Tall Tara

This is Day 18 of a 21-Day Salute ™. Obviously, this was not a consecutive 21-Day salute and obviously I have some issues when it comes to time management. Sorry cute innocent blog series–real life got busy there for a bit.

I’m in Boulder because of the beer. Not just because I love drinking it, but because my ex got a job brewing beer here. We moved from Houston so he could brew and that was six years ago. My life has changed in many ways since then but my love of Boulder beer has not.

In all honesty, one of the many things that has kept me from posting here was a little event called Ignite Boulder. Along with my good friend Elaine*,  I was able to present about beer in Colorado to over seven hundred people at the Boulder Theater. For five minutes, we educated and entertained the crowd. It was awesome. I had so much fun preparing for the presentation (and I don’t mean the pints that were consumed for inspiration),  I thought it only best to share.

(You’ll have to imagine the audio for now. But we were funny, have no doubt.)

If you haven’t checked out an Ignite event in your area, I strongly suggest it. It’s a night of creativity, humor and education. And if you haven’t checked out any of the beer that Colorado produces, then you should definitely get on that.

Photo courtesy of Stepan Mazurov

Whether you’re enjoying a pint of Avery, Mt. Sun or Boulder beer, it should taste even better since you’re supporting the local economy, drinking a beverage brewed with passion and keeping my ex off the streets. I’ll drink to all those things.

*Elaine was the genius behind the idea for our preso and you can read her take on local beer here. Also? Elaine was the impetus behind getting me out of my posting funk. She dropped the words “baited breath” in a blog comment…fully knowing that I would be worried and waiting for her to exhale. Are you happy now Elaine?

This is Day 17 of a 21-Day Salute ™, an attempt to share a little bit of what I love about living in Boulder. After slacking off for a couple few err, four days, I’m back and ready to finish this biatch. While I’m at it, you should know that this post is about a product that was *mostly* made in a town not far from Boulder. I’m not perfect but hey, at least I’m honest.

I wanted to throw a party.

And I also wanted to work with BirdDog Press, aka Allison Bozeman, aka super sweet self-described “momecopreneur” with an amazing portfolio of design work and an even better Southern accent.

So I decided to outsource my wedding party invitations to Lyons, Colorado.

I first met Allison at the Chicks who Click after-party in January and it was somewhere after the third Rio margarita that we first talked business.  I don’t know that either one of us remembers much about that conversation but a seed was planted.

On our second and more sober meeting, Alli brought samples of her work carried in these…

and she listened as I told her that I didn’t have a lot of time or money. I was having a laid-back wedding party and wasn’t looking for an invitation that was going to be too fancy for the event.

With some creativity, Alli made it happen, reusing scraps she had left over from other projects. I trusted in her completely and was not disappointed. The invitations turned out beautifully, handmade and printed by Alli on 100% recycled paper.

It’s easy to appreciate the source of all this inspiration when you check out Allison’s studio. She let me hang out and watch her work one afternoon. The space is almost as energetic as she is…

and the letterpress was a sight to behold. It was amazing to see Alli get that huge machine going. And the lovely paper magic she makes with that letterpress? Breath-taking. The finished product is a little bit vintage, with extra attention to detail, typography and lots of character. To drool over Allison’s creations, check out her blog. To make them yours, check out her Etsy store.

Allison’s work is wonderful but, more than that, she’s a fun lady to have collaborating on your side. I’m already scheming on what to have her make for me next, although I know she’s busy.*

*Word on the street is that she’s making business cards for a special Boulder someone…

[photo credit: theHandmaiden and Andrew Hyde.]

This is Day 16 of a 21-Day Salute ™, an attempt to share a little bit of what I love about living in Boulder. Thank you sir, may I have five more days?

Not chocolate again…

Yes actually. But not any chocolate. Artisan organic gourmet truffles made thirty blocks down the street from where I live.

These things are almost too beautiful to eat.

The famous blueberry truffle

Almost.

I had heard talk about Seth Ellis chocolates sometime last year but only started to pay attention when they were featured in an article about Foodzie in the NYT.

But the real magic happened when a lovely lady gifted me a box of these extraordinary delights as a thank-you.

Little pieces of melt-in-your-mouth delicious art

Um, no, thank you.

Let’s just say I spent some quality time with Seth Ellis in the Kansas City airport, savoring a box of his assorted truffles and waiting for a delayed flight.*

If the taste wasn’t good enough, the branding and design inspire as well. Heavy on the art-deco and as lovingly created as the chocolates, the packaging and artwork only add to the quality of the product.

When I go to check out Seth Ellis Chocolatier online, I’m greeted by this message…

and that’s totally what I’m doing.

To experience Seth Ellis truffles, you can buy them locally or order online through Foodzie.

*I didn’t eat the entire box. But I’ll admit that I did think about it. More than once.

[Photo credits: Seth Ellis Chocolatier, Foodzie and di.wineanddine]

This is Day 15 of a 21-Day Salute ™, an attempt to share a little bit of what I love about living in Boulder. Turns out I’m also a glutton for punishment and like undertaking random challenges.

I’m a dirty chai kind of a girl and I’m proud of that. When ordering at the coffee shop across the street from my office, the barista asks which variety of local chai I’d like.

That’s what life in Boulder is like…competing chai producers, both within city limits, are vying for my business. So I’m actually letting you know about two local companies in this post. (Don’t say I never went the extra mile for you…)

I offer you a Tuesday night match-up of Bhakti Chai vs. Third Street Chai.* To be honest, I’ve had both brands at local coffee shops but have never purchased a bottle of either. I think chai tastes better when someone else makes it.

After sampling both, I prefer Bhakti. It’s not as sweet as the Third Street variety and has a spicier flavor. Bhakti also scored points with me for coming out with a flavor last year that I fully support…

But that’s just my two cents.

Thing is–I don’t drink chai much and would like to ask those chai drinkers who know their stuff to shed some light on this topic for me.

Which one do you prefer? Bhakti or Third Street Chai?

[Photo by alykat]

*You should have seen the boxing poster I attempted to make with the companies logos. I ran out of time but it would have put many amateur boxing federation flyers to shame. I could have been a contender…

This is Day 14 of a 21-Day Salute ™, an attempt to share a little bit of what I love about living in Boulder.

I know, I know…first I’m praising the skirts, now it’s the pants. What can I say? There are just some activities that call for a piece of clothing that allow you to throw a leg up or stretch out wide to find a foot hold. Bouldering is just such an activity and Verve pants are exactly what to wear when attempting such moves.

It seems like I'm defying gravity on this bouldering problem. Maybe I should rotate the picture?

I worked at a gear store when I first moved to town and Verve was a local brand that was featured in the store. The company was started by a famous climber, Christian Griffith, who had been making these bomber pants and selling them out of his garage for years. In addition to being well-made, the pants allow for ease of movement, have no pockets to get in the way of a climbing harness and are super comfortable. Then, on top of all that, they last forever. In terms of what to wear when climbing*, Verve pants are right up there next to your climbing shoes.

When checking out Verve online, I discovered some interesting facts about the company. I had heard stories about Christian’s climbing, but I didn’t know much about the evolution of his business. He went from selling chalk bags to clothing, all through word of mouth within the international climbing community. Christian was one of the very first sponsored climbers and in order to get some free marketing, he would wear his Verve pants to an Oakley photo shoot. He catered to a specific niche back when climbing was a specific niche.

As if I didn’t already just feel good wearing his pants, I then go on to find out that over 90% of Verve’s pants are hand sewn by four grandmothers in town. (While I’m as glad as the next guy that these grandmothers have jobs, I thought Boulder for sure had laws against grandparent labor.)

And for the record, I bought my Verve capris and extra long pants (yet another reason to love Christian…very few companies make extra long pants) in summer 2003. I’m still wearing them.

*Apparently, those who do yoga also think highly of these pants. And just as soon as I go back to yoga and stop talking about going back to yoga, then perhaps I’ll be better suited to talk about what an awesome yoga pant Verve is. Gah. I need to go to yoga.

This is Day 13 of a 21-Day Salute ™, an attempt to share a little bit of what I love about living in Boulder. For those following along*, I missed my post yesterday and am not apologizing because it was due to an overabundance of real-life activities going on. I’m not complaining. Back to your regularly-scheduled posts…

It took me a while to get into mead. I had read about it, but the first time I really tried it was after moving to Boulder. Redstone Meadery is a local mead-maker and is often on tap at the Southern (and Mountain) Sun, a popular brewpub in town where I worked when I first came to town.

Mead is fermented honey and boy, is it delicious. There is definitely a danger in drinking something that tastes as sweet as mead does. Unlike other  adult beverages, I don’t think you can taste the alcohol in mead. This is what some people desire in their alcoholic drinks, but for me, it means that I drink it and forget about the fact that it’s over 12% ABV. Loosely translated, mead has a way of quietly f@#king you up.

For proof, here’s a little haiku I penned under the influence of some Mountain Honey Wine recently…

A bottle of mead-

Beauty, truth, filling the need,

It goes down with ease.

Like Celestial Seasonings, Redstone offers a free tour. Unlike the Celestial tour, I haven’t been to this one.

But I’m planning to hit it up soon (Greeblemonkey, you in?) and will most definitely be riding my bike there.

*I know this only applies to a few of you out there. But if you do happen to be counting, this is also my first post about alcohol. And not my last.

[Photos courtesy of Redstone Meadery and Craige.]

This is Day 12 of a 21-Day Salute ™, an attempt to share a little bit of what I love about living in Boulder. I do not practice any form of blogola here and none of the Boulder products I feature have paid me for reviews…as if that wasn’t totally obvious.

I’ve never been one to spend much money on skin care products. Chalk it up to being both low-maintenance and frugal. As long as it had SPF in it, I was good to go. Now that I’m in my 30’s, however, I’m not so against spending a little extra on my skin.

And, as I rationalize to myself,  a good moisturizer is still cheaper than Botox.

Enter Sanitas–a line of skin care that is made here in town. The product line was recommended to me by an esthetician who spent time interning in their laboratory. She had wonderful things to say about the company and the care with which they made their products.

As she was telling me about Sanitas, a lightbulb went off because I had honestly never given much thought to where, or even how, my skin cream was made. That needed to change.

I decided to give Sanitas a try. And I’ve been delighted with the results. My skin has felt hydrated and healthy. It’s dry and windy here so I can’t say enough about using a product made locally by people who understand what living in harsh mountain weather can do to skin.

I feel good knowing that I can continue to play outdoors as long as I help my skin out with some quality care like Sanitas.

Sigh. I must be getting old. Next thing you know, I’ll be extolling the virtues of flossing.

I also like that they're named after one of my favorite trails in town.

This is Day 11 of a 21-Day Salute ™, an attempt to deprive myself of sleep* and to express my gratitude for living in Boulder. I do not practice any form of blogola here and none of the Boulder products I feature have paid me for the reviews. As if that wasn’t totally obvious.

When I choose to indulge, these are some of my favorites…

Like the sausage, I don’t recommend eating these daily.

But when you get the feeling, the Boulder Canyon chips are very tasty and often on sale.

*It’s working…I’m tired. But for more in depth analysis of the Boulder Canyon chips, check out a review that The Nibble published.

[All images courtesy of Boulder Canyon Natural Foods.]

This is Day 10 of a 21-Day Salute ™, an attempt to deprive myself of sleep and to express my gratitude for living where I do. I saw these series of posts on The Communicatrix (my very first blog crush) and when I asked, she encouraged me to copy her. Here are 21 days of my favorite products made in Boulder…or very near Boulder…

Who doesn’t love Celestial Seasonings? Those cute bears, the ornate illustrations and the inspirational quotes on the box? Come on…you expect me to believe that you don’t have at least one flavor sitting in your cupboard at this very moment?

Celestial Seasonings is the largest herb tea manufacturer in North America, delivering more than 1.2 billion cups of tea each year. In addition to their herbal varieties, Celestial Seasonings also makes black, green and white teas as well. Started by a bunch of hippies in 1969, this company has managed to both grow and maintain the core values of the founders. Not to mention they have their own book club.

In addition to providing the highest-quality tea, the company also has a free tour of it’s factory. They give you samples of different teas, show you how the tea is mixed and packaged, and…the highlight for me & many others…they take you inside the Peppermint room. Anyone with a stuffed sinus can attest to the greatness of this part of the tour. (A close second is the big sign that says “Teabagging” and shows you where it’s done.)

The Celestial Seasonings factory tour is on my must-do list when family and friends visit Boulder for the first time. (Did I mention it’s free? And you get lots of free tea?) Because really, opening your doors to the public is an awesome way of staying honest, giving back to the community and gaining fans. By the time you get to the gift shop, where everything is cheaper, you feel like buying something just to thank Celestial Seasonings for their hospitality.

As much as I love and support Celestial Seasonings, I saw this graphic from The Onion and thought it too good not to share:

Many thanks to The Onion!

And to answer the question that’s eating away at you…

It’s a tie.

[Photos courtesy of Celestial Seasonings, honeybunnyclementine, AirBeagle, and The Onion.]

This is Day 9 of a 21-Day Salute ™, an attempt to deprive myself of sleep and to express my gratitude for living where I do. I saw these series of posts on The Communicatrix (my very first blog crush) and when I asked, she encouraged me to copy her. Here are 21 days of my favorite products made in Boulder…or at least started here*…

I already wrote about nuts, so of course, I move on to sausage.

Interestingly, Boulder Sausage is not actually made in Boulder, but  down the road in a little place called Louisville.

Nitpicking aside, the sausage is delicious and there are many different varieties to choose from. I’ve included their breakfast sausage on many of my brunch menus and do enjoy grilling up the beer brats.

Isn't the sausage shiny? Don't look at it for too long.

I thought I would include some helpful sausage research** with this post and surprisingly enough, only came up with this little nugget. Apparently, eating a sausage a day raises your risk of bowel cancer by 20%. I found this information on Fox News which, as it turns out, increases your risk of bowel cancer by 50%.

On a lighter note, the Boulder Sausage site, had this to say about their original owner, Don Olk…

“Although Don is no longer around, his dreams and products live on in Boulder Sausage.”

If that’s not reason enough to support Boulder Sausage, I don’t know what is. Don’t stop believing in the power of sausage because with every bite, you get a little piece of Don’s dreams. And what tastes better than that?

*I’ve already broken that strict “must be made in Boulder” rule so the sausage stays.

**I also discovered that doing sausage research is not as easy as it sounds.