Attention Logan Locals!

Fun things are going on in L-town this week. 
Starting this Wednesday, Downeast Outfitters is having a TENT SALE at their normal Logan location through Sat June 19th 10:00-8:00 p.m.

*Note that their store is normally open until 9:00 p.m. but the tent closes at 8:00 p.m.

Starting Thursday, Logan's SUMMERFEST begins and runs until Sat. June 19th at Tabernacle Square. This event is worth stopping by not only for the art, but for the awesome live music, and LOTS of good food. Can't miss it!

and last, starting Friday, Cache Valley Parade of Homes begins and runs through the following dates: June19, 22 -26, 2010 Friday & Saturday Nights 10am-9pm Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday 2pm-8pm.

Plus, this Sunday is...Father's Day! 

Hope you all enjoy a fun week and that this pleasant sunshine continues for all of these activities to be enjoyed!

I am not alone!

Cascade has come out with a new type of dishwashing detergent and it is absolutely terrible! Not only does it smell more chloriney (yes, I just made up that word), it destructively strips the color off of black utensils and pans while leaving white dots over everything! I was so disappointed with this new product that I took it back to the store and tried to buy the old stuff again in the dark green box, well- it turns out that's now discontinued. I therefore decided to try the Smiths brand in liquid form (a little more expensive, but worth it!) which is working great. 

Being the proactive consumer that I am, I went to Cascade's website to share my dissatisfaction, where I learned that many others have had the same unfortunate reactions. I also learned that they have recently removed all phosphates from their products which you would think would make it less smelly and damaging, but I think they just upped the amount of some of their other toxic ingredients because the Smiths brand that I bought is also phosphate free. Thankfully I remembered this trick that came with a box of fancy appetizer utensils from Pottery Barn, which is to rub a small amount of vegetable oil to retain the black luster. I did this on our damaged kitchen tools, and voila! 

While taking photos in our kitchen, I couldn't help but take one of our current table centerpiece. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE bright and cheery yellow sunflowers with a yellow center (hard to find). They're a scream of a deal right now at Sams Club...$3.88 for the entire bunch. That's like 0.78 cents per flower! Yesterday our location was also selling fresh Kettle Corn outside...it made shopping on a busy Saturday totally worth it! 

Green Thumb

I decided to make do of this plastic lattice trimmed flower pot that we already had by buying, potting, and arranging some individual flowers for it. I bought this pot last May pre-filled with flowers (like I've always done), but they dried out and died by last fall. So instead of buying another pre-done arrangement, I got the urge to pick out some myself. 


I'm very happy with how this turned out, and I may have even sung them a lullaby as I tucked them in their moist little flower bed and kissed them each goodnight. 


I can't and won't take ALL the credit for this beautiful creation, as my husband is the one who directed me to find flowers suited for shade (since this pot sits on our shaded door stoop), and to leave enough room around the edge for them to grow.


Flower details: There are a total of 4 flowers in this pot. Three are Begonias which I learned are a perennial Hawaiian flower (which explains the GORGEOUS coral color of the biggest one!!!) and one tall and skinny purple one...well, unfortunately its tag got thrown away, but after looking around online, I've confirmed that it's some type of purple wildflower, and a perennial. I really like how it adds height and contrast to the plush Begonias.


As for the water all around the pot, no I didn't miss while watering it, we've had RAIN these past few days in...JUNE!  I really thought Mother Nature just really liked me since she did this same thing last year while I was pregnant, but now I'm thinking it's her way of making all the flowers look fresh and well-hydrated. Thank you again Mother Nature!

Kettle Potato Chips- Week 2

This week I tried Honey Dijon Kettle chips. 

tangy mustard seeks LOVE at first bite

Dijon mustard is sophisticated and a bit snooty. Honey is smooth, sweet and a little wild. But when they come together, sparks fly. Yes, we know, we’re talking about potato chips here. But take a bite of these sweet, savory lovelies and you just might fall in love. We sure did.

Isn't their description of this flavor funny? I love the first line about them being both sophisticated and snooty. As for my opinion, they were divine! I loved the tanginess and the hint of spice and would definitely recommend to those who don't even like mustard. This delicious flavor earned itself an....8! 


Next weeks flavor...Backyard Barbeque

Taga stroller/bike

So I was watching the season finale of tori & dean and noticed the cool Taga bikes they were riding with their kids strapped in front. 


I thought they looked supa hip and fun, so I showed them to my husband who agreed. Then we saw the pricetag of...$1,495.00!!!! Hello! I guess we'll be sticking with our good ol' Chicco. ;)  It would be awesome if they could be rented for the afternoon....maybe somewhere someday! Here's a bit more about the Taga from Parentdish: 


The Dutch are really quite clever. Not only did they give the world clogs, tulips and the incandescent Audrey Hepburn, now they've come up with an ingenious mode of parental transportation. 

Called the Taga, it's a three-wheeled bike with a stroller attached. But here's the beauty part: You can quickly snap up the bike and voila it's instantly transformed into just a stroller. So you can cycle to a café, sit down and indulge in a latte and a slab of chocolate cake and then cycle back (conveniently negating the guilt of gobbling down an oversize slice of cake).

The Taga, which just made its U.S. debut, took more than four years to develop. In Europe it's already snagged prestigious kiddie, design and biking awards.

The seat fits kids from 6 months to 6 years and it comes with some cool extras like an option to install an additional seat or for all you greenies, a shopping basket. So now you can cycle down to the local farmers market with child in tow and pick up some rhubarb. 

As far as we can tell the Taga has only one flaw, but it's a biggie. The price, it's a whopping $1,495. Yikes, that's a whole lot o' lattes and rhubarb.

New party in Salt Lake City

Words out- Salt Lake City is a really cool place to live. As I'm sure many of you have experienced, people who aren't from here (or have never visited) look at you like you're an alien from another planet when you tell them where you're from.



This NY Times article sets it straight and gives some great recommendations on new shops and restaurants, along with other fun things to do in Utah. 


While I'm glad that others finally can hear of the beauty that we locals see everyday~ I hope this place doesn't get too crowded. I still like little traffic, being able to find a parking spot downtown, and relatively inexpensive living expenses.

Sephora in SLC!

Sometimes I feel quite out of touch with the latest happenings in the big city of SLC, so for many I'm sure this post is old news, but I just heard on the news that a SEPHORA has officially opened its doors in the Fashion Place Mall!  In true Utah craziness people went all out by sleeping outside the mall overnight, then lining up outside the door!!!  


About two years ago a SEPHORA opened in the new JCPenney in Ogden (unexpected, right?) but I sadly found that they didn't carry full lines of everything I was used to shopping for whenever I would find one while traveling outside of Utah. That's probably a good thing, as is me being 1 1/2 hrs away from this new store since I really don't need anything there, but man do they have a way of making everything look really, really pretty!  

14 weeks of Summer n' Kettle Chips!

Starting this week there are 14 weeks left of what I consider summertime. Yes, I know that the official first day of summer isn't until June 21st, but I've always felt that summer begins right after the end of May. Coincidently, there are also 14 different flavors of Kettle Potato Chips....do you see where I am going with this?


Yes, beginning this week I am on a mission to rate ALL of the different flavors (that's one flavor per week) of Kettle Potato Chip and share my findings with all of you. Thoughtful of me, right? Consider this project a bit like Julie & Julia minus all of the hard work of actually preparing anything. Plus, I'm still breastfeeding so I figure nows the perfect time for me to continue to take advantage of this extra calorie freebie period!


After sharing this idea with my husband he started to look at my like I was crazy ask me a few questions, (like he usually does when I state I have a new idea for a project). His first one was, "Aren't those chips expensive?" My response was: "Yes, they are, but it also serves as a source of  entertainment." His second question was, "How will you rate them?" My response was that I'd have to think about that, but I now I think I've got it...

I plan to use the standard scale of 1-10.

1 being "I could live without" and 10 being "Oh, my gosh I'm still licking my fingers good!" The flavor this week is...

Fully Loaded Baked Potato™

Inspired by thousands of fan recipes in the Create-a-Chip Challenge, this creamy, smoky, cheesy chip doesn’t hold back on the flavor front. Dive into a collection of toppings straight from the baked potato bar – tangy sour cream, fresh green onion, rich cheddar cheese –and an all-natural smoky flavor that’s our and vegetarian answer to fans’ love of bacon– for a perfectly balanced bite straight out of the bag. Add this fan favorite to your football party spread and score a snacking touchdown! 

and I give it an.....8!!! This flavor is really, really good but the chips don't have the same thickness as the Ground Pepper flavor. This flavor definitely has more to it than any plain potato chip though, and I like the novelty of getting that sour cream, cheddar cheese, and green onion all in one bite!


Next week's flavor: Honey Dijon

Never too early...

To learn how to play baseball! Yesterday during my daily walk with my son, we stopped by the local baseball field to watch some of the little league games going on. I found a nice shady spot for us, and there we sat to watch a game for a good hour! Those of you with kids know how hard it is to keep a 9 month old's attention for anything more than 15 minutes, so I think it's fair assume that he's sharing in his mother's love for baseball! Do you think it would be too early for us to order him a personalized Minnesota Twins jersey? Speaking of Minnesota, my sister Jenna just got accepted (we knew she would) to graduate school at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis where she will be studying Comparative and International Development Education. Hopefully we'll be able to visit her sometime during her schooling there and catch a Twins game. My family is really looking forward to checking out their new Target Field...too bad they're already all SOLD OUT this season!!!!

FREE $5 giftcards at Old Navy!

I stopped in Old Navy in Logan last week and at check-out was given a receipt to take a customer service survey for 10% off my next purchase. I had been eyeing these adorable plaid shorts for my little one, so I went back in a couple days later to pick them up. After using my survey code for the 10% off, I was handed a FREE $5 gift card- SCORE! So I went back to the baby sale section and picked up some really cute onesies perfect for the upcoming hot summer months. I tried to find pics of the ones I picked up (all only $5) but all I could find online to show is this blue and white striped one (see below). I'm sad I missed the first intro of their nautical line...how appropriate to find at Old Navy! I love shopping for boys wear!