Stone Ground Restaurant

I am not a huge fan of Italian food but Stone Ground Restaurant makes me want to eat it all night and all day. Stoneground is a cozy little restaurant located on 4th South in Salt Lake across the street from the Salt Lake County Library, on the second story above a skate shop. The introduction of this restaurant came to me by way of a friend who served mission in Italy and has a good sense of authentic Italian food. The brushetta and tomato basil soup are among some of my favorites. I also like to create my own kind of Spaghetti dish with marinara sauce with sausage and penne noodles. A salad with the house balsamic vinaigrette dressing is also something you should taste. It is a great place to meet for lunch or a relaxed laid back place for dinner.

My New Home

I moved to my parents house a few months ago to save money for graduate school. Problem is... my parents live in a really small town. Sometimes I got just a little bit bored. Don't get me wrong I loved being back with the family but, I missed being in Salt Lake. I also received a promotion at work so decided to wait to start graduate school. So, when a friend called a few weeks ago and asked me to move in with her I couldn't help but jump at the offer. I've only been back for a couple of weeks and I'm loving it. The house is beautiful. It is in an amazing area that I have always wanted to live. Here's a picture of what the apartment looks like. They don't really do it justice. So, I guess you will all just have to stop in and visit.

The Kitchen

The Living Room

Another View

The Office

The Cheeseball Secret

This may be a crazy thing to blog about but people are always asking about me my cheese ball. The recipe is actually my mother's. The secret to making the cheese ball yummy. Old English Cheese Spread and garlic salt. Here's the recipe. Try it out and let me know what you think.

Cheese Ball

1 12oz. Package Regular Cream Cheese
1 5 oz. Bottle Old English Cheese Spread
2 - 3 Cups Shredded Cheddar or Blended Cheese
Garlic Salt to Taste

Mix together with your hands or a hand mixer. Form cheese mixture into and cover with silvered almonds. Serve with your favorite type of cracker.

I like to ride my bicycle

It's true I moved back to Salt Lake Saturday. The best part of the day.... visiting Bri's boyfriend at the bike shop and taking a stroll on the newly redesigned vintage bikes. My choice, a black frame with pink and white flowers, (the tire treads were even flower shaped) Trish's choice a blue frame with sparkling silver flames and Bri's choice a black frame with golden fire details. I have to admit it took a minute for me to remember how to stop by pushing backwards on the pedals. The only thing missing as Twinkie would say, "a lace basket" and I say a whistle bell!

Friday the 13th

Something you may not know about me is, I was born on Friday the 13th of July. I feel I have a small inner connection with the date and I get a little excited when it comes around. Typically Friday the 13th denotes bad luck but I am not a girl that believes in bad luck or superstition. However, I think the day is great and love to celebrate it. Not that I do anything special to celebrate, I just like the date, okay. Here is a little trivia for you about one of my favorite days of the year.

Friday the 13th Trivia
Black Sabbath's self-titled debut album was released in the UK on Friday, February 13, 1970.
Novelist Daniel Handler, also known as Lemony Snicket, released the 13th book of the Series of Unfortunate Events on Friday, October 13, 2006.
January 13, 2006, and October 13, 2006, were not only Fridays, but the digits in the month, day, and year of each date add up to 13. This last occurred on October 13, 1520, and will next occur on May 13, 2011.
The Harry Potter Movie: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix will be released on Friday, July 13, 2007.
Hurricane Charley made landfall in Florida on Friday, August 13, 2004.-Wikipedia The Free Encyclopedia

The Bombay House

Happy Birthday Elise!! The Bombay House Salt Lake City

My darling roommates from Cottonwood Heights met at The Bombay House last Friday night to celebrate Elise's Happiest Birthday. It was so fun to see those girls and have some authentic Indian Cuisine. I miss sitting in the basement of the house talking about boys and watching Grey's Anatomy. The food was awesome and the ambience was comfortable. The service wasn't the best but it is worth it for a little taste of India.

Recipe of the Week....

I love to cook!! I have found some really great recipes through the years that always seem to be a big hit. So, I am going to start a segment to add all of the recipes I have found to be party starters and heart stoppers.

This recipe comes from a dear friend of mine, Sister Bailey. She was the Relief Society advisor when I served in the Relief Society in Ogden. As always, I added a few of my own modifications at the end. Try it out and let me know what you think!

CHEX MIX
1 cup sugar
1 cup light karo syrup
3/4 cup butter
1/2 box Golden Grahams
1/2 box Rice Chex
1/4 cup coconut
1/2 cup sliced or slivered almonds
Bring sugar, karo syrup and butter to a boil. Boil for about 1 minute. Mix Golden Grahams, Rice Chex, coconut and almonds in large bowl. Pour liquid mixture over dry ingredients until well coated. Store in an air tight container.
Modification: I normally double the recipe for a bigger batch. And I just dump in the coconut and almonds until I think it looks like a good amount with the cereal. I also add extra Golden Grahams sometimes if I want it to be sweeter and crunchier.

One Bright Shining Hope

You all know that I don't read a lot of books. But, when I find a good one I like to share it with everyone. "One Bright Shining Hope" is a great little book by President Gordon B. Hinckley. I don't know if it should truly be classified as a book. It is filled with quotes and stories about women and their goodness. It offers encouragement and direction to women and helps explain the importance of women in the eternal plan of happiness. It would make a great gift for Mother's Day! Pick one up and give it a read. I promise you won't be disappointed.

This Year's Theme

My friend Brock, pictured at the right, came up with a theme for the summer. "Live it like it's your last ... so suck it!" He came up with it during our trip to Las Vegas in February. He was supposed to order t-shirts for us to wear with the sayings "Rip Nasty" and "Freshly Dipped" printed on the sleeves but, do you think we have seen any sign of those t-shirts? How can you have a theme with out a shirt?

REAL Soccer Begins...

I finally found someone to buy season tickets with me for the REAL soccer 2007 season. The first game was on Saturday afternoon against FC Dallas. I was so excited to be going to the game. It felt like Christmas. The first half of the game was awesome. FC Dallas scored the first goal about 20 minutes into the game. Then Jeff Cunningham of the REAL scored in the first half bringing the score to a tie. During the second half of the game the REAL players lost some of their momentum. The game started to feel a little bit like watching a little league practice. But, then Jeff Cunningham delivered another unassisted goal, putting RSL in the lead on its way to victory. However to the RSL fans dismay in the 94th minute of play about 1 minute before the game ended Carlos Ruiz of FC Dallas scored a goal creating a final score of 2 - 2. I'll admit I was a sad little girl but, what do you do? It was a good enough game and I look forward to the season and the team getting better and better.