Dine O' Round, Melting Pot, Faustina

So I'm really behind in blogging...I guess I should catch up over the break.  But of course, this may be an excuse not to grade the research papers.  Hmm.  Anyway, let me tell you about the Dine O' Round!  Every fall some Salt Lake restaurants participate in the Dine O' Round and offer deals.  This year Clint and I decided to try The Melting Pot.  It's one of those places that it seems like everyone has been to, and we never had.

The bottom line?  Their deal for the Dine O'Round wasn't really a deal at all and didn't include dessert (which seems sort of important at a fondue place) so we didn't use it.  However, I really did enjoy the food.

We had the Wisconsin Cheese Trio fondue which I thought was pretty good, but Clint didn't like.  I was sort of worried about the whole wine part--does cooking wine really "cook out" when it was dumped into a fondue pot right in front of you?  Next time we probably won't get a cheese fondue.  We did have salads--all I remember it that they were small.  For the main course we used the basic cooking style, seasoned court bouillon.  It was perfectly good--I feel the other styles are probably a waste. I liked the teri sirloin, the shrimp, and the pot stickers.  I did not like the duck, the citrus pork, or really the chicken.  They also give you veggies which were all great and here's the best part-- a zillion sauces to try!

Clint knows I love sauce.

We also had a yummy dessert, The Flaming Turtle.  How could I resist? Turtles are my favorite candy after all.  It was quite tasty, and it's fun to watch them light it on fire.

Of course, I also had to scope out the bathroom.  Well, I did have to go, but I like checking things out in general.  If I'm going to go to a fancy restaurant, I feel that I like aborsbing every last drop of ambience.  Here is a picture of the hip sinks. (Yeah, I'm a dork.  Also I have a thing about bathrooms.  I still haven't forgotten the bathroom of my soul on Isla Mujeres in Mexico. I should post photos of that--I wasn't blogging yet at that time.)

We also had a Dine O' Round lunch on a rainy day at a place called Faustina.  Sigh.  I love trying new restaurants.  I suppose this might be substantially more difficult in just a few weeks when I have a BABY.  Anyway, it appears I neglected to take photos at this place, but I will tell you that it has a modern vibe with purple tile, weird black treeish sculptures, and new age music. Everything on their lunch menu is 12 bucks including a yummy strawberry cake for dessert.  Not too shabby for a fancy hip restaurant downtown. (However, there were lots of "upgrades" for more money.) I got a sandwich that was a special--I think it was a chicken parmesan type sandwich with pesto and marinara.  It was awesome.  However, I was sadly disappointed by the salad that came with it--it was over dressed with some poppy seed dressing that I didn't like.  Who wants a mushy over dressed salad?  Anyway, I think Clint got the chipotle cheeseburger which was also quite tasty.  And like I said, both came with a delicious strawberry cake for dessert.  I think next time I'd try the lasagna.  Mmm.  I'm making myself hungry here.

Oh btw, I did go to the bathroom here as well--very weird bathrooms with a mix of ghetto and chic.

Fall Happenings

This September we hiked to Timpanogos Cave with another couple in our ward.  Clint had never been to Timp Cave, and I decided that needed to be remedied. So with no further ado, here is the "Heart of Timpanogos."

Then the next weekend we continued the tradition we started last year and did our fall leaves drive over Guardsman's Pass into Midway.  I think we went a tad early this year and could have waited for more color, but we were over eager because last year we went too late.  This year it was September 21st--though I suppose the best date varies from year to year depending on the weather. We didn't get any leaves shots, but we did see three moose in the woods.

Then in early October I hiked Dry Creek with the Wine Hiking group that I am a part of.  No, I don't drink wine--no worries.  I am the token Mormon in the group.  It's just a good chance to hang out with my friend Lauren and some other cool women, as well as get ideas of hikes to go on.

Once we got to the top we sat in a little clearing and had our feast: cheese, crackers, bread, pumpkin cookies, apple slices, sweet potato chips, and toffee almonds. It was delectable.

I had so much fun, I forced Clint do to the same hike with me yesterday evening. :)

Arizona Trip

So in early August I drove down by myself to Arizona to visit my brother and his wife (one of my best friends in high school). It's a long drive, so I manage it with audio books.  This year I listened to the Number One Ladies Detective Agency.  Last summer it was Odd Thomas.  I have learned though that you need to plan ahead when checking out audio books from the library--a lot of the titles  recommended to me were checked out.

Most of what we did during the trip was stay up and talk late at night.  If felt like high school all over again. :)  On Friday we went to a Mexican restaurant, and I tried to snap some pics, but being a child photographer is rather difficult.  The boys apparently like to stick out their tongues at the camera.  At any rate, this one turned out. 

On Friday we went to the park to see Derek finish a race (though we missed the finish).  We hung out with the kids for a bit, then Mary and I went for a run on some trails near their new house.  I was huffing and puffing.  Being pregnant and out of shape didn't combine very well with the high altitude.  Furthermore I neglected to remember that high altitude means you sunburn really quickly.  Oops.  So we went home, and I had a nap.  Later that evening some of Mary's friends from her PT program came over and we had a little BBQ after which Derek, Mary, and I stayed up too late chatting again.

On Sunday I sent to church and met a nice guy that Derek works with.  Then afterwards the family and I went to the little duck pond.  Here is a duck....I can't remember if the family name for him is crazy hat or silly hat.

I tried really hard to get some successful family photos in...at least in this one everyone is facing forward.

After the duck pond Derek and I took the boys for a trike ride while Mary made some delicious homemade pizza for dinner.  After dinner I played with the kids on the back patio and I tried to get the boys to trace chalk letters with moderate success. Here is a picture of some nice flowers from their yard--I am very jealous that they bought a house with an amazing garden of perennials that they didn't have to plant.

Another fun thing about their yard is their humming bird feeders.  They have more hummingbirds than I've ever seen in my life all at once.  It's like insects buzzing around a porch light at night.  Cool, but almost gross because there are so many of them and they aren't afraid of you.

Anyway, my visit to Arizona was short and sweet but lots of fun!  It looks like I will be driving down again for Thanksgiving this year.

Anniversary

For our third anniversary we stayed a night at a resort up in Midway called Zermatt.

It was a fun Swiss-inspired place.  I was entertained by the border in our room (which unfortunately you can't see very well in this picture). . .

and by the cute details such as dancing bears on the lights in the hall ways.

During the afternoon I checked out the pools while Clint finished up writing a paper for a class he was taking.  Then come evening we decided to head to dinner at the Blue Boar Inn (after a long debate about it's possible merits versus the merits of Z's Steak and Chop Haus).  Clint was intrigued by the dry-aged steak at Z's but I was intrigued by hollandaise sauce at Blue Boar.

They started us out with a free little appetizer with some fancy name.  I can't remember the name of the course.  It was a little cheese tart.

Look at the pretty butter balls that came with our bread.

I got the Blue Boar Salad: "Mixed Greens, Tomato, Manchego Cheese, White Balsamic Vinaigrette." It was very fresh and delicious.  Our waitress was very friendly and helpful and told us all about how they use locally grown produce.

This was my entree: Filet Mignon with Crab Cake, Tarragon Hollandaise, and Yukon Gold Rounds.  I have to say, I was slightly disappointed.  I think that I thought I liked crab cake, but I really don't.  Also I didn't really like the tarragon hollandaise sauce either which is sad because I love hollandaise.  Maybe it was the tarragon.  The steak was very juicy and delicious though.

Clint's entree was called Grilled Pork Porterhouse: Berkshire Pork Chop, Sweet Potato Hash, and Dijon Herb Demi. It was good, but the hash was kinda weird.

For dessert we got a cheesecake and a creme brulee.  I think they gave us one dessert for free because it was our anniversary. :)

After dinner we headed over to the sister resort Homestead Resorts where they had a little campfire with cowboy stories and a lovely guitarist/singer.  It was a nice evening thing to do.  The next day we went over and looked at the crater--a geothermal pool in a sort of cavern that you can swim in.  We looked at it, but passed on swimming.  Instead we then climbed all the steps to get on top of it and enjoy the view from above.  Subsequently it was time for some food so we drove into Midway proper and got pizza at Cafe Galleria.  The pizza was good, but a bit intense--we got the "Roasted Mushroom" with San Marzano sauce, roasted mushrooms, fontina, gorgonzola, caramelized onions, rosemary, and pine nuts.  I wouldn't recommend it as a pseudo breakfast.  Anyway, as we were eating a clock chimed across the way and some silly Swiss wooden figures popped out of the building and spun around.  It was quite delightful.  I am currently rather enchanted with Midway--perhaps we'll be back next year. How could anyone not love an adorable Swiss-themed mountain town? Thanks for a great anniversary, Clint. :)

July 4th, Nicole's Shower, Janelle's Wedding

So I have been grossly remiss in my blogging.  This usually happens when the school year starts, but I'm even behind on the summer's activities.  So here goes a harried series of recaps since it's fall break and I am procrastinating grading.

Over 4th of July weekend Clint and I went to Idaho Falls to enjoy the traditional parade, breakfast on the Boulevard, and fireworks.  Clint's brother Greg was also getting married this weekend, so I was invited to attend his finance (now wife's) bridal shower.  It was a tea party in a historic house and all were asked to bring cookbooks as gifts.  It was fun and unique shower--the proprietor dressed us all up in hats and explained some of the traditions of tea parties (and weddings).

I sadly did not take any photos at Greg and Nicole's wedding because I assumed the photographer would cover it, not really thinking that I wouldn't end up with any photos myself.  Anyway, the ceremony was nice and the bride was beautiful.  I then rushed off to another wedding happening in Rigby at the same time--my friend Janelle's wedding (from the pahty).

It was fun to see these ladies in person after being in touch only long distance for so long.  If only we could have had a full pahty reunion! This was also a lovely wedding with a beautiful bride.   I loved the whimsical touch of the bride and groom llamas! Also I was a bit jealous of Janelle's pond.  Ok a lot jealous.  Clint will probably use this as a tool in his "we should move to the country" argument.  Oh well.

Morristown and Medieval Times

Our next adventure was to Morristown Historical Park. We started at Jockey Hollow where the Continental Army stayed the "hard winter" of December 1779 – May 1780.   The army unfortunately had to stay in tents in the snow (most with inadequate clothing/shoes) until they could build their cabins. Before we saw the little cabins, we stopped at the Wick house where an employee in historical dress gave us information. We also walked around the little colonial garden. I am pictured below with Larkspur, but we became fascinated by the herb Lemon Balm.

As we walked up a woodsy path to see the cabins more closely, we discovered the forest was infested with cicadas. Elena wasn't so sure about holding them.  I do have to say, their little feet were rather prickly.

Afterwards we drove into Morristown proper and visited the Ford house where George Washington stayed the winter.

Later that night we headed to Medieval Times.  I attempted to take some pictures of the kids but they were over-excited and uncooperative since there were swords and princess hats to be had.  We enjoyed the jousting show and eating medieval food with our hands.

Van Saun, Patterson Falls, and Batting Cage

The next day in Jersey we went to Van Saun park and rode the little train and carousel.  It was really hot though and the kids were tired, so we didn't stay long.  I had a nice nap afterwards myself.  On my last full day we hit the local batting cages, which was highly entertaining.  I even batted myself!  I have to say, my hubby was the star of the show. :)  Too bad I didn't get pics.  Afterwards we went to Patterson Falls to snap some pictures.  The falls are very beautiful, but be careful when walking around the upper parking lot.  There is ALWAYS trash everywhere and this time when we walked down to the water we actually saw toilet paper and a pile of human poo right in the path.  Um, gross.  I recommend the lower lot--the pictures are better there anyway! We also saw some big ground hogs running around which excited some of the tourists.

Later that evening we had our last dinner in Jersey at a Mexican Place with Mom and Dad.  (Megan's family left after the falls.)  On our way to the restaurant we noticed another restaurant called "Taste it Again."  I'm not sure that this was the best marketing strategy..hah!

Anyway, the next day we flew home (and Mom was brave enough to drive us to Kennedy.)  This will be my last trip to Jersey sans baby! So, next time there will probably be fewer plays and more parks. :)