I saw a commercial for a CNBC special on Costco - "The Costco Craze: Inside the Warehouse Giant". I am a Costco fan so I recorded it on the DVR. When my husband and I watched it, we learned something new about Utah. This was not because Utah was mentioned in the special but a segment that alerted us to the fact that Utah Costco stores are different from the other Costco stores in the U.S. This difference is that none of the nine Costco stores offer wine. The segment in question discussed the fact that because of Costco's
buying power, the buyer for the Kirkland wine label is one of the most
powerful wine buyers in the world. My husband and I do not drink alcohol so we had never noticed that our Costco did not have a section for wine or that it should have it.
09/26/2012 UPDATE: Due to a law change, the Utah Costco stores are now selling alcohol. So far, we have seen beer. Still no wine section.
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Sunday, April 22, 2012
Mini-Tour of SLC Metro with Kids
My brother-in-law, his wife and two children visited Utah this weekend. They were here for one day and then went on to Big Sky, Montana and Yellowstone National Park. So, we needed to come up with a mini-tour of SLC metro that included fun for kids as well as adults. I had sent my sister-in-law a list of activity ideas in advance of their arrival.
The first stop was breakfast. SLC Metro just does not have many choices for table service breakfast restaurants. After experimenting over the last year, my husband and I frequent The Village Inn on 106th & I-15 for Saturday breakfast dates. Everyone enjoyed the food, service and atmosphere.
Next stop was the The Living Planet Aquarium in Sandy. My niece and nephew (9 and 11 years old) enjoyed the entire experience. Their favorites were the River Otters, the Penguin Encounter, the Touch Pool with the sting rays and the Animal Superheroes! exhibits. We all hit the gift shop at the end. My nephew chose a "Harry Otter" t-shirt. My niece chose a blue snake, which she named Lotus, who added quite the entertainment for the remainder of the day. There was also an opportunity for a photo purchase (of the group which was taken at the entrance) and we bought one copy.
Our third stop was Temple Square and finding parking downtown was quite an adventure. Streets were blocked off for the Salt Lake City Marathon. There were large crowds due to several other events as well - the Democratic Party of Utah convention, the NCAA Gymnastics Championships, Clinton Kelly at Macy's, etc. At the Temple Square, we toured the South Visitor's Center. (We had previously toured the North Visitor's Center and now realize they are different. North has information/history on the history of the Temple Square and the South has information/history on the Temple itself.) The kids really liked the model of the Temple. It was nice to have the Sisters on hand to answer questions. We also toured the Tabernacle and were able to catch the sound amplification presentation.
Our fourth stop was City Creek Center. The kids enjoyed the fountains. My sister-in-law, my niece and I browsed the Swarovski boutique. It was a new experience for them.There is a location at Westport Plaza in KCMO but that area is not really safe anymore. Everyone was getting tired and hungry so we perused the mall map to find a place to eat.
The final stop in our mini-tour was Hagermann's Bakehouse Cafe. It was new for all of us. Everyone enjoyed their meal and there were positive comments about the bread. It is definitely a place to go on "the list" of veg friendly restaurants that are great for both omnivores and veg/vegans.
Hopefully next time they visit, it will be for longer than one day and we can explore (and blog about) more kid friendly activities.
The first stop was breakfast. SLC Metro just does not have many choices for table service breakfast restaurants. After experimenting over the last year, my husband and I frequent The Village Inn on 106th & I-15 for Saturday breakfast dates. Everyone enjoyed the food, service and atmosphere.
Next stop was the The Living Planet Aquarium in Sandy. My niece and nephew (9 and 11 years old) enjoyed the entire experience. Their favorites were the River Otters, the Penguin Encounter, the Touch Pool with the sting rays and the Animal Superheroes! exhibits. We all hit the gift shop at the end. My nephew chose a "Harry Otter" t-shirt. My niece chose a blue snake, which she named Lotus, who added quite the entertainment for the remainder of the day. There was also an opportunity for a photo purchase (of the group which was taken at the entrance) and we bought one copy.
Our third stop was Temple Square and finding parking downtown was quite an adventure. Streets were blocked off for the Salt Lake City Marathon. There were large crowds due to several other events as well - the Democratic Party of Utah convention, the NCAA Gymnastics Championships, Clinton Kelly at Macy's, etc. At the Temple Square, we toured the South Visitor's Center. (We had previously toured the North Visitor's Center and now realize they are different. North has information/history on the history of the Temple Square and the South has information/history on the Temple itself.) The kids really liked the model of the Temple. It was nice to have the Sisters on hand to answer questions. We also toured the Tabernacle and were able to catch the sound amplification presentation.
Our fourth stop was City Creek Center. The kids enjoyed the fountains. My sister-in-law, my niece and I browsed the Swarovski boutique. It was a new experience for them.There is a location at Westport Plaza in KCMO but that area is not really safe anymore. Everyone was getting tired and hungry so we perused the mall map to find a place to eat.
The final stop in our mini-tour was Hagermann's Bakehouse Cafe. It was new for all of us. Everyone enjoyed their meal and there were positive comments about the bread. It is definitely a place to go on "the list" of veg friendly restaurants that are great for both omnivores and veg/vegans.
Hopefully next time they visit, it will be for longer than one day and we can explore (and blog about) more kid friendly activities.
Monday, March 26, 2012
When a Scone is Not a Scone
I read a conversation on FB today regarding scones. It reminded me of a local restaurant commercial that was somewhat shocking the first time that I saw it. I cannot remember the name of the restaurant but there is a little girl talking about how her favorite item is the scone. It is NOT a scone. It is frybread. In the FB conversation, there was a photo of a Utah "scone" and a real scone and people were asked to weigh in on which was a "real" scone. Apparently many native Utahns believe that the frybread is a scone but transplants know that what a real scone is and can identify it.
For clarification on scones:
A scone is a small British quick bread and very similar to what most Americans would identify as a biscuit. Scones are usually triangular in shape and biscuits are round. Scones also tend to be more dry (crumbly) than a biscuit (flaky).
A Utah "scone" is an Indian fry bread.
While this controversy may seem really odd to me (and others who are not native to Utah), it can be compared to tea in the US by region. When you order tea in the south, it is sweet tea. You say "tea" and you are served "sweet tea". If you do not want sweet tea, you must specifically ask for it to be unsweetened. Thus, if you move or travel out of the south, you can assume that when you order tea, it is indeed NOT sweet tea.
For clarification on scones:
A scone is a small British quick bread and very similar to what most Americans would identify as a biscuit. Scones are usually triangular in shape and biscuits are round. Scones also tend to be more dry (crumbly) than a biscuit (flaky).
A Utah "scone" is an Indian fry bread.
While this controversy may seem really odd to me (and others who are not native to Utah), it can be compared to tea in the US by region. When you order tea in the south, it is sweet tea. You say "tea" and you are served "sweet tea". If you do not want sweet tea, you must specifically ask for it to be unsweetened. Thus, if you move or travel out of the south, you can assume that when you order tea, it is indeed NOT sweet tea.
Saturday, March 10, 2012
Daylight Savings Time
Most of the United States switches over to Daylight Savings Time (DST) tonight. It originated to make better use of daylight during the summer months because we were largely an agrarian society. This is no longer the case. The need for DST has long since disappeared. We have electricity and indoor lighting. DST creates havoc for families with autistic children. Emergency rooms
report an uptick in patients with strokes and heart attacks following
the time change. There is an uptick in vehicle accidents during the week
following the spring change ("spring forward") because people are tired due
to the sleep pattern changes.
We currently have a few states that currently do not recognize DST - Hawaii and Arizona, except for the Navajo Indian Reservation, which does. Our US Territories do not recognize it either. Rep. Jim Nielson, R-Bountiful, sponsored HB-199 in this legislature that would eliminate DST observance for Utah. Unfortunately, this bill was killed in committee. So, we still have to contend with DST in 2012. It is my hope that the bill is reintroduced in the next session.
As you can see, I am NOT a fan of DST. I dread it every year.
We currently have a few states that currently do not recognize DST - Hawaii and Arizona, except for the Navajo Indian Reservation, which does. Our US Territories do not recognize it either. Rep. Jim Nielson, R-Bountiful, sponsored HB-199 in this legislature that would eliminate DST observance for Utah. Unfortunately, this bill was killed in committee. So, we still have to contend with DST in 2012. It is my hope that the bill is reintroduced in the next session.
As you can see, I am NOT a fan of DST. I dread it every year.
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Rediscovered a Gem
Honore' Willsie Morrow (On to Oregon)
As a child, I had an appreciation for the Little House books. The stories of independence and living in the areas of the country that were undeveloped were inspiring. My father has a love of western novels, which he calls "cowboy books", and I was exposed to many western movies growing up. In 1974, I saw a movie that cemented my love of the west, "Seven Alone". It was the "disneyized" adaption of the book "On to Oregon" by Honore' Willsie Morrow. The book is the true story of the real-life adventures of the Sager family. The parents die along the way and the seven children, led by the eldest child John, make their way along the Oregon Trail to their final destination in Oregon.
For years, I have been trying to remember the title of the movie "Seven Alone". I asked others if they remembered it and while it sounded familiar to some, none could remember the title either. A couple of weeks ago, I saw a segment on Studio 5 that had to do with your teen crush. One of the people interviewed said "Stewart Petersen" and his photo flashed onscreen. She described him as the kid from "Where the Red Fern Grows" but I knew he was from the movie I was trying to identify. I used IMDB to find him which linked me to the movie.
Now that I had the name of the movie, I was able to find the book and the author's name. I am a Kindle owner so I searched Amazon's Kindle database. "On to Oregon" is not available in a Kindle version. This was surprising to me as Google searches yielded many websites that indicated to me the book is popular in some of the Christian homeschooling curriculum programs. I was, however, able to find another book by the author, "The Forbidden Trail", which I downloaded. On the next trip to the library, I am definitely going to see if there is a copy of "On to Oregon" available for borrowing.
As a child, I had an appreciation for the Little House books. The stories of independence and living in the areas of the country that were undeveloped were inspiring. My father has a love of western novels, which he calls "cowboy books", and I was exposed to many western movies growing up. In 1974, I saw a movie that cemented my love of the west, "Seven Alone". It was the "disneyized" adaption of the book "On to Oregon" by Honore' Willsie Morrow. The book is the true story of the real-life adventures of the Sager family. The parents die along the way and the seven children, led by the eldest child John, make their way along the Oregon Trail to their final destination in Oregon.
For years, I have been trying to remember the title of the movie "Seven Alone". I asked others if they remembered it and while it sounded familiar to some, none could remember the title either. A couple of weeks ago, I saw a segment on Studio 5 that had to do with your teen crush. One of the people interviewed said "Stewart Petersen" and his photo flashed onscreen. She described him as the kid from "Where the Red Fern Grows" but I knew he was from the movie I was trying to identify. I used IMDB to find him which linked me to the movie.
Now that I had the name of the movie, I was able to find the book and the author's name. I am a Kindle owner so I searched Amazon's Kindle database. "On to Oregon" is not available in a Kindle version. This was surprising to me as Google searches yielded many websites that indicated to me the book is popular in some of the Christian homeschooling curriculum programs. I was, however, able to find another book by the author, "The Forbidden Trail", which I downloaded. On the next trip to the library, I am definitely going to see if there is a copy of "On to Oregon" available for borrowing.
Saturday, March 3, 2012
City Creek Center
SLC's City Creek Center opens on March 22nd. It is highly anticipated by Utahns and I am really looking forward to sharing it with visiting family and friends. CCC will add 700,000 sq. ft. of shopping and restaurants to the downtown area with a retractable roof and pedestrian skybridge. There is also a residential area of the center that is owned by the LDS church. The three stores that I am most looking forward to are Zagg, LUSH and Restoration Hardware. For a list of stores, dining and entertainment, check out the the CCC website.
Friday, February 24, 2012
Back to Business
I saw a segment on Studio 5 about a meet and greet for Utah Bloggers on Wednesday, February 22nd. It was hosted by Soel Boutique and See Jane Blog. I did not attend but it did give me inspiration to get back to business. I often have those moments of "that would make a great blog post" and then I forget when I get busy with something else. I just need to get into the habit of blogging at least 3-4 times per week.
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