Wild West Weekend

OK, so my “big” birthday celebration didn’t just end with a psychedelic party (see Summer of Love), the partying had to continue for at least another week!

So, another celebration, means another party theme, right? (Call me crazy, I know!) Since my whole family (sisters, brother, parents, spouses, kids, etc.) all headed to Keystone, Colorado-- I thought why not a good ol’fashioned Wild West weekend!

Besides the great company, delicious meals, and tasty wines, the 2 highlights of our trip was our hayride and an outing to an old West town!

including Alma and Fairplay. I had done some “research” onOne afternoon, my sisters and I hopped in the car and headed towards South Park. Yes, this is the same South Park as the cartoon television show... South Park is located almost in the middle of the state, and the area consists of several towns the web before arriving, so I felt so knowledgeable when I told my sisters what a great roadtrip with would be for us.

We typed in Alma, CO in the GPS and headed out on our adventure. Thank goodness that was not the only stop, because we flew by the town of Alma with out even blinking an eye! Fortunately, Fairplay had much to offer. Not only did we find a great low-key deli for lunch, we stumbled upon a great shop for mountain cabin accessories as well as a completely recreated Western town.

After my sister shopped, we wandered through the western town. It included several different homes of the late 1800’s, and apocathary shop, a post office, a hotel, a bar, and pretty much ever other shop you’d find in an 1800’s western town. Apparently the many of the buildings are actually original... moved from neighboring towns, to recreate a town feel. Inside the buildings were hundreds of antiques and artifacts that brought the town to life. I must say, the doctors and the dentist’s office were quite frightening. The tools at those times were quite archaic!

A couple days after that adventure, we all headed out for a hayride. Again, another great western adventure.... lasso practice, horseshoes, a tasty dinner and a great colorado folk band to entertain us. The kids were in heaven, and the adults had a blast too. I must of been a cowgirl in a former life, because I do love being in the mountains and a good hayride!

The Summer of Love

A psychedelic Summer of Love party... I couldn’t think of anything more appropriate than to bring back the late 60’s to celebrate my “big” birthday!

Growing up, my birthday always fell on the last day of school, or during finals. Well, this year was no exception, my birthday was on the last day of school for my daughter. I must say, though, it couldn’t have worked out better... who doesn’t want to celebrate the last day of school with a party... even if it is a weeknight? There’s no school the next day, so let it rip.

The Dead, Led Zeppelin, the Doors and more... they all played loudly as the kids made god’s eyes and the adults relaxed with cool beverages and granola mix to munch on! (Yes, the food was in theme as well!) It was a great “mellow” way to start the summer!

I have yet to make this party theme into a bnute productions Party Kit, but have plans in the future to add it to my collection. I really enjoyed researching the imagery for the party. I’m very familiar with the rock posters of the late 60’s (I’m sure half the guys in my dorm in college had at least one or two hanging in their room), but didn’t really put it together the Nouveau Art/Art Deco influence. If you’re interested, a great book to look at is called, “High Art: A History of the Psychedelic Poster.”

Nantucket

I’m a west coast girl. I did a 2 year stint in NYC and loved the experience, but came back west where family, friends and my heart lives. I do regret, though the lack of traveling I did when I lived on the east coast... after all, I was just a starving grad student, living in one of the most expensive cities in the world.

So when my husband and I got an invitation to go to Nantucket for a friend's lavish wedding, and my parents offered to watch our kids, we jumped on the opportunity!

What a great weekend. It started off with a clambake, including lobsters for all (can’t get more New England than that.) The wedding was in a classic town church, tall steeple and all... and the black tie reception at an exclusive golf course in Sankatay. We couldn’t have been treated more luxuriously.

One of my favorite parts of the trip, though, was a “walk about” I took with my husband. It reminded me of our pre-kid days... long walks exploring, just the 2 of us. We went to the town light house, then walked down the shore. So many shells! The battered white picket fences, the faded cedar siding on the home... now this is the East Coast! For some reason it seemed so different, yet so the sam as my west coast Lake Tahoe summer day experiences... lazy mornings getting a coffee in town, then head to the beach for a full day of fun. Afterward, we all head home tired from the water and sun to a great family meal, and perhaps a game of cards... as the kids run outside for more evening fun.

So, besides the humidity, bugs, sunrise vs. sunset, I think an East Coast summer vacation would be a lot like the west. Next time, I’ll bring the whole family!