Viva Las Vegas! Part 2: Red Rock Canyon

Closer to the end of the trip, we decided to veer off of The Strip and venture into nature.  At first we wanted to visit the Grand Canyon but we didn't have that much time.  My boyfriend's Geology professor recommended we check out Red Rock and I'm so glad we did.  My boyfriend needed all that fresh air and I needed to feel some sort of nature.  Being around all that casino energy can get noisy and hectic.




For each element, they had a segment where they talked about how each element affected the area.  For example, in Air, they talked about dust devils, wind and erosion.  For water, they also talked about erosion and how dry the desert is and how it affects plant life.  For Fire, they talked about wildfires and how they are great and terrible for the environment.  Circle of life, y'all.  For Earth, they talked about what creatures and plant life inhabit the area and all that fun stuff.  We actually learned a lot and I'm sure my boyfriend would've spent all day here if we didn't have an agenda.  Oh well - another reason to go back!



While we drive around the Scenic Route, I kept imagining what it would be like to live and work in Las Vegas or the surrounding area.  Imagine seeing a beautiful mountain range like Red Rocks.  Would you love it and appreciate it everyday or would you start taking it for granted eventually?
I took a photo of a tourist standing on the rock because I wanted to show the scale of everything.  In photos, it just looks like a bunch of rocks and dirt.  While you're there, it's amazing to see just how big and beautiful everything is.  The ancient handprints were beautiful to see, too.  I felt like I was in an episode of Ancient Aliens.



The day was cloudy but not rainy, which was good because I think if the sun had been out, my poor boyfriend would've been burnt to a crisp!  The cloudiness helped slow us down.  The entire trip had been all lights and this and that and "it's Las Vegas, we should be partying all the time" and we just needed some time to slow down and appreciate everything.  It helped walking around.  If my boyfriend had been feeling better, we probably would've walked around more but, like I said, it's all the more reason to come back.

Red rock got me thinking: we have these kinds of things here in Georgia, why don't we check them out?  Because of that, my boyfriend and I vowed to go out on more adventures in our neck of the woods.  I guess we both realized that we have been in Georgia for so long, we don't even realize what's around us.  Once Summer hits, we'll be adventuring and taking in all the nature we can...shake a stick at?  Ha!

Do you have any plans for Summer?  I hope your week is going well!

Viva Las Vegas! Part 1: Art, Lights and More Lights!

As I said in my last post, my boyfriend and I went to Las Vegas and it was BEAUTIFUL!!  The lights!  The things to do!  The people-watching!  It was crazy!  I can't wait to go back.  I mean, we had such a LONG list of things to do and we didn't even do half of them!  Partly because he got really sick :( and partly because there was so much to do that we couldn't decided on what to do first.

Luckily, we got to enjoy the gorgeous views from Ghostbar at the Palms.  It was amazing!  They even had this piece of glass on the rooftop part where you could stand and look down 55 stories.  At first, I was like, "Pssh...that tiny piece of plexiglass?!  The whole patio should be plexiglass so we could constantly be walking over Las Vegas haha!"  But once I got near it and saw that it was directly above the "PALMS" marquee lights, I felt a little pang of fear of being that high.  I am horribly afraid of heights.  The bar is great, though, and the bartenders were wonderful!



Seeing two Jeff Koons pieces was a total surprise! We stumbled upon them on our way to the Ferrari showroom at the Wynn.  It was really hard to capture just how reflective these pieces actually were.  It was crazy!



We also checked out the Fabergé Revealed exhibit at the Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art.  I couldn't take any photos but boy, did I want to!  The pieces were quite beautiful.  Check them out!

One of my personal favorite highlights was taking a ride on the High Roller.  Standing at 550 feet tall, it is the largest observation wheel in the world!  the views are phenomenal and I highly recommend going at night because, well, THE LIGHTS!!!  The Linq complex is really fun, too.  We didn't realize all those things were tucked away in that little area until we headed to the High Roller.  That's a return visit right there!


 

The Linq also has a mural project headed up by the ISI Group that seems to change constantly.  Check out some pieces I caught - including a lovely in-progress one (with the ladder)



Vegas was a blast! Everyone had the same joke: "Don't run off and get married in Vegas hahaha!" but there are SO MANY things to do, I totally forgot to take all the photos I wanted of all the wedding chapels!  I did snag a few while we were stuck at traffic lights but nothing major.  All in all, it was a great trip - except the sick part - but that just means we have to go back!  Maybe this next time, my West Coast bestie will join!

Here's a short little video of our trip


Viva Las Vegas! from Katzi Roman on Vimeo.


My new friend and I hope you're having an awesome week so far!

Valentine's Weekend

Happy Monday! If you're in Georgia, you're probably waiting for Snowpocalypse 2015 to come around. I know I am...not actually doing that because I want it to be Spring already!



I hope you had a nice weekend.  I know I did!  My bestie and I went on a Lady Date to see FSOG on Friday night.  It was hilariously bad.  Rita Ora in a terrible wig, crappier-than-the-book dialogue (for reals), and steamy scenes that get ruined by the crappy dialogue.  If I had closed my eyes and forgotten what I was in the theater to see, I would've thought I was seeing some sort of comedy because everyone was laughing that much.  Seriously.  The best part: seeing the Magic Mike XXL trailer on the big screen!  I can't wait for that one to come out :)

On Saturday, my boyfriend took over my kitchen and prepared dinner for us.  It was very sweet because, according to him, he only knows how to cook one thing: chorizo tacos.  They were so freaking delicious!  I loved every bit of them!



After dinner, I supplied the dessert.  I didn't take any photos because I was doing too many things at the same time, but I did take some of the finished product!  I made a Peanut Butter Chocolate Pie - which was delicious.  It was even better the next day.  I didn't know it at the time I made it but my boyfriend told me that one of his favorite childhood memories was when his Mom would make...you guessed it: Peanut Butter Pie for him and his sister.  I had NO idea that was a happy flavor from his childhood!  How serendipitous!



This weekend was full of serendipitous moments.  We had a blast!  I was even able to make something very special this weekend.  Post to come soon!

What did you do this weekend?