Back to Monday: Springs Preserve, cheat hostess foods, and The Bachelorette

Craving: being green, pretty food, sappy romance

On Monday I headed out to Springs Preserve to meet my friend and fellow military spouse, Alison, for lunch. As we drove in the parking lot, I was reminded of the last time I was there which was with the Mountain family, and I had a pang of missing them!

The cafe used to be Wolfgang Puck and is now run by culinary students. It was really good, although I was expecting a restaurant and it was set up like a cafeteria - no big deal. I ordered a salmon wrap and Alison got a goat cheese panini. We sat outside even though it was hot as ****. I really don't know what four letter word to use for that, they all fit, and add some more heat!

We had a view of the strip which was nice, but I couldn't get a good pic on my iPhone due to lighting, so this looks super emo but it's the only edit that really showed Alison!



Hello pale Avigail! Maybe this is the lighting as well....or maybe I need a touch of sun.

After lunch we walked around a bit. We weren't in the right shoes or clothes for one of the hikes so we went into one of the museums and learned all about conservation.

They had an actual garbage truck that modeled how much garbage could be recycled instead of thrown out. The sides were filled up with cans.


A couple weeks ago, I was SO FRUSTRATED when Charlie forgot to take the recycling out. It is only picked up every other Friday. My friend Eden told me that they collect it twice a week at her home outside of Philadelphia. I was sure she was confused with garbage, but she assured me it was the recycling. Although I am frustrated that we missed the recycling, I am proud that we have much more in our recycling bins than we do in the trash!

They also had a "house" where you could explore and find random ways to reduce energy etc.

Fun Fact: Lower your energy bill by closing vents in the bathrooms and closets. Brilliant!

There was an interactive display about how energy travels to your home:


I counted that as my workout for the day. Okay not really, I did work out that day, but I haven't been going as regularly as I should be. Even though I'm not working, I am stressed lately and the day just seems to go!! Must. Schedule. Gym. And. Go! (Update, I wrote this on Tuesday, but I actually ran on Wednesday and worked out! must...keep...it...up!)

On the way home we stopped for a sonic soda, during happy hour. I had a diet sprite with strawberry. I highly recommend it.

That night several girlfriends came over to watch The Bachelorette.

As I mentioned, I am not working, but I am BUSY and stressed out. With leaving for Alabama on Saturday, I have been getting things together and getting organized for the trip. Lots of errands and phone calls, etc. I decided to make cheat foods with pretty presentations. I had the idea to do a "make your own salad" from Adina, and wanted to replicate it but in small dishes instead of all on a plate. I only had 6 of these and they were way too small. I will do a different presentation next time, but here you go:


I also made ravioli skewers with tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, and a pesto dipping sauce (not pictured):

I didn't photograph it but I had chicken meatballs in the freezer and I cooked them up with some vodka sauce. They were a hit.

Rachel was one of my best friends growing up here in Vegas, and she came and brought a bottle of wine she made in Napa!


Here are the girls with crazy picture eyes:


And you know how much I love my mommy so of course she came:


I am enjoying this season of The Bachelorette. I like that Emily is really following her instincts and asking them real questions. Ever since Charlie and I met and fell in love I have a new appreciation for the Bachelor, because Charlie and I fell in love in like, NO TIME. We were probably naming our babies after a month. I know that the Bachelor relationships don't typically work out, but I love Ashley and JP, and I think Emily could be looking for the real thing. I am obviously in love with Arie as is all of America, but I think that Sean is actually the best fit for Emily. I do like Chris and think that younger guys CAN be the real thing - my friend Emily's husband is almost 5 years younger than she is and he's an amazing husband and father.

After the show I called Charlie and told him that even though I had said I'd leave him for JP, that I would now leave JP for Arie. Sorry JP!!!

A night downtown

We both love Vegas and no matter where the AF takes us we know we want to end up here (maybe not permanently but for a long time). I know now we're going to get pcs orders within the year, now that I've put it out there for the universe. But we'll be back here.

One thing we dont like about Vegas is its lack of a true downtown where you can around, shop, have a coffee, a beer, etc. Every major city has one and we don't. I know we have the strip etc but there really isn't the down to earth jeans and flip flops bar area, or the places where you can just randomly walk around and explore new stores and restaurants.

The Andersens (Jeff was Charlie's roommate in UPT and are our business partners now) decided to get a babysitter and go out and invited us to join them. SOMETHING MADE CHARLIE GO OUT!!! Thanks Jeff and Allison!  Although it's not the downtown we crave, it was fun and different. There are definitely interesting people there. As we were walking around the arts district Charlie made certain that we agreed on private school for our future children :-)

It's first Friday so they had all the local artists at the arts district. We saw this and thought my parents would like it for their house with the copper.

What do you think mom?

I had a very pink drink that was blood orange and something with champagne:


Picture came out good so I wanted one of me and my man:

Something was funny but I don't know what. Look at what a gentleman holding my jacket!


I like this picture because you can see the Stratosphere in the background.

There was a car show type thing and this van was just too funny:


We wanted to go to fremont and do the zip line but we ended up eating at Hugo's Cellar and got stuffed and then Jeff and Allison had to go home for the babysitter and me and Charlie have to wake up early to go hiking with Nikki at Red Rock. The restaurant is very cute and delicious and although it's not inexpensive, it includes sides and an AMAZING salad and chocolate covered strawberries for dessert.

Here is a picture of Jeff and Allison w/their food - Jeff got the smaller of the two options for his steak and I don't think this picture really does it justice.


I was stuffed although my portion was much smaller, I had a seafood trio so Charlie helped and I only had a bite of his steak, so I felt okay. I also had a total vegan lunch so I felt better. Last night I put veggie ground in the slow cooker with several of the green chilis the Mountains left us, one whole onion, tomato paste and two cans of water, one miller light, 1 tbs cumin, 2 tbs chili powder. Cook on low all night. I added one can of black beans and one can of kidney beans today. Yum!


Not sure it's the most aesthetically pleasing picture but it's chili, come on! Katy came over to help finish the bookshelves and she and I couldn't tell it was vegan, although Charlie claims he could. Maybe next time I'll add bacon grease. (oh wait......)

Fallen off the blogging wagon, part 2: NYC

Charlie and I decided to go to NYC on our way home.
We took the train and had a fun time, since we never get to do that on the West Coast. I used to take Amtrak between DC and Baltimore basically every weekend, but when something is not the norm it seems special. We were also really excited because there was velcro on the top of the back of the seats, and that was one of Charlie's ideas for his school project about business travel, that you can velcro your phone and other items to the back of the seats so that there is more room on your tray for your laptop. Of course I was being silly taking train pictures.  We got one cute one!



When we go to NY, we realized it was the gay pride parade! It was pretty cool because the vote passed a night before to allow gay marriage in the state of NY. We checked into the hotel but our room wasn't ready, so we walked around and saw the parade. It was kind of funny because we were just walking in the direction of the crowd, but apparently we tried to enter through the entrance for the participants of the parade (it's all block streets so we couldn't really tell). Anyway, Charlie was joking that we should get upset because of "straight discrimination" since we weren't allowed in that entrance. We found our way and here are some pictures.

I got up on a rail to see better - oh, did I mention I was too lazy to put my contacts in?

Something w/balloons, it looked really pretty seeing the whole thing, but my phone didn't capture such a good picture

So many people watching on the street!

This is the largest Gay, Lesbian, etc Synagogue, I took this for you guys, Ryan and Adam!

Best part - on our walk back to the hotel, we literally saw glitter in the street! Ha!!

At our hotel, Charlie asked for a lunch recommendation from the concierge, and he suggested a place called Ben's. I looked it up on Yelp and saw that it was a kosher place - so funny because the guy had no idea I was Jewish, (although I am far from kosher).  We walked over (so fun to walk everywhere!). The place was huge, and I was already excited at the knishe's on the display right when you walk in. It was interesting because we instantly noticed the ethnicity of all the waiters and patrons - total hodge podge! When we sat down I realized a quote written on the top of the wall behind us that said "A couple was dining out one night at the neighborhood kosher deli when they were amazed to have a Chinese waiter approach to take their order." I wish I had taken a picture of the quote! Charlie enjoyed a turkey sandwich with gravy, and a potato pancake on the side (I taught him it was called a latke), and he tasted my kreplach and knish and all the other stuff (I ordered a combo plate). I was super excited about the pickles, mmmmmmm. Kinda funny though because I am so involved in the Jewish community and consider myself Jewish in every sense of the word, but hardly ever eat those types of foods.

My love with his giant Ben's meal

That afternoon Eden came and met us at the hotel. Charlie had some schoolwork to do, and Ede and I walked around and caught up. So amazing to see her! We had some coffee and went into some department stores. We went to the *I think* 8 story Macys, and once you get to around the 5th floor, they still have the original escalator from their opening! It was cool seeing it with the wooden slats. We then went and sat in Bryant Park. There was a new outdoor looking bar/restaurant sponsored by SWA for the summer, where you can bring your own food or picnic, or get food from them. They wait on you regardless of if you buy food from them or bring your own. Here is a pic of us below:     
We walked back to the hotel and Charlie had just finished his meeting. We all hung out a bit which was so nice, and then had a yummy sushi dinner with Ede. The next day I really wanted to have dim-sum for lunch so we found a place in Chinatown and ordered a combo plate. It was also a tea parlor, and although we didn't order tea, I took a picture because it looked so pretty. Charlie had a really good ginger ale that has real ginger in it, very fresh tasting, spicy even! The company is Bruce Cost and I want to order some for the bar in the new house!

tea selection at Nom Wah tea parlour/dim sum

dim sum combination plate - heavenly!

We took a taxi back from Chinatown toward Central Park and walked around. It was nice to be out of the smell! I do NOT remember NYC smelling so badly. I really think the city smelled better for a period of time and is at a worse smelling part now. Thoughts? After walking around the park we went and got ready for dinner with my Aunt Janice (again, really a second cousin from my mother's side), and her daughter Allison and Ali's boyfriend. We ate at a cute place called the cafeteria, where I had a mac and cheese combo (3 different ramekins, but small enough to not feel like a heffer). Anybody who knows me knows that mac and cheese is my absolute favorite food. We walked from that area to the east village, passing through NYU area and Washington Square Park. We met Charlie's friend Pete who was stationed with him before he came to Creech. He is still flying C-17's and is stationed in New Jersey between Philly and NYC. He and two of his friends came, and so did Eden and another pledge sister Jill Mogensen, (Jilly-Mo) which was so much fun. Jilly-Mo told me about this shot that I don't remember the name of, and it sounds disgusting but I'd really recommend it! Basically you take a shot of whiskey, and then chase it with a shot of pickle juice. You gotta try it!