For the Luxury Lovers...

I love, love, love name brands--but I hesitate to spend money on them regularly, what with having the nuisance of a budget and bills to pay.  Name Droppers of Salt Lake City has an alternative.  It's a consignment shop exclusively for high end, status-label products.  So you can regularly find brands including Dooney and Bourke, Gucci, Fendi, Burberry, Dolce and Gabanna, Chanel, Prada, Ed Hardy, and Alberta Ferretti.  If you love the labels but want to save some money, shop at one of two fun Salt Lake locations;

3355 South Highland Drive
Salt Lake City, UT 84106
(801) 486-1128

2350 East Parley's Way (2100 South)
Salt Lake City, Ut
84109
801-474-1644

http://shopnamedroppers.com/

Your Monthly Meal Planner

One of my greatest challenges as a mom has been figuring out how to plan meals.  It's not just the amount of time it takes to prepare and cook the meal.  It's figuring out shopping lists, budgeting, and organizing the week of meals for your family.  There are multiple pay-for-subscription sites that offer meal planning complete with shopping lists--I've never been able to bring myself to do that.  But I just found a monthly meal planner that meticulously lays out what you're going to prepare, when you're going to eat it, and how you're going to shop for it.
It's nothing fancy--and that's what I like about it.  No special diet recommendations, no limits on what kinds of foods you'll prepare, and no elaborate web layout.  It's simple and easy.  There is a "weekly snapshot" that lays out what each week will look like.  This week's menu includes chicken brunswick stew with fully loaded biscuits; grandma's sloppy joes, veggies, and dill dip; chicken caccittore with rice; whiskey marinated steak with potatoes and mushroom, cranberry chicken, garlic chicken with artichokes, and bacon pie with pumpkin cobbler.  You have your basic standby's (sloppy joes, chicken soup), some flavorful alternatives (whiskey marinated steak), and some daring changes (bacon pie and pumpkin cobbler).  And I love how the meals suit the time of year.  Pumpkin cobbler is definitely a great autumn/winter dish.
I don't care who you are--any time you can have your work made easier for it, you should definitely take advantage of it.  So start planning your meals with the Monthly Meal Planner today!

http://monthlymealplanner.com/

Say Thank You this season by making a donation to the Utah Food Bank. They take your $1 donation and turn it into $7 dollars worth of food and services in the fight against hunger. In a nation where we are truly blessed beyond measure, it is frightening to realize how many of our own people go without basics such as food.

The Utah Food Bank makes a wonderful difference. Especially this time of year. You can get involved by running in the Utah Human Race on Thanksgiving Day. The race is held at the Draper Spectrum, November 24th. It includes a fun walk/run, 5K and 10K distances. Pick up a packet November 23rd from 8 am to 8 pm at the Utah Food Bank., located at 3150 S. 900 West, Salt Lake City, UT. Or you can making a donation at area grocery stores, or even make donations in lieu of gifts to clients and friends.

High School Student Body Officers from the Sandy area made a difference today by participating in a pie eating contest for the Utah Food Bank sponsored by Village in Inn and KUTV.

The Holiday Food Drive runs from October 15th to January 15th

Looking for something to read? Try GoodReads.

If you've already read everything by your favorite authors and don't know what to read next, try Goodreads (goodreads.com). It's a place where you can share ideas and tap into tons of book lists and recommendations from friends and family to top picks from the general populace.

You can keep track of books you've read and share your ratings with others. You can create your own login or login with Facebook and other social sites logins. I like that I can see what my friends recommend. I also like that I can sort lists by genre, author, etc.

Benihana Sushi For Two

Benihana's Salt Lake City location is ideal, especially this time of year.  Over the weekend, after attending a matinee performance of Ballet West's "The Nutcracker," my date and I stepped immediately next door to Benihana.  Their current "Sushi For Two" deal, at a price of 26.00, is a steal.  If you are a fan of good Sushi, you can appreciate what a great price this is.  It includes Miso soup, Benihana's house salad, edamame, one California Roll, and your choice of 6 other half rolls.  This amounts to a lot of food.  More than two can reasonably eat--which means you get a ton of variety and are more than satisfied by the time you leave.
Aside from the great price, there's a distinct benefit to having sushi instead of Benihana's signature large table/cook-it-right-in-front-of-you setting.  It's incredibly crowded to do so.  Benihana's upstairs, especially on the weekends, it's near madness.  Long waits and huge crowds.  However, the Sushi For Two special is only available in the lounge and sushi bar area, which is located downstairs.  And it's incredibly quiet and low-key.  For whatever reason, the large table settings are the major draw.  So while chaos and waiting ensues upstairs, you can enjoy a quiet atmosphere downstairs along with excellent sushi at a great price.

165 S West Temple

Salt Lake City, UT 84101

Phone: 801-322-2421

Fab.com for kitschy Christmas gifts

The current incarnation of Fab.com has only been around since June.  But this style and design retail site is hands down the coolest on the web.  You simply won't believe some of the crazy and fun gift items you can find here.  Most of them are not terribly useful, but incredibly hip.  

One product, announced this morning, that I want like nothing else, is the vintage rejuvenated typewriter.  Made by Kasbah Mod, they are beautifully restored, one of a kind, custom painted and artist styled machines.  The most coveted, in my mind, is the 24 kt gold plated "Double Oh-Seven."  Absolutely killer design piece for any writer.  

Visit Fab.com for details on how to get a free membership to their site and access to their exclusive deals.  Poring through their emails every morning is something I genuinely look forward to.  

Entertainment For the Whole Family This Christmas

There are very few attractions in Utah that are as accessible as Hogle Zoo. Consider this one fact: It's open every single day, besides Christmas and New Years. That may come as a surprise, given that the zoo tends to be a summer activity in the public's mind. Hogle Zoo, however, makes it's animal friends available to the public even during the holidays. Zoo Lights! is a newer attraction there, and runs from December 3rd through December 31st. The hours are Sunday-Wednesday, 5:30-8 P.M., and Thursday-Saturday, 5:30-9:00 PM.
If you want to make an extra special outing of it, bundle up and join the zoo on December 3rd to help switch on the lights--Santa will be there to kick of the 5th official year of the popular outdoor attraction. Also, in the Entry Plaza, there will be a "reindeer parade" each evening at 5:40 PM. 2 of Santa's reindeer will head to Santa's Station, and then Santa will be available to visit. In addition, nightly entertainment, including an Eco-Explorer Station, Ornament craft night, Ice Carving, and Carolers will be rotating during the month.
Follow the link below for more information on Zoo Lights, including ticket prices.

http://www.hoglezoo.org/promo/zoo-lights/