Sweet Life in the Valley Blog -Utah Valley Provo Orem

Sweet Business Life * We Love Local and Handmade

2009-11-08T13:53:00.003-05:00

If you are selling your own handmade items, run a little business {sole proprietor}, are having a boutique etc. and would like to advertise on Sweet Life in The Valley we have a special advertising price for you. Please email me with your products or services for consideration. Please be sure they are relevant to our Sweet Life in The Valley readers and content.

sweetlifeinthevalley@gmail.com

Happenin in The Valley * Bijou Market

2009-11-04T16:19:00.004-05:00

{c lick to enlarge}

Zoony's Zippers headbands &

Ritzy Misfits monogram charm necklace

Both at the Bijou Market this weekend. Even better we are giveaway away one of each!

Midweek Giveaway
-fill out this form Bijou Market Giveaway Entry
-get extra entries by tweeting include @sweetlifeinthe in tweet, Facebook update with link, posting on your blog about this giveaway with link
-giveaway ends Friday November 6th at midnight

Bijou Market
Saturday November 7th
10am-4pm
501 N. 900 E.
Provo Utah
across from Gold's Gym

Announcement * Giveaways

2009-11-04T16:03:00.004-05:00

I have decided with all the opportunity for giveaways on Sweet Life in The Valley I will be posting Midweek Giveaways from now on as giveaways become available. They will be random and might last for one day or a whole week so check back often.

One Great Recipe * Autumn Apple Crisp

2009-11-03T13:08:00.005-05:00

Apple Crisp

6 tart apples
1 cup cup brown sugar
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup oatmeal
1/2 cup butter
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 cup of sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon

This is the perfect easy to make autumn recipe. It is as simple as can be.

Peel and slice apples. This handy peeler is the Apple Pro Peeler . Love using it to peel apples. It's so easy and easy to clean. You can either use an apple corer slicer like I did or slice the apples by hand in thicker slices.

Mix together 1 cup of sugar and 1 table spoon of cinnamon then toss into sliced apples.
Place cinnamon covered apples in 9x9 greased/buttered baking dish.
Mix together 1 cup cup brown sugar, 1/2 cup flour, 1/2 cup oatmeal, 1/2 cup room temperature butter, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, and 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg with fork. Butter will make the mixture lumpy. Sprinkle mixture over apples and bake at 350 degrees for 24-30 minutes until bubbling and apples are slightly soften but no mushy.
Enjoy with crème fraîche, freshly whipped cream or a good vanilla ice cream.

Given a sample by vendor/agency/brand

Sweet Life sponsor HugaMonkey.com Baby Slings starting at $25

Sweet Life Book Club * Double Feature

2009-11-02T14:42:00.005-05:00

This month's Sweet Life Book Club read is "The Actor and the Housewife" by Shannon Hale. You may recognize her name from the award winning young adult series "The Books of Bayern" or her previous adult novel "Austenland." Hale's newest book explores an improbable relationship between a Mormon homemaker and a famous actor.

Don't forget to join us in our Sweet Life Book Club Goodreads group to tell us what you think about "The Actor and the Housewife."

This month we are having a double feature due to our December Sweet Life Book Club read "Knit the Season". "Knit Two" by Kate Jacobs is coming out in paper back this week and will be our second read for the month of November. We want to make sure you have read "Friday Night Knit Club" {we read it last year in our Sweet Life Book Club} and "Knit Two" so you can enjoy "Knit the Season" by Kate Jacobs in December.

So this month join us in reading "Knit Two" along with The Actor and the Housewife" for November.

We have three copies of "The Actor and the Housewife" to give away! AND we are also giving away a copy of "Knit Two" in paper back.

Click here to enter to win:
Sweet Life Book Club Giveaway Form

If you would like to organize a Sweet Life Book Club in real life group please contact us at Sweetlifeinthevalley@gmail.com with Group Leader as the subject. We will get you the details about setting up a group.

By April & Jessica {Our Sweet Life Book Club Group Leader}

Sweet Business Life * Hands on Small Business with Kirtsy and Microsoft

2009-10-31T17:00:00.006-04:00

Just a quick reminder we are having another Kirtsy Hands on Small Business Class this Tuesday Nov. 3rd. Please note the location change. Here are a few questions you may have about the classes:

What are they teaching?
We will learn how to use
-Twitter
-Kirtsy
-Microsoft Office Live to share files photos and more
-Microsoft Office Live to build a free basic website

Do I need be have a business to come?
NOPE! You can use any of these applications for your personal life too.

- Learn how you can use Microsoft Office Live to build a business or family website.
- Learn how you can share everything from recipes to photos to business files on Microsoft Office Live
-Learn the basics of Twitter & Kirtsy

Will there be treats?
Of course! I always bring treats!

This week our treats are cupcakes from Cupcake Chic. Thanks Trista! Yum!

Can I bring a friend?
Yes! The more the merrier.

Does it cost anything?
Nope it's FREE sponsored by Microsoft Office Live.

Can I attend more than one class?
Yes! We have some new handouts from Microsoft Office Live. We want to interview some of you to be on the blog with Kirtsy and we are giving away Microsoft Office Small Business 2007 at each class. It's worth $500 girls so yahoo! A great prize for the business or soon to be business owners out there.

*Remember to bring you laptops iPhones, Blackerry's, Google phones etc. and business cards to pass around.

Tuesday, November 3rd, 7:00pm-9:00pm

Location: Western Community Bank (this is a new location)
1376 N State St Orem, UT 84057
801-222-9006
Click here to Register for this Event

Sweet Family Life * Taking Time for Photos * Clothes DownEast Basics

2009-10-29T20:13:00.001-04:00

{Photos by Marcel Walker}

When choosing clothes for your family photography session choose something that is you. If you are a casual family be casual. Matchy machty is out. Coordinating is in. Choose a color palette rather than one color.
Our color palette for our casual family session was boysenberry, grays and black. I loved that DownEast Basics hascoordinating prints for my daughter and I. Her Sweetheart Belt is the same boysenberry & white polka dot as my top. Her Love & Linger Top matches the boysenberry in the belt perfectly. The boys had on shades of gray for their tops, one is a Vintage Polo and the other a Pocket Tee.
Have fun with your colors. Choose something you are comfortable wearing and your photos will turn out better because it will show in your face and the way you hold yourself.

Sweet Deals * Soel Boutique

2009-10-29T15:07:00.000-04:00

Tip for locals:
Soel Boutique is having an amazing sale -Jeans for only $50

$50-$75 on jeans from...
Citizens of Humanity
Joes Jeans
Level 99
Diesel

Tops at $10
Shoes at $20
Sale ends when everything is sold.

Soel Boutique
The Shops at Riverwoods
4801 N. University Avenue 350 Provo
Provo, Utah

801.426.964

Happy Second Birthday to Sweet Life in The Valley

2009-10-28T13:47:00.005-04:00

I cannot believe it has already been two years today since my first post went up. It is still one of my favorites. I posted my One Great Recipe* Caramel Apples just in time for Halloween. I remember rushing out to the store to get some Halloween themed papers and ribbons, cutting some twigs for the handles and picking out the every best apples. Everyone make some of our Caramel Apples at home and celebrate with us! I will be making some tonight too.

Over the past two years many people have asked me why I started Sweet Life in The Valley. The main reason is to celebrate all the good in my life. I wanted to remind myself in written word and photos that I have a very blessed life from the family traditions to the great recipes handed down to me to the lovely field days with my kids to my favorite finds. I hope you all enjoy Sweet Life in The Valley as much as I enjoy creating it.

For a fabulous Birthday Celebration Giveaway we are giving away cupcakes to one of our Sweet Favorites The Sweet Tooth Fairy. The Vaneilla Squared Cupcakes are my favorite in case you were wondering.

Birthday Giveaway:
-We are giving away The Sweet Tooth Fairy Cupcakes to one of you!
-Email me with Happy Birthday as the subject to sweetlifeinthevalley@gmail.com
-Please include your name & address
-Ends Wednesday November 4th at Midnight

Disneyland Be Our Guest Giveaway * We Have a Winner!

2009-10-28T01:02:00.002-04:00

We have our winner for the Disneyland Be Our Guest giveaway! Stephanie H. We are so excited to go to Disneyland with Stephanie and her family for the wonderful Christmas Time celebrations.
Thanks to everyone who entered.

Disneyland Be Our Guest * We Have a Winner!

2009-10-28T01:02:00.000-04:00

Coming soon...

2009-10-27T12:44:00.002-04:00

I am checking all the extra entries twice and making sure I count every single one which is going to take some time. We had a whole ton of you enter to win the trip to Disneyland. I will be posting the winner later today.

Sweet Family Life * Taking Time for Photos * Hair * Studio Enizio

2009-10-27T07:45:00.002-04:00

It's that time of year where everyone is getting their family photos done to send out in Christmas cards. Since this is such a popular time of year for family photography we are posting a few tips to get ready.

Tip No. 1 Hair
This is a great time to update your hair cut and freshen your hair color. My daughter and I went to Studio Enizio in Lehi. Both of us were in need of a good trim. We brought photographer Marcel Walker along to do a couple of before and after shots.

Me- before on top below after my cut. Stylist and owner Cynthia Dean styled my hair.

Sha'- before her cut on top and after her cut below. Stylist Jocelyn Brown styled Sha's hair.

As you can see we didn't do a dramatic change to our hair we just trimmed them up to give a fresh finished look. I recommend getting your hair cut at least a week or two before your family photography session so you have time to play with your cut and get use to styling it especially if you have a new look that you aren't use to.
Both cuts turned out beautiful and so did the photos!
We loved the service at Studio Enizio. They have robes to wear rather than your top so your clothing is protected. The atmosphere was beautiful and roomy with calming blue walls. A very chic European feel. To top it off they offer drinks and snacks.
To see a slide show of our experience at Studio Enizio click here Marcel Walker Photographica Blog

For a complete list of services & location:
Studio Enizio
801.341.5041
3300 N Running Creek Way Building A-2
Lehi Utah 84043

Organic and Natural * Flowers

2009-10-26T13:19:00.002-04:00

{image by Organic Bouquet}

A lot of us are striving to fill our homes with natural, earth friendly and organic items. We do this with the clothing we wear, the food we put in our bodies and the products we put on our bodies, along with many other ways.

Our family sends a good amount of flowers to family members in the state of Utah and also in other states throughout the year. When I went online to check out some floral arrangement and ordering services, I started thinking about how I never have been terribly impressed with the flowers. Then, all of the sudden, it occurred to me: why wasn't I looking for eco-friendly organic all natural flowers like I do with everything else? Were they even out there? Would they be terribly expensive?

Well they ARE out there, they ARE affordable and the quality is much much higher. They strive to meet the highest social and environmental product standards set forth by the following certifying agencies: USDA certified Organic, Veriflora certified sustainable, Demeter certified Biodynamic, Fair Trade, Smart Certified, and Green-e. And they work hard to employ eco-friendly practices whenever possible by using recycled, recyclable, tree-free, biodegradable, compostable, post-consumer, wild-crafted, and/or all-natural materials, printing with vegetable-based inks, and using carbon offsets, renewable or efficient energy, and minimal toxic chemicals.

{image by California Organic Flowers}

Here are my two favorite companies:

California Organic Flowers is a wonderful company that prides itself on growing and then selling their own organic flowers from their farm. They also go by the motto that, "Flowers are our way of celebrating nature, and celebrating ourselves, so they just have to be grown in a way that cares for the environment or it defeats their whole purpose."

Organic Bouquet is a company that has been around since 2001 and works with their partner farms in providing their customers with organic and beautiful flowers to deliver. The company has played a key role in "the transformation of the floral industry by promoting and living up to the highest social and environmental standards—developing the most eco-friendly floral packaging, initiating the industry's first carbon offset program, and growing our flowers in a way that is gentle on the earth and that safeguards the ecology and the well-being of wildlife and farm workers"

Happy Flower Shopping!

by Vanessa {Sweet Life Contributor-click here to learn more about Vanessa}

Sweet Business Life * Alt Altitude Design Summit in Utah!

2009-10-25T15:23:00.005-04:00

I am beyond excited that Kirtsy and the alt. Altitude Design Summit will be in Utah. Some of the very best in design including your favorite design & lifestyle bloggers are coming right here to Utah. Yes Utah! They are offering an early registration special of $100 off if you register before Oct 31st.

alt. Altitude Design Summit
@ The Grand America Hotel
Salt Lake City Utah
January 21st-23rd 2010

images from Aubrey Trinnaman, Jordan Ferney and Holli Conger

Sweet Holidays * Halloween Ideas and Fun

2009-10-24T17:59:00.005-04:00

Halloween is only a week away. It's time to carve pumpkins, prepare for parties, and get the costumes finished. Disneyland has a special Halloween Time site to help you prepare. There are fun interactive games that are very cool. If you have a web cam your kids are going to love it. I am using the Donald Duck pumpkin carving template for the jack-o-lantern I am carving today. They has some cute coloring pages you can print and masks too.
Family Fun's Halloween section is filled with some more great ideas for parties and pumpkin carving.

{Don't forget Monday is the last day to enter to win a trip to Disneyland!}

Fun Free Fridays Giveaway * Nature Valley

2009-10-23T15:45:00.008-04:00

Last week we went on a leaf peeping hike. We gathered leaves, berries, pine cones and more for some fall crafts.
Nature Valley gave us a pack full of an assortment of Nature Valley Granola Nut Clusters to try and snack on while hiking. The pack also came with a water bottle and some binoculars to peep at the leaves and other things on the mountain.
The kids and I enjoyed our Nature Valley Nut Clusters. My favorite was the Honey Roasted Peanut clusters. I love that they are all natural too.

This week on our Fun Free Fridays we are giving away a fun fall hike pack for one of you that includes Nature Valley Granola Nut Clusters “Snack Pack” prize pack with all four varieties of the Granola Nut Clusters along with a sling backpack, stainless steel water bottle, flashlight and binoculars. After your fall hike you can make some of these Autumn Wreaths with your family too.

{ To Enter to Win }

you must follow all the steps to be entered to win

-Send me an email with as NatureValley the subject to sweetlifeinthevalley@gmail.com

-Answer the question of the week: If we have a Craft Social would you come? Please fill out this anonymous survey for our craft social here Click Here to take survey

- Include your name & address (so we can send you your prize if you win)

-You have until midnight Thursday October 29th 2009 to enter the giveaway

BONUS Entries:
1} Refer someone & get an extra entry 1. Send the names of the people you referred with your entry 2. They enter you get an extra entry for each person who enters

2} Post this Giveaway on your Blog

3} Twitter about it include @sweetlifeinthe in your tweet

4} Post on Facebook
5} Put our Sweet Life button on your blog

Given a sample by vendor/agency/brand

Sweet Crafty Creations * Autumn Wreaths

2009-10-22T17:18:00.003-04:00

While we were on our leaf peeping hike we collected some colorful leaves, pine cones, seeds, berries and any other treasure from nature we wanted to add to our fall wreaths. This is such a simple wreath that everyone in the family can create from the tiny little pre-school aged kids to the teens to mom and dad and grandma too.

First cut out a cardboard base for your wreath. We decided to make square wreaths. When cutting out the center punching holes in the cardboard first makes it easier to cut.

{click on images for a closer look}

Next make a base layer of leaves covering the card board. I use tacky glue which you can find at almost any craft supplier. It sticks right away and drys clear. Be sure to over lap your edges. Next glue on your berries, nuts and seeds. Once all your nature finds are glued onto your base allow to dry completely. We decided to hang our wreaths on the wall with fall colored ribbon.

Tip: We did our fall craft outside on the picnic table to reduce the mess plus we enjoyed the crisp fall air and the pretty autumn colors.
Have fun with your Sweet Crafty Autumn Creation!

In The Valley * Becoming a Doula

2009-10-20T13:20:00.006-04:00

{photo by Season Atwater Photography}

As many of you have noticed I have twins. They were my first pregnancy. I really didn't know what I was doing. My mom gave birth out of state and we were all fairly new to the valley so we were at bit clueless as to finding a good doctor. A friend of mine at church was visiting classes that some local midwives were holding and I decided to check it out. I am sooo glad I did. After a lot of great education I was able to have two midwives as labor support at the hospital to help me through a vaginal birth of two healthy full sized twins.
I loved having the midwives there to be my advocate, help me with relaxation and make sure I was being taken care of as I wanted. Now there are Doula's in the valley who are trained just for the purpose of assisting your during labor and birth. If I am blessed with another baby I will have a Doula assisting me.

A lovely friend of mine Melissa, you may recognizer her as Raw Melissa (raw food lady), is one of these Doula's in The Valley. She is teaching Doula training classes at the beginning of November. If you have ever thought of working in this area her Doula classes are a great place to start. This is the first step toward training as a doula with the international organization, DONA. There is NO EXPERIENCE necessary.

Classes are
Dates:
Nov. 5th Thurs. 5pm-10pm
Nov. 6th Fri. 8am-6pm
Nov. 7th Saturday - 8am-6pm
Cost:
$300 (recovered in your first paying birth) including lunches and snacks for all three days, and a large syllabus of handouts.
She is willing to work with you on payment arrangements.

You can contact Melissa at
melissa@rawmelissa.com

website: rawmelissa.com
food twitter: twitter.com/rawmelissa
food blog: rawmelissa.blogspot.com
birth twitter: twitter.com/doulamelissa
birth blog: doulamelissa.blogspot.com

post sponsored by HugaMonkey.com Baby Slings starting at $25

Sweet Surprises * Larabar and Knit The Season for Our Disneyland Winner

2009-10-17T06:06:00.006-04:00

To Sweet our Disneyland giveaway Larabar has given us an assortment of Larabars to snack on while traveling. Yum! We love Larabars in our family. They are good & healthy. This means the winner of our Disneyland Giveaway will get some Larabars to snack on too. Yahoo!

Another Sweet addition to our Disneyland Giveaway prizes just in time for the holidays our Disneyland Giveaway winner will get a copy of Knit The Season the newest book by Kate Jacobs which comes out November 3rd. It also happens to be our Sweet Life Book Club read for the month of December. Perfect read on the airplane!
I have you covered for snacks and reading now let's see what else we can add to our Sweet Surprises...keeping checking back.

Fun Free Fridays Giveaway * Shade Clothing Anniversary

2009-10-16T17:59:00.007-04:00

Shade Clothing is having their Anniversary Sale from now until Oct.19th. Many of their items are up to 40% off. Not only are they having a sale but they have some really pretty new items in for Fall. Did you see the great heathered black Turtle Neck Dress I wore to the Kirtsy Hands on Small Business Class? I love the fit and cut, so perfect for Fall and Winter months. I also tried their Scoop Neck top with the V-Neck Cardigan. A good cardigan is always a staple in my wardrobe.

This week we are giving away a two $25 gift certificates to Shade Clothing!

Shade Clothing Anniversary Sale
October 15 - 19, 2009
www.shadeclothing.com

{ To Enter to Win }

you must follow all the steps to be entered to win

-Send me an email with as Shade Clothing the subject to sweetlifeinthevalley@gmail.com

-Answer the question of the week: What is your favorite fall activity?

- Include your name & address (so we can send you your prize if you win)

-You have until midnight Thursday October 22nd 2009 to enter the giveaway for one of two $25 gift certificates to Shade Clothing!

BONUS Entries:
1} Refer someone & get an extra entry 1. Send the names of the people you referred with your entry 2. They enter you get an extra entry for each person who enters

2} Post this Giveaway on your Blog

3} Twitter about it include @sweetlifeinthe in your tweet

4} Post on Facebook
5} Put our Sweet Life button on your blog

Given a sample by vendor/agency/brand

Sweet Life Etsy Shop * Halloween Tutus

2009-10-16T16:52:00.003-04:00

I just listed some more Sweet Life Grow with Me Tutus in our Etsy shop. They are full and fluffy and perfect for a Halloween costume. Be sure to order by Oct 21st if you would like them to arrive by Halloween.

Sweet Music * Crazy Love Michael Buble

2009-10-14T17:36:00.003-04:00

Have you heard the new Michael Buble Cd Crazy Love yet? I love jazzy music and I love that younger artist are remaking the old classics along with their own songs. I really like his new song “Haven’t Met You Yet”. You can listen to here.

Midweek giveaway:
-We are giving away a Micheal Buble "Crazy Love" Cd to one of you!
-Email me with Crazy Love as the subject to sweetlifeinthevalley@gmail.com
-Please include your name & address
-Ends Wednesday Oct 21st at Midnight

Given a sample by vendor/agency/brand

One Great Recipe * Corn Chowder

2009-10-13T14:08:00.005-04:00

Corn Chowder is one of my favorite fall foods. It's simple warm and comforting. Enjoy!

Corn Chowder

4 Tbsp butter
1 large onion
2 cups fresh cream
4 cups corn fresh, frozen or canned organic & fresh is always best
2 pounds russet potatoes
salt & fresh pepper to taste

Chop potatoes with skins on into small chunks. Boil until tender but not mushy. While potatoes are cooking chop onion and saute in butter until onions are transparent. Add corn & cream to onions & potatoes. Salt & pepper to taste. Simmer until flavors are blended and cream thickens a little. Serve with fresh crusty artisan bread and fresh sweet cream butter. Happy Harvest!

post sponsored by HugaMonkey.com Baby Slings starting at $25

Find of The Week * XyloBurst Xylitol Gum

2009-10-12T05:22:00.004-04:00

Today we are off to see the orthodontist for my twins. Since braces are a big investment tooth health has been on my mind. I came across a great way to keep your teeth healthy. Chewing gum with xylitol which is a natural sweetener actually helps prevent cavities by reducing plaque. XyloBust is a great gum with a high xylitol content. They also have mints. I think I will be stocking up on those mints for my twins while they have on their braces.

Given a sample by vendor/agency/brand