The last few weeks have been a blur of work, travel and a healthy dose of stress. Even so, I’ve been gen­er­at­ing new work and at long last am happy to share some of it with you, dear readers.

Before the rain blew in this week­end, I went on a long walk­a­bout and had a chance to cap­ture a few tex­tures I’ve had my eye for weeks:

This past week, Aman­daMuses turned five, wild! While I’ve main­tained a blog in some form since 2000, it wasn’t until 2007 that I finally moved on to a sin­gle domain of my own and started shar­ing some of my work or visual explo­rations rather than focus­ing on chitchat. In the last year or two as you’ve no doubt noticed, dear read­ers, I’ve allowed work work to become rather all-consuming and with­drawn some­what from this web­site but change is coming…

Stay tuned, dear readers…

After what feels like for­ever, the last few por­traits from the 2011 daily365 por­trait project have been tidied and assem­bled into a sum­mary movie just like last year; bet­ter late than never, right? With­out fur­ther ado, here it is:

Just watch­ing this makes me tired! After over 800 por­traits from the last few years, it’s safe to say I’m offi­cially sick of portraits.

How about you, folks? Are any of you work­ing on your own daily365 projects this year? Lisa Con­g­don’s 365 Days of Hand Let­ter­ing is com­ing along beautifully…Don’t you think?

It’s been a few years, but some of you may recall the days when I lived in col­or­ful Col­orado. Over the last few months, a num­ber of col­leagues and fel­low trav­el­ers have sought Col­orado and Denver-specific rec­om­men­da­tions with sur­pris­ing reg­u­lar­ity. So in the inter­est of sim­pli­fy­ing things, I’ve begun assem­bling a more com­plete list of Den­ver food and enter­tain­ment rec­om­men­da­tions. For those unac­quainted with the city, here are a few quick ideas in a few neigh­bor­hoods before the list:

Capi­tol Hill
Spend an after­noon strolling through the Den­ver Botan­i­cal gar­dens admir­ing flora from around the globe or set­tle into their café for a hot bev­er­age and free wifi. Not a gar­den per­son? Stroll through Cheesman Park for a lit­tle exer­cise and peo­ple (and dog) watch­ing or admire the strik­ing pavil­ion at the top of the park’s hill. Stop in at Wyman’s No. 5 along 13^th Avenue for a pint or a deep dish Chicago pie. Or cool off a few doors down at Liks for a scoop of fresh local ice cream or a thick milk­shake. A few blocks across Col­fax, St. Mark’s Cof­fee­house offers a neigh­bor­hood hang­out with a wide assort­ment of teas and cof­fee drinks, sand­wiches and pas­tries. Stop in next door at the Thin Man for a cock­tail and good con­ver­sa­tion; be sure to try their house infused vod­kas or sea­sonal cock­tails.

Con­gress Park
Fur­ther east down Col­fax, just across from East­ern High, resides the Tat­tered Cover (its new loca­tion since mov­ing from Cherry Creek) in the old Lowen­stein The­ater. A Den­ver leg­end, the Tat­tered Cover is a tem­ple to the printed word with a staff and inven­tory to prove it. A trip down­town to LoDo offers an even big­ger Tat­tered Cover. Con­tinue a few more blocks east on Col­fax and stop in at Mez­cal for din­ner or Happy Hour (or even brunch on the week­end) or next door at the Goose­town Tav­ern for a burger and a round of pool. Cross the street for a show at the his­toric Blue­bird The­ater; then kick back for a beer at the Atomic Cow­boy.

Lower High­lands
Not a far from LoDo, at the con­flu­ence of Cherry Creek and the S. Platte River lies lush Con­flu­ence Park, just at the base of the High­lands. Stroll through the park for peo­ple and dog watch­ing or spend an hour pic­nick­ing or fly­ing a kite. Cross the bridge and you’ll find your­self along Platte street which offers light shop­ping and a few local eater­ies. Pull up a chair at a pop­u­lar bohemian cof­feeshop, Paris on the Platte or visit its neigh­bor­ing wine bar for a more quiet evening. A few doors down is the local hit, Savory, which offers the fresh­est herbs and spices from around the world, ground fresh weekly in small batches on the premises. Con­tinue down Platte Street and visit Denver’s REI flag­ship store for out­door gear with a view, or stop in at My Brother’s Bar for a relaxed burger and pint. A few doors down, Mona’s offers a pop­u­lar spot for week­end brunch.

FOOD & DRINK

Arg­onaut—(Capi­tol Hill) 760 E. Col­fax at Clark­son
The only liquor store you could ever need, Arg­onaut seems to have it all. With a knowl­edge­able and help­ful staff, this palace to man’s favorite poi­son offers obscure and famil­iar selec­tions alike. Look­ing for more uncon­ven­tional Col­orado sou­venir? Tod­dle down the whiskey aisle and pickup a bot­tle of Stranahan’s micro-batch hand­crafted Col­orado whiskey. Like the Arg­onaut, it won’t dis­ap­point!

Atomic Cow­boy—(Con­gress Park)3237 E. Col­fax at Adams
Fun all around bar for locals and vis­i­tors alike. Don’t let their Flash web­site deter you, they’re fun and friendly at the Atomic Cow­boy.

Buenos Aires Pizze­ria—1307 22^nd & Larimer
Savory piz­zas and heav­enly empanadas delight at this quiet spot tucked in the shadow of Coors Field, home to the Col­orado Rock­ies.

City o’ City— 206 E. 13^th & Pearl
Wel­com­ing local bar, sis­ter to Water­course Foods. Local cof­fee and pas­tries avail­able to go or pull up a chair in the bar and order some light fare. Their Mediter­ranean sam­pler is great.

The Cruise Room—(LoDo) 1600 17^th St
Located in the old (report­edly haunted) Oxford Hotel, the Cruise Room is not to be missed on any visit to Den­ver. Whether for a sin­gle cock­tail or a fes­tive night with friends, the Cruise Room serves clas­sic cock­tails exe­cuted mas­ter­fully by pro­fes­sional mixol­o­gists in a per­fect repro­duc­tion of a lounge on the Queen Mary. Food from McCormick’s next door is avail­able as well, sim­ply ask your bar­tender.

Delite—32 S. Broad­way
Inven­tive top-shell cock­tails and tapas in a cool pack­age pre­pared by the same chef/owner as neigh­bor­ing Deluxe.

Deluxe—30 S. Broad­way &
Chef owned and oper­ated Amer­i­can bistro serv­ing up imag­i­na­tive dishes. Reser­va­tions are not required but highly rec­om­mended at this local hot spot.

Go Fish—1 S. Broad­way & Ellsworth
Cheap, fast and friendly is the name of the game at Go Fish. Curl up with hot saki and buck­wheat noo­dle soup on cold days, or enjoy a sushi happy hour.

Goose­town Tav­ern—(Con­gress Park) 3242 E. Col­fax at Adams
A pop­u­lar neigh­bor­hood bar with solid bar foods and friendly bar­tenders. Crowds can get over­whelm­ing with shows at the Blue­bird.

The Hor­net— 76 Broad­way & 2^nd
Hip bar with a wide beer selec­tion and well deliv­ered Amer­i­can bar foods. In the mood for a snack? Try their nachos. Not a night owl? Come back on the week­end for brunch com­plete with a make-your-own Bloody Mary bar.

The Horse­shoe
Laid back and a lit­tle divey, the Horse­shoe offers drinks and cheap eats with a side of pool and darts. Some nights they crank up the party with live music.

Liks Ice Cream—(Capi­tol Hill) 2039 E. 13^th at Race
Family-owned small batch cream­ery serv­ing up tasty treats with com­plex fla­vors to delight all ages.

Lit­tle Ollie’s— (Cherry Creek) 23 E. 3^rd & Uni­ver­sity
Arguably some of if not the best asian food in town. Every­thing is super fresh at this local eatery which deliv­ers big on style and taste.

Lucile’s—275 S. Logan at Alameda
After a week­end visit to Lucile’s for brunch or break­fast, it’s hard not to fan­ta­size about eat­ing here daily. Cel­e­brate the week­end with a bloody mary or just relax with the best cre­ole com­fort food you’ve ever had out­side of Louisiana.

Mez­cal—(Con­gress ParK) 3230 E. Col­fax & Adams
Worth the trip to the east on Col­fax for this local gem. Choice Happy Hour spe­cials and a nice spot for din­ner or even brunch. Great cock­tails and prob­a­bly the biggest tequila selec­tion in town. If in the mood for cock­tails, try a Mojada or Dark & Stormy. Don’t miss their spiced cof­fee if you’re in for brunch.

My Brother’s Bar—(Lower High­lands) 2376 15^th & Platte
Largely unchanged since the ‘50s, My Brother’s Bar is a safe bet for a relax­ing burger and rea­son­ably priced pitcher of beer. Don’t miss their patio on warm evenings.

Pablo’s Cof­fee—630 6^th Ave at Wash­ing­ton
First-rate Indie cof­fee shop serv­ing up tasty baked goods and play­ful cof­fees.

Paris on the Platte—1553 Platte & 15^th
A pop­u­lar des­ti­na­tion among locals, Paris on the Platte seems to be a bit of an indie insti­tu­tion. Not a big cof­fee drinker, or in the mood for some­thing more quiet? Stop in next door at Paris’ wine bar for a nice selec­tion of domes­tic and inter­na­tional wines and light fare; their cheese boards are a per­fect com­ple­ment to a glass (or two) of wine.

St. Mark’s Café—2019 E. 17^th & Race
One of the ulti­mate local hang­out bohemian cof­feeshops. Right next door to The Thin Man, both owned by the same local fam­ily.

Sam’s #3—1500 Cur­tis & 15^th
Arguably the best clas­sic diner in Den­ver, serv­ing up the mas­sive por­tions you’d expect from a clas­sic Amer­i­can diner. Cozy up for leisurely break­fast with friends, or try one of their rich milk­shakes.

Snooze—2262 Larimer St & 23^rd
Fan­tas­tic brunch spot, offer­ing clever inter­pre­ta­tions of break­fast favorites. Using high qual­ity ingre­di­ents from con­sci­en­tious pro­duc­ers, brunch at Snooze isn’t the cheap­est, but it’s worth the long wait.

Sput­nik— 3 S. Broad­way & Ellsworth
A funky neigh­bor­hood bar with an artsy side offer­ing a broad assort­ment of food includ­ing lots of veg­e­tar­ian options (con­sider the Viet­namese sand­wich or sweet potato fries). Check out the rotat­ing dis­play of work from local artists or stop in for a drink before a show at the Hi Dive.

Steuben’s—(Capi­tol Hill) 523 E 17^th Ave Pkwy at Pearl St.
Heav­enly food always served–comfort food for grown-ups. Open late and a favorite among locals for brunch. Wait ’til after 3pm and try their won­der­ful mashed pota­toes.

Steve’s Snap­pin’ Dogs—3525 E. Col­fax at Mon­roe
In the mood for quick, easy com­fort food? Steve’s has you cov­ered. With authen­tic Chicago hot dogs, burg­ers, fresh squeezed lemon– and limeade, golden fries and a host of other good­ies, this spot is great for trav­el­ers with lit­tle ones. Try the green beans for a some­thing a lit­tle dif­fer­ent with your dog.

Table 6— 603 E. Corona at 6^th
Don’t miss this upscale Amer­i­can bistro. A nice spot for a “fancier” din­ner with­out the fuss of a “fancy” restau­rant.

The Thin Man —(Capi­tol Hill) 2015 E. 17^th & Race
Great neigh­bor­hood bar with lots of char­ac­ter. Try their house infused vod­kas or sea­sonal cock­tails. Food is typ­i­cally avail­able from St. Mark’s next door, just ask the bar­tenders.

Tommy’s Thai—(Con­gress Park) 3410 E. Col­fax & Cook
Fam­ily owned and oper­ated, Tommy’s cooks up fresh Thai favorites at mod­est prices. Their sim­ple, clean and mod­ern inte­rior makes for a pleas­ant lunch or a fast but tasty din­ner.

Water­course—(Capi­tol Hill) 837 E. 17^th & Emer­son
A local favorite for veg­e­tar­ian fare, nice for a leisurely week­end meal. Great fries, try the French Dip Sand­wich.

Wazee Sup­per Club—(LoDo) 1600 15^th & Wazee
Known and cel­e­brated by locals for their pizza, Wazee Sup­per Club is the per­fect spot for a casual night out with friends. Their kitchen is open late and they fea­ture a late night happy hour from 10-Midnight.

Wyman’s No.5—(Capi­tol Hill) 2033 E. 13^th
Chicago deep dish piz­zas in the Rock­ies? Oh yes. This warm and friendly neigh­bor­hood bar deliv­ers on their promise of Chicago deep dish and famil­iar bar foods.

Wynkoop Brew­ing Com­pany—(LoDo) 1634 18^th & Wynkoop
Small batch beers, atten­tive ser­vice and one of the city’s best pool halls all make the Wynkoop a favorite brew pub among locals and trav­el­ers alike.

Zengo—1610 Lit­tle Raven St.
Inter­est­ing Latin-Asian fusion with fla­vor­ful cock­tails. Gen­er­ally noted as a bit pricey so per­haps best for happy hour or cel­e­bra­tions.

ACTIVITIES & ENTERTAINMENT

3 Kings—60 S. Broad­way
It’s always a party at Denver’s answer to a rau­cous rock bar.

The Blue­bird The­ater—(Con­gress Park) 3317 E. Col­fax between Adams & Cook
One of Denver’s favorite venues, the his­toric Blue­bird offers an inti­mate set­ting for live music. Over­whelmed by the crowd? Try a lit­tle more breath­ing room in the bal­cony upstairs.

The Den­ver Art Museum (DAM)—100 W. 14^th at Ban­nock
Admire the new(ish) Hamil­ton wing from inside and out, or browse their col­lec­tions of con­tem­po­rary and his­toric art. Don’t miss the DAM’s impres­sive col­lec­tion of Native Amer­i­can art.

Den­ver Botan­i­cal Gar­dens—(Capi­tol Hill) 1007 York St. between 9^th & 11^th Avenues
With 43 indi­vid­ual gar­dens and hun­dreds of species from around the globe, the Den­ver Botan­i­cal Gar­dens has some­thing for every­one (even free wifi).

Den­ver Zoo—(City Park) 23^rd between Col­orado Blvd. & York
Sick of muse­ums, bars and cafes? How about an after­noon at the Den­ver Zoo? Whether you’ve got kid­dos in tow or not, the zoo is a fun break, boast­ing 3,500 ani­mals from over 650 species most in lovely updated, nat­u­ral­is­tic habi­tats.

El Cha­pul­te­pec—(NW LoDo) 1962 Mar­ket & 20^th
Around since the ‘30s, this jazz club still serves up drinks to wake the dead leg­ends who’ve played here. Don’t for­get, they’re still a cash-only bar!

The Hi Dive —7 S. Broad­way & Ellsworth
Denver’s favorite lit­tle venue for live music. A lit­tle worn in but always a party. Be pre­pared for a crowd. Stop in next door at Sput­nik to refuel with a snack after the show.

The Kirk­land Museum—1311 Pearl St. at 13^th
The moth­er­ship of late 19^th–20^th Cen­tury dec­o­ra­tive arts located in the heart of the west. An amaz­ing col­lec­tion of thou­sands of arti­facts from Arts & Crafts to Bauhaus to Pop Art.

The Mayan The­atre—110 Broad­way between 1^st & 2^nd
Funky his­toric the­ater show­ing the lat­est indie flicks. Head upstairs for a cock­tail from their full bar to com­ple­ment your pop­corn. Still hun­gry after the movie? Just cross the street to the Hor­net for well-done bar food clas­sics.

The Sky­lark — 140 S. Broad­way at Maple
A trip back in time to a relaxed bar with live music most week­ends and great juke­boxes upstairs and down. Head upstairs for pool and shuf­fle­board!

Tat­tered Cover Books—(mul­ti­ple loca­tions)2526 E. Col­fax & Columbine OR in LoDo at 1628 16^th & Wynkoop
Time gen­er­ally ceases to exist in this local tem­ple to books. Browse through your favorite book sec­tions, or find help with their knowl­edge­able and friendly staff. Refuel at their cof­fee counter.

Twist & Shout—(Con­gress Park) 2526 E. Col­fax & Columbine
Like its neigh­bor, the Tat­tered Cover, Twist & Shout seems to be enjoy­ing the extra leg room in its new locale. Offer­ing movies, music (on all man­ner of media includ­ing, yes, vinyl) and a host of toys and merch Twist & Shout is a pop­u­lar spot to browse for gifts or replace­ments for the obscure albums you lost mov­ing to your first real job after col­lege.

The Wal­nut Room—(RiNo) 3131 Wal­nut St
Some peo­ple know it as a nice music venue, oth­ers rec­og­nize it as a fun spot for unique piz­zas; either way the Wal­nut Room is worth a trip to RiNo (River North Art Dis­trict).

Need more ideas and haven’t time to ask? Check­out Design*Sponge’s Den­ver Design Guide! This fan­tas­tic list goes in to greater detail about shop­ping than I have here.

Think something’s miss­ing or want some thing more spe­cific not included on the list? Just email me and I will add it into a follow-up post!

Happy Trails!

Fes­tivus Mir­a­cles abound!