School Shopping & Yard House

So, earlier this week we headed down to Vegas to get a little back to school/Fall clothes shopping done.  And have a little down time (if you can even call it that when you have 3 kiddies under the age of 4:) enjoying good friends, shopping, the pool and of course the great food!  One of the restaurants we hit on our Vegas jaunt was Yard House.  The menu reads like a novel...meaning it's extensive.  Which I happen to love, because there will always be something on the menu for everyone!  Even the pickiest of eaters!  I was first introduced to the Yard House by Bri back in March when we were down for the Mountain West Conference Tournament.  I loved it! So naturally I had to make sure I introduced our good friends to it also!  The food is quality and the portions are huge!  The food reminds me of a glorified Cheesecake Factory!  If The Cheesecake Factory could be anymore glorified!  If you are ever near a Yard House, go hungry and leave extremely happy!:)

The Tenderloin Steak!  One of many amazing entrees!

And let's not forget the Fall clothes shopping for the kiddies!  We were able to hit a lot of sales going on at The Gap, Converse, Nike, but our favorite of the trip was definitely H&M!  Such great basics for the Fall and the prices are unreal!  I loaded Indee and Q up with sweater weight leggings, pocketed cardigans and basic tees!  Luckily Ace still fits in most of the jeans we got from H&M last year, so we loaded him with cool plaid button downs and henleys!  I'd say this shopping trip was a success!

images by Kara using my trusty iphone

      

Cupcake Chic

My 21 month old Indee and I had a Momma/Daughter date Saturday afternoon at a quaint cupcake boutique called Cupcake Chic!  We walked in and immediately my Little Gal walked over to a fun display with lots of cute and girlie things such as lip gloss disguised as a cupcake, sweet little hair clips and cake stands!  Don't let me forget to mention the cupcakes!  Well worth the visit!  My personal favorites?  The coconut cupcake and the strawberry lemonade cupcake!  Give them a try if you live in Orem or the next time you're in town!  They are conveniently located off of 8th east by Costco and the Cinemark movie theaters!

Indee's own lil mini!  She chose a Key lime pie mini cupcake!

Strawberry lemonade, chocolate caramel, vanilla & coconut

     

Maxwell's/Fat Kid Pizza

Hey everybody!!!!  We hope you had a fantastic weekend!  I'm just sitting here with my laptop typing away while I enjoy a Banana chocolate, chocolate chip muffin!  A.....ya!  I'm thinking a future muffin post is in order if the sweet friend who brought them to us is willing to share that recipe!;)  Anyhu, back to subject!  We spent a wonderful Friday night with our family up in Park City celebrating Bri's big 3-0!  The initial intention was to get settled at the hotel and then head out for a fun dinner!  But as the weather would have it, we all decided to hunker down nice and cozy and order in!  We're talking major blizzard with zero visibility outside folks!  Gotta love the unpredictable Utah weather!  Lucky for us there is an amazing restaurant in PC that delivers called Maxwell's!  And DELIVER they did!  Amazing pastas, salads and pizza!  You guys, if you are ever in Park City you have got to give this place a try!  I don't think I will even be able do this place the justice it deserves with my wordage!  The pizzas are gourmet for sure!  Yummy thin crust with the freshest, most premium toppings!  Seriously our Dad and Mom ordered eight of their largest pizzas and it was tough to pick a favorite!    The classic Margherita pizza with huge slices of tomato, fresh buffalo mozzarella and basil or something just a little spicier loaded with premium cheeses, ham, sausage and jalapeno peppers!  The picture below, does not even begin to show the size of these pies!  I kid you not, one slice of the Fat Kids/Maxwell's largest pizza easily equals a quarter of a large at other pizza joints!  
Indee digging into the ham on the spiciest pizza we ordered...atta girl!

               
















Note:  We've also been to Maxwell's in person and enjoyed the hip yet laid back atmosphere they had to offer!  Totally worth the trip to Park City you guys!  Also don't forget about Bri's awesome 3-0 giveaway ending wednesday morning!

Mountain West Burrito

Over the weekend we heard about a new little Mexican shop in town and had to try it! It is super cool because all of the ingredients the restaurant uses are local farm fresh and/or organic! Awesome! Instead of hauling the kids out in the rain, Kimble went and picked up several items for us and the kiddos to try! He was gone for a very long time and when he finally walked through the door with our food, he explained that there was a large line out the door! So apparently this place is catching on! Every dish we tried down to the veggie burrito, had amazing flavor and kick! The chicken nachos were a personal favorite as well as the veggie burrito! For anyone living here in Utah Valley you really need to try this place!!! I'm thinking I just might have to go back today for lunch!

Address: 1796 N 950 W, Provo, UT

It's located in the old Minute Men gas station on the Provo/Orem hill State St.

Hash House

Well, we just got back from an excellent weekend down in Vegas for the Mountain West Conference Championships!  The guys were able to go to the games while us girls stayed with the kiddos, shopping and occasionally trying to find a restaurant/bar that would be showing the games since our hotel didn't have the right channel!  BOO!  But no complaints, we had a great time!  And the grand finale came in way of a famous little breakfast joint called the Hash House!  Bri has been to this place before and mentioned we should really try to make it for bfast on our way back home!  Let me start by saying, "the hour and a half wait, with small hungry kids???  TOTALLY WORTH IT!!!"  The food was inventive, creative and so delicious!  And the portion sizes??!  Our eyes about popped out of our heads!  This place will be a Vegas tradition from now on!!!

Baby Hadden with her "kids" sized caramelized banana/pecan french toast!

Some of the gang!

Breakfast quesadilla stuffed with griddled mashed taters, eggs, cheese and veggies!  I didn't know tortillas that big existed!  

This picture does not even do this caramelized banana pancake's size justice!  It was as big as a pizza!   

The corned beef hash came out in a huge iron skillet!!

One of their benedicts!

Leftovers anyone??  Too bad we were traveling!

By the way, sorry about the less than stellar images here!  I was in a hurry to take pics so I could devour my own breakfast! 

images by Kara

  

Zoom

My Ace is at preschool right now, so I'm squeezing in a quick post! On any given night, if we feel like taking a little drive to eat somewhere, more often than not we end up in Park City, eating at Zoom! We love this place! The ambiance is awesome! If it's a warm summer night we will usually eat out on the patio. If not, the inside is just as inviting! Rustic w/ a modern flair! And let me not forget the best part, hello, the food! They use the freshest ingredients! From their salads and appetizers, think warm crab and artichoke dip served with red corn chips, to their entrees, think grilled halibut and beef tenderloin, you can't go wrong! And the house made mac n cheese? YUM! Our kiddos devour it and on the nights Kimble and I are lucky, they leave a little for us to enjoy!:)

Indee loves her some mac n cheese!

Let's Talk Donuts!

Over the course of the last month I have consumed literally more donuts than I have in the last 5 years combined! Donuts are without a shadow of a doubt my favorite indulgence! Rainbow Sprinkled, Maple Bars, Jelly Filled, Chocolate Cake, I'll take em' almost anyway I can get em'! My fams favorite place to get donuts here in the valley is at Days Market! But we are big lovers of Banberry Cross in SLC and Shmidts Bakery in Midway also! If there was a Winchell's anywhere near us, it would reign as King in our book! I remember Saturday nights were donut and hot chocolate nights at our house growing up! Bri and I were laughing just the other day about how those leftover Winchell's donuts, sitting so invitingly down in the kitchen, would be the only thing that got our keesters up and out of bed Sunday mornings! Maybe this was Mom and Dad's sneaky way of getting us to church on time!;) Man, how I miss Winchell's! They mysteriously up and left Utah a couple years ago! So if you live near one DON'T take it for granted! So, with my donut eating at an all time high, I've packed on a few! Though they aren't very welcome pounds, they are indeed happy pounds!:) Go and enjoy a sweet, tender and fried treat today! YOU DESERVE IT!

Nicolitalia Pizza

It was a Saturday night a few weeks ago and the last thing I wanted to do was try and throw something together for dinner. So my Hubs, the Babes and I hopped in the car and headed to Nicolitalia instead! If you live in Utah Valley and haven't tried this place, you've gotta go! Their ingredients are fresh, their pizza crust is soft and chewy and their house salad is perfectly craveable! I could use their salad dressing as a dip for almost anything! YUM!

images by Kar

Summer Sno

Lily w/ Sour Apple, Ace w/ Blue Hawaiian

One of the best things about blue shaved ice

There is a tiny little shaved ice shack close to my home. Almost every single night we load the kids in the bike trailer and head over there to cool off and indulge in a refreshing treat! Summer Sno has the most amazing flavors everything from red raspberry to vanilla and tart to sweet! The thing that sets these snowy cups of heaven apart is the syrup. It is made fresh and refrigerated because it has NO PRESERVATIVES! If you are ever anywhere near the Scera public pool, you really need to stop by and grab yourself a Summer Sno!

Images by Kar

La Jolla Groves

For any of you living in the Utah Valley area, this new restaurant is a MUST VISIT! It is located in the Riverwoods Shopping Center. So just permanent marker it on your 'to do' list! The food is top notch! From their Chicken Stuffed Crepes to their Chocolate pudding cake! The head chef at this place is doing something fantastic! My mouth doesn't just water as I think about the food served here, it literally waters as I take each tantalizing bite! The appetizers, soups, salads and main courses I have had the PLEASURE of tasting are flavored to perfection and so savory!(Thus the mouth watering:) The desserts or FINALE I should say are fabulous! Have you ever tasted Lemon Tiramisu???? Neither had I, until this place! Layers of delicate sponge cake, light and silky lemon marscapone cream and finished off with a lemon creme anglaise! And it comes served in a chilled teacup! Here's the short of it. La Jolla Groves is straight A's in presentation, quality, taste, service, and decor! Oh and here is another HUGE plus! Their price point is way below what I would have expected for food and service of this caliber!

Images by Kar

The Chocolate

Photo by Jonathan Canlas of the chef and owner.

The Chocolate - a dessert bakery

The Chocolate is a scratch bakery located in a charming, old house on State street in Orem, Utah. Think: caramel buttercream frosted chocolate cupcakes, a madagascar vanilla cake that is love at first bite, creative cookie and brownie options, lemon cupcakes with a clever spot of lemon curd hidden beneath perfectly whipped buttercream, a made to order Cazookie served a-la-mode, and fun vignettes all throughout the house where you can sit and enjoy all of the aforementioned delights. They also have a tempting selection of cake stands available for purchase (have I mentioned my love for cake stands?). This place has the goods, peeps! If you live in Utah, make plans and head over there this weekend.

Post by Bri