look who's 30!

get comfy...this is a long one!

although i had every intention of throwing my husband a fabulous 30th birthday party, he insisted we get out of town instead. (smart thinking on his part considering we don't really have a house to throw a party in.) so we gathered up some of our best pals and headed west to one of dan's favorite spots in the country...beaver creek, colorado. it was a long weekend filled with fabulous food, gorgeous weather and wonderful friends. our trip started on wednesday afternoon. dan & i got into beaver late wednesday and just had a lazy evening of sushi and grocery shopping. our guests weren't arriving until late thursday so dan & i got up early and headed over to aspen for the day to have lunch and do some window shopping.


we got back to beaver just in time to greet our first guests (scott & kelsey). we headed over to vail to meet ryan & molly for some mexican & margaritas.


due to delays out east, the peterson's & hirsch's arrived later than expected on thursday. we all woke up friday ready to rock & roll. we started the day with a coffee run at the beaver creek clue, where megan & i realized our love affair with vanilla lattes. this became our new morning ritual for the rest of the trip. the temps in the morning were in the high 50s so it was perfect coffee weather.




after a stroll through the village the gang geared up for a mountain biking excursion up the mountain. i decided to stay back since i wasn't sure biking on such rough terrain would be a good idea with my healing back. (megan was nice enough to stay with me) we drove the cars to drop them off and pick them up. i had to get a few parting shots of them on the bikes. having done this trek before i knew how hard it was for the first couple miles up the mountain but was happy katie decided to go for it b/c once you start the decent it really is a blast. you feel pretty proud of yourself once it's all said and done!








after the biking (and shopping for meg & i) we all got cleaned up for our 1st fabulous dinner of the trip. we headed down to the village to wait for our shuttle. the paparazzi (me) was in full effect making everyone pose for pictures.






my absolute favorite picture of the entire weekend. are we a good looking crew or what? beano's cabin is a gorgeous restaurant nestled in the mountains. in the winter you take a sled up the mountain. in the summer you can either ride horseback, on a wagon or on a shuttle. the setting up there is just incredible...so quiet and serene. that is until the end of our dinner when we all started singing and dancing around the restaurant.






show off...






yes, that is a porcupine...in a restaurant. he just mosied on in. they say he comes almost every night. he must have heard about the dance party we started..


saturday morning started with our standard coffee run at the beaver creek club. i was moving a little slow since katie & i decided to stay up a little later than everyone else to solve the world's problem over a bottle of wine. however, it was nothing a little pool time couldn't fix. when the boys headed off to the golf course...meg, katie & i hit the pool. there is nothing like laying poolside with nothing but mountains in front of you! after a lovely, lazy afternoon we got all spruced and headed over to the ritz at bachelor gulch for dan's actual birthday dinner. but not before the paparazzi made everyone pose for more pictures!






the outdoor bar at the ritz was called daniel's...of course i made him take a picture by it.


a log cabin ritz...doesn't get much prettier


after a couple cockatils outside we headed into spago for dinner. spago is one of wolfgang puck's restaurants and it did not dissapoint. one of the best (and fun) meals of my life.




molly and i let megan pick out our drinks. she chose the "pearfect martini" and it was to die for. i am in no way, shape or form a martinin drinker but this one was delicious.


i am also in no way, shape or form a person who likes to take pictures of food...but these "miso cones" were honestly one of the best things i've ever had. katie got them as well and we were both blown away. i can't even tell you what was on them (think spicy tuna sushi) but my mouth is watering just thinking about them. you may also notice another martini in front of me...megan ordered me another one, the raspberry version. not nearly as good as the pear.


obviously the waiter did not pay close attention when i informed him of dan's birthday. he brought the birthday dessert to molly...much more entertaining than if they had brought it to dan.




night number two where we request journey in a five star restaurant and proceed to sing it at the top of our lungs...and apparently rock out a litte air guitar!




meg & i with our "coolest friend"


of course we have to end the night with some photos under the giant elk head.






katie was feeling very fancy after a night at the ritz :)


i think we succesfully eased dan into his 30s. it was a trip we will never forget and we cannot thank the peterson's, hirsch's, ryan, molly, scott & kelsey enough for making the trip so special. we are truly blessed to have such fabulous friends. maybe for his 40th i'll throw that huge party??