sweets

No trip of mine would be complete without a factory tour or two. Salt Lake City is home to Mrs. Fields's distribution center (where they bake 10 million chocolate chip cookies a year) and the Sweet Candy Company. Sweet's Candy was started over 100 years ago and now they make over 250 different kinds of candy including taffy, gummies, and their famous cinnamon bears. So many fantastic facts to learn (like that it takes 7 days to make a jellybean) and treats to try (like chocolate covered EVERYTHING). We walked through the taffy room, jellybean room, and yes, the chocolate enrobing room. There were actual silos of sugar and pipes of chocolate and corn syrup running throughout the building. Finally, the tour guide made sure we sampled every candy we wanted to try. Craving some sugar and more info? Grab some gummy worms and take the online tour now!

utah facts!

*drinking is allowed without having to find a sponsor (changed a whole year ago)
*polygamy was outlawed in 1890 (yet UT has the largest household size in the nation...)
*the giant salt lake is over a million acres and saltier than the oceans
*has the most natural arches in the world

salt lake city

Took a mini excursion to SLC. The first big snowfall of the season and me arrived in the city at the same time. Brisk walks and hot chocolates from various bakeries were some of my main activities during the stay. Here is the view from the University of Utah.

cupcakes make people happy

"When you look at a cupcake, you've got to smile."
-Anne Byrn, cookbook writer