A Day Downtown

As an Anniversary gift, Tyson gave me a coupon for a Day Off. That was back in December. It took 3 1/2 months before he could get time off work to stay home with the kids so I could redeem it. That made me appreciate the value all the more. After kissing everyone goodbye, off I went to SLC. I had just started a photography class, so I was looking forward to doing my homework on Temple Square.

Even though it was only March 23rd, the Spring flowers were out with full and colorful force. Love it!

5 years ago, a major downtown revitalization project was announced and projected to take 5 years. I groaned at the thought of all the construction and figured it would be best to just avoid it all and come back in 2012. That worked for 2 of the years when I was in South Dakota. But now the long wait is over. City Creek opened yesterday and downtown is so much nicer. After a couple hours on Temple Square, I crossed the street to City Creek and explored.

The skyroof is a wonderful idea. It was beautiful weather and so nice to have it open while I shopped and walked.

Look at that river that runs through the whole mall. It's so nice to have the intermingling of nature amongst the shops.

The skybridge is another wonderful feature to keep the flow, rather than having to dodge traffic between the blocks.

Well, hello, Tiffany's. Welcome to Utah!

And H&M, my old European friend, so nice to have you in the neighborhood. Now bring back all those cute styles I found in you during my many travels and visits to you abroad!

I really like that they paid homage to ZCMI. I miss it.

I did a lot of walking. SO glad I wore comfortable shoes. My favorite store at City Creek, believe it or not, was Deseret Book. It's big and beautiful and it just feels good inside as soon as you walk in the doors.

Because I still had time, I headed down South to run a few errands at IKEA and Nothing Bundt Cakes (don't judge). I stopped for a late lunch/early dinner at Sweet Spot Brazilian Bakery and Cafe that opened up right by my Uncle Mike's optometrist office in Sandy. When I tasted this, I got tears in my eyes. This transported me back 10 years, right to my mission in Brazil. It was that good and exact.

Mousse de Maracuja (Passion Fruit Mousse)

While out and about, I saw a poster informing of an artist night at the Church Museum of History and Art. Angela Johnson (http://www.ajsculptures.com/), my favorite sculptor was going to be there, so I made it a point to attend before heading home. It was a really nice event with many interesting artists interacting with the public. That is such a nice museum, I haven't been in so long.

While snapping a picture of the temple at night, I had an unexpected visitor show up. I like the juxtaposition of the Angel Moroni statue from the museum and the temple that has the real deal on its spire.

It was a good day. Though I did so much, now I need a day off to recover from my day off...