Food, Friends, and Travel – The Breckenridge, Colorado Edition!

Because, “Traveling is the only thing you buy that makes you richer.” WORD.
And I can wholeheartedly agree with that because I have been to many-a-places and have learned many-a-lot. Making up my own words is one of those things. 😉

From Australia to Europe, to Mexico, Canada, most of the 50 States, and so on, I’ve traveled a great amount and the things I’ve learned are that, memories cannot be bought, individual growth cannot be bought. Compassion. Understanding. Culture. Personal challenges. These, among others, are the things that can’t be bought with money, but can be added to your soul, your well being, and your character, just through the use of travel.

So, for that reason, last month I decided to finally take up on an invitation from my amazing and super awesome friend, Erin, the blogger behind Dinners, Dishes, and Desserts, and a few of my other dear bloggy friends to join them in one of the most beautiful places in the United States – Breckenridge, Colorado.

This was my first time in Colorado, but it will definitely not be my last.

I now know why quite a few of my high school and college friends chose to pack up and move to Colorado as soon as college days came to a close. And why my husband’s favorite place, next to Macedonia, of course, is Breckenridge. I am already ready to go back!

THAT, my friends, was my house for the weekend! A house up in the mountains, with numerous bedrooms, bathrooms, an enormous kitchen, fireplaces galore, jacuzzi, and much, MUCH more. I was in love. Could’ve filmed my own MTV Cribs!

Look at that scenery! This was our view for four days.

Also? This is who I was greeted by upon arrival. With no idea about what to do or say when a fox crosses your path, I just snapped a photo so I could at least brag about it.
By the way, what does the fox say, anyhow?

Then, I finally met up with my girls! My beautiful roomies for the weekend. After a bunch of hugs, kisses, and laughs, our first order of business was TEQUILA!

Yvette from Muy Bueno Cookbook and Vianney from Sweet Life Bake are the two gorgeous ladies behind the book, Latin Twist, and for that reason, they were our personal tequila ladies bartenders throughout the weekend.

But the drinks didn’t stop there. We also had a few bottles of La Crema wine to enjoy. Thanks to my dear friend, Courtney from Sweet C’s Designs, a.k.a. our sommelier, for all the laughs and wine education. AND for the beautiful tablescapes! This girl can dec.o.rate.

You know what else was born in Colorado? Stuff’n Mallows! Have you had these, yet?? Please, you have got to try ’em. It’s a marshmallow stuffed with allthingschocolate; chocolate chips, mint chocolate chips, and peanut butter chocolate chips. They were incredible. Also? A s’mores bar is kind of an awesome idea for a party.

Speaking of Chocolate. NUANCE CHOCOLATE. I think an OMG is in order. This particular chocolate-flight is one that I will never forget. Authentic, bean-to-bar chocolate, made from cocoa beans *roasted and ground* in Fort Collins, Colorado. Homemade and beautiful.

And theeeeeen, we had breakfast. General Mills, your cereals are pretty much the best. Thank you for being YOU!

Now we can talk about my awesome donut.

My new absolute favorite and gorgeous Chicagoan, Aimee from Shugary Sweets, was responsible for that delicious donut up there! Honest to God, this was the best-est-est doughnut I have ever had. She makes them with Grands BISCUITS! AND Rodelle Vanilla. Get the recipe for her Cookies ‘N Cream Donuts  HERE.

One of my oldest bloggy friends, the sweetest EVER Katrina from In Katrina’s Kitchen, AND the author of The Biscoff Cookie & Spread Cookbook also joined us in Breckenridge and brought a stash of Biscoff Cookies with her! Oh the excitement! I kept going back to the pantry to get more. At 2 am. No joke.

I also finally got to meet another one of my bloggy friends in person, Tony from Boulder Locavore! Looking for amazing gluten free recipes? SHE is YOUR girl! Awesome cocktails, too. AND food education to boot.

Of course, the party couldn’t start without my girl, Becky from The Cookie Rookie. It was so exciting to know that I was going to hook up with one of my blog-besties once again for an entire weekend. I puffy heart her, too! She was also our personal photographer. We each now have a brand new headshot, thanks to her talents.

You know when there’s a group of food bloggers, we can’t just get ONE dinner/cookie/breakfast/dessert. Our personal chef, Chef Ian, prepared an amazing dinner for us that included:
Wild Mushroom Soup
Salad with fennel, strawberries, goat cheese, nuts … (AMAZING!)
Assorted breads
Sage rubbed pork chops
Seasonal fruit cobbler in skillets.

It was a beautiful dinner that we got to enjoy with the GoBreck Team. Learned a lot about Breckenridge, its locals, and a thing or two about ski-life. Definitely different from my everyday, midwestern life. 😀

Last, but not least, our farewell dinner was THE FINEST! And that has nothing to do with the fact that I made the Brussels Sprouts and the Taratur. 😉
BUT it has everything to do with this Certified Angus Beef Steak. Hands down, I honestly believe this was the best steak I have ever had. So thick, tender and juicy, the way a steak ought to be.

Sidenote: Hop on over for my recipe for Oven-Grilled Steak! I used Certified Angus Beef and will continue to do so for the rest of forever. *THAT* is how good they are.

I would also like to mention that our lunches throughout the weekend were provided by my besties, STAR Fine Foods!
AND groceries by Natural Grocers.
And goodies by LeCreuset.

I puffy heart Brands that appreciate the value of the smaller businesses, such as food blogs.

All this would not have been possible without the very hard work that was put in by Erin from Dinners, Dishes, and Desserts, (top photo) and Courtney from Sweet C’s Designs. Putting together a trip for 8 foodies? Pshhht. Believe me when I say, THAT is a huge challenge. Thank you, girls. I owe you BIG. I pay in kale and butter. 😉

This is just a glimpse of life in Breckenridge, and I hope you find yourself there some day VERY soon.

Disclosure: I was not compensated for this post however our lodging and food were provided by our sponsors. All opinions are always 100% my own.