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4 fun ways to shake up 2020
Happy New Year!
By now you may be overwhelmed by “new year, new you” posts. I happen to like you just the way you are — but if you’re feeling stuck in a rut, I am here to offer a few ideas of how to shake it off and give 2020 the fresh start it deserves.
- Put on your best filter. Did you know that Denver and Boulder have opened Selfie Museums? They’re just what they sound like: collections of fun rooms designed specifically for you to take delightful photos in. If your profile picture is still from that 5k you ran two years ago, you owe yourself some fresh photos with the bomb lighting.
- Listen to Oprah. That’s not a metaphor. She’s coming to Denver in March!
- Climb out of the box. Nudge yourself toward something new. Art galleries leaving you cold? Try RiNo’s Side Stories, which project art and videos on the outside of buildings. So over staycations? Hit the road with 303 Magazine‘s scenic road trip plans. Tired of your hotels not offering you kangaroo kisses? Golden has an interactive “vacation rental zoo.” I could do this all day, guys.
- Shake up your surroundings. Come on, you know I had to include this one. Is it time to tackle that kitchen remodel to add value to your home? Or perhaps you’ve outgrown your house altogether, and you’re ready to see what else is out there? If this is the year you need to change up your digs, please reach out — I would love to talk about how to make this happen for you in 2020.
Christmas in Color, a holiday lights experience
I am always on the hunt for new holiday traditions that my family will enjoy. This year I’m intrigued by Christmas in Color, a drive-through holiday lights-and-music experience.
“Load up your friends and family into the van (or car, or truck) and experience Christmas like never before. Drive through acres of more than 1.5 million lights perfectly synchronized to holiday music you’ll hear right through your radio. You’ll drive by giant candy canes, snowmen, arched pathways and more. It’s like being immersed in another world. In fact, we won’t judge you if you join the kids with your face pressed against the window.”
Colorado is lucky enough to have two locations for this lighting event: Water World in Denver/Federal Heights and the Bandimere Speedway in Morrison.
The event also benefits the Make-a-Wish Foundation.
Gold leaf and missing bells: the Colorado State Capitol Building
Photo: Scott Franz for KUNC
This week, the story that caught my eye was not about nature or food or even llamas but about architecture and history: specifically, the Colorado State Capitol Building in Denver. Radio station KUNC took a tour with guide Ellen Stanton, and I loved hearing stories about the 1,700-pound chandelier, the hidden faces in the walls, and the missing portrait of Abraham Lincoln. Tours are free — I’ll have to take my tiny human before long!
The KUNC story inspired me to dig deeper. Here are a few more points of interest that I unearthed about the Colorado State Capitol:
- “The official elevation of Denver is measured on the West steps outside the building, where the fifteenth step is engraved with the words ‘One Mile Above Sea Level'”
- The Capitol’s dome was not always the stunning gold it is today; the gold was added to commemorate the Colorado Gold Rush of the mid-1800s
- The dome’s beautiful golden color comes from “copper panels that are gilded with gold leaf from a Colorado mine“
- Following a restoration project in 2012, the dome was re-covered in gold, a project requiring “approximately 65 ounces of .9999 pure gold … at the time of donation, the estimated value of the gold, refining and transportation was $125,000”
- The Capitol is listed on the National Register of Historic Places
- “The inside of the building is adorned with what is believed to be the entire known supply of Colorado Rose Onyx, a rare rose marble from a quarry near Beulah, Colorado”
- The grounds of the Capitol display one of 53 full-sized replicas of the Liberty Bell — each state and the District of Columbia received a bell, and the other two bells have been lost
- You can request a ceremonial Colorado or U.S. flag be flown over the Capitol! The flag is later mailed to you with a certificate of authenticity
I love that you can learn so much about a building, a neighborhood or a city without ever leaving home! What would you like to learn about Colorado?
