Archives for April 2019

3 Hidden Gems in Salt Lake City

We have loved exploring our hometown this month and have found a few hidden treasures we want to tell you about. We thought we knew it all living in Salt Lake City for 30 years, but we were so wrong!

First up, Tracy Aviary. It’s located inside Liberty Park in downtown Salt Lake City and is easily accessible. We went on a Monday afternoon and basically had the place to ourselves. Having not visited since 4th grade, we didn’t remember much. Well, we were so impressed! Tracy Aviary is truly a beautiful sanctuary for birds. With gorgeous trails and landscaping, you feel like you’re transported somewhere completely different. They have done a great job of making it educational and pretty. The bird shows are fantastic, I’ve heard adults and kids alike rave about them.

We were shocked by how much fun our toddlers had! They loved seeing all of the birds and playing in all of the different recreation areas. We will definitely be going back!

Next on the list of hidden gems is the Utah Museum of Fine Arts. It is located at the University of Utah and showcases amazing art work. We were impressed at the range of artists and styles and also everything they do to make the museum family friendly. You can check out a free family backpack when you arrive. It’s filled with fun, hands-on activities that make the museum come alive for kids.

Third on the list is the Lion House Pantry. Did you know lunch or dinner at Lion House Pantry is included in your CONNECT PASS? We hadn’t visited since our friend’s 8th birthday party, so it had been a while 🙂 One thing we have never forgotten is THE ROLLS! They are legendary for a reason and everyone in Utah should get the chance to try them.

To get your own CONNECT PASS, go here.

How to get gorgeous tulip photos without going to Holland!

Spring is in the air and that means it is time to get outside! Whether it is blossoms or tulips, Ashton Gardens at Thanksgiving Point is the place to go for Instagram-worthy photo spots. As part of the #LoveWhereYouLive challenge we knew we wanted to get out to the gardens to see the blooms first hand.

Before we get to our day at the gardens with a few insider tips mixed in I wanted to share a few fun facts about the gardens:

Our first experience at Ashton Gardens was the Aaron Carter concert in the amphitheater when we were 12! Talk about the best night ever, take me back to those bedazzled tank top and butterfly clip days!
You will get your steps in! The gardens are 55-acres and have so many different trails and walkways you will be there for hours.
The gardens are home to the largest man-made waterfall in the Western Hemisphere! It is the backdrop for all of the concerts in the amphitheater and seriously beautiful.

They now have everyone that attends the festival register for a specific time, this is honestly a life saver. Otherwise, there would be no parking and a ton of overcrowding.

If you are not feeling up to walking all 15 themed gardens, they have Segways and golf carts available to rent!

All of the tulips used at Thanksgiving Point are imported directly from Holland.

The Connect Pass from Visit Salt Lake gets you into Ashton Gardens and the Museum of Curiosity! Guys, that is some major bang for your buck! They are 2 of the 16 different locations that you get to access for 365 days.

If you are hesitant to get the pass, buy it with a friend, or possibly for grandma? Mother’s Day is coming up and it makes for an unexpected gift that will provide lots of memories down the road.

We have LOVED our Connect Passes so much this month!

Our favorite dinner restaurants in Salt Lake City

We’ve been asked several times to create this post and are finally getting around to it! Sharing our favorite restaurants to eat in Salt Lake City, no matter your price range.

Cheap Eats $5-$12

Chunga’s Mexican Food: They make the best burrito in Utah, make sure you order the al pastor. They make it daily and usually sell out.

Costa Vida: It just always sounds good! A Utah classic, we actually like different things here. Brooke usually goes for the sweet pork burrito, while I love the chicken salad.

Median Price $12-25

Citris Grill: Yummy and local. We went here a lot growing up and have always loved it. They have something for everyone and it’s a laid-back environment if you want to take the whole family.

Ruth’s Diner: Our pick for patio dining in the summer. You can’t beat the atmosphere and the food is great too! We have fond memories of running up and down Emigration Canyon on Saturday mornings in high school all because we would promise ourselves a mile high biscuit if we did it. It was worth it every time (and that’s saying a lot!) Love this place for breakfast, lunch or dinner.

The Dodo: A classic! We order the off the menu “Dirtybird Salad” every time we go. It has the most delicious lemony dressing and is topped with piles of turkey and yummy toppings. You also cannot leave the place without ordering a slice of pie, our favorite is the Tollhouse.

Expensive $30-$75

Franck’s: tiny gem of a restaurant next to Tuscany. Perfect quiet restaurant to celebrate an anniversary or special occasion. We’ve never tried anything there we didn’t like.

Sicilia Mia: We recommend you order the Carbonara or any of the house-made pastas. We put it on the expensive list because we think it’s a place you should take advantage of their amazing appetizers and sides. Some of the best Italian food in Utah!

How to get into Salt Lake’s top attractions for half price!

The Leonardo is a state-of-the-art museum located in the heart of Salt Lake City. Directly across from the beautiful City and County building and next door to the grand city library, it’s in a perfect location. We explored it for a day with our families and want to share 3 things you may not know about The Leonardo.

The museum is named after Leonardo Da Vinci. Which is why they created The Leonardo Studio – it’s a permanent exhibit at the museum that frequently rotates different art activities. Painting, drawing, coloring, folding, cutting, molding, even filming — it’s all here. All visitors, no matter their age, are invited to let go of their inhibitions and participate in something more than “arts and crafts.” The studio is designed to find the inner artist in anyone.
The Leonardo has hosted a number of big name exhibits, including Body Worlds, Mummies and now the first in the United States to host Green Hero by Jackie Chan. The famed actor came to open the exhibit himself. It features art installations built from old movie sets. While working, Jackie Chan realized the enormous waste created on the sets of his films and in an effort to make a positive change, he began commissioning artists to repurpose the materials into a series of incredible and imaginative sculptures.

They have all sorts of neat hands-on experiences, including the Tech Take Apart Counter, where they show you what’s inside various tech creations from past times. They even dismantled an old piano to see exactly how it works. This is included in your admission to the museum.

You can easily spend an entire day inside The Leonardo – building, imagining and being inspired by your surroundings. Luckily, it’s included in the Visit Salt Lake Connect Pass! If you don’t know about it yet, it gets you into 16 of the hottest attractions in Salt Lake County for under $100.