Viva Vegas Anniversary

Agh, where does the time go? My summer vacay is dwindling down so quickly. Two weekends ago, the husband took me to Vegas for our two year anniversary. He's been there numerous times and I've been a few, but we had never gone together. We started off our anniversary weekend early on Friday, going out for drinks at the St. Regis. I just had to get my hands down favorite bloody mary: the Great Wall Bloody Mary.




BTW, did you know that the first bloody mary ever was served 76 years ago at the St. Regis in New York? It was created there. Crazy!

Next day, husband tried to throw me off where we were going, but at the last minute told me we were flying. As soon as I found out it was Vegas, I was psyched. However, we faced a three hour delay, which meant drinks in the bar!




We stayed at the Venetian, which was absolutely gorgeous, and went out dancing the first night with friends. Dinner was at a darling french restaurant in the Venetian called Bouchon. We were also introduced to the most insane restaurant in Vegas: the Peppermill. I almost got a picture with Holly Madison there (however, she was a bit mean and blew me off); however, Nick drinking "The Scorpion" with an ex-coworker there more than made up for it.









Yeah, that last photo up there is the closest I got to taking a picture with Holly. The next day, the husband was a true romantic. We went to Paris for our honeymoon, and he surprised me by taking me to dinner on our anniversary in the Eiffel Tower restaurant. It was probably the nicest meal I've ever had. He even had flowers waiting for me.






I was in blue cheese heaven!



And then we finished off our last day with lunch at Serendipity. Now, their famed iced hot chocolate was a HUGE letdown, but their burgers were AMAZE-BALLS. Nick had a burger with brie and avocado, while I went for their barbecue burger with blue cheese and bacon. Their burgers are definitely near the top of our list!







It was an absolutely unforgettable anniversary, and I don't know how I'm going to top him next year. Thank you, Love.

Year Two

Hey Lover,

Still smoking hot...

And I love you more and more each day...

Happy two years, Babe!

Destination Unknown

What's that, you ask? Why, it's the new iphone the hubs bought me. I was literally so excited when he pulled out the box yesterday. Even thought our anniversary is tomorrow, he gave it to me yesterday since they'd already turned off service to my old iphone (I hadn't noticed.) We are headed off today to an unknown destination for our two year anniversary, and I am so excited. I am actually cool with it being a surprise this year. We'll be gone until Monday evening, so hopefully I'll feel energetic to post on Tuesday. Have a great weekend!

Parker Inspiration

At the beginning of this fine year of 2010, the hubs and I stayed at the Parker in Palm Springs for New Year's. I was immediately taken with the decor, as is everyone who stays there, especially the bathroom.



I was very much inspired by it, and I knew I wanted to decorate one of the bathrooms in our house in the same fashion. This is how far I have gotten:







Looking at these photos, you can see I haven't gotten that far. Now, I'm stuck. Obviously, something has to be done with those white walls. The husband will not let me wallpaper (boo!), so I am a loss about what to do. I have considered stripes, even painting a few of the walls black...I just don't know what to do.

Donna Martin Graduates!

With absolutely no regret or shame I can state that I adore Tori Spelling. In the fourth grade, I used to plug my headphones into my television to watch 90210 since it was on past my bedtime. When her show So NoTORIous was on VH1, I literally wept tears from laughing so hard. Now, of course, I am not too hot AT ALL on how she started her relationship with her husband Dean, but I also cannot help but adore him. His sexual, smartass remarks remind me way too much of my husband's comments.

So I seized the opportunity to meet her yesterday at a book signing in Costa Mesa. I've read all of her books and loved them. Let me just say she was an absolute doll! She made time for each fan, having a little conversation with each of them and posing for pics. She was just so gracious and sweet; it definitely made this month (after the Harry Potter park of course)



If you haven't read any of her books, trust me, giver her a shot. She's hilarious.

I Went to Hogwarts!

WARNING: This post is EXTREMELY picture heavy!

Hi Lovelies, I have two conferences down now and one more to go. Yesterday, I got back from the Renaissance conference I attended in Orlando, FL. Renaissance is an academic rewards program designed to reward students who do well in school with different incentives like t-shirts, classroom rewards, etc.

Being that I was going to be in Orlando, I had to make a trip to the Harry Potter park. I absolutely adore the series of books, and to actually have the chance to go to Hogwarts and Hogsmeade...I just couldn't pass it up.

So after the conference, I stayed an extra day. And I went to the park ALL BY MYSELF.


Here I am in front of Hogwarts. I speed walked all the way through the park and almost peed my pants when I saw the castle. Sweat was literally streaming down my face at this point. Just so you know, NEVER visit Florida without shorts in the summer.

I waited about half an hour to go into Dervish and Banges, where I bought my own wand (the line to get into Olivander's was an hour and a half!)




After making it out of the store, I decided to get a nice cup of butter beer, and it was dee-lish! Imagine a root beer with more of a vanilla taste. I highly recommend getting a frozen cup, in which they add a little bit of soft serve vanilla ice cream to the top.


After enjoying that cup of butter beer, I finally got in line to ride the Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey ride. Waiting in line for this ride is fun in and of itself because you get to tour through Hogwarts first before you board the ride.

Waiting in line in Professor Sprout's herbology greenhouse.


Talking paintings inside the Hogwarts castle.

Dumbledore's Pensieve

The Sorting Hat

As for the ride itself, I really hadn't gone on anything like it before. It is a truly interactive ride that takes you through various scenes in the movie as you chase after Harry, trying to get to a quidditch game. You encounter a dragon, which breathes smoke in your face. You get spit on by the huge spiders in the forest. And you'll be terrified by the dementors who pop up and follow you. I waited in line for forty-five minutes the first time before a fire alarm went off, and I was evacuated along with all of the other tourists. I almost cried out of fear that I wouldn't get to ride this ride. Thankfully, they fixed everything. Trust me, the wait for this ride is well worth it. I went on it twice.

I then got in line to ride the Dragon's Challenge, an exciting roller coaster ride. You travel through one of the rally tents before you board the dragon of your choice.





The ride is insanely fun, and a must at the park. The wait for this ride was extremely short; I guess people are too afraid to ride roller coasters?

I then walked around Hogsmeade for a bit and had dinner at the Three Broomsticks.





And what visit to Hogsmeade and Hogwarts would be complete without taking a picture with the conductor of the Hogwarts Express?

Even though I was all by myself, this was one of the most exciting, fulfilling things I have ever got to do in my life. How many of us get to visit the places in our favorite books? If you love the books as much as I do, I highly recommend going if you have the opportunity. It is something I will never forget.

Hogsmeade at Night =)