52 New Things: Bought 10 Boxes of Cereal and saved $30 on Groceries! (0 to go:)

Wow,  I went to Smith's and everything was on sale.  So I bought $86 worth of groceries, but I saved $30:)  And now I have a massive amount of healthy, delicious, nonperishable food.

Special K was on sale for $1.79,  come on.

Yum!  I love having food.

Well, there you go! 52 new things.  I liked doing it, but I think the most important new things I did were not the ones I blogged about:)  Here's to another year full of trying new things!!!

52 New Things: Saw Frozen (2 to go)

We went and saw Frozen.  It was so good!  The music was very "musical" style, not typical Disney.  There were a lot of life lessons, particularly about love and emotional health.  

Christoph.  He's a bit of a fixer-upper.:)

And of course, this guy was everyone's favorite character;)

52 New Things: Went to Mt. Fuji Sushi, Farr Fresh and Heard this Band (3 to go)

Awwww!  They're so cute:)

 We went to Mt Fuji!  It was during happy hour, so it was pretty crowded.

These guys were really good!

They were really great, totally not "sushi" music at all, but I loved them:)  We went to Farr's frozen yogurt after, that was delicious!  And yes, it was probably 12 degrees outside.

52 New Things: My Hair Adventure... (6 to go)

So.  Several new things. This week has been a hair adventure.  I attempted to put in some subtle ombre highlights.  They turned out pretty well, but the dye I used to tone it was actually a high lift dye, and it turned my hair suuper red!

"Hmm, I wonder what's happening under this cap right now.  Probably my hair's turning orange."

It was Sunday the next day, so I had to go to church with orange hair. (You're welcome.)

The sun'll come out...tomorrow! This is a fairly accurate pic of the color

I went to Salt Lake for Christmas.  I got my sister's hair dresser to do my hair.  She didn't think it was that bad (my first red flag).  She said she could still do the highlights and dye the rest back to the original dark brown.  Cool:)  But not cool at the same time, because it was still orange when I left.  Yes, I cried in the car on the way home.  Yes, like a baby.  Yes, for the first time I contemplated that I might have to live the next five years with orange hair.

So relaxed, just sending in sample pics to Sesame Street in case they like the eyebrow look on me.  Because yes, I bleached them out too.  Totally unaware that the dye would NOT hold at all and I would still have orange hair.

I made an appointment for a color correction at a really nice salon a few blocks from my house.  By nice, I mean expensive.  I read some mixed reviews, and I started to get a little worried that I would have a similar experience as at my last hair appointment.

So I had an idea.  This one was actually good.  I thought, why don't I just get a couple boxes of dye and toner and do a strip test.  If it turns out, money in the bank.  If not, I'll just go to the salon.  And you know what?  Money in the bank:)  After presents on Christmas morning (and no Christmas pics, sorry) Mom and I scrubbed up and did a little hair repair.  I conditioned it for an hour afterward (because my hair had been treated how many times by now???).  When I washed it out, ahhhhhhhhhh it wasn't orange anymore!

The roots were very, very dark. In my zeal to wash out the extra dye, I toned it down a little (It's still darker than before:/) but I really washed out the bottom right under the line of dark dye.

There is a distinct line between dark and light (symbolic?;)

The brassiness is probably the bigger problem.  It wouldn't be so noticeable if it wasn't so red.

I like the subtle highlights showing through:)

Line of red in the middle of my hair

And I just couldn't leave it.  I got the Revlon Frost and Glow Honey highlighting kit and light ash brown dye. 

I put in the highlights in.  I looked a little like Rouge from x men:)  

Then I toned them with the dye.  I also put some of the dye just lightly on the black part of my hair.  Guess what? It actually turned out pretty great:)  Not perfect, yes over-processed (ha) but luckily I have beastly hair that is thick and full of body and basically nothing can destroy it.  Of course I will be babying it for the next few months, but I think it'll be fine:) I got a purple toning shampoo to help balance out the slightly red and gold tones that are still in my hair.  Other than that, I finally like it:)

Ahh, so subtle, just the way I like it:)

52 New Things: Made this Afghan (12 to go)

I made this pretty afghan and just finished a few days ago.  I love it soo much!  I love how it turned out with the X.  I wish the light pink was a little darker.. you can barely tell it's different than the white. I wanted it to be more of a fade than light/dark contrast.  Oh, well:)  I have ideas of what I want to make, it's just hard to translate them into blankets with very limited colors at the craft store.

52 New Things: Got a Kitchenaid! (14 to go)

Let's just say, Christmas came a little early this year and I am the happiest woman on the planet:)  I've already made cookies, pizza, bread, cinnamon rolls and frosting, and I can't WAIT to keep using this beaut:)  Baking just got better.

Ahhhh...sooo beautiful:)

52 New Things: Ate and Made the Liège Waffle (15 to go)

Part One: Eating the waffles

I'm counting this one as two new things.  A couple weeks back, Chris' parents were in town. His dad had served and LDS mission in the Netherlands and wanted to get these authentic waffles in downtown Salt Lake at Bruges Waffles & Frites.

Bruges Waffles & Frites downtown Salt Lake

They were indescribable.  But let me try anyway.  The liège waffle goes by many different names: Brussles waffle, Flemish waffle, Bergische waffle, or simply, sugar waffle.  

It was like no waffle I'd ever had.  They were crusty and carmelized on the outside with a little hint of cinnamon. They were doughy, gooey, sweet deliciousness on the inside.  The flavor was complex and tasted nothing like any other waffle I'd ever had.  They were very sweet, but that didn't inhibit the flavor.  The texture was so variable, my mind was blown.

Chris and I went back twice in the next couple of weeks to have them. 

To Salt Lake. 

They were that good.

Okay, we were already in Salt Lake both times, but I WOULD have driven 60 minutes to taste these waffles.  I knew I had to create them myself.

Most of the ingredients in these waffles are common, except for the Belgium pearl sugar.

Belgium pearl sugar is different from Swedish or Swiss, because it easily caramelizes with heat, where as the others stay solid. Important, because you don't want crunchy chunks of sugar in your waffles, just crusty caramel.:)

Part Two: Making the waffles

As I have expressed, these waffles are VERY unique and VERY different from regular Belguim waffles.  I wanted to make them right.  I researched and read a lot about how to make them and compared a lot of recipes. I finally settled on this baby.  

Why?  Primarily because this guy has an entire blog, no no, not blog post,  an ENTIRE BLOG dedicated just to these waffles.  Yeah, they're good:)  This recipe was very specific and explained why each step was essential to creating an authentic liège waffle.  

This recipe starts the dough making process the day before.  It's quite specific about amounts and mixing times.  I was sooooooo happy when my dough balled up within 30 seconds of when he said it should!  Victory, part one:)  But I'm not gonna lie, I skimped a little on the 4 hour rising period to "develop the flavor."  Because I wanted to go to bed before 2:00.  Silly me.  Baking should always come first;)

     *Side note; the morning after rising, I made pumpkin pancakes with some leftover pumpkin from

pumpkin bread. Can I just state that I love fall and baking with pumpkin:)))??? But I thought it 

would be inappropriate to serve simple pumpkin pancakes along with these gourmet waffles, 

so we ate them all this morning.:)

Anyway, the dough sat in the fridge all day (under heavy objects of course, wouldn't want that dough getting all crazy and trying to rise...) while I was at work.  After work I came home and my pearl sugar had arrived!  I ordered it off Amazon.  Lars Own was the recommended brand, so that's what I bought. 

I mixed it into the dough, let it rise 90 minutes and threw them in the waffle iron.  I played with turning the iron off and on because it was hotter than the recommended fancy cast iron Liège waffle iron.

They turned out perfect!!!!!

After crouching with my chin on the counter watching them cook, I took my first bite and was literally jumping for joy.  They were just like the ones we had:)  VICTORY!

                  

52 New Things: Indian Food (17 to go)

I went with my great ex-roommie Rosi to get Indian food this week.  It was soooo yummy!  I'd never had Indian food before.  We went to India Palace on Center Street in Provo.

It seemed really authentic. The entire staff appeared to be Indian.

We ordered some traditional Tandoori Naan.   It was soo delicious.  Like a really fluffy, light tortilla.  I ordered Chicken Coconut Korma, which was delllllicous. They brought it out with really flavorful rice. They brought our food out in these unique little bowls.  Everything was very unique and Indian in the restaruant.

I thought it was a little pricey and didn't look like that much food, but I had a lot leftover, so for two meals, it really wasn't bad.  You could easily split a curry dish and naan for $15.  And the service was superb:)  Now I love Indian food! Soo yummy.

52 New Things: Saw the Lumineers at Saltair (18 to go)

We went to the Lumineers concert at Saltair!  Unfortunately, due to inclement weather, they had to stop the show about half way through the Lumineers set..:/  But we did get to hear two AWESOME opening bands, Nathaniel Ratliff and Dr. Dog. They played on the stage, but the Lumineers had to set up on the balcony for safety reasons.  At least we got to hear some of their stuff:)  They also played a new song for us, Falling.

Saltair

The Lumineers, on the balcony at Saltair

Beautiful sunset over the lake

Yeah, there were some paparazzi there too;)

52 New Things: Had Funnel Cake (19 to go)

Funnel cake is a big deal.  I get this.  I had just never had it before.  Until now!  And all I have to say is...it was delicious. We went to an outdoor concert in Park City and I got to try my first funnel cake!

52 New Things: Quoted in the Daily Herald & Meridian Magazine(20 to go)

I sent out a press release to a bunch of local news outlets about our new free custom pediatric orthotics program that we're starting at my work.  Someone came to do a story and take some photographs, and I totally got quoted!:)

An orthotic is a "device you wear in your shoe that corrects gait or structural abnormalities that can be painful and lead to injury if not corrected," said Michelle Allen, who works in Dr. Gibson's office. "It is just painful for kids if they have an abnormality. We don't want them to have to wait until they are an adult to get an orthotic. If they do sports or dance or they are running around all day, it could lead to problems later in life."

The story was originally by the Daily Herald and also picked up by Meridian Magazine. Yeah, now I'm cool.:)

Dr. Gibson casting for orthotics at Mountain West Foot & Ankle Institute

My boss, being a boss at casting for orthotics:)

52 New Things: Played a Cigar Box Guitar (21 to go)

Cigar box guitar!

We went to the Provo rooftop concert series, and there was a guy there selling his handmade cigar box guitars.  He had some that were signed by really famous people, (apparently...I didn't know any of them, which is not saying much;)

Also, I dig this whole outfit.  I like the blue turquoise earrings with this top.  And of course the $.99 headphones really pull it all together...

52 New Things: Bear Lake, Evanston, and El Sabor (22 to go)

In July my sisters and mom and I went to Bear Lake! I've been several times before, but this was new because I was driving.  We stayed three days at Bear Lake and it was beautiful. It was hot and the water was cool.  The town is so peaceful and I love all the touristy little gift shops. I can't help it:) We ate at this new restaurant, El Sabor.  It truly was so flavorful.  On the way home, there was a terrible accident and after sitting on the free way for two hours, we were guided to U-turn back to Evanston, Wyoming.  We got the LAST room in the Best Western.  We were so lucky.  It was like walking into heaven when we walked into our room and saw the beautiful beds after driving all day and being stuck on the freeway.  We made it home safe and sound the next day after our little adventure:) And there are a million photos.  Deal with it.

Driving in the middle of nowhere:)

Goofs in the backseat

Jumping bean Emily

In the perfect lake:)

Just chillin on the beach

Shell henge

Sandy toes

A mermaid washed up on the beach!

We got bored waiting for our pizza...

Beautiful hollyhocks:)

Beach time

Happy mama:)

MMM!  El Sabor!

Where the burritos are literally as big as your face.

Crashing into a big comfy bed after a long day of driving:) If that's not nice, I don't know what is.