Five for Friday - something different

Since I'm totally not in the mood to write today, I thought you I would just post some rather random photos from our trip to Vegas. Happy weekend everyone!

the Venetian

the Luxor

Brad hanging with the Benjamin's (his birthday winnings) with his birthday cupcake

Wynn and Encore - taken from the monorail - isn't the sky cool

City Center

Mandalay Bay

New York-New York

moi :)

Too cute!

I had to share these darling prints which I recently came across on another blog I read (holla to Young House Love!). Wouldn't these be amazing in an office/bedroom/den/nook that needs a little color? I kind of want to order them all :)

Jessica, vol.25, you have won me over! I have zero stake in this, other than to say how darn cute these things are. You can head over to Jessica's etsy shop to pick some up for your nursery/ bathroom/laundry room/any room.

this is my favorite :) you can even customize the color of the camper!

wouldn't these typewriters look great in a home office?

customizable!

obviously I need this for our book filled home office...
or maybe to hang by my nightstand, which is also full of books.

Las Vegas - actually Paris?

In my humble opinion, the Paris resort in Las Vegas does the best job of actually transporting you from the middle of the desert to the streets of Paris. Now granted, I have only been to Paris once, in fifth grade, when I was more concerned about finding something to eat I actually liked (I think I settled for a chocolate crepe from a street vendor) than taking in all things Parisian. But when I visit Paris as an adult, I expect it to be much like the Paris hotel in Vegas, minus the slot machines.

The hotel was beautiful. The attention to detail magnificent. The view from the top of the miniature Eiffel Tower well worth the price of admission. It was romantic. It made you want to swoon, put on a blue and white striped shirt and red barret, and be dipped by a handsome man into a passionate kiss (no, he didn't, he knows it would not have been wise due to my dislike of both crowds and heights... but in hindsight it seems like it would have been a good idea).

When/if we ever go back to Vegas, we will be staying at Paris. Hopefully by then I'll be able to compare it to the real thing!

PS That photo above? That is the ceiling inside the hotel when you first enter from Bally's. AMAZING.

the view from across the street at the Bellagio, through the fountain show.
the fountain show might be the best thing ever (well, besides Paris). more on that later.

the view of the Bellagio fountain show from the top of the Eiffel Tower.
worth the price of admission folks!

oui, oui!

list 9 - Things I Love to Photograph

architecture
(Chicago, Illinois)

churches
(Bathsheba, Barbados)

tulips
(conservatory inside the Bellagio, Las Vegas, Nevada)

neon
(Paris hotel, Las Vegas, Nevada)

the view from 40,000 feet
(somewhere over the north Atlantic Ocean)

food
(farmer's market, Del Ray, Virginia)

cloudy sunsets
(south coast, Barbados)

Start spreading the news...

Just when I thought we were going to be without a June trip, we firmed up plans this weekend to meet a bunch of my crazy family in New York City to honor a very special lady.

I always smile when I know that a trip to the Big Apple is on the horizon... even if its reasons are bitter-sweet.

Five for Friday - Vegas style!

1. Our trip to Vegas was great. I have never been to another city in the world like it, and honestly don't know if there is anywhere else in the world like it! I looked at Brad when we were in the airport and said, "Well, you must be happy. We've finally visited somewhere that I don't want to move to!" He was indeed happy. Not that we didn't have a great time, I just can't imagine living it 24/7!

2. I went in with pretty low expectations as far as my luck at gambling. I've only done it once or twice before and found that my luck wasn't so good. This trip was indeed no different. I blew through my little stash fairly quickly and was content to walk away and go find things to take pictures of when the game wasn't going so well. Brad, however, is totally a different story. We sat down at a $.25 slot machine, he put $1 in and two pulls later had won $100. Yes, folks, you do the math. $.50 bet. $100 win. He gambled maybe $19.50 the rest of the trip, but his luck also went down, so he definitely came out the big winner. I just think the gaming gods were shining on him for his birthday.

3. If you have never been to Vegas before, like I said in #1, it is really unlike anywhere I have ever seen. It's like a giant amusement park. Nothing is reality, there are no clocks anywhere (seriously!), you can go from being in New York to Paris to Venice to Bangladesh in a ten minute walk. Most amusing were the other people. During the day they were fanny pack and tennis shoe wearing, souvenir buying full blown tourists. At night they all turned into 21 year olds with short, short skirts, lots of cigarettes and way too much to drink. And then there are the folks who stand on every street corner and hand out flyer's for...ahem... ladies of the night. But this is a family blog, so we won't go into that here :) Lets just say they were very non-aggressive, but very annoying.

4. We ate like KINGS when we were there. Two fantastic dinner's, two totally different experiences. And some awesome frozen yogurt from the Mandalay Bay for lunch one day. Friday night we went to Craftsteak, the Las Vegas steakhouse branch of Mr. Short-Bald-Top Chef-Host Guy, otherwise known the superstar behind Craft restaurant's, Tom Colicchio. I came to learn that Craftsteak in NYC is no more, which I feel is a darn shame because our meal at this restaurant in the MGM Grand was absolutely fantastic. World class. Maybe the best steak I have ever had. We had a tasting menu, which, unlike the tasting menu's back east, they don't let you choose one item from each course. They bring out four or five items, family style, for each course. Thank goodness I wore my pants with room in the waist!

Saturday night we went to an Italian seafood restaurant at the Wynn called Bartolotta. This place couldn't be more different than Craftsteak, in its own way. It was fru-fru and fancy, and the attention to detail was amazing. They didn't just serve you clams, they served you clams that are ONLY found in Italy. They didn't just serve fish (the entire fish, which they filleted right at the table), they served fish ONLY found in the waters around Italy. Best of all, when I told the sommelier that I thought we should have white wine, since we were having fish, she laughed and said "The Italians drink red wine with everything. If you like red wine, that's what you should drink" (my kind of lady!). The highlight was the fact that we sat outside, in a semi-private cabana with a view of a lovely koi pond. That's the view there below. First rate, Mr. Wynn, first rate.

5. The best, best, best thing about Vegas? Hands down? The Bellagio fountain show. AMAZING! We watched probably four or five shows on Friday night, from different points around the lake and then from the top of the Eiffel Tower at the Paris hotel across the street. Absolutely amazing. Breathtaking. I could have watched it all night. The best part? It's free. The worst part? There isn't a worst part. Go! See it! Go JUST to see it!

I'm almost done editing pictures and I promise to post a bunch soon. If you follow me on Facebook, you've gotten a little sneak peak already :)

list 8 - things I always pack when going on a trip

1. spare BlackBerry charger - that little smart phone is priceless when it comes to Google maps, restaurant reviews and killing time standing in line on Facebook.

2. camera - but not always my big camera. Sometimes the little point and shoot will do the trick for the whole trip. Only a few times have I kicked myself for not hauling around the nice one (usually at night when I need something that can handle a high ISO).

3. deodorant - clearly, of course I pack it. Yet, it seems to always be the last thing I pack and the one thing I always almost forget.

4. travel journal - I always take it with grand plans of writing in it every evening to document that day's adventures. And almost never write in it until after the trip is over.

5. travel-sized alarm clock - I just got a new one because the other one had the worst back light ever and you could never see it when it was dark. I'm pretty excited about this new one. You twist the knob to adjust to the time zone. That little knob has given me about 20 additional places I want to visit (Cairo, anyone?).

Anyway, a travel alarm clock is a must since I must know what time it is when I'm sleeping and often, the alarm clock in hotel is on the wrong side of the bed.

Oh, and my new one doubles as a flashlight, which is always handy.

6. flip flops - because you never know how disgusting the floor of your hotel room might be.

7. comfy tee-shirt and knit capri pants - because you never know how disgusting the sheets in your hotel room might be/you don't want to make that late night snack run to your grandmother's kitchen in your skivvies.

Also, when you're traveling back from Vegas on a five hour flight and you're really tired, you might feel compelled to change in the airport when you see an entire bachelorette party of girls wearing the knit capri's and tee-shirts and looking way comfier (and thinner, and taller, and more beautiful) than you.

8. way too much reading material - usually at least two books and I start hording the magazines I subscribe to about two months before a trip (I get six on a monthly basis, so...). I usually end up reading one or two of the magazines and maybe a few pages of the book. I spend the rest of the time worrying that the plane is going to crash.

9. the same "carry-on bag" for each type of trip - I always take my small purple rolling suitcase (which I can expertly pack up to a week of clothes in) and have my designated "personal item," depending on the type of trip. Barbados? Always a large black and white print bag that I WISH had a zipper top. It doubles as a beach bag when we're there and the matching coin purse doubles as a purse/wallet. Short flight/short trip? A black leather purse that is roomy enough to fit several magazines and my one quart baggie of liquids in. Longer trip/need more room? Purple shoulder bag that you can cram way too much stuff in, thus making it super heavy. But it matches my suitcase and fits under the seat in front of me.

10. my bag o' liquids and my bag o' non-liquids - the Feds were really onto something with this one quart baggie thing. Turns out that size is perfect for carrying all your liquid toiletries in one bag. A second one quart baggie makes a nice carrying case for non-liquid makeup, band aids, razor, toothbrush, earrings, etc. Of course, some of you may say "don't you have a makeup bag?! What about if you're traveling too long for the trial size items to be enough?" My answer: 1. have you seen me? I rarely wear much makeup, and 2. I have yet to travel anywhere where I couldn't get what I needed at a local drug store. Sure, it may not be the brand I'm used to. Sure, it may be in a foreign language. Sure, it may make me break out into minty hives. But it has always been there. I suppose that when I travel to a developing country, this may not be the case. But I don't think the people there will really care if I don't have product in my hair (since I don't 99% of the time anyway).

oh, America...

you ridiculously beautiful country, you.

Yes, please!

MoMA just opened a new exhibit with over 300 of Henri Cartier-Bresson's photographs.

Clearly, this is worth a trip to NYC!

Happy Birthday, my love!

I talk a fair amount about Brad on here. It's because he is

the love of my life...

the center of my world...

the putter-upper with all my ridiculousness.

He has the sweetest soul of anyone I've ever met. He schleps my camera stuff around, gets up early in the morning for sunrise shots, makes funny faces, doesn't roll his eyes too much when I start planning another trip and is generally an all around great guy.

He feels most at home on a jet-ski...
(in Barbados)

on the putt-putt golf course...
(in Chicago)

or at Cedar Point.

He dresses up quite well...
(Caribbean cruise on the Carnival Pride)

but can be goofy on a moments notice.

He hugs trees...
(Bainbridge Island, Washington)

and lounges on them.
(Grand Turk, Turks and Caicos)

He loves his black coffee...
(in Starbucks first store in Seattle)

mostly because it helps him stay awake on all the flights I drag him on.
(flying to Seattle)

Happy Birthday, my love!