White Fence Farm

In a lot of ways Denver feels very metropolitan, very progressive, and very international - not at all the image I would have conjured up as a child. I'm pretty sure that I thought there was virtually nothing between LA and New England except for maybe some farmland, and - oh yeah - Chicago was somewhere in there, too. But as I grew older, I learned that Colorado is indeed a very different place from Kansas and that Michigan is no Montana. Colorado is certainly not farmland, and Denver is about as far away from the farm as you could get, but tonight we did go to a farm: White Fence Farm and Family Restaurant in Lakewood.


The second you hop onto their website, the country music starts to play and, Toto, I don't think we're in Denver anymore. The truth is, quite a bit of it is very Denverish. The people are friendly, the waitresses crack jokes like they've known you forever, and people feel comfortable bringing their families to dinner. But the fried chicken, corn poppers, petting zoo, and abundance of americana scream something much much farther east. In many ways it was like New England Farm with some southern cooking - the architecture looked like something you'd find on a farm in Massachussets or Connecticut while the cuisine could have been designed by Paula Dean herself.


Lauren's family informed me that, while they would probably never go to White Fence Farm on their own, it is a family tradition that brings them back every visit. We weren't alone - most tables seated 10+ and children were everywhere. The food, though covered in grease, was undeniably delicious and filling. And while we did not go to the petting zoo, gift shop, or on the horse drawn carriage ride, I could tell this was more than a restaurant for a lot of people.

It's definitely another side of Denver and seems to offer a bit of campy country to a city so used to the eco-friendly, hipster, modern, and metropolitan.

Paint the Town Red

Or yellow, as we've decided to paint our kitchen and bathroom. It's a very light yellow, much lighter than the dirty paint left behind by the house's previous tenants (we happen to think our house likes us much more than it ever liked them).

We've moved our renovation train out of the bedrooms and on to the big rooms: kitchen, bathroom, dining room. Lauren and I picked up some furniture before we started slapping paint on the walls: a small wood kitchen table for just a couple of us, 3 chairs, and a dining room table. The kitchen table was a must - we picked it up right away at target for 60 bucks. A bit pricey, but we couldn't eat on the floor, could we? It's very convenient, collapsible, and wood - so we picked it up along with 3 folding chairs the other day.

Our dining table, however, was a true find. In one of our Goodwill excursions, we saw this beautiful white painted wood table on display. Walking up to it, we realized that the top was covered in white tile with an unpainted wood edge. For 40 bucks, we thought we found a steal - we could bleach the grout around the tile and repaint the white legs for mere pennies. Then, as we handed over the ticket to the cashier, we found out that our table was actually 50 percent off! So we landed a great dining table for only 20 bucks.

Today we completed the puzzle, painting the kitchen and bathroom. What a transformation. Once we start to hang our art on the walls, these rooms should really come together. Next stop on the renovation train: living room.

Dance the Weekend Away

I've been doing quite a bit of dancing since I arrived, but I did a TON of dancing this weekend. On Thursday night, I headed out to the kick off dance for Swingtime in the Rockies, located in Westminster, just north of us. The event was fantastic. Starting on Friday, a weekend pass bought you all the workshops you could hope for, great open dancing, and amazing showcases and competitions.


The workshops were fantastic, lead by some of my favorite couples (Ben and Melina & Jordan and Tatiana). During the day I got to social dance with a lot of great people from all around the country. I met people from Kansas, Utah, Minnesota, and, of course, Colorado. At night, the "classic" competition took off and my favorite couples hit the stage. Jordan and Tatiana's routine was a great crowd pleaser, as was a really high energy performance from Ben and Melina.

Later that night we met up with Ben to say hi and I even snagged a dance with him during the open dancing. Even though he's originally from Colorado, he only comes back here about once or twice a year, so it was a really great treat to have one last dance with my favorite swing teacher from LA.

Today there was more dancing and I eventually ended up at salsa night at the D-note in Arvada with one of the West Coast Swing dancers I had met at Swingtime. The D-note is a fun salsa bar with a live band in downtown Arvada. Street parking is free but can be a little tough.

Other places on my dance list:
Avalon Ballroom on Thursday nights - Salsa
The Highland House on Monday nights - Blues
The HIghland House on Tuesday nights - West Coast Swing
The Denver Turnverein on Sunday nights - West Coast Swing

Home Improvements

Today I added some new pieces to my bedroom. This is what they looked like when I first bought them at the good will:

I got the table (black painted pine) for 70 dollars and the chair (some sort of heavy metal with a crappy upholstery) for about 40. The chair was a real find but I didn't know what I'd find when I tore up the gross fabric on the seat. The table required some light sanding and repainting with an eggshell finish.






Here's the finished product in my room next to a bench I bought earlier at a flea market for 10 bucks:

Right now I've just covered the cushion of the chair in a white pillow case and I've put a white throw pillow on the back. I'm hoping to do some more permanent and more elegant covering soon.









Here's what was under all that gross upholstery:

Clearly sundamaged and stained, but a much better look. Finding something to cover this blue velvet shouldn't be too tough, and the cushion still has it's spring so that's an added plus.














Side view

Home Sweet Home!

It's been a long road to get here, but the drive was beautiful and now I'm finally in my beautiful Denver home with my house- (and probably soul-) mate, Lauren. After a few days of unpacking, panicking at the lack of internet, frantic cleaning and bed buying, we've finally gotten all unpacked, online, and in the kitchen.

Our kitchen is the best part of the house, by far. Granite countertops offset the light wood cabinets and stainless steel appliances in a spacious, airy room. After a giant groceries run, we've gotten ourselves some good staples. Two nights ago we made quesadillas and yesterday morning we made our own granola. Lauren's Aunt donated to our food supply, thouroughly filling up our cabinet space with lots of stock essentials - canned soups, pasta sauses, peanut butter, and even delicious homemade banana bread!

My other favorite thing about our house right now is the lake, about a 3 minute walk from our front door. It's surrounded by a beautiful park and looks out over the mountains! Lauren and I walked the entire thing yesterday (it took us about 1 hour) and marveled at the beautiful geese, water, and skies. Waterskiiers and wakeboarders are out daily, dodging the fishing lines from people pearched along the edges or on one of the two bridges on each end of the lake. Apparently, it freezes over in the winter and the skiiers will soon turn into skaters.

Last night I went into downtown denver (barely a 5 min drive from the front door) and met up with my friend Sam who lives as central as you can live. I think he might actually be listed as living on top of Union Station, according to google maps. His flat is situated right near all of the light rail and provides a gorgeous view to all of denver. He took me around, explaining the history and neighborhoods of this interesting city while I marveled again and again at its beauty.

There is a great old bookstore that seems to have risen from the ashes of a great abandoned warehouse. All the shelving is a great solid wood and the labels are hand written caligraphy.

We also passed by the 16th street mall, which really isn't a mall at all, but a largely pedestrian street where many great bars, restaurants, and local shops have lined up. You can take a free bus up and down the mall - they run every two minutes or so, are clean, fast, and friendly. Sam and I stopped at many local places, such as The Market (1445 Larimer Street, Denver, CO 80202-1704) which reminded me of a great european café, gelateria, patisserie and farmer's market all in one. The chairbacks look like hearts and ivy lines the walls covered in olive oils and local honey displayed on wood shelving. A truely beautiful place.

We stopped for dinner at a local burrito hole called, Illegal Petes. The only thing illegal about this place is perhaps their dangerous mixing of cuisines - like the Chicken Pesto Burrito, for example. Open until 2 am, the place is a late night hot spot, much like a more local looking chipolte with a bar atmosphere. You can get your choice of burrito made to order and sit with the local crowd for about 7 bucks. The music is good and the beer is cheap - I can see why the college crowd would frequent this place.

Now I'm back at the house and I MUST get back to resumé writing and submitting. Look out for more entries on the Denver flea markets, house adventures, the local dance scene, and Lauren's experience working for Denver Public Schools.

How to up and move to Denver

My formula:












A Great Car (Mine is a black Civic 2010 that I've named, "Baby")

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A Great GPS (I've chosen the 5" Garmin 1490T as my weapon)

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An amazing friend who keeps you laughing all the way.

2 days until I put my formula to the test.