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: Trader Joe's Yellow Curry

I'm not a curry fan, but Evergreen made me a true believer once upon a time so Jon and I like to make a similar yellow curry with potatoes and carrots when I'm missing home...

Evergreen curry vs. Trader Joe's curry

What you will need:

6-8 small yellow potatoes
3 whole carrots
1 bottle thai yellow curry sauce
1/2 can light coconut milk
brown or white rice






Directions:

1. Cut potatoes and slice carrots into bite size pieces and boil them together in a pot.


2. Once tender, drain all the water and transfer to a large skillet.

3. Pour entire bottle of yellow curry sauce over the potatoes and carrots.


4. Pour only half the can of light coconut milk over the mix and simmer on medium heat. Cover.


5. Everything should take about 10 minutes to cook thoroughly, just be sure to stir frequently.


6. While simmering, this would be a perfect time to cook your rice. We used Trader Joe's microwave rice pouches, they take three minutes and cook perfectly.

7. Plate your rice and pour curry mix over the top, enjoy!


more Trader Joe's posts here.

Road Trip: part 2

I'm back with the continuation of our road trip. Now let's get back into the swing of things...



Friday:

Salt Lake is a gold mine for antique malls and thrift shops, so Jon and I took full advantage all day Friday. We browsed around a dozen places, new and old!









Grabbed some dinner with miss lovely brandee at Evergreen (Previously blogged here).



Saturday:

The imperative brunch at Sages Cafe (previously blogged about here and here).


[the mountain = home style hash browns topped with scrambled tofu,
sautéed vegetables, veg sausage patty and vegan cheeze sauce]

Jon and I relaxed and visited a bit more with my opa and g-ma before heading to my moms house for the evening.



We stopped at Fazoli's for a quick fast food dinner, best breadsticks ever!



When we got to my moms we watched Buried (with Ryan Reynolds) and both agreed that it was one of the worst movies we've ever seen. The entire movie literally takes place inside a coffin. I have no idea how we managed to sit through its entirety. Yikes!

Sunday:

This little guys birthday party.



The view from my moms street.



Took my opa and g-ma out to dinner for all of their hospitality. Big Apple Pizza!


[artichoke hearts and sun dried tomatoes]

Monday:

We said our goodbyes and headed out.




[umm...?]


[that's more like it]



Approaching Las Vegas, we pulled aside to see Frank Gehry's new work, this is the Cleveland Brain Research Center.







We made it to Vegas!



Checked into our hotel at Gold Coast which was actually really nice, super cheap, only a block from the strip, easiest hotel to get around and casino/lobby barely smelled of cigarettes! Win.



Since we couldn't get good seats to Penn & Teller, we ended up seeing Peepshow. I didn't expect it so I was excited, the seats were really close and the show was good!



Tuesday:

As we were leaving, Jon put $50 on black (roulette) and doubled his money, great way to end our trip and head home.

Fog, my favorite. I love it when it's dark and gloomy.



We picked up our kitty and it's home sweet home. There has been a lot of this going on.



*all photos were taken either by Jon or myself

Great trip, great times, great food, great people, great memories!