Why My Weekend Sucked

Ok, maybe that title isn't really accurate.  This weekend in Vegas did not suck.  I mean, how could it?  I was with my Hottie Scottie on a kid-free weekend with great friends.  Maybe I should have said, Why This Weekend in Vegas Was Different Than Every Other Weekend in Vegas and Why I Wish Circumstances Weren't What They Were . . . but that would have been a really long title.

Things started off by me getting the sad news that my aunt, Sue, passed away somewhat unexpectedly on Thursday morning.  Sue had been sick for several years but in the past couple of weeks she became really ill.  I guess that I, along with the rest of the family, just thought that it was like all of the other times where she would bounce back.  Unfortunately, this time it wasn't meant to be and so we were all shocked to realize that she was actually gone.  Because of the way the weekend was set up, I wasn't able to cancel my trip to attend the funeral.  So as I sat there in what I always lovingly refer to as my second home, all I could think of was being back here in my real home and saying good-bye to her.

Having Sue and the funeral on my mind was the main reason why this weekend was different but the weather in Vegas this weekend sucked, as well. UGH.  Are you serious?  It was 22F on Saturday morning and this was during the day.  You can imagine how cold it was at night.  It was warmer in St. Louis than it was in Vegas.  It was miserable, bone-chilling, see-your-breath, put on your winter parka cold.  I was prepared for it to be in the 40's or 50's . . . not in the teens and 20's.  It just really changed our whole "strategy" (and YES, you DO need a strategy) on Vegas.

Having said all of that, we had a great time with the neighbors (as usual).    They are always good for a good time.

 Corey and Ann, my neighbors

 Hottie Scottie and Me at Jimmy Buffett's.  Tip:  Order the Chicken Nachos.  I swear . . . just do it.

 This is what I deal with.  This is at the Hoffbrahaus.  Tip:  Go.  Ask for Michelle from Germany, last name is being protected :)

On a somber note, I want to end this post with a video of my aunt Sue giving her testimony in church.  This was taped just within the last couple of months.  I am told that instead of the traditional sermon at the funeral, the officiant spoke a few words and then played this audio wherein, essentially, Sue gave the sermon at her own funeral.  The family all say that it was very fitting and very much an appreciated part of the funeral.

While I am so sad for my dad (she was his baby sister), her husband, kids, grandkids, and all of the extended family I am equally happy for the fact that she is no longer in pain.  In the last couple of years she was bound to a wheelchair because of an amputation due to the lack of blood flow to her leg.  She had rheumatoid arthritis, heart disease and countless other things wrong.  She is finally no longer in pain.

Travel Review: Grimaldi's in Fashion Show Mall-Las Vegas

I have been to Las Vegas more times than I can count but this past trip we ventured down to the Fashion Show Mall, about a 20 minute walk from Harrah's, to have lunch at Grimaldi's Pizzeria. I am always looking for new places to eat in Vegas so I was excited to try it out.  I can assure you that this place will be on my list to go to again and again.

These pizzas are made in a coal-fired brick oven that gives a smokey flavor to the crispy crust.  The service was great and the pizza was outstanding.  


The one bad side to this place is that it is in the middle of the mall and not the easiest place to get to but it was well worth the walk.


My friend and I split a sun-dried tomato, pesto and garlic pizza with a carafe of their house red wine.  I HIGHLY recommend it.

We loved this place and will definitely go back.

InstaFriday-Vegas Style

So must of you are probably tired of hearing me talking about Vegas or looking at Vegas pics.  This is the last post, I promise.  These pics were all on my Instagram (you can follow me here)

First beer of the trip.  We have made it a habit to always stop in at the Chili's at the airport and drink a beer before we hop on the plan to Vegas.  I'm thinking that we need to change this, though, because we haven't had very good luck the last few times out.  (Yes, I am very superstitious.  You can read about some of them HERE.

Once we got to Harrah's, we stopped in at the little gift shop and this was the first thing I saw.  Made me want to puke in my mouth.

I was really sad to find out that my favorite dive casino, O'Shea's, will be closing as of April 30.  I love this place.  It is being torn down and a new complex is being built in its place. 

We had so much fun playing LCR at the base of the Paris.  Anytime is a good time for LCR but the best part is that Scott went in and bought $20 in $1 chips from the Paris so we were out on the Strip playing with real chips.

I love Vegas at night.  It is so beautiful.

And, I love this man.

Vegas Weekend

Well, I'm back from Vegas and what a trip it was! 
The first thing I did when I got to the resort was to go cash in my tickets from betting on the Cardinals last year.  I was up $171 within the first hour!  Unfortunately, that was the only time I was up all weekend.

Friday night all 34 of us went to dinner at the Harley Davidson Cafe.  I've wanted to go there for a few years but have never made the reservation.  It is a really cute place and the beef brisket sandwich was fantastic.  I loved how they had the conveyor belt of motorcycles flying through the air.  I also loved the chains on the wall that were painted like the American flag.

Believe it or not, I usually go to bed pretty early on the first night in town.  It's always such a long day on that Friday and I know way too many people that try to "live it up" on the first night and then the next few days they are just spent and don't want to do anything.

So . . .I went to bed early on Friday and ended up waking up around 6:00am (Vegas time, 8:00 STL time).  My friend, Janice, was up too so we decided to get dressed and head down to play some craps.  Yes, we were at the craps table at 6:45 in the morning!

After about 3 hours, Scott met up with us and we headed to my favorite people-watching spot to play some LCR. 

After hanging out all day, we had to stop by Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville for chicken nachos and strawberry daquiris.  It is a tradition and one I look forward to every trip.

On Saturday night we went to dinner at the Hofbrauhaus. We discovered this place a couple of years ago and always try to stop in.  We've made friends with one particular waitress, Michelle, and we love sitting in her section.  One thing about the Hofbrauhaus is getting paddled.  You do a shot, they paddle you.  That's pretty much the concept.  Yes, I've been down that road and will never do it again.  Two of our friends, though, decided to take part.  I don't think they will make that mistake again.  Ha!

After the Hofbrauhaus, we walked across the street to the Hard Rock.  I've never been there before so it was kind of cool seeing all of the memorabilia.

We left the Hard Rock and headed back to the Strip.  Remember, I had been up since 6:00 in the morning so I turned in to that girl.  Yep, the girl sitting at the oxygen bar.



It was so weird sitting there with that thing blowing oxygen up my nose but, to be honest, I did feel better afterwards.  The best part was that the lady massaged my back and head.  She gave me eucalyptus to rub on my hands and put peppermint oil on the base of my neck.  Then, she attached a stem unit to my back that had 8 different massage settings.  After 15 minutes, I was ready to go again.

Sunday was our last day in Vegas.  We always try to take it easy but it turned in to Sunday Funday for Janice and me.  Before to do more gaming, we decided to walk down to the Fashion Show mall and eat at this fantastic pizza place, Grimaldi's.  (I think they have them on the East Coast but I'm not really sure.)

via Instagram

Janice and I split a white garlic cheese pizza with sundried tomatoes and basil with a caraffe of their house red wine.  It was amazing.  We will definitely be going back!

via Instagram

Before leaving to go eat on Sunday morning, Janice decided to play $100 of Keno games.  This $100 lasted for 5 hours so later on in the day when she went to check her tickets, she had won $2,300!  Are you kidding me?!  We were jumping up and down and screaming.  I'm surprised the whole Strip didn't hear us.

For Scott and me, the party was over, though.  We had to head back to the airport and back to reality.  Our other friends weren't coming back until early Monday morning but our flight was late Sunday night.  So, off to the airport for us . . .

When we got to our gate, the workers were asking if anyone would be willing to give up their seat on the flight and take a different flight on Monday morning.  Guess whose hand shot up?  THIS girl's.  In exchange for giving up my flight, I received a roundtrip ticket plus the value of my flight so I ended up getting a voucher for $483.  It worked out great because we had booked our room until Monday anyway so that we didn't have to check out at 10am AND our friends were still back at the resort.  I kissed Scott good-bye and headed back to the hotel.

I wish I had a before/after pic for you.  I went to the airport in yoga pants, a sweatshirt, hair in ponytail, and sandals on.  When I got back to Harrah's, Janice instantly became my stylist and hooked me up.  I was back in Vegas going out mode within minutes so we headed to the Bellagio. 

The night ended watching the fountains.

via Instagram

It was another fun trip to one of my favorite places in the world.  And, of course, I already can't wait to go back.

Weekend in Las Vegas

This past weekend we were back in Las Vegas to celebrate our friends' 10 year wedding anniversary.  They had never been to Vegas before so it was a lot of fun showing them around to our favorite places and to do a little sight-seeing that we normally don't do.

We got in Thursday evening and just ate and hung around our area of the Strip.  On Friday, we went down to Fremont Street to see some of the old casinos.  This is the largest gold nugget at the world at none other than The Golden Nugget.

I had to take a picture of Binion's because there is a mystery over how one of the Binion brothers died.  Some say overdose and some say murder.  I know, I'm a nerd, but I watch all of those true crime shows.

Hanging out on Fremont

The waving cowboy . . . even though he doesn't wave anymore.

The happy couple stopping to get a frozen margarita from a little casino on Fremont.  Chris took a lot of flack from Scott for carrying that drink along.

So many people wanted to take pictures in front of the Welcome to Las Vegas sign that they built a newer, bigger one with a parking lot.  We had to wait about 5-6 minutes in line to take this one.  The old, original sign is maybe just a tad taller than a stop sign.  This one is down by Mandalay Bay. 

Our Vegas trips just would not be complete without eating at the Hofbrauhaus.  

And, seeing Michelle.

The bands rotate over from the Munich Hofbrauhaus every 3 months.  This guy is playing Amazing Grace on the alphorn.  It was awesome!

Here Sue and I are in front of the fountain in the Paris.

Vegas never seems to disappoint.  I just love that city and can't wait to go back!



March Vegas Trip

I'm back to everyday life again from our latest trip to Vegas.  Our niece, Alissa, turned 21 a while back but is on Spring Break from Mizzou right now so we decided to celebrate her birthday a little late but out in Vegas.

Scott and I got there a day earlier than everyone else.  I just can't tell you the feeling I get when we land, it is literally like arriving at my 2nd home.  I'm always so giddy and happy and can't wait to see the first signs of the Strip.

Friday night we went to eat at Kerry's Gourmet Burgers and Vodka Bar (KGB).  It is a real hip and swank joint located in Harrah's (right by thte Oyster Bar).  More on KGB and what we ate in a separate post.

After dinner, we tried our luck at blackjack at O'Shea's. . . not good, not good at all.  We ended up back at Harrah's for some video poker action.

I was hoping that it was going to be a little warmer.  It wasn't cold but it definitely was not swimsuit weather, either.  Here is a pic of the snow-capped mountains behind Ceasar's.

One of our favorite traditions is to have lunch at Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville.  We always go there and get chicken nachos and strawberry daquiries.  We also leave with a Jimmy Buffet's Lone Palm ale.

View from the decktop at Jimmy Buffett's. 

The chicken nachos are so huge and there is no way we could finish them all.  I felt so wasteful throwing over half of them away . . .

After lunch and while we were waiting on family to arrive, we walked down to our favorite people-watching spot.  It is this little outdoor area right underneath the Eiffel Tower at the Paris.  You can see the Bellagio fountains and watch everyone walking by.  That is Scott with his back to me.

The family arrived in the afternoon and we all hung out for a bit.  Then we headed out to dinner at the Hofbrauhaus.

The Hofbrauhaus is across the street from the Hard Rock Cafe.

We discovered the Hofbrauhaus a few trips ago and now we go back everytime.  It is so much fun and very reasonably priced.  There is a band that comes over and rotates in/out from Munich.

The beers are big and cold.

Besides the band, part of the fun at the Hofbrauhaus is watching people get paddled when they do a shot.  Not sure if this is a true German thing but it sure provides a lot of entertainment.

All of the men in our party (besides Scott who already did it back in June) took the paddle.

Our nephew, Paul, got a few extra swats because "He is a Marine and can take it."  Notice the woman in the back taking a picture?  She wasn't with our party but just thought it was entertaining.

Here is the birthday girl, Alissa.

 David, Debbie, and Alissa

There was a fantastic cover band at Bally's.  You have to go there!  They sang the absolute cover of Prince's Purple Rain that I have ever heard.  Even Scott and Paul had a great time dancing.

Before we left Vegas on Sunday, we had breakfast at Hash House A Go Go at the Imperial Palace.  Don't judge it by it's location, it was awesome.  (Another post on this later, too).  Here is a pic of Scott's Tractor Trailor with scrambled eggs, bacon, and a Snickers pancake.  As you can tell, the portion sizes are so big that they can easily be shared.

So now here I am back in STL and trying to get back into the swing of things and already planning our next trip.