http://www.starbucks.com/retail/new-in-stores.asp
Starbucks has been having this new “pairing” menu. It starts at $3.95 for a coffee and breakfast item. I’ve had it twice now and it’s a pretty good deal and healthy. I go treat myself when I don’t have time to grab breakfast from home.
This is a talle latte paired with their perfect oatmeal. I really like the oatmeal because they give you brown sugar, a nut medley, and dried fruits. All things warm and good for the tummy.
http://www.visitlasvegas.com/vegas/index.jsp
I was in Las Vegas this weekend for a bachelorette party, my first in Las Vegas. As the saying goes, “What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas” but I wanted to share some the meals we had and share some of the not so good experiences.
I left on Friday night and unfortunately my flight got delayed. But at least I had a friend to pass the time with. I was a bit annoyed going through security though. I was chosen to basically get “frisked” or padded down so I had to step into the plastic case to wait for a female security guard. I was standing there without my shoes for a good 5 to 10 minutes while the guard in front of me was yelling something like “female assistance, no alarm”… there were 3 guys who were also called out and they were immediately padded down and let go. My things were sitting on the conveyor belt as everyone else passed through. It’s uncomfortable getting stared at. Finally a male guard got my stuff and I went through the machine that puffs air at you and I was allowed to pass through and put my shoes back on. I guess they might be short staffed but to allow three men to go through while I stood there and waited isn’t right. As people passed through, even they were giving me pitying looks.
When we finally arrived in Vegas, we checked into our hotel and met up with the girls at Blush Lounge at the Wynn. It was a pretty chill place, music I actually recognized, nice outdoor patio, and an older crowd.
On Saturday morning we had brunch at Bouchon in the Venetian.
We had beignets, the ones on the left are raspberry filled and the ones on the right are their classic ones covered with cinnamon sugar and served with peach preserves and nutella. Not as light as I remember beignets are in New Orleans but still yummy.
I had the croque madame, one of my favs. Those fries hit the spot and plenty to share.
A unique thing, chicken and waffles, in that the waffles have chives, sweet and savory. My friends said the chicken breast was really moist. It was served with maple syrup and gravy (mushroom I think).
Saturday evening we went to see Thunder From Down Under and all I can really say is that it was corny but I can see how it can appeal to some people. We also went to XS Nightclub at Encore which I guess is the newest club in Las Vegas and I thought highly overrated. We stayed at the Encore so went to the concierge to get free passes. When we got there, they said we needed one pass for each girl. We only had five passes because the concierge didn’t say we needed one per girl and it also doesn’t say it on the pass itself. So we were a bit irritated that we actually needed to pay to get in ($25 each x 4) when we could’ve just gotten more passes. So that started out the night on a bad note. Although the place is really cool with the outdoor pool area where you can enjoy sitting around (if it wasn’t so cold) but then the music wasn’t very good and the people in general were very rude. One of our friends was trying to leave and as she was walking away, a guy shoved her, she landed hard on her left knee and face (hurting her nose and two front teeth)… the guy just kept on walking and a bouncer was kind enough to stop to help her up. So rude.
We ended the night on a better note by going to Tao in the Venetian where the music was better and a girl in our group ran into people she knew so it was more fun to hang out with friendlier people. Some of the other girls went to gamble and had some good luck.
The weekend ended with a all-you-can-eat/drink mimosa brunch at Envy Steakhouse. Bacon & sausage… yum!
Uncharacteristically for me, I couldn’t have dessert, was too stuffed with the buffet. The piano player at this place was great, very entertaining. The atmosphere was very fun, kind of old school but a good note to end the weekend on.
Back at the Wynn, the hotel is vibrant.
We spent the afternoon shopping at The Palazzo and got my first pair of Jimmy Choo pumps! I swear, they were a good deal, on sale!
The parasols in the Palazzo before you enter the Venetian.
We walked for the 4 hours before our flight so I thought I’d be ready to sleep on the plane but couldn’t really doze off comfortably.
I feel much better today after napping for 3 hrs this evening. It’s highly irregular for me to go to Vegas this often and both were very different experiences. Both were great fun but this might be it for the year.
Congratulations to the bachelorette! The wedding will be June in Honolulu. I just got the confirmation for our tickets (great price, less than $300 per person), can’t wait!
http://www.marthastewart….am-pie-cupcakes
Baking = Relaxation? For me, yes. I haven’t baked anything good in a while (I baked these mini cornbread puddings which didn’t turn out well, too salty, no corn flavor, and got moldy after two days because of the hot weather… what a waste…) and have been wanting to try this recipe for Boston Cream Pie Cupcakes!
I doubled the recipe for the cupcakes but followed the recipe for the vanilla cream and chocolate topping. I’ve noticed that the creams and filling recipes are usually way more than I need so I have too much leftover.
The vanilla cream ended up a bit thick after cooling so was a bit hard to spread and I used it sparingly to be able to fill all the cupcakes (I ended up with 34 cupcakes).
I altered the chocolate ganache recipe a bit using some dipping chocolate instead which made the syrup a bit too runny, it didn’t really “stick” to the cupcake. I think it’s better to follow the recipe using the semi-sweet chocolate.
But overall, the cupcake was yummy and the cream had just enough vanilla flavor without being overpowering. Ron commented the cream wasn’t very sweet though. I only put chocolate on half the cupcakes and left the other half bare to let people flavor it to their taste.
We’ll see if they’ll be a hit at work or not.
A bit delayed posting because I forgot to take a photo. They weren’t all gobbled up since I think everyone was in the mood to watch their weight. Here are our remaining two cupcakes, don’t ask me why the chocolate covered one looks like a sombrero, it was the first batch I cooked. The one of top is chocolate free.
So cute! Although I don’t know if my cats would sleep in it, they are quite finicky…
If I had a little dog, I’d get one of these to carry around town.
Buy them here. Pet bed for $45 and carrier for $56.
I just recently started subscribing to the feed for this blog. I tried out the three cup chicken recipe and although Ron says it didn’t quite taste authentic (more like General Tsao’s Chicken), he still liked it. The next recipe I want to try is the honey walnut shrimp recipe. The recipes are easy to follow and have nice quality photos.