friday's favorites

the Florida state fair

I love the fair, it's definitely one of my favorite things. ever. I always feel like a kid again when I'm at the fair, and I love to feel that little girl in me come alive.

I was able to go be a little girl with two of my favorite little girls and the rest of the family. It was a fun day full of rides, games, and food... lots of food. (although, I didn't eat too much. I was worried about the combination of fried food to its max and my missing gallbladder... it didn't add up to me so I figured I'd play it safe.)

I was able to go on my favorite ride with M & K. We had a lot of fun.

Well, for the majority of the ride we did. We all got a few butterflies as we went higher and higher.

♥Kirra got up close and personal with Jeffrey the giraffe, the smallest horse (who was smaller than a dog), a creepy slithery snake friend, her cute mommy, and the puddles.

♥Mekena was a champ and braved out the "White Water" ride and "The Tomb of Doom", and won all by herself in the game where you have to pop the balloons with the darts- all by herself!

♥Reef was adorable and sweet- as usual! He is such a good baby! (I can't believe he's 6 months old already!)

Tiff paid $1.00 to "see the strange thing", as you can seen, it really is a strange thing- I have no idea what it is- but it's pretty creepy looking. I paid $1.00 to see a spider woman. I've never paid for those things before, but I was so curious- I had to see. I'm not sure how they did it, but it was a woman's head (she was alive and talking to me, answering my questions) and a spider body. It's all a mystery when it comes to the fair and the circus.

We ended the night with a marathon of slide rides. I know I said earlier that the Ferris wheel was my favorite, but I think it ties with the jumbo slide.

(Jeff's parents are coming to visit! I get to go pick them up at the airport, I'm so excited! That is another one of my ultimate favorite things!!!)

glimpse of utah

I can't believe my trip to Utah has come and gone already, and now I've been home for a month! Seriously- where does time go?

When I was in Utah, a lot of the time went to eating yumminess and having fun adventures ! I thought I'd take you on a little field trip to a few of the places where we filled our tummies and smiles. (get ready, it's a long one....)

Robintino's

1385 S 500 W Woods Cross, UT 84010

(801) 298-1515

Pizza & Italian
-I love Robintino's, I think because I would go there with my Grandma and also because they have the best ranch dressing! This visit was no exception- the company was the best part of it all. (even above the ranch dressing, and that's hard to beat!) I ordered (and split with my mom) a mini personal size pizza and house salad (kitchen tossed... if you ask for that they'll toss the dressing in the salad back in the kitchen for you, you should definitely try that- it tastes good and it makes you feel fancy to request it)The booth was cozy, the service was decent (she was nice, but she left and didn't say goodbye... but I can't say I blame her, we were there for quite some time! haha) the bathrooms were semi-clean, and the flavors are simple and yummy.

(after our lunch we went to my cute cousin (who's so tiny, she looks like she had a basketball stuffed up her shirt) Sadie's baby shower. (Sadie, if you read this, leave me a comment because I want to find your blog!) My Aunt Nikki and Grandma Pat put it together and they out did themselves, it was so CUTE! (and I couldn't say that word at the shower or I lost a clothes pin, I didn't do so hot.) We ate Hawaiin Haystacks, one of my favorites, and lots of sweet treats- cupcakes, brownie bites... mmm mmm good.)

BC Chicken & Ribs

20 S Main St Kaysville, UT 84037

(801) 498-7575

Fast Greek Misc

-I was surprised when my mom brought me here, from the looks it wasn't the type of place she'd normally choose for lunch, and I was confused comparing the name of the restaurant to the menu- they serve primarily greek food. But when the food came to the table, I was no longer surprised. It was really yummy. I ordered a greek salad, and I guess I was a little surprised, there was rice under the salad- I wasn't expecting that, but it added a great element. The giant tv is pretty much the only decor, but it's ok because the food makes up for where the decor lacks. The prices are very reasonable, the portions are large, the staff was polite (but not overly friendly, I'm not sure they spoke a lot of English) and the bathrooms were clean.

Mandarin

348 East 900 North Bountiful, UT 84010

(801) 298-2406

Mandarin/Chinese food

-For a long time, this has been one of my favorites! Although it's quite a large restaurant, it helps to make a reservation because it's a favorite for a lot of people and it fills up fast! The decor is intricate and intriguing- they have art made purely out of shells. We order family style, so we each choose a dish and they bring it out and we all share. Some of my favorites include: sizzling rice soup, five taste shrimp, mu shu pork, mediterranean chicken and beef with green beans. For dessert you have to try the fried bananas- they'll knock your socks off- really.The service is always great, (you take a sip of water, the next second they fill up your glass) the bathrooms are clean, the food is a more on the pricey side (but definitely worth it, and more than likely you will have leftovers) and it's a fun atmosphere.

(funny story about our last visit- my darling little sister spilled her water once, we cleaned it up, I got a little wet. My darling sister spilled her water twice, her purse got soaked, I got a little more wet and my mouth may or may not have let out a little squeal...we were all laughing so hard I'm sure the tables around us thought we had too much to drink- and we might have (only water of course), if little Chrissy didn't keep knocking it over! Oh that was fun!)

Mom and I went to a showing of "Good Things Utah". If you live in Utah, you should check it out. I enjoyed watching the show when I lived in Utah, and it was a lot of fun to be in the audience. It's fun and free, click here to have your chance to be part of the audience.

After the show went to the Joseph Smith Memorial building to see the Joseph Smith movie, I had never seen it before. It was wonderful- thought provoking, inspirational, and well done. Then we met up with Jeff, Chad, Bryan and Rachel at "Red Iguana" for lunch.

Red Iguana

736 W North Temple Salt Lake City, UT 84116

(801) 322-1489

"The killer Mexican food"

-Don't judge a book by it's cover, better yet, don't judge a restaurant by the wood board taking place of a missing window. I was a little skeptical walking into this place, the front door is plastered with stickers of all sorts and the missing window- well, kinda made me wonder. But, we sat down and the food came and I loved it! It was very busy when we were there, but it was also MLK day. Our server was extremely friendly and helpful- I was unsure of a sauce (I'm not a big mole fan) so he brought out a plate with about 6 different moles for me to try. I don't remember the name of what I had but Jeff ordered Chile Verde and it was really good. They bring out chips and salsa, the portions are quite large and reasonably priced, the bathrooms were clean and the colors were bright.

After we ate, the boys went off to a movie so Mom, Rachel and I went to wander around Gateway. We were being silly with the hats, and laughing a lot.

We were walking by a store and heard a banging and couldn't figure out what it was until we realized that the little boy in the window was a real human and not a mannequin. He was pressing his lips to the glass and blowing his cheeks out- it was hilarious! Then his mom grabbed him by the arm and drug him away... poor kid, he was just entertaining us!

So, hopefully now you have a few places to check out in the Beehive State. Any recommendations for us FL folk?

i ♥ being his wife

i am so lucky.

he is so good to me.

Valentine's day was great, another day full of love from my hubby. Did I mention that he is so good to me? Because he is. I could say it 578,985,882,902,310 times and still not be able to express how truly good he is to me. Did I mention I'm a lucky girl? Because I am.

He came home from work with these beautiful pink tulips on Valentine's Eve. Oh, I love them! and him too.

He brought me breakfast in bed. Complete with homemade syrup, a giant french toast heart and fresh strawberries cut to spell our names. That's just a glimpse of how good he is to me.

We ate a very yummy dinner at 'Yamato' (a Japanese steak house and sushi bar). I left with hot eyebrows, a stuffed belly and a greater love and appreciation for my Jeffy.

It was a great day! I love him so much!

He plays games with me, when he hates to play games.

He will stay up late and watch Jack Bauer fix the world even when he has to wake up early.

He makes hummus and meatballs to die for.

He hides the candy from me because he knows I could eat it all in one sitting.

He gives me piggy back rides.

He rubs my back and plays with my hair when I have a headache.

He knows just the thing to make me smile. (even if it means throwing oatmeal in his face)

He is my best friend and so much more.

that is why i am a lucky girl.

because He is so good to me.

i needed to laugh,

and I thought you might too. I had a lot of fun on Friday night with the crazy Packer people. They are always very entertaining, but when you're that adorable and funny how could you not be?

Here's my sweet goose reminding me of one of my favorite songs:

(I'm bummed because the end is my favorite part and it gets cut off pretty abrupt. Sorry for the camera shake- between baby in my lap and my giggling I couldn't help it!)

This was my reminder to smile and sing my way through life! I always wondered if I had a soundtrack for my life what it would sound like, I think this song would be on it. What songs would be on yours?

sunday bliss

Little did I know, my Mr. Jeff ditched the last hour of church to prepare a special surprise for me on Sunday. We drove to a park where he brought me some cozy clothes to change into, made us some delicious sandwiches and brought along our favorite "love to hate it game" Boggle.
After we ate, we took a little ride around the park. We saw quite a few holiday armadillos (please, someone tell me they know what that's from!) and an interesting large blue bird of some sort. It was an amazingly beautiful day outside. The sun was shining and there was a slight breeze- it was perfect! We played a couple rounds of Boggle- Jeff hates to play it, and I love to (I LOVE playing games!). It should definitely be switched around because he wins EVERY SINGLE TIME! No joke! I'm determined I'll keep getting better... practice makes perfect, right?! Plus, I've got to learn how to make up more believable sounding words. Jeff's really good at that- then I test them out on dictionary.com and it never fails that it actually is a real word, how does he do it?? (do any of you have any tips for me? or a favorite game I might have a chance at winning?)

I made some of my favorite cookies yesterday as well (maybe it was to ease the pain of loosing, yet again!). They are easy peasy and yummy!You can make them with any flavor of cake mix. (these are chocolate, my favorite way personally) They would be delicious with some ice cream sandwiched between two of them, they also make great homemade oreos.

Soft Cake Box Cookies

-1 package of cake mix

-1/3 cup oil

-2 eggs

Heat oven to 375. Stir ingredients together with a spoon until well blended. (I like to dip mine in powdered sugar for a little somethin extra. I've also put sprinkles on them, Reese's chips are a great addition as well!) Drop by tablespoonfuls about 3 inches apart onto an ungreased cookie sheet to make 22 cookies. Bake for 7-9 minutes or until puffed and almost no indentation remains when touched. Cool for 1 minute, remove onto wire rack and cool completely. Eat and enjoy!

Do you have a favorite cookie recipe you want to share?

friday's favorites

When I can wear my favorite cozy, warm slippers:

and drink my favorite hot chocolatey (or chocolaty?) goodness:

from my favorite collected mug:

and still want to cuddle up in my favorite blanket, without sweating!
(that doesn't happen very often here in Florida)

If you haven't tried 'Stephen's Candy Cane Cocoa' you need to. I can't tell you where to find it because I haven't had the luck of finding it anywhere (except for one time, I found small one serving packets at Wal-Mart, on the end cap by the dog food...seriously, by the dog food. Is it me, or is that just not a good combination?!) My sweet mommy bought this in Utah and brought it to me.

My favorite collected mug (I like to buy mugs when we go somewhere fun as a souvenir, and this one is so comfy in my little hand) comes from one of my all time favorite places, Carmel Country Inn. This is where Jeff took me for a surprise for our honeymoon, it is gorgeous. If you haven't been to Carmel (it's in Northern California) go there first, then buy the Candy Cane Cocoa. It is such a charming city. You have the beach, little boutiques and great food all in one place- what more can you ask for?! (Someday, I'm going to own a bed and breakfast there myself. When I open it up, I'll let you know and treat you to a free cup of Candy Cane Cocoa, and maybe even a free mug too. maybe, just

maybe. if you're lucky.)

(Is any one else having spacing issues on Blogger? No matter how many times I enter in between lines it doesn't want to do it... so I apologize for it all being bunched together. Hopefully your eyes will forgive me.)

pampered

So many more stories and fun to share from our Utah adventures... but mostly, I just have to tell you how pampered I was the whole time I was there. I love being with the family, that alone makes me feel pampered... but other than that I was treated like a queen!

We ate- a lot.
Yummy food + family = pampered
(ignore the fact that I look like a ghost next to my indian tan sister)


For Christmas Chrissy treated me to some sweet treats at Taylor Andrews. I had my first facial ever and loved it, to bad I'm not loaded- I could live at a spa!

cute toes + silky smooth face = pampered


I love Park City and I hadn't been for so long. I really wanted to make a trip over yonder, and then once I realized it was Sundance time I really, really wanted to go. So, we went. Just the three of us. It was so much fun! We drove up, ate lunch, drove the loop of the outlets, and then drove the main street. My mom and I jumped out of the car and snuck into a little gift shop that sells my favorite suckers for about 10 minutes... the rest of the time we drove up and down the street. It took us about 40 minutes, it was so busy. We got to the bottom and I begged my daddy to do it again. we did.

chauffeurs + star gazing from a warm, cozy car = pampered

(We saw Linda Hogan and her 19 year old boyfriend. Other than that we spotted quite a few people being interviewed with crowds surrounding them, I honestly don't know very many stars so I couldn't tell ya who they were, but I'm pretty sure they were celebs! haha We saw one guy, and I'm still determined to find a name and a picture of him because I am certain he was famous!)

mountains + beautiful sunsets = pampered

Chrissy also spoiled me with a cut and color at home... she's pretty darn talented! (anyone in the Layton area in need of some pampering can find her at Taylor Andrews)

new color + fresh ends = pampered

The trip was wonderful, every minute of it. Being able to sit by the fire every night was one of my favorite things!

oh, I love Utah.