Rachelle E.

oh no!!! I'm soooo sorry to hear that Calia. he was a gorgeous kitty, it's so sad he got sick so quickly. I'm sorry... Big hugs to you!!!

Lol! First of all I love the way you told that story! Very entertaining!!! And second, I have to say I think it's pretty cute you got your man all emotional like that! Men are so funny!! I'm glad you got that for him though...sounds like it was pretty special and meant a lot to him. Now he just needs to remember that and return the favor someday! ;-)

Reading about the ruins reminded me of a post Elizabeth Medina made a while ago. Now these aren't really ruins...but I thought it was a beautiful and unique location...and sort of "ruinous" lol! Anyway, worth checking out maybe? Definitely look at the slideshow she posted as well...lots of great pics of the venue on there. http://bestdestinationwedding.com/forum/t10667 Also, in this post she lists a lot of the different Hacienda's that she's shot weddings at...so that may be more helpful as far as actual venue info and not just pretty pics. :-) http://bestdestinationwedding.com/forum/t21103

Awww Jaime! They have an entree called "Martin"! It's a sign we should totally go there! lol! Quote: MARTIN Crispy Beef Taco, Chicken Enchilada with sour cream, Beef Tamale, Cheese Enchilada with chili con carne and guacamole salad Ummm, I hope this doesn't offend you, but Martin sounds delicious! ;-) haha!

Quote: Sounds good to me. I kinda didn't invite D at first partly because he's only borderline interested...like he "knows" the people I talk about most frequently and overall thinks the forum is cool. Well, actually he thinks it's kinda nerdy, but he gets it. lol! Anyway, the other part of why I didn't invite him to hang w/ us is 'cause I figure there would be some pretty serious girl talk going on - esp at first, so I figured he'd reach his limit on that pretty quick and feel left out. lol! But yeah, since he's going to pick me up anyway I think it would be fun to call him & M a little early to come hang out for a little bit. And I think it will be fun to meet each other's FI/DH's. :-) Lol! Upon reading this after I posted it, I realized that this was probably the longest possible answer to your question! lol!!! omg I'm so wordy sometimes! Quote: Rach - do you know where Mattito's is? Here's directions. Mattito's Tex Mex I didn't! Thanks!!! I was just about to google it! :-)

Quote: Rach & Lisa - what do you think about me and Rach inviting D & M to join us for a drink at the end if they'd like? Martin said he would like to since he has to drive me all around LOL plus I'm sure he'd like to meet who I keep talking about... Just for a drink at the very end tho - if that's cool with y'all! I'm sooooo excited girls!!!! Sounds good to me. I kinda didn't invite D at first partly because he's only borderline interested...like he "knows" the people I talk about most frequently and overall thinks the forum is cool. Well, actually he thinks it's kinda nerdy, but he gets it. lol! Anyway, the other part of why I didn't invite him to hang w/ us is 'cause I figure there would be some pretty serious girl talk going on - esp at first, so I figured he'd reach his limit on that pretty quick and feel left out. lol! But yeah, since he's going to pick me up anyway I think it would be fun to call him & M a little early to come hang out for a little bit. And I think it will be fun to meet each other's FI/DH's. :-) Quote: We went to Cafe Madrid a few months ago. It was so yummy! omg, I haven't been to Cafe Madrid in like 4 years but I remember it being sooooo good! We went for dinner on New Years Eve and had pitchers of sangria w/ our food. YUM! Quote: My fav Mexican restaurant over here is called Veracruz - authentic Mexican food from Veracruz Mexico. Also they have awesome house margaritas. We also have the original Gloria's over here and we usually eat there once a week, it's like our kitchen away from home Plus you can't beat M-Th all day drink specials ($3 ritas, beer, mojitos, wine)! I could go on and on about the area but I will stop there So that pretty much sounds amazing!! We'll have to take a "field trip" down there to try it out sometime! ;-)

Quote: Great hotel Review!! I agree with everything you said about Mandalay Bay (except the lines, we actually had no line checking in or out. But we did check in at like 10pm.lol) and the pool is amazing!! Cant wait to hear about the restaurants! Thanks!! yeah, we were checking in/out at "prime times" I think. Checked in at 4pm on a Sunday (which I didn't think would be busy, but it was) and checked out at 1pm on Thursday...we asked for late check out to give us more time (and hoping it wouldn't be as hectic since regular check out is at 11am) but it was crazy! I think maybe a lot of people were checking in for the weekend?

Peppermill: Peppermill Las Vegas (on the strip - not too far from the Wynn) absolutely the BEST late night munchies or hung over breakfast place in Vegas. I've described it as "The Cracker Barrel meets old school Vegas diner". . .which only makes sense if you know (and love) the Cracker Barrel! lol! But anyway, this place cannot be beat for cheesy decor and awesome, casual food. I swear their omlettes feed like 3 people easy and they make some damn good coffee. This is the place I tell everyone to try while they're in Vegas. I think I eat there at least twice per trip! lol! Tao: :: Tao Restaurant, New York :: (at the Venetian) We ate here our first night in Vegas. Fun, lively, great service and great food! We all ordered a bunch of different stuff to share/try and I'd definitely reccomend doing it that way. It seems like most of the menu is set up to be served like that. Not really the traditional entree per person type set up. My favorite of all that was tried was the sushi. It was just sooooo good! We tried a bunch of stuff and it was all great, but the sushi was definitely the best IMO. STRIPSTEAK: Strip Steak - Mandalay Bay - Best Las Vegas Steak House Restaurants (at Mandalay Bay) This was my favorite restaurant of the trip. It's a steak place, but doesn't have that old school stuffy steakhouse feel. We celebrated dh's 30th b-day here and it was perfect. Everyone in our group LOVED their food and raved about it afterwards. The service was great, all the reccomendations made to us by our server were right on, the sommelier was very helpful and made suggestions that suited our group prefectly and I just can't think of anything we didn't love about it. The fries w/ dipping sauces they bring out to start are fun and delicious. My filet was perfect and dh said his porterhouse was to die for. I had the mashed potato trio for my side...not realizing how big it was. You could (and should) definitely order this to share. Everything was fantastic! They brought out a chocolate dessert w/ "happy birthday" written on the plate for dh at the end...it was a rocky road something and it was soooo good! THEN before we left they gave us all individual packages of some chocolate drizzled caramel corn - I totally ate that in the hotel room a couple mornings later! lol! It was great. Overall my fave dining experience during our stay, I highly reccomend it! BOA: B O A (At Caesar's Palace) Another steak place - nice, modern and delicious!! Again the service was great - we were a pretty energetic/chatty table and our server was so good about it. :-) All the food was great - dh's crab legs that he ordered w/ his steak were amazing!!! I'd probably reccomend STRIPSTEAK over this one, but honestly, it was really really good! Definitely worth checking out if you can. Red Square: Red Square - Mandalay Bay - Best Las Vegas Russian Restaurants (also at Mandalay Bay) I think this was our 2nd favorite restaurant of the trip. It's famous for being a vodka bar and is worth it just to go for cocktails if you can't for dinner. They also have a vodka vault that you can go in if you get bottle service (I think the bottles start at $200?) that looks really cool. It's literally freezing in there, so they give you coats to wear - military jackets for the guys and "fur" coats for the girls. From what I've heard it's a fun experience - maybe nice for a party, it would be a great place for a co-ed bach party especially I think. They make a killer gibson (my choice), dirty martini (dh's choice) and one hell of a perfect bloody mary (friend's choice). Really, if you like vodka, go here. We actually just came here orignally for drinks and apps before a dinner reservation we'd already set. We had so much fun that we cancelled our other reservations so we could stay here! We had the shrimp cocktail (YUM! huge shrimp!!) and the Siberian Nachos (omg amazing!!!!) for apps. Most of us had steak for dinner again, but someone ordered pasta w/ crab and it was delicious. Dh said this tied STRIPSTEAK for his fave steak. I give this place two big thumbs up!!! Riva: (The Venetian - by the pool) Normally I wouldn't bother to mention a random poolside restaurant, because normally they just aren't that good. But this one was. It's open for breakfast and lunch only and I can at very least confirm that breakfast was delicious! Dh and I weren't expecting much and were just looking for some quick food before hitting the pool. This was actually very good. I had the smoked salmon w/ herbed cream cheese and bagel - perfection! Dh had their traditional eggs and potatoes type breakfast and loved it as well. Those potatoes were extra yummy IMO. Definitely go for breakfast if you're in the area. I know they also do food through a "pick up window" for eating poolside - we didn't try that but if it's anything like the breakfast it's probably something worth trying. :-)

I just got back from a week long trip to Vegas and thought I'd share about the places we went - specifically the restaurants and such - just in case it comes in handy for those of you planning a wedding there. I actually have been to a wedding in Vegas on a previous trip. It was at a really cute chapel at the end of the strip called Little Church of the West Wedding Chapel. It's really small but fun and cute and it's just across from Mandalay Bay. Not sure how the pricing is, or how they are to work with since I was just a guest...but it was a really cute and fun wedding. World Famous Little Church of the West Wedding Chapel - Las Vegas Hotels: Last time I went I stayed in the Hilton Grand Vacations Club on the Strip. It's at the far end of the strip - about a block past Circus Circus. So it's pretty far from most things if you're looking to do a lot of walking. However it was a great hotel and the rooms are more like suites. They are equipped with kitchenettes, a small washer/dryer and everything. We had 3 girls staying in one and had plenty of room - we loved it! Definitely a nice option for an extended stay, families who need more room/amenities (like fridge/microwave and such) or something kind of inbetween the main area of the strip and "old" downtown Vegas. Hilton Grand Vacations Club® on the Las Vegas Strip Hotel This trip we stayed at both Mandalay Bay and the Venetian. Mandalay Bay: Mandalay Bay Hotel & Casino - Las Vegas Resorts, Hotels & Casinos We really liked this hotel! It's at the far end of the strip near the airport and it's HUGE. We stayed in their basic room and were totally happy with it. They have his/hers closets, spacious bathrooms (w/ small flat screen tv above sink area - my dh thought this was great), the alarm clock also has an adaptor to play your iPod and there's plenty of room. We definitely didn't have that cramped, hotel room feel. The room service was pretty quick and the food was great! Also, the staff at the hotel were super nice anytime we called for anything. Esp. the staff at the desk that helps with dinner/show reservations - they were SO helpful! Sadly we didn't get a lot of pool time - but it looked really cool. I did walk past their wedding offices and they looked really nice. There are a TON of great restaurants there and I'll review a couple of those next. I think the only "con" for me was the Loooooong lines checking in and out. They had tons of lines open but for some reason we couldn't seem to check in/out in under 30-45mins. More frustrating upon check out as we were trying to fit in some last minute stuff before our flights. But again, the staff were all extremely nice and seemed to be working as quickly as they could. On the upside, you definitely don't feel rushed by them and they are more than happy to answer questions. .. I guess that just makes the process take longer though. Overall we were 100% happy with our stay and would absolutely stay there again. The Venetian: The Venetian - Resort, Hotel, Casino. We ended up staying here by "accident". Our flight out was cancelled and we couldn't get anything until 4pm the following day. SO...we decided to embrace the situation and stay somewhere fun! Our AmEx concierge service found a room at the Venetian and the rest is history! ;-) Honestly it was perfect. The hotel itself is obviously impressive with the shops, gondolas etc. But the rooms are to die for! We stayed in a King Luxury Suite...which I think is basically their standard room w/ king bed. My understanding is that it's an All Suites hotel. Anyway, the room was seriously gorgeous and huge! The decor is just beautiful, the bathroom is really large and also has a small flat screen tv above the sink (like Mandalay) but my fave little perk was that the lights are on dimmer switches...I dimmed them down and crawled into the bathtub with a big glass of wine. It was perfect! There are flat screen tv's in both the bedroom and living areas of the suite and a dvd player in the living area. I had fun with the roman shade and curtains that are controlled by remote! haha! The living area of the suite is pretty large and has plenty of seating with an L-shaped sofa, desk w/ chair (incl fax machine) and small dining table w/ chairs. We got room service here as well and it was fast (they quoted us 45mins and we got it in 30) and great! The food was delicious and the guy who brought it actually put a table cloth on the dining table in our room and set it all up, opened the wine etc. Kind of a nice change from the usual "here's your cart of food!" kind of thing. It felt more like a proper meal that way. We hung out at the pool before our flight and appreciated that there were a) plenty of chairs and that they don't let you save them indefinitely. That's a pet peeve of mine...I hate when people throw a book/towel on a chair at like 7am and then don't actually come use the chair until like noon! lol! Anyway, the pool area was really nice and we had a great time just chilling out there. I may be forgetting something, but I think that's most of it. The Venetian was wonderful and you should stay there if you get the chance!! Next Post will be Restaurants!

Mexican sounds great to me! I'm always up for it. I don't know what Mattito's is - but if it's extra yummy let's go there! ;-) Of course Mi Cocina is always good too...

So I've officially booked my driver for our get together! Woohoo! :-) It was actually kind of funny when I was talking to David about it. I asked him if he would be able to drop me off/pick me up from somewhere on Sat night. And he was like, "Sure. Where?" And I was all, "Ummm....I don't know." lol! I explained the meet up to him and that we hadn't decided on a place yet and he was fine w/ it. But the look on his face when I told him I wanted to be dropped off at some "unknown location" was pretty funny! So yeah, where DO we want to meet?! :-)

7 would be great for me. I'm working 'til 5 that day so it will give me time to go home, change clothes etc before we meet up. Now I need to break the news to dh that he's going to be driving me around that night. ;-) lol! He's usually a good sport about it. Oh and I agree - somewhere centrally located and easy to find is all that matters to me!

Awww! Bummer about the seating situation. :-( That does suck that they kind of ended up feeling left out. But I'm glad everything was wonderful overall. I can't wait to see these pics!!! Ooh, and I'm SO ready for some mexican food! We didn't have any while we were gone so now I'm craving it extra bad. . .maybe you can tell me more about that part? Slowly... With lots of good adjectives... ;-) lol!

awww! Lizz I'm sorry to hear about your hand just now. That's terrible!!! I hope it doesn't hurt you too much while it's healing. And I too am very happy to hear that it's just your hand and not something more serious or about the baby. :-) Hugs!!!

Those are gorgeous Amy!!!!! Absolutely perfect! :-)

lol!!!! Good one Ann!!

omg Erica! I was totally going to post about that site! lol! I stumbled across it the other day and forwarded the link to my sis and bff! I haven't tried it yet but I'm SO excited to!! I'm glad you posted it here! :-)

OMG Kat! Those are amazing!!!!! Absolutely perfect!! Looks like the new tata's made a terrific debut! Seriously though, you look beautiful! Your Fi is going to LOOOOOVE those!!!!

Oh I am SO very sorry to hear about all this. I am so sad for you and the boy's family. I think it really is worse for those left behind to grieve...it's just hard to know what to do with yourself when you're feeling so sad, hurt, upset, angry etc. Anyway, I know there's nothing I can say that will help, but just wanted you to know that I'm so terribly sorry and will be keeping you and your friend's family in my thoughts. Big hugs!!!

I don't have personal experience in this area, as far as the phd program goes, but I would just say to be as honest w/ yourself as possible about what "could" happen with trying to conceive and having a baby in the context of your course requirments. Having a baby is one of the most random experiences and you really have zero control over it. You could get prego in as little as a month or as much as a year. And with that being the case, there is no way to garauntee that you won't be in labor during finals or some other big project. Or if you get put on bed rest for any reason and can't attend classes/labs for a few months, or if the baby is a premie and needs extra care after birth etc. I know this all sounds like worry-wart kind of stuff. But it's all stuff that happens sometimes. Obviously no matter what your baby is going to be most important to you - but are you prepared to miss out on things or possibly start over again if your program won't allow you to pick up where you left off if you end up being out for a few months? I'm totally not trying to be negative nancy! I'm ttc (trying to conceive) myself and I know how unpredictable the process can be and I've had a hard time learning that this is one thing that is totally beyond my control. So just wanted to make sure you heard that perspective as well. Having babies is a tricky business! lol! Good luck!!!!

lol! That is SO cute/funny!! I wish my dog was that happy in the car. :-( He's HUGE so he takes up the whole backseat and he gets super car-sick! It's horrible. I'm so jealous of car-friendly pups! lol!

omg...Amy I am in LOVE with your flower girls!!!!! They are so adorable!!! and I love love love how their dresses and flowers turned out!! Everything just looks amazing!!! I'm going to have to browse through those galleries you posted now!

Quote: chelle, thats the perfect way to put it omg, can I just say that I love that you called me Chelle!?! It's my "real life" nickname and I don't think anyone on here has ever called me that before. Makes me feel so extra friendsy! ;-) Ok, sorry for the hijack! On we go...

LOL!!!!! omg Tammy! That pup on the bike is hilarious! He looks like he's totally into it. I feel like there should be a story or movie about him and his adventures on the bike or something! I bet people were loving him at the event!!

Quote: especially after a long weekend or vacation together, it is so hard to be apart. we dont "need" to be together for security of the relationship, we just want to because that's what makes us happy. people always tell us, oh you'll get over it, but we've been together since 2003, and it hasn't changed. whenever we dont spend enough time together we start to get grouchy with each other. Oh that is SO how we are too! I hate going to back to work after a vacay...I miss DH soooooo much! It's like suddenly having to go on a diet after eating whatever/whenever for weeks! lol! Ugh.