r4bf free 5K run!

This event deserves it's own post! I've mentioned my friend, Stephanie's, project before. But now everything is truly falling into place and official. In case you are new to Running 4 Bare Feet, Stephanie is running 500 miles this summer to raise awareness and donations for highly vulnerable children and orphans in the Philippians.

First up, a free 5K! Free and welcome to any and all who would like to participate. And I do hope you will join us! It's the perfect way to usher in spring, start that exercise routine, and meet some wonderful people. And a free button. You all know you want a button. But most of all, it will be a fun way to help spread the word about children in the Philippians. First and foremost, that is why we are running.

Psst ... you can jog, walk, crawl ... whatever floats your boat!

You can find all the details on the 5K page. Please feel free to spread the word, in fact, we would appreciate it!


I would also like to take a little space to thank Anaconda Printing for donating 150 printed posters to the project! Folks, I didn't even ask for a donation. I asked for a quote and, instead, I received a kind email from Paul, the C.E.O., who once lived in the Philippians and wants to use his resources to help. Thank you to the whole crew at Anaconda for your generosity! 

poster design by sarah fritzler  \  photos by ronald de jong

currently enjoying: root down

I recently enjoyed the perfect summer evening dinner at Root Down at the Highlands in Denver. We heard rumors about this "amazing" new restaurant and decided to make an evening of it to say farewell to our friend, April, who moved to Laguna Beach. What an evening it was! We sat on the patio for almost 5 hours (that's a record) and tried almost everything on the menu (we did try everything on the dessert menu). The weather couldn't have been better.

We ate things like Organic Carrot Gnocchi, Sweet Potato “Falafel” and Organic Roasted Baby Beets. Listen to this description of the entree I ordered: Roasted Petaluma 3 Chili Chicken - Habenero, Chipotle, Jalapeño, Lemon Creme Fraiche, Green Chili Grit Cake & Carrot-Cucumber-Spinach Salad

MmmmHm. After the flavors, the best part is that almost everything can be ordered gluten free and vegan! With one gluten/dairy free friend and another who is Celiac, this is a huge plus! We ordered everything gluten free and it was all "amazing".



We shared the Cheese Flight as an appetizer - Gin & Tonic Marmalade, Honey-Paprika Apples, Heirloom Tomato Jam, L.R. Rice & Sons Clover Honey


Apparently this is the "best gluten free bread" ... my friends would know!







For dessert we split one of everything. I favored the Udi’s Croissant Bread Pudding in Leopold’s Whiskey-Butter Sauce and Sour Cream Ice Cream, but my ultimate favorite was the Avocado Key Lime Pie with raspberry sorbet. Yum!




Root Down uses organic and locally grown ingredients. This isn't the place to go for a penny-pinching meal, but the prices reflect the ingredients and it's the perfect outing for a relaxing and truly enjoyable meal.

And if you share it with a group of wonderful friends, it doesn't get much better.

[photos by sarah fritzler]

what's yellow & blue & finally opening?

Have you noticed the "holy IKEA eye soar!" next to the highway? Yeah? Oh, HOW could you miss that blue monstrosity?! Well, this is one eye soar I can forgive because I'm so excited to have an IKEA! Did I mention I work just across the highway from the blue beast? :) Lunch break at IKEA anyone?



My sister just sent me the July 27th grand opening deals (free couches, chairs, mattresses, gift cards, food and so on). It sounded fun for about 3 seconds until I pictured all of the hostile woman brandishing Gucci purses, ready to plow down any couch challengers.

Yeah ... maybe I'll skip the free white couch this time.

Anyone else braving the deal war? What's your favorite thing about IKEA? What should I look for on my first trip? Is the food any good (namely the cinnamon rolls)?

UPDATE: My sister, Anna, met the owner of IKEA this week and he says the Swedish cookies are his favorite part about IKEA. Here I thought IKEA was Swiss International design, but the owner is Swedish? I'm so confused. Still, Anna says he was such a nice man and I'm going to take his advice and "get the Swedish cookies!"

[image credit ikea.com]