Today's soundtrack starts with...

Neon Trees, Animal

Aloha!

No, I'm not going to or coming from Hawaii, but I am doing the next best thing.  This weekend is the Pure Aloha festival at the Silverton in Las Vegas.  Some of my family from Nebraska is going to be in town, so I think we'll head over (despite the lingering summer heat).  I suspect my realtor is dancing at the festival (she's in an elite hula group that competes at major events).  Bring on the poi!

Also on the agenda:
-Stratosphere rides (I'll be the official Holder of Things while they ride)
-Go-karting
-Shopping like we're rich, and shopping in reality
-Eating, eating, eating

money burning a hole in your pocket?

This would be perfect for a wedding or black-tie affair, and hey!  It's on sale! 

Satin Limelight Clutch from J Crew, $29.99

Oh, there are four of them?

Do you feel sorry for the Black Eyed Peas who aren't Fergie or Will.i.am??

Las Vegas: Buffet Epicenter

Many people think of buffets when they think of Las Vegas, and often, cheap buffets.  I'm generally a buffet hater (seems that food isn't usually at the correct temperature and I don't like strangers near my food), but we recently had the opportunity to try the newish buffet, Studio B, at M Resort and Casino.  Actually, we went to see "Martini Time with Chef Tina Martini," which comes with a trip to Studio B.  Brief tangent - Tina Martini has a lot of good nutrition and health information, which makes her show one worth seeing.  Don't expect it to work like a cooking show you'd see on the Food Network, though.  She just touches on a couple of techniques before bringing out the completed dish.  Back to the point, that was one good buffet.  Everything I tried was the appropriate temperature and tasted fresh, and I never noticed anything unappealing or potentially gag-inducing.  Reasonably priced, too - dinner was $22.95.  By my count, that's the third buffet I've been to in town, and easily the best (the others being the one at Paris and the seafood buffet at Rio).  I think you should go there tonight.  Don't miss the dessert selection.  :)

stuck in my head....

Honey Pie by the Beatles



Grace Kelly by Mika

You Are My Sunshine September 19-September 25, 2010

I intended to post today about my foray into making baby food of meat.  That's just not going to happen now.  It's still making me gag (I made sole, poached chicken, and sirloin).  The colors...the textures... the gagging...

I hope C thinks it tastes better than it looks.

Anyway, instead I'm going to sing the praises of the Whole Foods butchers.  If ever you are met with doubtful glances and disparaging comments when you mention that you make your own baby food, hustle over to Whole Foods.  The fish guy proved knowledgeable and kind when I asked about the best fish and methods, and the meat guy was awesome - he quickly deboned chicken thighs for me (or did he "bone" them??) while telling me about when he and his wife made baby food for their kids.  It was nice to be around like-minded people.  I love that place.

If you need more convincing of their fabulousness, check out their values here.

A Penny Saved...

The first thing I bought when I found out I was pregnant was a bank for the baby.  Every Friday I empty my change and dollar bills from the week into it.  Once C is old enough to start learning about the value of a dollar, we'll take him to the bank to open his own savings account (right now we use gift money given to him to buy savings bonds and CDs that we'll put into his future savings account when they mature).  Anyone need a good baby gift??


Animal Farm Money Bank (Bella) by Present Time, at Pacifier for $21
(we bought a sheep version from another retailer and love it)



Silver plated airplane bank from Rumors, on sale for $17.95



Vintage mechanical cast iron horse racing bank from Ebay, starting bid $275

Moonjar bank teaches children to allocate money for saving, sharing, & spending

Vintage tiger bank from Etsy seller ismoyo, $50

Bringing the Outdoors In

I lived in Omaha for several years, and among my favorite places were the Lauritzen Gardens and Fontenelle Forest.  Here in Las Vegas we have the Springs Preserve, which I suppose is okay - it has some nice educational displays inside and several great events, but a sort of sad garden.  We just don't have "lushness" here and though I'm sure the Springs Preserve people do all they can, the heat is just too much to overcome to create a really fabulous garden.  What's the cure?  Well, travel.  Aside from that, these:


Bonsai Forest Kit from Branch Home



Wee Cow Grazing on Moss from Etsy seller weegreenspot





Pillows from Etsy seller KainKain

 



Motherhood

Saw this on Highchair Critics and had to pass it on....



My C is growing up so fast.  Someday that purity, that innocence, and that trust will go from his eyes.  He won't smile and giggle with me over nothing.  I won't be his greatest comfort.  That's part of the gig.

Brocade Home

What do you think of this from Brocade Home?  If it were only about $150 instead of $349 it would be in my entryway.

and if I ever had a dressing room, I think this would be appropriate, also from Brocade Home

Is that a glass of whiskey?  I'll take that, too.

You Are My Sunshine September 12-September 18, 2010

At last, the return of the pumpkin spice latte at Starbucks!  Here in Las Vegas, the normal precursors to fall, like changing leaves, crisp mornings, and harvest don't happen, so instead I use seasonal beverage availability to mark the time.  :)

I, for one, am happy to see the pumpkin spice latte's return, but that toffee mocha sounds pretty good, too.  If it weren't 98 degrees I'd go don a sweater...

Ooohhh, I just saw that The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf is welcoming fall (beverages, anyway) on Tuesday the 14th by giving away free 12 oz. Classic Pumpkin or Cinnamon French Toast Lattes or Ice Blended drinks.  4p-7p.  Be there, but first check out the details. 

The Joys of Home Ownership

We took a mini-vacation over Labor Day weekend to visit BB's family in Nebraska - from Friday until Tuesday.  So, thinking myself wise, I decided to clean the house on Thursday night so we could come home to a nice clean house and less stress.  This is pretty much how that turned out:
Thursday, 3:00pm pick C up from day care
3:00-4:30 play with C and coax him to take a nap.  Fail at the coaxing.
4:30 feed C peas and clean up. 
5:00 start to prepare dinner, realize C has a low fever probably from his 6 month shots. 
5:03 give up on dinner.  Cuddle with C and administer Tylenol.
6:00 BB home to help round up the kitty and take him to the vet.
6:15 after much yowling and scratching, the kitty is kenneled and I'm off to the vet's to board him and then pick up Jimmy Johns.
7:20 home with dinner
7:40 bath time for C
7:55 C pees on our bed, soaking it down to the mattress. 
8:30 finally get all the bedding stripped and into the washer
8:45 B hears gushing coming from the laundry room and enters to find our laundry room closely resembles Atlantis.  Damn.
8:46-11:45 Clean up the laundry room.

So my house was left dirty, with the notable exception of the laundry room, which is cleaner than ever.  Thank God the laundry room isn't upstairs.