Life In Colorado: Chop House & Hornets

Last week John and I went to a really nice dinner at a place on Pearl Street called The Chop House. Since John works at a Toyota Dealership they do a lot of business with Landcar Agency. And since Toyota is their biggest client they offered to take all the service writers and guest out to dinner and we definitely didn't disappoint. Fourteen people and a HUGE tab later we had a great time. I had my second taste of lobster ($35 - WOW!) and a very good cranberry cosmo. After dinner we headed to The Rio for drinks and we had a lot of fun hanging out with the Toyota guys and their wives/girlfriends outside of work.

LOBSTER DINNER w/ CHEESE MASHED POTATOES

On Saturday John and I had date night with a dinner and movie. We saw the Green Hornet staring Seth Rogen and Jay Chou, in 3D. I really enjoyed the movie and the special effects. Seth Rogen did a great job bringing the comic side of the movie while Jay Chou did a great job as Kato, the butt kicking side-kick. After the movie John and I headed to our favorite (ok it's really my favorite) late night spot, I-hop. I love their breakfast food and it was where John and I went after our first date so he always humors me by going.

On Sunday I decided to try my hand at baking muffins from scratch. (Is it considered scratch if you have a recipe but still bake it by hand, without coming out of a box?) Anyways, my IT Department at work has been doing a lot of extra work on my computer these past few week so I thought I would bake them some muffins. I used a recipe I got from the Big Cedar Lodge in Missouri and the muffins are delicious if I do say so myself...and so did everyone in my IT Dept. They are also really easy to make...seriously!

Big Cedar Lodge

Orange Walnut Muffins

2 c. Flour - sifted

1 c. Sugar

1 tsp. Baking Powder

1 tsp. Baking Soda

1 tsp. Salt

1/2 stick of Butter

1 c. Orange Juice

1 Egg - beaten

1 c. Cranberries

(it calls for 1 cup but I recommend 1/2 a cup depending on size of cranberry)

1/2 c. Walnuts

Mix flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and butter in a bowl. Add orange juice, egg, and dry ingredients to bowl and mix. Bake in oven at 350 degrees for 18 to 20 minutes...for high altitude add a small hand full of flour.

Also, here are some pictures of my new apartment. After 2 1/2 months and 3 holidays we are finally getting settled in. We still have more pictures to hang but it's coming along nicely I think.