Las Vegas: Work Hard, Play Hard

Last week about 15 co-workers and I arrived in Las Vegas for an annual show and convention. Even though some people might not understand it, this is not a trip we look forward to. It takes more than six months of prep work and you're usually working for 12+ hours a day when you're there.

Even though it's a lot of hard work, spending way too much time with co-workers, eating from a food court or subsisting on cheese-its all day, I think it's important to go explore a city when you have the opportunity to do so. Life is short and I want to see as much of the world as I possibly can.

Monday night Jaime and I went on a dinner date before the madness of the show began. We headed to The Venetian and grabbed a great dinner of cheese appetizers, crab cakes, salad, soup and of course vino at Aquaknox. It was so delicious and the atmosphere was awesome.

The last night in Vegas the girls headed to Pure night club in Caesar's Palace, pretty much on a whim. We hung out on the rooftop patio, ending up meeting some other people in town for convention and were treated to bottle service! Sometimes you never know what can happen when you are just open and up for anything. This was definitely a very memorable night.

Ode to Yesterdog

A couple weekends ago I met my boyfriend and his friend at my parent's house in Grand Rapids, Mich. After a few hours of doing what the boys love to do -- shopping with a strong Canadian dollar -- I forced them to drive me to my favorite food joint in GR -- Yesterdog.

I try to make it here every time I get home, usually with my best friend Kelsey. They have the most delicious chili dogs I have ever tasted -- I seriously have yet to find anything that even remotely compares. I've attempted to find a good hot dog joint in Indy, but have only failed so far. Because I forgot my camera that weekend, I found a great site that has a few wonderful pictures of my beloved Yesterdog.

Half-Priced Books

Tonight I spent about an hour perusing the aisles at Half-Priced Books. If you've never been to a Half-Priced Books store, you do not know what you're missing! I could seriously spend an entire day in this store. They have books on everything you can imagine and -- surprise, surprise -- they are incredibly cheap.

I found two C.S. Lewis books I have been wanting: "Mere Christianity" and "The Screwtape Letters." Many friends have recommended both and since one of my goals this year is to read more, I picked up both for under $10. I also found two workout DVDs for about half the price they were at Target. Score.

And just to make sure I don't get too dedicated to working out and eating healthy, I also bought a book titled "Mmmm ... Baking" filled with hundreds of recipes for cookies, breads, brownies, cakes and desserts. Semi-fail on my part but I'm excited to try out the new recipes. I will be sure to post my baking attempts here. I think the first recipe I'll try is for Jelly Donut Muffins. Mmmm ... donuts.

Friends, Sushi and Banana Nut Muffins

So the past few weeks I haven't been doing much after work. My evening is usually working out and watching some Teen Mom 2 (PS I know you're totes jealous of my life. PPS Why is Chelsea so dumb?! I mean really!). I'm just so tired from work that I haven't felt like doing anything. Add to that the icy/nasty weather and I really don't want to do anything. Sound like a Debbie Downer? Well I probably am, but living in the dreary Midwest all winter long is almost painful. I don't care who you are, you know it's awful.

Anyways, I'm dropping the pity party. Last week I got to spend some time with good friends and that's a great way to break up a bleak winter.

I went to Sushi On the Rocks with my lovely Kappa sister, Victoria. I had never been there before and it was awesome -- plus on weekdays during happy hour they have a few half-off rolls! Can't go wrong with that. If you go, try the Playboy roll, they light it on fire so it has to be good right? It was so great catching up with her; we hadn't gotten together in forever and a life-catch up was very much needed.

On Thursday it was co-friend Jaime's 25th birthday. The other co-friends and I took her to a hibachi restaurant on the northside and then went rock climbing. I think we should have waited to eat five pounds of Japanese food before strapping on harnesses but lesson learned. I don't think I have laughed so hard as I did that night. Love these girls.

Also sometime during last week I made these muffins. They turned out pretty good and are fairly healthy -- I used flaxseed instead of eggs and used whole wheat flour. I found the recipe here.

Hope everyone is having a great week!

Fun in Philly

Last Spring I attended the ACES conference in Philadelphia with a few co-workers. Being a Midwest girl, I had some preconceived notions about Philly -- I mean, I imagined it would be dirty and full of mean people. I fully admit to my ignorance and was seriously impressed with the City of Brotherly Love. I had a great time exploring the Reading Terminal Market for the best eats and hitting up Old City and meeting locals at Sassafras Bar.

My friend Jaime and I walked to Philly Cupcake from the conference for a little break.

One of the days we took a walk around the city and ran into the set of Dark Fields, a movie starring Bradley Cooper as a writer who becomes addicted to prescription pills. It's set to come out this year. We even got to see Bradley get whisked off the set and into his waiting black SUV. He's pretty delish BTW.

More of Philly ...

Buffalo Chicken Dip Recipe

This dip is SO simple to make, but trust me, it's delish. I found it here.

In a crock pot, mix:

-One 8 oz. package of cream cheese.
-1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese.
-1/2 cup of Ranch dressing.
-1/2 cup of Frank's Red Hot Sauce.
-One 12 oz. can of cooked chicken, drained.

Cook on HIGH for one hour, then turn to low to keep warm. Serve with celery sticks and crackers. Enjoy!

Things I like this week ...

1. Two Door Cinema Club - Something Good Can Work

strangeglue.com

2. Eat to Live by Joel Fuhrman, M.D.

3. Great vegan recipes from the Eat and Talk blog.

4. This YouTube video. Hilarious!

5. The Dean Martin station on Pandora. Maybe because it's because of the holidays but I promise it'll make you smile.

Indy Weekend with the Parents

This weekend my parents came down from Grand Rapids to visit. A couple of highlights were dinner at the Aristocrat in Broad Ripple -- an Irish pub with all the essentials.



Aristocrat

 My dad had the fish and chips which he loved, my mom enjoyed her turkey burger and I absolutely loved my chicken gorgonzola which had a blue cheese sauce with red peppers and walnuts -- seriously it was amazing!

Another treat from the weekend: pumpkin muffins from the Fresh Market!