In Honor of Spring

In honor of the first day of Spring here are a few signs of Spring seen lately around our house. 

Really macaroons are a good idea year round, but eating macaroons on a pleasant Sunday afternoon after a light meal of quiche, it just felt like Spring. 

Where there are flowers in our yard, we have hands willing to pick them and make them into a bouquet.

My favorite thing about our house, is the non-fruit bearing cherry tree in our yard. I adore cherry blossoms and this pink hue of the buds before they blossom is just as beautiful as the blooms. If we ever move, this will be the part of our house that I will be most sad to leave behind. 

Hiking Salt Lake City's Mount Olympus

     I have a sister that is moving to the East Coast in a few months, and before she leaves she has a Utah Bucket List that she is trying to complete. One of the items on her list is climbing Mount Olympus. Having done so myself a few years ago, I would definitely agree that it is a worthy goal to include on her bucket list. The views of the Salt Lake Valley are breathtaking when you reach the top, really all along the trail, and cannot be beat. Summiting  the mountain was one of my greatest accomplishments. (Other items on her bucket list include visiting Arches National Park.)

     Most people would describe Mount Olympus as the most recognizable mountain peaks on the eastern side of Salt Lake City. It is not the tallest peak in the Salt Lake Valley, but it is definitely impressive at 9026 feet in elevation. The trail is very steep and involves a lot of switchbacks, many that are without shade. We climbed in the heat of July, and the blazing hot sun was one of the biggest challenges to our climb. When you get to the top of the trail, there is an area of boulders that you have to scramble for 15-20 minutes until you reach the top. While the rock scramble requires concentration (rocks have been known to tumble in this area and rattlesnakes are not uncommon), perhaps even more difficult is the trail leading to the saddle. This part of the trail is very steep, and required me to climb using both hands and feet. Because of the steepness of the trail, I almost preferred going up rather than down because it was really hard on the knees trying to slow my momentum on the way down. 

     In total the hike is 7 miles round-trip, and includes an elevation gain of 4,060 feet. In our favorite go-to guide for hiking in the area, 60 Miles Within 60 Miles: Salt Lake City by Greg Witt, the book states that "how you handle the trail's first 100 yards best predicts whether you'll make it to the summit." The hike took us eight hours (I'm not sure what the average is, but we tend to take breaks and hike slowly.) It is a difficult hike but if you are physically capable of taking this challenge and are in the area, I highly recommend it. The beautiful views of the Salt Lake Valley and mountain peaks of Big Cottonwood Canyon are rewards in and of themselves. 

     Here are a few tips I have learned to follow from this hiking experience as well as others. 

1. Take your time and enjoy it. The elevation gain is easier if you pace yourself. We brought lunch and had a picnic on the side of the trail. 
2. Be prepared for lots of switchbacks. If you are mentally prepared for this, it will make quitting harder.
3. Wear comfortable shoes and good socks. Blisters are not fun. 
4. Bring more water than you think you will need. I say this from experience because we ran out of water when we were only 1/3 of the way down the mountain. We climbed in July and while we started in the morning we were hiking down under the heat of the midday sun. 
5. Document. Sign the log book at the summit. Take pictures at the top and on the way up. One of the best parts about climbing the mountain are the "bragging" rights that come with being able to say that you summited Mount Olympus.

To get to the trailhead, take I-215 and the trail head is located on Wasatch Boulevard. 

All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

     When I first heard about the book All the Light We Cannot See, I immediately placed myself upon the library hold list. I was number 176. I was tempted several times to buy the book because I didn't think that I would ever make it to the top of the list, but with a little luck (and a two-week checkout) it only took three months.
     The novel is set during WWII in Saint-Malo France, located in Brittany in northwestern France on the English Channel.  The story follows the lives of two main characters, a blind French girl, Marie-Laure and a German boy named Werner and shows the life-altering changes that war brings to the lives of each. Throughout the novel, the author does an amazing job of conveying the little ways in which people act with humanity and bravery, despite the difficult circumstances. I think that the way the author ended the book was both realistic and perfect in describing the impact that living through such devastation can cause.
    (This may sound like a little bit of a spoiler, but I cannot help saying that when the lives of the two characters briefly intersect, I half expected that they would fall in love and there would be a happy ending with the two of them together.  Obviously my hope was far fetched considering the wartime circumstances...)
    All the Light We Cannot See was definitely a book that made me think. Each time I set down the book, I thought about it constantly until I could pick it up and read again. I stayed up late for several nights because I wanted to know what would happen next. The format of the writing helped the book to feel like a quick read. The chapters average two-pages and skip back and forth between the two main-characters.

Here's a map showing where Saint-Malo is in relation to Paris. Image Source: Bing.com/maps

The author painted a vivid picture of Saint-Malo, the imagery (both through detailed words, and the cover of the book) is beautiful throughout, so I was curious to see what Saint-Malo looks like. This picture definitely makes me want to visit. Especially because the Brittany region of France is where

Kouign-amann is a specialty. 

Saint-Malo Image Source: Wikipedia.com

Trader Joe's Pantry Staples

     We love Trader Joe's at our house, for the price, quality, and taste. Over the past few years that we have frequently shopped there, we've come up with a list of "staples" that we like to have in our pantry. Here are a few of our favorites. We have several more that I will share some other time. 

1. Trader Joe's Carolina Gold Barbeque Sauce - Delicious on anything that we have grilled. A little on the sweet side. I recently had great success with Crockpot BBQ Chicken using this sauce. All I did was put some frozen chicken into the crockpot as well as 1/3 of the bottle of sauce and cooked it on low for 4-5 hours (until the chicken was done.) Then I pulled the chicken out and shredded it, leaving the sauce in the crockpot because it was pretty watery. Then we ate the chicken on sandwiches topped with a little of the sauce from the bottle. The meat was very moist and tender and delicious, not dry like some crockpot chicken can be.
2. Trader Joe's Crushed Garlic -  I think that this is a great buy for the price. It can tend to stink up your fridge if you don't close the jar tightly. 
3. Trader Giotto's Pesto Alla Genovese - My husband is pretty picky with pesto, it has to be good or he won't eat it. This is one pesto that he really enjoys. I use it on everything such as pizza, chicken, or sandwiches.
4. Trader Jose's Salsa Authentica - Pretty tasty for a canned salsa (although in my opinion nothing beats homemade salsa.) Reminds me of Pace Picante, but less chunky. 
5. Trader Giotto's Pizza Sauce - Love this stuff, not chunky at all which is a major requirement for me when it comes to pizza sauce. It can go moldy pretty quickly if you don't use it fast enough. 
6. Trader Joe's Garlic and Herb Pizza Dough - It is only $1.19 and allows me to make pizza spur of the moment, which is great in a house with two kids that love pizza.
7. Trader Joe's Double Creme Brie - Pictured below is the Canadian version of their Brie, they also have a French version. This was my first time buying the Canadian version (the clerk described it as a little less moist.) It was good but I much prefer the French version. Such a yummy treat, I have a hard time sharing. 
8. British Style Crumpets - A family favorite in our household, toasted with warm butter on top. We originally purchased these because my sister was having a "tea party" with the nieces in our family and I had always wondered what a crumpet tasted like. They are better than "English" muffins, and are quite delicious. It is hard to describe the taste, so the best thing that I can do is recommend that you try them.