What happens here; stays here.

(This was previously published on my former blog July 28, 2011. Do the math. Yes – we ARE older now…)

OK – so there’s that whole Vegas thing… You know – the “what happens here stays here” thingie.

So my husband and I recently turned 50 and our kids were turning 21 (Yep – they be twins). Huge family milestones; right? Now we all know that there is no better city on the planet for turning 21… at least that’s the general consensus of those who are actually turning 21. If you fall into that 50-something range… well, let’s just say that napping is a requirement. Seriously. And I …can’t…nap. “Houston – we have a problem”.

What a city, though. Wow. Where else can you visit a New York deli, stroll the cobblestone streets of Paris and dine by candlelight next to the gondolas in Italy – all in the course of a day. And then there’s the cocktail. There are literally people with cocktails in their hand 24 hours a day. We were up until 3:00 or 4:00 AM every morning; and everywhere you looked during those wee hours… there were cocktails. After a “full night’s sleep” of approximately 3-4 hours (See “nap requirement” above), we would manuever our way down the hallway towards the elevator around 7:00 AM for coffee; only to see people stumbling out of the elevator – cocktail in hand. Guess they decided it was finally time for a little “shut-eye“. We gambled. Well, actually, THEY gambled (the boys). I’m way too cheap for that. We (the girls) had a cocktail. We walked the streets and “people watched” (Oh my, my, my…some FANTABULOUS people watching!). They gambled. We shopped. We hit the pool. We all had another cocktail. We watched as the Bellagio fountains performed their mesmerizing dance to the crooning sound of Mr. Las Vegas himself – my man – Frank Sinatra. Pure magic, I tell you. We all had a cocktail. They gambled. We saw two “shows” – the “Blue Man Group” (fantastic!) and David Spade. They gambled. We all had a cocktail. Three full days. In Vegas time, that equals about four years.

Perhaps it was the constant bright, flashing lights, the relentless “ding, ding, ding, DING, WHISTLE, DING…” of the almost 200,000 slot machines (Thank you, “Ask Jeeves”), or the delicious “Pineapple Chipotle Margarita” (complete with Chipotle hot sauce!) that I was sipping from the “Rhumba Bar”…… but I started having “flashbacks”. My BABIES were turning into ADULTS!!! What?? How did that happen? It suddenly felt like I had blinked…and time had somehow passed me by. Kind of like a “Sleeping Beauty” kind of thing… minus the “beauty” part and that feeling of a really good night’s sleep. “Someone bring me another cocktail. NOW!” And then something suddenly occurred to me. Nothing had passed me by. I have enjoyed every part of the past 21 years. (fine print…OK – Let’s be honest. Some more than others.) As a family, we have filled our hearts, until they are overflowing, with memories on top of memories – and they are a part of us. They are what binds the four of us together – and no-one, and nothing, can every take that away. Those memories belong to us… and only us. It was then that I realized that we were in the perfect place to celebrate their 21st birthday. As a family, we have LIVED the “Las Vegas mantra” our entire life… “What happens here (in our hearts); stays here.”

And so at 12:00 midnight, Vegas time, 2:00 AM Kansas City time (by chance – the exact time they were born), we toasted their transition into adulthood… “21”; with all the joy and pride in the world. We laughed. We remembered. We reminisced.

Cheers to you, Vegas. “What happens here, stays here.”

musical memories

10 / 3 / 13

I’m so excited…!! The hubbie and I are headed for the Blake Shelton concert tonight – WooHoo!!!! For those of you who are all, like, “Blake WHO??” Country singer. Also on the TV show, “The Voice”. Anyway – I am ready to break in my new “cowgirl boots”, y’all! OK… wait. I’m not from the south, am I? Nope. Born and raised in St. Louis. We never said y’all. And, by the way, it’s “soda“… not “pop“. Never mind. Point of the story – I like country music…!! It is, in fact, my current favorite style of music; my “go to“. Now it wasn’t always this way ~~y‘all.~~ Honestly, I have to say that I really enjoy almost all types of music, really. There are, however, exceptions…!

It all started with “The Partridge Family” and (xoxoxo) David Cassidy. Ya. DEFINITELY love. The teen years were all about REO Speedwagon and Styx. Oh ya – And “Stairway to Heaven”… right??? The “slow dance” at the end of every high school event. Ha! College was all over the board – a little of this, a little of that. What can I say – It was the 70’s/80’s. Then when we lived in London, I got hooked on classical music as well as the soundtracks from “The Phantom of the Opera” (including Michael Crawford) and “Les Miserables“.

For as long as I can remember, I have always been a fan of what I lovingly call, “cocktail music“; my “go to” on a Friday night with a glass of wine… Frank Sinatra, Michael Buble, Nora Jones… I love Christmas music and “spa” music; Nat King Cole and Josh Groban. I love “Kermit the Frog” singing “It’s Not Easy Being Green” and “The Rainbow Connection”. Might also add that the “John Denver & the Muppets Christmas CD”… it rocks.

Some of my current favorite country artists are Zac Brown Band (Oh my gosh – AMAZING concert!!!), Kenny Chesney, Tim McGraw, Darius Rucker and, of course, Blake Shelton. And here’s a little trivia for ya – my sweet hubbie, in a cowboy hat… when he doesn’t shave and gets kinda scruffy… looks an awful lot like Tim McGraw. Yep. Not too shabby. Just sayin’… I will try to get a pic one of these days. We will do a split screen. In the meantime, a little music from my buddy, Blake. It’s one of his songs that you may not have heard much, but one of my favs – Hoping to hear it tonight… “Do You Remember“

wedded bliss

9 / 9 / 13

Had to tell a little lie the other day… but I can explain. You see, my wonderful mom-in-law and dad-in-law were celebrating 55 years of wedded bliss, so we decided to have a little surprise dinner at our house in their honor. Not a major event, just a small gathering of family to help them celebrate. In the end, I think there were almost twenty of us gathered together, and it was an evening full of laughter, love and a lot of wine!

Now everyone has their secret tips for making events, like this, successful… and I would love to know your secrets!! Here are just a couple of mine. #1 Delegate! Let everyone contribute. For those who don’t like to cook; no problem. Assign them a store bought item or wine! #2 Not everything has to be homemade! If you are a baker and love to make desserts; Go for it – But then purchase a store bought appetizer! #3 Prioritize and keep it simple! This is a big one, and totally varies from person to person!! Personally, I love the detail stuff – “themes” and table decorations, homemade tags on the dipping oil… But to take the time to dust before the party…? Ya – Probably not gonna happen. Like I said; this is an individual thing. Everyone has a different set of priorities. Maybe dusting is your #1 priority!! Just make sure that you make time to do the things that are important to you!!

We went with an Italian bistro theme… complete with a little Frank Sinatra (of course!), red & white checked paper placemats (super easy clean up!) and some Chianti wine! An Italian platter as an appetizer also made it super simple (no cooking!) – cheese, salami, Rosemary almonds, stuffed olives, crostini with goat cheese and bruschetta… Our main course consisted of home-made lasagna, meatballs, oven roasted Italian green beans, Italian salad and warm, crusty bread with homemade Italian dipping oil. (Dipping oil recipe was posted on my Facebook page; “Tasty Tuesday” Sept 3 – Click here) For dessert we served Italian gelato with homemade biscotti, which I served in assorted hand-painted martini glasses (Biscotti recipe coming… tomorrow!!) And that, friends, is my final “tip of the day” – fun and super simple… I love using martini glasses for serving dessert! I especially love that everyone’s glass was different (I did this on purpose – Not a matchy-matchy kinda gal!), but you can certainly use whatever martini glasses you have on hand!! I have a huge advantage in the fact that I paint and sell cocktail glasses, so my “inventory” is probably a bit more extensive… Ha!

So there we go. My suggestions, in a nutshell, for hosting a little gathering of your own. I realize now that I already gave you my “final tip”, but I just thought of one more… and it’s a BIGGIE, actually! Chances are good that you will not complete your “things to do before the party” list. Just sayin. However, once the party starts… let it go. Pour a glass of wine and join in the fun. Whatever didn’t get done isn’t gonna get done… so never mind. If you are having a good time at your party, so will your friends!! And at the end of the day, isn’t that all that really matters…? Bon Appetit!!