The New Polaroid

For my 27th birthday last month I got a new camera!

Not a new SLR.  Not a new digital camera.

A film camera!

As you can see, it's not just any film camera.

It's an INSTAX camera.

Instax, by Fujifilm, is the new Polaroid.

You take a picture, and voila, it pops out of the top of the camera.

When I told my hubby this is what I wanted for my birthday, he didn't even know what it was.

I first saw them on Studio 5 because these cameras are really hot with scrapbookers.

And while I'm not exactly a scrapbooker, I figured I could find more than enough ways to use this camera.

Even though Tom had never heard of this camera before, he outdid himself by finding me a PINK ONE!

I didn't even know they MADE pink ones!

I got to try it out on my nephew during my birthday dinner at Outback steakhouse.

I forget that kids these days have never seen or heard of Polaroid pictures.

So sad.

But to see my nephew's face light up as he watched the image slowly appear in the picture?

PRICELESS!

Just another reason they think I'm the COOLEST AUNT EVER!

(That, and I'm married to Crazy Uncle Tom.)

Happy birthday to me!

Crepes Crepes Crepes!

As you can probably guess from the title of this post, one of my favorite things in the entire world is CREPES!
But not just any crepe will do.
I am a crepe snob!

That's why I was STOKED to find a new crepe restaurant opened in Utah County!
It's called Roll Up Crepes.
Studio 5 asked if I would go check it out and take pictures for the show.
Best assignment ever!

This is the Nutella Strawberry Crepe. A staple of mine.
So delicious!

But they also have savory crepes like this one.
It's a turkey pesto crepe with cranberry drizzle.
Yeah, you might need to be adventurous to try it, but so worth it. I absolutely loved it!

The decor of this place also turns heads.
Like the fact there's a giant owl outside...

...Lots of owls inside...

...And a big tree in the middle of the restaurant!

Look closer at the tree and you'll see an engraving.
C&L stands for Curtis and Lexi.
The newlyweds that own Roll Up Crepes.
Guess how young they are!
Lexi is only 19 and her husband is 24.

Cutest couple ever!
They told me they started the business so they would never have to be apart.

Here's my friend Ashley showing off the chocolatey goodness.

And here's me licking chocolate off my knife.

And here's the menu now that you inevitably want to go there.
You'll find it at 1605 S State St, Orem, UT
And www.rollupmycrepe.com.

Other notes:
They have live music on Fridays and Saturdays.
All of their staff can sing (on top of their crepe-making skills).

They are open until 1 a.m. every night (closed Sundays.)

Look who was on TV today!

It's ME stuffing me face with dessert!
Watch for Tom too!

I love that I'm getting credit for discovering a store that's been open for 10 months already. LOL!
In reality, I feel like I was the last person to find out about it.
I was taking pictures so I could blog about The Chocolate, but ended up giving them to Studio 5.
But this makes a much cooler blog post, don't you think?

And if you think this is cool, stay tuned!
I'm going to be on Studio 5 FOR REAL this Monday, October 18th.
I'm going to be a model!
Well, a witch model...
Modeling witch hair...
Whatever! Make all the jokes you want. I'm excited!

A Utah County Gem called "Now & Then"

Disclaimer: I did not receive any goods, cash, or discounts for writing this post.

You HAVE to visit this store in Utah county.

I don't even know if you can call it a store, it's more of an experience.
I discovered it while looking for photography props.

It's called Now & Then, and it's just down the way from Thanksgiving Point. You can see it from I-15. It's next to "Rod Works."

The store is one-third antiques...

(That's a tobacco cart/stand)

...one-third consignment...

...one-third boutique...

(I love love love these boxes!)

...and 100 percent amazing.

(This was one of my FAVORITE items in the store!)

I couldn't believe all the cute stuff I found! And the prices are great!
Right now their necklaces are buy one get one FREE!

All their Campbell's antiques are 50% off! And they have A LOT!

They even have a MAN corner!

This is Dave. He and his wife Nicole own Now & Then.
He was super nice to let me take so many pictures of the store.
He even revealed what sale they're having next month!
In all of August, all of their boutique items will be buy one get one 50% off! That's ONE-THIRD of the entire store!!

Are you ready to see what I bought here? I'm SOOOOO excited about it!

I bought two sizes of these baby-themed baskets to use for my baby shoots. I already got to use this one today! And the best part is, they were only a couple bucks each! I had to ask to make sure the price was right! I heart this store!

Meanwhile, on the other side of town, D.I. (the local thrift store) is selling ugly used sunglasses for $5 each. What's up with THAT!

Ad-nalysis Sundays: Add Old Spice to the Grocery List

Because I want my man to smell like this:



He tells you to look away, but you couldn't could you!

This is originally a Superbowl commercial, and most of you have already seen it, but I couldn't NOT post this on Ad-nalysis Sunday. After last week's post, a few people said the Big Red commercial reminded them of this Old Spice commercial, especially when they sing "You'll watch YouTube on a horse."

What is it with horses in commercials these days, and why are they so darn funny? I supposed it makes the ads gallop into our hearts!

What really makes this commercial is the star actor, former Seattle Seahawk, Isaiah Mustafa, and his amazing delivery in ONE take!

Even Oprah took notice! Last Friday, Mr. Old Spice himself was on her show. Since the commercial came out, he's auditioned for a Tom Hanks movie, television pilots and Tyler Perry's upcoming film Colored Girls.

Oprah surprised Mr. Spice with a message from Tyler Perry himself, saying he got the job! How exciting!

Hopefully you learned something new from this week's Ad-nalysis, even if you've seen the commercial before. And if at least one one person sees this ad for the first time on my blog, my work is done! (I'm guessing that one person is probably my mom.)

Be sure to come back every week for Ad-nalysis Sundays!

Cakes and Giveaways!

This is Mallory.
Mallory is a good friend in my neighborhood.
Not only is Mallory GORGEOUS, but she's also super creative.
But I've managed to get past my jealousy so I can share some of her talents with you. In pictures and with a GIVEAWAY! (Details at the end of this post.)

One of the things Mallory makes is cakes.
Impressive fondant cakes.
You can check out all her creations here on her blog.
Here's a little taste.
(Click on any of the pictures in this post to make them bigger.)

I've always wanted to know how fondant cakes are made, so Mallory showed me.
This is not a tutorial, because there's no way I can remember everything she did.
Rather, it's a glimpse into the magical world of cake-making.
And it's supposed to make you drool, then order one of Mallory's super-amazing, super-inexpensive cakes.
Mallory charges next to nothing for her cakes because it's like therapy for her. She loves it.

First things first, did you know the fondant is made from marshmallows?
I didn't until this moment.
But it totally makes sense.
Now that I think about it, it does taste like marshmallows.

I should rephrase that.
Fondant is made from marshmellows and LOTS and LOTS of powdered sugar.

When you keep adding sugar, eventually the white blob turns into a white play-doh-like ball.

Did you know fondant cakes are make with more than one kind of icing?
Here Mallory is making a sugar icing.
It works as a glue to hold the cake all together.

Then Mallory gets out her trusty little cutting tool to cut the cake.
(She made the cake the day before and froze it.)
Pretty cool gadget, eh?

The cake Mallory is making is for a missionary farewell party.
The missionary was called to Omaha, Nebraska, so Mallory cut the cake into the shape of Nebraska.

This is me eating the scraps from cake.
Holy cow was it delicious!
Quite possibly the best cake I've ever eaten.
It was lemon and white chocolate flavored.

Next Mallory fills the cake with pudding, adds the top layer, and ices it all over.

Then she gets the ball of fondant out again (it was in the fridge), rolls it out, and places it over the cake.

After cutting off the excess fondant, Mallory gets out another cool gadget.
I call this one the "smooth operator" because it smooths the icing all over.

With the fondant scraps, Mallory balls it up again and adds brown food coloring.
She is making a belt for the cake.

Yellow food coloring for the belt buckle.

Here Mallory is making Rice Krispy treats.
This is one of her little secrets.
For specific shapes on top of her cakes, Rice Krispy treats work really well because she can cut it into what ever she wants and it will hold its shape.
Today she is making a tie.

She covers the tie with blue and red fondant.

Mallory adds the tie to the cake. Adds a pocket and a missionary tag...

And viola!
A fondant cake in the shake of Nebraska (with a star over Omaha).
The cake is also a shirt with a tie!
Perfect for a missionary!

GIVEAWAY TIME!!

Mallory doesn't just make cakes, she's also amazing at making truffles!
Need proof? Okay!
One lucky reader will win a batch of her delicious truffles.
All you have to do is leave a comment on this post.
Want a second entry?
Follow my blog publicly and tell me in a second comment that you are doing so.
I know this is a cheap way for me to get more followers, but whatevs.
It's my blog and I can do what I want!

What? You don't live in Utah County or Salt Lake County?
You can still enter!
If you win, I'll throw a party with your truffles, then e-mail you pictures of us eating them.
It'll be like you were there too!

Make sure you leave your e-mail in your comment so I can contact you if you win.
The winner will be expected to come and pick up his/her prize.
Trust me, they're well worth the drive!

The giveaway ends this Sunday (March 14) at 10 p.m.
Plenty of time to enter the giveaway and tell all your friends to enter!

Good Luck!