Dam!

I am proud to say that I was the sparkliest person at Hoover Dam on Monday.  Stephen and I toured the dam and power plant and walked over the Memorial Bridge.  It was very cool.

I didn't feel especially sparkly for me, but I was wearing a sparkly, studded sweater over a sequined, animal print tank.  I guess in retrospect I was a little sparkly.

I highly recommend a trip to Hoover Dam if you're in the vicinity.  It was a great time to let our geek flags fly and explore an engineering marvel.

 Can you see the little air vent holes in the side of the dam?

We were in one.

I also got to stand in two states at once.

Once we got back to Vegas we explored Downtown and the Freemont Street area for a while and then headed back to the Strip for the evening.

We spent a few more hours walking around, including a stroll through the Miracle Mile Shops, before we once again headed back to the Orleans to pack and get a few hours of sleep before we headed home.

This is the one photo of me from my birthday.  What can I say, we left the hotel at 5am.  I didn't make time for outfit photos.

I'm so glad we took this trip.  It was cool for me to see Las Vegas for the first time, and Trans Siberian Orchestra always puts on a great show.  It has been an almost-yearly Christmas tradition for us to see TSO from the time were were dating.

Stay tuned for the highlights of my Portland trip, coming early next week!

Waking Up in Vegas

We're back from our whirlwind trip to Las Vegas, and now I'm packing for tomorrow's trip to Portland.  This time Stephen is staying behind while my mom and I take off for adventure.

After a long day of travel, we arrived at The Orleans Hotel & Casino.  We asked for a room with a view of the Strip, and it was well worth it.  The Orleans is off the Strip, but it has a shuttle that runs every 30 minutes from 9:00 am until 12:30 am.  The room was clean and cheap, and it was a good base of operations for the weekend.

This was my traveling outfit.

This is the view when we first arrived.  

We fell asleep embarrassingly early that first night.  We had a couple of drinks at the Coasta Cantina Mexican restaurant in the resort and then dozed off.  It was hard to have our minds set to Eastern time when our bodies were in Pacific time.

This was the advantage to being set on Eastern time.  Dawn in Las Vegas.

On Sunday I wore the same animal print skirt I wore for traveling and added three more animal prints to make four of a kind.  I had an animal print belt too, but five of a kind felt like cheating.

 

 

We walked up and down the Strip Sunday morning.  In all we walked over 8 miles before we had to head back to the hotel to get ready for the Trans Siberian Orchestra.   One of the reasons we picked The Orleans was that TSO was playing there.  It was incredibly convenient to be able to walk down to the Orleans Arena for the show.

 

Sparkly was the name of the game with my concert attire.

Jacket, thrifted; dress, Ross Dress for Less; shoes, Victoria's Secret; purse, Ross Dress for Less; necklace, purchased in India.

After the concert we changed back out of our glitzy clothes and walked across the street to McMullan's Irish Pub.  We enjoyed a couple pints, fish and chips that even Stephen liked, and perfect corned beef sandwiches before heading back to the hotel.  

Pack Rat: Viva Las Vegas

Sequins, animal print, and sequined animal
print.  Plus my beloved running shoes.
 It's all there.

Me: I'm going to let my freak flag fly in Las Vegas.

Stephen: I know.  I saw the freaky menagerie piled in your suitcase.

Gracey at Fashion for Giants hit the nail on the head with her suggestions for my Las Vegas trip.  She said sequins, animal print, and sequined animal print.  I already have all three in my suitcase.  Freaky menagerie indeed.

It will be even harder than normal for me to avoid over-packing for this trip because I plan on wearing different clothes for day and evening at least some days.

• Two short, sparkly dresses for nights on the town.  One is red.  One is black.  I can't wait to wear them.
• A slightly cropped wool suit jacket from Goodwill to wear with the dresses.  Apparently even Las Vegas has winter.  I'm a little disappointed that it will be cold there too.  
• Large, tacky rhinestone jewelry from our trip to India.
• An animal print dress because of course I'm bringing an animal print dress.
• Three sweaters.  Stupid winter.
• Two tops.
• A long sleeve t-shirt to wear under a sweater.
• Skinny jeans to wear with sweaters.
• An animal print pencil skirt to wear with sweaters.
• Tights in a couple colors.
• Two belts: one for holding my pants up and one for fashion.
• Heels to pair with the little dresses.
• Boots.
• Flats.  I tried so hard to stick to just heels and boots, but I caved in the end.
• Swimsuit.  Just in case.
• Athletic apparel and shoes.

I'm excited and a little nervous for the trip.  I'm always excited and a little nervous before travel, but the adventure is worth the anxiety.

l

Pack Rat: Stephen Understands Me

Image Credit: Exquisite_Finds
The perfect dress: red,
sequined, animal print.

I have been in a tizzy looking for the perfect sequined dress to wear in Las Vegas.  Actually, I've already found the perfect dress, but I don't have an extra three grand sitting around to buy it, and I'm not a size 6.

My mission for sequins lead to the following conversation with Stephen:

Me: This is serious. I need to find a sequined dress for our trip to Las Vegas. When else can I wear a sequined dress?

Stephen: Whenever the hell you want.
Touché. 

Stephen understands me.

Travel: No Passport Required Edition

I have two trips coming up in the next few weeks, and neither requires my passport.  I've been doing more international than domestic travel for the past few years, and I'll miss the free checked bag.   It's a good thing I've been practicing lightening my packing.

First Stephen and I are headed to Las Vegas where we will see Trans Siberian Orchestra.  Stephen arranged that trip as an anniversary present in September.  He's the best.  Just a few days after we return from Vegas my mom and I will head to Portland, Oregon to celebrate Christmas with my sister and her husband.  Stephen is going to have to take care of our dogs and my mom's dog while we're gone.  He really, really is the best.

Jumpsuit for joy!

I want my Vegas wardrobe to be a little over the top because it's Las Vegas!  I haven't found the perfect sequined dress, but I have a sparkly red one in case I can't find sequins.   I'll also be wearing my awesome leopard print jumpsuit while I'm there.  (The Kirna Zabete for Target jumpsuit is now on clearance at Target.com for just $17.48.  That's a lot of leopard print goodness for a small price.)

I like the animal and polka dot
combo.

My sister already called to warn me that I need to dress for cold in Portland right now.  She needn't worry.  I don't mess around with cold.  I'm planning on bringing lots of tights, a scarf, a hat, gloves, and my eShakti trench coat.  I'm toying with the idea of packing an all-spotted wardrobe for Portland with a mix of polka dots and leopard (take that, Kelly Osborne).  We'll see how that develops.

Of course both wardrobes will include some workout wear and my beloved running shoes.  I had a dream last night that I ordered five more pairs of those shoes because I love them so much.  Seriously.  When I woke up this morning I was a little disappointed that I only have one pair.

Have you been to Las Vegas?  Have you been to Portland?  What do you recommend I pack for the trips?

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