April 2009

last couple days of the trip//

were spent hanging around the streets, sipping on a daiquiri inside a plastic Eiffel Tower souvenir cup and doing a tad bit of shopping.

After visiting many casinos making a whopping .85 cents or so I convinced DP to walk all the way down to Zara, totally worth it too!

On the way we spotted these crystals near Treasure Island. I couldn’t resist rubbing them and taking a quick snap.

after a long day out in the sun, drinks at night, and taking a stroll down the strip we retired and woke up the next day ready to meet my friend’s new baby boy!

—jackson–

at two months, such a cutie pie.

and we played with his older brother Justin

the charmer

We all grilled out, sipped some grown up drinks, and shared stories till the am.

–2 fast 4 U–

Such a good time, total bummer the next morning though//We made it to the airport at 5:40 am only to sit in the airport for 5 hours, then jump on a flight to Burbank, returned back to Phoenix then up to St. Louis because we weren’t catching a flight to Birmingham. Stayed with my brother and then jumped on a flight the following day back to the homeland. We thought it was finally working out for us until we were stranded in the airport 2 hours past our arrival waiting for a ride to the car ((that was parked in a different location to save some dough)). After making a sign that read “Trying to get to Galleria, can anyone Please help. Please” a kind Salvadorian lady with her family let us jump in the back of her minivan (basically in the trunk) and gave us the ride we needed. 

Some adventure right?!

after missing the 6:45 am flight and coming to the realization we were not making it by air to Vegas from Phoenix we jumped in our rented fuel efficient vehicle and set out into the desert//

Rocks have been one thing I’ve always collected and the rocks && boulders from Phoenix to Las Vegas were such a lovely view, much bigger than my collection! Mountains after mountains made the six hour trip well worth it and especially the fields of cacti, they never got old.

 

I suppose the desert weather is the same from day to day but to us it was perfect!

After carefully climbing through a barbed-wire fence to get up to this giant cactus I giggled and ran around loving the terrain and everything it had to offer. I could have played around looking at all the wild vegetation collecting small artifacts for hours, but we didn’t have a drop of water and the sun was more powerful than we imagined. 

We crossed through the Joshua Tree Forest Parkway ((The trees grow strongly, for example, along US 93 between Kingman and Wickenburg in Arizona; this road is known as the Joshua Forest Parkway and seems to have even more Joshuas than the national park, intermingled with that other distinctive symbol of the Southwest, the saguaro.)) quoted from this site– 

We made it by nightfall in time to lay around, eat some grub, visit the connected Urban Outfitters and also connected Miracle Mile Mall ((squeel!)) and catch a sunset view of the strip.  

✷✷✷

more photos to come!

Thursday afternoon Dusty and I hopped on a flight from Birmingham ((AL)) to Phoenix ((AZ)) and soon thereafter ended up stuck in Phoenix with only the hope of catching a flight the following day. We planned the trip a couple months ago, cancelled and rescheduled to visit a Maryland high school pal and to meet up with dp’s Mom && brother there to support Miss Alabama ((Miss AL is brother’s long term girlfriend-Crazy, right?!))  in the Miss USA pageant at the Planet Hollywood Hotel && Casino. Anywho, back to the traveling hell story//After calling up an overpriced shuttle, from airport to the Days Inn in Tempe we set out on foot to a brewery couple blocks down and was delighted with the home made beer selections. 

////Miss Alabama via Miss USA Galleries

thought the art was fabulous in our corner room, patio included.

Sons of Roswell//Roof Rabbit//Baak Gwai

The Shroom//

Thought I’d dress down this jacket that wasn’t getting used at the workplace like it’s original purpose while working at an office and ended up happy with the look.  

Total bargain outfit too//once I thought about it every single article was found marked down. Arden B jeans $9.99. Anthropologie jacket $39.99. Michael Kors purse $120.00. Old Navy tank couple bucks ((5?)). and suede boots- bought at Vincent’s Boot & Leather $7.00. 

not bad for wearing nothing second hand like I’m usually sporting.

approx $185.00 and the jacket was a gift-Thanks Feas! and so was the purse-Thanks Mommah! 

enough about that//Friday Night was low low key and so Saturday//Emma//and I got down at the Shroom

Blue Grass Americana Punk band Roof Rabbit

 

had to shed a layer while dosey”doe”N//

Today’s weather took a turn for the best//esp after the storm last night I really didn’t know what to expect.  Around 11 pm the power flickered, trees uprooted everywhere not to mention this isn’t even the worst one we’ve had in these parts, the last one took down part of my backyard fence, shingles, branches, etc. It was suppose to rain all day so Savannah and I called of shooting and  then it turned out to be a gorgeous day with sunbeams like Summer Time. Took the opportunity to ride the bike and even scrubbed off layers of pollen, vacuum the car, and run many other annoying errands. Soon I will have the dress I took to the alteration ladies down at Threads & Heads that I’m thrilled about wearing on a sunny afternoon thrifting in Atlanta. 

//

//Friday after noon was really pretty so my Mom, Nana, and I went strolling around downtown and stopped into Twice As Nice ((a consignment shop I once worked at)) and Mom bought me the cutest new Spring jacket by Michael Kors. After plundering for a bit we went to Cafe Venice for a delicious lunch and met the new owner who is really cool.  I love it when restaurants get revamped for a new vibe, definitely going to grab some brunch complete with mimosas on a Sat/Sun in the near future.

My sweet Nana thought I was posing for a picture with her when I was trying to get an outfit shot, ended up being really cute. Hehe, she’s so adorable.

blouse//Thrifted by Alice Temperley for Target, cigarette jeans//BDG Urban Outfitters, purse//Michael Kors, sandals//Kenzie via Anthropologie, shades//vintage

Lost my black jeans for a couple of weeks, they were folded up in a pile I didn’t seem to look through, now they are found and back on//my favs!