We're Not In Los Angeles Anymore...

The weekend has been an amazing one already.

Friday night we were supposed to tend Kate's favorite cousin, Cammie, while the rest of her fam went skiing. Because of the snow storm, Aunt Jenny decided the girls would stay home and have slumber parties. They invited Kate over to play, which left me and Dave to go out by ourselves. Mmmm...lovely.

We kicked off the evening by going to Spark Restaurant Lounge in downtown Provo. We had heard great things about this place and decided it deserved a visit from the Blackhursts.So...upon first arrival, I was a little nervous. The inside is very "chic" for lack of better words. It's pretty modern and loungy inside. They have a bar that serves only non-alcoholic beverages, and a loft area for casual dining and drinking. We'd seen plenty of this sort of thing in Los Angeles, but it felt a little awkward for Utah County. Then came the awkward seating (have you ever eaten so close to other diners that you have to consciously try to not listen to their conversations?) Such was the case for us. So you can see why I was a little nervous, but mostly just worried that the food would be lacking.

Long story short, very impressed by the food. Okay, so not so short story...I got a flat iron steak served with sauteed spinach and a heavenly fried-on-the-outside, mashed on-the-inside potato. Dave had the salmon served over a bed of potatoes in cream sauce, as well as two different specialty beverages. And dessert was my absolute favorite...vanilla panna cotta served with kiwi, guava and passion fruit pearls. I know...what the heck is that? Heaven...mostly. But really, panna cotta is almost like a vanilla pudding or custard. And then it was topped with these little flavored tapioca beads. Sounds sick, especially since I don't like tapioca, but oh, ho, ho! Do try this if you can. Wish I had a pic for that one. Anyway, kudos to that place for going out on a limb and trying to bring a little bit of L.A. to Provo. After experiencing the food, I was suddenly okay with everything going on inside, and made me realize how much I like going to non-chain restaurants.

After dinner we came home to two little girls snuggled up in bed; wearing jammies, watching movies and giggling. It looked like Kate, too, very much enjoyed herself.

Thanks, Aunt Jenny!

So then this morning we were reminded that Utah is very different from L.A. in more ways than one. Snow is everywhere today and we tried to make the most of it...

Kate helped her dad shovel snow.

She also made snow angels (something I didn't realize she knew how to do).

And then we went sledding.

I officially love the weekends.