Travel: Las Vegas, Nevada: The Strip

Las Vegas, Nevada --  home to over half a million people in the Mojave Desert, but most well-known for it's 4 mile Strip on Las Vegas Blvd, which hosts magnificent hotels & casinos, as well as endless energy & entertainment.  You can find a little bit of everything on The Strip.

Zac & I decided to find out what the buzz was all about, so we booked a trip to Vegas.  We aren't gamblers, and I'm not a huge drinker, but we decided on Las Vegas mostly because it's a part of the United States that we've never been (the desert southwest), and Las Vegas is in relatively close proximity to other area attractions we wanted to scratch off our bucket list (Grand Canyon, Hoover Dam, Red Rock Canyon, etc.)

Below are photos from our day & night on The Strip, but first: 

My Top Five Pieces of Advice for Perusing the Vegas Strip:

1.  Wear comfy shoes.  We put on 11 miles in just half a day walking the strip -- trust me, your feet will thank you!
2.  Never pay full price for a show/night club.  There are promotors out everywhere.
3.  Drinks are expensive.  It's just the way it is.  
4.  Avoid eye contact with anyone who looks freaky.  They're likely looking to sell you drugs, prostitutes, or beg for money.
5.  Please, leave your kids at home.  I couldn't believe the number of kids I saw... especially at night.

The High Roller Wheel -- a great way to see The Strip. Can you believe that each pod can hold 40 people?

Inside Caesar's -- I love how they make it look so real!

Same goes for The Venetian.  Truly makes you feel like you're in Venice, Italy!

We had lunch at Toby Keith's Bar in Harrah's -- good food & worth the stop.  (Be prepared for the chaps the waitresses are wearing, fyi ;)  I guess anything goes in Vegas!)

Any & every kind of themed slot machine imaginable... though this one was my fav... because, obviously...

These next few photos are from inside the Bellagio, which was probably my favorite hotel/casino lobby that we ventured into...

Dale Chihuly's 'Fiori Di Como', displayed on the ceiling inside the Bellagio (to learn more about Chihuly, click here):

I can't wait to make this image into a print!

The Bellagio Conservatory & Botanical Garden was featuring their spring display called the Japanese Tea Garden -- amazing!!

Stunning, right!?  

M&M World -- we got to sample the new flavors: Honey Nut, Coffee Nut, & Chili Nut.  Naturally, the coffee one was my favorite!  

And now, for The Vegas Strip at night...  The PG rated version ;)

My *almost* dream car!

The Fountain Light Show at the Bellagio is a must see!

Make sure you check out Fremont Street if you're in town -- Zac & I actually enjoyed that area more than The Strip.  There's live music, tons & tons of lights, and everyone is just there for a good time.  Way less creepy people, from our experience :)

What's your favorite part of The Strip?

Happy Sunday.

Extraordinary photos of Ballet Dancers on the Streets of Cuba.

Visiting Paris?  Here's a wonderful guide on the Museums to consider.

Discover the leader within yourself.

Has anyone ordered from LookBook Store?  I have about 18 things I'm swooning over!

The Shelf Life of Food.

Huntin', Fishin', & Lovin' Every Day

Sorting through some recent photos, and I can't get Luke Bryan's song, "Huntin', Fishin', & Lovin' Every Day" out of my head... because it basically describes my husband to a T.

Let me show you...

"If I could make a living walking in the woods... you can bet I'd be sitting pretty good"

"If I could make a nickel off of turning them bass... never worry about the price of gas"

"Huntin', fishin', and lovin' every day... that's the prayer that a country boy prays"

"Black coffee in the mornin', dark whiskey in the evenin'"

"I love it when my baby wants to roll with me... tuckin' her hair in my hat and she's ready to go"

"Huntin', fishin', and lovin' every day... that's the prayer that a country boy prays"

"Early in the mornin'... late in the evenin"

"Thank God he made me this way... huntin', fishin', and lovin' every day..."

See?!  Those who are reading this post & know Zac -- isn't this SO him? <3 <3 <3

*These photos were from Zac's 2016 Turkey Hunt & a recent date night of pier fishing

Be more present.

It was a regular Monday evening.  I rushed home from work to start making supper -- we were having grilled chicken, asparagus, and brown rice.  While the chicken was precooking in the oven, I scrolled through various social media platforms.  About half way through my feed, the oven timer went off – it was time to transfer the chicken to the grill.

The chicken had just baked in the oven for 40 minutes.  That means, I just spent 40 minutes mindlessly scrolling through Instagram & Snapchat & Facebook.  I took a moment to realize how ridiculous that just was.  I could have used that 40 minutes to get some housework done, or exercised, or better yet – played with my pup who just spent nearly 10 hours in her kennel.  Instead, I wasted it scrolling through photos & reading captions from people I will never actually meet in “real” life.

The truth is though, after a long day of work, sometimes I just need a mindless scroll.  I need a second (or 40 minutes, apparently) to chill.  And actually, my Instagram feed is quite inspiring – I genuinely enjoy getting to sit down & scroll through it daily.

The other truth, though – is that I scroll through various forms of social media while I brush my teeth (morning & night), at various points throughout my day while at work (when I can connect to the internet), whenever I have to wait in line or in a waiting room, generally always while supper is cooking, often times while Zac is driving and I’m the passenger, and usually for about an hour or so in evening.

If you added up all that time, I bet it would equal nearly 2-3 hours every day.  How sad is that?

This got me thinking.  Our days are often filled with excuses like, “I don’t have time to cook.”  “I don’t have time to work out."  “I don’t have time to blah, blah, blah...”

This week though, I'm making time.  And I'm challenging myself to be more present.  To put down my phone, and make time for all the things I say I don't have time for.  Now that's not to say I'm giving up social media all together, but I am going to try to cut way back this week.  And I encourage you to do the same.

I'm anxious to see how I feel at the end of the week -- if I'm yearning to scroll, or if I'm perfectly OK with cutting out so much screen time.


I'd love to know -- how much time do you spend on social media?  Do you have any "rules" that you follow -- like No Phones at the Table, or No Phones in bed?  Share with me in the comment section below! 

Make: The Best Damn Egg Bake

The other day, my manager brought in an egg bake for Treat Day. 

Ohh, you've never heard of Treat Day?  Well, sucks to be you then.

Treat Day happens every Wednesday on the cube farm where I work.  We make a rotating schedule at the start of every year with the people in our department who wish to participate.  It ends up that you have to bring a treat like 3 or 4 times a year, but get to enjoy a treat every Wednesday.

Needless to say, it's a nice little sumthin' sumthin' to look forward to on a Wednesday.

Back to the egg bake...

One bite into this deliciousness & I decided it was the best damn egg bake I ever did eat.

I promptly asked my manager for the recipe, and I'm sharing it below.  Because it's that good.

You'll need:

2 c. cheddar cheese

2 c. mozzarella cheese

½ c. diced green pepper 

1/3 c. diced green onion

2 tbsp butter

2 c. of diced ham

8 eggs

1 ¾ c. of milk

½ c. flour

½ tsp. basil

½ tsp. salt

¼ tsp. pepper

2 tbsp. parsley

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray cooking spray in 9x13 pan.  Mix the two cheeses together in a bowl & spread three cups of mixed cheese in the bottom of the pan.  Next sauté the pepper & onion in the 2 tbsp of butter.  Drain.

Put sauteed veggies over the cheese layer. Next layer the ham.  Then sprinkle the last cup of cheese over the ham & veggie mixture.

Mix together the eggs, milk, flour, basil, salt, pepper & parsley with a whisk and pour over the top.  Bake 30-40 minutes or until the middle is set.

Of course, you could add or omit all sorts of other stuff; bacon, sausage, mushrooms, tomatoes, etc.

I don't know where the original recipes generates from, but who cares?  Make this.  It is SO good.
Zac & I had it for supper last week.  And lunch the following day.  And for supper again the next day.

Because it's that good.  And, because leftovers are abundant when you cook for just two people.

Happy egg baking!

Linking up with:

Elizabeth & Co | The Melrose Family | I Heart Nap Time | Buns in my Oven | A Dish of Daily Life | The SITS girls | Make Ahead Meals for Busy Moms