What happened in Vegas, never happened

We have all heard the saying "What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas." But, a wise cabbie told me, "What happens in Vegas, never happened." So I guess I have nothing to share with you. KIDDING. In fact, there are a couple of mini adventures that I experienced during my epic bachelorette weekend last June that I want to share with you.





My friend C and I went out a day early. Being that we are a) on East coast time and b) early risers, we though thtat an extra day would help get us acclimated before the rest of the girls (mostly West coasters) joined us. [Random side story - the b-party was originally planned for early May to coincide with celebrating not only my 30th, but my maid of honors 30th as well.] Jake made good use of the timing and schemed to arrange my surprise birthday present.

Jake mentioned that he had gotten me a birthday present, but that I could not have it until I was in Vegas. I had no idea what it was. In fact, so much time had passed that I had completely forgotten about it. I had more exciting things in the forefront of my brain, like my first trip to Las Vegas!

Working in cahoots with C and our hotel (Aria), they schemed and kept it all under wraps. C even tried to keep it completely secret until we arrived at our destination.

We were picked up in a limo. Both of us were oddly confused and caught off guard by it. So much so that I did not even notice the sign on the front windshield. The driver mentioned that we had 2 stops to make first. I still had no idea what we were doing...until a few minutes later. We pulled up to another hotel and scooched over to another part of the limo. That's when I caught the sign in the window, "Sundance Helicopters."

WHOOOHOOO we are getting a helicopter ride! Not just any helicopter ride, a ride at sunset over the strip.

You haven't seen Vegas until......you have seen it from a helicopter!

A second adventure I want to share with you is of when I decided to take a photo walk of the strip...at 5 or 6AM! I was amped up after dancing all night and into the early morning. After getting back to the hotel, I decided it would be more fun to take pictures than to sleep. This is probably not one of my brightest moments (especially since I was sick the entire week after), but I have great pictures to show for it.

Sunrise over the strip...look how quiet it is.

Random dude that jumped into my shot. His name was David Nakamura.

Drunk guys who wanted me to chest bump one of them.
I declined, but offered to take pictures of them doing it.
I never did send them the stop motion video of the drunken chest bump.

My try at street photography. I later ran into this guy on the other side
of the strip and we proceeded to talk cameras for a good 15-20 minutes.



Deserted...everyone must be sleeping.



This was my first trip to Vegas. I had a fantastic time and will always treasure the memories and antics we had.


We stayed at:

 • Aria Resort and Casino

Bubbles wall display - Aria

We ate at:

 • Jean Philippe Patisserie - Aria
 • Strip Burger

 • Café Vettro - Aria

 • Social House - CityCenter (O.M.G. incredible sushi)

 • Mon Ami Gabi

 • Wicked Spoon - The Cosmopolitan

 • The Buffet Restaurant - Wynn

Opera Cake - Jean Philippe Patisserie

Red Champagne (hibiscus flower) - Social House

Blueberry French Toast - Mon Ami Gabi

We partied at:

 • Haze Nighclub (eh, not so great, but the girls saw one of the Celtics players while we were there)

 • XS Nighclub (AWESOME, go there. You can dance while standing ankle deep in the pool.)
 • Unmentioned - ask privately and I will tell you ☺

We saw:
 • Sundance Helicopter Tours
 • Hoover Dam


*All photos are personal photos*
**Note to self, post pictures to FB with captions and blog about those photos later**

7 month Anniversary

We've never been anniversary people. What I mean is that we don't celebrate with gifts or even big dinners. It's simply just another day. At least this was true for our dating anniversaries. But I doubt that we will stray far from the past.

Last month was a bit special. David Choi made a stop in Boston on on his 2012 Forever and Ever US/Canada tour. Who's David Choi? He's the genius behind our first dance song. (Sorry, I haven't done our wedding recaps so I haven't talked about it yet.) Here, take a listen:

Our first dance song By My Side; we had our dj slow the tempo down a tad for us.

When I found out that David was coming to Boston, I almost pee'd my pants. No, seriously. I told Jake that he was coming and Jake's response was, "Do I need to buy us tickets?" To which I violently shook my head up and down. I also told Jake that we would be staying late to grab his autograph and maybe a photo. How freaken cool would it be to meet the artist behind your first dance?!?!

March 28th, 2012 was here before we knew it. The concert was at Cafe 939 in Boston. The venue is small, I think they sold out at 200 tickets. Standing room mostly. There are a few couches pushed up against the walls.

Jeff LeBlanc opened for David. Jeff closed his act with Augustana's Boston. Fitting since he was playing in Boston. Random fact: This song was my theme song from 2006-2007.

Headliner Jeff LeBlanc checking the photo he took of the crowd.
(He might have actually been tweeting the photo)

It sucks being short and not being able to see over tall people or people with big hair. Yes, a person with big hair stood in front of me and moved to block my vision each time I moved. Luckily we were standing next to one of the couches and when David came up on stage, I was able to stand on the back of it and lean against the wall for support. Poor Jake didn't have much of a view, but he was content. As he put it, "I'm not a groupie like you."

David Choi playing This and That is Life for his opening song.

I not so secretly hoped that David would play our song. (Ha, I can finally say that we have a song!) I thought it might be a long shot since he was promoting his most recent album, but you never know right? I even posted this on my Facebook wall:

He didn't disappoint. I'm pretty sure that he just closed all his concerts on this tour with By My Side. Either way I'll take it!

David and us!

We stood in line after the concert to meet David along with everyone else. As Jake put it, I was starstruck. I had no idea what to say to David. I swear I threw my CD at him and had him sign it, asked for a photo and then practically ran for the hills. It probably didn't help that I had no idea how to use the camera app on the iPhone. The people in front of us had me take a picture and it took me 3 tries to take a single picture! How freaken embarrassing!! Luckily, Jake was quick on his feet and told David about our first dance so it wasn't too awkward. Just awkward enough.

How's that for excitement?


*All photos taken with point-and-shoot*

It's a ...

Yeah, no. Sorry to dissappoint, but this is not a baby announcement for us. However, it is kind of a baby announcement for our friends over at Young(s) and in Love.

I have been blessed and honored by many firsts with this couple. They allowed me to cultivate my inner Martha Stewart and put their utmost faith in my novice camera skills. Most recently, they asked me to be a part of HUGE moment in their lives.

I can't even begin to tell you how I felt when they asked if I would make gender reveal cupcakes for them and their family!!! I was so excited I almost pee'd my pants. I probably went home like an excited kid telling Jake about it all at a rate of 20 words a second.

So what do you think? Is it a boy or is it a girl?

It's a BOY!!!

Congratulations V and M!!! Thank you for sharing this wonderful moment with me!

You can read all about how I made them here.

February 2012

Top row: 1, 2a, 2b. Middle: 3, 4a, 4b. Bottom: 5a, 5b, 5c.

1. Potluck dinner party. I needed a) an excuse to see our friend D and M so that I could deliver a secret Valentine's Day cupcake order from D's mom, and b) guinea pigs to taste test my latest cupcake recipes. So I had our group of friends over for a last minute potluck dinner. The potluck idea was well received. Think I might try doing ressurecting a dinner club. I tried a once monthly dinner club with Jake's college friends a couple of years, but that fell apart quickly. Pictured: twinkie cupcakes with candy heart.

2. Pompeii exhibit at the Museum of Science. I became obsessed with Pompeii when I was in the second grade. While going through the exhibit, I was in awe at how well preserved some of the artifacts were. My yearning to go to Pompeii and now Herculaneum has only been strengthened. Also, I had forgotten how awesome my point-and-shoot camera does in low light! (flash photography was not allowed). Pictured: preserved fresco and resin cast skeletons.

3. Date night: sushi dinner at Oga's. Pictured: pork belly bun.

4. Pig party! Our friend P threw a pig themed party. He smoked a pork shoulder and 3 types of ribs. Guests were asked to bring sides with extra points for dishes containing some form of pig. I had left my lactaid at home and decided to throw caution to the wind. How much dairy could there be at a pig party? Well, our friend D brought bacon mac n' cheese! I couldn't help myself and just had to eat some. It was amazing; possibly the best mac n' cheese from scratch I've had. But I felt like I had been punch in the stomach over and over the days following. Remind me to NEVER do that to myself again. Pictured: piggy cake (made by another guest) and bacon mac n' cheese.

5. After handing off a very special cupcake order, we explored the main drag in Concord, MA. We had lunch at Main Streets Market and Cafe and then checked out the shops nearby. Pictured: gender reveal cupcakes, chili with butternut squash, and gravestones.

January 2012

I'm going to try something different this year. Instead of blogging in nauseating detail everything we do, I'm going to try and capture the memorable highlights for each month. I got the idea after seeing Liz over at Paisley Press share her Project Life albums. As stated on the website, "project life is a back to basics approach to memory-keeping." Basically, it is scrapbooking without all the frills and embellishments. It's getting back to the photo albums I remember from my childhood, but with more verbiage or journaling as they call it. Anyways, we will give it a try and see how things go. Hopefully, this will train me to build albums quickly in the future.



Clockwise from top left: 1, 3, 4, 5.



1. I took Jake to Vicky Lee's for brunch. If you are in the Belmont, MA area, I highly recommend this cafe. They have an extensive coffee and tea list

2. Our friends C and A surprised me by asking me to be a member of their wedding party (not pictured). We can't wait until July for their nuptials. The festivities will take place in a restored barn near their home town in Vermont. Rustic vintage, sounds gorgeous!

3. Jake jetted off to Florida for his annual golf trip with the guys while I nested by making no sew placemats.

4. We celebrated our cousin's second birthday at a petting zoo.

5. Chinese New Year celebration in Boston's Chinatown. Our friend Natalie, gets all her friends together for dim sum every year. After lunch, we walk around Chinatown following the lions as they bless each of the store fronts.