Weekend recap: Vegas baby, Vegas!

Hey, hey everyone I'm back from Vegas! And the good news is, I came back unmarried and untattooed. Win, win!

As you know, this weekend I was in Vegas with a group of awesome and fun bloggers and it was a blast! This was the first time I've been to Vegas so I had to find the delicate balance of alcohol and sight seeing. It was tough.

And here are a few things I learned while I was in America's Playground:

• Vegas is totally chick-friendly. If you're a woman, Vegas is the place for you. You can have any of the following things happen: get a high five, be talked dirty to in Spanish, be whistled at and get just about anything you want if you travel with two or more women. Clubs are your oyster!

• Boobs are not a big deal in Vegas. In fact, they're everywhere on the streets. People hand out cards with boobs (and the "other" if you know what I mean) and after awhile you just go dead inside when you see them. Being a woman, if you've seen one boob, you've seen them all

• Holy shit it is hot. We came during a "cool week," which was still in the 90s but damn, I was baking like a pig on a spit at the pool and on the strip. That sun is punishing, as my arms will attest

• Your depth perception will fool you. I think this may be heat-induced but things look close together on the strip but they're not! Yes, the Bellagio and Mirage are next to each other, but it can take you 10-15 minutes to walk there because of other tourists and sidewalk space

• Time doesn't really exist on the strip. Yes, the time change from Chicago (two hours behind) was tough because it goes by so quickly and then suddenly it's 5 p.m. and you're eating lunch and 11 p.m. and it's dinner time. It's madness!

Anyhow, Jamie, Allie and I arrived on Friday morning in Las Vegas and quickly ditched our stuff at the Luxor and hit the strip, where we first discovered that whole depth-perception lie crap. I live in Chicago, walk everywhere and was still begging for mercy by the end of the day. Sanctuary! Save me! 

So after some sight seeing and a lovely lunch with our other roommie, we met up with our blogger group and walked with them over to their dinner buffet. We would have joined them but we had to run over to the Mirage. Why? Because we had tickets to the Beatles Cirque du Soleil show, Love. 

And here's an overly sappy moment, I love the Beatles. I love them so much. I grew up listening to their music and on any bad day, I always play some Beatles music to boost my spirits. So the opportunity to see the show (thanks to Cirque) made me literally cry. And as you know, I'm not a huger crier. So I put on my best boob shirt and we went to the show! And it was AMAZING. The music, stage set up, dancing and stunts were wonderful. It was a true sensory overload and I am so glad I got to go. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Moving on to Saturday, after leisurely sleeping in until 1o:30 a.m. (12:30 p.m. Chicago time, hey ya!) my roomies and I met up with our blogger group at the pool (where I proceeded to get a decent amount of sun) and then hit the strip for more sight seeing, including a lovely tour of the Venetian hotel and "lunch" at Mario Batali's restaurant, Entocea San Marco, which had the best gelato I've ever had. 

View from our table at Entocea San Marco

And of course, that was followed by an epic blogger meet up at a bar in the Venetian, full of $5 glasses of wine, hilarious photos and a trip to the "best bathroom" as voted by the Las Vegas Sun. And from our group's consensus, it was awesome.

Katelin and me toasting out trip (before getting silly)

My bathroom stall. Tres chic!

On Sunday, The time change finally hit me and I was up and moving at 7:30 a.m. Vegas time (9:30 a.m. Chicago). So Jamie and I jumped in a cab, to save our legs, and headed to the far end of the strip to cruise through more casinos. In fact, I even rocked the penny slots (daredevil!) and was up 71 cents before losing it. Well, at least it wasn't the rent. We also met up with Allie, Katelin and Matt for brunch at the Bellagio, which was awesome and filling, without the full "food baby."

Another perk of the trip? My cousin and his wife live in Vegas so they picked me up and took me to the "burger mecca" of the west coast, In-n-Out burger. I won't lie, I was ridiculously excited for this trip. And after some apologies for my serious photo-taking, I snapped a photo of our Double-double before it was devoured. It was heaven.

We were some of the few bloggers staying until Monday so we grabbed Amanda and went back to the Mirage for dinner, where the restaurant was so fancy, we had to ask for the prix fixe meal because they didn't openly offer it. But it was SO worth it. And I know you're sad, but the restaurant's lighting prevented me from taking pictures of the food. FAIL. I know.

And in closing, yesterday we returned to Chicago, where I came back on budget for the trip but exhausted. Seriously, our flight was circling O'Hare for an hour. And after some turbulence, my stomach was NOT happy. 

But all in all, it was an awesome, fun, crazy weekend where I got to meet a lot of cool new people and get a break from Chicago, work, life, etc. It was a real adventure and now it's time to rest up before I depart from Boston. But, I'm sure I'll go back to Vegas in the future, but this time a little more gambling-savvy.

After all, Missy Jess needs a new pair of shoes :)

How was everyone else's weekend? 

Guest bloggers start up again tomorrow, but I'll be back in full force after the weekend when I'm back from Boston! So come on back now!

Oh and Jamie took this picture of me near the bronze Siegfried and Roy and tiger statue. It's too hilarious NOT to post.

Guest post: Gotta catch them all!

Hi all! It's Rachel from I'm a Mom in Real Life! The fabulous Jessica asked me to write up a guest post for her & since I love her to bits I said yes.

Oh wait, you don't believe that I love Jessica to bits?

You know what today is?

It's my birthday! How do I spend it? Telling people how awesome Jessica is!
So there you go!

I decided to make Jessica the next blogger in my Bloggers you should know series. So get excited because Jessia just got her very own;

BLOGGER CARD!

Guest post: Chicago vs. Vegas

The first awesome guest post comes from the lovely Jenn at Free and Flawed. Enjoy! 

What is it about guest posts that turn even the most creative bloggers into a big ball of writer's block? Don't worry, this isn't turning into a blog post all about how guest posting is so hard. I won't make you read a list of reasons why guest blogging is so hard or how many topics I thought of before settling on this one. But just in case you wanted to know...No, no. I promised Jess a real post so here it is!

While Jess is off having a blast in Vegas, I'm here in Chicago nursing my jealousy wounds. I had originally planned to tag along, but due to the lack of piles of dough, I decided to stay. So instead of sulking around the apartment all weekend, I've come up with a list of reasons why it's better to be in Chicago.

• While you're dumping coin after coin into the slot machines, I can just walk over to the closet vending machine. 75 cents in, tasty, refreshing pop out. I'm always a winner. 

• I've seen 21, I know all about those card counters. While you're losing money at the tables, I'll be playing a mean game of Monopoly with my grandma. What began as a game of strategy and balls turns into a fun game of hide & seek. Where's grandma hiding those pink fifties?

• If I'm tired of looking at boobs, I just turn off the porn. I mean...what?

• You know that saying, "what happens in Vegas - stays in vegas"......uh.....if you believe that, yeah, you might want to check out "YouTube"......
  

If none of that means anything to you, I've saved the best for last. Wait for it...

• I have Rachel, you don't. 
  

Mwa ha ha ha! Winner. 

Hope you're having a blast in Vegas!

Leaving on a jet plane

Here's another thing I recommend: going on vacation!

I haven't been on a proper vacation in.......years? And why don't I take vacation? Two reasons: money and I'm a workaholic.

But, I did mention in a previous post about wanting to take a vacation this year and I was serious.

So tomorrow, I am getting on a jet plane with some awesome Chicago bloggers to meet up with more awesome bloggers in America's playground, Las Vegas.

And because I hoarded so much of my vacation time this year (oops!) I am taking a full week-plus off of work to go to Vegas and then out to Boston with my dad. We're going to get our "geek on" for New England history and hit up Fenway Park to see the Red Sox/Yankees. I'm beyond excited about going to the ballpark.

My two little mini-vacations will be good for me. I get to relax and unplug from work and just veg. And while I'm not in the best swimsuit shape, after a few drinks, I'm sure that won't matter ;)

So while I'm gone, I have some awesome guest bloggers lined up and I'll be back next week with a full Vegas recap before I head out to Boston. I'll also be tweeting from my trips so if you don't follow me, feel free to do so and live vicariously through me, I do it all the time with friends.

Oh and please forgive me for being behind on commenting, I promise to get to everyone!

Miss me!?

Does anyone else have big travel plans this summer? That's either destination bound or staycation?

Note: Thank you everyone for your comments on the wedding note post yesterday. I won't lie, I was a little surprised by some of the feedback, but everyone made valid points and I can see where everyone is coming from. People were very passionate and adamant about the topic, which is great, I love reading your comments on things like this.

Wedding thank you notes (and the drama with them)

Okay I need everyone's help tonight because I've heard a variety of answers to this question.

Wedding thank you notes: a) do you have to send them? and b) how long should it take to send them out?

Here's why I'm asking. Several ladies I work with just got married and while they were talking about sending out their thank you notes, one of them said that she had still not received a thank you note from a wedding she attended over a year ago.

The new brides (and single-girl me) were shocked.

Apparently, the woman's friend, who was the bride, mentioned something in passing that she enjoyed her wedding gift, but the gift giver never received a thank you note from the couple, by mail or e-mail.

And when she told us what her gift was (it came from that famous store in an Audrey Hepburn classic film) we were all extra shocked.

I think she should casually mention something to the bride or groom. Just say something casually, not accusatory. To me, it doesn't matter how big the wedding is, if people are thoughtful enough to bring you a gift, especially an expensive one, a thank you note is in order. Plus, if I found out other guests got a note and not me, I would be even more hurt.

What does everyone else think? I'm curious about your thoughts on this because I've heard different opinions about this topic.

Note: OMG I cannot believe I left out slap bracelets from yesterday's 80s post. Seriously, I loved those things. I might have to dig around for mine. They were slap-tastic! Hmm that sounds dirty.

80s fashion comeback

Times are tough. The economy sucks, people are being laid off and money is tighter than Joan Rivers face.

But lately, I've noticed the economy has been extra cruel to the women of Chicago. Why? Because many of them can't afford a properly fitting shirt. Oh the humanity!

Women like you (minus the guys) and me are forced to buy shirts that casually fall of our shoulder, exposing skin and a delicate cami or bra strap, the other side of the shirt's neck coming dangerously close to to cutting their throat all in the name of fashion. I've seen this look multiple times downtown and it just confuses me.

For $1 a day, you can help a woman in Chicago to have a properly-fitting shirt, and keep her from dancing around a classroom to that Flashdance song.

I mean, that one-shoulder look was popular in the 80s FOR A REASON.

I'm all for exposing a little skin, an ankle or elbow here and there, but that shirt falling open when you lean forward...that's just putting out the wrong message. Cow + milk should NOT be free.

But that is just me. I love the 80s, especially the music, and not all 80s fashion is bad (minus the shoulder pads, what's up with that look coming back?)

So if you had to pick one 80s trend to bring back, what would it be? I'm torn between Jelly shoes and Hypercolor shirts. Loved those.

Note: Thanks everyone for the pants caption contest. I'll review the entries and let you know who is the winner.

I also forgot to mention something in yesterday's post. I got to meet up with Pam from Relish and enjoy my first Bobtail ice cream of the season. It's always nice to meet more great Chicago bloggers in person!

Weekend recap: day drinking rocks!

I can admit that I'm not great with alcohol. So day drinking, like I did Saturday, is not a good idea for me.

I love that sweet liquor nectar of the gods, but I am not the best when I consume it in mass quantities. After I've had a few drinks, I end up hugging everyone (more than when I'm sober), giving kisses on the cheek and telling anyone and everyone that I love them.

Also, everyone gets a new nickname, "honey." For example, "honey you look hot in that top" or "honey could you get me another beer? Mama J needs her juice."

It's embarrassing. Oh, I also tend to talk/laugh loudly and say very inappropriate things. Oops.

But, as I mentioned, Saturday I day drank with some of my good friends at a party, appropriately titled, "In the Garden of Good and Evil."

And what was one of the evils afflicted on me? Raspberry vodka punch, that was more vodka than raspberry but gave you a solid punch in the face.

After I had glass number four of said punch, there was lots of laughing and giggling from me at sexual innuendo comments. If I had a nickel for every time I said "that's what she said," I could pay off my student loan. How old am I again?

Anyhow, because family and co-workers read this blog, I cannot divulge everything that went on but let's just say this. I made a new friend that's pink and shakes.

And the result of my weekend day drinking adventure, plus dinner at Hot Chocolate on Friday night, I desperately needed to go work out. It burns so good/bad. Nothing says "hot" like sweating vodka.

Finally in closing, I had to post this picture of a burger I enjoyed last week on my day off. Sarah and I met up at Kuma's Corner, which has been voted "Chicago's best burger" several times. Good lord I could have used one of these burgers yesterday. Cheddar, bacon and fried egg, oh boy!

So those were my weekend adventures, how was everyone else's weekend?

And feel free to share if you are also do not handle liquor well. I'm sure I can't be the ONLY one :)