The last couple of weeks felt like an absolute grind. A combination of weather, work, and health struggles made me feel like I was running on empty. Luckily, I had a week in Denver on the books, which came with a city escape to the sleepy town of Leadville, CO. I was joined by Jon and Kasra who consistently make me laugh uncontrollably and share my love of technology, cooking, and serendipitous adventures.  Their company coupled with scenic mountain views completely elevated my mood and helped me reset for the week ahead.

The drive up to Leadville is absolutely gorgeous. The two-hour trip flew by thanks to DJ Jazzy Jon’s epic pop extravaganza. He played us throwback after throwback, which ignited involuntary screams of delight from me. If you ever want to see me giddy, put me behind a steering wheel with the following playlist:

Roasted Chicken & Snapchat Goodness

When we arrived at our AirBnB, we immediately got to work on dinner. The menu: roasted chicken and potatoes with lemon, thyme and garlic served with a side of bacon brussel sprouts. YUM.

Jon shows off his knife skills by breaking down a whole chicken.

I love a good medley of baby potatoes.

Team work makes the dream work.

Snapchat Spectacles in action.

Roasted chicken goodness.

Final plating

Confession: I though Snapchat Spectacles were absolutely ridiculous until I tried them out. Now I think they’re awesome. If you’re a media fiend who likes to document everything in life, these glasses were made for you. I loved having these in the kitchen.

The charging case is slick and video playback in the Snapchat app makes you want to both consume and share content in a way that I haven’t really felt compelled to on Snapchat before.

I also think these are infinitely more wearable than Google Glass.

Photography Fun

I took a bunch of photos walking on Harrison Avenue, Leadville’s main street, and then later in the afternoon driving around Turquoise Lake. The town doesn’t have much, but it feels like you’re walking through a time capsule. 

“Guys, we’re pulling over and having a photo shoot. Stand in the middle of the road please.”

Making T-Bone Steak Like a Boss

Before we left Denver, we stopped at Western Daughters, an awesome butcher in LoHi that specializes in locally sourced grass-fed meat. We ordered a pound of thick cut bacon for breakfast, a few bratwurst sausages for the grill, and a beautiful two-inch thick T-bone steak.

We’re big fans of the Joule from Chef Steps. You really can’t go wrong with a sous vide steak, which involves slow cooking in a water bath (more deets here). We seasoned the cut generously with salt and pepper and then cooked it for 3 hours at a temp of 132 F with thyme, butter, and garlic.  Afterwards, we pan-seared it to render the fat and then threw it on the grill for a few seconds to get an added sear.

Sides included roasted cauliflower, grilled carrots and corn, garlic bread, and a salad with alfalfa sprouts, avocado, tomato, cucumber, and a simple lemon dressing.

We basically spent 48 hours alternating between cooking, co-working, exploring and then filled our nights binging on The Great British Baking Show.

Jon’s amazing smoked salmon salad

Coffee, coworking, and more cooking. My ideal morning.

I’m still on a mission to perfect a french omelette. I’m getting close!

This past weekend was proof that sometimes deep belly laughs, joy rides through the wilderness, nerdy conversations, and home cooked meals are really the best recipe for a pick-me-up.

Thank you Jon and Kasra for a magical 48 hours and for pressuring me to write this blog post! Til our next adventure, here’s to countless food/tech analogies, CMS debates, Charlie XCX, Mary’s blazers, and the pursuit of the perfect French omelette.