errands on a saturday afternoon.

 today we had some ordinary saturday afternoon errands to attend to.  my favorite part was a hamburger, strawberry shake and diet coke.  i'm always up for a bite from in-n-out.  tt on the other hand always prefers his burger from crown.  oh, and in case you want the ins and outs to in-n-out, this is their secret menu. yum!

pizza.

Today I met the family for a celebratory birthday lunch at one of our favorite spots in all of Salt Lake.  The twins are 23! 23!  And they requested their birthday lunch to take place at Cinegrill.  This place is home to the best salad, more specifically salad dressing.  Their pizza (pictured above) is worth the extra wait, the corn beef sandwiches are delicious, and the minestrone is one of my favorites. 

Happy birthday to two of my favorite people ever! Hope it was great!

25th birthday.

 @ my 25th Birthday Dinner Celebration

I'm going to be completely honest when I say, turning 25 feels strange.  I'm not trying to be dramatic, I realize it's not an old age*, but I must say I feel like age 25 catapults someone from the "early twenties" phase of life into the next phase... and I don't even know what that phase is called.  I feel like I maybe know what it includes.   a)College is complete (or very close) b)careers should be started c) babies if you don't already have them should be somewhere in the mix (for now they're all at my sister's house) and d( saving our hard earned money suddenly feels more important than it ever has before.  Am I growing up? This is weird.  More pictures from the day here.

Also, on the subject of birthdays, I must say I feel so blessed and loved from so many people, especially my family.  They're just the best people ever. The day started with a breakfast date at Rich's Bagels before work with my mom (aka bff).  We had a fun fast date over oatmeal and diet coke.  My kind of breakfast.  However, let me tell you something about Rich's Bagels.  They make an incredibly delicious asiago cheese bagel.  I rarely hardly ever get it, but regardless I always leave smelling like it (and so will you!).  I carried the cheesy smell all the way to work with me, which was kinda annoying.

My lunch hour began with cute EVC coming into work with my birthday present from my sister and her fam.  Evie not only decorated the bag hereself, but also had our favorite saying, "Oh yeahhhh", adorned on the wrap.  She's very detail oriented.  Out in the car were my dad and Ellie waiting to head over to Rio Grande.  Evie made me "birthday punch" while we waited for our food.  See below for recipe.  Needless to say, I really enjoyed my lunch dates.

Birthday Punch By Evie

Ice and Water

Salsa

Table Salt

Mix ingredients together until they look plain gross.  Dash a final dash of salt into the serving cup.  Try the punch, immediately give a look of discomfort.

Moving right along to dinner.  Dinner was a highlight.  I wore red lipstick, probably to help myself feel more mature, I mean I am 25.  When TT and I arrived at Mikado, the whole family was there, minus some very important members (Daniel, Stephen, Bry and Ellie Beebs).  We enjoyed appetizers, lots of sushi, and fabulous desserts.  Generous gifts and delicous food aside, I had a wonderful day, spent with the people I love the most.  Thank you for making my birthday so special! 

*my parents aren't even old, and they're old enough to have me!

Lunchtime.

Salt Lake City has some pretty good cafes, delis, bakeries, specialty shops, and overall food joints.  These things I know.  Last week, I met my dad  downtown for lunch and he introduced me to Cannellas, a little Italian restaurant just kitty corner from the City Building.  Our food was delicious.  He tried the roasted red pepper soup (we pretty much shared it) and a chopped salad... I got the rigatoni with a beet salad.  It's such a fun little restaurant with great food. It's inspired me to try this recipe later this week to enjoy some homemade rigatoni, and a garden fresh salad.