Vegas: Day 1

After a hellacious red eye flight, Bryan and I made it to Vegas around 9 in the morning.

{we made it!}

We were immensely relieved and grateful that we were able to check into our hotel early.  We threw our bags into the room, then head up to the hotel restaurant for breakfast.

{eggs benedict}

{our hotel}

We stayed at the Platinum Hotel on East Flamingo.  It's only a short block away from the strip, right behind the Flamingo Casino.  Once we saw how close we were to all the action, we had no issues with staying at a quiet hotel off the main drag.  Our suite was immense with all the creature comforts (full kitchen with stove and dishwasher) with an attached bedroom and a massive bathroom.

After breakfast, we crashed for a few hours in the room before dressing up to meet Bryan's sister and her friends at the Flamingo Casino before heading out to dinner.

Walking the Strip towards the Planet Hollywood casino to get dinner at the Strip House.

{bright lights, big city}

{a blurry shot of the Eiffel Tower from the Paris casino}

{the casino from Planet Hollywood}

Our dinner at the Strip House was incredible.  It was fun hanging out with Bryan's sister and all of her friends (everyone was in town for their friends' wedding).  We were a group of 25 sat at two long tables in the darkened interior of the Strip House Restaurant.  Someone at the table ordered the Half Seafood Plateau as a starter.

{seafood platter complete with oysters, lobster meat, lobster claw, chilled calamari, ahi tartare, lumped crab meat, and scallops}

Bryan got the ribeye, and I ordered the chilean sea bass.  My sea bass was served on a mound of Jalapeno potato puree with swiss chard and a red wine sauce.  Everyone else's steaks were served a la carte, so the table went a little crazy with sides.  We had a truffle mac and cheese, twice baked potatoes and asparagus passed from hand to hand as we plowed through our dinner.

When we were done eating, a group of eleven of us continued the party and headed to the Mandalay Bay.

Bryan scored us this limo for the ride over:

{Carolyn's friend posing in front of our "Exotic Limousine" complete with a stripper pole inside}

{from inside the limo}

We went to the members only Foundation Room at the House of Blues at the tippy top of the Mandalay Bay resort where we got to check out this sweet view of the Las Vegas strip:

What a wonderful introduction to Las Vegas!

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I'm a Packing Goddess

Bryan said I wouldn't be able to put everything I needed for a 4 day Vegas trip in a carry-on suitcase.

I know it's hard to tell from this overhead angle, but I can fit everything with buckets of room to spare.  So there, Bryan.  So there!

Bryan was so impressed with my packing abilities that he has asked me if it's okay for him to pack his fancy Vegas shoes in my suitcase.  

I guess...

But I make no promises that his shoes are going to fit in the suitcase on our trip back.  I plan on doing a LOT of shopping.

Bryan and I leave on the red eye tonight.  I'm packing my camera so expect a string of Vegas blog posts when I get back from my trip.  If you want to stay updated while I'm away, keep an eye on my Instagram feed.  I'll probably be blowing up that feed with tons of photos from my phone.  Check it out here:

http://instagram.com/paiger_rager

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Slaughterhouse Beach

Last Thursday Bryan and I went to Slaughterhouse Beach.

It's a tucked away pocket of a beach that's usually fairly quiet.

Not a bad place to spend an afternoon off.

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Lazy Day Off

You gotta love lazy days off.  

I finished reading a book in bed (Ender's Game).

I worked out...okay, so not so lazy.

I made lunch:

{pan seared salmon with arugula salad tossed in a homemade honey mustard balsamic vinaigrette}

I went to the beach with my happy Hydro Flask:

{Happy Hydro Flask Man}

I've been wearing my black Tahitian pearl non-stop.  It's an old favorite that I purchased myself during my first year living on Maui, and I still love it.

After the beach, I caught a super charged fiery sunset from my lanai at home.

I'm off again tomorrow.  Can't wait to see what happens next.

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Polo on Maui

Almost a full year since our perfect Sunday watching polo last fall with Bryan's parents, Bryan and I finally made it back up to Makawao to watch the Maui Polo Club gallop across the field.

We packed the trunk with beach chairs, picked up my girlfriend Shaina in Lahaina, loaded up our cooler with snacks, and then headed Upcountry for some horsey good fun.

We arrived about a quarter of the way into the first match.  Shortly after we set our chairs and cooler, we prepared to flee as a horde of horses galloped towards us in chase of the ball, and then we watched a fiery tempered player yell at his grooms for not having his second horse ready as he was trading in ponies during a break during the game, and then shortly thereafter, we watched a player take a spill at the far goalpost during the match--and this all happened within the first 10 minutes of getting set up by the field.  Talk about drama.

It was cool and breezy on the field--a welcome relief to the cruel sun of Lahaina.  Shaina and I were soon bundled up in our hoodies as we watched the game.

We had a great afternoon watching the horses and riders gallop around the field.  The same colorful commentator that so wildly entertained us last year was back again in full form.  Our friends from town ended up joining us at the match as well, so we had a good little gang of us.  Bryan and I commented on how many more people were out at the match than the game that we had attended last year.  When we paid our entrance fee to the games this afternoon, we were given a flyer for the Maui Polo Club with a tagline declaring Maui Polo as "the best kept secret on Maui."  Maybe not so much anymore!

The fall season is in full swing with games every Sunday starting at 1:30 in the afternoon.

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Spiced Pork Chops with Sweet and Sour Glaze

My first attempt at home cooked pork chops:

Soooo good!

I'm one of those weirdos that watch the Food Network when I'm eating lunch--talk about producing major food envy.  Most times, what I'm eating is nowhere near as appealing as what's being cooked in front of me.  

Yesterday, I watched my Food Network favorite Giada De Laurentiis whip up pan seared pork chops with a agrodulce glaze.  It looked simple to prepare and downright delicious.  I decided it was high time to try my hand at pork chops, and I was going do it just like Giada did it.

I went to the grocery store this morning and picked up chops along with honey and scallions for the glaze.  It was helpful that my pantry was already stocked with the rest of the ingredients--see, I told you the recipe looked simple.

I came back home with my goods and immediately started cooking.  I sauteed a mix of spinach and kale with onions in olive oil in a big pan.  Once the greens were cooked, I plated them and then started cooking my seasoned chops (about 5 minutes each side).  While the pork chops were cooking, I made the glaze in a small saucepan.

I made the glaze to the measurements that Giada recommends--which serves 4, so I have extra glaze sitting in the fridge.  I'm thinking of using the leftovers on salmon tomorrow.  Yum!

After thirty minutes prep and cooking time, Bryan and I sat down to a lunch of epic proportions--these were some seriously big chops that I bought at the store.  I'm very happy with how the pork chops turned out.  They were juicy and perfect, and the glaze was a winner.  I usually shy away from homemade sauces, but this one was so easy and absolutely delicious--even without the rosemary (I decided not to purchase any from the store and hope that the sauce would turn out okay without it).

Homemade pork chops?  A total snap.  I'll be making these again sometime soon.

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Honu Swim

I'm feeling a little under the weather, but it's too hot to sit around the house, so I took Bryan's suggestion and went to the beach.

I ran into some friends on the beach, so I camped my gear by theirs and headed right into the water for a swim.

The moment I kicked a few strokes out from the beach, I was greeted by this very friendly, very curious honu or sea turtle.

He swam under and around me, then circled away before swooping back towards me.  He seemed to be especially interested in my toes.

{charging towards my toes!}

{shaka with honu}

{there were a few instances that he got so close, I had to quickly back peddle so we didn't collide--it's a big no-no to touch sea turtles, so I tried to give him his space}

{close enough to touch--but don't worry! I didn't!}

{swimming over a fishing line}

{cruising away}

{a short, wobbly video of swimming with my curious honu friend}

After he swam away, I took off to explore the reef a little.

After my snorkel, I got out to sunbathe and chat with my friends.  After a bit, we all got back in and my turtle friend was still hanging out.  I swam with him for a bit.

Note to self: sick days are always better when spent under the water.

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