Hello Friends! I can't believe we have already finished our second week of July! The summer is flying by and I can't seem to catch up!! I hope you had a FABULOUSFourth of July holiday last week!
I had plans to get several items checked off my 2013 Summer Bucket List over the holiday weekend, and manged to get them done! One of the items on my bucket list was to plan a weekend away. With the 4th falling on a Thursday this year, I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to take a long weekend and get away!
I had such a fabulous time at The Canyons in May when I was there for the Blend Retreat, that I decided to book a room for the weekend in Park City. I found a great rate on a room at the Sundial Lodge, and it was beautiful! Our room was on the top floor and had french doors that opened out on to a nice balacony with a gorgeous view of the whole resort:
Gorgeous, right?
After checking in to the lodge, we hit up the mini golf course right at the base of the mountain with Madison and George.
It was a lot of FUN, but HOT! HOT! HOT!
The next morning Carl and I were up for a nice hike! We hit up the Ambush Trail and had a great time! It was so pretty and the hike was a mixture of full sun and shade, so it wasn't too hot. We did have to share the trail with mountain bikers, which was a bit sketchy at tiimes, but all good!
Discover New Hikes: CHECK!
After relaxing in the room for a bit and a quick shower, it was time to head to the dog park! My Mom and Brother Kevin brought up our dog Chloe, and my other Brother's dog Cooper for a visit. They are dog sitting, and since it has been so HOT in the valley, we thought the dogs might like to enjoy the cooler temps in the canyons. They had a great time! Playing in the water, chasing tennis balls, other dogs, and each other!
Aren't they cuties? Despite the huge size difference, these two are the best of friends :) We all shared a pizza from Drafts on the lawn later that night, and just enjoyed the scenery and company.
The next morning I was ready to check off another item from the 2013 Summer Bucket List! Rent Bikes!
We went on a 14 mile bike ride, which included a ride in to downtown Park City, a pit stop at Starbucks (duh!) and ride back over toward the dog park. There are so many great paved biked trails all around Park City. I could have biked all day, if my legs hadn't been screaming at me. Oh and my neck…which took a little bit of jarring, despite being on paved trails. We had such a great time that Carl and I are looking in to purchasing bikes sometime soon! So much fun!
Rent Bikes: CHECK!
The morning had beed really overcast, which was nice since it was still hot. It was perfect weather to ride bikes, but not so great to sit by the pool! GRRRRR. We ate lunch in our room, thanks to stopping for some groceries (Trader Joe's) on the way up the canyon. We grabbed lots of healthy snacks and some salads, so we woulndn't have to pay an arm and a leg for lunches. It was nice to know we had some healthy choices right at our finger tips! Love when rooms have mini-kitchens! The clouds cleared and we were able to spend a few relaxing hours at the pool. Yea!
But soon enough the clouds rolled in again. Carl enjoyed a book on the balcony, while I watched the storm move in:
Pretty soon it was a down pour! I loved keeping the doors open to listen to the rain and thunder! Summer thunderstorms are one of my favorites!
Dinner that night was at Lorenzo's in Park City. The food was okay, but the homemade tortilla chips were FABULOUS! I mean super FABULOUS! It was like they were twice fried or something?!?!?! And the salsa bar was great too. I could have dined on chips and salsa alone, and been a happy girl!
We went back to the lodge for movies and more rain, thunder and lightening!
I was so sad to see our trip come to and end the next morning. We had such a great time at The Canyons! I can't wait to do it again! Next time I hope to be able to do the Zip Line Course and Mountain Bike on actual dirt trails! My neck just isn't healed enough yet to try them this time!
Before heading down the canyon to grab our puppy Chloe, we stopped in for breakfast at Good Times Bistro. I LOVE eating outside during the summer! Even if it is on our own patio in the backyard! So any chance I get to eat outside, I take it!
Carl chose the Belgium Waffle, and I had the Egg Scramble with onion, mushroom and avocado! It was sooo good!
Dine Al Fresco: CHECK!
All in all, it was a FABULOUS holiday weekend, and I can't to do it again!
Weekend Away: CHECK!
How was your holiday and weekend? What did you do? Do you have anything planned this weekend? I'd love to hear about it!
I have a new place to tell you about! Especially those of you in Utah! But, first of all….have you entered to win a Rug from Rugs Direct yet? If not…..go HERE to enter! Who doesn't need a new rug? For free?
I know, right!
Anyway, Utah is getting hip! With the opening of Granary Row , it seems that we might be getting bit cooler here in Salt Lake City. It is a very unique place! From the website:
"Granary Row is a pop-up market and festival space. It's a community space, as well as a breeding ground for local businesses.
Granary Row is the very sort of "big idea" that it hopes to foster ā a bold urban venture aimed at inspiring and fostering the entrepreneurial ambitions of Salt Lake City's creative class. At its core, it's an experiment in ware-steading the Granary with microventures that will make the District their home ā in turn sustaining the neighborhood as a place where makers live, work, and play!"
Carl and I decided to check it out a few weekends ago. It just happened to be the weekend of the Salt Lake Art's Festival, so the crowd was a bit sparse, which they expected. Not a huge crowd, but I can see it really catching on this summer! The whole place is set around those huge shipping containers:
There are retail vendors housed in many of the containers, which is pretty cool! There is also a variety of food trucks each night, and a beer garden (earth, wind and beer) hosted by Uinta Brewing, which is awesome! Granary Row is located on 700 South and 300 West. Right in the middle of the street, and adjacent to Kilby Court. There is also entertainment each night on the main stage. For dinner, Carl and I decided on Blue Pablano and it did not disappoint!
I chose veggie & steak tacos (with beans and rice) and Carl chose the special of the night (which I can't remember the name of). Both of our choices were delish! We were able to take our dinner in to the beer garden to dine al fresco and order a beer, which was nice.
We really had a great time! It was nice to just relax, eat some good food, listen to music and just enjoy a nice summer night. I'm excited to see Granary Row grow and succeed!
If you live in Utah, have you check it out yet? If you don't live in Utah, do you have any spots like this?
A few weeks ago (in May actually) I had the opportunity to attend the Blend Retreat and it was sooooo much fun! I think I mentioned that at the closing raffle, I had won the entire Smooth Sensations Cream Cheese Spread line from The Laughing Cow :
I'm not gonna I was pretty stoked! Within days, this arrived at my house:
FABULOUS, right?
All the flavors are great, but so far my faves are the Garden Vegetable and the Cinnamon Cream! Sooo good! Love them on toast! But, there are so many other ways you can use them! Here are some links to some great recipes, using The Laughing Cow products:
Have you heard of Rugs Direct? If not, you need to check out their site! They have a FABULOUS selection of rugs at great prices! Rugs Direct, has generously offered to send me a rug to review, and I couldn't be more excited! I have been looking for a rug for our dining nook, and found just the perfect one, on the Rugs Direct site:
What do you think? It's a light silver/gray color. I think it will go great with the changes we are planning in our kitchen this summer!
Rugs Direct is having a "Proud to be an American Sweepstakes" right now, and will be giving away a rug valued at $300! You can enter the sweepstakes by clicking on the Raffle Copter link below!
Now, go do it! You won't regret it! Who doesn't want a new rug!
We stopped by a new spot in Salt Lake called Granary Row, on Saturday night. Pretty cool place! I will blog about it later on this week. Yesterday, we spent some time laying by the pool, which is always GOOD!
I want to tell you about a restaurant we discoverd last weekend. I've driven by Bistro on Main a dozen times, and I always make a mental note to try it out, but for whatever reason we haven't until now.
On Saturday morning, my husband and I took our little Mal-Shih for a walk up high on Bountiful Boulevard (fabulous views). After a nice hour long walk were starving! I remembered Bistro on Main, and knew they had outdoor seating so I suggested we give it a try, even though we had our dog with us.
I went inside when we got there and asked if it was okay if we dine outside with our dog….they happily said YES! We found a great shaded table on the front porch and checked out the menu.
The menu isn't too large, but does have a nice selection of appetizers, salads, sandwiches and pasta dishes. One of the specials of the day was the pulled pork sandwich with coleslaw and fries (waffle or sweet potato). My husband chose this! I decided on the Citrus Grilled Chicken Sandwich, with cheese, bacon and avocado, also served with fries. I am not eating white bread at the moment, so I asked if I could get the sandwich sans bread. They were more than willing to comply!
While the Pulled Pork Sandwich was messy (as it should be!), my husband said it was fabulous! He loved it! We even snuck a few bites to our Mal-Shih under the table!
My sandwich arrived without the bread (as I requested) and it was delicious! So tender and great flavor! I liked the sweet potato fries as well, and the service was great!
There was a sort of boutique happening on the front lawn, and one of the vendors happened to be selling healthy doggie treats. How lucky for us! He brought our dog a nice sample up on the porch, and she loved it!
We really did have a great experience at Bistro on Main! I noticed they had an alcoholic drink menu as well, which is always a plus in Bountiful!
We will be back!
Have you tried any new restaurants lately?
Do you have a favorite restaurant that is pet friendly?
Happy Friday Friends! It's been a long week, and I'm ready for the weekend!
As I mentioned yesterday, I have put together my 2013 Summer Bucket List:
There are a few duplicates on this list from last year. Either things we didn't accomplish, or things I want to do every Summer!
I've alrady got plans in place for some of these things, and some others might be a bit far fetched, but you never know, right? Should make for a fun summer!
Happy Thursday! One more day closer to Friday, right?!?!?
Last year I posted a Summer Bucket List of all the items/activities that I wanted to accomplish by the end of the summer. Well, how did I do? Let's see:
It looks like I had 20 items on the list, and managed to check of 10. 50% isn't too shabby, right?
So, some of you may remember that I lost a little bit of weight and went on a quest to get fit. Then again, I have been so sporadic with my blog the last year, I probably don't have any readers out there anymore! :) Anyway, you can read about my quest to get fit HERE. Go ahead check it out…..at least take a look at the photo! YIKES! I still can't believe I posted that picture for the blog world to see!
So, back to my quest to get fit. I found Zumba and I fell in love with it. And then I started GPP, along with Zumba and life was good! Unfortunately, last November life threw me a curve ball, and I ended up having to have ACDF Surgery 3.5 weeks ago. My activity level has dropped dramatically since getting injured back in November. For the time being, all I am allowed to do is walk. Either outside or on the treadmill. I can also do the elliptical, but that's not really my thing. I found this great app called Walkmeter, to map my walk, track my distance, and track my calories burned. I know that it might not be perfectly accurate, but for right now, it is working for me and keeping me motivated!
My walks over the last week:
Pretty consistent, so far! I guess I need to get walking a bit further! Ha! Bottom line is, I am getting out there, counting the minutes, steps, walks, etc. until I am released to get back to Zumba and GPP!
I've got a high school reunion coming up in a few months as well! Gotta get on it!
Have you ever had an injury setback? Had to scale back workouts, or stop working out all together?
If so, I would love to hear your story! Maybe get some motivation from you!?!?!
A few weeks ago, I was asked to be a Yelp Elite Squad Member, which I thought was pretty cool! I have been using Yelp for quite some time, looking for new restaurants/hotels/services to try in my city and when I am traveling, as well as posting my own reviews of places I have visited.
Last week, I was invite to my first Yelp Elite Squad Event. I had the opportunity to try out a new East India Restaurant, Saffron Valley.
I've tried Indian Food before (basically curry and naan), but had never eaten at an Indian Restaurant, so I wasn't sure what to expect. I have to say I was very impressed!
Saffron Valley is located in the Avenues area of Salt Lake City, in a location that used to house the Pagoda Restaurant. I took my friend Kristyn with me to sample Saffron Valley, since it was my first Yelp Event and I was a bit nervous! When we arrived we were able to mingle with other "Yelpers" and grab a drink from the bar. The event was held in the lower "banquet room" of the restaurant. It was nice to be able to chat with everyone and get to know people before the food was served.
The menu that night consisted of two appetizers to sample, three Entrees, two side dishes and dessert.
We started with a Chicken Tikki Wrap and Dahi Puri. Both were delicious! The portion size of the wrap was very generous! It was a full meal portion, rather than an appetizer portion! The chicken was so tender, and once again I loved the taste of the added cilantro!
I was also surprised by the light taste of the Dahi Puri. The dish had a light cilantro flavor and the chick peas and yogurt sauce were delicious! For some reason, when the Dahi Puri came out, I thought it would be a hot dish! Not at all! It was like a cold soup.
Saffron Valley has a variety of Kebabs, and I was please with both the lamb and chicken! The chicken was very tender, as was the lamb. So good!! I didn't get to try the paneer, but I learned that it is very easy to make!
The Naan (leavened flatbread) was served warm and was delicious as well. I am not a huge fan of dessert (I know, I'm weird), but the portion of Gulab Jamun (similar to a donut hole soaked in sugare syrup) was perfect. Just a small portion, that was served warm! It is very sweet (to me), so the small portion was perfect. For some reason I didn't get a photo of dessert. My bad!
We also had a belly dancer and henna tattoo artist to entertain us, and a nice raffle of prizes as well. I will definitely be eating at Saffron Valley again in the very near future. If you like East Indian Cuisine, please give them a try! You won't be disappointed! They also have a location in South Jordan.
I'm excited to attend more Yelp Events in the future! It was a lot of fun, and I met some great people!
Do you Yelp?
Have you ever tried a restaurant based on a Yelp review?
Three weeks ago yesterday, I had ACDF surgery. Basically, I have several bulging discs in my upper back/neck. The neurosurgeon went in the front of my neck, and removed the bad, dried up discs, and the space was replaced with cadaver grafts, then strengthened with titanium plates and screws. Crazy, huh?
So, 3 weeks post surgery, how's it going? Well I am back at work, full time. I tried to go back after 1 week, but it just didn't happen. I needed one more day at home. I was able to work the last two days of the week, but I was so glad for the weekend. I think I tried to do too much, too soon!
We did get out to see Daniel Tosh, I was worried I wouldn't be able to sit through a whole show, but it was okay! And Daniel Tosh? Oh my! HILARIOUS! But so, so, bad! And don't you love my see through shirt (Hello BRA!) ? Hmmmm….didn't really notice that until the photo. I'm classy….what can I say!
I've been trying to get as much rest as I can, and I never have to worry about cooking! I swear, my family and Zumba girls took care of me! The delicious meals Carl and I had……oh my! I am so thankful!
My neurosurgeon told me that I could begin walking after a week or so, as long as I felt up to it. I went on a nice long walk during the second week, but I think it was too soon. I took the second weekend super easy, wore my neck brace and laid low. It was well needed! Once again, what can I say? I'm classy! Sharpies on my neck collar! š
I was still having trouble sleeping. It seems to be the worst side effect of this whole thing. I wasn't able to sleep much before surgery, and sleeping after surgery wasn't much easier! It was hard to sleep on my back, propped up with pillows. I just couldn't get comfortable! Ugh!
Week three started a little bit better! I think the weekend of rest, really did me some good! I was able to go on two really nice walks and burn some good calories! Important, right?
Last night I had to run to Costco for a few things and found this pillow:
And for the first time in months, I could sleep on my side and get a good night's sleep! It was amazing! I am praying tonight goes just as well!
My follow up appt. with my neurosurgeon is next week. I am hoping that that x-rays show that my neck is "fusing" nicely and I am on the mend! This whole experience has been trying!
I hope you all have a happy Thursday, and THANK YOU so much for your support, as I go through this crazy time in my life!
