Hey friends! Happy Monday! It’s snowing here in Salt Lake City (boo!), but I hope wherever you are, you are having great weather and lots of sunshine! We got spoiled over the weekend with some nice sunny weather 🙂
Today, I’d like to share with you a new series on the blog. I’m excited to be launching “Essentially Ali”! This is a web based series of episodes and webinars, where I’m thrilled to be able to share with you, my favorite tips, trick and uses of essential oils as well as my favorite essentials, for living the good life!
In episode one, I’m sharing my favorite trick and essential oil use to calm down dogs, when they are anxious and afraid.
I want to introduce you to the newest member of the Moll Family!
Say Hello, to Barkley Judge!
Our cat Jax passed away a few weeks ago, and our dog Chloe was devestated. Chloe and Jax were great friends and played together (chased each other) all day long. It broke our hearts to see Chloe so sad and depressed. Since Chloe is still young (5 years old), we decided to get her a friend.
Enter Barkley!
Barkley is the same breed as Chloe, a Mal-Shih (maltese-shihtzu mix) and we fell in love with him instantly! Chloe is still deciding!
Have you ever introduced a new puppy to and older dog in your home? Do you have any advice for me? How to make the transistion easier? I would love to hear!
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?
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!
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!
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!
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!
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?
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?
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!
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!
Yesterday was Pioneer Day (our official state holiday) or Pie and Beer Day! Depending on how you choose to celebrate the day! Luckily, I had the day off! Poor Carl had to work. Madi and Tyson, both had the day off too, and Madi even came over Monday night to stay the night. Love when she does that!
My day began with Madison and I going to a super fun Zumba class, and then heading over to Keva Juice for some post workout smoothies!
I ran home to relax for about 20 minutes, then headed out with Tyson for workout #2 of the day at our favorite gym GPP Fitness for this THIS crazy workout. I didn't do very many double-unders, but I am making progress! My max for front squats was 75lbs, but Tyson busted out 5 reps at 255 lbs. That boy is crazy strong!
I spent the rest of the afternoon putting together a picnic dinner to take to the park, when Carl finally got off work!
We went to the same park that we went to on Sunday, for Chloe's day out. It's a gorgeous park!
See how happy Chloe was to be back at the park?
Tyson stopped by for some food on his way out with friends. Chloe is wondering where the food is!
Kisses from Chloe! Such a cutie!
On the menu for the night: Shrimp Crostini, Fresh Fruit, yummy chips and salsa from Rico, and chicken caprese sandwhiches (recipe coming soon!). So good!
It was such a great night. Lot's of dogs wanting to play with Chloe (she's still not too brave) and good food and company! One more item off the Bucket List!
We skipped all the firework shows in town, since Chloe is skeeered of the loud booms, and we were home relaxing by 8:00 pm! We really know how to celebrate, right?
If you live in Utah and have the chance to visit Memory Grove Park, you really should! It is gorgeous! And it is also dog friendly!
Question for you: Have you ever had a picnic at the park? Where is your FAVORITE park?
This is was our first picnic at the park in YEARS! And my new favorite park is Memory Grove!
On Sunday, I was able to cross another item off my Summer 2012 Bucket List, by taking Chloe to the dog park at Memory Grove. Chloe absolutely LOVE IT!
In the car on the way to the park:
Chloe was so excited in the car! She has only been to a dog park a few times, and most of them were just fenced in areas with BIG dogs. This dog park was in a wooded park and included a large "off leash" area. Since Chloe is so small, we weren't sure how she would do if she ran in to some big dogs!
She couldn't wait to get going! She had the leash pulled tight, all way to the "off leash" area!
There was a large creek running along the trail that was so nice! Chloe is generally afraid of water, so we weren't sure she would dip her feet in, or not.
She didn't seem to mind the water at all! So refreshing!
Watching the big dogs getting washed off:
She did have a few run-ins with some big dogs that had her running in the opposite direction with the tail between her legs. They big dogs only wanted to play, but Chloe was too nervous!
Chloe's happy face:
I think Chloe really loved her day at the park! Carl and I got in a nice little walk/hike as well!
What a great day! I really recommend this dog park if you are in the Salt Lake Area. The trail is large and wide (room for multiple dogs and people) and the creek running along side the trail is really nice. The trail is mostly shaded as well, which was really nice on such a hot day. Everyone we came in contact with, was so nice and respectful of the area and the other dogs. I think this may become a Sunday afternoon tradition!
Question for you: Do you have a dog? Do you regularly go to dog parks?
