life is hard.

okay so first day back on weight watchers. all was going pretty well until I decided to eat the rest of the food in my house. yup. had to get rid of it. so it was wine, pasta and garlic bread for dinner. um.... that would be a fail, but it was sooooo good. i also felt it necessary to top it all off with almond m&m's, which btw are the bomb. but sherry michelle was here and we had to celebrate our best friendness somehow.  besides it snowed today.

I have been trying to post the video of the mario batali recipe i used for like the last 15 minutes and i'm so angry that i can't do it and various curse words have been uttered. Millicent is also scare now, so too bad no video for stupid blog.

we are into bubbles

cutest thing ever

FINALLY

this was like a whole healing process for me, but i finally did it. and i would like to introduce you to nicki. she's been gone for awhile, but oh she's back now!

distractions

i've had an odd month. i'm not gonna go into it, but i've been trying to distract myself with projects like kickball league, which ends tomorrow. and crafts. wanna see a project?
exhibit a) boring filing cabinet

exhibit b) wallpaper

exhibit c) final result

yay! i think it really worked out. those filing cabinets were sooooo ugly. i feel better now.
also my nephew started preschool or pirate school house and he likes to call it. that kid.

HE'S SO BIG!

just one more day please!

i had a long weekend, which of course, flew by. but i started it off with a massage at the kura door. it's my new thing- spending $ on massages. it's really working out so far. and then california invasion of slc happened!
joymattrosieall came to visit! yay! hooray! i think the thing that impressed them the most about this city was all the amazing food we ate. so...without further ado- my menu for the weekend.

day one: LUNCH~red iguana where we ate various moles family style. two enchiladas stuffed with pork carnitas topped with mole amarillo, melted jack cheese and drizzled with crema mexicana. it's seriously one of the best dishes in town. they also had a mango mole special, which was diiiiivine! DINNER~ wild grape where i treated myself to their finest dish, potato gnocchi with braised beef, mushrooms, spinach and truffle oil.

day two: BREAKFAST: thanks complimentary hotel biscuits and gravy. and copious amounts of coffee. LUNCH: homemade picnic with caprese sandwiches, prosciutto wrapped cantaloupe, fresh cherries, and red quinoa salad made with cucumber, red onion and mint. DINNER: sapa which was amazeballs. let's break this down- starters: fire cracker calamari onions & peppers lightly battered w/ five spices, fried & served w/ chili & jalapeño sauce AND string beans wok seared w/ garlic, soy sauce & sake. entree: lemongrass vermicelli curry chicken YUM! here it is-also joy's meal was a big hit: filet mignon wok in French butter, fresh black pepper, luc lac sauce served with saffron coconut rice & stir-fried vegetablesday three: BRUNCH: pago. lovely, lovely pago with their cheap mimosas and the best damn coffee in town! check out this brie! it will change your world.and those are roasted grapes btw. henceforth all grapes shall be roasted! and my salad with summer peas and carrots and corn, oh my!with housemade ricotta, croutons and apricot dressing. phew. that was just the beginning, topped it off with the croque monsieur which is complete decadence. DINNER: eva's! i've been wanting to try this tapas place for some time and it did not disappoint. asparagus served with jalepeno aioli, crispy prosciutto, and a pouched egg. sauteed brussel sprouts with toasted hazelnuts and cider vinegar. flash fried calamari with sherry cayenne aioli, greens and sea salt. grilled scallops with garlic parsley butter and lots of local organic vegetable ragout. fig and pig which is the wood fired pizza with arugula pesto, fresh mozzarella, pancetta and figs. there was also house made sangria involved.

so as you can see, we were well fed. nothing better then good friends and good food!

flashbacks

guess what i did this weekend?
LOTS!
but one thing was that i went to see was Anton Checkov's Cherry Orchard at the Broadway.
so listen to this: the National Theater in London (tada!)
has partnered up with several universities all over the world, one of them being the Humanities Department at the University of Utah, to broadcast live productions from London. One of them was the Cherry Orchard. i shamefully realized that i have only been to one play in the past year (Angels in America) and that makes me so sad, cause i do love the theater. and i love the theater because of the National Theater in London- so i was very excited to attend this. it was wonderful and reminded me of one of the most incredible stage productions i've ever seen. Gorky's Summerfolk:i've just been thinking back to lovely london days. happy times. it was a great weekend.