A few weeks ago I had the chance to go to Utah for a long weekend to visit friends. Since my job is the bain of my existence, getting to miss two days of it was the most fabulous thing that has happened to me in a long time. It was so, so fun.

 

The night I flew in, Jaime picked me up and we went straight to Happy Sumo. I'm so sad I didn't take a picture of our sushi that night because it was one of the most amazing sushi experiences I have ever had. I've had sushi at some other places, but there is just no equal to the perfection that is Happy Sumo, specifically the Cabana Roll. I don't know why, but it is one of the most glorious things I have ever put into my mouth. After dinner that night, I told Jaime that that meal made the plane trip (which was awful) totally worth it. Even if I'd done nothing else, I would have been happy to have just had that sushi. Except I DID do other things, which were also fabulous.

 

The next day, Jaime and I went to the Salt Lake temple, had lunch at Olive Garden, then met our good friends Hailey and Angela at City Creek Center in downtown Salt Lake. I'd never been to City Creek before. It's a beautiful outdoor mall, with some pretty sweet fountains and a great view of the Salt Lake temple. The temple is actually in this picture, but the light washed it out.

 

 



We did some good shopping and had dinner at The Cheesecake Factory. I was not kidding around with food on this trip. We ate out almost every meal and every meal was mind-numbing delicious. It didn't even feel excessive to eat out so many times in so few days. It felt right. And good.

That night we stayed in a sweet hotel in Salt Lake. It was supposed to be Jaime, me, DeeAura, and Whitney. Dee and Whitney ended up bailing for different reasons, so Jaime and I each enjoyed our own pillow-top mattresses and plethora of pillows. You know how I feel about hotels. Any hotel. Now times that by a lot and you'll get how I feel about nice hotels and not having to share a bed. I was in heaven.

Whitney drove down the next day and she, Jaime, and I went to the Saturday afternoon session of General Conference. It was so nice to be around friends who share my same beliefs and standards again. I love Indiana but I definitely miss that about Utah. Oh, and we had lunch at Cafe Rio, which was divine.

 

That night Jaime and I did some more shopping and topped off our eating binge with a nice, healthy meal at Texas Roadhouse.

Yes, this looks like a heart attack on a plate. But you know what else it looks like? Euphoria.

 

We spent the next day watching General Conference with her family and enjoying the culinary skills of Michelle Ulm, who is just as good as the chefs at the aforementioned restaurants. Except the sushi. Sorry, Chelle. It's really hard to top that sushi.

 

The next morning I flew back to Indiana. It was pretty much the saddest day of my life. My school experience was at its worst at that moment, and being in Utah was just so comfortable. It was really hard to go home to what I knew would be hell when I was just so content there with my friends and my former, much easier life. I actually missed my first flight because I couldn't get myself to get out of bed and get to the airport. I made it home, though, and got back to the grind.

 

Fortunately, it was timed just right so I got home at at time when my nieces and nephews were home. It's a lot easier to come home when you come home to cute faces and big hugs.