weekend with mom

My mom came out to Colorado on Wednesday for a vacation and to help with some prep for Spencer's and my wedding. We got a ton done, and in the process, managed to hit up a bunch of my favorite spots and other places I've been meaning to check out.

Wednesday night we got takeout from Black Pepper Pho. All of the pho snobs have killed its Yelp rating, but I think this place is awesome! The veggie pho broth is better than anywhere else, their veggies are fresh (and not sketchy), their veggie banh mi is the best sandwich I've ever had, and their fresh spring rolls are some of my favorites too.

Thursday we drove out to Denver, stopping at Pacific Ocean Market Place in Broomfield for some noodles, herbs, and dumpling wrappers. The rest of the day in Denver went like this:

- Check out Bcycle, Denver's new bike sharing program.


-Espresso at Masterpiece Delicatessen 
-Pecan caramel bar for Spencer at Living the Sweet Life (this place is soooo cute!)
-Wedding dress shopping at Anne Be. I went in dragging my feet, but the people at Anna Be were so awesome that I actually found something I liked. This was not it (ew!):



-Shopping on South Broadway for wedding jewelry. I found some antique turquoise and sterling earrings and cuff at Lee Alex Decor and some other goodies at Decade. We also visited some antique shops further south on Broadway, but we didn't find anything there.
-Federal Boulevard for some colorful paper decorations (and a hibiscus popsicle for me!)

Friday we went shopping in Boulder for more decorations. Then we went up to Lyons to check out the wedding venue (Planet Bluegrass Ranch) and had a late lunch at Oskar Blues. Spencer and I went for a bike ride, and then we went to Ras Kassas for an Ethiopian dinner.

Saturday I did a bike race up Lookout Mountain in Golden while my mom ran here. Then we had brunch (huevos rancheros and mimosas) and went out shopping for plants. We made centerpieces with succulents from Sturtz and Copeland. They will fill out over the summer.









Churro helped us plant some Thai basil too.



Spencer and I decided to get three big grass pots for our balcony to help prevent Churro from jumping over to the neighbors'.



We also checked out the St. Julien and had a drink and some pickles out on the deck at Happy Noodle.







We cooked a mushroom and udon nodle soup for dinner, and then capped off my mom's visit with a trip over to Arugula for a nightcap. Now it's Sunday and after the bustle of the last few days, I don't know what to do with myself! A long mountain bike ride seems like the answer...