Happy (belated) year of the dragon!

Every year we talk about heading out to Las Vegas for Chinese New Year because of all the celebrations and decorations. This year we finally made it! Fitting since it is the Year of the Dragon and my half Chinese husband happens to have been born under that sign.

While we didn't make it out there in time for the kick-off with the traditional dragon dance, we did go around to various casinos collecting commemorative $8 Year of the Dragon casino chips. Of course along the way, we saw some really impressive dragon displays!

These first three (above and below) were at the Wynn. So cool!

This one at Palazzo breathed 'smoke' throughout the day. It was enormous, as you can see! Around the back was a small pond with koi.

The next three photos are from the Bellagio Conservatory and Botanical Gardens. They really do it up, but then, they have this space that is dedicated to decorating for the various seasons of the year, which is different from most of the other resorts there. It really sets them apart though.

They had dragons representing each element; wood, fire, earth, metal and water. They also had a pagoda, larger than life Chinese coins and firecrackers, and of course, copious amounts of flowers!

Aria's lobby display with beautiful lanterns lining the entire ceiling. The photo doesn't do this justice!

And, although MGM Grand did not have a dragon display, they did get their stately lion into the spirit with butterflies, gold coins and firecrackers. It's one of my favorite casino resorts, so I thought it deserved a mention!

Where has November gone?

Seems like yesterday I was talking about September and shows and such. Now, here it is less than a week before Thanksgiving. I'm not sure where the time went!

In October, I was a participant again this year in Art Off Pike, which went very well. They seemed to do more advertising this year and it paid off with a steady stream of shoppers throughout the day. Sales were good and I gave out lots of business cards that will hopefully yield some more Etsy sales. After that, the first weekend in November was the Autumn Air Art Fair. It was my first year there and it was a nice break doing an inside show. No tent to lug around! There was also a steady crowd there and sales were very good!

Speaking of Etsy, I made my 50th (and then 51st) sale just recently! Exciting stuff there. I have been constantly working to create more pieces and get them listed, increasing my inventory, but with the number of successful shows I did over the summer (a great problem to have, I know!), it has been difficult. My goal at the beginning of the year was to reach 100 pieces in my shop and keep it above that number. I have about a month left and currently 71 pieces listed. I think I can do it.

My husband and I just returned earlier this week from a short trip to our favorite place: Las Vegas. This time, we were fortunate enough to stay at the new Cosmopolitan. My husband worked his magic at the front desk and managed to get us onto the 67th floor. The view was astounding! We were able to walk out onto the balcony, which was overlooking the Bellagio fountains. See the night time photo above. The other photo is of the sunrise over the mountains and Planet Hollywood, also from the balcony.

A fabulous time.

Ahh... Las Vegas... Absolutely my favorite place to visit. We just returned from a little 4 night trip late last Thursday night. We had plans for my niece and her friend to join us and that fell through. Then we had plans for friends to join us and that also fell through. Well, of course we decided to just go it alone!

This, our 10th visit, finally found us at that landmark sign! I have been bugging my husband to take me there for, oh, I don't know, 9 trips? I realize it's touristy and cheesy, but I just wanted to see it in person and get a few photos. Our flight arrived late (11:15 pm) and my husband surprised me with a hired car pick up, instead of the usual cab ride to the hotel.

Vic, our driver, first took us to In-N-Out Burger at Dean Martin and Tropicana (which, at 11:30 pm, was absolutely packed!), and then on to the famous sign for some photos. I apologize as I'm not quite sure how to operate the camera successfully at night, but here we are at the sign!

We stayed at the Planet Hollywood this time, a first for us. At check-in, we tried the $20 tip trick, and we got upgraded to a Resort Room with a strip view of the Bellagio fountains! Fools that we are, we were never in the room a single time when the fountains were going. Nice. lol This is the fantastic view from our room of Paris and Caesars Palace. The Bellagio is off to the left behind the balloon.

The trip highlights this time included making our way to the new Cosmopolitan, which is absolutely beautiful and finding their secret hidden pizza place, which was phenomenal -- I had the white pizza, my husband had the meatball, sausage and pepperoni. We took in the Cirque du Soleil show LOVE at the Mirage, the Beatles themed one. That was great, not my favorite Cirque show, but awesome none the less. We checked out Encore, which we hadn't seen last May and had dinner at the award-winning Steakhouse at Circus Circus. As much as I enjoyed dinner there, our steaks were not cooked correctly and, well, we had to go to Circus Circus to eat. Not something I'd really recommend, but I'm glad we tried it. All-in-all, not a great gambling trip for us, but we had a good time and enjoyed some good food.

Our trip wouldn't be complete without a whacky non-sequitur photo, so here are Vic (our driver) and myself at the sign, pretending like we go way back. Silly.

A long overdue trip report.

Well, this one should be an easy read! As I mentioned in a previous post, we were heading off to a family vacation in Las Vegas. (Sounds scary, right?) Well, despite my initial anxiety, a good time was had by all.

Here's the low-down in short form: We arrived Sunday, May 16, checked in to the Flamingo and the Venetian. Rooms were great, so we headed over to Bellagio for the brunch buffet (which I highly recommend). We swung by the Bellagio Conservatory & Botanical Gardens afterwards to check out the spring display and then headed downtown to 'old Vegas'.

Bellagio spring display, which, as with all of their displays was comprised mostly of flowers and live plants. It's just amazing every season I've seen it (and free to all who want to spend time there). Definitely a must see if you're in Vegas.

The gang: Mom, me, my husband (the giant), grams, mother-in-law, father-in law, and gram's friend in front.

Monday, we headed out to Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area, which was just breathtaking, even on an overcast day. I'd like to go back there again. I want to say it's 30-40 minutes west of the strip – not a bad drive and well worth the trip.

After Red Rock, it was off to the Hoover Dam. I can see why this place ended up on Modern Marvels on the History Channel. Wow!

I suspect the new bridge they're constructing will end up being on an episode as well. It's being built to divert some of the traffic from the dam.

After the Dam, we headed back and got ready to catch the 9:30 showing of Mystére (Cirque du Soleil). It was my 3rd Cirque show and I enjoyed it so much. Everyone else in the group loved it as well. Again, I would recommend...

Wednesday was Grand Canyon day. We made the 4.5 hour or so drive to the South Rim, which I hear has the best views. I can't say I would disagree! Enjoy!

Gearing up.

It's been over a year since we've made the trip out to my favorite vacation spot – Las Vegas! Well, we're getting ready to head out there for 4 days, but with a twist this time around.

We're taking with us my in-laws, grandma and one of her good friends and my mom. I'm feeling a little anxious about the whole thing. Seven people and trying to coordinate all of the things we want to show them... My father-in-law is out there a few times a year for business but isn't the type to go gambling. My mother-in-law has been there once for work, but didn't get to see much of anything. Grandma was there long ago, when the Mirage was new! I'm not sure about her friend, but I get the impression she has also been there. My mom hasn't ever really been on a real vacation. Well, she's getting thrown right in on this trip!

We have two rooms lined up at the Venetian and one at Flamingo. My in-laws have a rental car reserved – a van, no less – which will be quite handy with all of these people! We've got a decent amount of sight-seeing planned, which is cool for me since I've never seen any of these places! So far on the agenda are Red Rock National Conservation Area, Hoover Dam, the Grand Canyon, Ethel M's Chocolate Factory & Botanical Cactus Garden, possibly Lake Mead and of course all of the cool things right there in Las Vegas. We're going to see Cirque du Soleil's Mystére at Treasure Island and the ladies want to go see one of the Rat Pack tribute shows. Somehow I've got to work in some pool time and my husband and I will likely have a couple late night poker sessions sprinkled in there. I'm sure we'll manage.

Right now I'm trying to get everything done at home... cleaning, packing and trying to get some more pieces listed in my shop. I'm really getting excited about hitting the desert for a few days though! Of course I will bring back many photos and a trip report (be warned, I'm sure it'll be a long read!).