Erika S. fun stuffs, parties

Hello 2017!

Another day, another year! 2016 was pretty amazing (deaths and politics aside) – B and I planned and grew our first vegetable garden, we traveled all through Australia, climbed three 14ers, took a canoe camping trip, and my sister had twins! Last new years, I made a small bucket list and I got through every item except for one – the hike from Aspen to Crested Butte. That hike is definitely going to happen this year, no excuses. This year’s bucket list is also going to include a trip to Paris and London, more planning and growing (we’ve tripled the growing area this year) vegetables, climbing four more 14ers, going fly-fishing a lot (and actually catching a fish on my own), visiting/camping in every national park in Colorado (there are four), snowboard Vail and Whistler, and getting more comfortable snowboarding through trees. Also, I’m turning 37 this year – hello middle age! If I could afford it, I’d add, buy a motorcycle, to my bucket list but let’s be real – I’m working with a teacher’s salary here.

B and I threw another New Years Eve party this year and it was so much fun, I think it’s going to be a regular thing from now on. It was a small but close group, and the shenanigans went into the wee hours of the night. I picked up a vintage punch bowl at the thrift store a few days ago, and we mixed a double batch of very, very potent Rabbit Punch for the party. That punch fueled a lively game of catch-phrase, B showed off his favorite Christmas present (a Silky Saw), and I managed to get some fabulous photos of everyone. Most of my friends are/were teachers, and we all know how to have fun!

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Happy New Year everyone!

Erika S. fun stuffs, outfits

Break Time

I’m on day three of Winter Break today, and it feels so glorious to be able to sleep in, drink coffee in bed, and take leisurely strolls around the neighborhood. These first few days of break are always filled with hard core lounging, so here’s a quick wrap up of the key chill action that took place last night and today.

Last night, B and I joind our friends Bear and Mallory at a cute little speakeasy style bar in Golden, Colorado callled Golden Moon Speakeasy. This place is so awesome, any feeble attemps to describe it just won’t do it justice. The drinks are named after Lord of the Rings phrases, such as What Has It Got in It’s Pocketses, and they distil their own spirits at a separate locationn nearby. B got a flight of their spirits, and my favorite was the Violette, which is a beautiful lilac colored liquor that is sweet and florally but with a healthy kick (a bottle of it will be in my stocking tomorrow morning, becuase B is a nice guy). I ended up trying out a couple of their cocktails, the “An Unexpected Party” and the “Cloud City”.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAThis morning, B and I lounged till late morning, then took a stroll with Bambi over to the Denver Central Market which is a warehouse type market with high end food stalls – similar to the Ferry Building in SF and th Chelsea Markets in NY.  Every major city has at least one of these now. I obviously love them, and I love that this one is within walking distance from our house. Also, the bakery in the market has pudding crossants. I sat outside admireing the street art with the dog while B went in and got our treats.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

I made B play photographer on the way over. He was not happy and moaned/groaned the whole time. He does not make a good Instagram Husband at all. Nothing new with the outfit, just a recycle from this day. The bag on the otherhand, is a recent present to myself.  I’m not a bag lady by any means, and most of the time I just put what I need in my coat pockets. Having a little purse like this can be handy though, when the coats can be left at home. It’s the middle of December today (Xmas Eve), and it is 52˚F out right now! Happy holidays everyone!

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

sunnies: rayban – cardigan and jeans: uniqlo – t shirt and belt: urban outfitters – shoes: adidas – bag: minor history – bracelets: madewell

Erika S. fun stuffs, outfits

14ers

torreys-and-greys-14er

view-from-greys

torreys-and-greys

B and I hiked another two 14ers last weekend. After our first one, we got the itch, so we squeezed a double whammy in before the weather turns for Fall. Gray’s Peak and Torrey’s Peak are right next to each other and are usually climbed as a two-for deal. I’m not going to lie though, this one was tough. It was only a little more mileage and elevation climb than Mt. Bierstadt, but for some reason this one felt harder. I started to feel pretty loopy in the head (lack of oxygen) about 3/4 of the way up the first peak, Gray’s. I pushed through though, and boy, was it worth it. The view at the top was breathtaking, literally and figuratively. It feels amazing to be on top of the Rocky Mountains. The second peak on the other hand, became a trudge-fest. I made it though, and felt pretty darn proud of myself. I’m not the fittest person ever, but darn it I can climb a mountain!

I started this week with a new top from Anthropologie. I think I have a pretty good pirate costume piece here, all I will have to do is engineer myself a peg-leg and find an eyepatch! It’s a darn comfy and cute top, but I paid a relatively hefty price for it, even on sale. I just have to remind myself “cost-per-wear”.

anthropologie-meda-lace-top

anthropologie-meda-lace-top4

anthropologie-meda-lace-top5

anthropologie-meda-lace-top2

anthropologie-meda-lace-top3

glasses: warby parker – top: anthropologie – jeans: mother denim – shoes: mia

Erika S. fun stuffs, outfits

Last days of Summer

The classic end of summer weekend has come and gone. By now everyone is back in school and anticipating the weather change. Today I overheard a couple girls talking about the imminent return of the Pumpkin Spice Latte at Starbucks. Apparently that means winter is coming. Good thing I managed to check off my last 2 summer time goals this past 3 day weekend. B and I climbed a 14er, and I went fly-fishing!

A 14er is essentially a mountain that is over 14,000 ft, and there are 96 of them in the US. 53 of these 14ers are in Colorado, so summiting them is a bit of a thing here. It seems that just about every Colorado resident has “bagged” at least one 14er. So we climbed the easiest one, Mt. Bierstadt (14,065 ft) this past weekend. Man, breathing is no joke at 12,000 ft and above. I survived though with heaps of breaks on the way up. I think I’ve got the 14er bug, so now I’m chomping at the bit to scale a few more of these peaks. Gray’s and Torrey’s Peak will be next!

mtbierstadt

I managed to squeeze in a little shopping trip yesterday before I met up with a friend to go fly-fishing. Picked up this dress from Forever 21, which of course, on me it’s a shirt. I really like these “dresses” because it guarantees that I’ll never have to worry about bending over or squatting down to pick up a pencil in the classroom. I have a super long torso, so even with high-waisted jeans, the danger of an accidental butt crack slip is always a concern. Please ignore the wrinkles, I’m not an iron or steam type of person. Even with wrinkles, this top is neutral, comfortable, and professional looking enough for the classroom.  Winning. Also, these jeans (and a black pair) are the only pants I’ve been wearing lately, because they’re the only ones that fit me right now. Thanks, summer!

laborday

laborday2

laborday4

laborday3

laborday5

glasses: warby parker – top: f21 – jacket: h&m – jeans: mother denim – shoes: mia

Erika S. fun stuffs

The Winter Stay-cation (instagram round up)

Welcome back!  Today is the first monday of January – which means the first day back for us teachers!  Initially I had been working on B to take a Denver –> San Francisco and back road trip for the 2 weeks I had off.  in the end, he couldn’t be swayed to sit in the car for the 20 hours it would have taken us to get there, so a  Stay-cation is was.  This winter break was the chance to so all those “Colorado” things I’ve been missing out on this whole fall semester!  So I made a mental list and checked some off.

1) I went indoor rock climbing for the first time in 4 years at Thrill Seekers.  I’m hoping to continue it and eventually move into some real rock climbing – outdoors.

2) We found time for some more archer-ing (?).  It’s an amazing feeling to hit the bull’s eye.  One day I’ll Legolas the shit out of the target.  In the mean time, Abe and I (my Bio partner in crime) just let them fly and am happy if one lands on the paper inside the circles.  Getting better with practice though.

abe

3) I finally went snowboarding in Colorado, one of the main draws for me moving out here.  The snow has been coming down pretty heavily since christmas, so B and I made our way up to the mountains for the first time this season.  We both bought the Epic Local pass, so we have more than a few resorts to chose from.  Also, I bought myself a new board and bindings this year.  It was time to retire the old beat up, gouged up “vintage” Rossignol Strato from 2001.  The new board is amazing and I’m sure it will last me another 14 years!

board

4) B and I went on 2 nice dinner dates – once at TAG and once at MY NEW FAVORITE RESTAURANT IN DENVER, Beatrice and Woodsley.  Sorry, that had to be in caps because this place is seriously amazing.  The decor is nothing short of magical (and I hate that word as a science teacher), and it feels like you’re dining inside an Anthropologie store (without all the clothes).  Just check out the photos!  The food is also amazing, interesting and French (my favorite only second to Vietnamese).

b&w

5) I painted.  B had this large 3’x4′ canvas in his apartment in SF that he used as a projector screen.  When we moved to Brooklyn and in together, I insisted on keeping it, thinking I’d paint something cool and abstract on it one day.  Fast forward 3 years and the canvas was still untouched, save for a huge red wine splash on a corner.  B kept threatening to get rid of it if I wasn’t going to do anything with it, and I stalled for 3 years.  I’m not a painter.  The last time I painted, I was in high school taking a summer art class at Academy of Art College (now University) in SF.  This stay-cation was the perfect time to get it done.  It has been amateur hour at the Schenck artist studio.  I channeled my inner Bob Ross and bought a mixing knife, a fatty brush and 4 colors from a Michael’s craft store.  I started out with some paint scribbles and what looked like might be ocean waves, and ended up with this.  No idea how it worked, but I like it enough.  i think I’ll call it, Serenity.  Lolz.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

6) B and I went shopping at the Arcteryx outlet and spent way too much money on awesome jackets.  I bought a new snowboarding shell, and he bought a soft jacket and a shell.  All last year’s colors and and extra 30% off the already reduced prices.  We were like kids in a candy shop, wanted all of the things.  Now we match like major dorks.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

This is a complete coincidence, I promise.  I bought my black jacket at the start of fall.  Then B bought his black beanie from REI and I just “had to have” the orange version (I wanted to look like this girl) a few weeks before the break.  Then he just “had” to get the orange version of my jacket way later.  We’re just too cool, man.

Erika S. trips

Life!

I’ve been working on having a life again outside of school.  As B so aptly mentioned to me one night – “your blog is called Teacher Have Lives Too, so prove it!”  We just had a 4 day weekend, so I made an effort to get out and go camping before the weather turns.  It was marvelous to be out in nature and with good friends.  We shot archery (my new fav hobby!), shot the shit around the campfire eating s’mores and did a bit a hiking.  I also tried elk steak for the first time!  Some of these pictures are from my Instagram, others were taken by B.

white ranch park white ranch park2 jug camping safety orange bams snow mom and dog

Erika S. fun stuffs, trips

Since You’ve Been Gone

Or, since I’ve been gone.

I’ve let this blog drop for the past 8 months for a few reasons:

  1. I fell into a sartorial rut
  2. I ran out of things to say (or so I thought)
  3. B and I decided to make (yet another) life change by moving to Denver, CO
  4. I got busy (but not really, it was more laziness than anything)

I’m still struggling with #1 and #2, but slightly less so now.  My climate has changed and more significantly, my mode of transportation has changed.  We bought a car, so I no longer have to schlep it through snow/sleet and for that matter walk very much at all to/from school.  My Fitbit has had depressingly low numbers since we moved.  I no longer have to worry about new shoes giving me blisters after walking miles or how hot/cold I will be on the walk to the subway. I can wear whatever I want now, thanks to the fancy A/C and heated seats in the new ride.  It’s borderline bougie.  In addition, I’m starting at a new school here in Denver.  That means new all of the things: classes, students, standards, curriculum (the district curriculum tells you to teach from a textbook – that’s practically a dirty word where I come from), BBC (blackboard configuration), buzz words, rules, etc.  I will have heaps to talk about.  I’m entering my 6th year of teaching high school science in public schools.  I’m just going to go ahead and pat myself on the back for making it past the legendary “50% gone by 5 years” mark.   Do I feel like an experienced teacher?  Nope.  Not even close.

So what has happened since I’ve been gone?  If you follow me on Instagram, none of this is news to you.

I went to the Dominican Republic over winter break with a couple of awesome friends.

gone 2

gone1

IMG_6487

IMG_20131227_221901~2

I went to Puerto Rico over spring break with yet another awesome friend.  Most amazing tropical beach vacation ever.

gone 4

gone5

IMG_3393

gone 3

Hung out with my niece and went with my sister to the White House Correspondent’s Dinner pre-parties again.

10411283_10100738992390135_7443786046631174233_n

IMG_3721

IMG_3538

B and I packed up, said goodbye (with a bit of tears) to my crew kids at Leaders, bid farewell to Brooklyn and moved to Denver.  We’ve been here for a month so far,  more on Denver to come.

IMG_4094