Mom's Coming

My mom's coming to visit me in four days and I couldn't be more excited! She'll be the first visitor I have in Scottsdale so I'm trying to figure out where we should go and what we should do. I've been pretty busy since moving here so I haven't even really done much around here so it will be nice to get out and walk around Old Town Scottsdale, maybe go to the Desert Botanical Gardens and of course, go shopping at Scottsdale Fashion Square and probably Kierland Commons.

She happens to fly in on Valentine's Day so we have reservations at my favorite restaurant here which is Grazie (www.grazie.us). You should check it out if you're ever in the area. It's within walking distance of Old Town and their food is great and the dessert is even better. Be sure to try the Dolce Della Casa. After dinner we're going to do the art walk in Old Town so I'll be sure to post some photos when she leaves!

Vegas Baby!

Just a couple weeks ago I was at work on a Thursday afternoon and I get a text message from Jodi (my roommate from New York) and she happens to be in Las Vegas. What does she say? She wants me to meet her there tomorrow! As everyone knows, I have a dog and am doing my MBA so it's not super easy to just pick up and leave, but there was no way I could turn that down. I asked my other friend Shannon to watch Sophie and blew off my homework for the weekend until I got back Sunday night and jumped on a plane the next day....and I'm so glad I did! The weekend was amazing! To begin with, we were staying at THE Hotel at Mandalay Bay (the newer, nicer wing) in one of their suites. I'm pretty sure it was the nicest room I've ever stayed in, and probably ever will. Jodi works for the Discovery Channel and they paid for my stuff all weekend, I just had to get myself there. The only thing I did have to pay for was gambling :-) Jodi and I became obsessed with the black jack tables! I think I won about $40 over the course of the weekend. We would spend the entire time trying to find the cheapest tables in Vegas and ultimately decided that The Excalibur is not a bad place to play because the tables are cheap but the hotel is not as gross as The Luxor. Here are a couple photos from the quick trip:

You can kind of see the suite here

Me and my High Rolling Asian Pear (that would be Jodi)

You really can't tell what I'm doing? I'm being a celtic warrior, come on! Just like the game I was playing! And yes, there is a little bump there of a muscle!

Sophie's Photo Shoot

Sophie had a photo shoot recently because one of my best friends Shannon needed some photos for a publication she works for (check out her really cool blog at risostudio.blogspot.com). We had to get the shoot done after I got home from work one day and trust me, that's not usually the time I feel like having a photo shoot! My makeup is usually worn off, my hair's a wreck, and I'm completely worn out....but, the sun was setting and Sophie was ready so we took off to get some shots. And shots we got! Sophie's way more photogenic than I am but they turned out so cute! Here's a couple of my favorite:

This is the one they chose for the magazine...I like how Sophie is striking a pose!

This is Sophie's portrait shot...I think she was made to be famous!

Blogging

So...I decided to start blogging. I have a lot of friends with blogs and I love reading them to see what's going on in their lives, especially those friends I don't talk to very often! I've also been starting to keep a list of the things I want to do when I get my life back (i.e. finish my MBA) and keeping a journal is one of them...so, why not start that now by blogging instead! Being that I am pretty busy with work and school, there aren't too many exciting things that happen in my life so I'm not sure how often I'll actually update this, but I figure I'll see how it goes! Hopefully, at least every once in a while, it will provide a good read for someone else and will provide me an opportunity to look back with fond memories on my past! Enjoy!