Sometimes, Always, Never - Vegas the Mormon Way

I remember my first trip to Las Vegas - The lights! The color! The boobs! As a 6 year old I was particularly impressed with the enormous castle - Excalibur.

Even better I remember my single ladies trip to Las Vegas with my bestie Katie, who had never been.

"There is PORNOGRAPHY LINING THE STREETS!"


As a Mormon, Vegas can be a scary place with the boobs, butts and general grossness.  You can't go to clubs, you can't drink, you can't gamble, why even go? I'll tell you how and why YOU can do a Mormon Vegas Vacation.


The Beard and I decided to use an expiring voucher we had for 2 free nights at a Vegas hotel over Spring Break. We haven't been on a trip just the two of us since we've been married (over a year and a half! Thanks a lot Larry H Miller. We don't miss you), so we leaped at the chance.

My parents graciously agreed to watch Glen Coco, although after he marked EVERY territory in their house I doubt they'll have him back. And we were off! (Listening to Harry Potter audiobooks, obvs.)

This is how he likes to ride in the car - wedged between Ryan and the backrest

My Travel/Vacation uniform - black skinnies (Old Navy), gray v-neck (Gap), chambray top (F21), tortoise sunnies (Cotton On) and flipflops (Pac Sun)

Without further ado, here is my Sometimes-Always-Never for a Mormon trip to Las Vegas!

Sometimes

• Try out a piano bar! We went to Napoleon's in the Parisian and saw the dueling piano act. It's free, although they expect you to get drinks. A $3 can of Diet Coke was a bit ridiculous, but the dueling pianos were pretty awesome. They even take requests! Be prepared for a lot of Neil Diamond and people getting stupid drunk
• Walk through hotels/casinos. Even if you don't gamble or aren't staying there, those hotels are amazing! My favorites are the Parisian, New York New York, Caeser's Palace and now the Cosmopolitan! It's new and incredible.
• See a show, but make sure you read some reviews. I've always wanted to see a Cirque show, but I've heard a few of them can be a little racy. Many of the shows in Vegas are, so be selective. 
• Check out the LDS Temple! We didn't have time to drive out to it when we were there and I really wished we could have gone! Next time. :)

 Always

• Walk the Strip. There is no better people watching in the entire world. Pick a small section or marathon through the whole thing. Just walking with no real destination is hilarious, because you'll see yahoos like Bumblebee just chillin'. 

• While you're at it, see the free shows! The Bellagio Fountains, Atlantis inside Caeser's Palace and the pirate show outside Treasure Island.
• Also while you're at it, get some of the limitless candy at the Sugar Factory. That's all I should need to say. 

•  Plan for and try a fancy restaurant. The Beard saw Hash House a Go Go on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives (one of our faves) and fell immediately in love with their enormous Chicken n' Waffles, Meatloaf sandwich and more. He's wanted to go ever since, so we planned it into our trip and budget. It made it way more fun than just grabbing a quick, cheap bite somewhere, because we looked forward to it and it was AMAZING. Really. 

• Wear something edgier than you can wear at home because - duh- its Vegas! I went with leather leggings and a skull tee since I can't ever wear those to school. Well, and maintain some degree of respect. :)

It was late. That's my only excuse for this washed out face. 

Did I do my hair at all this trip? It's a vacation. No. 

• Plan for everything to be overpriced. Vegas is where you go to splurge, not save. If you are budgeting, bring your own snacks and drinks for the hotel room.

Never

• Wear heels on the Strip, or when you have no idea what your night will be like. I even wore my trusty, comfy wedges, and I've worn flat boots before, and my dogs were barking before the night was up. 
• Take or look at the fliers and pamphlets being waved in your face. Trust me. Just pretend they don't exist.
• Get a smoking room. Vegas smoking rooms are worse than smoking rooms anywhere else. It's like secondhand-smoke nation up there.
• Stay on the Strip past 1 am. That's when the funny to crazy ratio on the Strip gets really scary.

Falling for Fall Break

Oh the short weekend. When freedom isn't so far away, and Monday is simply a Wednesday. I love short weeks. If I could work 4 10-hour days and always have a 3 day weekend I'd do it in a heartbeat. Man. I love a short week.

Fall Break is this week for me. Unfortunately it didn't line up with my family's fall breaks, which were the previous week, but I still get two days off so I'm not complaining. 

I'm in love with fall, like everyone else. {Oh, you weren't sure because I didn't post 1,000 pictures of sweaters & leaves (see below), obsess over pumpkin spiced EVERYTHING and tweet my pure love for the season every 20 minutes? Well let this reassure you.}

Seeing how it's been 80 DEGREES FARENHEIT up until last week.... I thought it was prudent to lay off the fall traditions. You know, like we used to before Pinterest existed. I'm looking at you, girls wearing boots and coats in September. You're gross. 

Well now we have finally arrived.

The leaves are an ever-changing tapestry. 

The air has that crisp bite like the carbonation of a fresh can of soda. 

Goosebumps spread rapidly over my bare legs, screaming for tights. 

The ubiquitous pumpkin spices our views and desserts.

Glen's new favorite activity is attacking the dying flower bushes around our stair entry. 

Slutty Halloween costumes flood the front aisles of Wal-Mart.

It truly is magic. 

Without further ado, I submit my Fall Break to-do list, open for suggestions, corrections, additions or your attendance!

• Canyon hike/walk with my favorite Derrick girls
• CDP (Classy Dinner Party) with the Findeis'
• Making this delicious pumpkin treat
• Zombie movie/Walking Dead marathon
• Reading a new book (I just finished Water for Elephants, looking for something not about animals being abused, thanks....)
• Yoga
• Temple trip (If you knew how rarely we go, living 1/2 mile away, you'd judge us so hard)
• Sweats. Always. 
• Taking Glen Coco to the park, all bundled up obvs
• Figuring out a good Halloween costume. The Beard is working late Halloween, and I can't be Leslie Knope without my Ron Swanson. I also can't be Hermione for the 3rd year in a row...
• Spa Day - basically I just use every possible beauty product in my house: face mask, deep conditioning treatment for my hair, mani/pedi, etc. 
• Make my favorite drink - Hot Vanilla. It will change your life. 

How am I going to fit this all into a 4 day weekend, you ask? Autumn is magic, remember?

I Heart Chicago

Last week I had the amazing opportunity to go on one of my favorite vacations ever. Chicago. My sister graduated from high school and for her senior trip she wanted to go see the Chicago Cubs play at Wrigley (my family have been Cubs fans since...always. Weird, I know).

We got up real early on Tuesday and caught our flight to Chicago. After a rain delay we were able to see a late Cubs game vs. the Oakland A's. There is nothing better than the ballpark atmosphere. The camaraderie is infectious, and the dedication to the team, while found with each time, is a unique brand when it comes to the Cubs. Because we suck. But even though we lost, this game was so fun. I love Carlos Zambrano and Marlon Byrd and DLee. So fun.


On Wednesday we got up and drove into the city. We had a delicious lunch/dinner at Maggiano's (best classy mafia-style Italian restaurant ever), and then hung out downtown. I absolutely fell in love with the city. We didn't go to the South side because, obviously, we wanted to stay alive. But downtown is fantastic.


I love that all of the buildings have a unique history, and that they are from all different time periods and reflect different architectural styles. I mean, I'm walking past a Gothic style cathedral covered in ivy, and then cross the street to go into H&M or the Apple store. I love the residential high-risers with balconies and rooftop gardens. I knew I didn't love nature and general outdoorsy-ness, but I always liked living in Mapleton with fields and yards and deer running around. Now, I think I may actually be a city girl, through and through.


Thursday we went to a day game and sat in the bleachers. The experience is awesome. Drunk, shirtless guys, tons and tons of cussing, and eating hot dogs. It was so so so so hot. But way fun. Afterwards we went to see A-Team, which was fantastic (2nd time for me). Loved it. I'm thinking about doing movie reviews on this blog. But that's a tangent. The Cubs won, so this was one of my favorite days, but also because we ate at Pizzeria Uno - Home of the Deep Dish Pizza. BEST. PIZZA. I. HAVE. EVER. HAD.


Friday we drove downtown and ate at the Melting Pot for my dad's bday/father's day celebration, Part One. For some reason we were super giggly and ridiculous this entire day. There was a crazy storm that afternoon and evening. Trees falling down and whatnot. It was so fun to sit with the lights out and watch it out the glass balcony doors of our hotel room.

Saturday we went to another day game, this time vs. the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. We saw Toy Story 3, and it was one of the best movies I have ever seen. We laughed throughout the entire thing, and I'm 90% sure my dad cried at the end.

Sunday as we were checking out of our hotel, luckily my dad checked his email to find that our flight was canceled. And luckily, we were able to get another flight out. After resolving the drama we at at Weber Grill, which was delicious and then caught our flight home.

The best part of the trip? Getting to spend a week with these people.