BeUTAHful Murals in South Salt Lake

Got to spend a morning scoping out new and old murals in South Salt Lake the weekend of MuralFest! I ended up not being able to attend even though I badly wanted to. My Saturday got filled with so many other activities going on. But check out the cool murals I found!

A Sunday Morning in Utah

My view on the way to Winco

I really love going to see the Mormon Tabernacle Choir perform when I visit Utah and it worked out to go with my friend Alice who so kindly picked me up in the Winco parking lot and we headed downtown!

Cinco de Mayo Saturday

I started out the day going to yard sales with my sister, my niece and nephews. I don't really have many photos from doing that so I won't share any here. I bought 1 set of metal lockers which were really cool and only $10! Next, I headed to the Home Show in Sandy which I had been looking forward to going to all week. I don't know why exactly, I don't even have a home in Utah. Even though it was a bit on the small side, it was pretty cool and I met so many nice people! Glad I spent the time to go and so glad that my friend Alice was willing to come along.

Hiking & Real Boba Drinks

My sister actually found this hike for the Blackridge Trail in Herriman by doing a Google search. For some reason this particular one did not come up for me when I typed "easy hikes for kids in SLC". My nephew who just turned 10 has been begging to go on a hike since I got here. That makes this auntie's heart so happy! I did not realize that there was a charge for parking so be warned in case you go...I took a photo of the sign. It's $15 to park...

Last Day in Utah

 

So we started our drive home from Salt Lake on Wednesday the 13th, stayed the night with our friends Heidi and Andrew in St. George and then continued on to Ridgecrest the next day with a few stops in Las Vegas.  

A Wedding Reception!

 

One reason for staying in Utah as long as we did, was to attend one of my besties from my childhood, Nicole, her wedding! It was worth going. My favorite O'Crowley's tacos were there providing food! I miss them so much and am sad they've closed. They didn't have the Pot-O-Gold fruit salad but they had delicious tacos and fruit kabobs. 

Dinner & Treats in Utah

 

 

I took Reese and Riley to In N Out for some dinner. Reese had fun and got creative with his In N Out stickers.

 

Next we went to a place Tony's cousin told me about called Bubbles. We've been sad ever since a different drink place closed in West Valley that we really liked. Reese and Riley picked their own drinks (same one) and I got something different. Mine was the Pink Dragon with peach fruit pearls on top.  The boys' drinks were called Shark Attack.

 

We also tried the S'mores cookie which was really yummy. Nice and soft!

The employees were friendly and we didn't have any issues. There was actually nobody inside the building besides us and the people working!

FanX Volunteer Experience in Salt Lake City

 
Had to document each day where I parked so I didn't forget!

I found out on Monday I was on the list to volunteer at FanX (like Comic-Con) in Salt Lake City after applying last year! Luckily I was able to arrange things and make the drive from Boise over there and I spent parts of the Thursday, Friday and Saturday volunteering on "Team Doom" basically doing whatever was asked of me which I didn't mind. It was fun to switch things up a bit.



Part of my volunteer time was spent checking people's badges as they came in, sometimes out. Everyone had a wristband to scan at these stations with iPads. I got to see what kind of pass they had and make sure it was valid. Overall, it really went pretty smoothly plus it was fun to see all the cosplay costumes! Some people go all out and get really creative.

When I wasn't volunteering I got to walk around a little bit and snap some cool pictures and do some shopping. Mostly taking pictures. While there was soo much cool stuff to buy, I am trying to save towards some bigger ticket items I'd like to get before the end of the year.

 

While I was sitting at the First Aid tables with band-aids, this group of characters was standing nearby. Fun to watch and listen to them interact with people. They were very in character.

 

Something I really wanted to do was get some henna which, if you know me, is one of my favorite summer traditions but I wasn't able to find a place to do it yet all summer! Luckily there was a booth at FanX and I was able to get a spot in line to get this totally awesome owl in henna on my hand.

I didn't get to sit in too many panels because there was so much I wanted to do but I was able to make it to the Cobra Kai panel which was really fun and also one with Nick Carter from the Backstreet Boys and Joey Fatone from N'Sync.

 

 On Saturday I was volunteering from 4-7pm and then got asked to stay and help with the Cosplay Costume Contest. This sounded really cool and I was able to stay and help! The above picture is of the grand ballroom filling up with people who want to watch the costume contest.

 

 Me and another girl were backstage on both ends of the stage. There was a line of people in their costumes and I offered to hold their mask if needed while they were up on stage. A few took me up on this offer and I would take their mask and drop it off to the girl at the stage exit.

Then! We were asked to get everyone together for the awards. We had a sign with 3 characters on it and we went to the area where they were all waiting. We gathered our 3 winners (they didn't know what place they had won) and brought them backstage again. Then we were asked to actually go up on stage with 3 of the winners to present the awards. What what! I was in my volunteer shirt and pants, nothing fancy...got to give the 1st place award in the novice category. Super cool!

This woman was the grand prize $5k winner of the night!

 

 

And...that's a wrap! The room cleared out pretty quickly, it was after 9pm so a very long day for everyone, especially if you were there all day.

If you want to volunteer with me next year at FanX, let me know and I can put you in touch with the right person probably. It's a fun experience with a few cool perks. Be aware, you do need to pay for parking. I ended up parking at the garage for City Creek mall and it's free for the first 2 hours then $2/hr after that. I think the most I paid was about $12. Can't wait to attend again!

9th and 9th Street Festival

 

I took Reese and Riley to this street festival in 2019 and was so excited to take them again this year! We walked around and looked at all the booths, got churros, played games and had a fun time people and dog watching. In the photos, how many differences can you spot? Hehe. We stopped at a booth that had cool headpieces and the girl with the Fohn Event Venue and Florals put these flower crowns on Reese and Riley. So funny.

Luminaria Experience at Thanksgiving Point

Heading in to Thanksgiving Point there was a huge light up board that said the tickets for Luminaria were sold out and I worried so hard that we didn't have a chance of seeing the lights after driving about 45 minutes from Kearns to get to Lehi. I had tried to buy tickets online but the link wasn't working or the page just kept refreshing. So odd.

The Forgotten Carols - Re-imagined!

I met my friend Christine at the high school in Murray to watch The Forgotten Carols. This year had a new spin and we were able to see the "Re-imagined" version! Our first time getting to see this and their first year doing it this way. I wish I had taken a picture with Christine - she's a fun friend and always down to do something interesting. 

Cool Utah Lights

After going to Luminaria we stopped by a cemetery on Redwood Road and got a picture of this amazing tree covered with lights. Kind of made up for not going to Draper to see the "Tree of Life" this time.

Love Letters Museum

My cousin Joey and I got tickets to go to Love Letters Museum at the Gateway mall in Salt Lake on the last day they were open! Ahh. I'm glad we could make it just in time. The Italian festival was going on right outside (and a concert at the arena) which made it a little crazy to find parking and wade through the crowds of people but we made it and had an absolute blast. It was nice to wander as fast or slow as we wanted and not be rushed.

TruReligion Restaurant Experience

Cool floor!

S'mores hot chocolate!

My friend Nessa and I met up for lunch on my way out of Utah on Monday. This restaurant looked to have a good selection on their menu online and when I called (I got a late start) and asked how quick their service was, I was told we could just tell our waiter we were in a bit of a hurry (school pick-up!) and they could put a rush on our food.

Fervent Coworking Space - Orem!

Last Friday after the CVX Live after party, I was able to stop by this new co-working space because they were having a launch party and I wanted to check it out, snap some pictures and share all about it! When I walked inside, I knew it would be pretty awesome. Keep reading to find out more all about this new space in Orem, Utah.

Back in Utah? Say What??

I was soo not expecting to go to Utah in May and it was making me a little sad to know I probably wouldn't be back until August. But! I got a new job working with Homie Homie and wanted to get a bunch of photos from the Parade of Homes in UV to use in my content. I was going to hire someone to go take all the photos I needed but Tony thought it might be better if I just went up and did it myself, so  up I went! And not solo..Tony came too! But for less than 24 hours. Darn it!

Dreamscapes Experience at the Gateway Mall

I reached out to Dreamscapes at the Gateway mall in Salt Lake City about getting some tickets to their event going on right now.  Crazy enough, they offered me tickets and gave me some to give away, which I did, including in the Utah Fun Things To Do group. If you have not joined this group and live in Utah, you should check it out! Anyways, I was super shocked and very very excited because I found this fun place on Instagram and knew I had to go check it out.

Sand Hollow Hot Air Balloon Event

Sand Hollow has a hot air balloon festival that we have never been to before. This is their 2nd year actually doing the event and I didn't know I'd actually be able to attend but because of a snowstorm in SLC that delayed me in leaving by a day or so, I actually was able to time it perfectly to arrive early Saturday morning in the area for the event.

Schmidt's Pumpkin Patch!

I've never been to a pumpkin patch quite as fun as this one. Not only do they have pumpkins, they have lots of other activities you can enjoy for free. Schmidt's invited me to come and pick out some pumpkins which I was really stoked to do! Come check it out!

SLC Owl City Concert!

My friend Sarah and I at the Owl City Concert in Salt Lake City!