Life lately...with zero mention of being pregnant!

As per the usual, I've been slacking in the blog department. I'll give you a self-absorbed pregnancy update tomorrow, but today, you get all the non-pregnancy-related things that have been happening in my world. Buckle up.

Game of Thrones. Duh. Like the rest of the planet, I've been obsessing over/critiquing watching the final season of Game of Thrones. Though I have some serious gripes with some of the plot choices (Jaime deserved better, can Bran just...warg out of the show?), I'm pretty satisfied overall with the outcome and bummed to see it go. For the premiere episode of the season, LP and Elizabeth had a (night's) watch party at their place and I showed up with all the fervor and decorating prowess of an overzealous PTA mom. Sorry not sorry, folks.

Pacers Season Ended. Sadly (or perhaps not), the Pacers were swept in the first round of the playoffs by the Boston Celtics. While I'm always happy to have my husband back home and get the off-season underway, it was pretty sad to see this super likable team get bounced so early in their postseason run. I was able to attend Games 3 and 4 this year, so no complaints here.

Scarlett turned 3. How is it possible that this beautiful, squishy girl is so grown up?! Her birthday party was Spirit-themed (that's her favorite show) and check out the incredible cake her Aunt April made. So much for my overzealous PTA mom talk...

 ...and speaking of my brother and his dreamy family, they are adding TWINS to the clan in November! I'm still in shock, but so beyond excited to see my little girl grow up with a crew of cousins so close in age.

Visitors. I've been super lucky the past few weekends to have some of my best friends in town. The weekend after my baby shower, Morgan, Hannah, and Jenn came to spend some quality time. Then last weekend, CJ, Eric, TJ, Jenn, and Emerson (is she not the cutest? Proof below.) came for a mini Derailed reunion of sorts. There's honestly nothing I like better than having my favorite people in town.

Odds and Ends. Spring has officially sprung in Indy, complete with thunderstorms, lots of blooming flowers, and baby ducklings on the canal. I can't stop listening to "Cool" by the Jonas Brothers and Wheat won't let me live it down. Dad had ear surgery a few weeks ago and I went home to chauffeur him to and from the hospital and make sure he was okay overnight. We saw an advance screening of Yesterday at the Indianapolis Film Festival and I highly recommend it.

...and that's about it. Life has pretty much revolved around doctor's appointments and preparing for the baby lately, but more to come on that tomorrow.

The most MAGICAL baby shower!

A couple weekends ago, Jenn threw me (and baby Hotch) the Harry Potter baby shower that dreams are made of. When asked awhile back, I told her that I'd like a Harry Potter theme and she absolutely blew me away with the level of planning and effort she put into it. I literally felt like I was transported on the Hogwarts Express to the Great Hall. As soon as I walked in and saw the floating candles in the doorway, I burst into tears.

You can't BUY friends like this, folks. Not even with knuts, sickles, and galleons.

Seriously. Every detail was flawless. From the names of the food - Ravenslaw, the Charcuterie of Secrets, My Patronus is Pulled Pork, and my personal favorite, Sloppy Cho - to the amazing Honeydukes station filled with chocolate frogs, golden snitches, Bertie Bott's, chocolate and licorice wands, Fizzing Whizbees, and the cutest cookies I've ever seen, I was in heaven everywhere I turned.

She set up a Platform 9-3/4 and made the cutest prop with Daily Prophet headlines for photo stations. She even decorated the bathroom with Moaning Myrtle on the mirror and a sign for the Ministry of Magic posted above the toilet. To say this muggle was thrilled would be an understatement.

On top of all this, I had the most incredible friends and family come from all over to help me celebrate. My sister came from North Carolina, my mother-in-law came from Texas, and I had friends come from all over the state of Ohio to shower this baby with love. I even had a dear friend come just two weeks after having her own baby! My dad, who cooked the delicious pulled pork, and Wheat even came to the shower at my request, despite probably feeling strange as the only guys.

Initially, I was worried that not having my mom there would dampen the mood or cast a dark cloud on the event. But while I was painfully aware of her absence and wished so desperately she could be there, I felt so well-loved and taken care of. It was overwhelming. So many of the incredible women in my life, from high school friends to college friends to family, gathered together to lift me up, support me, and let me know I'm not alone. Instead of feeling sorry for myself, I just felt lucky.

...and man! We walked out of there with two cars loaded with baby necessities. Like I said, it was overwhelming. Someone must have had a little Felix Felicis potion for breakfast...

I touched Marcus Mumford.

Here's the deal with my Charleston posts - I don't have the pictures on my ridiculously slow laptop yet. They're on Wheat's computer, but he's currently gallivanting around the country with the Pacers, so those posts will have to wait. Instead, you get a post about some of the fun things I've done lately because, as I mentioned in my last post, this blog is a mostly narcissistic venture.

On St. Patrick's Day weekend, Jenn came to visit and we spent most of our time talking, laughing, eating, and seeing My Favorite Murder live for the second time. The show, which was held at the Murat, was even better than the last one we attended, partly because I was already vaguely familiar with one of the stories. They discussed the Richmond Hill explosion (which happened shortly after I moved to Indianapolis in 2012) and the 1977 murder of eccentric millionaire Marjorie Jackson. Though our seats were in the stratosphere this time, we loved spending a couple hours with Karen, Georgia, and a couple thousand of our fellow murderinos.

After I complained about not having plans last weekend (crybaby much?), Wheat made a spontaneous decision to buy us tickets to see my queen, Kelly Clarkson, on Friday. Brynn Cartelli, the season 14 winner of The Voice who was on Kelly's team, opened followed by Kelsea Ballerini. I don't know many of her songs, but she was an enjoyable opener before the main event.

As always, Kelly was stunning. Her voice is unbelievable and she's had such a long, successful career that her concerts are just a journey through her biggest hits. She's also very funny and relatable, so I can't wait to check out her talk show that's coming out this fall. Blame it on the pregnancy hormones, but I even found myself crying during her performance of "Piece by Piece." Here was her awesome setlist:

A Moment Like This
Meaning of Life
Walk Away
Love So Soft
Whole Lotta Woman
Behind These Hazel Eyes
Breakaway
Piece by Piece
A Minute and a Glass of Wine
Rise Up - Andra Day cover
Run Run Run (with D.R. King, another season 14 member of Team Kelly on The Voice)
My Life Would Suck Without You
Heat
Heartbeat Song
Miss Independent (with Brynn Cartelli and Kelsea Ballerini, who was wearing a Kelly Clarkson t-shirt!)

It's Quiet Uptown - Lin-Manuel Miranda cover (from Hamilton)
Never Enough - Loren Allred cover (from The Greatest Showman)
Stronger
Since U Been Gone

Already completely reeling in concert heaven, Wheat and I also had tickets to see Mumford and Sons, one of our absolute favorite bands, on Monday. Guys, words are not sufficient to describe the show. For me, Mumford is almost a spiritual experience, one where I get completely caught up in the music and lose track of time and place. We splurged for good seats this time around and it was honestly the best decision we've made in a while. Cat Power opened the show nicely, but nothing could have properly prepared us for Mumford's phenomenal set. The stage was placed in the center of the arena, which allowed the band members to move around and give us different vantage points. Just like last time, Marcus Mumford's voice melted me into a puddle on the floor and I was amazed by his ability to seamlessly switch between guitar and drums throughout the show.

Earlier that day, Mumford played a small, private event at a record store in Broad Ripple and though I tried desperately to win tickets, it wasn't meant to be. However, during "Ditmas" at our show, Marcus jumped into the crowd and ran up the aisle in the section next to us. He continued up the stairs to the concourse and actually chose to GO BACK DOWN OUR AISLE. Side note: Luck would have it that we had the aisle seats. Not only did he decide to use our aisle on the way back down to the stage, but he actually stopped RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME to sing for a bit. I'm still not entirely sure if I survived the event. This could be my ghost writing now. Like a total creep, I reached out and touched his back and then promptly blacked out for the next two songs. Oops.

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When Marcus Mumford makes your life and gives you a heart attack. Yes, I touched him. 😍

A post shared by Brittany Hotchkiss (@blettany) on Mar 25, 2019 at 6:45pm PDT

The show had everything you'd ever want - pyrotechnics, an over-zealous upright bass player, foot-stomping anthems, and confetti rain during the final song. Our poor child probably has whiplash from all the bouncing around I did. Here was the setlist:

Guiding Light
Little Lion Man
Holland Road
The Cave
Beloved
Tompkins Square Park
Ditmas
Lover of the Light
Believe
Picture You
Darkness Visible
The Wolf

Timshel (performed around a single microphone in the club level)
Forever (performed around a single microphone in the club level)
Hurt - Nine Inch Nails cover
If I Say
Slip Away
Awake My Soul
I Will Wait
Delta

Just ridiculous and I'm still recovering. The last couple weeks have also involved me battling a cold, Jordan Peele's Us, a losing trip to the local casino, an overdue pedicure, and lots of sleep. Lots of exciting things coming up, so I'm just trying to hold on for dear life.

Mile High Eats

If you're wondering if all we did in Denver was eat, the answer is a resounding yes.

...I mean, the last season of Top Chef was based there for a reason.

True to form, we closed out the last day of our whirlwind trip with a downtown food tour. I'd never done one before, so I wasn't sure what to expect, but it was an absolute blast. It was our guide's first solo tour, but we never would have known that had he not told us. For roughly four hours, we walked all over the downtown area, learning about the food scene, listening to the city's history, and stopping at seven different places to try a diverse range of dishes.

• Blue Agave Grill, our meeting point and starting location, offered fish tacos. In lieu of that, I was given a fried avocado taco and it was probably my favorite item of the tour.
• EVOO Marketplace is a locally-owned olive oil/balsamic vinegar shop, where we learned about the oil-making process and sampled any flavor combinations that we wanted. Blueberry balsamic, anyone?

• Avelina, an American spot that offers seasonal dishes, gave us tuna tartare, but I opted for carrot soup. 
• Zoe Ma Ma, a fast casual Chinese restaurant, provided large portions of a noodle dish that we enhanced with whatever sauces we wanted.

• Wynkoop Brewing Company, Denver's first brewpub (Fun fact: It was started by Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper), was next on the tour and we tried some bizarre things. First up was bison chili, which was delicious and tasted like normal chili. Then, because it's a brewery, came the beer. We tried Rocky Mountain Oyster Stout, which is actually brewed with roasted bull testicles. Yikes.
• Mercantile, a farm-to-table restaurant/artisanal market located in Union Station, gave us some cheese and crackers to help wash down our beer. Side note: The owner of Mercantile, Alex Seidel, was featured on Top Chef last season!
• Milkbox, which is also located inside Union Station, was an ice cream shop that served Little Man ice cream. The sea salt caramel was the perfect way to end the tour.

Not only was the food delicious, but the tour company was incredibly accommodating with personal taste preferences. I told them in advance that I don't like seafood and they were able to offer me alternatives at the two stops where fish was on the tasting menu. I was also amazed that, thanks to all the walking and talking, we weren't stuffed by the end of the tour.

We had a little time to kill before heading to the airport, so we decided to check out the Brown Palace, a historic hotel nearby. Then, because we clearly hadn't eaten enough already, we made our way to Voodoo Doughnut to say a proper goodbye to the city. For the record, I highly recommend Voodoo if you're ever near one. SO DELICIOUS. It was tough to pick, but we had enough time to decide as the line stretched outside the door and onto the street. We settled on Dirt (Oreos), Oh Captain, My Captain (Captain Crunch), and the Homer (yeast doughnut with strawberry frosting). My personal favorite, though, was the massive doughnut decorated in honor of Stephen Hawking.

So yeah, we probably gained ten pounds on our quick weekend trip to a city that's known for outdoor, physical activities. Oops. I'm already plotting our return to Denver, but this time, we'll make sure to rent a car.