a night under the stars

Last week White & Case held their annual end of the summer event for all the summer associates and a guest at the Elevated Acre downtown. I had never heard of the elevated acre and apparently a lot of people haven't because our cab driver didn't even know where to go. When we finally found the address amongst the crowd of tall buildings there were a set of escalators and at the bottom there were ropes and bouncers only allowing White & Case guests to enter. As we were riding the escalators up we really didn't know what to expect and as we reached the top it opened up to an acre of land in the middle of all the buildings facing the East River. It was beautiful, I love that there are all these hidden gems in the city that we are still discovering.



There was a live band playing in a big white tent with a dance floor and a ton of amazing food everywhere. Although we didn't set foot on the dance floor I did enjoy meeting all the people Jason has been telling me about all summer. It was so fun to finally put a name with a face. Jason has met so many great people this summer and I loved seeing him interact with them on a professional level. I know he acts differently with me at home and it's always fun to see what others think of him and have to say about him (don't worry it was all good things). Once again I was "the wife". I love this title, for some reason people were a lot more interested in meeting "the wife" then others dates or girlfriends. I guess it means a little bit more, and you become a little more important, when you are actually one of the few who are married (Or at least that's what I hope).

As we were enjoying the food and company the band stopped the music and asked all of us to make our way to the boardwalk facing the East River for a special surprise. As the crowd gathered we were suddenly surprised with an amazing firework display. I thought it would be just a few fireworks and then we would get back to our dinner but it went on for at least 15 minutes (Ten times better than the Lewiston show). It was so fun to stand there and watch our own private show as the fireworks shot out in front of the South Street Seaport and Brooklyn Bridge. The show ended with an amazing finale while Frank Sinatra sang "New York, New York" in the background. Apparently this was the first year that White & Case has had a firework show at their annual ball and I am so glad they did. I had a wonderful evening feeling like I was someone important in this amazing city.

"If I can make it there, I'll make it anywhere" - Frank Sinatra, New York, New York

(I didn't take this picture but this is exactly what it looked like)

311 & snoop dog

Before I begin I would like to put the CNN rumor to rest - Snoop Dog is definitely NOT a Mormon.


Now, I know I already told you how much Jason loves Pearl Jam but take that love and times it by ten and that will tell you how much more he loves 311! If he meets someone that has heard of 311, and likes them, then he thinks they're cool but if he meets someone that loves 311, they are an instant friend.

Last night was my 4th 311 concert and we've only been together for 5 years. I know I'm a little too conservative for 311, and especially Snoop Dog, but what can I say, I love my husband. I will admit after my 4th concert I have gained a great appreciation for 311 but I wouldn't go as far as saying that I love them. I can sing most of the songs and I've learned to jump up and down to the beat so I'm starting to look like I belong in the crowd.

Last night was probably the craziest thing I have ever done in my life. Usually we are in the seats behind the standing crowd but this time we were right in the center of all the action and if you've ever been to a concert with a standing section, you know what the action consists of. The show opened with Fictionplane (Sting's son's band) and it got a little crowded but I didn't think it was so bad. Then Snoop came out and it got a little more crowded and I got stepped on a few times but again, not so bad. Finally, 311 was getting ready to come out and that's when the pushing began. We were front and center (right where everyone else wanted to be) and that's when the chaos started. I was pushed and shoved from every direction, covered in a lot of other people's sweat, trampled by crazy fans and I was still smiling at the end of the night.

I loved Snoop Dog. I know he's awkward looking and some of his songs aren't very appropriate, but he is so cool. He came out strutting his stuff with his "blinged" out microphone and the crowd went crazy. He started with some of his new songs but then he took us back to the good old "Doggystyle" days. Every time an old song would start I would be reminded of the times when I would sit in my brother, Ricky's, room with the speakers blasting while he and Trevor listened to Snoop. I was a little disappointed that he didn't sing "Murder was the Case" but he did sing several other classics.


And, of course, 311 was amazing as always and this year they sang ALL of my favorites. I have never been so close at a concert and it was so fun to see Doug's dance moves in person. I think Jason was in heaven all night. It's like he goes into his 311 mode and becomes a completely different person when they start playing. Although, last night most of his time was spent protecting me from the crazy "moshers" but he still loved it in the end. Looking back I really can't believe I actually participated in the chaos, but this will probably be the last time I ever do something like it. Next year I will be back where I belong - the seats!

Nick Hexum


Matis Yahu came out to help with "Love Song"


My favorite - Doug Martinez

fast food

There are always fun new restaurants popping up around the village and the other day we happened to walk by the newest sushi place in the neighborhood and noticed it was conveyor belt sushi. We had heard of this concept and remembered seeing it in a movie, so we decided to go Friday night and check it out. The concept behind the conveyor belt sushi is to offer the freshest sushi at an inexpensive cost. Allowing diners to view the food and see what they are getting up front. With the use of the conveyor belt you get less interaction with the waiters and it makes it easier for you to get in, eat, and get out.

You walk in and are seated in a row of booths with a little conveyor belt that runs down the center. At each station there is a computer where you can check out the menu, read up on what everything is and even place an order if there is something you want but don't see on the conveyor belt. Our favorite was watching each plate as it passed and trying to figure out what it was. The plates are also color coded so you know how much it will cost you. I know the concept is to offer inexpensive sushi but once you start grabbing plates you can get carried away and it starts to add up. Jason isn't a huge fan of sushi, so I don't thing this will be a regular thing for us, but he humored me and it actually turned out to be a fun dinning experience!
After our sushi we walked over to the dessert truck for some wonderful chocolate bread pudding. The dessert truck is new to NY this summer and was started by one of Le Cirque's former pastry chef's. This truck is parked in the same place every night and provides a variety of gourmet desserts out of their truck. On the website it reads, "At our mobile food truck, there's no BS, no pretension. Just really good desserts." And that is just what you get. We were a little leery at first but we loved our bread pudding so much that we went back with some friends the next night.

I love that New York is so fast passed that everyone is starting to catch on to the idea and have started to provide good food to the impatient consumer. I am loving this new concept of "fast" food.

on the streets of philadelphia

One of the great things about living on the East Coast is that all the states are smaller - making it easier, and faster, to travel from one state to the next. Our goal is to try and visit all of the major cities, so we decided to take advantage of the long weekend and hop on a bus to Philly.

The first thing we noticed when we arrived in Philadelphia is that it doesn't hold a candle to NYC. I expected it to be much larger then it was. There were only a few sky scrapers and everything was within walking distance. I guess I had imagined it being more like Boston but it was very small. I may be stretching it, but I would say that their downtown wasn't much bigger then SLC. Their buildings were a lot taller but there weren't that many more than Salt Lake. Okay, I may be exaggerating a little, and they do have several monuments and museums that Salt Lake doesn't have, but I just wanted to prove to you that it wasn't that big.

First on our list of things to do was jump on the double-decker tour bus and check out the city. For those of you who don't know - tour buses are our favorite. We've been on the NY bus 3 times and the Philly bus didn't disappoint. We learned all about the history of the city, saw the Rocky steps, Independence Hall, Reading Terminal Market and Betsey Ross' house, but our two favorites were Elfreth's Alley and the Eastern State Penitentiary.



Betsey's House



Elfreth's Alley


Jason - trying his hand at photography


The ESP was the first Penitentiary, built in the 1800's by the Quakers to help prisoners become "penitent" (hence the name penitentiary). They believed that every person had some good in them so they locked prisoners up in complete isolation in hopes that they would find the good within. Unfortunately their plan failed and most of the prisoners went crazy. Now you can only imagine the crazy things that happened here and, of course, we loved hearing about it. It was so creepy looking in their tiny stalls and imagining someone being locked in one for 23 hours a day with only a bible and no contact with anyone. Throughout the prison they have statues of white cats in honor of the cats that lived in the prison after it was closed in 1971. The cats alone freaked me out. After our audio tour and a guided tour about the riots that took place in the prison, we learned there is a haunted house in the prison for Halloween. We also LOVE haunted houses and haven't been able to find a good one out here. It looks like we will be returning to Philadelphia in October so we can freak ourselves out.

The creepy cats inside ESP


The little doors are entrances to the cells


Al Capone's cell


After our creepy experience at the prison we couldn't get enough of the scary stuff and decided to go on a candlight ghost tour of Philadelphia. We learned that a lot of our founding fathers still come back to haunt this great city and that Benjamin Franklin was a ladies man even after he died. Our tour was kind of boring, so after walking around with a broken flip-flop and our tour guide making a couple of rude Mormon jokes, we decided we had enough and ditched the end of the tour.

The rest of our trip was great. We relaxed, ate Philly cheese steaks, walked around the city, ate more cheese steaks, brushed up on our history and ate a few more Philly cheese steaks. I think Jason's mission on this trip was to find the best cheese steak in town, and after trying out a lot of places, he concluded that Jim's was the best. I don't think I have ever eaten so much of one food in a weekend, but I do have to say that the cheese steaks in Philly are AMAZING!!



We were able to catch two different firework shows in town and had a wonderful time celebrating the 4th of July in the city of brotherly love. One common phrase used on our tour was when the tour guide would describe a building or monument they would always say it was the 2nd largest of its kind next to NY or that it was the most famous behind NYC!! We quickly discovered (and laughed each time it was said) that no matter how hard they try, Philadelphia will always be the second best - and that is why we LOVE NYC!!



* This song was in my head the entire trip.

4th of july - lewiston style

This year, Jason and I will be celebrating the birth of our independence in the town where it all started - Philadelphia. But I am a little sad to be missing out on all the festivities in Lewiston. Growing up the 4th of July was like Christmas to me, I remember sweeping the gutters, planting flowers, pulling weeds, and cleaning the store, all in preparation for the big day. Each little town in Cache Valley hosts a celebration and the 4th of July (the best celebration of them all) is Lewiston’s. For one day - Lewiston is the place to be.

It all starts with the firing of the canons at 6 am that use to always blow me out of bed. I would jump up and get ready as fast as I could so that I would be one of the first in line at the fireman's pancake breakfast. My dad was a fireman so it was always so fun to walk over to the rodeo grounds with my mom and brothers and see my dad back in the kitchen running the show. After filling our belly's we would run back home and set out our chairs for the parade (before someone else parked their car in my parent’s driveway - it really happens). My parents live in the center of town (the prime location for watching the parade) and the streets are lined with cars and flat bed trailers several days before the big day to save their spots.

After the parade the celebration continues across the street at the park with several food booths, entertainment, 3-on-3 basketball tournament, dunking machine and - my favorite, the firetruck hose. The fire truck would pull up on the lawn and turn on the big hose, spraying water in the air for all the kids to run through (Lewiston’s version of a water park).

When the park got boring we would usually go back to my parent’s house and play on the sports court or walk over and watch the rodeo. Later that afternoon we would watch the softball tournament while waiting for the sun to set for the big firework show. I had a perfect shot of the fireworks from my parent’s front porch but for some reason it was always more fun to go over and lay out our blankets on the baseball diamond and watch the fireworks fall onto the horse tracks. The night would end with a dance in the church parking lot for the youth and our own little firework show in my parents driveway. It was a perfect day and I was always so sad to see it end. Although I won't be able to make it to Lewiston this year, I can't wait to carry on the excitement of the tradition with my own kids someday. I hope you all have a happy 4th of July, wherever you are.

The church across the street from my parents house where all the booths are at.


Downtown Lewiston: The library, town hall, and the theater


The bank, the gas station, and my parent's store