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!

And we're off again!

I can't WAIT to take photos on this trip! As we found out in Seattle, photographing neon is just plain ol' addicting...

list 7 - junk food I hate to love

breakfast at Lowell's in Pike Place Market, Seattle

Since I've been trying to live healthier lately (you know eating better, going to the gym, that kind of stuff), I thought this week's list should be a homage to all those things that I really don't eat any more... but that doesn't diminish my love of them :)

- brownie sundaes with extra marcchino cherries

- Chick-fil-a chicken biscuit sandwiches

- Starbucks peppermint mocha's

- red wine

- bacon cheeseburger's

- anything from Friendly's, but especially the Reeses Pieces Sundae

- Tagalong Girl Scout Cookies

- Tagalong Girl Scout Cookies ice cream (noticing an ice cream theme?)

- moist, fluffy, chocolate cake

- french fries, especially those from Hard Times Cafe and McDonald's

- sweet potatos covered in cinnamon-sugar and butter

- honey mustard dipped chicken fingers from Wing Zone

- movie theater popcorn

- chocolate filled croissants

Anyone have anything yummy to add???

candy display in La Boqueria, Barcelona, Spain

Make-up Monday: Five for Friday

1. Sorry I didn't "Five for Friday" on Friday. See, it was just a crazy busy day.

First I worked out with my personal trainer.
Then I had to clean the house like a mad woman because my Dad was coming into town.
Then I had to take a short nap.
Then I had to pick him up at the airport.
Then I had to let him take me to lunch (mmmm... thai!).
Then I had to do a little shopping with him.
Then I had to pick Brad up at the Metro and drop him off at church for Good Friday Mass.
Then I had to drop Dad off at his hotel.
Then I had to take our car to get the oil change.
Then I had to twirl around outside because the weather was so nice.
Then I had to go to dinner with two of my bestest boys. But the first place we went hardly had any fish on the menu. So we had to go to another place. Where we ended up dining outside in the beautiful evening air and having awesome food.
Then I had to fall exhausted into bed.
*whew!*


2. I have decided that I have a special place in my heart for the tourists riding Metro this spring break season. You all have really outdone yourselves this year. Last week during my commute:

- a guy broke up with his girlfriend on the train on the way to the airport*

- a momma tourist decided that a crowded train at rush hour was the perfect time to teach her four year old tourist daughter to read. "The... cat... walked... down... the... ro-...oad.. to... the..." Momma tourists apparently forgot that four year olds learning to read only have one volume: loud.

- a tourist family with no less than six tourist children stood right by the doors on a crowded train at rush hour, refusing to let those of us who know how to follow the rules ("When boarding, please move to the center of the car.") through

- countless tourists families could not figure out that their mobile phones do not work in the tunnels and thought that if they spoke louder, perhaps a satellite would come into the tunnel and make their cell phone pick up a signal.

- my personal favorite: tourist woman sits down next to innocent commuter across the aisle and starts complaining loudly about, well, everything. Innocent commuter actually listens (psychiatrist perhaps?) and upon getting off at our stop, turns to me and says "I have no idea who that woman was, she just sat down and started complaining!"**

*they may have been locals. Still worth including on the list, if you ask me.
** this may be tied for first with the soldier who got off at my stop after being babbled at by a ten-ish year old the whole ride and said "that kid wouldn't shut up the whole way!"


3. On a more positive note, we had a lovely Easter. It was extremely low-key, which is about the best thing in the world.

4. We saw an amazing show at the Kennedy Center on Saturday afternoon. Tyne Daly playing the original opera diva, Maria Callas, in Terrance McNally's "Master Class." It was fantastic. Really, not enough adjectives to describe it. The acting was great, the writing was stupendous and the opera singing was tear-inducing. Makes me super excited to go see the real opera at the end of the month! And thanks to Dad for springing for tickets and having the idea. It's a production we almost certainly would have skipped. And that would have been a shame.

5. This Friday's Five for Friday will probably be postponed as well. We'll be traveling to celebrate Brad's birthday... the secret location has been revealed to him... but I'll keep it a secret a little longer :)

List 6 - Simple Pleasures

- cupcakes, especially peanut butter fudge from Georgetown Cupcake
- cute, cheap shoes
- long walks on beautiful spring days
- Italian subs from A. Litteri's
- traveling - obviously...
- the perfect photograph of a non-obvious detail
- leaving work at 4:30 on a warm weather Friday - doesn't happen too often!
- making photo books from all our trips - still working on our honeymoon though :)
- handwritten letters from old friends
- extra-crispy apples
- sweet text-messages
- learning something new
- opening a bottle of wine you've been saving for a special occasion for no occasion at all
- watching old movies - especially ones with a certain swoon-worthy gentleman... :)
- singing show tunes in the shower

throw open the shutters!

doesn't this make you ready for spring?

Villefranche - October 2007

Five for Friday

1. Great call yesterday by Brad and my Dad on missed When Harry Met Sally quotes.

Brad's contribution:
Harry Burns: "I love that you get cold when it's 71 degrees out. I love that it takes you an hour and a half to order a sandwich. I love that you get a little crinkle above your nose when you're looking at me like I'm nuts. I love that after I spend the day with you, I can still smell your perfume on my clothes. And I love that you are the last person I want to talk to before I go to sleep at night. And it's not because I'm lonely, and it's not because it's New Year's Eve. I came here tonight because when you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible."

Harry Burns: You realize of course that we could never be friends.
Sally Albright: Why not?
Harry Burns: What I'm saying is - and this is not a come-on in any way, shape or form - is that men and women can't be friends because the sex part always gets in the way.
Sally Albright: That's not true. I have a number of men friends and there is no sex involved.
Harry Burns: No you don't.
Sally Albright: Yes I do.
Harry Burns: No you don't.
Sally Albright: Yes I do.
Harry Burns: You only think you do.
Sally Albright: You say I'm having sex with these men without my knowledge?
Harry Burns: No, what I'm saying is they all WANT to have sex with you.
Sally Albright: They do not.
Harry Burns: Do too.
Sally Albright: They do not.
Harry Burns: Do too.
Sally Albright: How do you know?
Harry Burns: Because no man can be friends with a woman that he finds attractive. He always wants to have sex with her.
Sally Albright: So, you're saying that a man can be friends with a woman he finds unattractive?
Harry Burns: No. You pretty much want to nail 'em too.
Sally Albright: What if THEY don't want to have sex with YOU?
Harry Burns: Doesn't matter because the sex thing is already out there so the friendship is ultimately doomed and that is the end of the story.
Sally Albright: Well, I guess we're not going to be friends then.
Harry Burns: I guess not.
Sally Albright: That's too bad. You were the only person I knew in New York.

Dad's contribution: "I'll have what she's having." Did you know that line is actually spoken by Rob Reiner's mother who plays the woman in the deli who is definitely envious of the turkey sandwich that Meg Ryan is eating since, just prior to this line, Meg Ryan was faking a, well, you know what.

Classic.

2. I've decided that I'm probably going to work a picture of Cary Grant into a post at least every two weeks. He really brightened my day yesterday. Thanks swooner (my new nickname for him).

3. The weather here is disgusting today. It's only fitting that it should be pouring rain, since it is one of my best friend's at work last day. This makes me terribly sad. In fact, I've decided she's not really leaving, she's actually just taking a REALLY extended vacation. She'll return one day. Hopefully.

4. My personal trainer kicked my butt this morning. It hurts to type. This is what I get for telling him I wanted to work harder. Might be a long day...

5. Brad's parents are in town this weekend. We never seem to know what fun activities to do with them. Yet we live in this city with loads of free and cheap and fun stuff to do. The only thing really out is movies or performing arts. They just need some more exciting touristy things to be built. Somehow we always end up just sitting around and walking around Pentagon City Mall (the bane of any locals existence at this time of year due to the massive school groups that take over the entire place). So DC peeps that read this blog, I need suggestions. I know there's stuff we're not thinking of. Oh, and don't you dare suggest Cherry Blossoms. Because we all know that every tourist in the city of D.C. will be there this weekend!

amendment to the previous post

You know how sometimes you wake up in the middle of the night and realize that you forgot to do something VERY important. And then you can't really sleep for the rest of the night because you feel so silly for forgetting that something VERY important? And you'd probably just be better off getting out of bed, firing up the computer and amend your list post from previously in the day because you left off your favorite and most quotable movie ever?!

Um, yeah. When Harry Met Sally. Hands down winner of most quotable movie ever (sorry Sleepless...). Tied for my favorite movie (need to watch it and An Affair to Remember back to back to determine winner. I'm afraid, though, that Cary Grant may make me swoon too much to make a fair judgement. (Sorry, had to include a picture. Doesn't it instantly brighten your Thursday?)

Some quotes for you... feel free to add your own, I know I'm missing some:

(they're standing in the Egyptian area of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. I may or may not find it necessary to repeat this scene every time we're in NYC in the vicinity of the Met)
*insert funny accent*
Harry Burns: Repeat after me. Pepper.
Sally Albright: Pepper.
Harry Burns: Pepper.
Sally Albright: Pepper.
Harry Burns: Waiter, there is too much pepper on my paprikash.
Sally Albright: Waiter, there is too much pepper on my paprikash.
Harry Burns: But I would be proud to partake of your pecan pie.

Harry Burns: You were going to be a gymnast.
Sally Albright: A journalist.
Harry Burns: Right, that's what I said.

Harry Burns: Had my dream again where I'm making love, and the Olympic judges are watching. I'd nailed the compulsories, so this is it, the finals. I got a 9.8 from the Canadians, a perfect 10 from the Americans, and my mother, disguised as an East German judge, gave me a 5.6. Must have been the dismount.

Harry Burns: You know, I have a theory that hieroglyphics are just an ancient comic strip about a character named Sphinxy. (also said at the Met... also may or may not be an often repeated phrase by a certain blogger/photographer/wife/travel buff upon every visit to any sort of Egyptian themed art exhibit)

list 5 - Movie Quotes I Love

While we are not huge movie watchers, there are some quotes that are just too quotable not to love. I often repeat these quotes, over and over again. Lets play a little game this week. I will list the quote, you guess the movie. Answers at the bottom, but no cheating :)

1. "She looks like my third grade teacher, and I hated my third grade teacher... wait a minute, she IS my third grade teacher!"

2. "Hmm, death by mini-bar. How glamorous."

3. "It's always the guy in my job that ends up doing 18 months in Danbury minimum security prison."

4. "It's easier to be killed by a terrorist than it is to find a husband over the age of 40!"

5. "I shall call him Squishy and he shall be mine and he shall be my Squishy."

6. "Are you mad at the keyboard?"
"I type with purpose."

7. "The Godfather is the I-ching. The Godfather is the sum of all wisdom. The Godfather is the answer to any question. What should I pack for my summer vacation? "Leave the gun, take the cannoli." What day of the week is it? "Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Wednesday." "

8. "Winter must be cold for those with no warm memories... And we've already missed the spring!"

9. "You in the suit! Yes, you! Take a bath, hippie!"

10. "See, that's the difference between us. You think we're fighting, and I think we're finally talking."


1. Sleepless in Seattle
2. My Best Friend's Wedding
3. The American President (but we already know how quottable that movie is)
4. Sleepless in Seattle (it's the most quotable movie ever!)
5. Finding Nemo (I am a sucker with a capital S for Pixar movies)
6. Up in the Air
7. You've Got Mail (also a sucker, apparently, for Tom Hanks movies)
8. An Affair to Remember... or Sleepless in Seattle :)
9. Up (see previous love of Pixar movies)
10. Jerry Maguire