Our First Wedding Anniversary

was definitely one for the books!  We woke up that morning, well late morning, got ready and headed out for lunch at Pink's.

It's a famous hot dog shop that started in Los Angeles.  When we walked in, there was a wall to the right of signed pictures of celebrities who had visited there and some of the variations of hot dogs were named after them.  There was a Kim Kardashian dog, a Holly Madison dog, and my selection, the Mel B (taking it back to the spice girls) hot dog.  This selection had chili, cheese, sour cream, tomatoes, guacamole, and jalapenos and for a girl who loves toppings and condiments, it was right up my alley!

From there we set out to visit Madame Tussaud's wax museum at The Venetian.  The camera flashes really do take away from the statues, because when you're standing there looking at them, they honestly look as though they could come alive at any point!  Here's just a few pictures from our visit...

Me with Justin Timberlake

 The Rock is the one on the right :)

the mayor of Las Vegas and 2 showgirls

maybe he was meant to be w/ George Clooney

our Jerry Springer moment

We were going to see Blue Man Group that night.

After we were finished at the museum, we met up with one of our friends who went to high school with Male Hale who happened to be in Vegas the same time we were....small world, huh?  We gambled with him for a bit and agreed we'd hang out later that night, but only after our celebratory dinner and show of course :)

Before we left Aria to go to dinner, we gave each other cards.  His anniversary present was a new Xbox,  but he got it about 2 weeks early because his completely bit the dust.  A new model recently came out and I knew I wanted to get it for him...because even when his old one was still functioning, I had heard how much better this one would be.  I didn't want him to go out and get one, so he was really surprised to come home one night before the trip and move a blanket off of his chair to find that box under it!  I asked him repeatedly to tell me something else so I would have something to give him on the actual date, but he told me that he loved his gift and didn't care if it was early and not to bother with anything else.  To my surprise when he slid my card towards me, there was a small white jewelry box with it.  I honestly felt as though the vacation was a big enough gift and he knows how I am about greeting cards, and how much I love them, so that was all I expected.  I opened the box and found...

I couldn't believe it.  An additional band, I was elated.  I slid it on my finger and looked at the guy I unconditionally love and felt like the luckiest girl alive to be with someone who makes me so incredibly happy, to be on a trip that we both had always hoped to take, and to know that I had the rest of my life to  not only cherish these memories, but make oh so many more!


He had made reservations at Tao which was an incredible Asian restaurant in The Venetian.  I absolutely love asian soups, sushi, cuisine, etc.  This is a summary I pulled from the website.

"TAO Las Vegas, located in the Grand Canal Shoppes in The Venetian Resort Hotel Casino, is Las Vegas' hottest restaurant and lounge, all under one roof.  Considered to be one of the best restaurants in Las Vegas, TAO Asian Bistro blends great food, music, and people-watching to create the hippest "vibe dining" in town.  TAO Las Vegas is frequented by celebrities on a regular basis, such as Paris Hilton, Jessica Simpson, Tommy Lee, Britney Spears, Jamie Foxx, Janet Jackson, Bono, and Madonna.  The Pan-Asian cuisine of TAP, which is prepared by Master Chefs, is coveted the world over."

The setting was dimly-lit, romantic, and posh all wrapped into one.  We kept an eye out for those celebrities, but sadly, no sightings to report!  We then headed over to the Blue Man Group Theatre that was also located  in The Venetian.  We gave the gentleman our tickets and he replied, "Umm, I'm sorry these tickets say Saturday August 7th".  Um, say whaaaat?  We had specifically told the concierge 2 days before that our anniversary was on the 8th and we needed tickets for a show on the 8th.  My mind was already going 100 miles an hour of what I'd like to say to her but we were then directed to someone who was much more attentive and understanding and breezed past that error!

waiting for the show to start

afterwards in the lobby of The Venetian

We weren't allowed to take pictures during the show, but I don't think my knee ever stopped bouncing or some part of me wasn't moving in my seat!  The way they are able to play their own material, and even songs that you and I both know, on things such as drain pipes to making neon paint rise and fall with every strike of their paddles, it was definitely a sight to see.

We took full advantage our last night in this non-stop city!  It poured down rain just before we went into dinner and when we came out of the show, the temperature had dropped to honestly what felt like the 70s.  We didn't break a sweat when we walked out, our shoes weren't melting to the pavement, so we walked...and we walked...and we walked....we saw so much that night!  And when I say we took full advantage, I mean we were climbing into bed as the sun was beginning to rise.  You can always sleep on a plane, but this was Vegas baby!  I hated to see the trip come to an end, but so glad that we were there for a special occasion and I loved watching the hubby just become overwhelmed with sights and sounds as soon as we stepped out that first day on the strip.