Kristina does the Internets: A Weekend in Boulder

Get ready for a photo overload!! We were in Boulder for a long weekend for my cousin's wedding, and it was seriously one of the best weekends ever.

Part of that was that we were staying at Chautauqua, a hundred year old resort full of the cutest little cabins. Each had a cute screened porch (some of them bigger than others) where we all sat out with my extended family every night, eating massive amounts of cheese and sipping on wine (or Keystone Light in the case of my 21 year old cousins) and laughing so loud that we continuously got in trouble for noise. I don't know when the last time we spent so much time together - maybe a trip to the beach 10+ years ago - and really it didn't matter what we were doing.

Our cabin - number 409! Ours was one of the original old cabins on the property.

Over the summer I met Kristin from Cupcakes and the Cosmos, and she said that Chautauqua was a really fun location because it was at the base of the hiking trails in Boulder. I literally asked her what else there was to do, because I'm not that into hiking. Well, I definitely ate my words, because I think I went out hiking more than anyone in our group! There are a couple of trails that leave right out of the resort, some of them are really challenging (my parents and I accidentally went on a really tough climb - should have realized if the trail was marked "no horses" it should have meant "no Kristina's" also) but some were easy enough to take a stroll with my two year old niece. I tried to take some photos of her out in the mountains, but she got excited that I was squatting down and decided she needed to squat down too.

The mountains closest to Boulder are called the Flatirons because, I mean, well, just take a look. Aren't they beautiful?! It was sunny for most of our trip, but one morning when we went out it was really foggy and spooky.

Oh, and of course, there was the whole reason we went to Boulder - my cousin's wedding of course!! Hope got married out at Milston Well Farm, and it was one of the coolest wedding venues we've ever been to. They had their ceremony out in front of a old farm house that had a cool archway growing in front of the door, their cocktail hour in a restored barn next to a pen full of animals, their dinner at one long table in a grove of trees, and dancing under a giant teepee. Yes, a giant teepee. Oh, and they closed out the night with an ice cream truck, which, frankly, you didn't have to ask me twice to visit.

Someone told me to show off my accessories ;)

Dress (currently on sale!) / Jacket / Bag / Boots

What else did we get down to in Boulder? Eat and drink and eat and drink of course! We mostly visited Pearl Street, which is a cute little walkable downtown area full of bars and restaurants and shops. Jeff and I actually walked there from Chautauqua which was a pretty little walk past the prettiest houses. It's about a 300 foot change in elevation though, so I would not recommend walking back!!

Some of the places we went were:

The Med - a restaurant specializing in foods from around the Mediterranean, including tapas, pasta, pizza, paella, and even tagine. My favorite thing here was the special cantaloupe and burrata toast. I've never understood melon and mozzarella before, but I seriously get it now - so freaking good! And this place was great for large groups. We had fourteen people, and I saw a couple of other really big tables while we were there too.

Bohemian Biergarten - German beers, sausages, picnic tables, and big tvs - perfect for watching football on Sunday afternoon! I mean, Jeff watched football, I Instagrammed ;)

Cured - An amazing cheese and meat shop. My uncle bought all of the charcuterie for the rehearsal party from here, and Jeff and I love some charcuterie so we had to go visit the next day for some Italian sandwiches - so good! Word on the street is they make a mean breakfast sandwich too.

Alpine Modern Cafe - I really wanted to go here to try all of the toasts (oh, excuse me hipsters, tartines) but we only managed to stop in for coffee. Let me tell you, they had two kinds of chai lattes (I got the sweet - yum!) and the inside was so cute and perfect.

Tahona Tequila Bistro - We ducked in here for happy hour, and they had infused-tequilla margaritas. Yaaaaasssss why doesn't everyone make these?! Instead of having a too-sweet fruit margarita, just have a hint of pineapple or strawberry or watermelon and mint. Plus, the happy hour specials were on point.

Next Door - Next Door is, in fact, next door to The Kitchen, the restaurant where my cousin Hope met her now husband!! There is also a bar upstairs called, ironically, Upstairs ;) I got one of the burgers here and it was delicious and amazing and everything I could hope for in a burger. Plus live music and outdoor seating.