Travel Recaps: Boulder, CO

Before I tell you about my time in Boulder, CO, I'd like to tell you about its closest airport: Denver. The Denver International Airport is as lovely an airport as any, whatever Douglas Adams may say. And as one departs from it, one is treated to a rare vision of sculpted art. And by rare I mean terrifying and by vision I mean specter.

This is the enormous stallion sculpture that greets visitors. It seems relatively harmless from a distance, until you come around and see the demonic glowing eyes, which are yellow in the day and red in the night. For a more versatile horror experience, obviously.

Good Fucking Christ.

And you hear that it killed its creator. I am not making this up: the scultpure fell on the sculptor and killed him. It is the spawn of Satan.

Aside from the terrifying welcoming committee, Boulder was fantastic. It's a great city, and I left feeling rejuvanated, inspired and ready to take on anything. Except, as it turns out, a 24-hour schlep to Germany with an 8 hour time difference that wiped the floor with me. But more on that later.

Ostensibly, I was there to run the Bolder Boulder 10K. If anyone is looking for a good starter race, this one is great. It feels like a parade where the crowds run by the floats instead of vice versa. It's relaxed, fun, and doesn't involve any terrifying fund raising. And once I was acclimated to the altitude, Boulder is perfect place to run. The natural splendor is a great alternative to a stairmaster, and the city seems to revolve around fitness. Everything is organic, there are more yoga studios than you can shake a stick at, and no one will judge you if you stand around shaking sticks at yoga studios. Maybe it's all that medical marijuana.

In reality, I was there to see my oldest friend in the world. Not oldest age-wise, obviously. In fact, she kicked my ass to keep running for the last .5 kilometers which, she cheerfully pointed out, only went halfway up an enormous hill. She also didn't judge me when I mumble-wheezed something profane in response.

She didn't even make fun of me when I forgot my running shoes, God bless her. Leading up to the race, when we weren't doing yoga, this was pretty much our life:

Not pictured: beer.

It was the perfect end to a long year. Next year, we're going to run in costume. More on that later.

NOTE: for more on the race, and how I trained, click here.

Some Awesome For Your Weekend

Here are a few things I think are just awesome:

These women.

I see a Lifetime Movie, action figures, epic folk songs. Oh, wait... no, I don't. Why the hell not, American media?

This painter.

Freud left an indelible imprint on the art world. He was also a big part of my pretentious artist phase in high school, but don't hold it against him- it's poor taste to speak ill of the dead.

This manicure (yes, I did just segue from a artistic genius to nails. It's my blog and I can do that if I want to). 

Image courtesy of This is Glamorous

These collections: resort.

From left to right: Jil Stuart, Jil Stuart, Caroline Herrera

Louis Vuitton

Antonio Berardi, aka the love of my fashion life.

Resort collections are my favorite. They're always classics: wearable but still whimsical. And I'm loving this French Riviera in the 30s vibe that keeps cropping up. It harkens back to a day when nudity was shocking and drunkenness was charming. That's a delightful combination.

These water bottles.

Eco-friendly, customizable and the company donates a portion of the provides to companies that provide communities in need with clean water.

This company.

Poop jokes are hilarious, dudes.

My hair:

Don't judge me, I got my hair did.

And you know what the most awesome thing in the entire world is? Better than cancer research and crime fighting, lifesaving lesbians*?

My new scooter.

Ok, maybe not more awesome. But so awesome. So fucking awesome I can't.

Hope you have a delightful weekend! Mine will be spent scooting as much as possible.