Celebrate with us!

On a fated night in March of 2023, Cactus and Lizzie sat across a crowded restaurant from one another. Bistro Vendôme had just opened in Park Hill and it was a busy night. Lizzie kept noticing, “that dad” across the way. He kept noticing the woman dressed in green for the holiday—it was obvious that she was noticing him. It was an hour and a half of obvious noticing. It was driving her crazy. Who was that dad? She knew his eyes. He was there with Mandy, a dear friend. Lizzie was with her friend, Allie. During dinner the topic of dating came up. Lizzie expressed that she was nervous but sensed it was time to start “trying”. As the meal wrapped up, Lizzie went to reach for her jacket but found Cactus approaching her. He carefully complimented her. It was subtle and polite. He turned to leave expecting nothing in return, but Lizzie called him back. “Hey, are you Jack’s dad?” She knew those eyes. Puzzle solved. “Jack Douglas?” She’d finally figured it out. She’d just seen Jack’s pic on her daughter, Lulu’s Snapchat recently. She’d always cared deeply for Jack and wondered how he was. Lizzie suggested that Cactus meet her for coffee one day soon. He asked how she’d contact him. She confidently just said that she’d “figure it out”. She did. About 7 coffee dates later the two started dating. And about 7 months later the two love birds married. Cactus and Lizzie eloped with their family of 7—Salida, Colorado on December 21, 2023. They’re a couple of wild best friends who somehow found one another in a cozy little French restaurant (thanks, Chef Jen!) in their cozy little neighborhood where they’d each been raising their kids while recovering from tremendous grief. Possibly passing one another by at the store, at school, heck, walking the dogs… or in their favorite mountain town where many dear friends still live. Two people consistently crossing paths but never meeting. But when the time was right, you see (around age 50) both Cactus and Lizzie found themselves with similar toolboxes formed from grief, trauma, years of personal growth, spiritual work and solo parenting. A literal “coup de foudre”, what the French say for a thunderbolt of love or what these two would come to call “Wild Best Friends”. Thanks for joining us in this celebration of LOVE! #teamlove #wildbestfriends #lizardlovescactus