{Austin's Happy Hour}

My first day in Ft. Collins, Devin & I did happy hour at Austin's American Grill in Old Town, one of her favorites. I can't complain with drinking fruity cocktails at 4 in the afternoon. 

We had the entire restaurant to ourselves. Hooray for early mid-week happy hours because you're on vacation! Old Town Ft. Collins is one of the cutest areas I've ever been. We sat & watched out the window as stores hung their twinkle lights and garland, families strolled by bundled up in the chilly air. Out of a movie picturesque. 

The fireplace/rotisserie oven was roaring, and the employees decorating. Cozy.

White Sangria that was actually yellow. 

And a strawberry pink lemonade cocktail.

Then came the appetizer fun. Warm Artichoke dip with veggies & chips, and crab stuffed avocados...both pretending to be healthy. Soooo delicious. That avocado! Holy. It was much too chilly to be outside, so afternoon drinking and snacking is completely acceptable, right? I just love being on vacation. Could have stayed there all night.

{Friend Hangover & Mellow Mushroom}

I'm alive! After an amazing weekend with my girlfriends, I have been suffering from quite the friend hangover. My mind is still in a haze, I keep reminiscing about the fun times, deliriously laughing at inside jokes, feeling tired all the time as though I've been depriving myself of sleep & noticing weird things throw about my apartment. The weirdest part is I took them to the airport on Sunday. Longest.hangover.ever. Regardless, I love my friends & accept the friend hangover with open arms! 

Continuing on. When the ladies were here we went to Mellow Mushroom for happy hour, a great spot with a huge assortment of drinks & bites for very cheap prices. The Tempe location is huge! We were seated in a big booth and thankfully had a super knowledgeable waitress (atleast she knew way more than we did), who is originally from Seattle (bonus points), who brought us tons & tons of drink samples (major bonus points) so we would make the right decision when we finally settled on one.

I ordered a local beer, SanTan Brewing Company's Sunspot Golden Ale. The beer was light & refreshing, totally hitting the spot. There must have been upwards of 60 beer choices on the menu, and I cannot even begin to think of what Lauren settled on after our great waitress had her sample at least 10.  Don't twist our arms (they were small!).

Our late lunch happy hour turned into a combined dinner as well, so we went to town on the cheap menu & ordered anything and everything that looked or sounded remotely tasty. It did not disappoint. 

{salad & pita/hummus plate}

{pretzels & the capri, a caprese salad}

{meatballs & stuffed portobello mushroom}

Alex is a non-beer drinker, so we also had the opportunity to sample some delicious cocktails! The Strawberry Mojito was a hit. I think we probably sat at the restaurant for about three hours, laughing at ourselves, at eachother, telling stories & mostly hiding in the air conditioning. These Seattle people hadn't conditioned their bodies yet to function in an oven.