Viva Las Vegas

We headed off to Las Vegas (again!) this past weekend to celebrate my newly acquired ancientness.  We got there late, really late, Thursday night and did our usual run to the Wally-world to get snacks and check out the cheap clothes that we can never find here.  It was after midnight before we finally checked into our hotel, the Southpoint.  It's a newer hotel, south of the airport and the outlet mall, on Las Vegas Blvd.  The rooms were great - clean, comfortable, large, with pillow top mattresses and quality cotton sheets.  Also, you didn't hear the kids screaming up and down the hallways, so that was nice.

The highlight of the trip was the Garth Brooks concert on Saturday night.  Again with the late  hour, a 10:30 show, but that meant they weren't trying to clear out the theater for the next show.  It was a smallish theater ~1500, with just Garth, a mic, and an acoustic guitar.  Trisha came out in the middle of the show and did about three songs, with the great ear-worm "walk-away joe".  That song is still running through my head.  Garth did the usual suspects (Friends in Low Places, Wolves, Thunder Rolls and many others), along with selections from his musical idols.  It was after 1:00am before we got out of there.

It was a bit of a challenge to get the tickets, both on the day that they went on sale and the day we went and picked them up.  Since he's not doing other shows any more, and only limited shows in Las Vegas, the tickets went fast and furious.  And they are quite concerned about scalpers - you had to give all the names in your party when you bought the tix, it was printed on the tix, they wanted to see both of our id's when we picked up the tix the day of the show, and then we got wrist bands and "club" stamped.  At show time, they scanned the tix, the wrist band and the stamp to make sure you were the ones who had bought the tix.  Oh my.  Can't say as I blame them, but still. 

All this was follwed up by a shopping spree at the Lane Bryant at the Outlet Mall.  T-shirts, dress shirts, a skirt and a dress (unbelievable!), jeans and a jacket.  Fun fun fun!

The week slides by...

Plans and schemes and dreams, and they all slide by.

This morning I ordered a pair of shoes on line - I've worn out all the shoes in my closet and my recent shopping experience has left me bereft of anything to wear upon my XL size feet. Added to that, I've been a bit of a klutz as of late, and don't feel comfortable wearing anything with a heel higher than 1". So. I'm not really a shoe girl - Imelda Marcos (and Michael Jordan admitting to over 500 pairs!) has nothing to fear from me. I prefer to spend money on other things. So it was with a bit of trepidation that I dropped some bucks on a pair of shoes on zappos. Free Shipping, ease of shopping (show me only shoes in my size, in the color I want, with the heel height I prefer...) it can only be a dream come true IF they actually fit. We'll see in about a week. If they do fit, I think I’m going to have to work a pair into the budget on a more regular basis.



When the "little" sis was here, she pointed me in the direction of some plus size active wear. So that went into an on-line shopping cart as well this morning. I’m hoping that will be here sooner than a week. In the unbelievable words of my mother, "I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired!" I had a really emotional day yesterday and although I couldn't point my finger at any overwhelming one thing to make me mad, I had a whole ball of "irks" wadded up to equal one big mad. And tucked into that wad were several that have to do with my self image and my lack of follow-thru, particularly on the weight-loss/exercise front. I mean seriously, I have no excuses. I have the equipment, I have the time, I have the access, and I can get the instructors and the groceries. The only thing left is me. It’s not like I don’t know what to do. And this is something that I can control, independent of others. So check up on me from time to time and see how I’m doing.

 I’d appreciate it.

Saturday - Shopping & Eating in LA

Saturday morning I made my "famous" buttermilk biscuits for my hosts and slathered on lots of homemade strawberry jam.

Afterwards, we headed out to a yarn store - the Knitter's Studio (not pictured). I had found a place on Friday, but that store was full of discontinued, acrylic and novelty yarns, so I was sadly disappointed and will not review them. The Knitter's Studio, however, was just what I was looking for. They had cubbies wrapped around the perimeter of the store, nicely organized by color, style and maker. It was a joy to fondle the cashmere and silk yarns. I ended up with four skeins of Debbie Bliss Donegal Luxury Tweed in a beautiful aubergine color. I have to say aubergine instead of eggplant since Debbie Bliss is an English company. After feeding the parking meter three times (!) I managed to make my purchases so we could move on. If I lived in LA, they would be one of my favorite yarn stores. They were setting up for a beginning knitting class around the work table, complete with cupcakes & coffee.

We then headed to an extra large art & craft supply store called Pearl. They had a great selection of goodies for all your creative needs. However, I had to say no for purchases since I didn't really have a project in the works that I could legitimately buy for. I even passed on the sketch & notebooks! Can you believe it? Mostly because I couldn't find them when we were ready to check out.

By this time we were starting to feel a bit of a hunger clench in our bellies, so we headed in the direction of the ocean and ended up on the Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica. I had suggested sushi since I don't get many takers in my family, and ended up at this interesting Balinese looking place called Monsoon. I ended up with a Rainbow Roll and a beef noodle bowl. I flustered the poor waiter by asking what he would have to eat for lunch. I wasn't picky about what to eat, just wanted something good. My friend had the Saikyo Yaki Black Cod, which is marinated in Miso Paste before it's cooked. My goodness, that was yummy. If I ever see it on another menu, I'll be having that for sure. The decor was pure Asian tongue-in-cheek, complete with brass dragon lanterns from the palm leaf ceiling and a stone "happy" fertility god in the ladies room. Fun!

The architecture in Downtown Santa Monica is unique. They are trying to infuse the city with a sense of community, so all new & remodel work is going with three tiers. The bottom floor is retail space, the second floor office space, and the third floor housing. Evidently, it's being snapped up, because there is no where to turn without seeing some new construction. But, for the older buildings, you have to look up to see the more interesting parts. We were parked on an upper level of a garage, so I got to take pictures looking down on some

of the details. A long stop at Michael's had me lusting after beads, but I don't need a new set of tools! I put them back again. And again. And again.

So what do we do then? Head to another bead store, called Ritual Adornments. We wandered around, running our fingers through the lovely pieces of stone, glass, wood, and other fabulousness. I wish I had taken out my camera - a bowl of skull beads would have been a perfect Halloween photo op. Ah well. I still managed not to snag any beads on my shopping trip.

The sun was past the mid-day point, way past by this time, and we had an hour or so left on the parking meter, so we hit the beach for a walk in the waves. We hiked up our pants, took our shoes off and headed up the coast line, with no destination in mind, just enjoying the last of the sun and the waves splashing. Just enough time to get a little bit of sun and exercise.

Headed back to the apartment for some homemade guacamole and chips and watching Phelps win yet another race. All in all a good day.

Day Two (or Austin Recap)

It's a rainy morning here in Austin and it suits my mood to a "T". I am anxious to return home and be snuggled in on the sofa with a fire in the stove and the mist in the trees. I know that my suitcases are going to be overweight (just like me) in spite of me leaving things behind in Dallas because I just can't stop myself from shopping. I think I am going to have to put all my books, notebooks, and magazines in the carry-on just so that the check bags will be pass the weight restriction. Ugh.

This trip, I was inspired by my sister and am purchasing items for rubber stamping. They have the works in CA, I am sure, I just don't know where to look for them. I mean, I've looked in Michael's and Joann's and the selection in CA is far inferior to that here in TX. I managed to increase the collection by about 10 rubber stamps, not including what was purchased at Stamp Club on Sunday. We spent the whole weekend playing with paper and ink, glue and rubber stamps, scissors and watercolors, with no other expectations for the weekend. It was fun, inspiring and relaxing at the same time.

And then there was the trip to Hill Country Weavers - Open late on Thursday (thank goodness!). And thanks to Mapquest, I was only mis-located once, but able to get back on track and find my way down there. The facility is an old home that has been stripped down to walls and concrete floors and stuffed full with bins and racks and tables of yarn. The selection and choices were just amazing. I finally was able to pet some Classic Elite Yarns, and decided that I really really want the Posh in the pink print, but before I indulge myself, I need to finish one of my larger projects. That, and it needs to have the pattern picked out for it - there's no way to justify that price without having something special picked out. Even so, I managed to walk away with 4 skeins of Miracle in Caribbean Sunset, 1 skein of Plymouth Encore Worsted in color 1444 brown with blue slubs, and 3 skeins of Queensland Rustic Wool, color 04 a tonal green yarn.