Sourdough Talks In Colorado

Well folks, last time we updated you on our travels, we were in good ‘ol Rochester, NY. Since then James published a blog about Climate Change & Little Women, and we published another Meet The Host post. If you haven’t already, we definitely recommend checking them out because… well… they’re awesome! Also, I officially launched my life coaching business — Sheila Anne — through which I’ll be working with people 1:1 to deepen their self understanding, maximize their potential, and realize their goals. I work specifically with people that are wellness/health inclined and are looking to strike a balance between hard work and self care. Through this, I help my clients lead successful, purpose-forward lives, by choosing balance over burnout.

Ok, back to business. Read on!

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We made it out of Rochester, we visited Chicago (my first time!), we swung through Lawrence, Kansas (would recommend to a friend!), and we eventually rolled right into Denver, Colorado. After two weeks of mountain air, some laughs with a soon-to-be-two-year-old, constant dehydration, and a few apartment hunting flukes… we write to you from … BOW, NEW HAMPSHIRE! That’s right, after two weeks of spending time by the Rockies and seeing the hundreds of dogs running around Sloan’s Lake, we realized that we forgot to hug Mango goodbye 😞 SO obviously we flew home to do so. ¹

We’ve been in NH for a few days and plan to stay a few more before we hop on a plane back to Colorado once more. We hope to immediately plant a few trees as penance.

We’ve been staying with my cousin Evan, and his wife, Kristen — and their adorable daughter, Olivia. Olivia has the energy of approximately three people, a supremely confident sense of balance, and the ability to make you laugh at almost any moment with her charming understanding of existential concepts — like where people live: “home,” or where they are when she can’t see them (either “home” or “outside,” depending on how long it’s been), coupled with a formidable sense of Feng Shui. You can find her energetically “sweeping” on Saturday mornings, which she always does prior to putting all the chairs back in their perceived place.

Evan is also a big sourdough baker, and right as we broached the subject of baking on our first night in town, our own starter did something it had never done before — with a loud “pop!” the top flew off of the super-pressurized container we had been using to house it on our cross-country drive! Clearly, the starter was keen to enter into the conversation. Over the next two weeks, we made something like ten loaves of sourdough bread, and went through more than 15 pounds of flour 😮. Evan also wow’d us with the skills of a consummate baker, whipping up fresh pitas for a mezze plate night, incredible babka as a dessert, and a loaf of fermented oat for a lucky coworker. Needless to say, their (new!) oven has been working overtime.

Kristen and Evan, in addition to making us feel right at home and providing us with a roof overhead as we struggled through the process of trying to find a place, also made sure to show us their favorite local spots. We were introduced to places like Zuni St Brewing, Jefferson Park, their neighborhood Sprouts, the scenic Sloan’s Lake, and fun Tennyson St. We are so grateful for their company, hospitality, and their taste in comedies — So far, we’ve been introduced to Police Academy ² and Best in Show. Also, James made an astute observation one of the first days we were in Denver — Kristen’s mannerisms are quite akin to Kate McKinnon’s! We think she’d be able to make an easy transition into stand up comedy ASAP.

As you can imagine, once we spent a week with Evan and Kristen, we started opening our once shut eyes to the idea of living in Denver. While we were initially considering areas like Fort Collins, Boulder, and Loveland, the two of them introduced us to a new possibility… living in Denver! Denver actually feel quite close to the mountains (as long as you play the traffic right), we forgot that we already have quite a few friends living in the Denver area, and overall Denver feels vibrant and welcoming. Although we haven’t signed a lease yet and could still end up somewhere very different, we mostly have our eyes on the city and are daydreaming about weekends spent in Evan’s woodworking shop, as well as weekly family dinners (with lots of bread of course!).

Between looking for a new home, launching our new businesses, and laughing with my cousins, we’ve been stretched pretty thin. We hope to be able to squeeze in more She & Jim writing & recipes in the weeks/months to come!

And now… A photo montage!