A snowless Salt Lake Christmas

I've been a total slacker, but I'm finally getting around to an update of my trip home for Christmas, the first in four years!

My holidays were the most uneventful, so I was glad to be with family for a few days in December. I was terribly glum that it wasn't a winter wonderland, in fact Salt Lake has been MAJORLY lacking in snowfall this winter, but hopefully one day I will have my white Christmas...








One of the houses I grew up in. Sugarhouse Park, isn't that the most adorable?


Evergreen's resurrection... Golden Phoenix.


Totally in love with my Opa's new fridge!


Dinner and a movie with my two favorite ladies.




The Grinch: tomato, basil and balsamic vinaigrette in a sushi roll? Amazing.


My favorite cheesecake on Earth.






My contribution to the white elephant party.


Fire opal SOAP that I bought for my grandma, in love.








Making cookies for Santa Claus.




Christmas dinner with my mom: mahi mahi and wild rice.




Gift to myself since my fancy black polaroid was stolen.






This little mama was so happy to have me home. ♥

Foodie Friday: Vinto

A customer of mine in San Diego actually recommended Vinto while I was traveling for the holidays and I am so glad I popped in while visiting Salt Lake.

The atmosphere and decor was fantastic, basically how I want to interior of my house to look. The prices were unbelievable for the quality of food and everything we got tasted amazing. The menu was well put together and everything sounded so enticing that we pondered over what to get for a while. Everything that the tables next to us had is what we wanted.






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We opted for the grilled artichoke appetizer and they were cooked to perfection, with a yummy shallot vinaigrette over wild arugula.



I got the margherita pizza and my friend got the roasted tomato and sage pasta. Their wood fired pizzas look, smell and taste amazing.



For dessert, we tried two of their house made gelato's: salted caramel (absolutely the best gelato I've ever tasted) and peppermint swirl (delicious and fun for the holidays).



Basically I'm sad that I live in San Diego because I would probably eat Vinto everyday if I could.



Location: 418 East 200 South Salt Lake City, Utah 84111
Neighborhood: Downtown

Where did the weekend go?

This past week has been busy, busy, busy and seemingly come and gone in the blink of an eye! My aunt was in town to help me move and I'm on the cusp of being completely unpacked and ready to get back on track with this thing called life!

As some of you may have heard (or experienced), there was a HUGE blackout on Thursday in San Diego (down to Mexico, up to Orange County and even into Arizona!) all because of one guy tripping a wire. Over 2 million people were left without power for 8 hours. I was at work when it started at 3pm and was instructed to stay for three hours in case the power came back on. By 6pm we were still powerless and panic set in when I jumped in my car only to be regreeted by that pesky orange gas light that had been on since the night before. It was a very stressful two hour drive home (a commute that usually takes ten minutes) on an empty tank... Thank you my very trusty VW!



On Friday Tiffany flew in and we grabbed breakfast at Cafe 21. I had a fancy pesto sandwich with poached eggs, pepper, tomatoes, mozzarella, greens and a side of homemade potato chips!



After breakfast we headed to our tattoo appointment with Jasmine. We had decided a bit ago to get matryoshka dolls for each other and they turned out adorable if I do say so myself! ps: This is my fastest tattoo healing to date! Three days in and it's already peeled, wow!



Buju! The tattoo shop is named after this pretty little lady.



By far the cutest tattoo shop I've ever stepped foot in.



Saturday was a busy day; acai bowls for breakfast, Belle's wedding, Beca's shop grand opening, the obligatory visit to Balboa Park and a quick trip to Sunset Cliffs.





Vegetarian entree at Belle's wedding.









Sunday morning we got up early and rented a Uhaul to move my furniture. Acai bowls for everyone!



This is what under your couch cushions looks like when you own a cat:



And a little sneak peek: I've always wanted a walk in closet!



Monday was dedicated to Hash House for breakfast so Tif would be nice and full before heading home to Salt Lake.

Giveaway: Earrings from Peach Treats

THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED



I've been counting down the days to introduce to you one of the most important people in my life. Not only my aunt, but one of my best friends and confidant, she's been there for me from the day I was born to now. Talk about a beautiful, strong, loyal, smart, loving, talented woman... this babe is the whole package. I give you, Tif Blue!




I'm Tif Blue; a wife, mom, and lover of all things crafty! In between bed-time stories and home-work, I'm rolling out clay or designing custom jewelry for my etsy shop, Peach Treats. I create custom one-of-a-kind polymer earrings for stretched lobes. (and for you fakers too!)


Giveaway item: $30 to Peach Treats etsy shop! (custom jewelry available)








How to enter: Visit Peach Treats, then come back here and leave a comment below specifying which pair of earrings are your favorite! (please include your email address)

You may enter once per day.

To get a second additinal entry: Post a link to this giveaway either on your blog, Twitter OR Facebook (please leave a second comment with a link to the blog, tweet or status update along with your contact info again).

To get a third additional entry: Add Tif's Facebook (please leave a third comment stating that you have added her).


That's it! I'll be drawing one name at random next Thursday, April 7th at midnight!