VIVA LAS VEGAS!

I did it! I went on vacation, and I did Vegas with my lifelong best friend!

And if I may say...we did it well.

We had been planning this trip since the summer—her boyfriend's friends were coming out to Vegas for CES, and we were going to join them. I arrived on Monday, after a rushed departure from work and a little craziness at LAX.  When I landed at McCarran International Airport, I was greeted with a text message instructing me not to take a shuttle to the hotel...because they were on their way to pick me up in a convertible. A red Eclipse convertible.

We met the rest of the boys back at the hotel and came up with a game plan.  Night 1: Let's hit the strip!  We all got dressed up—us girls in little dresses, and the guys wore full suits.  Kept it classy, with the guys rolling Entourage-style. First up was the Cosmopolitan, followed by Paris, followed by the biggest slot machine I've ever seen!  We all took turns pulling the big lever, but no big win. Eventually, we ended up taking a limo from Bellagio back to our hotel—with eight people, it was cheaper than taking two or three cabs (and far classier).

Our well-dressed entourage at Fremont and in front of Paris...and giant gambling!

We got back to the hotel and went in search of food—after seeing posters in elevators and billboards advertising steak and shrimp specials, that was my mission. One of the guys headed up my "steak and shrimp" mission...eventually settling on a prime rib buffet. I'll take it!

Michael Jackson estate auction

I love Michael Jackson.  I remember already being a fan when he had the Free Willy footage in his "Will You Be There" music video in 1993/1994.  I remember celebrating his acquittal in 2005.  And I was outside UCLA hospital after he died in 2009, and went to the makeshift memorial outside the family home the next day.

So who's shocked that I was interested in the auction of items from his rented house?

The auction house was open to the public for viewing, so I went after work one day.  They had it set up like a real home, with the furniture arranged in little formal groupings. The whole thing was very formal—I felt out of place in my yoga pants and hoodie. There were only a few people in there, and I felt like the staff was watching everyone. I can't really blame them when some of the furniture was valued at $5,000+. BUT...some stuff was valued at under $100. I could afford something small!

I looked through the online catalog, made a list of all sub-$200 items, and registered to bid. On auction day, I logged on for the live online bids and watched a stream of the proceedings.

AND I WON SOMETHING.

Yesterday I went to the warehouse to pick up my handblown Italian glass vases. They are beautiful and they are mine. I made a grown-up estate auction purchase, and now I have things from MJ's final home. An all-around excellent deal.

My Big List of Goals for 2012

As I already began to mention it in my last post...let's establish some goals for the new year.

First, a review of my 2011 goals:

• Get a "real job"
  Success?  Though I'm not in my ideal career field, I was promoted from part-time hourly to a full-time, salaried position at work.
• Learn Spanish
  Obviously, this wouldn't be an overnight thing, but I bought the software, made the flashcards, bookmarked some educational websites...and never really did anything with them.  Fail.
• Finish reading War and Peace
  Fail.  I'm 136 pages into my brick-like copy.  I blame this mostly on the job situation—I transferred offices at the beginning of February, then the promotion, and busy, and not wanting to commit to it after work (I'm in the office by 5:30am and go to bed early)...  Plus my copy is truly the shape and size of a brick. Not very convenient or portable.
• Photo-A-Day
  Success, mostly.  I have the photos, but sometimes I'd get a week or two (or three) behind in uploading and organizing them by date.  But the daily images exist.

New goals for 2012:

• Really, actually finish reading War and Peace
  I do want to read it. I enjoyed Tolstoy's Anna Karenina. I think I just need to actually schedule time for myself and this book.
• Really, actually work on re-learning Spanish
  I did well in high school, and still remember a lot of grammar and verb conjugation rules...but I've forgotten most of the vocabulary. Seriously, I need to do this. I'm now a year behind where I should be now, had I actually been serious about this in the past year.
• Become a real adult.  Or at least act the part.
  Again, see this post.
• Continue my Photo-A-Day
  I really like having a visual reminder of each day. Sometimes it's an event, sometimes it's just food...but it's something tangible for every single day.
• Run a Half-Marathon
  Something big to mark my next birthday.  I still really hate running.
• Do more worthwhile and noteworthy things
  I want to do fun and exciting things.

Goal for 2012: Adult Things

Please allow me to introduce you to Adulting. (You're welcome.)

This shall be my goal for 2012.  I need to "adult" my life. Steps 1 and 2: assemble an "emergency box" for my car, and organize recipes somewhere that's not my laptop and is easier to use in the kitchen.  I also need to organize (majorly), upgrade, and otherwise classy-up my life.  Little steps, as the blog suggests. Personalized stationery. Actually writing thank you notes. Handling things like an adult.

Alexa, I'm dragging you into this too.

Another Frederick's of Hollywood party!

Tonight was another Frederick's of Hollywood flagship store party.  After seeing how busy it got last time, I decided to leave extra early and arrive as doors opened.

Excellent idea.  I got there right at 6:00 and that was such a great decision.  I dressed up more this time: short dress, black stockings, and heels. And it was cold outside.  I'm glad I only had to wait outside long enough to have my ID checked and name found on the guest list before I got inside.  No line, no real waiting.

They were doing manicures this time, so I went right upstairs to that station and waited behind just three other girls.  Within minutes, the line had grown to at least ten people behind me. (Ha!  I win!) I always do my nails red, so this time I went for an awesome taupe color...and already began to ruin it as I left the chair and grabbed my bag. Oh well.  I am not meant to get manicures—the last time I tried, I ruined that one too, even after waiting.  At least it already happened before shopping.  Now I didn't have to worry about them anymore.

Just like last time...discounts!  I got a cocktail, went right to the party dresses, and found two great ones...plus an excellent plaid Christmas corset.  I actually asked the dressing room girls to talk me into it.  I picked up a few more things and accidentally ended up spending half my rent.  Oh well.  Totally worth it. I love Frederick's, and that is why I'm a shareholder.

And again, like last time, I got a gift bag with all sorts of goodies.