Treasures, Rollerblades, and Bike Accidents Oh My!

So much has happened since we've gotten to Denver and I keep making mental notes that I need to post about them but then time gets away from me and I get distracted by other things like, oh I don't know, my job (which I am loving). The fourth of July was so much fun and I finally got my camera cord so I'll post pictures soon but we will just discuss today's adventures for now.

I lied, we are actually starting with yesterday. Last night we (Kenny, Ion, and I) rode our bikes in the rain to a Thai restaurant not too far away that has 50 cent beers with your meal. Everyday. And these weren't just Bud or Millers, we had Fat Tire, New Belgium Summer Seasonal, Sapporo, and Blue Moons. An awesome and delicious meal that included two beers for less than $10 a person = pretty stinkin sweet in my opinion. (I have very high standards, in case you can't tell.)

After dinner we topped our exciting Friday night with a trip to Goodwill on the way home. Several Denver friends told me how great the Goodwill near us is so we thought we'd check it out. We are in the market for some outdoor chairs and thought maybe we'd like to upgrade from only having three plates and three bowls to maybe four or five, you know so we don't have to hand wash everything or run the dishwasher every day anymore.

Well my friends were not lying about the Goodwill being awesome, there were two stories of goodness. We got there only about 15 minutes before closing so we didn't have too much time but we still managed to find some treasures. I found a pretty awesome set of stainless steel canisters but we came on our bikes without any bags. Then something wonderful happened, an announcement came on telling us that the ENTIRE STORE would be half off the next day. Sweeeeeeeet! So I sneakily tried to hide my canisters behind some stereo speakers with high hopes that I would be able to make them mine this morning for 50% off the already cheap Goodwill price and actually have a away to get them home.

Enter Saturday: We get up and have breakfast then take our backpacks and bikes over to Goodwill for some more treasure hunting. I go straight to my hidden canisters only to find a sad and empty hiding spot. Don't worry though, all three of us made out with some pretty sweet goodies.

The main prize of the day were these beauties, brand new and only $6.50 a pair!

When I can back from the sports area proudly holding my finds, the first words out of Ion's mouth were "no way" and Kenny just laughed. But after Ion realized my excitement was not going away and I was most likely going to pout all afternoon if I didn't leave with both pairs of rollerblades, he totally caved. I mean, really, what's the point in having rollerblades by yourself? I have to have a partner in crime for this adventure!

So I bought us the rollerblades and we also left with these goodies that included some pretty cool fancy plates that are numbered on the back by the artist and were made in Italy. That, and they look cool and were less than a dollar a piece. We also got a few more plates, some bowls, and a Slap Chop that I saw someone putting down and immediately snatched up. (Duh.)

And see that bowl in the back? Yea it's a pot and it's wearing a tie. I nothing short of love it. I have plans to plant some mint for mojitos (mmmmm) in it, but it might just live on the counter looking ridiculously awesome for now.

So we get home and Ion and I decide to test out the rollerblades. Well because I'm too impatient to wait until we can go to the park where there is a nice evenly paved path, I eat it three times in the first 10 minutes. Yea, rollerblades are meant for smooth surfaces, not bumpy crack and gravel filled streets and sidewalks. So I ended up topping off my bike injury from last weekend.

Last weekend Kenny and I scored these beauties for $35(his) and $75(mine) off craigslist.

Kenny's

Laura's

Then we went on an 8 mile bike ride and around mile 7 I ate it. And by ate it I mean got the front tire down in a divit and couldn't get out or stop. So my right side met the curb. We are very close now, I even took some gravel indentations home in my helmet so that I will always remember that curb fondly. I was pretty bruised and scraped, like I slid into home for the game winning run, (such a better story don't you think?) but otherwise fine and I rode my bike to work every day this week through downtown traffic and met no cars or curbs. I'll leave youwith this beautiful photo from when we got home and the wise advice to wear a helmet.

Pretty huh? Yea it goes all the way up my right leg but I luckily saved my face my landing on my helmet. Coordination for the win!