Vacation Video

My Drunk Kitchen: Poutine

I freakin' love this girl!
This is in honor of my recent Canadian vacation.

Five Favorites

1. Hempz Pomegranate Lotion

Years ago, when I was a single gal who spent money a little more freely I used to buy the regular hempz lotion all the time. I even started buying it by the gallon because I used it so much. Then I got married and found it hard to justify spending $24 on a single bottle of lotion "but it smells soo good!" just doesn't cut it. It has been a few years since I have bought it, and I recently renewed my love for it with this new pomegranate version. I still couldn't bring myself to spend $24 on a single bottle of lotion (Karl's frugalness has definitely rubbed off on me). Lucky for me though, I found a bottle of this stuff on the shelf at TJ Maxx for only $13. Score!

2. Tzatziki

More specifically, Hannah Tzatziki from Costco. I love tzatziki sauce and when I saw this at Coscto I impulse bought it even though I didn't think I'd even come close to using all of it up before the expiration date. I was wrong! I use this stuff on everything! I use in place of mayo for things like tuna, sandwiches & wraps, on burgers, etc. Anything that needs a little something else, this is perfect for. And the best part is, it's a lot less fattening than mayo.

3. Harmon's in Farmington

I love Harmon's but there wasn't one in my immediate vicinity so I rarely shopped there. That has changed now that Harmon's has opened up a location in Farmington. It is right across I15 from Lagoon. Still not really close to my house but oh so worth it. I never thought I would LOVE a grocery store so much. I love the deli, bakery and just their overall selection of everything is amazing. It is a bit more expensive than other places though, so I just get the things that I know I can't get anywhere else.

4. Eyelash Extensions

This is definitely a splurge, but totally worth every penny for me. I don't like to wear make-up very often anyway, and usually don't wear it at all on the weekends. Having eyelash extensions makes me not feel like a complete scrounge whenever I skip the make-up. They are always perfect and ready to go! Not having to curl and put mascara on in the morning before work is a huge time saver, especially since chances are I'm probably running late anyway!

5. My Mom

My sisters, nieces, mom, and I just got back from a weekend trip to St. George. It was a blast hanging out with just all the girls. We went to Little Mermaid at Tuacahn and shopped our little hearts out. My mom is so funny. Whenever we get together I know at some point I'll be laughing so hard I'll cry. We just have a good time together. Here's a funny story (maybe not as funny to others as it was to us) from the trip:
My mom is driving and we pass an exit that is closed,
Mom: " That exit is closed! Now where do I go?!"
Me: "Was that our exit?"
Mom: "No, it's the next one"
Me: "Umm....keep going and take the next one"

Love ya mom!

Vacation Post

WOW! I don't know how else to describe our trip to the Canadian Rockies, (Banff, Jasper & Yoho). It was absolutely amazing. It was well deserved, long awaited, and a little pricey, but totally worth it. I have so many pictures it’s ridiculous, so I’m only going to put my favorites up and you can see some more on my facebook page by clicking here. None of these photos have been altered at all and they don't really do the scenery justice.

One of my top 2 favorite pictures of the trip. This is Lake O'Hara and it's pretty hard to get to. They limit the number of visitors, so you have to call months in advance and by a ticket to take a bumpy bus ride up to it but it was worth the hassle. I totally lucked out and called 2 days before our trip and got someone's cancellation.

This was our first full day on our trip and it was FREEZING and rainy! We went from 95 degrees in SLC to about 37 degrees and wet at Lake O'Hara.

Ahhh, Lake Louise.

This was my absolute favorite hike. It's called the Plane of Six Glaciers and you hike up behind Lake Louise about 3 1/2 miles to this tea house. At the top you have a view of 6 different glaciers and you can have a cup of tea, but we had chocolate cake and coffee :)

The people that work at the tea house have this cute dog. I love this picture because if you look very closely toward the right of the picture there is a little chipmunk. The two of them were having a stare off and it was so funny. We finally just left, not sure who won!

Picture with one of the 6 glaciers in the background

The super cute and cozy little cabin we stayed in for part of the trip
(sorry about the cheesiness of this photo)

We saw lots of wildlife, but this monster was probably Karl's favorite. Look at my facebook photos for pics of a mama bear with 3 cubs (freakin' adorable, but crappy pictures), big horn sheep, and a nice deer in velvet

Mini icebergs! (broken off from the glacier above)

My 2nd favorite hike was Mount Edith Cavell. You can see the glacier right above my head. It was making all kinds of loud cracking noises. We thought for sure we were going to see a huge chunk break off and fall into the lake below, but no such luck.

Karl bought a cowboy hat. He really is a total hick.

So that's a little taste of our vacation. I will hopefully have a video coming soon that I'm putting together. It started off a little rocky, when we got to the airport in Calgary the power was out. It was creepy being in an airport with no lights! We finally got our rental car and started driving to Banff. It sucked because we couldn't see any of the beautiful scenery because it was so foggy. Karl is a different person while on vacation, and I like it! He's laid back and not cheap which is opposite of the norm for him. He just justifies everything he does and the money he spends with "I'm on vacation!" Karl even turned his phone off for the ENTIRE trip. That is huge people!

Neville Longbottom

When did Neville Longbottom become such a hottie?
It even feels weird just saying it.

p.s. his real name is Matthew Lewis

Eyebrow Threading

I was at Fashion Place Mall yesterday with my step-mom & stepsister when we noticed a new shop right by Nordstrom's. It is for eyebrow shaping. I've always wanted to have my eyebrows done professionally but I hate wax and I'm always afraid I'll end up with no eyebrows when it's done. The thing that's different about this place is that they use the threading method. {They use a pure, thin, twisted cotton thread which is rolled over untidy hairlines and other areas of unwanted hair, plucking the hair at the follicle level. Unlike tweezing, where single hairs are pulled out one at a time, threading can remove an entire row of hair, resulting in a straighter line. As a larger area of hair is removed at once, however, it can be slightly painful.} I've heard of this before but never knew of any place in the area that actually offered it. We decided to give it a shot and we all loved it. They don't only do eyebrows, they can do any hair on your face, upper lip, the little hairs around your hair line, chin, etc. It's not any more painful than plucking or waxing, although it was a little sensitive on the lip area! My eyebrows are perfectly shaped and they didn't take too much away. The ladies are from Nepal and they are super friendly and total pros at what they do. The best part is, it's so cheap! Only $12 for eyebrows and they do an amazing job! I highly recommend it.

Postworthy

In the 5+ years that me and Karl have been together he has gotten me flowers once. It was for Valentine's Day a month after we started dating. Monday was our 2 year wedding anniversary and I was shocked when I received these flowers at work. He's a pretty good husband I guess :) and a better spouse than me, I didn't get him anything!

My Drunk Kitchen

Too funny. I think I'll have to try drunk baking sometime, it looks like fun!
*Warning* There is some foul language in this video

New Car.........Yay....

Getting a new car is fun……..right?

I just wanted to let everyone know what getting a new car is like when you’re married to someone who is in the car business (and is also extremely frugal).

I mentioned to Karl that I was going to wash and clean the car sometime over the weekend because it was dirty. He told me not to worry about it because we’re going to get a new one pretty soon. Ok, whatever I figured he meant in the next couple of weeks. The next morning while I was running around doing my usual errands he calls and tells me to come into the dealership. Yay, a new car! Exciting right? Wrong. Now I don’t want to sound like a total spoiled brat that is whining and complaining about getting a brand new car. That is not where I’m going with this. I am very grateful and appreciative to be able to have a nice car. It’s just the process is a little out of the norm. So, I get to the dealership and he tells me to go look at the Mazda 6’s (the exact same car that I have and have had for the past 5 years and probably will ever have) and to pick one. I know Karl won’t let me have any of the cool stuff like leather, navigation, tint, etc. so I pick a few that I think will be ok with him. He meets me outside and I show him the ones that I like. No, nope, and no way. You’re getting this one, and he points to of course one of the cars I did not pick. Lame, why did you even ask me to look at them! Then I get my hopes up and think MAYBE he’ll let me get one with a sunroof! We go inside to do the paper work and I honestly don’t even want a new car. I would rather just keep the one I have than get a new one that I didn’t have any say whatsoever in picking out. Last time I at least got to pick out the color. I wanted a white one again this time, but the only white one they had just happened to have a sunroof. Apparently that is only a $10-$20 difference in the payment. Karl spends that much a week on his girly coffee drinks! Karl wouldn’t budge so no sun roof for me. Boo :( I asked him about a black cherry colored one that I kind of liked. Hell no, charcoal (the color of the car that was picked for me) will bring a way better resale and sell quicker than black cherry! We haven’t even bought the damn thing and he’s already talking about trading it in. So that’s my car buying process, not very fun or exciting at all. Let me break it down for you:

1. Karl says we are getting a new car

2. Karl picks the car

3. I sign some papers

4. I drive home

No test driving, no checking out the features and available options, no picking out a color or anything like that. The truth is I never so much as laid a pinky finger on the thing until I drove it home.

I want to say again though that I am not complaining. I think it's a pretty good deal I get to drive a brand new car every couple years even if I don't get to pick it out. The car business is Karl's thing so I can't argue with that and I know we'll never be $10,000 upside down in some P.O.S. that's only worth $2500.

ABC's

1. Age: 29
2. Bed size: Queen in the winter, King in the summer. Since our house doesn’t have a true master and all of the bedrooms are a pretty good size, we change bedrooms and sleep upstairs in the winter where it’s warmer, and downstairs in the summer to keep cool.
3. Chore you hate: Folding and putting laundry away
4. Dogs: Nope
5. Essential start to your day: Not a coffee person, but I guess having something for breakfast is kind of important to starting my day.
   
6. Favorite color: Red has always been a favorite but I’m really liking gray lately
7. Gold or silver: Silver
8. Height: 5’9”
9. Instruments: I played the flute 6^th-8^th grade
10. Job title: Environmental Scientist
11. Kids: Someday
12. Live: Woods Cross
13. Mom’s name: Barbara
14. Nicknames: Breeze, Beezy Bradzinski
    
15. Overnight hospital stays: None
16. Pet peeve: Showing up late
17. Quote from a movie: Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it. This is good advice for Karl.
18. Right or left handed: Right
19. Siblings: I have 2 older sisters and 2 younger step-sisters CORRECTION I also have 2 step brothers and another step sister (I don't see them very often so I don't talk to them much. We didn't grow up together like my other 2 step sisters so I kind of forget about them as step siblings)
    
20. Time you wake up: Between 5:30 & 6:00 M-Th, between 7 & 8ish F-Su
21. Underwear: Yes, I wear underwear
22. Vegetables you dislike: Raw carrots, unless they are those really little, teeny, tiny, skinny, baby ones
23. What makes you run late: Karl
24. X-rays you’ve had: None
25. Yummy foods you make: Desserts and baked goods
26. Zoo - favorite animal: Don’t really have one because I’m not a fan of zoos or any wild animals in captivity for that matter.

Vacation!

I just booked our trip to the Canadian Rockies and I am so excited! Karl and I haven't been on a real vacation since the cruise to the Bahama's he won through Mazda. He also would won a vacation to Hawaii through Mazda that we would have went on but he decided to quit his job that year and take a sabbatical from working. And now Mazda doesn't do those trips anymore. Lame. Anyway, here are some pics of the places we'll be staying and visiting during our vacation at the end of the summer.

We'll be staying in these little cabins for the first part of our trip. They are right by Lake Louise.

Ahhhh, Lake Louise. Ask my sisters, I've been wanting to go here since I was like 13.

This is from inside Chateau Lake Louise.

The Fairmont Banff Springs. We're not staying here, but we'll definitely stop by for some photo ops. It was first opened in 1888 and for a long time was the largest hotel in North America outside of New York City.

Banff

Jasper NP

Owls

I found the cutest little blog and I'm pretty sure my fellow Chi-o's will appreciate it.

My Owl Barn

You can design and print your own 2011 owl calendar! Super cute, click here!