Where We Ate | Dinner for Two

dress: Target // necklace: New Eve Jewelry // shoes: Madden Girl // rings: my great grandmother's

Last year, Trevor's birthday was celebrated with cake and snow flurries, with our belongings still in boxes.  But on Friday, when Trevor celebrated his birthday once again, we were surrounded by sand and sun.
To celebrate another year, we put on our finest clothes and headed to dinner in Santa Fe. I'm in love with this little high-low number for the Target clearance rack and Trevor? Well, nothing makes him happier than red pants or the chance to wear a fedora.
Despite having a long list of places to eat and people to see, we settled on a tried and true Santa Fe favorite, Dinner for Two, for our celebration. Though settle is hardly the word for it. 
Fresh cucumber water. Bib lettuce with poached clams and shrimp. Marinated olives with bleu cheese. Calamari ceviche with toasted almonds. Roasted Hawaiian Opa with a compound crab butter. Prime rib and horseradish mashed potatoes. Gluten free key lime pie.
We dined. We laughed. We chatted with the chef.
We celebrated another great year with great food.  Like I said, we hardly settled.

Because of the Brave

Today is a day not set aside for barbecues, swimming pools or starting summer celebrations. Today is a day set aside for remembering those who have lost their lives fighting for our country, to honor those who have defended our country in the past, and to support those who continue to fight for it now.

Today is a day to remember that we live in the land of the free, because of the brave.

I am lucky to live with this guy - a veteran - a guy who gave two years of his life to jumping out of, as he would call them, "perfectly good" airplanes. I am honored to be able to hear his stories and thankful that he is here with me now. Each week, I send e-mails across the oceans to my brother, my brother who is aboard a boat for nearly a year as part of his service to the Marines. I feel so lucky to have these two, and fortunate that they have served our country without having to make the greatest sacrifice - the loss of their lives.

So many others are not so fortunate.
Many have lost family and friends, brothers and uncles, grandfathers or great grandfathers.

Between burgers and cold beers, please take a moment today to thank those who have protected and continue to protect our country, and to remember the veterans who have lost their lives in and out of the course of duty. Take a moment to realize how truly blessed we are, that others give of their lives so that we may live in peace and in freedom.

I want:

I want to serve you filet and champagne for dinner, just because.
I want to never stop having picnic lunches.
I want to write you love notes in neon ink on our kitchen white board.
I want to plan your perfect birthday weeks before it happens.
I want to drive around on Sunday mornings to look at hot air balloons.
I want to hike mountains together.
I want to duck inside unaffordable furniture stores and dream.
I want to rub your hands while you fall asleep.
I want to decipher the poems you write.
I want to photograph you in every spot we visit.
I want to sit at our kitchen together every morning.
I want to argue about how to decorate our home.
I want to drink coffee and tea together at your favorite spots.
I want to embarrass you with lists like this one.
I want to bring you home heath bar ice cream on bad days.
I want to scrub the stains out of your dress shirts.
I want to be always be your baby doll.
I want to fight you for blankets every night.
I want to eat our way through Santa Fe and laugh at every celebrity we see.
I want to leave my bobby pins everywhere for you to roll your eyes at.
I want to take videos of every adventure we take.
I want to never stop taking adventures.
I want to read novels filled with your handwritten notes.
I want to go for late night drives.

I want to love you, always.

Snowy Saturdays

This weekend proved full of winter adventures.

Wednesday night, the snow started to fall. On Saturday morning, it was still falling. After nearly three days without seeing the sun, Trevor and I decided to take Saturday as our day - a day to drive around, play in the snow and attempt to take a reasonable Christmas card photo. Not hard when you live here.

In some areas, the snow was above my knees. And yet, we ran across a group of ten campers - campers who were worried they might not get out without the help of a few pick up trucks. They had been hunting for elk. It seems to be the time to do it. The other day, deer crossed through our fenced yard in town. On Friday, Trevor saw a moose on his way to pick me up from work. Unfortunately, our pups aren't enjoying the snow as much as the other Montana wildlife seem to be. 

So, yesterday, we took off from Anaconda and headed toward Montana's capital, Helena. Trevor had fallen in love with the view from atop the Cromwell Dixon Campground but unfortunately, the snow had made the campground all but impassable. Still, we pulled to the side of the highway for some scenic shots and to throw snowballs down the mountain side with strangers taking a rest stop from their drive home to Missoula.

While I was excited to take our photos, I was more excited at the chance to browse through Target. Unfortunately, though, I left the store with only a box of my favorite chocolate covered cherries and new makeup brushes. But, I made up for it with an hour spent in the Christmas section staring at ornaments, convincing Trevor that our pups need pajamas, and making a list of all the things we need before December 1st arrives. And, after our "shopping," we managed to find a good lunch (and Angry Orchard on tap!) at the Brewhouse Pub and Grill.

In the end, we captured a few Christmas card photos - some silly, some serious - but you'll have to wait for those. Until then, you can enjoy our snowy view from the warmth of your home. As for us? It's 16 degrees and windy, but for now we're enjoying it with hot cocoa and an even hotter fire.

Ten on Tuesday: Howl-O-Ween Theatre

With the creepiest of holidays approaching, even the horror-movie averse find themselves searching for an appropriate film to get in the Halloween spirit. Being unknowledgeable in the realm of scary movies, I recruited my boyfriend (also known as Rudedog Chew) for his cult film knowledge. I'm excited to say that this Ten on Tuesday list will provide you with more than enough films for the last week leading up to Halloween.  And, I'm proud to say, I've even made it through a few of the movies on this list... Though, I guess that means they might not be that scary. After all, we all know that I only watch horror movies under a blanket with desperate pleas to change the channel. While making this list, we thought of countless films worthy of watching but hopefully these ten will leave you unable to pick up the remote. Though you likely won't find these classic films in RedBox, you can click on each title to rent or purchase the film from Amazon.


But, without further ado, here's Trevor to tell you just which films to see this Halloween season:


1// Bram Stoker's Dracula is the truest-to-form Dracula movie we've seen. And, since it's directed by Francis Ford Coppola, from costume to storyline - everything's epic til the end. (Plus, it's kind of a love story, so it get's Jen's approval, too.)

2// The Crow will always be known for it's unfortunate on-set mishap. That being said, it's also the film that put Brandon Lee over the top despite his untimely death during the movie's filming. As an added bonus, it has a cool soundtrack. Very gritty and very dark, it's a perfect film for Halloween.

3// Wolfen is a suspense-thriller that follows Native America lycans as they commit murders through the South Bronx. A seasoned police detective unearths the truth about the situation and has to take the law into his own hands.

4// House of 1000 Corpses is Rob Zombie's 2003 take on the 1980's retro horror films. For that reason, we suggest you watch Wolfen or The Howling before this cliche tale of teenagers lost in the backwoods of Texas. Though the story line might be unoriginal, the film features Rob Zombie's own macabre style and is definitely worth a watch.

5// 30 Days of Night is about the only vampire movie that Jen can stand, let alone watch with her eyes open . The vampires are bad ass; the thought of 30 Alaskan days without sunlight, terrifying. And well, you do the math.

6// Nightbreed is full of cool costumes and cooler monsters. This film by Clive Barker tells the tale of a town of monsters and mutants who must escape from the terror brought on by a psychotic serial killer (played by famous director David Cronenberg) and redneck vigilantes. If you have any doubt about watching, it may help to know that the film features our fine American actor and York, PA native, Craig Sheffer.

7// The Lost Boys is a cult classic that features perhaps the creepiest of actors, Keifer Sutherland and one of the 80's favorite pairs, the two Coreys. The movie tells the story of a family harassed by teenage vampires after moving to a California beach town plagued with strange deaths.

8// The Exorcist III may not be the most obvious choice but with Brad Dourif's performance as the Gemini Killer, a demon who haunts Father Karras' soul, the film is even more bone-chilling than it's predecessors. And for those of you wondering, this horror story makes sense even without having seen the first film in the series.

9// The Howling features a rehabilitation center, The Colony, whose werewolf residents aren't expected by the TV newswoman sent to live at the center .. Really, hippie werewolves, what more could you ask for?

10// Pumpkinhead is another cult classic, released in 1988. In this creepy tale, a man conjures a gigantic demon to seek vengeance against the teenagers who were responsible for his son's death.


So tell us, what are your favorite Halloween movies? 
Jen's? Halloweentown.