The Junior League of Denver Holiday Mart

It was my daughter's birthday this week and as part of her birthday celebration we went out for a ladies day brunch to celebrate at one of the popular breakfast restaurants in the Denver area called "Snooze."  She had a serving of carrot cake pancakes and I enjoyed a pretzel roll, filled with scrambled eggs and a sausage patty, with hash brown potatoes on the side. Both entrees were delicious!

After breakfast, we went to the annual Mile High Holiday Mart sponsored by the Junior League of Denver. (Click on the above photo--and all other photos in this post--once to enlarge it, and again to see it at an even larger size). The Junior League of Denver, established in 1918, is an organization of women committed to promoting voluntarism, developing the potential of women and improving communities through the effective action and leadership of trained volunteers. Its purpose is exclusively educational and charitable.

The mart was held in the Denver Marriott Tech Center.

There were many interesting vendors and merchandise for sale for every taste.

Many items were unique, one of a kind, and handcrafted

I thought these alphabet letters carved from actual vintage Readers Digest Condensed books were so interesting!  My parents had a large collection of these books when I was growing up, and I thought this was a unique way to recycle them into a fun, decorative item.

Do you see your name on Santa Claus' "Nice" List?

It is always nice to shop and support a good cause while doing so, and one of my favorite purchases at the mart was the new Junior League of Denver "Colorado Classique" cookbook. It is filled with beautiful photos of Colorado by premier photographer John Fielder, contains hundreds of favorite recipes by the league's home cooks, plus recipes from 25 participating Denver restaurants, with 75 full-color photos. The cookbook also includes nutritional information, and wine and beer pairings. It really is a beautiful cookbook and profits help the league's focus on changing lives in Denver through sponsoring literacy.  Click on this link if you'd like to purchase your own copy or one of the past editions of the JLD  fabulous cookbooks! (I have no affiliation with the JLD or their cookbook--just want to promote a good cause!)

Later in the day my husband and I babysat our granddaughter for the night, so she and my son-in-law could go out to a movie and sleep late the next morning. For a new parent I think that is the best gift in the world, don't you agree?