Many of you know this was a big weekend for me. Not only did my mom fly into Denver for the weekend but she brought some precious cargo with her.
LINCOLN’S BACK!!!!! It’s so surreal to have him here but he is officially a Colorado dog and doing well with getting acclimated with his surroundings. He’s already won over my roommate, has his spots in the house where he will hang out during the day and is starting to meet the other dogs in the neighborhood.
My mom and I went to Boulder on Saturday and since we were trying to keep things on the cheap (a common theme that I learned from my family), our first stop was the Celestial Seasonings Tea Factory and Tour.
Even though I’m a coffee girl all the way, I can get down with a cup of tea every now and then. Plus, this tour was voted one of the top 10 free tours in the country and you all know I’m all about the free. The tours on Saturday run on the hour from 10am to 4pm and since we got there early, we had time to hang out in their tasting room. They have featured flavors of the day and a menu of flavors they will brew for you on the spot.
I got a cup of the Red Zinger before the tour and perused the tasting room and read about the history of Celestial Seasonings. The tour ran about 45 minutes and not only do you get to wear a snazzy hairnet that made me feel like I was part of Laverne and Shirley, you get to see the factory. In the factory there is the milling area, mint room where their house all of their mint (which cleared up my sinuses within a minute of standing in there) and production line. They’ve been around since 1969 when it all started with the owner picking herbs native to Colorado in Aspen and they opened up shop in Boulder and never looked back. Even though they are a local company, they get their ingredients for their teas all over the world such as Egypt, China, Indonesia, Argentina and beyond.
It was interesting to learn about the company, the countries and regions where they get most of their ingredients and how they produce the tea bags. It made me want to explore tea some more to see what I do and what I don’t like. I’ve tried green, black, white, chai and herbal teas but have stuck with the basics and want to delve more into the tea world. This works perfectly because I’ve been into chai tea as of late and the tour guide mentioned they have a coconut chai tea. Coconut and chai together? Praise the lord! They conveniently end the tour in the tea shop where they offer all varieties of their tea (this is the only place other than their online store where you can find every single flavor) along with gifts, apparel and tea memorabilia.
Since it is their tea shop, I thought the tea would be ridiculously expensive but it was only $2.45 a box….much cheaper than at the store. But before I wasted $2.45 I wanted to try the coconut Chai to see if it was all that and a bag of chips so I went back to the Tasting Room and tried it out.
Damn skippy. I had two cups and gladly handed them over $2.45.
We soon departed Sleeptime Lane and went downtown Boulder and checked out the Pearl Street mall. Although Boulder is only 40 minutes away, it felt like it was a world away from Denver. I dug the small-college-city feel it has to it as opposed to the crowded city of Denver.
I was on a mission that day to try out a brewery in Boulder so we decided to check out Avery Brewing shortly after getting recommendations from multiple people on Twitter. Too bad we didn’t get to experience how wonderful everyone said it was though. We were there for about 15 minutes sitting down with no service and got annoyed and just walked out. I will go back there to check it out again since they had a pretty sweet beer selection.
No worries though because I had a contingency plan of checking out Boulder Beer Company as well. We drove over there and what do you know, it was closed…..on a Saturday. WTF? I’m a believer in third times the charm so I consulted my Yelp app and went in a different direction of a place to eat. Rather than a brewery, I searched for Thai and sushi places in the area and found Naraya Thai and Sushi. If I couldn’t have beer, I was going to have a filling lunch for cheap!
Hello starry night walls! This place was funky with a capital F and I dug the décor. Even though it was a Saturday afternoon, the place got pretty packed after awhile which didn’t fare well for us because there were only two people working there. I checked out their lunch specials which featured Thai and Japanese dishes and naturally went with the chicken pad thai because I can’t say no to pad thai…..especially when it’s only $7.
I was a bit bummed because this was the only place I’ve seen that didn’t include a soup or salad along with the lunch entrée. I don’t need the extra food but every other place I’ve been to has had it so that’s what I’ve grown accustomed to. I got chicken pad thai medium spicy and they gave me spice and then some. Too bad our server didn’t come back to check on us because my mouth was on fire and I could have used a water.
To end the weekend, we went to the Jazz-Nuggets game on Sunday night at the Pepsi Center.
I used to love basketball but not so much into it now but my employer offered a package we couldn’t turn down. For $15 you get a meal, beverage and ticket which is a steal of a deal. The only drawback was that it was Family Night so the place was crawling with misbehaved children. That I can ignore. But then the birthday party of 20 sat down in two rows in front of us and it was over—it was a birthday party of hipsters—-at a basketball game. WTF? Hipsters like basketball? Or as Miriam perfectly said on Twitter: “They like sports ironically?” I guess so because as soon as I knew it., I was engulfed in a sea of plaid shirts, odd tattoos and Buddy Holly glasses. That was my breaking point right there. Oh hipsters, I just can’t get down with you and am anxiously awaiting for the hipster craze to pass over. Hell, I would kill to see some emo kids again just for a change of pace.
Even though I love my mom more than anything in the world, I’m happy that my pup is back with me and things are getting back to normal. My mom and I stress each other out in every way possible—she worries about everything and tends to overreact to things that I don’t worry or even think about.
Don’t worry, she didn’t go all Joan Crawford on me for anything and never has. We’ve always gotten along just fine and I talk to her more than my sisters but I don’t share every single detail of my life with her. I have some friends who have a “best friend/tell each other every single detail of our life” relationship with their mothers comparable to the ones you see on tv and I just don’t get that since I’ve never had that.
Gilmore Girls we are not. And I’m ok with that but I just don’t get when friends tell me they are best friends with their mom and call each other every day because I’ve never had that type of communication with my mom. So while I miss her on the daily, a few thousand mile difference between us is a good thing.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I have some snuggle time that I need to catch up on with Lincoln
What kind of relationship do you have with your mom?
Are you a coffee or tea person?
With a nose and ears like that, nobody would be able to resist a cutie like Lincoln! I’m much more a coffee person, but I do love Celestial Seasonings. So cool that you got a tour of their factory!
I have a very close relationship with my mother. Not exactly Gilmore Girls style, but I tell her pretty much everything and she gives me great love and advice. But…I don’t think I could live with my parents anymore. I need my space!
I tried living with them again for three months and I nearly survived it, it’s funny how I thought I would be able to do it but soon came to my senses!
LINCOLN!!!! You must be so excited to have your pup back!
My relationship with my mom sounds very similar to yours. I’ve always kind of wanted the Rory and Lorelai relationship from The Gilmore Girls!
So fun! And hipsters aren’t suppose to like bball! Gulp…guess I’m seeing link soon?! And btw you know my relationship with my mom is f!cked up!
You and Linky are going to be bff’s…..as long as you don’t try to make him dinner. Yeah I went there!!!
Glad to read that the coconut chai is good. I just bought it at Target the other day but haven’t tried it yet.
Lame about Avery. Andy really, really wants to go there one day.
Same with my mom and me. We definitely do not have a Gilmore Girls relationship. I find that a little odd almost.
Thats funny that it’s on his list because every single person on twitter told me to go there. Hopefully the service isnt like that all the time (btw if you all are ever in the area you must let me know)
I am going to have to buy a new box of Chai soon, it’s that good.
That tour looks fun!!! I’d love to go to the tasting room. I haven’t tried that many teas, and I’d love to find one that I like. We were separated from our dog when we first moved here!! And it was so weird. It’s good (mostly – haha) to have him back. DEFINITELY a coffee person!
Oooh my goodness- this entire post had me smiling!! Where to start… Yay for having your pup back!! That luck Colorado dog!
Celestial Seasonings Tour is AWESOME. I’ve done the tour twice, and visit the tea shop every time I go to Colorado. The best thing is that they sell all of the partner company’s beauty products, so you can score Alba Organics, Jason, and other other brands products for SUPER CHEAP. I always leave room in my suitcase for all that stuff.
And WTF Avery? That sucks! Avery is my absolute FAVE brewery in all of Colorado! Sorry you didn’t get to enjoy it!
I’m a total beer snob and would never drink Coors- but I have to tell you- that tour is awesome. You should totally plan a trip out to Golden to see it- it’s probably not far from you. And the tasting at the end is really awesome!
I keep hearing that the Coors tour is awesome and I plan on doing it one of these days! I actually went to Golden the first week I moved here but it was a Tuesday and they are closed on Tuesdays, go figure.
I had no idea that Celestial owned Terra Chips–I love them! I will go back to see how much cheaper it is than at the store (the stores charge $4 for a small bag, wtf?)
My mom and I are closer now than I think we ever were when I was younger. I still don’t tell her anything and everything (by any means), but know I’m a little more allowed to do so and speak more freely- even if it makes her uncomfortable at times. I think she realized by being so strict and conservative when I was in high school and for part of college, she wasn’t really able to be there for me when I needed her to. We’re both working on it.
Lincoln!!!!
So glad Linc’s back and also glad that you got to check out the Celestial Seasonings factory! Love that place. And you reminded me I need to go back soon- I love shopping for the special or out-of-season blends.
I still can’t believe how cheap the tea is there! I was hoping they would have more in their clearance bin but it was all green tea packages and I already have way too much of that.
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
that is all. <3
Love it.
YAAAAAAYYY! (Claps hands like a demented seal) Needless to say, I’ve been waiting for this reunion post! See? I never use exclamation points, but I just totally overused them.
Anyway, yay. As for moms, we have a role reversal with our relationship, but I’m glad we’re close. I like my space though.
Oh Abby, I read this at work and automatically had a visual of you clapping like a seal and it made my day, is that odd? Possibly but it brought a smile to my face.
My mom and I are definitley very close, but not in a “best friend” way. I could write a whole post on hating girls who say their moms are your best friends (in fact I may). I by no means discuss the same things or act the same way with my mom as I do with my girls, nor do I tell her every little detail. But I mean…shes still my momma, and she knows me better than anyone else, and I trust her implicitly, and I can’t imagine not talking to her every day.
Woohoo! Thanks for the shoutout, lady
And congrats to getting your pup back!! I’m sure he’s beyond thrilled to be with you again.
And my “bahaha comment” of this post: “see if it was all that and a bag of chips” – I have NEVER heard this before (maybe it’s an American/Brit thing, I dunno) but tis new to me.
OMG I totally made it up, please send all royalties to me-thanks. Ok, I kidd, but thats interesting that you never heard that before since it’s a bit dated. I think I’m going to start saying it more just to bring it back!
Yay, Lincoln! I’m glad to see him back on your blog (and back in your home!). I don’t have a normal relationship with my mom, I’ve seen her a total of 3 times in the past handful of years so I’m probably not the best judge of when it comes to normal mother/daughter relationships! I’m more a daddy’s girl, myself.
Me too, I’m the baby of the family and have the exact same personality as my dad so we have always been closer plus I feel like I can tell him more without him freaking out.
Yay for Linky being back!!! Korky says hello!
My mom and I have a great relationship. We chat every day. Some days its only for a minute or two and other days it can last for 45 min. I tell her all kinds of things, but not everything in my life. Its important for me to be independent. As a kid though we were NOT friends. She was my mom. As an adult our relationship changed and I’m very thankful for that.
Hi Korky!!
Yea Lincoln!
I am a green tea girl. I drink several cups of green tea a day. That tour would be neat to do.
what an awesome tour! and i am so gonna keep an eye out for that tea… unless you wanna mail me some and taht would be okay too
While I love my coffee, I do enjoy tea every now and then. I would love to take a tour like you did!
My mom and I are pretty close {we only live about 10 minutes apart} but we only chat one the phone once or twice a week because I am so busy. We do try and have dinner with my parents at least twice a month.
Glad I found your blog!