Some changes!

Hey guys!

This month is CRAZY busy but I have a few new changes! 

Yesterday I set up my new blog design that I put together myself for once (hurray). Hope you guys like it! I redid everything from the social media icons and signature to the header and the little page bars. I tend to change my mind about what I want it to look like all the time and figured I'd start saving the money and putting those digital scrapbooking skills to good use! I thought these colors looked great for a nice chill summer so let me know what you think! I tried to keep it clean and streamlined. Resizing images on Photobucket and messing with HTML codes is not fun.

I added a few widgets to the sidebar. One of them is an Amazon list of my fave travel products so if you see anything you're curious about, you can just click it in there and get the reviews and info! I updated more social network icons (I should probably test them...) so you guys can see videos from shows and other cool things quickly and easily!

I just got home a few days ago and may actually be spending a lot of June at home for once! Maybe a "rest period" is good. Another planned trip for July and one that just sprung up for August. Lots of friend visits for the summer too so staycations! It's going to be a busy summer!

Memorial Day Activities

Hope everyone had a great holiday weekend! I worked Saturday and Sunday alone which was hectic but kind of nice since it was quiet.

My three day weekend started Tuesday but I did manage to do a few things on Monday; namely a work hosted barbecue and dinner wth Carla and Michelle who were in town for the weekend.

The barbecue was fun and it's always interesting to see the people who live and say at the resort out f the office (and apparently quite tipsy). Dinner with the girls was at Chayo at the new Linq shopping center and we stopped by the Polaroid studio for a fun souvenir pic.

So as I type this from the airport, in ready for a quick trip. While everyone else headed  home drunk and tired, I headed to Dallas for my own weekend getaway!

Staycation at Flamingo

I've done very little Vegas exploring since my partner in crime Ashley moved to Pittsburgh. It's quite sad really, because we used to go get into all kinds of craziness and since she moved a while back, I don't venture the Strip/clubs/pool the way I used to explore. Whenever she and her fiance come back to visit, I always find myself seeing new parts of the Strip.

Naturally we did Vegas things:

1. A party pool. Flamingo- This place is INSANE. It's not TECHNICALLY a big party pool, but it's 21 and over, there's a DJ, and most people are fairly drunk. On the flipside, unlike most party pools, the water was still blue. I am not kidding, this is serious. It was blue. Not the murky brown of Tao Beach or Rehab (seriously, I hate that place so much).

2. A buffet. Planet Hollywood- This was one of the first buffets I went to in Vegas like back when this resort was the Aladdin. It was always one of my faves and really, it still is. They don't have THE best quality or selection, but it's consistent and not insanely crowded. It's also not crazy expensive like the trendier ones are. Do you like cupcakes? If so, come here. No joke- the dessert table is a freakin CUPCAKE BAR. They have other things too but there are probably 15 different types of cupcakes.

3. A big tourist draw. Margaritaville- I have not been here in like eight years. The last time I was there was for a friend's 18th birthday. We had to get in before 9PM when they started carding, we had to wait over an hour, and we had to crowd our huge group into a small table indoors. Not this time. Shorter wait (people knew people) and table on the balcony. 

Peggy Sue's 50s Diner & Dinersaur Park

I am a big roadtrip geek.

I'm the kind of traveler who wants to see the world's biggest ball of yarn, take dozens of pictures of craters in the ground, and stop at any kitschy Route 66 style diner or whatever along the road.

I have passed Peggy Sue's way too many times and on this trip, it was just up the street. We had to go. 

We just had to.

First off, this place is adorable. Perfect kitschy retro goodness. The food was pretty good and classic 50s diner fare. The best part- They have a park of DINERsaurs behind the restaurant!!! So you can eat burgers, drink ice cream sodas, and see King Kong!!!

Calico Ghost Town

The day after our slightly creepy camping night, we hit the ghost town.

The wind had died down (thank God) so we were able to wander the town in the perfect temperature on a nice sunny day. We grabbed breakfast first inside the town and had all kinds of delicious countryish breakfast items. The restaurant overlooked one of the mines too which made for a cool backdrop.

After breakfast we wandered some more, taking in one of the mines (pretty cool) and walking around the town. A lot of the old buildings are rumored to be haunted so some of the spots were a bit eerie. Lisa and I loaded up on old fashioned sodas and I made a stop at their old timey photo spot. There was even a cool little building made out of concrete and bottles that now sells gourmet dog treats. 

The town wasn't too crowded until we were heading out so we got to see everything we wanted to see without having to stand around waiting for places to clear out. We took less than two hours leisurely exploring and seeing all the cool sights (except for the mystery shack). 

Summer

Ok it's not summer EVERYWHERE, but as soon as it hits 100 in Vegas, it's basically summer.

Things are pretty quiet for the moment since I rarely travel over holiday weekends (I'm not so fond of crowds and things are always so much more expensive). I found a great new travel site that I'm a little obsessed with! It's called Tripoto and it's all sorts of awesome. You post travel itineraries on the site so it's a great way to share where you've been, tips, and all that good stuff. If you're liking any of my trips, I am slowly trying to load them up to the site so you guys can see the details. The site lets you put up pictures and list out individual places and then maps it all out. It's pretty cool! If you guys are interested in joining, hit up this link; the referrals will keep me traveling! :-)

My big weekend activity was a fun dinner out with some friends that I really NEVER see. 

Lately I've been lazing around the house after work and I've become a crazy plant collector. I have over a dozen random plants sitting on a gigantic cookie sheet by the window. So far they're growing. Good sign right? I know nothing about plants so fortunately (or not), I have a little nagging voice (*cough*Marc*cough*) telling me what to do so they don't all die.

And back to summer stuff. I get bored and I like to make lists. 

Here are some of my top products and pieces for the summer:

1. Supergoop. I have over a dozen Supergoop products all over my house. They're amazing and they make me feel a lot less like I'm burning from the inside out (and you know, they prevent the skin cancer and all). I'm fairly paranoid about the sun so I try and use this stuff at least twice a day, including the SPF lip balm.

2. Gradual sunless tanners. I have the Target generic stuff and I mix it with the Loral Self Tantalizer. I use it every other day and it looks pretty natural and minimally streaky. I'm too impatient to stand in front of a fan for more than five minutes.

3. Orofluido. It's keeping my hair from being gross and stringy after the gross pool water.

4. Rohto eye drops. My friend once described these as "eyedrops on crack" because of the menthol but when your eyes feel like they're catching fire, it really helps.

5. Floppy hats. I have like six of them. I'm obsessed.

Scissor Sister Camping Trip

Don't ask about the name...

Anyone in the mood for ghost stories?

I love camping. Granted, I've only really camped once in a tent but it was one of my fave trips ever (you can read about it here, especially if you're a Twilight fan). 

My friend Lisa and I had been meaning to do our Calico day trip for a couple of years now but could never get our schedules to match. We finally found a set of days and figured, we might as well get a cabin and stay the night. I love ghost towns and Lisa loves ghosts and Calico apparently has lots of ghosts. In fact, the first night of our trip had a horror movie vibe to it but clearly, we didn't get ax murdered.

We were pretty well stocked with supplies for the night and after getting our cabin key from security, we settled in. Our only issue- neither of us is particularly good at starting campfires. We ended up burning pink construction paper until the guys at the cabin next to us (what would we have done without them) helped us to really get it going. Once it was going, it took us almost 20 minutes to put it out! 

We had all the regular camp foods- s'mores, hot dogs, jiffy pop. Our neighbors were super nice and helpful and great company. The camp was pretty quiet and there weren't a lot of neighbors on our side. We had a great spot right next to the bathrooms (convenient once it got dark). 

We didn't go to bed until about 1AM and so did our neighbors. The wind picked up in the middle of the night and Lisa and I could barely sleep from all the noise outside our cabin. We could hear voices and trucks driving in circles around our cabin, footsteps right outside our door and right behind the wall. Our neighbors had gone to bed and the sound of someone moving things in and out of a vehicle were clearly not them since everything they had was exactly where they had been the night before. There were no marks in the sand from fast moving vehicles and the voices we heard weren't our neighbors. Creeped out? We were.

Still, great little campground and fun overnight getaway!

Liebster Awards

Hello hello all!

So the lovely Adri nominated me for my second Liebster Award! Yay! If you are unfamiliar with the Liebster Awards, it is an award given to bloggers with under 300 followers in order to promote new blogs. Great way to find new blogs to read and make some new friends! 

1. Why do you blog?

I started this blog to kind of journal things for myself. I love having it because it's like talking about my day to someone who isn't going to interrupt me and who is always around to listen.

2. What is your favorite thing to do on your down time?

Scrapbook, read, take pictures, NAP. I rarely nap. Such a time suck. 

3. What are you looking forward to for the second-half of the year?

Cruising with Tyler and BK, two of my besties getting married and attempting to get me really really drunk, seeing friends I only see once a year if I'm lucky, and more travel. 

4. What is your greatest fear?

Losing someone I care about; because you can't stop it from happening.

5. What makes you the happiest the most?

Spending time with people I love and rarely see. 

6. What was your dream job as a child? How does that compare to now?

I wanted to be a fashion designer, I sewed every day for hours. Now I work at a front desk. Completely different.

7. Favorite memory of all time?

That's really personal. It involved a boat. 

8. If you could travel to one place, where would you go?

Sydney, I've always wanted to go and I still haven't been.

9. What's your go-to outfit?

For everyday, I like my boyfriend jeans and a slouchy sweater. Or leggings and a sweater or tunic. Something comfortable.

10. What are some things on your bucket list?

OMG That list is so long I don't know where to start. 

11.  What is your guilty pleasure?

Duck Dynasty. I got a beard lollipop. It's that bad. 

So for this round of Liebster Awards questions I decided to think outside the box (ok kind of not really) and do word association! Yay! It's like a psych session! Just be glad it isn't shadow pictures and interpretations (like Daria- A herd of wild ponies running free across the plains). But then I decided that was kind of a stupid idea so I didn't do it; therefore, that entire intro was completely pointless. The blogs I nominated are blogs that I really really enjoy reading by bloggers I think are some pretty cool people. These are the blogs I have in my favorites list and I'm always excited when these girls have new posts! Let's see how they managed the crazy bag of cats I sent them.

My Nominees
Courtney @ Southern Class Carolina Sass
Becca @ Needs Room to Wander
Kellee @ Kellee the Caffeinated
Jamie @ U Gotta Have Hart
Megan @ Baseball Laces and Southern Graces
Ashleigh @ Georgia Peach
Chesson @ A Southern Twenty-Five
Mariah @ Food Booze & Baggage

Pamela @ Sequins & Sea Breezes
Chloe @ Believe in the Sparks
Katie @ Wild Wine Country Wonder

1. You walk into a bulk candy store, what's the first thing you put in your bag?

2. You only have ten minutes to make dinner (no frozen food in the house HA), what do you make?

3. What is your favorite animated movie character?

4. You have a free day and decided to take a roadtrip. Where do you go?

5. An anonymous benefactor (probably with a top hat and monocle) is gifting you with a trip anywhere you want to go but it can only be for three days (cheap generous bastard) and it has to be somewhere you've never been. Where do you go?

6. The same benefactor gives you a $100 bill good to use at ONE store. Where would you spend it?

7. He's now giving you two free tickets to a concert (who is this guy). Who would you go see?

8. If you're at a food court, what do you usually end up eating? Sorry, the elusive anonymous benefactor is not paying this time.

9. What ten things do you always pack for an overnight trip?

10. Last gift from the benefactor- a new car (nothing fancy). What would you get?

11. What is your favorite memory from this year so far?

NYC Part 8

What trip to New York would be complete without a stroll through Central Park?

NYC Part 7

Miscellaneous NYC

We rounded out our last day with the Uptown Loop, some more beef tongue and pastrami (my fave sandwich ever), and a trip to FAO Schwartz just because. Since my beloved Stage Deli closed, we checked out Katz's Deli for the first time and went to Sable's on the Upper East Side. Both were delicious. We also grabbed some goodies for the flight home at Laduree. I can't remember the last time I went to an airport without Macarons in my purse. lol

NYC Part 6

9/11 Memorial and 1 World Trade Center

The 9/11 Memorial is free admission; however, they do accept donations. The easiest way to get in is to go to the Preview Site first or reserve passes on the website. 

NYC Part 5

Brooklyn- Bus over the Manhattan Bridge and a visit to the Brooklyn Botanical Garden.

Check out my fave travel link-up below! :-)