Aspen Real Life

06/01/2026

We're launching the new Aspen Real Life site this week and we want your thoughts and ideas.

Let's begin with your favorite Mexican food in our valley? From best margaritas to family-owned spots and taco counters and food trucks. We want to know the restaurants you've been going to for years, and the newer places that have won you over.

Aspen? Basalt? El Jebel? Carbondale? Glenwood?

Where are you ordering tacos, enchiladas, tamales, chile rellenos, burritos, mole, and everything in between?

Bonus points if you tell me *what to order* when I get there.

I'm putting together a guide for the blog and want your opinion to make sure I don't miss anyone.

Let's hear it!

Susie Jimenez??

05/29/2026

This video is from a culinary experience hosted at the Joy & Wylde Artisan Gallery in Redstone that we loved so much, we’re doing it again. Only this time we’re in Carbondale. Different format. Different host. Similar special vibe.

Imagine a summer evening on the patio of the historic brick building at 689 Main Street in Carbondale, a glass of wine in hand, fresh Italian food arriving at the table, and a group of some of our favorite locals gathered together.

That’s what’s happening next Thursday, June 4th at Sprazzo where Chef Daniel has created a menu that celebrates some of his “scratch-made” Italian excellence, including pasta and focaccia made in-house daily, as well as some off-menu surprises throughout the thoughtfully curated four-course dinner.

In a world that seems to move faster every day, be prepared to slow it all down Italian family-style, with good people and conversations that don’t happen standing around at a crowded event.

There are a few seats left so grab them, arrive hungry and curious, and get ready to make a few new friends.

“Sprazzo is more than a restaurant. It’s a flash of energy on Main Street.”

Get your seat at the table on Jillian Livingston’s Eventbrite feed under “Dinner on the Sprazzo Patio.”

05/26/2026

An unforgettable Memorial Day weekend celebrating the one and only Rich Carr and a circle of friends who feel more like family, out in the magic of Castle Valley.

There’s something deeply grounding about returning to the desert with people you’ve shared decades of life with, over thirty years of laughter, raising families, and now stepping into this next chapter together.

To spend our days outside playing is the kind of richness that can’t be manufactured.

I feel so much gratitude for these enduring friendships, and for the way we all continue to evolve, building new homes, creating new memories, and still choosing each other. This is what life is all about.

05/15/2026

Tuck’s school project

4 likes. "The Good The True And The Beautiful"

05/08/2026

We’re really looking forward to a beautiful evening with Chef Daniel, Chester, and the .carbondale team on May 21st.

The tables are filling with such an eclectic mix of people from across the valley; entrepreneurs, creatives, designers, realtors, writers, bankers, wellness professionals, and artists, all coming together for good food, thoughtful conversation, and a meaningful night out.

There are now only a few seats remaining, as we intentionally want to keep the evening intimate.

DM if you’d like to reserve a seat.

And what are you paying for? Not just dinner, but an experience with delicious cuisine, cocktails, atmosphere, conversation, connection, laughter, inspiration, and the kind of evening that reminds us how important it is to gather together in real life.

This is what Aspen Real Life is all about.

05/07/2026

I love seeing my friends persevere and turn their dreams into reality. It took Carlie eight years to open her own studio, and tonight I participated in her yoga class, in her peaceful studio by the river in old town Basalt, with her beautiful energy and singing bowls.

Well done Carlie! Loved loved loved your class and that you have your own studio!!

05/06/2026

I wish Elk Run would issue this ordinance! Basalt Colorado Chamber of Commerce Town of Basalt Basalt Police Department

Iowa officials are asking residents to turn off unnecessary outdoor lights this weekend to help migrating birds safely navigate overnight skies.

STORY: https://www.kcci.com/article/iowa-residents-urged-to-dim-outdoor-lights-for-bird-migration/71188714

04/23/2026

Head's up!

Find our where you're neighborhood's Spring Clean Up landscape dump site is.

The Town of Basalt will hold its annual free Spring Yard Waste Collection event.  This free program is designed to assist residents with spring yard waste and to ensure organic materials are composted to assist our climate action goals and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.  Locations at Wildwood Pa...

01/11/2026

Hiking the Bowl for the first time this season, I listened to Episode 2 of The Telepathy Tapes. As I ascended back into the mountains I love so deeply and haven’t been this close to in nine months, I was immersed in this awe-inspiring exploration of consciousness, and the evidence of a shared or merged awareness experienced by non-speaking autistic children and their parents.

Somewhere between breath, effort, and altitude, something shifted. I felt as though I tapped into a higher plane of consciousness, one I don’t think I’ve ever touched before. My mind had expanded by learning about this new breakthrough.

Before today this number sequence has been flavors by at me through the day for weeks now: 1:11, 2:22, quietly but persistently.

It feels like something super special is unfolding right now. Almost too tender to say out loud, for fear it might disappear. But I’m curious…

Do you feel it too?
I’d love to hear your stories.

01/09/2026

We must not be complacent ….