Grace and Ben

Ben’s parents’ visit

January 26th, 2012

I haven’t written a blog entry in a few days because Ben’s mom and dad came to visit last weekend. It was a fantastic time. We visited the Museum of Natural History at the University of Utah campus, ate scones/coffee at Tulie Bakery near my old apartment, and enjoyed dinner at our favorite restaurant in SLC, Kyoto. Dave and Mary Jo helped me and Ben get settled into our new apartment. Dave installed new wall lights (sconces) for our bedroom. He (with the help of Comcast) also fixed our cable TV so now we can watch 150 channels on the free TV our friend Thomas gave us. We spent several hours at Sears and the mall getting new tired put on our car (Leslie, the Lumina) and purchased a brand new grill with 3 burners which cost $117 (including tax). Ben and I have eaten nearly every meal from this grill since Sunday afternoon. We made brats, bison burgers, steak, and mushroom kabobs. Looking forward to trying more exotic grill-able foods such as venison, lamb, brisket, ribs, corn, potatoes, chicken, onions and peppers.
During my parents’ in law’s visit, I did not watch too much TV–only a new episode of Modern Family and Big Bang Theory. I recently finished a new episode of Switched at Birth, which I am enjoying and yesterday evening, I watched 3 episodes (not the whole thing but I tuned in sporadically) of Top Chef (on Bravo)–the real TV episodes, not the Hulu version. It was weird because I couldn’t pause whenever I wanted to and watch more later. I got the jist of each show and learned the main points so that was all that was necessary. I also washed lots of dishes and cleaned up moving boxes while Ben took his bike to the gas station to get air in his tires. This morning, he biked to work for the first time. Very exciting! This morning, I judged a science fair in a neighboring city (Bountiful) and enjoyed talking with several (20+) 5th and 6th graders. Tonight, I am very tired and planning on enjoying a new episode of Good Wife by myself, while Ben showers and watches Badger basketball. We are truly enjoying our new home. The fireplace, patio (with grill!) and clean, modern kitchen, bathroom, living area. Great location–we can even bike to work without needing to chug up a big hill. Here are some photos from our weekend.

View from the Natural History Museum:

Dinner at Kyoto:

Univ. of Utah basketball game and dinner at MacCool’s with Ben’s cousin’s family:

Brunch at Ruth’s Diner in Emigration Canyon:

New grill:

Waverly loves the new carpet:

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Shepherd’s Pie

January 16th, 2012

This past week, Ben and I moved into a new apartment and I haven’t had much time for cooking. Last Monday night, I cooked my last meal in my old apartment–Chinese chicken wings (recipe from Ben’s mom). Essentially, I marinated chicken wings and drummettes in soy sauce, rice wine, ginger, mustard, and brown sugar over night. Then I baked the wings at 450 degrees F for about 1 hour (flipping them over once during the cooking process).
On Friday night, after a busy week, I decided to try a new recipe. I had a can of cream of mushroom soup that I was looking to get rid of. And, I was interested in making “shepherd’s pie” when my friend Rachel said she made one back in October from ground lamb. I chose a recipe that utilized ground beef, because it’s easier to find. I purchased most of my ingredients at the supermarket (Dan’s) that is walking distance from my new apartment. Here is the recipe and a photo of the final product.

Also, recent TV shows I’ve watched included the newest episodes of the Big Bang Theory (CBS), 30 Rock (NBC), Modern Family (ABC), and Saturday Night Live (with Charles Barkley, NBC).

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Catching up on my TV shows

January 12th, 2012

Tonight, I am watching “The Good Wife,” a drama about a female lawyer on CBS. I watch it by myself because Ben thinks it’s silly. Last night, I watched “Last Man Standing” which is Tim Allen’s re-make of his 90s show “Home Improvement.” Ben said it’s a comedy about “gender roles” and I said “well, at least it’s about something. many TV shows aren’t about anything.” I am also looking forward to watching “Switched at Birth,” my ABC family drama.

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New apartment

January 10th, 2012

Yesterday, we received the keys to our new apartment. We decided to spend our first night there last night (even though we haven’t moved our furniture yet). We just slept on the floor. It was a little chilly because the blankets I moved were too short for Ben’s long legs. However, we wanted to move Waverly ASAP because our landlord at our old apartment is showing it during the day when we are out and we don’t want Waverly to cause trouble. We haven’t set up internet in our new place yet. Thus, I watched a (non-internet based, probably pirated) episode of Big Bang Theory with Ben last night. Tonight, Comcast said our internet should be working, so perhaps I can catch up on my weekly TV shows Can’t wait to post photos of our new apartment once we move our furniture.

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Working on Sunday

January 8th, 2012

This morning, Ben and I went to Trolley Square (a shopping center in SLC) to purchase tickets to the Sundance Film Festival. Sometimes the director or actors in the movies attend some of the screenings during the festival. We got tickets for a thriller (scary) movie called “Black Rock.” We hope to take Mary Jo and Dave to see this movie when they come to visit. We also got tickets for a humorous movie called “Predisposed,” which plays the following weekend. I plan to write reviews of both movies in the upcoming weeks. The showings we chose are playing at the Tower Theater, which is about 2 blocks away from our current apartment.

After picking up the tickets and a few groceries at the Whole Foods in Trolley Square, Ben and I ate brunch at a new restaurant, Eggs in the City. It was very crowded and popular. Ben ate eggs benedict with crabmeat. I ordered the huevos rancheros. Both dishes were delicious. We sat at the “bar” which overlooked the kitchen and enjoyed the lively, colorful ambience.

This afternoon, I went to work for about 6 hours. It was painful and long, but I got one experiment completed. While waiting for my data collection to finish, I watched Youtube videos of some old episodes of the Food Network show, “Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives.” Specifically, I was interested in clips from Salt Lake City restaurants, Blue Plate Diner, Ruth’s Diner, and Pat’s BBQ. The show makes all these restaurants look quite tasty and I plan to visit each one someday.

Tonight, I am making a cornish hen soup with ginger, ginseng, Chinese cooking wine, and salt. I purchased the bird from Whole Foods this morning and got the recipe from my mama.

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Playing with Waverly

January 8th, 2012

Tonight I watched an episode of “Unforgettable,” the new CBS show. It was an older episode about ghosts and an insane asylum. Not recommended but I was knitting and passing the time while Ben did some work on his laptop. We had a nice evening–ate gnocchi and salad for dinner after attending the Saturday night church service at Capital Church. Then I spent some time taunting the cat. She was in a fun, playful mood tonight so I teased her with a catnip-laced toy mouse and the yarn I was using for knitting.

Tomorrow morning, we will try to get tickets for the Sundance Film Festival at 9 am. Means we gotta go to bed early tonight. I am also planning on putting in a full day of lab experiments. It’s been a pretty busy time at work since my boss returned from paternity leave.

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More TV

January 7th, 2012

Yesterday evening, I watched the most recent episode of “Happy Endings,” an ABC show that I find kind of lame (and yet I keep up with it every week). I am feeling under the weather today (sore throat), so looking forward to some R&R. Maybe an episode of “Modern Family.” It’s kind of interesting to blog about my TV watching, but as you will soon see, I am very consistent about watching my shows before they expire on hulu.

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TV shows

January 5th, 2012

I watch quite a few shows regularly even though I do not own a TV. Thanks to hulu and CBS.com I am able to keep up with my favorites. I enjoy coming home from work and unwinding with my knitting, my cat and my husband in front of the computer. My favorites include Survivor, Amazing Race (both CBS), The Good Wife (CBS), Top Chef (Bravo, episodes are available about 1 month after it airs), Glee (Fox), Parks and Recreation (NBC), and Modern Family (ABC).
Tonight, I will be watching “Switched at Birth” a relatively new show from the cable network ABC Family. I find it entertaining but somewhat overly dramatic.

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Trying something new

January 2nd, 2012

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Enjoyed our trip to Nor Cal

December 31st, 2011

Ben and I enjoyed a week in Northern California visiting my mom and dad. We saw their new house in Mountain View and enjoyed the famous sites of the San Francisco Bay Area. Places we went included
Stanford University campus (Palo Alto, CA)
Ranch San Antonio (Mountain View, CA)
Muir Woods (Marin County, CA)
San Francisco SPCA (San Francisco, CA)
beach at Half Moon Bay, CA
17-mile drive, Pebble Beach (Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA)
Monterey Bay Aquarium (Monterey, CA)
Milk Pail and Trader Joe’s (there aren’t any TJs in Utah)
Hendry and Rombauer Wineries (Napa Valley, CA)
took photos in front of the French Laundry (Yountville, CA)
ICI ice cream store started by Alice Water’s protege (Berkeley, CA)

Now we are ready to go back to Utah. Back to the Inversion. And to our sweet kitty (who is often full of rage and snobiness).