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.  

Another Turn Around the Sun

As many of you know and are tired of hearing, today is my birthday.  You may wonder why I get so excited at birthdays.  Everyone has one, and some see it as simply marking off one more year of existence.  Well, I made it through another year, and that is more than approximately 56,597,000 people annually can say.

I have now lived almost three decades (next year).  If I were a Neanderthal, I'd be a senior citizen.  In the early 20th century I would have been past middle-aged.  As it is, I'm glad that I should be in the first part of my life (Fingers crossed.  I could wake up dead tomorrow, but I hope not.).

This is my own, personal holiday where I can celebrate what make me "me."  Every year I look back at the things I've accomplished, the people I've met, and the lessons I've learned.  The experiences I've had, both good and bad, shape who I am.  I'm not afraid of getting older.  I'm not trying to hang on to the past.  I want to see and experience more and more in the coming years.    So today I'll celebrate my life- the things that have happened and the potential the future holds.  The best is yet to come.

Happy birthday to all of you too, whenever your celebration is.  :)

Fave Five: Quick Crocheted Gifts

Christmas is coming!  I know.  I know.  It's barely December, but I love Christmas.  I look for the perfect gifts for friends and family all year, and now I'm in the midst of crafting to complete my gift list.  I love handmade gifts.  I think of handmade gifts as a way of showing the recipient that they are worth more than money.  They are worth your time.  From a practical point of view, handmade gifts can allow you stretch your gift-giving dollars to even more loved ones.

Most of the items I've crocheted have been gifts for friends and family.  Many of those gifts have taken weeks or even months to complete, but sometimes I just don't have that long.  Sometimes I want a little something extra to add to a gift I've already made or purchased, and sometimes I unintentionally overlooked someone in my gift planning and I scramble so they don't feel unloved.  Here are five of my favorite lightning quick crochet projects.  Each project can be completed in an hour or less.  Sometimes quite a bit less.

I made a matching dish cloth and potholder set by making
three nubby scrubbies dishcloths and then crocheting two
together to make the pot holder,

• Dishcloths or Pot Holders:  Dishcloths and pot holders are great for a number of reasons.  They are quick; they are practical, and, if the recipient likes them, you can gift them year after year.  I like the Nubby Scrubbies and the Snowflake Dishcloth patterns.  Both patterns are free on Ravelry.
• Crocheted Neckaces:  I made Beaded, Crocheted Necklaces for the friends who went on our trip to the Dominican Republic this fall.  They could be customized with any charm or memento that represents your connection with the gift's recipient.  
• Crochet-Embelished Hoop Earrings: I first noticed crochet-embelished hoop earrings with the Lotus Earring pattern in the July/August issue of Crochet Today! magazine.  (If you crochet and don't already subscribe to Crochet Today!, you can subscribe for just $5 on Amazon through December 3.)  You can also find a number of free patterns for crocheted hoop earrings available from Ravelry.  These earrings can be funky, elegant, chunky, or delicate, depending on who you have in mind as the recipient.  

Hoop earrings small and large can be embellished with crochet.
Instructions are easily modified to fit any size earring.

• Amigurumi Ornaments: Who wouldn't love Teeny Tiny Lobsters to decorate their Christmas Tree or just their desk?  If lobsters aren't your thing, you can try Teeny Tiny Turtles or Bunnies.  You could use these to decorate gift wrapping.
• Collar or Scarf:  If you have someone in your life who, like me, aspires to try the Peter Pan Collar trend, the Georgette Collar is the perfect gift.  For men, one hour and one skein of super bulky yarn can yield a perfect gift that can be enjoyed all winter.

You can find more free crochet projects by visiting Ravelry.com and searching for free patterns.

I'll be working on these and other crocheted gifts as I spend time in airports and airplanes in the coming weeks.  What is your favorite quick gift idea?  I have more coming soon.

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