Root Down, Meatballs, Morrocan Food and paint...

I am always busy.  Always.  I get accused a lot of not being able to relax (you know who you are...), but I feel like there is always something I could be doing.  My to do list grows on a daily basis, and the best part is, I feel like I'm pretty good at balancing all of it.  Thursday night I got home from Rapid City, after our first snow fall of the year here in Denver.  I stopped at the store because some friends were coming for dinner on Friday night and I was making an entire meal from Carmine's Cookbook (If you don't know, Carmine's is one of my favorite Italian restaurants in New York City).  After my trip to the store, I broke out the paint cans to finish painting the kitchen wall (for the second time...the color needed to be darker...see the results on the "spaces" page).  Friday morning, I was making meatballs, marinara sauce, sausage stuffing for mushroom caps, croutons and Dan made Tiramisu.  The neighbors could probably smell the garlic wafted from the house!  Dinner was delicious and Saturday morning, I started in on the death defying feat of finishing the wall.  (The wall goes from the ceiling all the way down the basement stairs, so painting it was no easy chore).  Dan made a birthday cake for his sister, Lisa , and I got the wall done!!! (Insert Cheers from the crowd here!)  We went to dinner at Mataam Fez (a surprise to Lisa and a first time for me).  Mataam Fez is a Morrocan restaurant where you sit on the floor, eat with your hands and get entertained with belly dancers.  The food was really good, and I think we decided eating with your hands, actually makes you eat less.  The dinner consists of five courses, Lentil Soup, a salad of various marinated vegetables (potatoes, tomatoes, spinach, eggplant, carrots, fava beans) all lined up like a cobb salad, a B'Stella, which was the one thing I'm still questioning.  It was a phyllo dough pie, filled with chicken, almonds, egg, and various assorted other things, sprinkled with powdered sugar.  Next came the entree.  For myself, I ordered Hot and Spicy Chicken....delicious!  Final course was a fruit plate.  The place is definitely an experience.  
I neglected to mention dinner a few weeks ago, at Root Down.  If you live in Denver, or ever visit, you HAVE to go.  It's an old gas station, and beyoned the hip funky decor, the food is amazing.  It's just the kind of place I love, small plates which allow you to try several things without having to waddle out the door.  If I could recommend one thing, it is the veggie burger sliders....so freaking delicious.  We also sampled the buffalo sliders, carrot gnocchi, seared scallops and a delicious salad with grapefruit and avocado.  All I can say is GO!  Finally today I'm putting out the November "Inspire" all while thoughts of December are filling my brain.  It's going to be another busy day.....