As Colorado thaws out from a cold and windy winter, I’m looking forward to weeks outside, exploring. From road races to hiking; bike riding to patio seating at coffee shops, Colorado in the summer seems like it’s going to be a great place to live.

Jive's Coffee Lounge

On this particular cool, sunny Sunday afternoon, I’m blogging from Jive’s Coffee Lounge in Old Colorado City. The music is mellow, the coffee is good, and works by local artists hang on the walls. If you’re a stickler for customer service, Jive’s might not be your ideal local cafe, but if your priority is to drink locally and in a eccentric setting, Jive’s will be right up your ally.

A Call to Life

On my walk to Jives, I discovered creative boutique on West Colorado Avenue called A Call to Life. This shop now ranks high — along with another Old Colorado City boutique, Eve’s Revolution — in locally owned small town businesses that I should frequent.

Another favorite local business in Old Colorado City is Faerie Tales bakery; home of delicious cupcakes. I’ve yet to make it to Faerie Tales for brunch, but it’s on my to-eat-in-Colorado list. Don’t worry: I’ll let you know how it is.

Old Colorado City also hosts a First Friday ArtWalk from April through December. On the first Friday of each month from 5-8 p.m., and galleries and open studio spaces are available for walkers to visit, free of charge.

And because, let’s face it, who doesn’t love a good funnel cake, a massive turkey leg, or swarms of people, I’ve bookmarked Old Colorado City’s Territory Days – held over Memorial Day Weekend – as a not-to-miss local festival to share with my friends in the Midwest.

Do you know Old Colorado City? Are there other shops, restaurants or other local businesses I should explore here now that the weather is calling me to get out and blog about Colorado’s small towns?

The town was lush, green, and down to earth. We meandered the farmer’s market, ate good food, and – of course – ran a half marathon. The farmer’s market was my favorite thing in Eugene, after spending time with new and old friends.

Here are a few of my favorite pictures from the market, taken with my new Nikon D7000:

Farmer, photo by MilliGFunk

Artichokes, photo by MilliGFunk

Super Chili, photo by MilliGFunk

The weather was warm. Again. Coming from the super-dry Colorado air, Missouri’s humidity hit me harder than it used to, and by the second or third mile of the race, I’d already sweat more than I do in Colorado after running twice as far or more. The wind was strong, I was allergic to just about everything in the air, and I’d only been able to sleep for 1.5 hours the night before.

It was a recipe for a ugly race.

Still going strong at around Mile 7

By mile 8 I had IT band issues for the first time in my life. I ran, walked and limped my way through the last five miles of the race, determined not to stop short of the finish line. I was slower than I’d expected to be, but managed to beat my very first half marathon time despite my leg and knee pain.

Thank you SO much to Dr. Craig and the other medical staff and physical therapists who supported GO! St. Louis. I could barely walk by the time I reached the med tents, but after support from the PTs at the finish area, I was able to get through the St. Louis airport that evening, limping with my suitcase onto my flight.

Post-race with taped-up knee

Also, congratulations to the GO! St. Louis race organizers for yet another well-organized race. I’ve run their 5K (2009), their Halloween 10K (2010), and their Half Marathon (2011 & 2012), and have been impressed by the overall race experience at each event. The organizers make safety a priority, provide good post-race water and snacks, engage the community in fitness and health, and even manage to provide consistently cool finisher medals and race shirts.

Melissa after the Cherry Blossom 10 Mile Run

This weekend, this small town girl traveled to the not-so-small national capital to run in the Credit Union Cherry Blossom 10-Miler. Two things were certain:

1. Washington, DC is beautiful in the spring

2. Racing at sea level is awesome after training at more than 6,000 feet.

Despite allergy and asthma problems recently in the Springs, I felt great running in DC. I finished the race fifteen minutes faster than I’d expected based on my runs at altitude, and the course was relaxing, if that’s not too strong an oxymoron. The beautiful trees, the calm Potomac, the grassy, green Hains Point turn-around…It was a really lovely day.

And as if running a scenic course at a lower altitude than I’m used to wasn’t enough, I had great company, running most of the race side-by-side with my father-in-law.

It may not have been a small town race, but spending time with my husband’s family (his mom, sister and brother-in-law also ran on Sunday) brought some of the same comforts of small town life that I used to know. Comforts that were especially welcomed right now, as I negotiate life at home during my husband’s deployment to Afghanistan.

Pueblo Chieftain Spring Runoff 2012, photo by MilliGFunk

I drove to Pueblo, Colorado – a town of around 100,000 people, 37 miles south of Colorado Springs – to run in the Pueblo Chieftan Spring Runoff on Sunday. The Runoff includes a kids’ fun run, a 5K, a 10K and a 10-mile run. As part of my training for several upcoming half marathons – including Go! St. Louis Half Marathon – I opted to run the Pueblo Chieftan’s 10K race. I had a “we’re not in Kansas anymore, Toto” moment when the announcer began talking up the race’s elite runners.

Race Entrance, photo by MilliGFunk

In other parts of the country, a small town road race might draw some of the area’s faster runners. In Colorado though, even small town races bring elite athletes. Since the race was USA Track & Field sanctioned, and probably because it was held only 40 miles or so from the Olympic Training center, there world national record setters and olympians in the mix that day.

The Finish Line, photo by MilliGFunk

This wasn’t my best race. The winds were blowing at around 20 MPH before gusts, so there were times when it was faster for me to walk than to run. I crossed the finish line at Dutch Clark Memorial Stadium three minutes slower than my goal time, face red with windburn, alongside runners who – like myself – were decidedly un-elite. Still though, I ran. And running felt good.

MilliGFunk after Race, photo by MilliGFunk

Photo by MilliGFunk Photography

Even though it’s beginning to feel like it’s been a long time since I lived in Brooklyn, I still miss the arts scenes there. Taking the photography my husband gave me as a birthday gift through Bemis School of Art challenges me to continue to grow in how I executive my creative ideas.

I may not be exposed (punny, huh?) to the best art in the world in Colorado like I was in New York, but I still strive to live a creatively meaningful life. I wanted that to come through in our elopement ceremony and I want it to be apparent when you enter our home.

Photo by Jon Collins

For the ceremony, I created all of our flowers, made my veil, and wore sparkly white canvas TOMs wedding shoes.

Photo by Jon Collins

One week before our wedding, we were told unexpectedly by our realty management company, Advanced Realty Concepts, that our lease would be terminated early at no cause of our own,  just before my husband’s deployment to Afghanistan. So in the midst of final plans for our ceremony and hosting our families who were visiting from four different states, we had to find a new place to live.

Two weeks later, we’ve moved into our new place, but I’m taking my time and being very intentional about how we decorate and organize our new home. It may not be a brownstone in Brooklyn, but that doesn’t mean we can’t come home at night to a place that inspires us.

I miss my friends who live in other places, but I feel closer to them when we share music and food. So on this lovely Monday morning, I’m listening to music by Portugal, the Man, recommended to me by my friend Factor as I eat breakfast that also reminds me of good friends.

Photo by MilliGFunk Photography - Taken at the Ferry Building in San Francisco, CA

My toast was made of fresh bread from a Colorado Springs bakery called Great Harvest Bread Company with jam I picked up from happy girl kitchen co. on a visit to see my best girls in San Francisco. To top it off, I’m drinking French coffee I bought from Colorado Springs’ Colorado Coffee Merchants, a roaster I took my best friend to when she visited me in Colorado in November.

With the Girls in Napa - Photo by HubbyGFunk

When you cultivate a life in which the little things are meaningful, the big things (like deployments and unexpected moves)  have less power to throw you off course, and geography feels like less of a barrier between you and the people you love.

Whether it’s locally-made bread or wearing TOMs in your wedding; making your own flowers or appreciating the sentiment behind a gift from a friend, I hope you’ll take a moment today to find peace in a little thing or two that make you happy.

Photo by MilliGFunk Photography

For my birthday this year, my husband (that’s right – this small town girl got married a few weeks ago!) gifted a six-week digital photography class to me through Bemis School of Art at the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center.

I’ve toyed with photography a lot over the years, but finally invested in a Nikon D7000 DSLR in January. The class I’m taking at Bemis has taught me a lot – and has given me a hint at how much I still have to learn. I love the weekly creative challenges the class gives me though, and I’m looking forward to working on the techniques we’ve learned well after the class ends.

The picture above is one of my first indoor attempts at using Aperture Priority Mode on my Nikon. The lesson I learned here is that I should invest in a tripod (to avoid the blurring you see in the “happy girl kitchen co.” jam label).

My camera, my friends, my husband, my photography class, and good foods all help make this small town girl a happy girl, regardless of where we’re living at any given stage in our careers. Life isn’t necessarily about where you live. It’s about what you make of where you are. Taking this photography class at Bemis makes me feel closer to the creative life I lived in New York and Taipei, and it’s challenging me to make my life now as creatively satisfying as I can.

I recently returned from a trip to England where I got to taste many amazing cheeses, and each one was incredibly fresh. These cheeses I ate in England inspired me to help you find local, fresh cheese in Missouri.

Featured last fall in Feast magazine, Baetje Farms – located near Ste. Genevieve, Missouri –  produces several flavors of goat cheese. The cheeses have a light and fluffy taste, without the heavy gamey flavor that sometimes comes with a goat cheese. My favorite is the Coeur de la Crème because it is shaped into a heart, reflecting its name.

Moving across the state to the Kansas City side, Green Dirt Farm makes their artisan cheeses from sheep’s milk. The “Wooly Rind” is a Camembert-style cheese and is similar to a mild brie. A big step up from that is the “Bossa” cheese – thick, creamy, and full of flavor. The “Dirt Lover” is a triple crème, practically a buttery spread.

You can shop online for another Kansas City cheese from Yummy’s Choice, who has created a variety of feta cheese spreads marinated in extra virgin olive oil. Flavors include regular, mint, and spicy, as well as a Sun Dried Tomato Lebaneh, which is a combination of feta, cream cheese, with several spices and herbs.

In the middle of the state is Goatsbeard Farm, located in Harrisburg, which is about 20 miles northwest of Columbia. Goatsbeard offers a selection of Fresh Rounds, Fresh Tubs, Soft-Ripened Cheese, Feta, and Raw Milk Cheese. More information can be found on their website at http://www.goatsbeardfarm.com, and their artisan goat cheeses can be found in wine stores such as The Wine and Cheese Place and The Wine Merchant.

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To learn more about the cheeses in this post:

You can find Baetje Farms online at http://baetjefarms.com or at the Maplewood Farmer’s Market in the Schlafly Bottleworks parking lot on Wednesdays from 4-7pm.

You can find Green Dirt Farm online at http://www.greendirtfarm.com or in the cheese section at Whole Foods Market.

Yummy’s Choice is online at http://shop.yummyschoice.com or you can purchase their spreads at the closest Whole Foods Market.

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Michelle Marcus is a web developer, music lover, and food aficionado. To read more from Michelle, visit her blog: http://michelleamarcus.blogspot.com/.

Friends in St. Louis

Where does the time go?

I wanted to write about this St. Louis tweet-up when it happened, but instead found myself swamped (in the best of all possible ways) with the holidays, travel and time with our (my fiance and my) families.

One of the highlights of all of that holiday craziness was the Christmas Eve meet-up that so many good friends in St. Louis joined me for at Hartford Coffee Company in South City, St. Louis. Amidst the bustle of the Christmas holiday and with very short notice, ten of my friends made the time to get together with me.

Thank you, @VersaDave, @Nanna_J, @NickGilham, @mamarcus17, @Tojosan, @michaeltomko, @TabithaKMeyer, @STLWineGirl, @Velo_City – and of course, my fiance, Nick – for starting my Christmas weekend out warmly. It meant the world to me to see everyone while I was home!

STLWineGirl and MilliGFunk

L-R: Little Sister (Fuji), Big Sister (Nikon)

In Missouri, I did a significant amount of freelance writing and photography work for other blogs, and also for local and state-wide print publications. While my eye was strong enough to be hired as a second shooter on professional magazine shoots, I quickly learned that my camera was not.

I found that while my Fuji technically had the capability to the basics I needed it to, it was too slow to shoot RAW images quickly, and that its low-light capabilities (it didn’t have the ability to add external flash) were rotten. I realized then that if I wanted to continue to improve my photography, I would need to invest in better equipment — beginning with a better camera.

Smalltowngirl's Growing Family

The old Fuji has sentimental value to me: I bought the Fuji in 2006 on Camera Street in Hong Kong while participating in a year-long Asian fellowship program, and it was my first big purchase after finishing graduate school. I’ll hold onto it for the sentiment and as a backup camera, but the Nikon is my new baby. I can’t wait to start taking photo walks with it, but I admit – the new camera makes me miss my old favorite subject matters; St. Louis and rural Missouri.