow storm. Rather than risk skiing in limited visibility, we chose this as our slow day, and headed for the hot springs. On the way, our driver pointed out reindeer! The little boy in our van asked “can you make them fly?”

Strawberry Park Hot Springs

Heading to the springs

Gorgeous setting!

Paige and Heather model the latest in outdoor hot springs winter fashion.

Snow falling from the sky while we relaxed in 105 degree water!
(Bathing beauties: Kim, Heather, me and Paige)

Kim and I braving the cold to pose on the snow-covered Adirondack chairs.

Who needs a pedicure?

A quick stop at the grocery store for snacks and puppies. They must have come from the farm, because they smelled more like piglets. Stinky puppy!

Inside the market, I noticed all the chip bags were extremely puffy. One worker told me the altitude has this affect, and sometimes the bags explode on the shelves!

Signage above the kitchen in Slopeside Grill

Dinner after a relaxing day in the hot springs

Friday proved to be the best ski day - sunshine, blue skies and 16″ of fresh powder!

New party trick: taking pics while skiing!

Here comes Paige!

The four of us on the lift, ready for another run

You can take the girls out of the city, but you can’t take the city out of the girls. Heather is texting someone at work, while Paige is returning a work-related call.

Ski trip roommates, Paige, and me

The trees looked like they were dusted with a heavy coating of powdered sugar.

Kim and I enjoying apres-ski bloody mary’s, sitting in the sun and listening to a live band after an amazing day of skiing. It doesn’t get any better than this!

Heather was giddy with happiness!

Life is good…

…particularly when there are REAL Colorado cowboys to hang out with!

After a long soak in the jacuzzi, our new friend Tom joined us at downtown Tequila’s for dinner. Mexican food = yummy!

The burritos turned out to be about 10 inches long and  4 inches wide. We could have ordered one for the table.

Instead, greed took over and we each ordered our own.

My ginormous veggie burrito came with a side of rice and beans, just in case I was extra hungry.

Tom’s three-item combo plate wins the prize for most food.

Finding the town lacking in eligible men, Heather and Kim finally found a keeper.

Questionable signage at Tugboat Grill

Paige and Tom kicked serious nerd butt at foosball!

Saturday was our last ski day, another lovely day to hit the slopes.

Before lunch, Kim and I set off for a little off-the-beaten-path adventure.

Gorgeous and tempting path through sugar-coated trees called our names.

This is where that great idea landed me - under a tree in 3′ of powder!

Whew! It was hard work climbing out of the powder and back to the main run. Time for lunch!

My partner in crime, back in the hotel after an amazing last day of skiing. We were all utterly exhausted, but agreed this trip was a success!

Sorry for the lag in posts, I had some technical difficulties and lack of interesting things to post the past couple months. But I’m back with turducken pics! What on earth, you ask? That’s a de-boned, stuffed chicken, crammed inside of a de-boned, stuffed duck, smooshed into a de-boned, stuffed turkey. Sew the whole thing back together a la Frankenstein, and you’ve got TURDUCKEN! This was the Restaurant Club gathering for the month of February - it was a lot like Thanksgiving, with all kinds of delicious sides, the bird(s), and of course, dessert!

Looks just like a turkey… sorta.

The Restaurant Club crew (plus a couple of guests, and minus a few regulars)

Smiley Aidan was quite the entertaining host. (Note: Julie knitted this sweater - her first knitting project!)

Ryan carving the bird

Innards

Dinner’s ready!

The birds, sliced and plated, were a bit of a mess, but tasty!

Dessert! Red velvet cake, lemon bars…

And cupcakes!

Thanks to Julie, Ryan and Aidan for opening their home for our Turducken party!