8.30.2011

ten on tuesday. 8.30.11

- i totally forgot yesterday was monday. well, until i remembered and then i was just too lazy to try to figure out what i should blog. ;)
- so excited for this new necklace to come in the mail. i love trees!{they even have their own category on pinterest!}
- i love my son.  he makes me laugh. every day.
- started week four of my couch to 5k. 1/2 mile intervals are not fun.
- as soon as i'm done blogging, i'm going to try to scrap. i hope i remember how... i have deadlines!
- was told this weekend, by a good friend, that her mom used to cook hot dogs over the gas flame on the stove. um, why haven't i thought of that?! i knew you could do marshmallows... but hot dogs? i might have to try it.
- had a home made butter beer this weekend. it was tasty. i'm told it wasn't as good as the real thing though.
- vacation next week! only have a few outings planned. looking forward to playing it by ear.
- why do i hate blogging so much? i mean, i love going back and rereading all we've done. i just hate finding time to do it.
- is it wrong that i want to start christmas shopping?

8.26.2011

five on friday

- had a sick wee man today. ;(
woke up with a fever of 103. after two tylenol does it was 105! finally got it down to 100 after three tylenol doses, one motrin dose, and a cool bath. phew. hoping it's gone!
- i impressed my chiropractor. apparently, my foot doesn't do something that it is supposed to and he's never seen that before... great. thinking i might need a whole post on my gd feet and/or running.
- looking forward to smores and meyer's specials tomorrow with friends. fingers crossed we don't have to cancel. {see first bullet.}
- i hate that it's dark outside at 8. i thought it was like 1030 and it was barely 830.  it's gonna be a long winter.
- who knew i could make it a whole week posting?! ;)

wip 7.30.11 part two!

sunday:
rainy, cloudy morning. perfect sleeping in weather. and i did just that! felt sooo good to just sleep. no worrying about ben or alarm clocks. lazy, unplanned days are so needed on vacations. otherwise, i come home crabby and tired!

met john and bill at planet hollywood after one of john's poker tournaments. i couldn't commit to playing. wanted to do nothing rather than focus on cards!


some street signs. our intersection. ;-) and proof that it is cloudy in vegas!



checking out hand prints of one of my boyfriends. sandra bullock had her hand prints there too. made them into ducks or something. so effin cute!


one of the highlights of the trip. i love hot dogs. seriously. could eat them all day every day. well, the good kind. and not boiled. strictly boiled hot dogs are gross. i like em grilled. but as long as they have a nice 'pop' when you bite into em, i'm good.
enough hot dog rambling. we made it to pinks! yay. yay. yay.

some of their killer menu. i had the hardest time deciding.


ended up with some crazy mixture of two dogs, jalapenos, guacamole, onions, chili, and i can't remember what else. it was delicious. i told nick the other day that i was craving one!


i barely made a dent... but i tried!


we all went our separate ways. just kinda lounged around.

then it was date night. nick and i got dressed up and headed out.

we stopped at the new hotel, the cosmopolitan. was pretty cool.

this is a lame picture of one of their restaurants. chandelier. my amateur photog skills do not do it justice. was way better in person.


then we headed on down the strip. it's amazing how much it's changed in the last five years. so many new hotels and walk ways. kinda makes it tricky to walk up and down the strip. 


made it to our destination. i swear, this is the best kept secret in vegas. there were only like 5 other tables in use when we arrived. was so chill and had the best view. {another shout out to jt for telling us we had to go there. just the two of us!}

this was our view. we lounged in two comfy recliners and just watched. {ignore my flash glare. i'm not editing pictures! everything you see is sotc.}


we had some super tasty snackies. wasabi peas that were nothing like the wasabi peas we have had before. these had like a crunchy coating. almost like an m and m shell. but not...

i enjoyed a cucumber margarita. there were cucumbers every where. seriously, i think they're the new 'it' drink item.


and we ordered some deep fried avocado. holy goodness. like deep fried guac. yum.

trying to get a selphie with the view.


after our me time, we cabbed it back to mon ami gabi and met john and bill after they saw celine. they said she was fabulous.

wasn't my favorite restaurant. but that's okay.
i tried some watermelon gazpacho. different.


and the burger was okay.


nick insisted on scallops even though he's allergic. if i remember correctly, he was a fan. 


we were lucky enough to be seated outside. so we could watch the fountains across the street. so crazy that we stayed here and barely got to see any of the fountain shows! 


sunday:
went to have breakfast at hash house a go go. if you go to vegas, you must stop here. but be warned a party of four could probably split one entree! pretty sure i heard about this place on man vs. food!

john went to a poker tourney so it was just the three of us.



my awesome watermelon something or other.


my meal. the eggs benedict special. was featured on man vs food. was really, really good. just a lot of food!


not the greatest picture. but kinda helps ya see how big it is.


the three of us and our meal that could have fed a small country.


nick's chicken and waffles. he said they were okay. and the bacon is actually cooked into the waffle!


bill's out of control pancake. seriously, it was monstrous!


then we headed back to the hotel and lounged poolside. nick saw this cypress lounge the first day we were there. we splurged and got ourselves some super comfy chairs, free flavored water, chilled towels, and wait staff. was amazing and totally worth the $100!



john's still at his tourney. we enjoyed a pitcher of mojitos!


was a little toasty!


food!


john was able to join us for a bit. then it was show time! saw mystere.  was unbelievable. the strength that these people have is unreal. i think that nick and i sat there with our mouths hanging open or saying no way for most of the show! i am now officially obsessed with cirq du soleil.

had dinner at tao.
was good. the atmosphere was pretty neat. loved the chopstick holders on the tables!


 nick's dinner. i cannot remember what he got. nothing terribly adventurous!


and um, i can't remember what i got either! but if you look closely you can see i have another cucumber drink. told you they were all the rage. ;)


tuesday:
time to fly home.

thank you southwest vacations for a great trip! and for some free flights because of it. still deciding on where to go. seattle or denver.... yay for friends in both spots who would welcome us and be our tour guides. ;)


always love seeing something other than green when i look out the window.


and we're home. the lovely city of chicago. ;-)


ben was so freaking adorable when we came home. i picked him up and his little legs wouldn't stop going. like he was running in my arms. so, so sweet. and he would wake up through out the night and call out for mommy or daddy. it was like he was just checking that we were still there. only lasted a few days and i was more than happy to make up some missed cuddle time with my lil guy!

and although she doesn't read this. i want to thank my mom for watching ben. totally could not have done this without you. we love and appreciate you more than you know! xo.

8.24.2011

words wednesday. expectations.

some pinterest words of wisdom...

{source}

{source}

less depressing post tomorrow! promise. ;-)


8.23.2011

wip 7.30.11 part one

i'm not really in a blogging mood as of late. thinking that i just need to do it. get back on the wagon and it will be easier. that it's just this overwhelming sense of 'catching up' that's never gonna happen. but that's okay. no pressure, right? my blog. my rules. so here i go! {and blogger is so not cooperating but i'm committed to posting, so my apologies if the photos are wonky.}

friday: early day. i believe our flight left midway at like 9am. no early morning pictures! we arrived in vegas and it was cooler there than it was here, at home! it's amazing what no humidity will do... makes 100 degrees tolerable! : ) nick upgraded our room. it was supposed to be a surprise, but he let it slip a month or so earlier! the room was amazing. we had the best view...





headed down to the pool for lunch and cocktails and sun! my blue drink was delicious. seriously. so good. acai berry something, i think. yum.




our bed was as hard as a rock. seriously. i made john and bill try it out to make sure i wasn't being a wimp. they agreed. said theirs was amazing. almost pillow top. so we called the front desk and asked for it to be changed.  we came back up from lunch and sun to this...


really?! i'm paying how much a night and this is the quality service you provide. sigh. so we called and complained. and an hour and a half later, no one had been up to address our unmade bed. so we called again, and they had no record of our complaint on log. just something about our bathroom light. we totally didn't call on the light, but they were right. it was still out! finally had someone come up and make our bed just as we were heading out for the evening...

our first show was phantom of the opera. nick's choice. i'm not a huge opera fan. might surprise some considering i love the les miserable soundtrack. {thank you jorja boller} and we were a bit nervous because i had heard that it wasn't really phantom. it was some twist or something. nope. nick loved it. it was okay. the costumes and acting was fabulous. i just had a hard time understanding some of the words. the actual phantom wasn't my favorite. ;(



then it was dinner at lavo. so good. would totally recommend it! might have been my favorite dinner there. and it was nice to sit outside and just people watch. {apparently miss kim k and her now hubs are fans too! we ate at tao later in the trip...}


and warning. i photographed every meal. well, i forgot one main course. oops. so bear with me on food pics.

had this tasty beverage. haven't the foggiest idea what was in it, but i remember really enjoying it!


my yummy polenta sticks. sigh, i want some right now...


and the cauliflower risotto. drooling...


nick, john, and i in the cab on the way back. bill always had the duty of sitting up front with the cabby!


our amazing night time view. so good. this was the only night we were home early enough to watch it... pretty impressive considering we were up for almost 22 hours!


saturday:
met up with nick's college room mate, jeremy.  jt has lived in vegas for a few years. he works for a major advertising company there. was so cool to spend the day with him and we were so thankful for his insider information. totally helped us with some great ideas and things to do while we were there!

jt offered to pick us up and take us to red rock canyon. we were a bit early, so we strolled around bellagio. love that lobby! 


amazing piece of art. all flowers used in this 'painting'. so very cool.


if you are looking for something non vegasy in vegas. i totally suggest driving out to red rock canyon. was absolutely beautiful. jeremy was a great tour guide and provided us will all sorts of vegas history and trivia on the drive. seriously. the rock formations are breath taking. 



nick totally looks photoshopped in on the next picture. ;)



do you see the face?



i have a zillion pictures. trying to limit my sharing....  unfortunately we didn't see any burritos {what jt calls baby burros. apparently, they can be pretty abundant!}



nick being a tourist. he was like,' you didn't just take a picture did you?' um, yes. yes i did!



our little friend.


 then we went back and saw jeremy's house. nick was completely jealous of his projector tv. i know that one of these will be in our basement!

totally felt like we were back at purdue!



then we went to an authentic mexican restaurant. i can't pass up good mexican food!
the gauc was delish. and so was the margarita and my combo platter {which i forgot to photograph!}




we also stopped at jeremy's office. totes amazing. {i know lots of amazing going on. sorry. i will work on a new adjective...} made us both want to quit our jobs, move to vegas, and work with him. the environment was inspiring. so happy for him!

the boys talked books while we were at jt's house. we drove past a borders and they decided to stop and do some shopping!



i only snapped this one picture of us. in bellagio's parking garage. next to the exhaust. oh well! 


we were able to hang out at the pool for a bit. then it was dinner and a show! {beware upcoming links have sound!}

we couldn't decide on where to eat our good steak dinner. i was hoping for craftsteak. but we changed our minds after jeremy's suggestion and nick saw a ribeye featured on the best thing i ever ate... las vegas edition!

we headed to wynn for dinner at sw.
the boys surprised us with la reve tickets. so sweet!



loved the parasols.


and the tile floor.


quite possibly the most delicous thing i ate on the trip. oh my word. fresh bread with bacon baked into it. jeremy warned us about these... he was spot on! totally worth every single calorie. so good, i had two!


and a lychee martini. 


the four of us...


and our crazy, way too big dinner.


 nick said his ribeye was 'the bomb'. he raved about it for days. actually, he still talks about it. says it was worth every penny!

were able to see the show that's outside at wynn. was pretty cool. i guess steven spielberg designed it {jeremy worked on the wynn's grand opening. was full of more vegas trivia!} i'm not going to share all the pictures. don't want to ruin any surprises if you ever make it to see the show.


la reve was so cool. i didn't research the shows before we went. we pretty much trusted john and bill. they are vegas regulars and have seen everything at least once! the cirq performers are unreal. i don't know how they do the stuff they do. and this one took place in/on/over water.

some random night snapshots.




john made us stop at the sugar factory. he told us about these ginormous gummy bears....


holy crap they are ridiculously heavy! i can't imagine eating one. you would need a fork and a knife. 


i was still beyond full from dinner. i almost caved and bought the smores one... thought it would have been a snack for some other time, but i refrained. now i wish i had bought one!! {jamie, i might beg you to bring me one back when you go for the bachelorette party!}


and our run in with willy!




okay. i'm tired. and i'm sure that's a whole lot to take in. so i'm breaking these into two posts. maybe blogger will be more agreeable tomorrow too!