Autumn Amelia

Hello everyone!

Last weekend Erik and I had a fun Christmas themed date night!

We started out at the Grand America Hotel.

The Grand America is a luxurious hotel in Downtown Salt Lake City.

And if you have visited my blog before you know my love for it runs deep...

We like to stay there to celebrate special occasions.

We have always wanted to stay there in December.

But, with Christmas, it just doesn't make sense for us financially...

This year we decided to go explore the grounds and see all of the decorations first hand.

And it did not disappoint!

The exterior of the hotel is covered in lights and wreaths.

The lobby is filled with trees, wreaths and garlands.
We happened to arrive during afternoon tea and were able to hear the harpist playing Christmas carols.
Each table had gorgeous vintage pieces such as nutcrackers or Christmas trees.

After exploring the lobby, we headed to their holiday window displays.

This year the windows displayed scenes from the Night Before Christmas.

In the bottom corner of each window was another miniature display showing a little mice family preparing for the holidays.

And we can't forget the gingerbread house!

It was HUGE!

This year's house was a recreation of the hotel itself.

Little mice were guests and it even had lights on the inside!

A hotel employee was there to pass out candy canes and take pictures.

After we finished strolling through the window displays we headed to one of my favorite spots, the courtyard.

The trees were covered in lights, each archway had its own wreath and there was a tall beautifully decorated Christmas tree with ornaments the size of my head.

I loved exploring the hotel and discovering all it had to offer for the holiday season. 

I am ready to move in now...

After soaking in the amazingness that is the Grand America we headed down the street to the Eccles Theater to see A Christmas Story the Musical.

A Christmas Story holds a special place in our hearts as it's one of the only Christmas traditions Erik and I have created on our own.

TBS plays A Christmas Story for 24 hours straight on Christmas Day.

Our first married Christmas in our little apartment Erik and I watched it while eating breakfast.

The next year we happened to do the same thing.

And then the next and the next and the next.

It has become a tradition we love deeply and we have such a fun time watching it.

Each year it grows on us more and more and we usually find a new quote that we add to our vocabulary.

When we heard the musical was coming to town we decided we needed to see it.

We bought our tickets months ago and have been (not so) patiently waiting.

We went in not knowing anything and really enjoyed it!

We felt that they did the movie justice.

There were a few things that were different but it didn't differ too much from the original story.

Also, they had real dogs in the play so you know I was in heaven.

Needless to say at the end of the night we were definitely feeling the Christmas spirit.

Maybe we have some new traditions on our hands?

What are some of your favorite Christmas traditions?

All my love, 

Autumn

Hello everyone!

Over the weekend Erik and I had a date night to the pumpkin patch.

They have several types of animals that you can feed.

They have a year-round market where you can shop fresh produce and home goods.

They have a corn maze, hay slide and offer tractor rides.

Among other things!

It was rather busy as it was a Friday in the middle of October...
We grabbed ourselves a wheelbarrow and started our search for the perfect pumpkin.

I don't know about you...
But I am pretty picky when it comes to my pumpkin.
I have to feel like I have seen everyone in the patch before I can make a decision.


The sun started to set shortly after we got there.

It was gorgeous and slowly added a golden hue to everything around us.

Autumn

Hello everyone!

While Erik and I were in California we made a stop at Black Tap Craft Burgers and Shakes.

They opened earlier this year in Downtown Disney and I was dying to try one of their famed Crazy Shakes.

Erik was even more excited!

During the countdown to our trip, I would say "9 days to Disneyland!"
His response was always "You mean 9 days to crazy shakes..."

Since we were both SO excited we made it our first meal and it did not disappoint. 

To enter the resteraunt you wait in line to place your order at a counter.

To the left of the counter, you can watch the Crazy Shakes come to life!

Definitely watch one or two be made.

It is mesmerizing...

Once your order is placed your waiter seats you and your food follows soon after.
Erik and I were lucky enough to score a table on the outdoor patio.

Erik ordered the Cake Shake.

 A cake batter shake with a vanilla frosted rim with rainbow sprinkles topped with a Funfetti cake slice, whipped cream, rainbow sprinkles and a cherry.

Yes. You read that right. The milkshake is topped with a slice of cake.

Did I mention they were crazy?

I ordered the Cookies 'N Cream Supreme.

An Oreo shake with a vanilla frosted rim with crushed Oreo topped with a cookies and cream ice cream sandwich, crumbled Oreo, whipped cream and chocolate drizzle.

We also split an order of fries with their special sauce on the side.
The special sauce reminded us of the Campfire Sauce served at Red Robin.
It's similar to fry sauce (for us Utah folk) but has a smokey flavor to it.

The shakes were delicious and so fun!

We each wanted to try our own shake so we decided to make them our dinner.

Erik and I have few regrets about our recent vacation but, not stopping at Black Tap a second time is the biggest...

The shakes were so tasty that we wanted to see how their food compared.

I have heard great things!

I would highly recommend making a stop here the next time you are in Disneyland. 

Just a fair warning the shakes run on the expensive side...

They range from $15 - $17.

Split one and thank me later!

Black Tap originated in New York and I am hoping I can convince Erik to take a trip there just by mentioning a shake trip.

Think it will work?

Have you been to Black Tap?

What did you think?

All my love,

Autumn

Hello everyone!

At the beginning of the year, I created a 26 for 26 list, a list of 26 things for me to do in my 26th year.

When I created the list there were several things I remember putting down and thinking "That will never happen..."

We are barely halfway into my 26th year and guess what?

I have officially checked off all of those things that will "never happen."

The biggest one?

Seeing Elton John on his farewell tour.

I was so sure it wouldn't happen that I technically didn't even put it on my list.

It was excluded all the way to the bottom of the page.

Scalpers bought a majority of the tickets and jacked up their price tenfold.

There was no way Erik and I could afford them.

So, for the past year, I have been entering every contest I could find online with no success.

The past few weeks Erik and I tried with all of our might to win tickets on the radio.

Erik even got through and was put in a drawing!

But he didn't win...

On the day of the concert, I was so bummed.

Erik kept encouraging me to just grab some expensive tickets or I would regret it.

I spent the day on my phone refreshing personal ads and Ticketmaster.

The prices dropped a little and I finally caved and bought some cheap "obstructed view" seats. 

It was still way out of our price range but you only live once right?

I NEVER let myself be spontaneous or irresponsible but, I just had a feeling it would all be okay.

We bought tickets hours before the concert and I do not regret it one bit.

To see a legend live in concert was simply amazing.

It is one of the best concerts I have ever been to.
I have never seen a stadium so full.

And the seats?

We couldn't see the stage but we sure could see Elton.

We were closer to him than half of the arena.
He gave an amazing performance.
He's still got it!

This year has been unbelievable for me. 

To check off so many things that I thought would never happen before even accomplishing things that I could do in a week, who would have thought?

To chase my dreams.

To let myself live a little.
To not always be so responsible.

All my love, 

Autumn

Hello everyone!

Over the weekend Erik and I attended Swiss Days for the first time.

Swiss Days is an event held in Midway, Utah each year as it holds Swiss Heritage.

It is full of live entertainment, vendor booths, food and Swiss pride!

I have wanted to go for the last few years and finally made it happen.

This 26 for 26 list is really getting me out. 😉

We arrived at the event around noon and boy was it packed.

Tack that on top of the record-breaking heat we have been having in Utah and I was exhausted five minutes in.

We found sanctuary in a few indoor markets, hung out in the shade, grabbed some lemon yodels, then camped out near the stage.

After cooling down a bit we made our way through all of the booths.

There were a lot of fun things especially holiday decor!

Erik and I didn't snag anything as we are trying to save all of our money for Disneyland but, there were a few things I definitely had my eye on.

After walking through almost 200 booths we worked up an appetite. 

We saw so many people walking around with large scones that looked very tantalizing.

We decided to grab some of our own. 

Mine was the size of a small child!

It was seriously HUGE!

I gathered so many looks walking from the booth to our table.

And can I tell you it did not disappoint!

That thing was delicious...

After six hours, some gnarly sunburns and bellies full of scone we decided to call it a day. 

It was a lot of fun getting to experience Swiss Days for the first time. 

We learned a few things that will have us more prepared for next time.

Like get there early, plan on camping out for the day and pack sunscreen!

It also got me super excited for our upcoming trip.

Why do the days leading up to vacation always feel extremely long?

How did you spend your Labor Day weekend?