My New Obsession...

...actually only an obsession for a few days because I'm already caught up and the new episodes don't come out until April!

I have returned!

Las Vegas was so much fun!  A great break from school, work and the busy Christmas stuff going on.  Believe it or not, it was super dead there!

Wednesday morning was a gong show.  We honestly thought we weren't going to make our flight...got to the airport around 6:30am for our 8am flight.  We made it right onto the plane at 8am, but they were waiting anyways because there were tons of people behind us still trying to get through security.  Phew.  Close call.

Our hotel, Encore, was beautiful!  This is the first time I've gone in and it was awesome.  Not to mention the smallest rooms in that hotel are 700 to 745 square feet equipped with everything from TVs in the bathroom to automatic drapes and lights to be controlled from the nightstand (my dream come true, not having to get out of bed to turn on the lights).

The first delicious meal was at the Bellagio buffet!  Sooooo much foooood....

Haha the beautiful banana split we made...then one of the bananas fell off after :(.  This was only a small portion of our food, but you get the idea!  We shopped all through Fashion Show Mall (across from Wynn) and Miracle Mile Mall (Planet Hollywood) that day.  That night, we got hungry and decided to eat at a cafe called Zoozacrackers in Wynn.  Johnny ordered the chicken noodle soup and I got the eggs benedict (shown below)!

Gambling took up our filler time (we signed up with all of the Player's Cards at all of the main hotels, so we got free credit to gamble).  We found we liked the nickel machines with multiple rows and three columns. 

On Thursday, we wandered over to Tix4Tonight in Fashion Show Mall to buy cheap tickets for the Blue Man Group for that night at the Venetian!  We then wandered to the Venetian for lunch and ate at Wolfgang Puck's Postrio.  He has several amazing restaurants around Vegas and this is our second one we've been to and so far, they've both been great!  The bread we started with was softer than anything I've eaten and I ordered the Pumpkin Ravioli with Pine Nuts, Butternut Squash and Sage Browned Butter on top and Johnny ordered the Burger.

After that, we had a full day of hardcore shopping at the Las Vegas Premium Outlets (after solving some issues with the cab driver who was going to drive us to PRIMM which is one hour away instead of Premium which is 10 minutes away).  It was indeed a day of success for both of us :).

After dropping our bags off back at Encore, we wandered next door to Venetian to watch the Blue Man Group.  It was a good show and very random...I guess I didn't know what to expect, but it definitely exceeded my expectations!  Here's a picture of us and one of the members of the Blue Man Group:

After the show, we ate at The Grand Lux Cafe in Venetian (the 24 hour cafe we discovered last time!) and it was just as delicious as I remembered!  We started with some Ahi Tuna Sushi Rolls (tasted like Dragon Eyes from Mikado, but it was better with the Ahi Tuna in it) and I had an omelette with artichoke, cheddar cheese, bacon and mushrooms while Johnny ordered their Corn Beef Hashed.  Yum!

Friday was a shopping day at Fashion Show Mall and checking out the new hotel, Aria.  We started off with a great brunch at Neiman Marcus Cafe.  They served us yorkshire pudding with strawberry butter and chicken stock.  Johnny ordered the Tuna Melt Sandwich and Tomato Fennel Bisque while I got the burger with delicious fries!!!

Shopping was great...we wandered around the Forum shops in Caesar's and went to the new mall, Crystals, that is part of the city center.  Here are some views of Vegas and us in Crystals :)

We then made our way over to Aria (right next to Crystals).  The pictures of the inside of the casino turned out all blurry for some reason :( I'll take more next time we go!  We ate at an Italian restaurant inside Aria named Sirio.  It was awesome!  We started with some fresh oysters and then Johnny ordered Clams and Pasta in White Wine Sauce while I got the Lobster Risotto.  It was probably our best meal :)

Fountains outside of Aria :) So pretty!

We walked around some more, shopped at the M&M world and went back for a nap.  After the nap we went out for some more food (haha..yes we are gross :D, but I forgot to take pictures of that food HAHA).  The next morning, we cleaned up our room, packed up our luggage, and checked out!  It was a sad day :( neither of us really wanted to leave Las Vegas!  We went back to Grand Lux Cafe for lunch and just shopped some more!

At Grand Lux, we ordered Mini Chili Hot Dogs, Johnny got a Ahi Tuna Burger and I ordered a Chicken Pot Pie (honestly, biggest one I've ever seen...could've probably fed 6 people).

What a great burger eater! <3 Too bad you can't beat me in a Wolfgang burger eating contest! Me = WINNAR

ME HUNGRY! *Grunt*

Here are some pictures of Wynn and Encore!  And we also decided to take some last minute pictures inside Encore :) so pretty!

So I know this was a huge ass blog entry.  In short, I think I eat about 5x more than I used to after this trip, but that's ok because it was well worth it!  Thanks for a great trip, J!!!  Couldn't have found a better way to de-stress after exams!!!

I still have an endless list of restaurants I want to try in Vegas.  It is becoming one of the culinary capitals in the world and I love that we can get cheap tickets there to try more food :).  On the list:

Bouchon - Thomas Keller

Beso - Eva Longoria

Mesa Grill - Bobby Flay

Nobu - Nobu (haha...)

B&B Ristorante - Mario Batali and Joseph Bastianich

American Fish - Michael Mina

Spago - Wolfgang Puck

Cut - Wolfgang Puck

...the list is endless!!! Until next time!

Brrrr....

...really?!  Does it have to be -31 degrees (-41 with the windchill)?  I think we know that you can be cold, Edmonton.  Please stop now.  I drove for thirty minutes home and my steering wheel is STILL frozen.  


On the bright side, Vegas will be a high of 15 degrees for the next week while we're there.  15 degrees seems like paradise right now.  


Oh, also a change in plans.  No longer going to Mesa Grill because after a long and insightful talk with Jo, we concluded that Mesa Grill was too expensive (even though it was good).  I think we are going to try Bouchon, Thomas Keller's restaurant.  I don't really know who he is, but I do trust Jo's taste since we eat everything the same.  Also contemplating a Brazilian Buffet where they serve 12 kind of meat and tons of seafood.  Mmm...big belly, here I come!

Bobby Flay!

I think we've decided!  Bobby Flay's restaurant, Mesa Grill, is the one celebrity chef restaurant we are going to try out this trip!  Check out the menu:

Celebrity Chefs

Which restaurants to try in Vegas?  So many celebrity chefs have their restaurants there, but we're not sure how to pick??  Emeril Lagasse, Wolfgang Puck, Nobu, Bobby Flay, and much, much more.  I will do some more research and see where that takes me.

Almost Over...

After much lack of sleep and stress, exams are almost finally over!  Last night we stayed at school until 5am.  This is record breaking for me because everytime I think it's the latest I'll stay up, I beat my own record the following day.

Not sure how tax went today.  I did finish the question, but realized how many things I missed.  My goal of getting 30% on this exam is still bleak.  I guess we'll see in a couple of weeks!  After our exam, me and D went to RATT for some drinks.  And greasy food.  Poutine, sweet potato fries, dried ribs and chicken strips.  How much more deep fried can we get?

As for now, I am reading all my friend's blogs and all they talk about is the Victoria Secret fashion show.  Since I took a long nap and my sleep patterns are all messed up, I may actually watch it to see what all the hype is about.

I was talking to my dad in the car today and realized I was leaving for Vegas one one week.  He reminded me of it.  I almost forgot!  This is what school is doing to me!

So I think I'm going snowboarding December 28th.  I'm really excited and want to improve my skills hardcore this year!!!  

J gave me my password for Facebook back today!  I am reconnected with the world!!! 

Ok, that's all I've gots for now.  Good night, world!

Man in the Mirror

Man In The Mirror - Cover by Leehom <3 (playing on blog)

I'm Gonna Make A Change,
For Once In My Life
It's Gonna Feel Real Good,
Gonna Make A Difference
Gonna Make It Right . . .

As I, Turn Up The Collar On My
Favourite Winter Coat
This Wind Is Blowin' My Mind
I See The Kids In The Street,
With Not Enough To Eat
Who Am I, To Be Blind?
Pretending Not To See
Their Needs
A Summer's Disregard,
A Broken Bottle Top
And A One Man's Soul
They Follow Each Other On
The Wind Ya' Know
'Cause They Got NowhereTo Go
That's Why I Want You To Know

I'm Starting With The Man In The Mirror
I'm Asking Him To Change His Ways
And No Message Could Have
Been Any Clearer
If You Wanna Make The World
A Better Place
Take A Look At Yourself, And
Then Make A Change
(Na Na Na, Na Na Na, Na Na,
Na Nah)

I've Been A Victim Of A Selfish
Kind Of Love
It's Time That I Realize
That There Are Some With No
Home, Not A Nickel To Loan
Could It Be Really Me,
Pretending That They're Not Alone?

A Willow Deeply Scarred,
Somebody's Broken Heart
And A Washed-Out Dream
They Follow The Pattern Of
The Wind, Ya' See
Cause They Got No Place To Be
That's Why I'm Starting With Me

I'm Starting With The Man In The Mirror
I'm Asking Him To Change His Ways
And No Message Could Have
Been Any Clearer
If You Wanna Make The World
A Better Place
Take A Look At Yourself And
Then Make A Change

I'm Starting With The Man In The Mirror
I'm Asking Him To Change His Ways
And No Message Could've
Been Any Clearer
If You Wanna Make The World
A Better Place
Take A Look At Yourself And
Then Make That . . .
Change!

Ok, there's more lyrics, but I realized how long it made this entry so I cut them down :) you get the idea.  Such an inspirational song (and one that I haven't heard in a VERY long time).  

Looks like I'm not the only one who likes pictures of me and my food.  We would be such great friends!

Secret Study Spots? + Prohibition Photos

Does anyone know of any secret study spots on campus because I would LOVE to know. Third floor business isn't too bad, but it gets dark there at night time and you always need someone inside to let you back in because the doors lock at 6:30pm. The SUB bubble was the place of choice, but now they decided to close that off and do H1N1 clinics in it. Great...that H1N1 bug is going to float around and attack us if we study in there.

Today, we tried studying in the common area of SUB (by the stage) and everything was going fine and dandy until five cleaners come and drag chairs and tables around for about 45 minutes. Then they sweep for another half an hour. Then they mop for 20 minutes. Are they done? Nope. The guy with the mini zamboni drives around SUB for close to an hour. I couldn't stand it anymore and came home.

Tomorrow is a new day. Maybe the Harry Potter room will grant us with magical powers so we can get A's in all of our classes. I'm still hoping...

Anyways, I got a text from Mr.GSam saying he saw pictures of us on the Prohibition website from my birthday. How intriguing.

Oh what a fun night :)

Yum + Yay

I love Mini Eggs and Starbucks :) thanks for getting me through my study days!

Here is my pet bean. He was helping me set up my iMac :)

Christmas Music + Studying

These two always seem to go hand in hand for me. I have discovered a few new singles this year that I'm really enjoying.

Calling To Say - Serena Ryder

I wasn't sure if I should call,
even though we're family and all
it seems strange to let it past,
i just thought i'd call and ask,
are you having fun? Are you seeing anyone.

yeah i've been busy to,
i hope i'm not keeping you.

i'm just calling to say,
merry christmas,
merry merry christmas baby,
i'm just calling to say,
merry christmas,
merry, merry christmas baby.

yeah i'm glad it's not much good,
i wasn't sure just where we stood.
it's good to know that were still friends,
nothings changed much on my end,
yeah i'm doing fine.

you just came to mind,
i guess it's the time of year,
it's strange that you're not here.

i'm just calling to say merry christmas,
merry, merry christmas baby.

i'm just calling to say merry christmas,
merry, merry christmas baby.

yeah,
we all went out last night,
driving around to see the lighs,
just like we always do,
everyone there but you.

i'm just calling to say merry christmas,
merry, merry christmas baby.
i'm just calling to say merry christmas,
merry, merry christmas baby.

yeah i'm having fun,
i've been seeing someone,
okay thats a little lie,
there's been no other guy.

i'm just calling to say merry christmas,
merry, merry christmas baby.
i'm just calling to say merry christmas,
merry, merry christmas baby.
im just calling to say merry christmas,
merry, merry christmas baby.

A bit depressing? Yes, but still quite the catchy tune.

My friend, R, told me that Google Streetview was up for Edmonton today and I went to take a look. It is actually surprisingly accurate and kind of scares me when I can see my own house on the internet. It also makes me miss Japan so much. I remember before booking our guesthouse, we spent some time on Google Streetview looking up the neighbourhood we'd be living at. *Sigh*

Let's see if Japan trip plans work out for next July. As for now, Vegas in 15 days, WOOT.