Craft Lake City

A few weekends ago, my friend Jenny and I met up in Salt Lake for Craft Lake City. We saw lots of homemade jewelry, art, house decor, ate way too many macarons and drank way too much grapefruit juice. I don't get to see her very often (she lives in a far away land called Provo), so it's always great to spend time with her. The good news, if you missed Craft Lake City, many of the vendors have Etsy shops and I have listed some of my favorites down below!

 ^there is a real plant in there! (I would kill it the first day, but it's a cool idea) She also has other really pretty jewelry on her Etsy shop here. I love this necklace as well

 Love those wooden spoons! Find their Etsy shop here

 Mmm those cupcakes-- Citrus Spice Bakery

 ^MissFitts Upcycled (also below)

 Travis Gray - Cutest miniature books and paint by numbers

I had never had unsweetened grapefruit juice before, the first sip is a little shock but it's SO good. Wasatch Organics does not use preservatives, they just freeze their juice so we drank it like a slushie and it was amazing and healthy (would also be good with a little vodka ;)

Not Pictured:

The Land of Salt - Terrariums and jewelry 

Emily Elizabeths Designs - Cutest Owl drawings

Dolce Bella By Erin - Amazing Macarons! Best I have had in UT 

Alexis Mattox Design - Cards, Party Supplies, Journals, Jewelry

Those are just a few of my favorites from the market! I only have a few more days of summer (4 to be exact), but I have a few things planned. First up: Kid Cudi tonight, what do you have planned? Thanks for stopping by!

Back To School Essentials

Below are a few of my back to school 'essentials', mainly because they are things I often wish I had while at school. I always get sort of giddy when it's time to go back to school. When I was little as soon as the school stuff came out at Target I would beg my mom to go school shopping and rearrange all of my new stuff in my room. Needless to say I don't really do that anymore, now it's more like oh good I have a notebook with five empty pages that will get me through the first week, but new school supplies are still fun.

1. A Backpack. I know this seems stupid, duh you need a backpack but I have tried using shoulder bags for school and unless you don't have very much to carry, it's not a good idea. This will save your shoulders big time, plus it's cute!

2. An Umbrella. Whether you store it in your car or in your backpack, it's handy to have for when it unexpectedly starts raining. In Utah we have very fickle weather, you never know what it's going to do!

3. A Water Bottle. Ask any of my friends, I carry this EVERYWHERE. It's important to stay hydrated and I find it a lot easier when I have my water bottle with me.

4. A Stapler to keep in your backpack, for when you forget and the professor insists that he/she will lose your paper (unintentionally) if it's not stapled. You'll be the one prepared and other people will be asking to use it as well.

5. Comfotable Shoes . College is not a fashion show, most people show up to class in sweats anyways (I never have once!) but if you school is on an incline like mine, or you just do a lot of walking, comfort is key!

6. A Motivational Planner. I like to keep everything organized and although everyone has smart phones now, sometimes I like to just write it down once instead of telling Siri to confirm reminders three times. This one is especially cute and they have lots of other cute planners in their etsy shop. 

7. A Lanyard. These are perfect for everything. Throw your keys on it and you should still be able to fish it out of your backpack when you are leaving campus, add one of these and you don't even have to carry your wallet with you.  

8. Headphones. Want to drown out that annoying person in the quiet zone yammering on their phone? Always keep a pair of headphones in your bag!

9. A cute phone Case. Just because :)

Are you ready for back to school? What else would you consider an 'essential' for back to school?

Have a great day, thanks for reading!

The Salt Flats

 Katie and I decided to drive out to the Bonneville Salt Flats while she was here. I'd never been, seen pictures of them but heard they were a sight to see in person. What are the salt flats? They are like a desert, but instead of sand or dirt, the ground is pure salt. They are a remnant of a body of water that dried up and all that is left is the flats. It's really odd and of course we had to taste it to make sure it was salt (it is). If you live in Utah, or are traveling through, it's definitely worth a stop. (word of advice: don't drive on them unless you want to be cleaning salt off your car for a week afterwards :) live and learn, right?)

Love you Katie! Thanks for visiting me!!

 

So there you have the salt flats! Just miles and miles of salt. They are not the biggest ones in the world, but I will take it.

School starts in just TWO short weeks so I am trying to soak up any last bit of summer that I can. Mainly by watching Breaking Bad, drinking these and eating peaches (from the farmers market of course!). If you haven't gotten peaches from the farmers market go NOW! They are delicious and if you are in Salt Lake, I recommend Wilson's or Tagge's (both have booths at the downtown farmers market). 

Happy Tuesday! 

 



My First Hike

I have lived in Utah for almost 7 years and I had never been on a hike until a few weeks ago. One of my very best friends, Katie, came to visit me for the first time and it seemed like the perfect opportunity to venture into the great outdoors. We decided on Donut Falls, named because the water goes through a doughnut-shaped hole. It's a pretty great beginners hike if you are ever visiting Utah. I may have to frequent Big Cottonwood more often, especially when the leaves are changing in a few months.

Katie..always choosing the safe route ;)

Two of my very favorite people in one place, doesn't happen very often! I love when my East coast friends visit.

 The donut falls^^

Sometimes it's really easy to take this place for granted. Sure, Utah has its quirks (some good, some bad), but it really is a beautiful place. I think it may be growing on me just a bit :)

A Glimpse

Here's a glimpse of what I have been up to lately

 eating way too many (if that's even possible) veggies

 picking raspberries

 double rainbow!!

my favorite kind of mail- from my grandparents in France - filled with clips from the New Yorker (love you both!!)

 one of my very best friends came to visit - on our way to Vegas

our ride in vegas "hercules" (just a very random coincidence) 

 spotted some tomatillo (i think?) plants on my way to lunch

delicious vegetarian dinner at ZEST in Salt Lake. AMAZING,  I was skeptical at first but so much flavor and so filling. ( I got the eggplant parmesan)

Carrot Cake Sandwich Cookies

A few weeks ago I was having lunch with my Mom and Brady and we wandered over to Les Madeleines Bakery. We each got our own treats but the one that we were all fighting over was a delicious Carrot Cake Cookie with cream cheese frosting. It was so good that I have been trying to recreate it. After a few failed attempts (one that resulted in completely flat cookies), I finally found the perfect recipe. These are definitely a hit!

What You Need

1 stick unsalted butter (at room temperature)

1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons packed light brown sugar

1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar

1 1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 egg

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup coarsely grated carrots (about 2 medium or 1 large)

1 cup oats

1/2 cup (I used 2 snack boxes-because I hate them) raisins

For the frosting

4 oz (half block) cream cheese, softened

4 oz (half stick) unsalted butter, softened

2 cups powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

Beat butter and sugars in a stand mixer until light and fluffy (about 5 minutes).

In a separate bowl, sift the flour, cinnamon and baking soda together.

Once the butter and sugar is mixed, add the egg and vanilla, scraping down the sides to ensure that it is combined. 

Slowly add the flour mixture to the butter mixture just until combined, then add the carrots, oats and raisins.

Cover and put in the fridge to harden (about an hour).

After about 45 minutes in the fridge (or whenever you get to it), preheat the oven to 375° degrees.

While the oven is preheating, line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Using a scoop or a spoon, drop cookies about two inches apart then place in the oven for about 12-13 minutes (12 was perfect for me). Let them cool for a minute on the baking sheet, then transfer to a cooling rack.

While the cookies are cooling, prepare the Cream Cheese frosting:

Beat butter and cream cheese together.

Slowly add the powdered sugar to the cream cheese until smooth, then add the vanilla extract.

 (You could probably add a bit of cinnamon to this and it would be delicious as well!)

Once the cookies are cool, spread a generous amount of frosting on one cookie and sandwich another on top. Enjoy!

(Makes about 13 cookies. These can also be stored in the fridge in an air tight container for 3-4 days)

Cookie reciped adapted from Epicurious

Cream cheese frosting recipe via Food Network