{Weekend Wrap Up}

Christmas / Me / Weekend Wrap Up

Wow!  It’s been a while since I’ve done a weekend wrap up post!

This past weekend was full of all the craziness that happens in the last few weekends leading up to Christmas!  All the hustle and bustle, trying to get so much done, but still trying to enjoy the season!

The weekend started a bit earlier than usual, as we had our office Christmas Party on Friday afternoon.  We closed the office at 1:00 and we all headed to the Little America hotel just a few blocks away from our office.  We had a really nice lunch, some pretty funny entertainment by a few of the attorneys in the office.  During the entertainment A LOT of cash envelopes were given out via a drawing – which was awesome!  The firm also gave away several iPads!  Even cooler!  The big drawing at the end of the event were for 2 40” Samsung Smart TV’s….and guess who won one?  Shut the front door!  I never win anything like that!  And I mentioned  in THIS POST that we were in desperate need of a new TV, since we were the last people on earth without a flat screen! 

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Christmas came early for Carl and I!  We spent Friday night getting it all set up!  Carl was in heaven!

I spent most the day Saturday in my craft room wrapping presents, and getting these out in the mail:

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Why does it always take so long to get them all addressed and out the door? 

I had a fun night Saturday with some of my Zumba friends. We got together for dinner at Trio. If you are in Utah, you must try this place. I’ve eaten here quite a few times and I don’t think I’ve ever had anything I didn’t like!

Always delish!

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Such a great time with these guys!  Soooo many laughs!

After going to Mass with Carl on Sunday we delivered Christmas ornaments to my nieces and nephew.  A tradition I’ve been doing with my own kids and my niece Erin since they were born (I buy them each a new Christmas ornament every year), and this year I got to add my brother’s new wife Heidi’s kids too!  Hopefully, they don’t think it’s too corny/cheesy!

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This picture was actually taken in the car with the ornaments on the dashboard.  I’m classy, like that!

Carl and I then power shopped for the next few hours!  We got a ton accomplished, but I feel like there is still so much to do!  We shopped at our local outdoor mall (the one that is open on Sundays!) and we froze!  The wind was sooo cold!  We did get to see our 2002 Winter Olympic Bricks, which my parents bought for all of us as a donation to the 2002 Winter Olympics.

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It’s always fun to see our bricks! 

Sunday night was topped off by dinner with Madison at Texas Roadhouse, and some cute Zumba girls dropped off the yummiest treats they had made!  Wow!  Look at this plate of goodness! 

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Sooooo good! But I’ll be doing Zumba for days and days and days to work off the calories on that plate!

Even though I had a very heavy heart this weekend with the events in Connecticut, it was really nice to spend time with friends and family, and remember that I truly am blessed, and to remember also, that life can change in an instant!.

I hope you had a great weekend! 

What did you do?  What was the BEST part of your weekend?  Let me know!

 

Ali

{Weekend Wrap Up}

Me / Parties / Weekend Wrap Up

Happy Monday Friends!

Did you have a great weekend?  I am still recovering, I think.  We are trying to pack everything in to these last weekends of summer!

On Friday night, I was able to check off two more items off of my 2012 Summer Bucket List!  I hosted a Girl's Night Out on the Patio, and served Peach Sangria.  I'm slowly chipping away at the list, but I have to realize that I am not going to complete it before summer is over.  Sadness.  I think I may have to add the word "Fall" to the list, and continue on until it snows!

Anyway, I took off work a little early on Friday, to set up for the party.  It was a "Favorite Things" party, which I will post  more about later this week.  There are too many details to cover in a weekend wrap up post.  Here is a sneak peek:

Favorite Collage
It was well past midnight before I went to bed, and I was up early, early to spend a bit of time helping out with my church's yard sale.  I wasn't able to stay too long as I had a full day ahead.  First of all were a few errands that needed to be taken care of, then if was off to the summer corporate games where Carl was playing on his work's softball team.  They were hoping to win the first 2 games which would put them in the championship game at 5:00 pm.  They did it!  We had plans to attend the Salt Lake Bees baseball game later that night with my employer, so we were hoping they would win the championship game and not have an "if" game.  Well, they won the championship!  It was great!  They did awesome! 

We were able to run over to my parents house, so Carl could quickly shower and we could head out to the Bees game.  It was the perfect night for baseball!

Baseball

The game was a lot of fun, and we were able to invite our friends Kristyn and Dave as well.  They even had fireworks after the game.  It made for another late night but, another item was check off the bucket list!  That makes three items, this weekend!  Can I get a woot woot?

Sunday was spent relaxing, doing laundry, trying to get the house back in shape and putting this together out on the patio:

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We got a smoking deal, since most all patio furniture is on clearance right now!  Love it!

I hope you had a FABULOUS weekend!  I'd love to hear about it!  Let me know what the best part of your weekend was!

For me, it was the Favorite Things Party on Friday night.  I love to get together with my girlfriends for a fun night of catching up!

Thanks for stopping by, and have a great day! 

 

Ali

{Weekend Wrap Up}

Family / Me / Weekend Wrap Up

Another fun and jam packed weekend in the books!  I can't believe how fast they seem to fly by!  I'm thinking 3-day weekends are much needed!

On Friday night, I was able to check off another item from my 2012 Summer Bucket List.  I attended an outdoor concert at Red Butte Garden with some super fun gal pals of mine.  Even though we got rained on for a bit, we had a blast.  I will post more about the concert later in the week!

Saturday, Carl and I ran a few errands to grab supplies for another item to be checked off the bucket list. (I'm having a Girl's Night Out on the patio on Friday) I got some fun things! 

After the errands, we picked up Madison and headed out to an early dinner at Desert Edge Brewery.  I've been eating here for 25+ years, back when it was just called The Pub.  We sat outside on the patio (love patio dining!) and started our meal with the usual chardonnay and hefewiezen (sprite for Madison)

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My favorite item on the menu is the Friday Pasta of the Day, which is the Italian Pasta Salad (proscuitto, mozzarella, peas, tomato, olives and lettuce w/pasta).  It wasn't Friday (obviously) so, I decided to branch out and try something new.  I went for the Crab Cake Salad and it did not disappoint!  SO delish.  The crab cakes were nice and tender, and the chipotle aioli was perfect!

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Madi had the Nachos, which are always a good choice!  Very cheesy and the portion is a very nice size!

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Carl chose the Guajillo Chile Barbecue Pulled Pork Sandwich with Gouda Cheese.  He substituted the Gouda with American Cheese though.  He said it was awesome!

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After dinner we checked out Craft Lake City,  It was super hot outside, but we had a great time checking out a lot of local crafters!

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On Sunday, we spent some time at the pool and then went out to my parents house to celebrate my cute Dad's birthday.  Sadly, I didn't take any pics at all on Sunday.  Lame, I know. 

Right now, Carl and I are relaxing at home watching the closing ceremonies.  My fave part so far? 

The Spice Girls, of course!  LOVE THEM!

Back to work in the morning!  Ugh!

Question for you:  What was the highlight of your weekend?

For me, it was the concert at Red Butte!  So much fun!

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a great Monday!

 

 

 

 

 

Ali

{Weekend Wrap Up}

Chloe / Family / Me / Weekend Wrap Up

Good Morning, and Happy Monday!  Did you have a great weekend?  I had a pretty great weekend, but as usual the weekend just goes by way too fast!

We started our weekend with out internet modem dying.  Nice.  You don't realize just how much you rely on that darn internet, until you don't have it!  In fact, this post is coming to you via Starbucks and their free wifi!

I didn't get a workout in on Friday evening, like I usually do.  Carl and I had plans to attend a retirement/anniversary/graduation party for some friends of ours, and I wasn't in the mood to try and cram a workout and shower in a short time span.  I decided to take a quick nap instead!  And I loved it!

Funny Cry For Help Ecard: On my death bed, I want to remember the great naps I took.

I woke up starving on Saturday, so I decided to throw together a Caprese Frittata.  Nothing fancy, just added mozarella, tomatoes and fresh basil to eggs/egg whites.  It turned out pretty good!

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We spent most of the afternoon at the softball fields.  The company Carl works for participates in the Salt Lake Corporate Games ever year, and they had two softball games scheduled.  They won both, by HUGE margins and play again in two weeks.  They've definitely got some "ringers" on their team!

Softball 2

 We were starving after the games, so we decided to grab some dinner at Lucky 13.  Before our dinner arrived, we enjoyed a Chardonnay and a Hefeweizen on the patio.  It was nice to just relax and do some people watching!

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For dinner Carl ordered the Celestial Burger, and I chose the Loaded Grilled Cheese.  Lucky 13 is known for their burgers, and I should have ordered one.  Carl's burger was delicious, but my grilled cheese was mediocre.  Bummer.  Live and learn, right? 

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After dinner, we hung out at home and watched MORE Olympics.  We can't enough!

Sunday, Madison and I had plans to meet some friends at the pool.  It was nice to catch up with them and spend time relaxing in the sun.  I love days at the pool!  I need a pool in my backyard!  Now!  Carl?

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It had been a few weeks since we had taken Chloe back to the Dog Park, so Carl and I packed up a picnic dinner and Chloe, and met Madi at the park.  Chloe is still getting used to all the big dogs at the park, but she seems to have a great time.  She was exhausted when she got home!

Picnic

We spent the rest of the evening watching, yup you guessed it!  More Olympics! 

How was your weekend?  What was the best part for you? 

Thanks for stopping by!  I hope you have a great Monday!

 

Ali

{Weekend Wrap Up}

Food and Drink / Health & Fitness / Me / Weekend Wrap Up

Is it me, or did Monday come way to fast?!?!?! 

It's time for another Weekend Wrap Up post!  Although, I was lame this weekend and didn't take any pictures!  Duh!

As usual, my weekend begins at 4:31 pm on Friday!  The minute I am off work! :)  I wasn't able to make it to GPP on Friday night, but I did get to Zumba with Teresa!  Great class!  Teresa is incorporating weights in to her Zumba classes, which you can read about HERE.  Pretty awesome!

After Zumba, I raced home to meet up with Carl and Tyson to watch the Opening Ceremonies of the 2012 Summer Olympics. 

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Oh, and I can't forget….we got take out from Cafe Rio.  Have you tried Cafe Rio?  So good!  Love, love, love it!

Anyway, back to the Opening Ceremonies.  I didn't love them (like Beijing), but I did enjoy them. Danny Boyle did a great job, and I love everything about the Olympics, so I wasn't disappointed!  My favorite part was probably David Beckham.  You just can't go wrong with him, right?

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Saturday, I made another trip to the farmers market with two friends and Madison.  It was fun!  A little crowded and hot, but we still had a great time.  We grabbed lunch at Tony Caputo's, which was pretty good, but a little pricey for what we got.

Saturday night, I had a fun dinner with some of my zumba friends at The Dodo in Sugarhouse.  This is my absolute favorite restaurant, hands down.  I've been eating here for years and years, and I've never had a bad experience.  The food is fabulous, service is great and the desserts are out of this world (even though I don't like dessert!)  If you haven't tried this restaurant, put it on your "must try" list!  You won't be disappointed!

Such a fun group!  We laughed and laughed for hours!

Sunday was a Bonco/Pool Party with my bonco group.  The gal hosting bonco for the month, has a pool and invited us to stay and swim.  It was so nice.  One of my favorite things to do, is to just lay on a floatie in the pool.  Heaven!

The rest of Sunday was spent watching more coverage of the Olympics.  Loved watching the FAB FIVE!

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That pretty much covers the weekend!  And now we are back to Monday.  Way too fast!

Question for you:  What was the highlight of your weekend? 

For me, it was a toss up!  So many fun things this weekend!  I loved watching the Opening Ceremonies with Tyson and Carl (and eating Cafe Rio), and I had a great time relaxing at the pool yesterday. 

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a FABULOUS day!

Ali

{Weekend Wrap Up}

Family / Me / Weekend Wrap Up

A quick Weekend Wrap up!

Our weekend was jam packed, mostly with a wedding celebration that was so amazing! (more about that in a later post)

As usual, my weekend started when I got off work on Friday afternoon. Carl, Tyson and I headed to our favorite gym GPP for THIS workout. Oh my! I love any work out that is OTC = On Trainer’s Count, and this one did not disappoint. But, my arms are weak! Specifically my triceps! I really struggled with the skull crushers! Someday, I’m going to own those!

After the gym, we quickly ran to Kohl’s to pick up a suit for Tyson. He needed something to wear to my brother’s wedding the next day, as well as a suit to wear for interviews. We got a smokin’ deal, and he looked so handsome!

Saturday was my brother’s wedding at Log Haven. It was gorgeous, and I had to give a speech! EEEEK!

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I’m going to do a separate wedding post, because it deserves it’s own post!

Sunday, I was able to cross another item off my Summer 2012 Bucket List, by taking Chloe to the dog park! Once again, another post on this, because it was such a huge success. Chloe is a Mal-Shi ( and a really small one) so hanging at the off-leash dog park with the big dogs, was pretty scary for her! But, she loved it!

The rest of he day was spent catching up on our summer guilty pleasure DVR'd episodes of Big Brother and getting Chinese take out.

All in all, another great weekend! I can’t wait to share my brother’s wedding with you! It was so much fun!

Question for you: How was your weekend? What was the highlight for you?

For me, it was definitely the wedding!

Ali

Weekend Wrap Up

Food and Drink / Health & Fitness / Me / Weekend Wrap Up

Happy Monday, Friends!

I hope you all had a FABULOUS weekend!  My weekend started out on Friday night at a church social with some awesome women, that went way too late and involved too much wine!  It was a great time!

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What a great group of women we have in our parish!

Saturday, Madison and I spent a good part of the afternoon shopping for dresses to wear to my brother's wedding this Saturday.  We were lucky and both found dresses pretty quickly.  LOVE when that happens!  We grabbed a quick bite at the Nordstrom Cafe Bistro before heading out to the 2News Health Expo for a Zumba class with Teresa!

Food

Dinner:  Madi's Margharita Pizza, and my Shirmp Salad

Zumba collage

The class was AWESOME!  We had such a great time, and I love my BZC (Bountiful Zumba Crew) friends!  Great way to finish off the night on Saturday!  Hot and sweaty!

Sunday, I spend the day relaxing, cooking and hanging out with Carl and the kids. Both Tyson and Madi were home for dinner, which I loved.

I also made a super yummy low-fat lemon zucchini bread, which I will share with you tomorrow.  It was really good, and pretty healthy!

All in all, a great weekend.  The weather was a bit sketchy, but we need the rain here in Utah!

Question for you: 

What was the highlight of your weekend?

 

 

Ali

{Weekend Wrap Up}

Family / Me / Weekend Wrap Up

Happy Monday, friends!

I hope you all had a great weekend!  It was super hot here in Utah, but we did have a fun weekend!

As I always mention, my weekend starts at the end of the work day on Friday.  This was still the case, but my work summer party was directly after work on Friday.

Our party was held at Murray Park and began with a dinner catered by Meier's Catering and dessert from Cold Stone.  So delish!  There were some fun activities for the younger kids, along with the usual playground equipment.  We just sat and visited and watched the cute kids.

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Saturday morning, I took this cute girl for a haircut:

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Such a cutie pie!

Then I headed to a Blogger’s Potluck hosted by Janetha at Meals and Moves.  It was really a great time!  I’ve got a separate blog post coming this week with all the details of the get together!  It was really a great time and so fun to meet some awesome bloggers "in real life".

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The Blogger’s Potluck was held at Liberty Park which is just a few blogs away from Salt Lake Running Company, and I am really in  need of new running shoes.  I hadn’t been fitted for shoes in years, and I know Salt Lake Running Company does a great job, so I decided to head in there after the potluck.

After a quick run on the treadmill so asses my “running gait”, it was determined I have a pretty neutral stride.  I tried on several different types of shoes (Nike, Brooks, Mizuno, New Balance and Saucony).  After running on the treadmill with several styles, I walked out of the store with these girls:

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They are the Kinvara 3.  So light and they feel great on my feet!  Love it!

On Saturday night I got together with some Zumba friends at my FAVORITE restaurant The Dodo. Seriously, the best food!

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We had a great time!

On Sunday, I made a quick trip to Costco for a few items and then Madison and I hit up the pool.  It was sooo hot, but we had a great time.  After the pool, Madi stayed to do her laundry and have dinner with us, and Tyson was home from work, so it worked out great!  We made the BEST PIZZA EVAH! and called it good!  Poor Carl and Tyson had to work most of the weekend, so they didn't get to have too much fun!

  Oh, and then we had dessert – milkshakes from In ‘N Out!  It’s become a Sunday night tradition that I really need to stop!   

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How was your weekend?  What did you do for fun?  Leave me a comment and let me know!

Ali

{Weekend Wrap Up}

Cooking / Family / Food and Drink / Health & Fitness / Me / Recipes / Weekend Wrap Up

Happy Monday!

How was your weekend?  Did you make it a good one?

My weekend was pretty good!

As usual, my weekend begins the moment I am done with work at 4:30 pm on Friday!  Right after work, I hit up GPP for THIS Leg Shredder workout.

Oh my.

My legs were officially shredded.

I took my first official ice bath when I got home.  It was much needed!

I woke up Saturday morning, feeling a little under the weather.  Second weekend in a row.  Carl thinks it is a combination of too many workouts and lack of sleep during the week.

Definitely a possibility.

We had plans to get together with our tailgating group Saturday night, to go over the fall schedule of football games, plan fun tailgating themes and stuff like.  Really, it was just an excuse to get together!

I volunteered to make a pasta salad and bring an appetizer.  The appetizer I chose, was this one:

Sweet Corn Salad

Corn Salad with Queso Fresco  served with tortilla chips.  It was soooo good!  I highly recommend it!

Sunday, Madison and I went to the Utah Arts Festival with my friend Millie.  We had a great time!

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I will post a separate update about the Arts Festival. 

After the Arts Festival, Madison came home with me and stayed for dinner:
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Petite Turkey Meatloaves  with Creamy Cauliflower Puree , steamed asparagus and watermelon.  So delicious!

One of the best sites for healthy recipes is Skinny Taste.  I swear, every recipe I have ever tried from that site, has been amazing!

That was our weekend in a nutshell.  Not too exciting, but fun nonetheless!

What did you do for fun?

Leave me a comment and let me know!

Ali