Get Candy Get Candy

I sure miss the days of trick-or-treating. Filling my old dingy pillowcase with as much candy as possible... Nothing better! This awesome chart is pretty accurate...

Jerry says it best:

Personal Pizza

I also love when I go to Plates and Palates and get take-out and they throw in extra forks and napkins... like I'm going to share my ginormous serving of pasta! Sad times.

Ruth's Diner

As I mentioned before, I went to Ruth's Diner with some very lovely girls (and a couple handsome boys). Jess is so good at having her camera with her - check out her documentation of the evening. Thanks, Jess!

I would just like to add - during dinner, they had a live music playing. The group playing was Maggie Beers and Julie Marks (I personally think they need a better band name). They were a couple of older ladies and they were awesome! They had kind of a folksy/Indigo Girls type sound and did covers on a lot of great songs. As we were leaving, they were doing a rad cover of one of my favorite Flaming Lips songs! Looooved it. We met the band in the bathroom afterwards (I'm not sure they appreciated us bombarding them while they were trying to escape into their stalls haha), and they were so nice! Thanks Maggie and Julie, for serenading our lovely evening.

When I'm a Momma

I'm gonna make these for my kids. Fun, huh?

Don't Do It

My manager just gave me some yogurt. Fruit on the bottom yogurt.

YUCK.

Ladies Room

Is going to the ladies room a stressful time for you? Do you usually wait until you get home so you can do your business in the comfort of your own bathroom? I have good news for you! Red Robin is aware of these struggles we as women have and they have done their best to make us feel as comfortable as possible in their stalls.

On my last trip to Red Robin (I'm so sorry Janessa! I went there without you.) - this is the art that was on the ladies restroom walls:

Very inspiring, no? I honestly think that Red Robin thinks we are all a bunch of pervs! I mean come on. And it's not that I don't appreciate the hotness of these photos... it's just that if I wanted to be visually assaulted, I would creep on over to the Abercrombie to get my fix, not at my favorite burger joint.

So the best part about this is - as I was taking pictures of these amazing photographs, a girl about my age walks in on me and I was caught! You should have seen her face! Now this girl thinks that I'm the perv! Thanks Red Robin. Gosh.

ps Have you tried putting malt vinegar and Red Robin seasoning on the steak fries?? I could just die they are so delicious.

Today Rules

So I walked to the Mav from work day (Maverick gas station... Adventures first stop... you know the one) and guess what is back people?!?!?

COCONUT M&M'S!!!!

Yes. I heart them. They are so yummy and so amazing. I brought them back to work and everyone had to try them. They were then dubbed the Crack Cocaine M&M's because they are so yummy and addicting! (Yes, I went back for a second bag and yes, the very classy the Mav worker girl teased me. Not my proudest moment.) Please go and get some before M&M takes them away from us again.

Then - as I was walking back to the trailer that my office is in, I was spotted by my boss who was in a building across the street. Not that I was in any trouble, but the fact that he saw me and took a picture of me and then emailed it to me.... Most hilarious/creepy thing ever. You gotta know my boss - he is a gem.




Next my dear friend and coworker, Auty, introduced me to all the amazingness that is David Hasselhoff. I have no idea why I hadn't seen any of his music videos until now... So thanks, Auty!





Oh, and I found this pic of the Hoff and I could not resist... It is so stinking funny. So true to the Hoff's craziness! Ha! (sorry for the profane picture, people, but it was necessary for my soul that I share this classic puppy porn pic)

And lastly, tonight I have my first private piano lessons! Yes, I'm starting them up again. As a music major I have to take a group piano proficiency class - which I totally suck at! I just can't learn in a group environment like that. And I need my teacher to be a bit reasty - like she won't be afraid to scold me if I'm suckin' it up. I'm so excited!!

Mmmm chickie chickie!

I am so loving on the Cheesecake Factory's special menu right now. My favorite dish off of it is the Caramel Chicken. Really it's amazing. It is sweet and tangy and delicious. Along with the light and crispy breaded chicken and the amazing caramel sauce, it has mushrooms, carrots, beans, caramelized onions and sesame seeds served with rice.....

This is Soph lovin' on some of her rice. Cuuuute!

I prefer to get it with their yummy mashed potatoes. To DIE for, I swear it!

Please go or ask me to go ANYTIME and tell me what you think of it! That's the great thing about TCF is that not only do they have the best cheesecake, they also have great gourmet meals.

I think the best part of this particular trip to TCF, and I'm sure Sophie would agree... was the very good looking guy seated at the table next to us. He was my soul mate and I'm pretty sure that if I had enough guts to walk up to him that day... we would be married by now. Pretty sure.

Mmmmm Pooork

I would just like to thank my brother, Nate, for the deliciousness of the ribs he smoked this last weekend. They were amazing. Seriously amazing.

I'm difficult. I am.

I am that person at a restaurant that makes my order so difficult, that I'm sure I've had a cook or a waiter or both spit in my food. Can I help it if I know what I like? I'm not picky, I'm particular. There's a big difference - 'picky' only has 2 syllables where as 'particular' has 4. Very different.

The other day, I went to lunch with my male BFFLE (best friend for like ever), Mikey P., to celebrate his departure for the summer to work as a ranch hand at a dude ranch (Really, Mike? Again, I ask why you're choosing to do this over hanging out with ME all summer? Who am I gonna go to Hires with and savor a juicy and delicious Reuben? Whose car am I gonna make fun of if not yours? Who is going to be the master drummer in our hit sensation Guitar Hero band 'BEV'? How am I going to hang out with your family and it not be weird? Van will make me sing for him - probably a song about his car, I just know it.) ANYWAY, so we go to lunch at Pei Wei. I like that place well enough, but this last year, they took my favorite dish off the menu: the Udon Noodle dish. It seriously was amazing, folks. So I order a different noodle dish that I really like, but I have to get it less spicy or else I'll get the heartburn. So I make all the changes and the sweet little Mexican woman taking my order is thoroughly frustrated with me. But I make sure to tell her again - please don't make it spicy! After eating 6 or 7 fortune cookies and drinking delicious water with orange slices, our food comes. And guess what? I'm not positive, but I'm pretty sure they doubled the spiciness of my dish. My mouth and throat were on fire! Then the lady that took our order came over to ask how it was. I told her it was way too friggin' spicy. Then she gave me this gem of wisdom that I will never ever forget:

"Suntines, when I et sunteen sbicy, I llike to hab a beeer. Bud nod too muhch - I will ghet da beeg belly."

Best moment of my life. (And who says I don't blog about you, Mikey? haha)

Feed Me

When I was little, one of my favorite books was a book about a "hungry thing" that came to this town with a sign around his neck that read "Feed Me" on it. He would go around to all the people in this town and hold up the sign and point to his mouth. The people would then throw food in it.

Do we sometimes feel like this was me these last couple semesters? Yeah.

I would just like to say THANK YOU to all the people in my life who took such good care of me while I was a literal starving student. My parents, my brothers and sisters, my dear friends, my co-workers... you are all so great!

Specifically:

Mom and dad: thanks for letting me raid your fridge, freezer and cupboards. "Grocery shopping" at home is the best! Oh how I love mini pizzas, egg rolls and chicken nuggets. Thank you for the Sunday dinner leftovers (stimulus packages) that lasted me well into the week. Oh, and thank you for the candy, Mom. Oh how I love candy! Dad, thanks for the lunch money.

Thank you to the LDS Institute of Religion Lunch Deli. Your creamy chicken noodle soup in a bread bowl for only $2.50 rocked my world. I seriously need to find the recipe to it... so good!

Thank you to all the guys at work for buying lunch or breakfast for me randomly. One day I came to work and they had bought a box of Cup Noodles and had stacked them in a pyramid on my desk. So funny. They also gave me a $50 gift card to Zupas. Uh, thank you! Sheesh, that will definitely come in handy.

Thank you to my brothers and sisters for paying for my food on many many occasions and for always looking out for me.

I can't forget to thank my dates this last year. I'm sorry it didn't work out between us, but just know that I got through one more meal (and if I was lucky, leftover lunch the next day... sorry!) because of you! Sorry you had to feed someone else's wife...

Thanks to my cute friends for letting me mooch off their food all the time. Thanks to the Barths for their amazing generosity, the Elders for the yummy heartburny meals (love ya Teds!), my roommates who are always willing to feed me...

YOU ARE ALL SO WONDERFUL! THANK YOU!!

I'm a big NERD and here's why (today anyway!):

I'd like to discuss a few things today that I care about. Yes, they are nerdy and lame, but I guess we all need to come to terms with the fact that that's who I am! It's not news to any of you, I'm sure.

1- I love oatmeal! I used to hate it... but that was when I had some options in the morning. BUT now I can't get enough! And good thing it's a dollar for a box of instant at the Walmart... that feeds me for a week and a half! And guess what? Shocker: oatmeal is actually really good for you! Bonus! I still hate oatmeal cookies, though. Get the freaking healthy stuff out of my dessert! Whoever invented oatmeal raisin cookies is a fool. But now that I think about it... my 2nd favorite Ben & Jerry's ice cream (2nd to Cherry Garcia. Mmmm!) is Oatmeal Cookie Chunk. It is simply delicious. I have issues.

2- I'm a geeky closet fan of Moosejaw.com and Backcountry.com! I love all the gear and outdoor clothing... but I never seem to buy anything. Typical. Great news, though! For my company last year, I purchased some Northface jackets for everyone and got some 'reward points' and with those reward points I can buy more stuff! So look what I ordered today and I'm actually getting it completely free!!! Love it!

3- I am a bookworm! I will read anything, but I do appreciate a really well written book. If any of you have read something really great lately - let me know! I love love love a good book. Right now, I'm being super nerdy and I'm currently halfway done a children's fantasy book: Fablehaven 4 by Brandon Mull. Yes. It's the 4th book in the series. Yes. I've read the previous 3 books and absolutely loved them. They are quick, easy to read, and well written. Obviously they are for children, but hey, they are good. They are the perfect books for when you have tons of homework and you want just a quick break. Or if you're on vacation and you want a book you can start and finish in a day or two. The author is a guy who lives here in Utah and I got my book at Deseret Book. How sweet. Has anyone else read these? Am I the only one?

Yup! Total nerd. But that's why you love me, right?

Just a little P.S.: I heart Snack Packs

I do! I just cannot get over how delicious they are. I know. I'm the biggest nerd ever.

And I love Liz Lemon from 30 Rock. She is nuts and I love it. If you do not watch that show - I am sorry. You need to start. It is simply hilarious. I watched it with my little brother, Aaron, last night, and I swear I laughed at every other word that was said. Aaron didn't laugh as much as I did, so maybe it's not as funny as I think it is... but I don't care. It's a great show. Isn't she so hot in this picture? Man, I love her.

"I want to go to there."

***Special post edit: Did you know you can see what Tina Fey is up to in real life on a day to day basis? Yeah, I know it's kind of creepy, but she is hilarious! Check it out: http://twitter.com/tinafey?page=1

Benvenuti a casa Sorella Barth!

Sophie Rose is back from her mission to Rome, Italy! It is soooooo good to have you back, Soph! Her homecoming talk was solid and inspirational (as always) and the breakfast afterward was about the same. Sophie's mom, Megan, is the best cook I know. I have been lucky enough to take cooking lessons from her and let me tell you: she's a genius in the kitchen. She served homemade keeshes with all crazy different mix-ins like crab and wasabi! So great. It was fun to see all the old high school guys... I'm glad they are still single with me. Good times! Anywho, welcome back Sophie! Proud of you.

Kate's Salt Lake Restaurant Review

My good friend, Bob, recently discovered an article in one of the local papers on the best restaurants in the Salt Lake area. So he recruited me to join him in visiting every restaurant on the list and seeing for ourselves.

My latest favorite is Faustina. When people ask me what kind of food it is, I don't really know what to say except for "it's a mix of meat, pastas, fish, breads.... I don't know! It's just really delicious." I've heard it categorized as New-American. Whatever that is. The pricing is mid range. The food is creative and very very tasty (their house salad is awesome, and I could eat the rosemary bread with basil olive oil and vinegar all night long!). The service is slower, but very attentative - As I walked up to the front door, the host hurried and opened the door for me before I got to it. The atmosphere is awesome! The decor is very mod and the paint colors they have chosen are soothing and subtle. If you want to go on a cozy romantic date or even out with the girls, this is the place to go. If you do try it, tell me what you think!