Archives for 2019

Our favorite SUMMER treat

We had a barbeque with some friends last week and everyone was so excited when we pulled out Creamies for dessert.

Childhood Memories

I don’t know about you, but they immediately take me back to my childhood. I remember celebrating so many fun family milestones and parties with Creamies. I recently found out it’s a local Utah company, which makes me love them even more! You know I love supporting local businesses.

I also didn’t know they had been around for more than 60 years!

Here’s how things got started:

In the late 1950s, an ice cream company was asked by a Cache Valley, Utah grade school principal to make a nutritional frozen treat with milk instead of sugar water. The principal wanted a treat that would be healthy for the students and would be enjoyed by the whole family.

He went to work and soon developed a delicious ice cream bar made with real fruit and other natural flavorings. Thus, the originals were born–chocolate, orange, and banana. That original Creamie is still made today in Cache, Valley, Utah. The Creamie is a rich, smooth, healthy, and refreshing treat that is enjoyed by all.

Since the 3 original flavors were introduced, other flavors have been developed and added: Strawberry, Cookies and Creamies, Root Beer Float, Mint Chocolate Dipped, Cherry Chocolate Dipped, and Vanilla Chocolate Dipped. In addition, three probiotic yogurt Creamies were created: Peach, Chocolate and Raspberry.

So, if you want a guilt-free frozen treat this summer, reach for a Creamie!

Where can you buy them?

You can find the store nearest you here.

How to survive on no sleep as a parent

I have one piece of parenting advice that I always share with friends and family. It’s to ignore all of the parenting advice you are given and do whatever works for you! Ha. Profound, I know. But, there is one thing I want to share that has truly saved my sanity in the almost two years since having Hazel. I need to preface it by saying I know I am extremely lucky to have this as an option. I also know this is not possible for everyone, but maybe it will help a tired mom out there somewhere.

Hazel is not a great sleeper and hasn’t been since the day she was born. We’ve done all of the sleep training methods and she gets into a good routine and then usually out of it really quick. Most nights for the first 18 months of her life, she would be up at least 2-3 times. I really think sleep deprivation is torture because it affects absolutely every aspect of your life negatively.

Sam and I are both the kind of people who function best when we get 8 hours of sleep. Doesn’t everyone though? The first few weeks of parenting threw us into a tired frenzy. This is all familiar to most parents, but we decided we both just couldn’t do it. So, we came up with a little arrangement. It’s called “Vacation Suite”. We have a guest bedroom in our basement and we decided to start using it. Every other night, we would switch off sleeping down there. It’s soundproof, which means even though the baby was waking up multiple times a night, you cannot hear it when you’re in the vacation suite. After the first night down there, I knew it was going to make a world of difference.

Waking up refreshed, I was able to get through the day and be a more patient, loving, level-headed person. So, if you need a one night vacation that will change your life, start using that guest bedroom or sleeping on the couch with noise-canceling headphones, or whatever it takes to get some rest! I’m so glad we have been using a room in our house that otherwise sat ignored 99% of the time.

We have not done this for 20 months straight. We did do it quite a bit in the first 6 months of Hazel’s life, but she would get into good stretches where she would sleep pretty well and Sam and I could sleep in the same bed 🙂 After that, we would just do it when she was having a rough week and not sleeping well. It was also really great if one of us had something important the next day, we could sleep in the vacation suite.

Right before Hazel was born, I decided to decorate the vacation suite and make it cozy and comfortable. I just added a side table, candle and art and pillows that I loved. Little did I know, I would be spending a lot of time in there! It’s nice to have a space that feels very calming and quiet when you’re a new parent.

I know there are people thinking, wait how did you do this while breastfeeding? Well, if it was within a 6-hour stretch that the baby woke up, Sam would feed her milk that I had previously pumped or formula. Then, he would bring her down to me in the morning for feeding before taking her back upstairs again. This worked really well for us until I stopped breastfeeding at 9 months. Then, feedings were simplified because it was just formula.

Sam is a very involved parent and we knew to go into this parenting thing that we both wanted to give 100%. It has made a world of difference. We both LOVE our sleep and do not take it for granted. I’m happy to report we are currently in a great stage where Hazel is sleeping from about 7:30PM-6:30AM, so we rarely use the vacation suite.

I would love to hear what has worked for you when it comes to surviving on little sleep as a parent!

How To Create A Bucket List

It can be overwhelming to write a bucket list, but let’s all be like Marie Kondo and only put things on our list that bring us joy! It is a really fun family, couple, or personal activity to write down places you want to travel, things you want to do, and people you want to do those things with.

Here are a few of our favorite responses when we asked what people have put on their bucket list:

Swim with dolphins
Fly in a hot air balloon
Eat pasta in Italy
Run the Boston Marathon
Go to the Masters Golf Tournament in Augusta, Georgia
See the Grand Canyon
Try snow skiing
Kiss at the top of the Eiffel Tower
Go skydiving
Learn to play the piano
Take singing lessons
Paint a watercolor in nature
Learn a new language
Ride an elephant in Thailand
Learn to play chess

So, if you’re wanting to start yours, we think it’s helpful to separate everything into four categories. It can be daunting to think of EVERYTHING you want to do in your lifetime. By separating it into four different sections you can be more specific. Here is how we divided ours.

Travel: Write down three places you would like to see in your lifetime. These could be a National Park, a town where your ancestors are from, or a faraway vacation stop you would love to see.
Mind: Write down something that you can do to challenge yourself and expand your horizons. It could be learning how to meditate 5 minutes-a-day or reading one book per month.
Fun: What is the craziest thing you can think of? Write it down here! This is your chance to step OUT of your comfort zone and really go for it.
Talents: From public speaking to learning how to whip up homemade creme brulee write down something you want to learn. These goals can be more time intensive like learning a new language.

From there, you can create all sorts of lists and ideas. If you feel like you are stuck, grab your significant other or a trusted friend or relative and ask them what they would put on their list. It can be really fun to bounce ideas off of each other and discover new things about your closest friends and family members.

The next step is to get one of your items on the calendar and start looking forward to something that you have always wanted to do! There is nothing like the anticipation of a once-in-a-lifetime trip or the chance to learn something new.

You can see that we kept ours relatively simple and plan to add to them every year. We also created a FAMILY Bucket List. This one is filled with things we would like to do all together. They are not huge things, but rather the memories we want to create. It is such a great reminder that you don’t take anything with you when you die, other than the talents you’ve worked hard to develop and the memories you’ve spent time creating. Remember, our goal this month is to BOOK YOUR BUCKET LIST! That means taking a look at your list and making SOMEDAY A REALITY!

We have been so inspired by the people around us going for their goals. From the 80-year-old taking piano lessons to my neighbor who just ran her first marathon at 55, it is never too late! I love to think of my life as an evolving bucket list. No matter my age, I will always be capable of learning, growing and trying something new.

Please share what adventures are on your list so we can inspire each other!

Dying to book your dream vacation? It’s time to BOOK YOUR BUCKET LIST!

We are BEYOND excited to announce our May challenge: Book Your Bucket List!

This is by far our BIGGEST MONTH YET! If you want to catch up on our monthly challenges for 2019 you can see what we have done so far for January: The Get Ready Challenge, February: The Make Your Bed Challenge, March: Move for March Challenge, and April: The Love Where You Live Challenge.

Our challenge for April is “Book Your Bucket List” which means we booked the vacation of a lifetime… a 7-day guided tour of GREECE!!!

We are headed to the gorgeous beaches of Greece in 3 weeks and could not be more excited! This month we want to inspire any of you reading this to TAKE THE TRIP!

Our trip includes stops in Athens to see the Parthenon, in Santorini to see the beautiful Caldera cliffs, and Mykonos to soak up some sun on the beach.

We will be doing everything from learning how to make baklava in a cooking class to taking a yacht to a private island(!!) talk about dreams coming true!

Many of us put dreams of a lifetime on hold because there is always something holding us back, not enough money, vacation time, babysitters, etc.

Throughout the month of May we want you to BUILD your bucket list and then make it happen!

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.

Here is a list of all included attractions:

The Leonardo

This is the Place

Utah Olympic Park

Museum of Natural Curiosity

Utah Museum of Fine Arts

Hogle Zoo

Tracy Aviary

Thanksgiving Point

Snowbird

Red Butte Garden

Clark Planetarium

Discovery Gateway Children’s Museum

Natural History Museum

Go to connectpass.visitsaltlake.com to get yours!

Red Butte Garden is the perfect place to start the #LoveWhereYouLive April challenge

Announcing our April Challenge #LoveWhereYouLive

This month we are embracing the challenge #LoveWhereYouLive sponsored by Visit Salt Lake. As born and raised Utahns, we absolutely love where we live and want to tell everyone about it! Throughout the month, we will be highlighting some of our favorite places in Salt Lake County. One of the coolest things we just learned about is the Visit Salt Lake CONNECT PASS. It gets you into 16 of the hottest attractions – like Hogle Zoo, Thanksgiving Point, The Leonardo, and Red Butte Garden for under $100! It is by far the best deal we have been able to find. We are so excited to have a Spring filled with exploring some of our favorite spots. Our first stop is Red Butte Garden in the foothills of Salt Lake City.

If you haven’t been following along, let us catch you up to speed on the monthly challenges.

We decided we wanted a focus in 2019 and monthly challenges were the perfect way to execute it. So in January, we did the #GetReadyChallenge where we got ready every single day in January. We had seen research about it boosting productivity and were pleasantly surprised by our results on January 31st. You can read more about our experience here.

In February we did the #MakeYourBed challenge

There are entire books dedicated to this exact thing so we decided it was worth our time. We also freshened up our bedroom spaces throughout the month and made them extra cozy during the cold winter months. You can read more about that experience here.

In March we did the #MoveChallenge

It was simple, move each day in whatever way you choose. Thanks to the warming weather we moved with walks, swimming, and gym visits. We also answered the question, “Are Amazon Leggings That Great?” by comparing to of our favorite pairs that each run for about $25! Read more about our favorite fitness items here.

Now for April, we get to focus on the #LoveWhereYouLive challenge

As lifelong SLC’ers, we truly LOVE where we live. The close access to the mountains, the proximity to downtown, and the fun and unique neighborhoods to visit. This month we will share what makes Salt Lake special to us.

It just felt right to kick things off with Red Butte Garden. High above the city, it is a great spot for first-time visitors to Utah, as well as those that have lived here for years and never taken advantage of the beauty in their own backyard. Did you know Red Butte is the largest botanical garden in the Intermountain West, with over 21 acres of developed gardens and five miles of hiking trails? Promise you won’t be bored when you visit! Over the next few weeks, there will be more than 1 million flowers blooming at Red Butte Garden thanks to years of planting, and hard work. It’s the perfect time to plan your visit!

Here are a few of our favorite spots in the gardens:

The Children’s Garden: It is incredibly whimsical with a miniature snake maze and a tiny house.
The Duck Pond: Stunning setting with a waterfall and ducks playing in the water. The girls loved it. Would make a beautiful spot for family photos!
Atrium: The atrium is home to hundreds of upscale events each year with a jaw-dropping view of the city and gorgeous natural light.
Fragrance Garden: Just as it sounds, this garden awakens the senses and teaches you a few things about your favorite flavors and smells.

Fun fact: You can also experience the gardens at the Red Butte Garden Outdoor Concert Series every summer. It is a world class outdoor music experience. Which means they do sell out fast, so get your tickets right when they are released! The full summer concert lineup announcement is coming on April 16. You can learn more here.

Red Butte Garden is just one of the 16 attractions you get access to with the Connect Pass. The Connect Pass is open to visitors to Utah as well as locals. Pass holders save 50-80% on regular admission!

Regular admission to all of the included attractions would add up to over $234, so the Connect Pass is an incredibly good deal at just $96. For a look at the full list of attractions, how to purchase and some FAQ’s go here.

Some other spots we are excited to visit this month that are included with the pass: The Leonardo, Tracy Aviary, Discovery Gateway Children’s Museum and the Utah Museum of Fine Art. The pass is perfect for summertime exploring!

So, how do you get the Connect Pass? Go to the Visit Salt Lake website HERE.

We are so excited about this challenge. No matter where you are in the world we would love you to take part and show us how YOU #LoveWhereYouLive!

Are Amazon leggings really that great?

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The Great Leggings Debate

Our March monthly challenge is MOVE so we wanted to share our recent finds when it comes to the best leggings to wear to the gym. If you have followed us for a little while then you know that we treasure nothing more than an amazing pair of black leggings (pretty sure 99% of girls feel this way too)!

Lululemon dupes

That being said we have been hearing about Lululemon dupes for the past year and got really excited when we found the 90 degree reflex leggings on Amazon for $20. They are thick with a great fitting waistband. However, our gym crew recently talked us into trying out the CRZ leggings on Amazon for $26. We decided we HAD to do a comparison for you all so that we could once and for all crown our athleisure leggings winner!

Britt in 90-degree by Reflex

90-degree leggings that work for every day and the gym

So first we will talk about the 90-degree leggings. They are thick, like so thick you are POSITIVE that no one is getting a view when you are bent over. They are cozy. We got ours during the colder months and to say they have been on repeat is an understatement. They stretch and are easy to slip on and off. They wash well and have held up really nicely. And last but definitely not least – they can pass for pants!! Meaning, we wear ours with sweaters, jackets, sweatshirts, and they look cute!

CRZ leggings are incredible Lululemon dupes

Next up, CRZ Leggings on Amazon $26. These leggings are super silky and soft. They are more of an athletic fabric than the 90-degree leggings. They are super light and breathable. They also have a great shape and waistband that holds you in at all of the right places. And the very best part about hese pants… POCKETS! The fact that you can easily slide your phone in when you are on the way to the gym or working out is a game changer! The only downside with these is that they are an athletic shiny fabric so you can’t get away with wearing them all day with a sweater over top like the 90-degree leggings.

Which leggings are best?

So, the final consensus is… get BOTH! Haha, some of you may be rolling your eyes but just think how much you wear black leggings. It is worth it to have two pairs that you love – for less than the price of one Lulu pair. We got the full-length size in both options. They both have some really cute colors if you are more into that than black. We all know we would rather be wearing leggings than jeans any day!

Wait, there’s more!

We need to add an update because we found ANOTHER brand on Amazon that we absolutely love! It’s called Colorful Koala and you can find it here. I have both dark navy and leopard print and have been so pleased with both pairs of leggings.

If I had to wear one pair of pants for the rest of my life, it would be the leopard print leggings. Get them here. They have sold out multiple times and I had to wait a couple weeks to get mine, but it was worth it!

They are buttery soft and hold up really well being washed and worn constantly. As far as leggings go, one of the most important factors is if they are see-through. These are definitely not! Gotta love leggings that pass the squat test. Hope you love them as much as I do!