Saints and sinners are both welcome.
Utah is slew ! I hump because , despite my secular upbringing and my dearth of bronde ponytail extensions , I leave behind my glamourous New York life as an unemployed blogger to open up up abookstore and skateboard shop amid the alpine splendor of Midway , Utahwith my boyfriend . That was a year ago , and most non - Ute friend think I was a maniac for moving to a place largely mold by a church to which I do not belong , where school board have straight-out bannedYA dark romantic phantasy fable .
But between the lewd debut time of year of Hulu’sSecret Lives of Mormon Wives , the first few episodes of the explosive fifth time of year of Bravo’sReal homemaker of Salt Lake City , and the proliferation of Hallmark Christmas movies filmed here , all those naysayer are beginning to see what I see in Utah . And now , they have one interrogation on their lips : Do I know the otherJennifer Affleck ? And a follow - up : If so , do I have the fourth dimension and wherewithal to pull her aside for a sec to sing to her privately about her personal living ? I do n’t , but I did recently take a selfie with model / LGBTQIA+ iconBrooks Marks at his motherMeredith Marks ’s jewellery boutiquein Park City ( 511 Main Street , Park City , UT , 84060 ) . ( Does that count ? )
In preparation for further dubiousness about my superstar - dot home state , I ’ve been keeping pill on where my friends , were they to visit , might casually range into any number of famous 28 - yr - old mother of four and their absolutely , in spades heterosexual hubby . It ’s peak autumn , arguably the most beautiful time of yr here , and there ’s never been a good time to soft lilt around the mountains with 44 troy ounce of doctored Diet Coke in hand .
Maitane Romagosa
Black Rock Mountain Resort
Black Rock Mountain Resortis a new - ish hotel , eatery , and event outer space just outside of Park City , a good deal - modernistic behemoth with wholesale views of the Jordanelle reservoir and Deer Valley ’s ski runs . The hotel ’s ultimate draw is that its penthouse was where Mormon married woman Mayci J Neeley ( who has a heartbreaking and triumphant backstory , elaborate inthis 20 - part blog post , thank god ) decided to celebrate her natal day with the MomTok work party .
This episode , style “ The Book of Truth ” was a turning point onMormon Wives : the show ’s secondly most confounding villain , Whitney Leavitt , passed out sweatsuits with each woman ’s name blazon on their chest . Finally , the watcher could tell these princess - haired sirens / mama bears asunder ! Once I understood who was a holy person , who was a evildoer , who made aTikTok in the NICU , and who performed a sex bit need Fruity Pebbles that I might be too prudish to comprehend , I was hooked .
909 W. Peace Tree Trail , Heber City , UT 84032
Swig
Of all the Utah cheating pop shop class with ingenious gens like “ Sodalicious ” and “ FiiZ,”Swigis the queen bee . In my sentiment , Swig even outranksThirst , the “ tonic maestro ” founder of whichwe see pouring cans of Diet Coke into Styrofoam cups on theMormon Wivesepisode that commemorate Zac Affleck ’s BYU graduation party .
In a tardy episode ofMormon Wives , the young woman eschew Utah ’s crusade - thru acculturation and order sodas to their exacting specifications in person . Every tiny Swig location is staffed by hundreds of teenage girls armed with iPads , and I was happy to see their hard work play up on screen . I do n’t have that square Mormon pioneer - caudex pancreas that can process large quantities of sugar and dairy cream pitcher , so I prefer for an enormous seltzer with various pureed fruits swirl into it . My favorite beverage is the Strawberry Breeze with sparkling water . I usually nix the coco creme that comes in it because I find that it curdles before I ’m even 20 ounce in .
Swig also sells those soft , moth-eaten iced - sugar cookies that have been make their way across the country viafranchises like Crumbl , another Utah troupe that ’s recently survive national .
Deer Valley ski resort|Getty/raclro
Multiple localisation , but my favorite is in Millcreek at2330 E 3300 S , Salt Lake City , UT 84109 because it ’s close to I-80 and in the same parking batch as Joann Fabrics .
JZ Styles Hair Academy
Not to be confused with Jizz Styles , which I ’m sure does good oeuvre .
Mormon Wife Jessi Ngatikaura ’s hair academyand extensions beauty parlour often serves as an on - blind gather place for the MomTokkers ofMormon Wivesto sit down in salon chairs and girl out , chitchat , and get uninvited from baby Luca ’s baptize for not being potent enough in the church . Filled with voguish arcuate article of furniture and a wall of cascading hair , JZ Styles is a total vibe . Maybe even more so thanHousewives ’s Angie Katsanevas ’s SLC salon empire , Lunatic Fringe , where I once got my hairsbreadth swerve next to Papa John Schnatter of Papa John ’s fame aboutthree weeks after hisn - wordscandal . Self - guardianship is so of import , specially in Utah .
At JZ Styles , abeaded weft move up / installis just $ 120 , which has to be a great price even if I do n’t exactly know what that means because 7/8s of the Mormon Wives have indistinguishable heads of haircloth .
Paddleboard Yoga in the Homestead Crater|EyesWideOpen/Getty Images
537 W. University Parkway , Orem , UT 84058
The White Shanty
Original MomTokker / soft swinger / hyper - pregnantMormon Wivescast phallus Taylor Frankie Paul defend her babe shower at thisLDS effect barn . I ’ll say this much about Taylor Frankie Paul , with whom I was familiar before this show aired because of a series of TikToks she made about hertoddler boy looking like the fiber Stefan SalvatorefromVampire Diaries : I do n’t believe she ’s a good terpsichorean , but she has a unadulterated heart . Her family seems overcritical of her missteps , but I ’m rooting for her . This is why I was devastated for Taylor when Whitney did not show up to her party at the White Shanty , even though it looked lit . Dimly lit . With fairy lights and votive candles .
502 S. 300 West , Provo , UT , 84601
Beauty Lab + Laser Parking Lot
I have not personally been toReal HousewifeHeather Gay ’s cosmeticlaser lab , but I , like so many other Bravo pilgrims , have spent clip in the parking lot . Not just because it shares a shopping center with a Spirit Halloween and a Dollar Tree , but because it ’s where former Housewife Jen Shah fled from a Sprinter avant-garde under the guise of her married man ’s health troubles in monastic order tododge the fedsduring an try arrest for nobble the senior .
The Beauty Lab + Laser Lab is a grave position of reflexion , particularly in the dead of wintertime . May you always remember Jen Shah , who will be leaving her prison bestie Elizabeth Holmes six month too presently due to her recentlyreduced sentence .
Oakwood Village Shopping Center , 5496 S 900 E , Salt Lake City , UT 84117
Utah Crater
Both a geologic anomaly and a sacred base - up paddleboarding site in Real Housewife Whitney “ Wild Rose ” Rose’sHilling Journey , this natural domed volcanic crater is fill up with 65 feet of 95 - degree piss . If you ’re a hearer of the Bravo recap podcastEverything Iconic with Danny Pellegrino , you’ll recall a late sequence in which he recounts hit it up in its healing waters while on a set rupture while shoot theHallmark movieDeck the Walls , which he ’s written and has a patronize character in .
If you ’re lucky enough to call in the crater in the wintertime , theMidway Ice Castlesare a Abronia elliptica ’s stroke away . TheHomestead Resort , the crater ’s abode , is currently undergoing a major revamp by an enormous hotel range of mountains , but across the street is afolksier hangout called Zermatt , a Swiss - inspired hotel where dozens of Hallmark movies have been filmed over the last decade .
I also have to shout out Midway , my adopted hometown and the future location ofmy shop Storyboard , for its impressive small food shot . After a soak , hit up thePizza Yard , Hidden Peak Provisions , Lola ’s , or theMidway Mercantile , where Mormon Wife Whitney cried while present a blinking birthday cake to her bestie with toilet paper stick to her kitten blackguard . Or trip a international mile or two to neighboring Heber City forJade ’s Cafe , Pink Elephant Coffee , andTaqueria Los Cunadosfor one of the best al pastor tacos I ’ve ever had .
700 North Homestead Drive , Midway , UT 84049
Goldener Hirsch Deer Valley
The Goldener Hirsch is an iconic Bavarian - style hotel at Deer Valley with a rooftop puddle on its sword - novel wing . This rooftop pool was featured on a second season instalment ofReal Housewives of Salt Lake City , wherein Seth Marks , LGBTQIA+ picture Brooks Marks ’ father , pose his head into a patty that was made to wait like Whitney Wild Rose ’s knocker .
This hotel is also the embark on positioning of the Lohanaissance . Lindsay ’s return to acting , the 2022 movieFalling For Christmas , where she plays a concussed heiress opposite Chord Overstreet .
incentive : next door is the Stein Erickson Lodge , which was the destination of the Olsen Twin and their crew in the unerasable square - to - video 2002 filmGetting There .
7520 Royal Street , Park City , UT 84060
High West Distillery
Housewife Lisa Barlow host her Valentine ’s Day Besos party here , which must have been occurring simultaneous to Demi Engemann ’s Galentine ’s Day party over onMormon Wives . What a reality ! What a state ! High West is a whiskey still on the same prop as theLodge at Blue Sky , a horse refuge , spa , and sumptuosity hotel in the breathtaking , somewhat remote township of Wanship .
I do n’t have anything quippy to say about High West : I ’d recommend a visit even to those who are n’t tap - in genius like us . High West also hasa saloon in Park Citywhere you ’re last to see a bunch of bachelor girl parties in matchingKemo Sabe cowboy hats(a Kyle Richards Easter nut for fans of the lengthened Bravo world ) , which I always look at a bonus .
27649 Old Lincoln Highway , Wanship , UT , 84017
Flanker Kitchen and Sporting Club
confessedly , I have n’t been to Flanker , but its name has become somewhat of a meme in our household . We keep threatening to match each other at Flanker , a bar with karaoke and simulated golf game cortege . I hate unionized sport , but Flanker is a blow to say .
Flanker is whereMormon married woman ’ Layla Taylor , a 23 - class - old divorcee and female parent , defend her funeral - theme divorce party . I sense for Layla , who got married at 19 . She should be at the nightclub , and if Flanker is the closest she can get to that , I ’ll indorse it .
6 N Rio Grande Street , Suite 35 , Salt Lake City , UT 84101
Osmond Lane
On the fourth episode of this time of year ofReal housewife of Salt Lake City , newbie Bronwyn Newport accusesfriend ofBritani Batemanof only tolerating her pathetic bait - up ’s bad doings because he ’s a nephew to “ Mormon Royalty”/singing sibling Donnie and Marie Osmond . Britani , viewing audience are meant to adumbrate , only want the benefits of the glamour that come with being a 5th - pace Osmond , which included growing up in a tony gated arm in Provo called “ Osmond Lane . ” I ’m sure their HOA employs some draconian measure .
Maybe this proves my foreignness to the state , but I ca n’t recall of the last sentence something has made me express joy so hard as the concept of a gate community dedicate to Donny Osmond . He really is all over here . A Utah - based fast - casual chain called Aubergine Kitchen even has a menu particular called theDonny Osmond Bowl .
Osmond Lane , Provo , UT , 84604
