the cure for the winter blues.

 

some days you just have to eat sushi

(& then go buy benadryl thanks to your shellfish allergy.)
but seriously, so worth it.

luke & i are sushi nuts.. & after a weekend of car troubles,

being snowed in, stuck at home.. we just had to get out 

for some yums.

also: this helps: 

BREAKFAST FOOD!!!

criddle's cafe is our go-to place for when we need a pick me up.

good cheap coffee, hash browns with gravy (luke skips the gravy)
& BACON!

speaking of bacon, i have to watch a little film on pigs & how they

are treated for a class.. my professor is trying to bring back my

vegetarianism (i tried it 2 years ago.. lived off noodles & got so sick

i passed out when i stood up. so...)
hopefully i can close my eyes.

another happy thing:

 

i hadn't seen blue skies in over a month until yesterday.

i'm so ready for spring. 

month one.

it's not so bad eating gluten-free, i've decided.
i eat much healthier than i used to (goodbye fast food), & taken up eating lots of fruit, nuts, beans & yogurt.

however now i'm wondering how long until i will start feeling better. :/

it helps that i'm dating a supreme cook, who has done VERY well about helping me cook gluten-free meals...

although the other day he busted out some oreo's, & i started to cry right as he took a bite.

anyways, i've had SO MUCH support coming from my family/friends about this! i'm constantly getting new websites or recipes to try out, & tips & tricks for eating healthier & cheaper. thanks so much, you guys! it's so good to know i'm not in this alone.

week one...

it's day two of my gluten-free diet, & even though it's only been a little over 24 hours, i've learned some things....

1. EVERYTHING has gluten in it. like....everything. i wanted to give up when i realized no more ranch eggs, or breaded chicken, or BREAD in general. (luke conveniently ate a ranch egg in front of me this morning, & i almost cried.)

2. thank heavens celiac is popular these days, because there are quite a few options as to gluten-free noodles, rice, etc.

3. you have to make every meal. every. single. meal. for someone who doesn't know how to cook anything more than ramen and mac & cheese, this is going to be DIFFICULT. (any suggestions would be appreciated. i've been living off avocados, yogurt, & my mom's rice & yellow sauce...but you can only have that for so long.)

4. there are a LOT of gluten-free recipes. if they all didn't sound so difficult, i'd be relieved. but it's almost stressing me out more.

5. it's pricey... this has been the main reason i haven't tried a gluten-free diet in the past. i'm barely going to be able to afford it with my measly paychecks & bills i already have to pay. 

6. i feel loads better already, which is a relief.

perhaps this whole time it really just is a gluten intolerance! i've been tested for celiac, crohn's, a bum gall bladder, infection & more, but my fingers are crossed that after 5 long years of horribleness, endoscopy's, hyda-scan's, & colonoscopy's, i may have found the answer. yay!
i'll keep y'all posted.

sunday brunch.

so another one of my new years resolutions was to make some new friends.

i have some of the greatest friends in the world. my best friends adam, emily & ally are the most amazing people i know.

however, some of my friends i've given way too many chances to. & i've damn near had enough of being treated the way they treated me!

that goal was a lot of the reason i joined the Indie Ogden team. I love writing & photography, & I love buying local, which is what this whole blog is really all about. it also turns out the girls who run it are fabulous. it's very rare that you meet a group of women who aren't catty, or who aren't out to get you, it seems.

i'm a very VERY shy person, until you get to know me. i worry so much about first impressions. which is why i was very proud of myself when i went to sunday brunch with a few of the indie ogden team! it was so much fun. we went to slackwater, & i had literally the best breakfast burrito i have ever tasted. ever. the sandwich? it looked divine. i am DEFINITELY going back next sunday for a mimosa & the breakfast sandwich. 

my whole meal was under 10 bucks; not bad for what a big place it seems to be becoming. hooray slackwater! hooray for making new friends! hooray for the adventures ahead of me!

drinking mimosas & chit chatting before our food.

this is kristin, one of the writers. she's adorable!

mikaela's breakfast sandwich! it was HUGE! 

if you're ever in the ogden area, i highly recommend slackwater pub & pizzeria for brunch. you won't regret it!

highlights of the past few days.

1. my favorite regulars at Starbucks

2. a friend took me out to sushi the other day... it was AMAZING.

3. spent all of sunday studying & trying to keep warm with this little one.
4, 5 & 6. yesterday I was able to attend several Legislative sessions for a story I was writing. the nerdy poly sci major in me had an absolute BLAST. i met ralph becker, stuart adams & ross romero. ross romero is the current sponsor of the co-parenting bill, which i most definitely support. i spoke with senator adams about the funding being cut from the women's shelter in kaysville, & why. i also asked him to support the autism bill.

it was probably one of my favorite days ever! sometimes i wish i stayed a poly sci student... 

weekend love.

my weekend consisted of listening to a LOT of records. we mostly sat at home this weekend, what with homework & such consuming pretty much all of my spare time. this record is the new one by portugal the man and i must say it's a very favorite of mine.

luke & i did go get sushi on saturday night, & i think i found my new favorite sushi place!! holy cow it was so good. [highly recommend...purple haze sake with the coconut crunch roll. to die for!] we also ate homemade chicken noodle soup, i went for a walk in the rain, & we bought a HUGE bag of halloween candy & watched mr. brooks [my idea of a scary movie.] it was a lovely weekend.

how was yours??

my sister-in-law sent me this pic yesterday & i have to sneak it in here. are they not the cutest siblings ever??? 

pretty sure being an aunt is the greatest.

blue lemon.

this weekend luke and i ate at the blue lemon, an organic/hippie friendly restaurant right in downtown. it's part cafe part restaurant, and possibly one of my new favorite places in salt lake city.it was absolutely delicious!! their hummus (the picture above) was amazing, as was their turkey avocado sandwich i ate all of in a matter of minutes, and didn't even feel bad about doing.
the whole restaurant looks very chic and polished, and the food is out fast. it's actually fairly cheap as well, which says a lot for downtown dining. not to mention there are beautiful fountains right outside, lots of windows for views of the city, and blue lamps!! i think that was my favorite part.

gourmandise.

yesterday was a lovely afternoon spent helping my coworker laura paint her new house in the avenues downtown. i absolutely LOVE downtown salt lake city..it's so pretty, especially in the spring. after we finished painting she took me to the gourmandise... probably the cutest little cafe i have ever been to. we had sandwiches, iced lattes, and the most delicious desserts! the pastries all looked so amazing.

yeah, my mouth was watering. it still is!

i can't wait to go back and eat another chicken pesto sandwich with clam chowder.

here's another lovely view i had on my drive home... my favorite building in utah!

whoopie pies!

as of lately my favorite thing to do is make homemade whoopie pies.. i found a great recipe book on how to make dozens of them...everything from oats and honey whoopies, chocolate chip and fudge frosting, or red velvet... mmmm.

i got motivation to do so from the delicious red velvet whoopie pies my work has now [they are delicious, promise.] the other day we decided to make this recipe:

[click to make them bigger]

chocolate chip with peanut butter? i'm pretty sure there's nothing better. here are some pictures from the adventures in the kitchen:

they were TOTALLY delicious.

even though i ate way more than i should have.

our favorite food.

our family is not really the healthiest of eaters...

however we have learned over the past couple months that we love brussel sprouts. who would have thought?? turns out they are totally delicious, esp when my papa makes them.

we like to put just a little butter and pepper on them. mmmmm.

we had them for dinner this week, along with BBQ chicken with sauteed mushrooms. needless to say it was delicious. and since i am starving right now...i figured i might as well blog about my love of food. don't judge.

mmmm chocolate.

my sister made trifle a couple weeks ago for my youngest sister's birthday.

it's probably one of the GREATEST (and most naughty) desserts you could possibly imagine. so many calories...so much dairy...but totally worth it.

i'm craving more already!

cooking with papa.

one of my favorite parts about christmas break was cooking with my dad.

lately he's been really into the food network, much to the joy of my mom who usually cooks.

so we've been trying out some new dishes over the past couple months, and most of them have been pretty delicious!!

my favorite meal so far we made last week. it was salmon with mango salsa, twice baked potatoes stuffed with cheese, sour cream, and shrimp, and finally a delicious side dish with brussel sprouts...! that sounds like an oxymoron but i promise it was amazing.

we grilled the salmon..

made the salsa from scratch!

the finished product.

i so wish pictures did it justice, because it was delicious.

twice baked potatoes.

the brussel sprouts dish.

it's too bad i'm allergic to pretty much everything in this meal. i was sick for days after...but i'll be honest, it was TOTALLY worth it. and if you aren't extremely lactose intolerant/have IBS, i know you'll enjoy it without any awful consequences.

yum!

christmas cookies!

a couple weeks ago my sisters, nephew and i decorated christmas cookies!

we made homemade cookies AND frosting...used a bit of food coloring [that was fun] and decorated a ton of yummy sugar cookies.

kylie looking cuuute in my apron :] 

gracie lou who hanging out with us. she's so fun!

we made some football, dinosaur and other fun shapes for matthew to frost. he was pretty much in heaven! 

the holidays aren't so bad.

:]

[i'm laughing in this one...that's why i look so weird.] hahahah.

sushi!

yesterday was half off sushi at osaka in layton.

i went with a couple friends and was SERIOUSLY excited.. it's been so long since i've had another sushi party with good company and good food. this was no exception.

uhhh yeah. i about died.

my favorite was the tnt roll.

i absolutely recommend osaka sushi. it was so delicious not to mention our waitress was way friendly and helpful...which says a lot considering it was absolutely PACKED.

yum!

i just got home from a long, kind of ridiculous day at work. [who knew people freaked out so much when we're out of peppermint? weird.] i haven't eaten all day and i stumble upon this. french toast kabobs?! oh my goodness gracious, yes please!!
also, here's a funny picture that describes the way i am feeling today:

seriously considering.

going vegetarian again.

it's not that i even am all for animal rights [although i am partial to them]. and it's not that i hate meat.. in fact i found it quite hard to be a vegetarian.

it's more that it's something i used to care so much about..

and in the recent months, with moving home, not doing school, and only working.. i've found i lack passion. i don't care about politics, nor about school, nor about a lot of other people i used to care about. sooo.. maybe it's time i found something to care for?

or maybe i should find a more healthy hobby. haha.

mmmmmmm....

i am currently obsessed with sushi. and lucky for me, i got to have it three times this past week!

the first time at tucano's... and it was delicious.

yesterday i went to sushi ya with my good friends adam, brenton and brenton's girlfriend bekah.

there is no better feeling than being stuffed FULL of delicious sushi.

we also saw Inception after dinner.. one of the craziest movies i think i've ever seen... it was ridiculous!

i highly recommend it.

lastly, this afternoon i went with a bunch of friends  to mikado's in bountiful. it was probably my favorite sushi of the three places i went to since friday!