Currently

Excited about: the fact that my first semester of graduate school is over. I have just a few weeks to get in as much reading for pleasure as I can before my second semester starts. I don't have grades for the first semester yet but I'm pretty sure they were good. One semester down, 5 to go!

Eating: salad. I used to eat salad almost everyday for lunch and then, for some unknown reason, I stopped. I've been getting back into making salads again and I feel so much healthier. 

Watching: I just finished watching the final season of Weeds last week. I started with season 1 about a month ago. I really enjoyed watching it. The episodes are just 30 minutes long so you can watch a lot of them in a row. And they are pretty hilarious. Now that I'm all done with it, I need to find a new show to watch! Any suggestions???

Listening to: Matt made a Russian Circles Pandora station, which I have been listening to lately. For those of you that don't know, Russian Circles is a three piece instrumental heavy metal band from Chicago. I love loud, angry rock music (especially when I am driving) but I don't listen to it a lot because I generally can't put up with the screaming that generally goes along with it. I was super excited when we came across Russian Circles (they opened for Coheed and Cambria when we saw them in February) because I get all the heavy rock but don't have to put up with any lyrics!

Looking forward to: my birthday party. My birthday is on the first of June. Every year since we have been at our current apartment  Matt and I have thrown a birthday party. A bunch of friends come over, hang out in our yard, barbecue and enjoy drinks. It's pretty awesome. Because it's at the beginning of June it's the perfect way to kick off the summer!

Making me happy: It's bike season! Last night after work Matt and I went for a nice leisurely bike ride. We rode down to confluence park and lounged in the grass. And I took some fun photos using the new A Beautiful Mess photo app. After hanging out in the park for a little while we rode into downtown and tried a new taqueria. We will definitely be going back! After some tacos we rode home. It was wonderful evening and hopefully we will be spending a lot of the summer doing exactly the same thing!


So, what about you? What have you been up to lately? 

Thanks to Danielle from Sometimes Sweet for providing the inspiration for this post.

Restaurant Wednesday: Adelita's Cocina Y Cantina

El Diablo used to be my favorite restaurant. (I wrote about it here and here.) Then things started to go downhill. They closed several times due to disputes with the city of Denver. Punch Bowl Social opened up across the street and brought Lodo's (Lower Downtown's) douchey crowd to the neighborhood  And, then David, our friend and one of the best servers in all of Denver, left El Diablo. Matt and I hadn't been to El Diablo since February. We had been going to Pinche Taco's for our taco fix. (I wrote about it here.)  And then we  found out that David was working at a brand new Mexican restaurant called Adelita's Cocina Y Cantina (1294 S Broadway, Denver)! We were so excited! We made reservations two days after their opening day. Ceremoniously,  it happened to be the final night that El Diablo was opened (it closed for good on Thursday, May 2nd due to issues with the City of Denver).

So, about Adelita's, they serve traditional fare from the state of Michoacan, located in South-Western Mexico, so the food is a little bit different from the other Mexican restaurants you'll find in Denver. The chef has never worked in a restaurant before and cooks her families recipes, which I think is awesome! And her family recipes are absolutely delicious!!

Obviously, drinks were a must. I had my favorite Mexican cocktail, the Paloma. Paloma's are traditionally made with tequila, grapefruit flavored soda and fresh lime. Matt had a Michelada, which is a traditional Mexican beer cocktail. It's sort of like a Bloody Mary but with beer not tequila. Matt thought it had just a bit to much cumin in it but enjoyed it nonetheless.

We started out our meal with some chips and salsa and the Queso Fundido con Chorizo. There were a couple of different salsas. The one I liked the best (I unfortunately forgot what was in it) was spicy but sweet as well. It had the absolute perfect balance. And you seriously can not go wrong with melted cheese and chorizo! I really liked that the queso fundido at Adelita's was served with corn tortillas instead of tortilla chips. It was so much easier to eat that way!

We have been pretty obsessed with tacos lately, so naturally we had to try the tacos. I went the lengua (beef tongue), carne asada (grilled beef) and al pastor (marinated pork cooked on a vertical rotisserie)  and Matt had the lengua, al pastor and carnitas (braised or roasted pork - not pictured). So, lengua, I'm sure there are several of you out there going "Ewwwww!" But, let me tell you it is amazing - the moistest meat I have ever had. Adelita's lengua did not disappoint. I am often disappointed with carne asada because it is sometimes too tough, but not Adelita's - theirs was surprisingly moist. Matt thought the carnitas was juicy and succulent like a pork belly. And the al pastor was the BEST I have ever tasted in my entire life. Adelita's chef cooks their al pastor traditionally on a vertical rotisserie, which I love! I could eat an entire bowl of Adelita's al pastor and be completely satisfied! We had our tacos with a side of refried beans and rice. I love that Adelita's doesn't cook their refried beans with lard. They are very vegetarian and gluten friendly!

I decided to try one of gluten free dessert. I went with the Sweet Tamalitos, which is basically like a dessert tamale. It was a handcrafted sweet corn, pineapple and raisin tamalitos drizzled with pineapple sauce and topped with whipped cream. It was a perfect desert because it was not overly sweet. The pineapple sauce was Divine!

The are so many things on Adelita's menu that look amazing. Matt and I can't wait to go back and try it again! To make things even better Adelita's announced on their facebook page yesterday that they are doing $1 tacos on Tuesdays from 11am to midnight!!!!

All images ©La Vie Culturelle by Sarah Osier. All Rights Reserved.

My Birthday Wish List

My 31st birthday is a little less than a month away. So, I thought I would share the things currently on my wish list.

 I never wear bracelets but this one from Iwona Ludyga is so dainty and perfect.

This cabinet from IKEA is gorgeous! It would be perfect for storing Matt's vintage camera collection.

This dress from Modcloth is absolutely perfect in every way!

These shoes are so cute! I just wish they weren't sold out in size 8!

I've been collecting canvas bags lately. This one from Out of Print is so lovely!

I still want to get my hands on this Whitley album!!

I've been wishing for a mandoline slicer for a while now. This one would match my kitchen perfectly.

I already have more than enough cell phone cases, but this one is so lovely!

This dress from Modcloth would be perfect for a formal summer party!

And lastly, I want a pretty cake like this one - gluten-free lemon cake with blackberry filling, please!

Juicing Vol. 1

Matt's parents got us a juicer for our birthdays this year. We have been juicing almost everyday and it's awesome. We both have noticed that we have more energy since we started juicing. I don't feel nearly as hungry during the day as I used too either! We are not living off of the juice just supplementing our normal diet with it.

So far this juice is my favorite. It is sweet and tasty and perfect for waking you up in the morning!

Orange Sunrise Juice
Ingredients and Directions:

This juice is seriously fantastic and will definitely get you going in the morning and keep you full until lunch!

All images © La Vie Culturelle by Sarah Osier. All Rights Reserved.

Today is National Sibling Day!

That's right, today is National Sibling Day! I love my sister to death! She was my very first best friend, and probably very first enemy as well. I have some pretty awesome memories of times spent with her: pushing her up and down the driveway at our Camillus house / making her laugh so hard she peed her pants / dorming together in college / getting in fights and throwing huge pine cones at each other / playing with our dollhouses / breaking up with boyfriends for her in high school / watching Felicity together. And oh man, there are so many more. She's the one that's good with memories. I figured today would be a perfect day to share some of my favorite photos of us!!!

My absolute favorite picture of us!

My second favorite photo of us!

The moment we first saw each after my first year in Colorado.
And she's probably going to hate me for posting this but I love this picture!

Pretty great photos, huh? That's only a few of my favorites! There are so so so many more! Do you ever feel like God/Whoever made one part of your life really awesome to make up for some of the other parts? Well, that's how I feel about my sister. I got pretty lucky with her. And, I'd say she got pretty lucky too!!!

Last two images © Heather Bragman Photography by Heather Bragman. All other images © La Vie Culturelle by Sarah Osier. All Rights Reserved.