Took the boys driving a bunch to practice before they started the driving portion of their driver’s ed class.
Then I went on my the second trip of the month! Also to see Kiki and go to a show!
I flew to DC Friday, and we went to a Caps game.
Hung out with Maxie and I tried on $80k worth of jewelry on Saturday. We went to some thrift stores to finish off our costumes, and Kiki bought me this Friends Christmas sweatshirt. Later that evening we heard about Matthew Perry. 😦
Sunday, Kiki and I drove to Silver Spring to go see a concert and spent the night at a hotel there. Then I flew home the next day. A short but super fun trip. I hate not knowing when we’ll see each other again. Hmmph.
I did get to see lots of fall colors, which was neat.
And then yesterday was Halloween. I handed out candy, but not many kids came. Mark my words, next year I’m going to get full-sized candy bars. I’m going to be one of those houses. Don’t let me forget.
In 1991, if 16 year-old Pam wasn’t listening to INXS, she was listening to Achtung Baby. If I hear any songs from it now, it instantly transports me back (in a good way.) So back in March when I saw that U2 was playing the album in its entirety in Las Vegas, I texted Kristina and joked “we should go to this” and to absolutely no one’s surprise, she said “okay!”
So I spent the past weekend in Las Vegas (and a little bit of Los Angeles) with Kiki and Mike, where we saw U2 in concert at (the?) Sphere.
For some reason, flights to Las Vegas were super expensive, but both Mike and I have brothers in Los Angeles, so we decided it would be better to fly to L.A. and drive to Vegas. Road trip!
So I flew to Burbank (closer to my brother’s) on Thursday afternoon, then we surprised Ellie at UCLA. I think she was surprised, anyway. Turns out she has tracking on me on her phone. Hmm.
We had dinner, then went to her teeny tiny dorm room where I got to see the quilt I made her in its home!
The next morning, I had breakfast with Evan and Jennifer, then Kiki and Mike picked me up for the trip to Vegas. It was cool to drive through the desert – I’ve never seen one up close before!
We arrived at our hotel at around 4, and it took us a while to get checked in and to finally find our rooms (these hotels are massive!) and then it was time to get ready for dinner.
The dinner was incredible, we went to Picasso at the Bellagio. Lots of pics on my Instagram post:
The next morning, we got overpriced coffee from Starbucks, and then I met up with my friend Lisa, who lives in Vegas. We hung out for a while in my room, then after she left, Kiki and Mike and I went and grabbed lunch and then went in search of merch. The lines were stupid, but I was able to get my brother and I shirts.
After that, Kiki and I had an appointment at Lip Lab, which I was very excited about. I was finally going to get the perfect brick red (NO PINK) lipstick!
It was so fun to watch the technician mix the colors. Like an artist with a palette! And she nailed the color perfectly. Then I tried a bright pink that I would normally never wear, but she said suited me. I did not buy that one. But I did get a sheer balm in the same color as my lipstick. And Kiki got two lipsticks. One was so perfect I gasped when I saw it on her.
We also got to name our lipsticks, and they engraved them on the cases. I don’t really have any pictures of the lipstick on, but trust me, it’s perfect.
don’t ask.
After that, we went to the pool for an hour and drank extremely overpriced (but delicious) cocktails (are you sensing a theme?) and then it was time to get ready for the show!
So I guess this is the real point of this post. Well. It was incredible.
We ate a bit and had a drink when we got inside (all very good) and then it was time to find our seats. We knew we were in a good section, right in the middle near the front, but we had no idea how good they were going to be. We were in row 16, but row 16 was really just four from the front. The general admission area was between us and the stage, but it wasn’t that big. We were close. And right smack in the middle.
A DJ played a bunch of 90s songs to get all the old people in the mood and then the show started, and honestly, I don’t know what else to say besides it was visually incredible. Just beautiful. The graphics were so crisp and beautiful and jaw-dropping.
I took a lot of pictures and videos.
After the show, I was exhausted, so I went back to my room pretty soon getting back, then the next morning we packed up for the drive back to L.A. And then I came home yesterday after staying at my brother’s again.
So that’s it! A wonderful trip with my best friend seeing an amazing show, AND I got to see my niece. What else can you ask for?
Man, for someone who is going to be giving a talk on Making Blogging a Habit in three weeks, I’m not doing a stellar job, am I?
Well, I’m here to remedy that with a little recap of my trip to Las Vegas. It was Kristina’s 40th birthday trip, and I flew there Saturday morning to meet up with Kristina, Mike, and a few other couples that they’re friends with. (I joked that I was the 9th wheel, but I really never felt like it.)
I arrived early Saturday afternoon after a couple of thankfully uneventful flights. Got to the hotel and rested for a few minutes while I waited for Kristina to get back from another casino. The rooms at the Aria had automated lights and curtains, but I found the system somewhat buggy. I was just sitting there relaxing, and the TV and lights went off and the curtains closed. Oooookay. I guess they were trying to tell me to get out of there.
The view was nice, though…
Basically, we ate a lot. Had lunch at a Mexican place in the Aria that had delicious pineapple margaritas. Then dinner at Bazaar Meat, where we ate a lot of amazing, um, meat. And Bill and Whitman surprised us by driving in from Los Angeles!
Dessert!
Kiki and Whitman. Surprise!
That’s where we ate.
Meat! Before we ate it.
Whitman with his dad and uncle
Fancy mixed drink. Or witch’s brew.
Cotton candy around a bit of foie gras.
An olive, and an “olive”.
Sunday we had breakfast, then the ladies went to the spa. I didn’t get any treatments, but relaxed in the jacuzzi, steam room, and sauna. I also hung out in a “salt room” that was supposed to improve my upper respiratory system, or something. Whatever. It was chill.
That evening, we went to Ka, a Cirque du Soleil show. It was crazy. The set was immense. So fancy. After that, we ate at Yardbird, where I ate the most delicious fried chicken I’ve ever had in my entire life. Holy cow (or chicken.) So good.
Some more random photos from my trip…
Made it home last night without too much travel drama. Just a little bit.
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