Salt Lake City

Last weekend we went down to Salt Lake to meet up with some of my family so I would like to let you know some of my favorite things to do there.

1. IKEA: I love this store, it has furniture and household items for a pretty good deal but even if you don't need anything plan a few hours (really, it takes this long) to go through. They have a ton of different rooms set up you can wander through and get decorating ideas, they have a kids play place you can drop your kids off while you wander, and they have a cafeteria style restaurant that is super good and reasonably priced. I would go and spend all day there if I could.



2. The church history museum: Across the street from temple square is another place I could spend a lot of time. The exhibits often change but it is often overlooked by people just visiting temple square.

3. LDS Church Welfare building: starting in temple square you can take a free tour where they take you out to the Welfare building and show you the things there, if you have time you can also stay and volunteer a while. Once we helped put together buckets of cleaning supplies that were going to flood areas. It was a really neat experience.

4. Porter's Place: Porter's Place is actually south of Salt Lake on main street in Lehi. I can't speak for all the food here because it is not why I go. They have a bunch of fun (non-alcoholic) mixed drinks with crazy names. They are so good, we usually just get drinks and some scones for a treat. Porter's place is such a fun place with a lot of historical significance (you'll have to go to find out why).

Shelley, Idaho- Mick's and Hidden Treasures

Saturday we got to go down to Shelley to see Josh's sister play in a volleyball game so we took a little time to explore the town. We went to a little diner called Mick's for a treat. It was too early for lunch and we had already had breakfast so we got milkshakes and scones. The milkshakes were great. I had a chocolate cherry milkshake and the scone was wonderful, everything there smelled good.


Then we went to Hidden Treasures. Hidden Treasures has some new things and some antiques and some thrift store stuff. It is a really fun place to go and I wish that I had more time to look, it was a huge warehouse full of stuff, like crammed. If you have a baby I would not take a stroller in because I'm not sure there would be room for it. But if you like to explore things and look at fun furniture this is the place.

Carr Art Gallery

After quite a few dates that had to do with food, the husband and I decided to try something else this week. It's still too cold to do anything outside but I remembered pass the Carr Gallery downtown Idaho Falls (450 A street) so we went there. The art shows change every couple months so it is a place we will likely go again. Right now there is a public choice contest there so you can pick the art that you like best; everything from sculpture, collage, photographs, and paintings, even this installation piece. The art gallery was small but a nice change from our recent dates. It has a recommended donation of $2 a person.

Costa Vida

Similar to Cafe Rio and Bajios (which Costa Vida incidentally just bought out), Costa Vida is a fresh mexican style restaurant. I'm not sure what the official name for this kind of place is but it's fast food, high quality.

The menu is pretty simple- a few different kinds of meats and you can choose to have it as a burrito, a quesadilla, tacos, enchiladas, nachos, or as a salad.

Usually I think places like this are just so, so, but Costa Vida serves up a few things that I really love. First is the sweet pork- I have a recipe to make this at home and it is one of my favorite meals to make. Even if you don't usually like pork it's worth a try. When we went last weekend I decided to try something I had never had before: the Raspberry Chicken. It was super good. I had it in a quesadilla and loved every bite. My husband had a shredded beef burrito and it was good but to me tasted almost exactly like similar restaurants.

Costa Vida is now open in Rexburg (by Deseret Book) and will soon be open in Idaho Falls (on Hitt Road)- I recommend it, but, a little bit of warning, they charge extra for sour cream and other little extras.

Thrift Shop Reviews

For our date this week we decided to visit a few different thrift stores and give you some reviews of them. We had a great time going around and seeing what we could find.

The first place we went was the Bonneville Humane Society Thrift Store (444 North Eastern Avenue, just down the street from the Museum of Idaho). It closes at 5pm; we barely made it, so be aware of that. We didn't have much time to look around but it seemed clean and well kept. The selection was a little bit sparse but it seemed good quality. They also only take cash or check.

The 2nd place we went was Idaho Youth Ranch downtown on Shoup (which is open until 6). We were really impressed with some of the things here. If you are on the search for some furniture or home appliances this is for sure the place. They had some beautiful furniture. We left here with a game, some fabric, and a video. When you come in here take a look they usually have a certain colored tags that mean 50% off. It makes for some great deals.


I'm not sure what the official name is but there is a little thrift shop across the road from Deseret Industries (DI) which is where we headed next. It seems tiny when you go in but make sure to head downstairs. If you are doing something like a date where you pick out funny clothes for the other person to put on this is the place to go. Everything downstairs is $4 for everything you can fit in a bag- definitely the best deal on clothes, but you may have to do some searching for the quality that is at some of the other stores. They also only take cash or check here.

Last stop, DI (450 E Street). We by far spent the most time here- but I think it was because we knew we could take more time because we didn't have to make it any other store. Clothes here can cost anything from $1 up to $6 for a t-shirt or pants. I have found that Deseret Industries is pretty hit and miss, I always check out the games section and I look for sheets to sew with. The amount of clothes here almost overwhelms me and I tend to not take the time to look through them. We did find some great deals though!

Happy Hunting!

Birthday Weekend Extravaganza!- free things for your birthday

Last week was the husband's birthday so we did a weekend full of stuff that we got discounts for because we signed up for birthday emails and such. It was really fun to get to do all sorts of things on the cheap. Here are a bunch of ones I know about. If you don't like your inbox getting cluttered you can get a different email address to use just for mailing lists, just make sure to check it every once in a while for discounts.

Red Robin: if you sign up for their email list you get a free burger when you sign up and also one on your birthday. The coupon that you print is good for a week before and a week after your birthday. If you go on your actual birthday you will also get a free ice cream sundae.

Cold Stone Creamery: On your birthday (if you sign up on their website) you will get a free 'like it' size with one mix in.

IHOP: again with the email, with their coupon you get a free Rootie Tootie breakfast or something of equal or lesser value. My husband said that although it didn't look like much theh Rootie Tootie filled him up.

Denny's: Free grand slam on your birthday- no sign up required, just prove it is your birthday. (I'm not 100% sure on that, you could sign up for the email club just in case)

Arby's: email club, you get a shake- but you have to buy something else when you go to get your shake

Old Navy: when you sign up for their email club you get $10 off when you spend $50, on your birthday you get the same deal

Kmart: only kids can get this deal but if you sign up for their emails and input your kids birthdays they will get $5 to spend at Kmart for their birthday

Krispy Kreme: most locations give you a free dozen dougnuts on your birthday, you can call ahead to double check, but no email needed

Noodles and Company: with the email you get a free noodle bowl

Texas Roadhouse: with email you get free appetizer or a sidekick of ribs

If you have any other favorite place to eat or shop check online ahead of time and see if they have an email club it is pretty set that you will get something for your birthday. Happy Birthday everyone!

Love at First Bite Bakery

Love at First Bite bakery is located in Snake River Landing.When we walked in everything looked so so good. We had planned on getting cupcakes but it wavered when we saw all the other delicious choices. They had candy, drinks, and treats (like cheesecake) that you could get dipped in chocolate. We did get cupcakes though, we tried chocolate raspberry and animal cookie. They were super good and priced around $3. Love at first bite also had candles, decor, and jewelry on sale. It's a great little place to stop into for a treat.

Even baby loved them!