Rovalis Ristorante Italiano

Davis County is such a wonderful place to live. We have everything here except great restaurants. (You wouldn't dare put that we have a Wendy's in the comments:) Oh I shouldn't say there are none, but in Davis County without going into the city there are very few good restaurants that I know of. In the burbs you get chain restaurants and some are ok sometimes, but I never wake up with a hankering for Red Robin.

There are a few good resteraunts that are not the chain variety. Roosters and Corbins are very good. MacCools is good. There's Robintinos, but I understand from a few people that it's an acquired taste that you have when you grow up in "the county". Some time ago we got a family owned (this is important) Mexican Restaurant named Pepper Belly's. I was so excited when I went the first time. It's decorated so fun and you'll have a great experience there as long as you only order a soda. The place is generally (with one or two exceptions) know be awful in the worst way. I swear to you that they buy the chips in bulk from Sam's Club and everything, everything has Pace Picante on it. Now Pace Picante sauce has it's uses. I have a great recipe, believe it or not, for salsa that you make with a base of Pace Picante Sauce, but no self-respecting Mexican Food lover likes it alone and they will not believe my recipe either (until they try it).

I digress. Anyway, my friend Circe recommended a new Italian place in Layton, I can't remember the name of any place ever, so I forgot, but I think this was it. Rovalis! It was great! Mostly really great. C was a little bugged that his veggies had been the frozen/then steamed variety. But, I don't know if I want to knock off points for that because you really aren't supposed to review a restaurant after visiting there once. So, maybe the frozen veggies aren't regular fair. I hope not. However, the rest of the meal was just delicious. The place was light and bright, reasonably priced, and had a really decent kids menu. It is family owned. The service was great. They say that they make all of their desserts right there fresh, and they looked delish, but we were too full to sample them.

I hope they make a big success, but if you are dining in Layton, trade the chain Olive Garden and the like, for a real family owned real, and delicious restaurant. Help them make it a big success. Maybe I'll see you there, but don't sit too close because they have a special garlic dish I'm trying next!

The Big Boxes...

I am frquently asked if I can paint more of my boxes in the largest size. I guess I must like the medium size the best because I like to paint that size and I mostly have mediums, but these boxes are listed in the shop and they are the larger size for anyone who is interested you can see them over in...

ThE LoVe BoXeS SHoP

Hairspray...

Last night we went to see Hairspray at the dollar theater. All the kids seemed to really like it except for my nephew Chris who hated it so much that his ears were beet red when we came out of the theater. It was a little long for me, but what a talented cast. Some of the singing and dancing was amazing. It was difficult for me to get over John Travolta playing the mother, but even in a chubby suit, the man still has some pretty good moves. His makeup must have taken 10 hours. Queen Latifa sparkled like a Christmas ornament through the whole thing.

Martha Ornaments...

If you haven't been to K-mart recently, it sure is a fun place. I love all of these ornaments from Martha's Sugar Plum Dreams collection. I did wish that they were made a bit better. The painting on the wooden animals was just a light spray, easily chipped. I had the same opinion of the cars and planes (plus, I worried a bit about the lead paint/China thing). I only bought the blue amigurumi elephant. He's much cuter in real life, but also could have been better made. However, these ornaments were all selling for $2.24....

Mozart and the Whale...

A heartbreaking film about two people with Asperger's Syndrome. Josh Hartnett plays Donald a guy who is brilliant with numbers, but who can't keep a job driving a taxi. He starts a group for people who have similar handicaps where he meets and falls in love with Isabelle played by Radha Mitchell.

Very tender in parts, this movie is also very rough in places. It could have been edited better as well, it was not seamless. But, the acting was really amazing.

The Wooden Wagon...

In all the craziness surrounding lead paint in toys and toy recalls of every kind, I appreciate the values of companies like The Wooden Wagon. These toys are made to be heirlooms and at a very reasonable cost. The dyes used are often vegetable dyes.

Little c began collecting these little hand-carved Ostheimer Dogs this year. She has the two shown (and she's getting the St. Bernards for Christmas... shhhh don't tell). I was thinking of getting this little angel for myself (Merry Christmas to me...) It looks like a little angel that I love.

Hyper Dash...

I really like the idea of this game for kids. It's a get up off the couch sort of really fun, outside for kids, tag game.

How to play:

Hyper Dash consists of one electronic tagger and five different colored and numbered targets. The tagger plays pre-recorded music and calls out which targets you need to strike. It tracks the amount of time taken to complete each course. The tagger uses radio frequency identification (RFID) to recognize the targets, which can be set up side-by-side, or spread out across the length of a football field. There's no limit to the distance between targets. Farther targets result in more running and exercise. Hyper Dash can be played indoors or outdoors; solo, in pairs, or in teams.

I don't really know if I like this for a Christmas Gift... simply because if the weather is bad.. you can't play it in the house (I'd go mad) but I love the idea for summer and children's parties.

Longfellow, Paul Revere & Our Veterans...

My sister, the English teacher, sent me this amazing article about a great American Poet. I enjoyed it very much. And since it's Veteran's Day today, or at least we are celebrating it today, I want to share a favorite poem about one of America's first Veterans in honor of all the great and good men and women who have kept and continue to keep us free. God Bless our fighting men and women stationed all over the globe today.

Listen my children and you shall hear Of the midnight ride of Paul Revere... Read the rest here.

Dinner at Home...

Imagine the photo on the left is of the cook. That's how frustrating I find cooking sometimes. I have all of 3 fool proof ideas for dinner and my family, although kind and patient always, is kind of sick of my ideas. Still, I love a nice dinner at home, not so much the food, (I love spicy and I don't know how to make it..) it's the company I love.

In addition to the company, we now have a family dinner game, thanks to my new friend Barbara. Thank you Barbara! She gave me this beautiful jar and inside were all these really fun questions. The idea is to get a great conversation started that includes your children.

Our question of the night... "What other country would you choose to live in and why." I said that I would like to live in Sorrento, Italy. It's one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen. It seemed quieter there and so beautiful overlooking the ocean. Little c thought she'd like to live in Sweden because it's so beautiful and balmy there. When we explained about the climate, she was more attached to her decision because she loves snow too. C said he'd like to live in Santiago, Chile. Who knew. I may have never known that C liked Santiago so much and that little c wanted most of all to visit Sweden. Maybe we should visit those places together some day.

All the questions are really fun and we've had a ball with them night after night. We've been through them all and changed them a little. We've made up some of our own. Little c says as I put the plates on the table, "Will we play the question game tonight?"

Barbara gave me a paper written by Shirley R. Klein associate professor, School of Family life at Brigham Young University which reads in part, "Children who do not eat dinner with their families are 61 percent more likely to use alcohol, tobacco, or illegal drugs.... Teens who eat frequent family dinner are less likely than other teens to have sex at young ages, get into fights, or be suspended from school, and they are at lower risk for thoughts of suicide..."

My mother is homemaker extraordinaire. I ate every night on beautiful china plates. We always used napkins at the table and we always had a salad and usually two veggies. Don't get me wrong, we ate too many sweets and tons of ice-cream every year. We weren't perfect, but we had a beautiful meal every night together as a family. As an adult and a mother, I often think what an amazing gift that was. It's a gift that I'd like to give to my daughter as well. I'm not as fancy, but it's the being together and the veggies that really count.

So, what is your best 10 min. recipe for someone who doesn't love the kitchen part. I've already shared my healthy pizza recipe with you. Then, if you want to e-mail me at love.boxes@att.net and I will e-mail you back some of Babara's great questions. Then, cut them up and either fold them or roll them up and put them in a jar that can be set on the table at dinner time.

PS.. Ok. so, I didn't share my healthy pizza recipe, but here it is. French Bread halved. Pizza spread. Turkey pepperoni (it's truly delish folk and 80% less fat) low fat mozzerella cheese. 6 minutes at 400 degrees and 4-5 minutes under the broiler. Prep time is literally 4 minutes and served with salad.. it's a great dinner.

The Bee Movie...

This is a pretty cute film. I thought the writing could have been tighter and that there are a lot more interesting facts about Bees that could have been included (yes, my nerdy family and I have just watched a documentary film about bees... fascinating). But, the bright fun colors and the amazing art (every bee dresses a bit differently.. not to mention the cute bee houses and bee swimming pools). "Box Kite!" ... That's my favorite part!

The Gift of Life...

When giving gifts this Christmas time... this article written by my favorite columnist is a must read.

Something The Lord Made...

This film based on true events is a masterpiece. The script is tight. The acting is superb. Something magic happens when movies like this are made because they show human beings what they can be. This film is perfect in my opinion and I think your heart will pound in your chest as you watch this inspiring story.

If you don't watch this film after that recommendation... it's just not my fault.

Have a great weekend everyone. :)

My Birthday Party...

I never have a beautiful day for my birthday party... It's almost always sleeting, but look at this day... and I had garden roses on my table. My roses are doing amazing. A friend told me that my roses were a birthday gift from heaven. I certainly felt that way. I hope you had a beautiful day as well.

Carolina...

This film hmmmmmm. The acting was great I thought. Julia Stiles, Shirley MacLaine and Randy Quaid were all marvelous. But whoever edited the film should be fired and never allowed to work again. There are two big holes in the plot line and you know they cut and pasted big time to make the film 90 minutes. That ruined it for me. If they had fixed that, it could have been possible for it to be released in theaters.

Secondly, this is a bit of a Pretty Woman variety fairy tale.. meaning it's another one of those Hollywood films that wants to sell you the idea that really poor decisions can still turn out great.

This family is portrayed as dysfunctional for sure, but not nearly as dysfunctional as they would be in real life making the same decisions. I'm getting a lot tired of this sort of fairy tale.

Wrapping Up...

I know it's too early for some of you to be wrapping gifts, but in my situation, there isn't a too early. These are some of what I wrapped up yesterday. I hope it's all purchased and wrapped up by Dec. 1. That's always the goal anyway.

Birthday Presents...

The little c birthday is coming. And, the birthday gifts are getting all wrapped up.

Summer at Tiffany...

Has anyone read this book? I hate to be the first, not that I'm the first, but you know I really like the recommendations of a friend before I read a book. I don't like to waste time reading lack luster literature of any kind. The last book I read on tape... (Big Sigh). Just horrid. I won't mention the title just in case someone we know is the author, and yet I kept reading because I had nothing else. How could someone make such a mess of a book about the South, which is such and interesting place? If the author had said the word atebellum even once more... I was going to have to write a long letter of complaint.

I saw this book, Summer at Tiffany while browsing through Barnes & Noble and you can see the cover has quite a lot of appeal. On the back of the book it explains that the book was written about a summer the author spent working at Tiffany's durring WW11.

Anyway, if you've heard anything... let me know.

Snowflake Boxes...

There is a single snowflake box left in the

LoVe BoXes ShoP...

but let me know if anyone needs more than one. I think I can still make a few more. Also there are a few red left and about 10 turquoise snowflakes. And, there are a few pink Christmas Trees still unspoken for.

Martha's Pink and Poppy Wedding Idea..

I loved this article... See it here. I also think it could be pretty to make crepe paper flowers to top the cake instead of these.. if you could find a pretty red.

Crepe Paper Flowers...

These are pictures of the birthday decorations, which seemed like so much more before I took the pictures... but anyway. I will have to think of a tutorial on the crepe paper flowers. I learned from Martha and if I can find her tutorial, which would be far superior and include patterns, I would rather point you all to that. Be prepared. It took me two hours to make the halo of flowers around the chandelier and I have a lot of practice. When I have taught people how to make them, they always say that they are now keeping the flowers forever because they take so long to make or some such thing. That is not far from my philosophy because I have an arrangement that I made about 4 years ago and it looks awful, but I can't throw it out. :)

P.S. Jodi Levine who was the editor of Martha Stewart Kids got married several years ago and when she did, she did up her whole wedding with these beautiful crepe paper flowers. If anyone know which issue that was let me know and I will find the template for all the flowers I make (except the ones I make up) in the mean time.. this is a good tutorial and a rose template.