Um...

...hi. I told you November would be busy.

My 24 hour trip home for Mimi's birthday was very eventful starting with an adventure on the side of highway 90 five minutes from my parents' house which began when my friend Stephanie who eagerly volunteered to pick me up from the airport at 9:00 p.m. ran out of gas. Margaret and Brent brought us gas. The next day was filled with as much happiness and laughs that can be packed into such a short time.

You are also wondering about Myriam's bachelorette party in Vegas. I didn't think I would like Vegas as much as I did. It's so bizarre- Disneyland for adults- shopping, eating, gambling, shows. Wow.
On my flight I watched The Time Traveler's Wife, which I don't recommend watching in public since I was sobbing as the flight attendant asked me if I was finished with my water. But I do recommend seeing it.
Myriam started things off right by losing her sweater and the Bachelorette Mad Libs before she even arrived. J_____ from Taiwan tried to kill our fun with her incompetence at check-in at Treasure Island. Luckily she was not successful. Perhaps this is where Kitty Glitter (a slot machine with an angry fluffy kitty on the sign) entered. I found it highly amusing that such a slot machine existed.
We had dinner at Enoteca San Marco in the Venetian. I recommend the prosecco and the margherita pizza. Then we headed to Mirage to see Cirque du Soleil LOVE, which was phenomenal. I called it an early night since I had been up since 3:15 a.m. EST.

Saturday we intended to walk down to New York New York and sight see along the way. We didn't make it past the Forum Shops at Caesar's Palace (which was our first stop and only one casino down from Treasure Island). I didn't have the guts to go into Harry Winston, but we did stroll into Tiffany's. Perhaps the sparklies are what caused my headache. Or dehydration. Stupid desert. My hands are still dry. I digress... We had lunch as Wolfgang Puck's Spago which is supposedly famous. The people watching was fantastic minus Dior's store emitting as much light as the sun and blinding me. The food was better. I had the Hanger? or Flank? Steak Quesadilla and it was SO good. Then it was time to head back to TI for a lingerie shower complete with an assortment of cupcakes from The Cupcakery and an Edible Arrangement. Then I took one of the best naps of my life.

The bachelorette

Hitting up the Walgreen's for Dr Scholl's gel pads before dinner

We had dinner at TAO in the Venetian (which was across the street). I had the mojito I've been searching for and a filet with some kind of wasabi/ breadcrumb crust. And it was so good. We felt super hip in this way trendy restaurant.

The mojito that could hold it's own against the one I had in Paris and the Volcano's

In front of the giant Buddha at TAO

Eating at TAO got us to the front of line (for free!) at their nightclub. There was some big fight in Vegas that night and Mickey Rourke was supposed to have some kind of after party at TAO. (I inquired about this as we left in the wee hours and the bouncer gave me some kind of shady answer. Oh well.) Myriam and Laura made friends with a bouncer who got us into a VIP area. I should mention that if you wanted to sit you had to pay for bottle service at a roped off table- we're talking $900 minimum. I'm not sure if we were allowed to sit in that area but at that point I wasn't concerned about it. We danced all night then headed back to TI to play Kitty Glitter and find some food.

Sunday we headed to the Bellagio to have brunch at The BUFFET. The line was insanely long when we got there and some guest at the hotel was looking for a party of 6 to give her line pass to. Um. Awesome. Talk about good karma. The BUFFET was awesome. We all had crazy assortments of food and laughed about all the fun we had the night before. We changed a group of girls' lives by passing on the line pass then watched the Bellagio fountains. I can check that one off my list. After chilling at Serendipity 3 (the restaurant from NYC that makes Frrrrozen Hot Chocolate) three of our party had to leave for the airport. Mim, Steph and I headed for Madame Tussaud's where we met all kinds of celebrities.

Snoop D-o-double-g y'all

The King

When we went back to TI to get our bags and hop in a taxi, the bell hop who had taken my bags earlier gave us VIP passes. Which I don't think meant anything in real life, but the guy said we were VIP in his heart sooo I guess that works. Too bad it didn't put a dent in the 45 minute cab ride that should have taken 15 minutes but didn't because Joe Biden's motorcade shut down traffic on the strip for an eternity.
My flight left Vegas at 9:30 p.m. I had a layover in Phoenix which almost made me cry because I had to switch airlines i.e. switch terminals by a bus and I had to go through security again so they took my water. What genius came up with that idea? I didn't sleep on my 4 or 5 hour flight to Atlanta and the movies on the flight weren't free. What's up with that, Delta? Maybe you should not give us snacks and give us free movies. Jerks. I take it back. I love those cinnamon cookies! In the Atlanta airport I felt like a zombie. Everyone else was bright eyed and bushy tailed at 6:30 in the morning. Ready to seize the day. Luckily I was in the back of the plane and there were empty rows behind me. I grabbed a row and slept like a baby for an hour and a half. I got into Richmond at 9 a.m. and drove home, showered, and snuggled with Theo for four hours and was completely unproductive for the rest of the day. I felt like I had been out of the country and was struggling to come back to reality.

So if you're considering a trip to Vegas, I say do it.