Must-See Spots in Salt Lake City: From A New Local

Well, I did it! I’m finally here in my new home and slowly but surely navigating my way around the city to work myself up to a real “local.” As of now, Google Maps is still my very best friend and I probably would have driven into another state by now getting lost without it. I’ve been here since the middle of January and have definitely locked down some of my favorite eateries, stores, and places to visit. Still have A LOT of bucket list items to check off but I’ll make it through more of those as summer comes. If you ever visit Salt Lake, here’s a few good places to check out that I’ve loved so far. 🙂

  1. Yoko Ramen SLC

Coming from small-town Iowa, there were no authentic ramen places and your girl here LOVES ramen. SLC offers so, so many ramen restaurants but Yoko Ramen SLC is definitely my top pick. I get the ramen bowl with chicken and everything about it is just so delectable and addicting. I crave it every single day. Yoko is tucked away in a cute corner of downtown SLC where I’ve always felt safe driving and walking to the restaurant; perfect for you ladies visiting alone or in a small group. The inside is small, quaint, and cozy so it may be difficult to find a table for a large group at times and even for a few of you during peak hours. There’s a park connected to Yoko where you can take your ramen to enjoy as well. I haven’t done that yet but I’m positive the ramen is just as good eating on the bar side as it is on the restaurant side.

2. Red Iguana

As soon as I moved into SLC, I was quickly told that I couldn’t consider myself a true Utahn until I had Red Iguana, a local Mexican restaurant. I’m a sucker for queso and chicken enchiladas so I was ready to claim my official Utahn status by eating here. Red Iguana initially was only one restaurant but the word quickly spread, driving in hundreds of locals every day and overwhelming the staff. Lucky for us, they opened up Red Iguana 2 (this is the one I went to) just a couple blocks away from the original one! No matter the day of the week or time of day, Red Iguana always has people waiting for tables outside. But trust me, this authentic Mexican food is worth that wait. My mom and I ordered queso (there’s two kinds on the menu and honestly, I’m not sure which one we ordered but it was AH.MAY.ZING.) We almost filled up from that small bowl right away and forced ourselves to stop in time for our entrees. I ordered the Red Iguana Traditional Enchiladas with chicken and they were so yummy. I could eat them everyday, full stop. Both locations are near downtown so if you’re ever in the area, I highly recommend carving out some time to try out their authentic dishes!

3. Capitol Hill Cherry Blossoms

I’ve been dreaming of walking amongst cherry blossoms for years now and I had NO idea that the Utah capitol building would have so many sprinkled around the area. Here’s a fun fact about me: I had planned a spring study abroad semester to Seoul, South Korea in 2020 and chose spring specifically so I could attend the cherry blossom festival. After COVID sent me home 6 days of landing, I had been heartbroken to miss out on these beautiful, pink trees. I truly felt like I was living in a dream while walking on the pathway between fully-bloomed cherry blossoms. This was also the perfect sight-seeing adventure for me because I love being active, even if it’s an easy stroll. If you’re in Utah during April, you MUST make time for this stop. The views are great all-around.

Manifesting Success: 2022 Vision Board

The past 2 years have involved a whole lot of growing for me; mentally, physically and emotionally. As I finished my degree during the pandemic and look back on how great of an achievement that was, I’ve come to realize that I’ve been tested in more ways than one. Obviously, just like everyone else 🙂 With a bachelor’s degree finally under my belt and a big girl job locked down, I knew that 2022 would be the year for me to experience some significant, personal growth. So, I of course took days to build my vision board and in doing so, used values and ideas that have gotten me to this point in my life as well as incorporate goals that I hope to add my life by December. Let me break it down for you:

First and foremost, I’m a shopaholic and am very prone to grabbing a $5 coffee and that cute shirt in a store because it’s only $15 and can’t do that much damage to my bank account. Well, after doing that every time I go in a store (weekly) and every time I drive past a coffee shop (almost daily) those small amounts add up pretty dang quickly. Now that I have officially earned the status of “big girl,” it’s time to settle into this reality check that I need to save money and suppress my shopaholic ways. I’m getting ready to move and will be bringing in my own income (finally!) and I’m holding myself extra accountable this year to skip the coffee and shirt, and keep those dollars tucked safely away in my bank account. Good thing I recently scored a Mr. Iced Coffee Maker so I can still get that caffeine kick AND save money at the same time. I’ll keep you updated on how often I add to my closet 😀

I’ve learned all my life, and especially during this pandemic, that our bodies are temples and we must take care of them. Now that I’ve finally hung my heavy backpack up, I’m dealing with the repercussions of being a student for nearly my whole life and boy does my back and neck ache. This year, I’m determined to incorporate yoga into my workouts to help heal my body in ways it hasn’t really experienced in a long time. Hopefully once I’m settled in my new city, I can find some inexpensive classes to attend but until then, I’ll dust off the ole yoga mat at home and follow along with some YouTube videos. Along with yoga, I am going to work to hold myself accountable to get to the gym consistently and make my body move each day. Luckily, my new apartment has a gym so I’m hoping this goal comes easily to me and stays for a long, long time.

I love to take pictures and am pretty good at capturing the scenes around me wherever I am. But this year, it’s time that I be gracious to myself and allow myself to be in pictures no matter how I’m dressed or if my hair is full of dry shampoo. A part of capturing memories is showing you and the candid emotions you’re feeling in that moment. So it’s time for me to fully embrace the picture perfect moments and to not give a second thought as to if the angle is bad or if I’m laughing too hard. It’s important for me to have pictures of me having fun and living to show my family, friends and even kids one day.

The rocks symbolize balance and this year I have to learn what my work-life balance is. I have quite a few friends who graduated before me and whenever I seek them out for advice, they typically say that learning to go home from work and just live life was the hardest thing for them to figure out. We have been so accustomed in our lives up until this point that we go to school all day and then come home to do homework and study. Now, my big girl job is allowing me, for the first time in my life, that I can leave work at work! I’ll have to train my mind a lot on this, I think 🙂

I’m beginning 2022 by moving to a brand new city! Look out, Salt Lake City; this Iowa girl is bringing you a little Midwest spice 🙂 A lot of images on my vision board have to do with this move. Finding balance, making memories, writing about my experiences here, working hard at my new job, and making new friends who have similar interests and goals as me. Making friends is the big one that’s kind of hanging over my head right now. The last time I went somewhere new without knowing a single soul was Pre-K when I was 5 years old. I’m 23 now and have zero ideas on how to make friends haha. Stay tuned and I’ll let you know if I get lucky or not.

This year is my golden birthday — the big 2 4! I’ve been waiting for this golden moment all my life 😉 I never would have thought that my golden birthday would be spent in an unfamiliar city and state where everything is so different from what I’m used to. As a part of this milestone and 2022 in general, I want to keep reading and writing as much as possible. Luckily, I’m pen pals with my grandma which is the best and now I can focus on this new blog of mine too. Once it gets nice out, I’m hoping to scope out some pretty places to bring a book, camera, and some snacks. Then I can take in the views of Utah while working on my vision board at the same time.

I used to think that vision boards were a waste of time and something that would stare you down a few months into the new year as if it was mocking you because you weren’t accomplishing goals. Well, goals take time and even if they don’t happen in the first, second, or even twelfth month of the year, it’s refreshing to know that goals don’t have a clock counting down on you. It’s productive to have these visions in mind for a year or two from now. It’ll happen when it’s supposed to happen because some of these things take time (like saving up your dollars :)). Truthfully, I’ll be working hard to find success in all these visions in my new city. I hope you stay tuned for my journey and I’ll be sure to keep you updated with the highs and lows I experience and conquer in 2022.