lady dates

As you guys know, I'm on my 12-day-summer, and I have been trying to squeeze every ounce of fun out of it as I can! While still trying to read & relax and get my ass in gear at the gym. It's been an interesting combo of ambitions, that's for sure! And during my break, I did manage to get together with two of my girlfriends for some much-needed lady dates!

On Wednesday, Erin and I decided to meet up at The Bent Fork in Loveland for some wine and dinner. Beforehand, I decided to check whether I could find any coupons for The Bent Fork, since it's a little pricy. On facebook, I saw that if you "check in" there with your phone, you can get 20% off of your entree. Awesome! Except for the fact that my phone looks like this:

Does it look like my phone has check-in capabilities?

No.

So I proceeded to ask The Bent Fork on facebook whether I could just write in my status or something that I was going to ear there and if I could get the 20% off deal. Their response was WAY better than anticipated! They said if I could get 10 people to "like" The Bent Fork on facebook, they'd give me a $25 gift card! Say whaaaaat?!?! Okay! Apparently I have some pretty quick-acting awesome friends on facebook, because within an hour of me releasing a "pleaseohplease like The Bent Fork so I can get a gift card" plea into facebookland, over 10 people got it done! So that was completely AWESOME to get an unexpected gift card! it kind of helps offset the gas money I spent driving down there, and then I felt I could be a little more indulgent with my meal! [by the way, this was my "last meal" before I started the body for life challenge :) ] I had a divine salmon salad, sweet potato french fries, a chilled glass of Riesling, and Erin and I split an insanely delicious caramel brownie dessert.

Then, since Erin and I are chattier than almost any two gals I've ever seen together, we decided to stroll around the shops for a bit. I made a few purchases - but they are totally justifiable! I am starting work at a clinic this fall as a PA Student, and I am in need of a few new business casual pieces. Up 'til now, my wardrobe has been full of:

a) scrubs 

b) American Eagle 

c) 2 suits and 

d) cleavage revealing tops and dresses.

Clearly none of a - d are appropriate for a business casual workplace. So, I feel completely justified in my Banana Republic [clearance!] and NY&C [only $15] buys. Okay, maybe a tad guilty since I'm over-justifying, but whatever  :)

We had a FAB night - and I love this girl!

Lady Date #2 went down yesterday with my girl Pro! [wow, just realized both dates were with fellow bloggers!] Lindsey came to Denver so that we could hit up the Tattered Cover, drink some tea, have some lunch, shop, and see a movie! Going to the Tattered Cover was on my 101 Things All Coloradans Should Do List that I found online a while back, so we decided to check it off the list! The Tattered Cover is a good-sized bookstore with a quaint feel. It offers both new and gently used books, a small coffee shop, and plenty of cozy chairs with which to park yourself with a good read. 

We enjoyed strolling around the store with our uber-hot teas, picking up interesting-looking books [we totally judge books by their covers, and wine by their labels for that matter!], and exclaiming, "Ooooh, did you ever read _______? It's so good" whenever we passed by one of our favorite reads.

And can you believe it - I didn't buy one single book! Oh I wanted to. I LOVE buying books. I am so proud of myself. I have at least 5 books at home waiting to be read, and I know with fall semester starting up on Monday [10 classes - 24 credits - YIKES] I won't be finishing my book stash anytime soon! I felt very responsible in that moment of resistance!

We sort of abruptly ended our book-perusing time as my large green tea had found my bladder, so we headed off to Cherry Creek for some lunch at Kona Grill! This place is quickly becoming one of my favorites for 2 reasons:

1. Lunch meal specials and happy hour specials

2. The food is SO. GOOD.

I mean, I got this fantastic spinach salad with strawberries, kiwis, cashews, blue cheese, chicken, and jalapeno raspberry vinaigrette that was probably the best salad I have EVER tasted! I was totally in love with it. I also got a spicy tuna roll! All for 10 bucks! Worth it! 

 Here's Lindsey's plate! Isn't sushi just so beautiful?!? And props to Pro for eating the real deal! My version of sushi is exclusive to they kind wrapped in rice and seaweed!

After our perfect and satisfying lunch, we strolled on over to the movie theater to catch Horrible Bosses. On our way, I found a cute pair of black shoes with a small heel on clearance at Bakers! And since I had a gift card to Bakers, it wasn't even really a purchase at all! [okay, that kind of talk is when Tyler compares me to the main character out of Confessions of a Shopaholic. Justifying purchases so much that they cease to even be purchases anymore, haha.] They are super cute and will be perfect for clinicals. Although - Erin, I'm now wishing I bought some of those business socks at NY&C haha :)

Anyway, we watched Horrible Bosses, and it was pretty entertaining! I'm always rooting for Jennifer Aniston, and boy - did she bust out of her typical nice-girl role in this film! The movie was a bit raunchy, and Colin Farell made me want to vomit instead of swoon, but it was pretty funny. Kevin Spacy played a great villain as usual, and the cast seemed to work really well together! 

In all, another wonderful day spent with a wonderful lady!

I'm so happy I had the time to see a few of my girls! I certainly didn't get 1-on-1 dates with everyone I would've liked this break, but I'll take what I can get! Knowing my impending doom beings Monday with microbiology, physiology, biochemistry, pathology, obstetrics, neonate, medical spanish, clinicals, physical diagnosis, psychosocial aspects of healthcare, and clinical reasoning. Damn. *sigh* 

It's off to the gym I go! Day 3 of Body For Life is underway and going well! Last night I lifted the shit out of my legs, and today it's cardio!!! 

CHEERS [to lady dates everywhere!]