More Vegas: Thanksgiving Day

Due to the intense cold (well, cold for Vegas...colder than I was prepared for) I wore a pretty boring outfit Thanksgiving morning. We were planning on just sitting at a bar and watching the Detroit/New England football game anyway, so it was appropriate attire.
the outfit: old basic black pants from Bass (old work pants that I died back to black to hide bleach stains), my fitted yellow shirt from Banana Republic that I love but only have because it was a gift...like I could afford their clothes!, and my usual metallic flats and wool sweater.
Emeril Lagasse had THE coolest sports bar in Vegas. You can place your bets there, and the whole place is like several tiny living rooms surrounding one giant living room. The main tv is HUGE! and the middle seating is stadium style levels of sofas! All plush and comfy. Our original plan was to reserve a table first thing (they opened at 9 a.m. and the game started at 9:30 a.m.), but then we found that there was a $50 food minimum PER PERSON to sit for the whole game. You can sit at the bar for free (well, you have to pay to drink). We left to have breakfast at a restaurant downstairs then went back to the bar. It was full! Lots of empty tables, but no stools. We got a drink and stood back to watch the game and wait for someone to leave. We didn't wait long, got two seats and watched. I put $10 on the Lions to win...they were winning at half time but lost in the end! The bookie, when I was placing my bet, said, 'oh...you want the LIONS to win??' (They have come very close, but never manage to pull out the win in the end...)
Afterwards, Hubby was itching to play some more poker, so when he thought he found a game, I went off to shop for a warm coat to wear over my dress for dinner (which I didn't find). He called to say there weren't enough players for his game, so we met up in the shopping mall at Planet Hollywood. Where I found this awesome store...
We also found out that, when they got rid of the Aladdin, to put up Planet Hollywood and it's Mile Mall, they left in the indoor thunderstorm! Our favorite memory from our first trip!
Since it was just about 15 minutes til the next storm, we waited...and watched.
I don't know why it's so amazing to me, maybe it's just my love of thunderstorms?

Finally we were ready to go out for dinner. We figured an early dinner would yield the best results when finding a place to eat. The outfit: My 'vintage' white dress from Goodwill, and the shoes from Monday (they height actually made my feet feel a little better!), my vintage jacket with beaded collar that I got at a Boston thrift store about 12 years ago, and it's pinned closed at top to hide the fact that I had to wear my long sleeved shirt under the dress. I also wore my wool sweater over it all...that's how cold it was!! (plus my scarf and gloves, of course...still chilly)
When we found our first choice at Caesar's Palace totally booked all night, we ended up back at Paris, where we had seen a couple places with price fixed Thanksgiving options.
This was the decorated entrance at Caesar's.
And this was a shot from inside where we ended up, La Provencal.

I think I'll keep this one short, and just post another with some random stuff from our last day in town...since we just wandered about, and Jason finally got into another poker game.

vegas picture post: a companion to my last post

Here are some shots from the first couple days of our trip...

Monday evening's outfit: black suede lace-up pants from the original wedding (maybe I'll get some of those shots scanned for another post?), super cool layered front/sheer backed chiffon-type top (Forever21), metallic flats (Payless), and cute feather and rhinestone headband (Forever21). I saw these shoes during one of our many 'wandering about' trips out...aren't they 'da bomb'!!
Tuesday's outfit: old plaid skirt, black 3/4 sleeve top with subtle ruffled collar, corduroy swing coat. This was a huge 'tree man' in the Bellagio's 'Secret Garden', just outside the place were we had breakfast (at The Bellagio Cafe).
This is View Bar, in Aria, next to the restaurant we went for our 'anniversary' dinner. Me, in front of View bar, AFTER the ceremony AND dinner...sequined shoes are off, and metallic flats are back! I guess the sweater didn't look THAT bad, but boy do I wish I hadn't needed it!
Spencer took a shot of us in front of this cool restaurant...BEFORE the ceremony (sequined shoes IN HAND, and portable, foldable flats on feet still). This was just a cool restaurant. I don't remember the name or even the food they served (we never went in), but what a cool place! It's almost hovering over the first floor shops. It's all wood, too.
This was the place we had our anniversary dinner/'reception' :) julian serrano's tapas...so good! This is the back corner where we ate. So, we didn't have that feeling of eating at the mall food court. When the concierge made the reservations she asked if it was a special occasion. I think our saying 'our anniversary' got us a more 'romantic' setting. Big round table and comfy chairs.
I splurged ($20) for this 3 rose, hand-tied bouquet. It actually looked great with my dress! And, after a lot of 'the sun's too bright' Spencer got this cute shot of us. It was fun and MAN! I love that dress!! I can't believe I almost didn't buy it...Thanks, Donna!! :)
Wednesday's outfit: another old skirt (corduroy...warm!), NYLONS, same black top (not my original plan to have to wear the one long-ish sleeved shirt EVERY DAY!
We went to the wax museum at the Venetian, but that will be a post of it's own...so many pictures, I'll share just the fun ones. This is one of the many crazy paintings on their ceilings (this is the casino entrance).
After the museum, we hung our in Paris for a bit, waiting to go to our Jubilee show. This is one of the 'streets' inside. We ended up having a drink at their Eiffel Tower Restaurant's bar before the Jubilee show. I'll post a couple of the shots of that in my next post, I guess...I'm sure it's all getting to be a bit much, but it was one of the high points of the trip for me.
And this is the view from the end of the elevator corridor on 'our' floor. Mountains! It's strange being surrounded by all of these crazy tall buildings then you look down the street and see those giant mountains! Really beautiful.

Up next: view from Paris bar, wax museum, Thanksgiving, and probably a batch of random photos.

just my luck

I have been offline since Sunday evening. I can get into someone else's unsecured SLOW connection, or use Hubby's computer. All my pictures are on my computer, though, so I guess Vegas shots will have to wait.

Here's the gist of the trip:

Monday: After having breakfast at a little place in the Venetian, the boys entered their poker tournament, while I trekked probably in the neighborhood of 4 miles in my vintage heels. Switched to Dr. Scholl's flats after viewing the Bodies Exhibit. Made my way back to the hotel, had a little sit-down, and then decided to go see if Jason and Spencer were still playing poker. I wondered around the Venetian for awhile, and just as I was about to head back to our hotel and have a drink at one of their bars, Jason was coming out of the poker room. Spencer was still playing. Jason came in 23rd out of 92...Spencer made it to 14. You needed to place 9 or better to win any cash.

Monday night we went to B.B.King's blues club for some Southern food and Blues music. Their sound system was out...so we just got the food. I wanted to go back another day, for music, but we never did...the night's just got away with us and I was too tired at 11p.m. to want to go out again.

Tuesday: The 'big day'...I didn't get dressed in my sequins until later. We went out for breakfast at the Bellagio Cafe. It's tucked back in the corner of this cool 'forest'...think Tim Burton meets Dr. Seuss. Curly trees, giant Venus flytraps, trees that rain on themselves...and in the middle, a greenhouse full of real orchids. Very interesting. The 'cafe' was more like a hotel dining room, nothing fancy, but the brioche french toast was lovely.

To 'kill time' before our 3p.m. ceremony, we checked out the Figuratively Speaking art exhibit at the Bellagio Fine Arts Museum. It was a tiny show, but very cool. Not like looking at a room full of similar pictures...everything was very different. From paintings to x-ray photos to digital 'performance' art. Then we decided it was time to change.

Into my sequined dress, sequined shoes, pretty flowery headband, and ...wool sweater!! It was so cold, I wore that damn sweater with EVERYTHING!! (best $4 sweater I ever bought!) In the elevator, we were chatting with a couple b/c the woman asked if it was 'the big day'. We told her that we had come back to Vegas after 10 years to celebrate our anniversary. She said they had also done that and the she was 'going to cry'. It was sweet. Someone else passed us on the street later, and turned back to say 'you look very pretty'. The waitress, when we went for drinks later, also asked if we had just gotten married...I guess it was the headband that made me look 'bridal'?

The ceremony was quick...we got there early to check in, and since no one else was there or waiting, we actually finished up with everything before it was even supposed to start! We had their photographer take some pictures from which we could pick one that they will send to us as an 8x10. They gave us the option to buy the whole lot of them on disc, but I'm really bad at parting with my money, and I had already lost $40 gambling!! Anyway, I'm a little sad that I didn't get them, but maybe I'll just have to dress up again and have some pictures taken for fun.

Dinner that night was at 7...so between 3 and 7 we had more time to kill. We decided to see the Shark Reef exhibit at Mandalay Bay. That was fun...partly because I was a little overdressed!! And I was carrying my bouquet and heels (yes, I had my fold up flats in my bag and I was so happy I did! just a few steps down the road and my toes were torn up! Spencer is over 6 feet tall and has quite a longer stride than Jason and me!!).

Then, back to the Flamingo to grab Spencer's bag so we didn't have to rush to get that and then for him to get to the airport (good thing, too, b/c dinner ran long and he had to leave immediately after the check hit the table!), then to the bar we had been to earlier, View Bar. We found it when we were in the Aria hotel looking for our dinner restaurant. We had drinks when we first came upon it, and then again for pre-dinner drinks. I had a Cucumber Collins and then later, a Pomegranate Mojito...Yummy! Dinner was great and if it was around the corner...or even in Boston!...I would want to go often (same goes for the bar). It was tapas so we had 10 dishes to share, plus a pitcher of sangria, plus a couple desserts!!

Wednesday: Jubilee! night. For the day we just sort of hung out...going here and there, stopping to play a little game or check out a random shop or statue. We had delicious burgers at this place in the Mirage (BLT burgers, I think it was called)...mine was Tex-Mex...a burger with chili, avocado, cheddar cheese, and sour cream!! Meat on meat! We also planned on going back another time for milkshakes...which we did Friday before we left. I had 'the lunch box': peanut butter and jelly!

We only really ate the one meal that day. The show was at 7 (in our seats by 6:30 b/c I'm habitually early for everything!) so we figured we'd eat afterwards, but we wanted to grab a cocktail beforehand. Ah, the perfect time to check out the bar at the Eiffel Tower Restaurant! The view was spectacular and the 'perfect Manhattan' was indeed perfect! So romantic, especially with me dressed in my suede pants...my original 'wedding dress'!! Hubby's impressed that I can still wear pants from 10 years ago...I was impressed that they actually fit better now!!

We did do dinner after the show, but we weren't that hungry, so it wasn't anything special...we went next door to P.F. Chang's for Chinese.

oh, the show...silly. some topless girls, pasty white boys in studded thongs, and cheesy props...but GREAT headdresses and so much sparkle! There were also a couple little 'circus-y' type acts between the bigger acts that were fun...strongmen and drum players (think 'stomp').

Anyone bored yet? probably...

I wanted to divide it all up by day, and include pictures, but pictures will have to come later.

Up next: Thanksgiving day, and then our flight home. Both 'travel days' ended up being 24 hour days, due to our late flights!

November 22, 2010

Day one in Las Vegas.

Before meeting up with our friend, we got coffee and checked out the gardens at the hotel.

Flamingos at the Flamingo, of course. And koi so big they could've eaten the ducks swimming above them!!

We got up and met with our friend for breakfast while we decided what to do for the day. We ate at a little place in the Venetian, since that is where Hubby and Spencer were planning on getting into a poker tournament at noon. So, I was a girl about town...on my own for the day. (Vintage shoes from Goodwill, $6; friend's old vintage '80's skirt kept for years hoping I would fit into it; Forever21 sweater, $12; plain white tee; and, my cute purse that Hubby got me 15 or so years ago at Trump Tower on our first trip to NYC together.)

So I wondered around and made my way all the way down the strip to get to the Luxor hotel to see the Bodies Exhibit. Taking some pictures along the way, of course. There are so many sculptures and water features in Vegas. Every hotel has dozens of them!This one in front of Caesars Palace, I think. And this one, too.

So, it was quite a walk. You can just walk down the strip. The whole length is only 4.1 miles long. I had about 3/4 of that to walk...in my heels. But you have to go up and down and around so much, that it is not a straight shot. To top it off, the side of the street I was on was having a new hotel built and had part of the sidewalk blocked off. (Only for that day, I think, b/c the next time we went down that way, the sidewalk was open!) The detour I took, took me back in the wrong direction. I ended up going back to the blocked sidewalk and crossing the street for the rest of my trip. I saw a CVS pharmacy and stopped for blister bandages b/c my feet were wrecked at this point. And I hadn't even made it to the exhibit!!

When I saw the Pharaoh head in the distance I knew I was close. It was a great show, I'm glad I saw it, but my foot is now wrapped in an Ace bandage due to some sort of injury I obtained from my stupidity!!

This is just a shot of the indoor Venice waterways in the Venetian.

And, yes, there are still pay phones in the world!!

Next installment of Vegas Vacation: Monday night out...a fun night, even with the lack of music.

Back to reality

We're back from out trip. So, here is my first installment of 'VEGAS 2010'...
Our flight out of Boston left on time Sunday at about 6:10 p.m. I had been up at 4 a.m. to work a quick 4-11 a.m. shift at the grocery store before coming home to get Hubby so that we could go pick up our rental car. It was actually cheaper to rent a car one-way to the airport (and then again from Boston to Hyannis) than it would've been for the two of us to get round-trip bus tickets. Well, I guess it was about $10 more, but the ease of driving versus sitting on a bus for 3 hours and then having a 6 hour flight is worth way more than that!! And it is very expensive to leave the car parked at the airport for 5 days, too.
So, we boarded our plane, and then with the time change of 3 hours, we got into Vegas around 9 p.m. 'their' time. We hadn't eaten all day, so we dropped off our stuff at the hotel and headed to Carnegie Deli in the Mirage and had some corned beef. By the time we got back to our hotel and into bed, I had been up for nearly 24 hours. Just 30 minutes shy. I was still up by 5 a.m. Vegas time, 8 a.m. Eastern.
Anyway...some photos:
I always sit by the window, and I can never resist taking pics, even though it's hard to get a good one. This is before I adjusted the settings on the camera. I am very bad at this digital camera stuff, even after all these years. I thought this was cool...kinda like the city is on fire.
Once I adjusted the settings I took these. The Strip is the concentrated line of lights through the center of the shot. And this one...the tallest building is the Stratosphere Hotel/Casino. We didn't go there, as we didn't actually go any further down that way than the Venetian.
We checked in and made our way down the long hallway. Each day, as my feet hurt more and more (we'll get to that tragic story later), the room seemed farther away! I took a picture of our room number because I liked the little bamboo frame, but when I was on my own on Monday, I couldn't remember my room number!! I did remember without looking at the picture, but what a handy thing to have!!

And the views from the room...
The front part of the building, looking from the back part of the building, which is where our room was.
No view of the strip like I was hoping, but we could catch a glimpse of the garden, where the flamingos were. Those weird circle things are the ceilings of one of the restaurants...I think the buffet area, actually. The green 'bands' of the 'hats' are glass. We didn't go to even ONE buffet. We wanted to experience the chic, young Vegas with our dining. The buffet lines were always really long, too. The line for the Paris Thanksgiving buffet was a THREE HOUR WAIT!!

So, that's the start of the trip. I'm not gonna bore anyone with a ridiculously long post. I'm too antsy to type it, so I can expect you to want to read it all at once, either!!
Until later, then...

here we go...

Okay, I'm sure you're all (all...haha!) tired of hearing about it, but the day is finally (almost) here!
tomorrow, after my 5 a.m. to 11 a.m. shift, we will be on our way. I will be on vacation.

The next time I post a blog, it will still be about vegas, but it will have pictures (I hope) and fun stories!

Later............................

how embarrassing!!

Today's post includes some graphic pictures. Very embarrassing pictures. It is a story that needs to be told due to it's hilarity, but I'm warning you...if you have had enough of girls in tight jeans...look away!

Here's the story:

As with every morning I work at Trader Joe's, I got in to work at 5 a.m. and put product up shelves for a couple hours until the guy in charge, this morning, asked me to start cleaning the floors. This means going around and sweeping and then washing the floors. We have a machine, called the Zamboni, which is a great help in washing the floors. You fill it with water, it has a spinning scrubbing underneath and a squeegee at the back. As you push it across the floor, water comes out, the spinning brush cleans, and the squeegee pulls away the excess water (think window washers). It's great. But ours is broken. We are waiting for a battery. So, in the meantime, it's mop and bucket for us. Well, it's not that big of a deal, I'm a pretty good mopper, and I don't mind it.

This morning I went to the task of filling the mop buckets. That is when it happened. The hose was in the bucket, water was coming out, but as I let go, the water presser got stronger and the hose flew out of the bucket! I grabbed it as it hit my leg, but I couldn't think fast enough to hold it away from my ...well...my self. I was soaked in a way that I can only describe as a child who is recently out of diapers. This happened to me before!! But last time, it hit me up top, and finding a dry shirt is a lot easier than a pair of pants!!

I stopped my boss as she came back to get something from where I was, and said, 'I think I have a pair of scrub pants in my car...' She of course said that I could go look...but they weren't there!! I went back inside (this whole time, in soaking wet pants) and told her I didn't have them. I honestly didn't know what I could do. I thought, maybe I could go to the discount shop next door and hope they had sweatpants or something...P.J's even! She said, 'there's a pair of jeans in the break room. I don't know who they belong, because they've been there forever, and no one has claimed them.' I went to look, praying that they had belonged to one of the 'bigger girls' or one of the guys. I held them up and thought...'nope'....but I tried them anyway.

It took a lot of struggling...they were button fly, and from the very first one, to the SIXTH and final button, I thought each one would be the last I could fasten. Some how I managed to get all those buttons buttoned. I could barely walk at first and I felt ridiculous! There were jokes all day of course. By the end of my shift, my pants were still a little wet, so I wore the jeans home. I could barely lift my leg up to sit in the seat of my car!

Luckily, I was at my register for most of the day.

Here come the pictures, so look away, if you have a weak stomach. These were actually nice Ralph Lauren Polo jeans. If they had fit better, I might have kept them!! There was no size, or any tag at all actually, inside. I don't know what size they were, but they were smaller than the size I should be wearing!!

Here they come...

last chance to close this page...

Ready?...

Okay, here goes...

As you can see, from the side...not too bad, but WOW! did those suckers suck my ass in!!

But, oh dear!! Show us your Underalls, indeed!! Every step felt odd...so tight!!

I thought, 'well, maybe my shirt was long enough to make them a little less obvious...

...not so much, I guess.

Well, I'm sure the ribbing at work will go on for some time, but thank goodness I got to take those things off when I got home!!