After school today, Q and I headed down to the wickedly-elegant Goldyn boutique to check out Kristen Hatgi Sink's new vitrine and show. 

What a spectacle! The pictures really speak for themselves...

Q was allowed to use the vitage typewriter gracing the front desk. Q has a bit of an obsession with typewriters.

 I really just need to take her to an antique store and get her one of her own, in good working condition.

 I love the vintage-meets-steampunk look of the displays that Kristen set up around the store. Her style meshes so well with the aesthetic at Goldyn, with its bell jars, insects under glass (I particularly love the huge scorpion amidst the jewelry displays), and random taxidermy.

Yep, still at the typewriter.

She looks like a mannequin next to a mannequin in this shot. That girl.

Afterward we met daddy at the Masterpiece Delicatessen just down the street for miso soup, gourmet grilled cheese and brisket on a baguette.

 Q doing Facilier's line, "Won't you shake a poor sinner's hand?" from The Princess and the Frog, with a suitably untrustworthy demeanor. Never make a deal with a girl like Q, she will sell your soul down the river!

Spinach salad with applewood smoked bacon and cheese toast croutons. Heaven.

LoDo as seen from LoHi ;)

Goldyn Clothing Boutique

2040 W. 30th Ave 

Denver

Masterpiece Delicatessen

1575 Central St

Denver

 BIRTHDAY!!!!

Yes, recently it was my 49th Birthday, and in celebration we went out with some friends to Denver's The Squeaky Bean.

Lucky me, my birthday week happened to correspond with Denver's "restaurant week", which means that Denver's finest restaurants create special, limited-edition menus for the annual occasion.

It was our very first time at The Squeaky Bean, and, since we are all four of us major foodies, the restaurant-week menu was like paradise for us. 

Each hand-written, prix fixe menu was paperclipped to a vintage '60s cookbook, just to add to the evening's vintage atmosphere.    

 Behind the elegant diningroom, a vintage bingo board. Also, chandeliers made form vintage silverware, and a shrine to '70s Farrah Faucette near the illuminated bar.

 Our sweet friends A & B, who joined us for my birthday dinner!

 

 My beautiful friend A, facebooking cocktail photos ;)

 This first-course queou d'ecrevisse elicited much laughter from the table at large when it was accidentally placed in front of me, just after I had told a funny story about my recent conversion to crawfish activist. Long story.

 B and his hand-carved icecube, which was truly a work of art.

 Second courses, served on bite-sized wooden spoons.

 Although my first course, a deconstructed ratatouille, was incredible, my main course of sole with fennel, mussels and lemon gelée ended up being so superb, so surprising, so exceptional that it blew the entire night out of the water!

 Mike's main course, also delicious but not quite as superb as mine.

 Me with my superb birthday cocktail, entitled the Nino Brown, made for me by the bartender who also happened to be the fiancé of our babysitter that night.

Mike and I, birthday evening shot taken by our dear friend A.

 Recently, Q and I had the pleasure of joining our friends at Leon, where we had the artspace all to ourselves to view Leon's Garden by Eric Robert Dallimore.

 The installation is constructed from pine beetle kill wood out of Silver Plume. Our area of the Colorado Rockies has been beset by pine beetles for several years now, and I love to see people making creative and constructive use of the beetle kill. 

There are now snowboards made from beetle-kill wood (Weston, my husband has one and they are beautiful!), furniture, etc. 

Dallimore's constructions are simple, beautiful and thought-provoking, and he can tell you a great deal of interesting information about the pine beetle epidemic and the reasons behind it.

 B inspecting pellets for wood-burning stove made from beetle kill.

 The moss is beautiful, and has to be hand-sprayed regularly with water to keep it living.

 The girls were enthralled with the exhibit and spent much time discussing, inspecting and viewing from different angles.

 The artist answering questions.

 

 Maps showing the scope and progress of the beetle kill.

 S taking phone pics.

 The girls enjoying the space.

 Sasha looking for new angles.

Instagram girl hard at work. 

Leon's Garden is open through March 2, and I highly recommend it, both for adults and kids!

Leon

1112 East 17th Ave

Denver

 Busy, busy with client work right now, but I needed to post these shots of Q's latest haircut at Scarlet salon.

 Such a stunning cut, thanks to Carrie. Asian hair is very difficult to cut, and even harder when the Asian is five-and-a-half.

 Carrie did a stellar job this time around.

 

 

 

Learning to use her new digital guitar with daddy. 

 And rockin' it out. She was working on playing "We Got The Beat" by The Go-Go's, currently her favorite song.

 

 

Beefing up on sushi and miso soup at our local Japanese joint after a long, hard flu season. Time for us all to be healthy again for a while!