A Few Good Finds (Thanks to mom!)

I wanted to do a quick posts about a few awesome finds I've had lately. All of them are thanks to my mom so she deserves the credit. First is this book that she got me. I think I've been complaining a little too much about my current lot in life and so she got this for me. She worked with the author on the library board and his wife is Kathleen Hughes who was in the Relief Society General Presidency a few years ago. Anyway, I loved the book and it was full of advice and stories that made me feel so much better. One of my favorites was a chapter where he interviews his daughter and daughters-in-law. One of them commented about how one day she let her son watch "The Lion King" over and over again and she knew that that was bad but she knew it was better than killing her child. I could relate to that.
My second find is thanks to my mom and my sister-in-law Tonya (and Liza). If you haven't tried Hershey's Bliss yet, they're fabulous! If you're a fan of Dove chocolates these are pretty close. The dark chocolate ones are my favorite.My third find was found by my mom at her local grocery store. Her local Albertsons (she's only been able to find them on the center street one in Provo) sells fresh Brussels sprouts in steamable bags. They're sold in the produce section and they're delicious. Frozen Brussels sprouts are bitter and rubbery but these are fabulous. They taste just like candy. I think they may be better than the Bliss chocolates. They're so great because they're washed and ready and after about 7 minutes in the microwave they are fork tender and oh so yummy. You don't even have to load them with butter and salt to make them tasty. They taste fabulous plain! For dinner tonight we had PW's new recipe (link on the right) for Zucchini Cakes (really yummy by the way) with the sprouts - DI-VINE!
Last but not least, my last find was a cute restaurant she introduced me to in north Orem. It's called Max and Cheese and it's absolutely adorable. Their website is www.maxandcheese.com if you want to read more. They have this awesome kids meal (with no age limit) that includes cheesy macaroni with octo-dogs (hot dogs cut like an ocotpus). Their adult meny some totally yummy gourmet wraps and sandwiches. Everything we had was wonderful. Sophia's cheesy pasta was served in a metal dog food bowl. It was so cute. The whole thing is themed around a dog named Max (get it - Max and Cheese). Each table had a board game (Chutes and Ladders, Checkers, etc.) and they had the game pieces available for each game. They also had bibsters and sippy cups that you were free to could use.


The best part was these adorable booster seats they had. They looked just like a phone book. They were great (although Sophia wouldn't sit in it). They also had this whole play area in the middle of the restaurant that had a half wall built up around the whole thing. They had legos, puzzles, games, and a multiplicity of other toys to play with. It was way better than any other play place I've been too. It really is such a fun concept and you all need to go there so that they'll stay around for awhile.

Anyway, so there's my fun finds for the week. Hope you all have a fabulous 24th!