December 2016

This month, I also contributed a book idea (SuperBetter by Jane McGonigal) to Christianity Today‘s list of 21 Books Worth Giving as Christmas Gifts.

‘La La Land’ Dances Between Love and Calling
Christianity Today Women – December 14, 2016

C. S. Lewis wrote, “Being in love is a good thing, but it is not the best thing.”

Hollywood takes a different stance. On-screen love stories bring us dramatic clichés: happily-ever-afters, grand gestures that save the day, and sobbing protagonists railing against whatever tragic external obstacle drove them apart.

Don’t Miss: Denver’s Jerry Thomas Celebration
5280 Magazine – December 12, 2016

If you’ve never tried it, this week is the perfect time to taste and explore genever, a malted, juniper-forward, neutral grain-based spirit known as “the granddaddy of gin,” or sometimes as Holland or Dutch gin. Avanti Food & Beverage, Guard and Grace, Mister Tuna, Williams & Graham, the Way Back, and the Terminal Bar in Union Station are all offering special genever-based cocktails December 12 through 16.

November 2016

8 Expert Pie and Beer Combinations
5280 Magazine – November 2016

Could there be anything better than the profusion of pies at Thanksgiving? We’re glad you asked, because it turns out that craft brews and pie can be symbiotic dessert partners: Beer has residual sugars that often pair better with seasonal slices than most wines. “In pie and beer pairings, take into account three things: harmonies, flavor elements, and intensity,” says Julia Herz, craft beer program director at the Boulder-based Brewers Association. What does all that mean? Similar flavors in the pie and beer result in harmony. Fruit or floral notes in an IPA would work well with a fruit pie; a nutty brown ale would pair best with a nut or spice pie. Flavor elements are factors of taste that include aroma and mouthfeel. Intensity means the richness of the pie and the alcohol content in the beer.

Soak, Explore, Repeat
5280 Magazine – November 2016

This summer, Colorado’s tourism gurus designated a 720-mile circuit of 19 naturally heated soaking spots as the Historic Hot Springs Loop. Of course, nothing goes better with hot than, well, cold. To that end, we’ve put together five hot springs and winter adventure combinations in some of our favorite locations.

Why is Blue Apron single-shaming me? Meal kits don’t work for solo chefs.
The Washington Post’s Solo-ish – Nov 1

The plastic containers of meals, such as steak frites and coconut-poached fish with bok choy fried rice, are piling up in my fridge, and they are a little too fancy to pack for work lunches, where they would suffer the fate of the microwave.

Oscar Watch: La La Land’s Director Damien Chazelle & Star Emma Stone on Their Moving Musical
The Credits/Where to Watch – Nov. 7

Oscar-nominated writer/director Damien Chazelle set out to make a genre film with La La Land. Inspired by classic song-and-dance movies such as Singin’ in the Rain and Swing Time, he wanted to create an old-fashioned musical but “keep it grounded” in realism and contemporary Los Angeles.

How Arrival’s Production Designer Created an Alien Language
The Credits/Where to Watch – Nov. 7

Oscar-nominated production designer Patrice Vermette was tasked with creating an alien language for the new movie Arrival — and although he started by studying the languages used in other films about alien invasion, he ended up “reverse engineering” the language that Amy Adams uses to communicate with the invaders in the new film (in theaters Nov. 10). Vermette took a feelings-first approach to crafting the alien language by thinking about what it said to the audience without words.

From Storyboard to Screen: Behind the Scenes of Disney’s Moana
The Credits/Where to Watch – Nov. 21

Disney is in on the joke about “princess movies” in the new animated feature Moana (in theaters Nov. 23). In the film, a road trip by sea in which a young Polynesian woman named Moana leaves her island home to find the demi-god Maui and return a lost object to its right home, there is more than one joke about the title character’s princess credentials.

Women Afield: My First Pheasant Hunt
Colorado Outdoors Online – November 16

The first time in my life I’ve held a shotgun is also the first time I’ve hunted. On a cold and clear morning in November, I joined thirteen other women for a Women Afield pheasant hunt organized by Colorado Parks and Wildlife.

October 2016

One of my articles this month made a grown man cry. I’ll just let you guess which one it is.

Hiking the Pacific Crest Trail didn’t cure my depression—but it did change my life
Quartz – Oct. 5, 2016

For five minutes late on a Friday afternoon, I was completely lost somewhere in the Pacific Northwest. I could not see or hear my friend Ruth, who should have been just behind me on the other side of the ridge. Or the ridge before that. I had crossed a lot of such ridges, thinking I would catch sight of the lake just over the next one.

A (Road) Trip Back in Time
5280 Magazine – October issue

With all the new construction in Denver, it’s easy to forget that Coloradans find value in old things, too. There’s no better time to remember than this month, which marks the 50th anniversary of the National Historic Preservation Act and the creation of the National Register of Historic Places. (Locations designated as historic places are eligible for preservation grants and tax credits.) The register lists notable sites such as Pikes Peak and the Stanley Hotel plus many lesser-known—and thus, less crowded—landmarks worth a visit. We’ve sifted through more than 1,500 Colorado properties and districts and charted your four-stop journey through the past—no DeLorean necessary.

5 Local Beers to Seek Out at GABF
5280.com – Oct. 6, 2016

The Great American Beer Festival is once again upon us, running from October 6 to 8 in downtown Denver. As you walk inside the Colorado Convention Center, pretzels draped around your neck, you might be awestruck and even overwhelmed by all the boozy options that await you—more than 3,500 brews, to be exact.

September 2016

This month I started a new job. Survived a painful anniversary…and a robbery (not on the same day thankfully). Saved my cat (slight dramatization – but he was sick). Bought a car. Added a couple new writing outlets to my portfolio (Thrillist is below and stay tuned next month). Yeah, tough month.

I also wrote about You’re The Worst for Buzzfeed Community and Angry Birds for LinkedIn. And started writing about (and taking photos of) state parks for the Colorado Outdoors blog.

Jonás Cuarón Talks About his Savagely Intense Film Desierto
The Credits – Sept. 28

Desierto, Mexico’s official submission as Best Foreign Language Film to the next Academy Awards, doesn’t seem a likely inspiration for Gravity, which won seven Oscars in 2014. But when young filmmaker Jonás Cuarón showed the first draft of the script to his father Alfonso nearly 10 years ago, the elder Cuarón said he wanted to make a movie like it — in space.

What Learning to Backpack Taught Me About Colorado
Thrillist – Sept. 21

Growing up in the Great Plains, my only exposure to camping involved an RV. When I moved to Colorado in 2014, I didn’t have a closet full of old gear like the natives, and my family doesn’t do hand-me-down tents. All I had was a copy of Cheryl Strayed’s Wild and determination not to let my new location on the Front Range go to waste.

What Are Denver’s Booziest Neighborhoods?
5280.com – Sept. 14

Alcohol delivery service Drizly launched in Denver in 2014, and since then it’s been gathering some fascinating data on our residents’ unique tastes in booze. It should come as no surprise that the 80202 zip code—which includes the central business district, LoDo, and Riverfront Park—is Denver’s “thirstiest” area, year-to-date, according to Drizly. But this downtown locale also tops out all zip codes serviced by the app, including ones in New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Boston, and Washington, D.C.

In today’s pop culture, men with scars are sexy. But women are still expected to look perfect.
The Washington Post Solo-ish – Sept. 1

If Romeo were around today, he would be heavily scarred on his back or chest. Juliet would wax poetic about these signs of his strength and bravery.

August 2016

Writing from the depression beat this month. I think this first clip helped some people and the second was a little bit of public processing I probably wouldn’t do again.

What I Needed From the Church During My Depression
Christianity Today’s Her.meneutics – August 3

Speaking at the Democratic National Convention last week, the singer Demi Lovato took advantage of the powerful platform to advocate for mental health care in America. “Like millions of Americans, I am living with mental illness,” she said. “Too many Americans from all walks of life don’t get help, either because they fear the stigma or they cannot afford treatment.”

My Boyfriend Dumped Me Over My Depression, And I’m Better Off
Thought Catalog – August 19
My Boyfriend Dumped Me Because He Didn’t Believe My Depression Would Get Better
The Mighty – August 24

In every therapist’s or doctor’s office I’ve ever been in, one of the questions I am asked as part of my assessment is whether I have a significant other and how that person handles my depression. “That’s often one of the biggest stressors,” my doctor once said, congratulating me on not having a boyfriend. “Someone putting pressure on you to feel better.”

She didn’t mention the stress of knowing someone doesn’t believe you can feel better.

July 2016

This month I also published a piece in a prominent women’s magazine under a pen name. Alas, for legal reasons, that is the only clue I can give you.

I also contributed a book to this list of 10 Books Worth Reading This Summer. I have since read the book and can’t quite recommend it for the reasons I was first interested.

We asked each other 36 questions to fall in love. Then we broke up.
The Washington Post Solo-ish – July 27

Our first weekend as a couple, my boyfriend and I asked each other those 36 questions to fall in love, which appeared in a New York Times Modern Love column last year. We’d been friends for years and were giving things a shot, romantically.

8 Refreshing Summer Cocktails to Try
5280 – July 27, 2016

From spicy margs to tiki-inspired sippers, these are the drinks of the season.

May 2016

Your Mountain Drinking Passport
5280.com – May 30, 2016

We all know by now that the mountains aren’t just for skiing. Now, a new program called Elevated Libations aims to further broaden the horizons of slope junkies and tourists alike by showcasing the unique experiences offered at mountain-town bars.

Why Adult Coloring Works for Christians
Christianity Today’s Her.meneutics – May 23, 2016

Last year, sales of coloring books in the US shot up from 1 million to 12 million units. The sales spike quickly prompted a slew of articles asking whether our culture is collectively stressed out and/or reverting to childhood hobbies. I, too, mocked the trend right up until I started coloring this year as a therapy tool and discovered that it settles my mind and helps me focus.

5 Cocktails for Cinco de Mayo
5280.com – May 3, 2016

Even if you have no real reason to celebrate the Mexican army’s underdog victory over French wanna-be colonists on May 5, 1962, Cinco de Mayo is still a great excuse to experience Denver’s tequila scene. Here, five agave-focused libations to get your party started. Bonus: Balance out all the drinking with tacos—check out our list of Denver’s 52 Top Tacos for some inspiration.

March 2016

Animation Supervisors Are the Zookeepers On Disney’s Zootopia
The Credits – March 1, 2016

Kira Lehtomaki likes the idea of her role as the protector of “Judy Hopps.” Lehtomaki, an animation supervisor on Disney’s upcoming Zootopia, animated and supervised multiple segments of the feature film but was mainly responsible to oversee the female bunny police officer voiced by Ginnifer Goodwin.

Explore Denver’s Coffee Scene with the Fika Passport
5280.com – March 28, 2016

For me, spring conjures thoughts of coffee-shop meetings and lingering at cafés. The folks behind the Denver Passport Program seem to have read my mind with this week’s release of the first-ever coffee passport in Denver. Inspired by fika (fee-kah), an enviable Swedish cultural tradition that emphasizes slowing down to enjoy a mid-afternoon coffee break with a friend or co-worker, the new Fika Passport contains two-for-one coffee specials at each of the 24 participating cafés. The program runs from April 1 through October 1.

February 2016

Super Bowl Cocktail Suggestions from Denver Bartenders
5280.com – Feb. 5, 2016

Whether you’re hosting or joining a Super Bowl party this weekend, themed drinks are a fun way to showcase your Broncos pride. But with blue and orange as a theme, that can be a little limiting. That’s why we asked a couple of experts—bar managers Joe Schratz from Punch Bowl Social and Anthony Hinojos at Terminal Bar in Union Station—for drink ideas that will impress any super fan.

The New Student Activists
Christianity Today Magazine – March issue

If college is a friendly environment for forming an argument or taking a stand, then Christian college students have perhaps even more reason than their peers to take action based on passionately-held beliefs.

January 2016

True story: Between seeing one movie last month and writing the review, my car slid off the road. That’s how you know I’m a pro, right?

Sisters review
World magazine, Jan. 9

In the 1980s and again in the ’90s, the teen party movie became a staple. The genre has faded since then, but Hollywood replaced it with the adult party movie, a slightly tongue-in-cheek formula modeled on those teen movies and likely created mainly by adults who grew up on movies like Sixteen Candles or Can’t Hardly Wait.

The Force Is With Her
Christianity Today, Jan. 8

Star Wars: The Force Awakens probably would have made $1.5 billion even without its female lead. But it’s only fair that a female character get her due when she plays such a central—and compelling, thanks to actress Daisy Ridley— role in one of the most enduring and culturally-defining movie series in generations.

Where to Find Bulletproof Coffee in Denver
5280.com, Jan. 27

This popular beverage, made with coffee, grass-fed butter, and a shot of medium-chain triglyceride oil, supposedly increases your energy and helps you burn fat. Here’s where to get your fix.