Need Some Experience Utah Guidance?

So last week in the Wilk, a Skweez worker was going around and getting people's cell numbers. The basic idea of Skweez is you give them your number and then once a day they send you a discount to a local restaurant. It is pretty much brilliant.

Friends & Foods Weekend!

My dear chum, Emily, and I checked out The Cocoa Bean, Provo's newest cupcake shop. It was so delicious.

Many times after I eat at a bakery or the like I feel like sick and over-sugared. These cupcakes were perfect. Absolute deliciousness and no post-cupcake sugar coma. (Love that the frosting does not taste like equal parts butter and sugar.)

Hurry and go today so you can hit this:


I heard about this place from the girl that cut my hair. (Here's a plug for her, too: Emily at PureBeauty, she did a great job. I think it was about $30 and the shop is great, too.)

Oh and the drinks looked so good, too, but I didn't have one.

Definitely going to be stopping here more often.

Deets.

Here are the details for the previously mentioned Haiti fundraiser at Pirate's Island.

It's tonight!

http://www.facebook.com/#!/event.php?eid=273692587859&ref=ts

My Kind of Bar...

Dear ol' Jordan and I decided to try somewhere new for dinner and we (eventually*) found ourselves at ...


It was really good. We had dumplings (half pork and half Bulgolgi beef) and Udon stir fry. Yummmm. Sorry, I didn't have my car.

Click the Rooster for their blog.

*I maybe got a little turned around, which resulted in an extra long trek to get there. I'm sure it just made it that much more enjoyable.

Pirate Island

So probably most people in the Provo/ Orem area have heard or seen Pirate Island that recently opened.

I totally thought it was like a Chuck E. Cheese place for kids, but (breathe) I was wrong. (There are firsts for everything!)

So this last week a group of friends were heading over there for karaoke night. It was a lot of fun. I didn't eat any food because we didn't go until later, but maybe someone can go eat there and update this post. Honestly, I don't know too much about Pirate Island. Their website should help and I do know that karaoke was super fun so I imagine a lot of the events they put on will be really cool.

Anyway, the DJ was a lot of fun, but mostly watching people karaoke was hilarious.

Highlight of the night:

There is a table with a few older women who are about to leave and one of the guys runs over and asks them to wait for one more song...




Needless to say, I think those ladies will be coming back.

[A Haiti relief event is coming up at Pirate Island... details to follow.]

Blerg.

Oh, Experience Utah... Sorry you have been so neglected. Once I kick this cold, I will putting you higher on the priority list.

Maybe this could count as Experience Utah: don't sleep+freezing weather= illness. It is an experience; I don't recommend it.

Really wish I was Experiencing Jerusalem.

Ready to Ruuuun!

It is a little hard to Experience Utah when you are in Gilbert, AZ; San Diego, CA; and/ or taking finals, so please excuse my absence for the past... long time.

I don't have anything super thrilling to write about, but I didn't want the site to go too stagnant, so here is something I am looking forward to:

2010 Hurricane Half Marathon

Any takers?

Iron Mission State Park

For Thanksgiving, my family all headed to Las Vegas for a family reunion and I figured the trip down would be a great opportunity to throw in some Utah Experiences.

So do you remember road trips growing up when your parents would want to stop at silly museums and all us kids would groan and then rack our brains for any reason that we simply could not go. "I forgot my shoes!" "Oh! Darn, sister's asleep." "I'm allergic to _(museum type)_." Trust me, we tried them all.

That's pretty much how I viewed the Iron Mission State Park Museum growing up. We never stopped before, but since I am soooo ma-toor now I thought it could be interesting. And I was right!

Seriously though, it was really cool. The museum tells the story of development in Iron County when, in the 1850s, Brigham Young sent Mormon missionaries there to mine iron.There were:

tons of original carriages




vintage clothes


tons of iron tools from the church's Iron Mission


Lincoln Logs (I built one inside and got outside and someone had copied me with bigger ones!)


tons of pioneer artifacts aaaand...

I thought this guy was a stuffed animal and then he looked up and meowed at me. Haha.

A tour guide told us he is the Iron Mission mascot. (My dad and I debated whether he was a real tour guide because he was kind of just hanging out in the back and then started guiding us. Hmm...? He was way cool though- he even grew up in Zion's National Park. Freaking cool, no?)

Savior of the World: His Birth and Resurrection

Last night, my dad flew into Utah and took me to Savior of the World: His Birth and Resurrection at the Conference Center.



Online almost every nights’ tickets are sold out, but if you go to the ticket office you have a pretty good chance of getting standby tickets. You can call ahead and ask at 801.570.0080. We went a couple of hours before the show started. I would say that you would probably be fine going just an hour before and you could still get good seats. Though, of course this might not hold true the same way on weekend nights.

The show is about two hours long and was really great. The first act is the events leading up to Christ’s birth and the second act is primarily his crucifixion and the events that followed.

The show was really well put together, the performers were all really talented, and I thought the stage was especially cool.

This Christmas lights will soon be up in Temple Square. Great date idea: get hot chocolate in the Joseph Smith Memorial building, walk around and see the beautiful lights, and hit the show.


Schedule and Other Temple Square Events

Geographical Oddity: 4 Hours from Everywhere

Looking at a southern Utah trip this weekend. Any takers?

Flour Girls & Dough Boys

So happy today to take a lunchbreak at my longtime love Flour Girls & Dough Boys. (Discovered via Scott Nibley) I think today may have been the first time I had their lunch food as opposed to just bakery food, but both are so yum.

Favorite desserts: pumpkin bars, shortbread chocolate chip cookies, and cinnamon rolls.

The bakery is so quaint with its trendy decor and it is not too far from Provo, just off the freeway in American Fork.

I didn't get any pictures, but I found these great ones at My Pemberley.


P.S. Yes, I do realize that Experience Utah has taken a recent decline into almost solely food experiences. If you think this has poorly affected the movement's validity, just imagine what it is doing for my health.

P.P.S. Legit Utah Experiences Coming Soon!

Bijou Market

Naomi of the Rockstar Diaries has been talking about the upcoming Bijou Market in Provo, UT.

Sadly, I am out of town and will not get to experience it, but I thought maybe you guys could take the opportunity since I cannot.

Here's what she had to say.

Harley Davidson Grill

Probably anyone who has driven from Provo to Salt Lake City has seen the huge barn structure that houses the Timpanogos Harley Davidson Grill. (Oh ya, and dealership.)


As fun as walking through the crazy cool motorcycles is, their sliders are even better. (Mini- burgers) They have little pulled turkey sandwiches and filet mignon sandwiches too. Personally, I say it is all about the burgers here. The Rickster has bacon, bleu cheese, ... and other delicious things. But who could want more than bleu cheese? Mmm.


Don't forget the shoestring fries. People seem to either love them or be pretty indifferent. To me: they're different and therefore cool.