Vacation

I'm back on running on all cylinders! Well almost. I took last week off and used up the remainder of my less than stellar amount of PTO and took advantage of a fabulous gift from my parents by heading to Las Vegas with Nic for 4 days. Nic did a fantastic recap of the week so read that HERE and I will add accordingly.

Our attempt was to do Vegas as cheaply as possible, this was mildly successful. Here are my tips:

Boozin'
• Don't order drinks poolside.
We did this once. Never again. For $9.75 we received less than 6oz of a terrible blend of strawberry daiquiri and tequila advertised as a margarita. A $7 can of beer would have done us better.

• Don't purchase a bottle of water in the central strip.
Carry a bottle with you that you grab from the ends if possible prices increase from $1.19 on the far ends of the strip to almost $3 near the Paris hotel. You will crave water, trust me.

• Do hit up the 7-Eleven
There is a part of the strip that is pretty shady between Planet Hollywood and the MGM Grand but within this strip is a diamond in the rough called the 7-Eleven. At the 7-Eleven are you not only provided with AMAZING customer service and asked to return but you can grab 2 36oz. beers for only $4.50. THIS IS A STEAL people! We also snagged a $7 bottle of wine, cheap way to get a buzz, just make sure you have the corkscrew covered or you will go on a long journey to find an affordable one.

• Do treat yourself
You've gotta splurge one time while you are there and we did at Tao on a $40 bottle of wine. Granted it was the cheapest on the list but much more affordable when you consider a glass will cost you $13.

Eatin'
• Don't expect to eat for under $10 a meal
I thought it would be easy to do this but we had to get creative. We hit the food courts a lot but even then Subway's "$5 foot long" turned into a "$9 foot long" and a slice of pizza with side salad passed $10 before you added a drink. We split the sub and I skipped a drink or two if I knew we'd get back to the hotel shortly. Next time more research to be done on eating near the strip.

• Do grab breakfast
We thought skipping this meal would be easy, not the case. We felt pretty crummy the days we skipped and found a delicious although somewhat pricey breakfast spot in New York, New York.

• Do embrace your less than classy side
On the night of our classy dinner we saw a sign for $1.99 foot long coney's at Casino Royal next to Harrah's. You bet your buns we were back there the next night. When you want to drop $70 on dinner one night you better be ready to skimp the next night.
• Do set a budget so you can treat yourself
I took a set amount of cash out for food only before we left and I budgeted my meals accordingly, this made our delicious trip to Tao sting a little less and I didn't care if we ordered a 3rd sushi roll or got the pot stickers instead of the spring rolls.

Shoppin'
• Practice self control.
Nic and I showed commendable restraint while shopping on this round. I knew I'd spend some cash at the Adidas store and Urban Outfitters but while we lusted over tons of items at Anthropologie we talked each other out of a lot of items citing, "How often will you wear that?", "I can make that, take a picture of that, I know I can make that", and "Do you love these shoes or just like them?". I walked away with only one pair of shoes and a track jacket (for under $75) from Adidas, a 2 pack of tanks from H&M ($14) & a pair of glasses at Urban ($10). You heard me right I spent just under $100 on myself in Vegas, I deserve a high five.

Funny Stuff We Heard
"Miss? Miss? Miss! Excuse me miss, did you know it's a crime to have legs that long?"
Man on an escalator as we passed him in our dresses and heels

Random Lady: "Oh my gosh! Are you girls twins?!"
Nic: "Nope, but we're sisters! Can you believe it?"
Random Lady: "Yes I can!"
While walking home from dinner on Tuesday in our dresses. Nic and I really look nothing alike other than we have short hair and were wearing dresses.

Ryan the busboy at Tao: "So what line of work are you in?"
Nic: "Insurance"
Ryan: "Oh yeah?"
Nic: "Yeah, and frankly you're a risk I'd like to take"
While shamelessly flirting with our short busboy Ryan, post singing a song in which she recited all of the presidents to him.

Adidas Manager: "So, where are you ladies from?"
Us: "Iowa"
Manager: "East."
Me: "Yeah ..."
Nic: "Not really"
Awkward convo where we again realized no one really knows where Iowa is.

Me: "Here I'm just gonna act like I want to self-time a picture of us here at the fountains and struggle a lot and someone will offer to take our picture"
Nic: "Yeah sounds good!"
-struggle ensues-
Random Attractive European Male: "Excuse me, can I take a picture for you?"
Us: "Oh really? Thanks!"
Random Attractive European Male: "You ladies are really beautiful"
Us: "Aw ... thanks!"
-we bolt-
Me: "We probably should have stuck around to watch the fountain show, or at least talk to that guy, huh? This is why we are single. That guy was attractive and told us we were beautiful and he was drinking a bottle of water, and we ran away. Stupid"
Nic: "This is why we are single."
Outside of the Bellagio while we were trying to get a decent picture of us

Me: "Well Squirt, ready to go?"
Nic: "Yeah."
Me: "I dunno why I just called you Squirt."
Nic: "Me either."
Me: "This is awkward."
at S&J's before heading to Vegas, I proceeded to call Nic Squirt for the rest of the week, it always made us laugh

Overall, we had a great time. It was a relaxing week and I needed to clear my head. Nic is a fantastic travel partner and our heart to hearts were needed and appreciated. I've never had a friend quite like this girl, I mean if you can put up with me for 5 days you've gotta be a champ and that she was! I think of Nic as my sister more than I do as a friend and I think it was confirmed yesterday as my Grams gave her a hug and said, "you are part of the family now." She's right Nic, you are :) HUGE shout out to Jim and Norene for the trip, we couldn't have done it without you and your continued selflessness never ceases to amaze me, thank you SO MUCH. Love you!!!!