4 Days in Salt Lake City
Where I shopped for vintage, ate, and entertained myself
This post is brought to you by Paula’s Choice.
One thing about Salt Lake City: it’s dry as hell. Like, nose bleeding, lips cracking, hands-like-sandpaper-dry. I was in rough shape by day two but fortunately, I had brought reinforcements — specifically, the Intensive Repair Moisturizer and Lip and Body Treatment Balm by Paula’s Choice.
The moisturizer is exactly what it claims to be — intensive — and meant to be used at night, as the last step in your skincare routine. It has a very small (0.01%) concentration of retinol, so it has anti-aging benefits but won’t aggravate your skin (key in dry or cold climates). And the balm is a do-it-all salve. Ideal for dry lips, obviously, but also minor burns or scrapes (I have been applying it to my thumb, which I injured in a kitchen incident a few weeks ago, after I got my stitches taken out).
Paula’s Choice makes a lot of my favorite skincare products for Florida weather, too. I am very partial to the 10% AHA Body Lotion, which exfoliates and makes your legs and arms look excellent, and the Acne Body Spray, which clears up your back and chest just in time for summer tank tops. Incidentally, everything on the site is currently 20% off, with free shipping at $35 spent and free gifts at $99 spent.
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Now, on to SLC.
I visited Salt Lake to speak at the Salt Lake Home and Garden Show and it was a packed five days of media appearances and events. I arrived late at night (around 8 PM SLC time, which was 10 for me) and picked up my rental car before driving straight to the In-N-Out window (my order: double-double add whole grilled onion, animal-style fries, Neapolitan shake, and a side of chilies).
While I was driving it was so dark out that the stars looked fake — and the clouds looked incredibly low in the sky. Of course, when I woke up the next morning and saw things in the sunlight I realized they weren’t clouds at all but snow-capped mountains surrounding the entire city. It’s so beautiful and the exact opposite of Florida in terms of both climate and topography.
The first day in Salt Lake was too busy to even eat lunch (I literally ate oatmeal at my hotel in the morning, a bag of Skinny Pop at around noon in the green room, and didn’t eat again until dinnertime, when I ordered too much sushi and binged Love Is Blind season 8 — loathe all the men this season, btw, but what else is new).
But the second day afforded me some time to explore, and explore I did.
I started the day at Publik Coffee Roasters, which I’ve decided is my favorite coffee shop in the entire United States. I wound up going every single day I was in town. The beans themselves are excellent (roasted in-house), the beverage and food menu is amazing, and the space is so comfortable. There are cozy chairs to sit in! A charger at every seat! It’s like it was made for remote workers and professional writers. As soon as I walked in, I thought, I could write my memoir in here.
But the biggest highlight of Salt Lake, for me, was a stretch of shops downtown, on E. Broadway. I was told by Brick + Mortar owner David that Green Ant was a must-visit. He was so right (his shop in Atlanta is one of my faves, he has the best eye, so I trust his recommendations!)
The Green Ant was practically a museum of iconic mid-century pieces. I felt like I was spotting celebrities in the wild — oooh, look! Pierre Paulin ribbon chairs in the sexiest psychedelic upholstery! THE Mario Bellini x FLOS lamp!
Urban Vintage (literally next door and in the same building as Green Ant) was also very special. The owner told me he sources overseas a lot, so expect Belgian and French mid-century that’s been lovingly restored and reupholstered.
After all my shopping and ooh-ing and ah-ing, I grabbed lunch at Feldman’s, a classic Jewish deli with an outstanding reputation. I got a turkey reuben and Jersey-style fries and should have ordered an egg cream to wash it all down (egg creams are the best, iykyk).
Later that day, I had my show appearance and then I grabbed dinner at Vessel Kitchen, which is a local fast-casual chain with a focus on healthy, sugar-free, gluten-free options. It was great; I ate there twice.
Some other shops I visited during my trip include: iconoCLAD (a clothing-focused thrift store in which I found a really great vintage copper belt by Renoir for $12); Deseret Industries (a chain of thrift stores); Assistance League (upscale thrift store that I highly recommend); and The Land of Salt (a great little boutique that offers jewelry and giftables — and they even had my book in the shop!).
On my final full day in SLC, I woke up early and drove into Emigration Canyon, pulling over to take in the view before grabbing breakfast at Ruth’s Diner. Ruth’s is something of a local institution and is nestled in an old train car. When you sit down, they place a mile-high, impossibly fluffy biscuit and homemade strawberry jam on the table. It was wonderful.
I am currently in Tucson, Arizona, where I am spending three days at a resort, firmly seated next to a pool while reading a book and trying not to work (it’s not working, as this newsletter is technically work). I’ll appear at the Southern Arizona Home Show on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday and I’ll offer up a dispatch on Tucson here on Substack (I love it here, have been before, and find it to be a great dining and vintage-shopping destination so I’ll share all my fave spots!)
I love Noora Raj Brown’s Objects of Desire newsletter and her latest is no exception. She explores the aesthetic of various print publications, expertly crafting little “what would she wear” guides to women influenced by magazines like Cabana, The Gentlewoman, and so forth.
Another favorite Substack is Lindsay Sword’s Fashion Soup. She recently detailed how she’s building her spring wardrobe and I now feel very inspired to better curate my own wardrobe for the change in seasons.
A recent order that I’m so glad I got: two sets of Barely Zero’s wireless underwear. I got two of the fixed cup spaghetti strap bras ($39), and two pairs of the mid-waist briefs (which are one size fits all and just $15). The undies don’t ride up at all and are so inexpensive you could completely refresh your underwear drawer for under $100.
I’ve gotten really into scents lately and have been alternative between Merit’s Retrospect (which is super feminine, powdery and kind of nostalgic) and Vyrao’s Free 00 (a very woo-woo scent line — each bottle contains a “supercharged Herkimer diamond crystal energized by a healer”). The thing both scents have in common is that they are natural and oil-based, so the scent lingers.
I need that Intensive Repair Cream for when we go to my family mountain house in winter!! The cold dry air wreaks havoc on my sensitive skin with dermatitis!
That coffee shop looks fantastic! And who knew the thrifting could be so good in SLC?