Day 3 and 4. Road tripping.

On our third and final day in Vegas we obtained our rental car which was fabulous! We felt like teenagers getting our first car and suddenly we had the world at our fingertips. First stop? Jack in the Box of course! Jack in the Box is a fast food chain that does not exist in the Midwest but has become a family vacation tradition. When I was a kid whenever we would travel to a state with a Jack in the Box, we always stopped for their famous tacos (at least famous in the Cosme house). Now let me clear this up in case you haven't had one of these tacos. They are 2 for $1, super crispy, and very fast foody (read: these are not in any regard a high quality restaurant taco.)  So why do we love them? I have no idea. But I can tell you that through a bit of conditioning they have come to taste like vacation for me. Decades of devouring the little suckers in cities across the country have made me incredibly nostalgic for these tacos. 

Then it was off to our new room at the cosmopolitan which was amazing! We had a balcony that overlooked the Bellagio fountain and a completely and utterly impressive shower. The shower was essentially double the size of our entire bathroom at home and if you want to envision it, picture a long rectangle room that is all tiled and has a shower near one end and at the other is a big soaking tub that is positioned next to a window overlooking the strip. Classy. 

I know Devin would have been content to stay on the balcony all night but we had groupons to use! So I worked out because  I felt obligated to at least put forth some physical effort. My run on the treadmill was pretty entertaining though given the proximity of the Bellagio fountains. 

Then we showered and headed to this place called Escape the Room which is off the strip. Here's the low down. They lock you in a room and you have to complete a series of puzzles and riddles in the room to escape. You have 45 minutes and 1 hint, but if you want to stay longer you can pay $4 each and then you get unlimited hints. We paid the $4. We only ended up needing 2 hints and overall it was a pretty interesting experience. 

Then it was off to dinner at this place called Bar Forte which I had seen once on Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives. It is a European restaurant and we got a Bulgarian sausage platter (phenomenal) and some Russian dumplings (also excellent). In fact the food was so good we had almost woofed down the entire plate of food before I remembered I wanted to take a picture. Here is the one sausage that remained and an empty dumpling plate. 

Then we went to our favorite Las Vegas bar - The Chandelier bar! It's a bar inside of a giant chandelier at Cosmo and they have the coolest funkiest drinks in town (in my opinion). We started off with these cocktails that are accompanied with a szcheuan button which is a flower that when eaten takes your mouth on an insane roller coaster. To give you an idea it kind of feels like you licked a battery, and then your mouth intensely salivates for a few minutes, and somehow you feel like things taste both sweet and salty simultaneously. It's better than it sounds - I promise. Then we went upstairs to the third floor of the chandelier bar where I had a lemon poppy seed cake drink that had this amazing cream cheese business on top. 

Next it was over to the Sugar Factory (where I had a groupon for $50 worth of stuff) where we got a delicious goblet of booze and a few appetizers. Tots are my not so secret heaven so they were a must. 

Then it was back to the room to enjoy our balcony and cuddle while overlooking the bustling city. A perfect last night in Vegas. While we sat on the balcony I couldn't stop smiling. Some days you know how lucky you are and tucked under my husband's arm in that way that always makes me feel like we were made to fit together, I knew there would be moments from this trip I rembembered forever. Moments I tell our kids about and dream of when I am stuck in the rat race (which is a literal rat race for me). And right there on that balcony looking out at all the gorgeous twinkling lights without  a care in the world, I knew I would not soon forget it. 

In the morning it was go time. I ran a few miles on the strip, and we set off for California! Our road trip was sponsored by Serial. Devin had never listened to it before and since we often have a hard time deciding on music choices it seemed perfect. He's hooked and I'm certain by the time we are at our final designation of San Francsico we will be done with the saga. 

We are spending a lot of time in the car on this trip but it's wonderful. We love taking in new landscapes, letting our eyes feast on all the vistas we have yet to encounter. The hills, trees, desert - it all looks so different from home and somehow reminds us that this is an adventure. This is the start of something big, our lives as a pair. There are so many things we have yet to experience but from here on out we are committed to experiencing them together. Good and bad. 

When we got into LA we went to the Getty and spending a couple hours there, where we got some great pictures that are unfortunately all on my camera and thus not postable, we went to the Queen Mary where we were staying for the evening. Our room was....well, you definitely feel like your on a 1936 cruise ship complete with paper thin walls and barely any outlets. We had dinner at a great place called The Congregation Ale house which was a recommendation from a friend who lives in Long beach. 

Then after hitting a bakery for some dessert (apple pie cheesecake and pb brownie) I fell asleep at 8:50. I apologized forever to Devin for my total lameness. But I'm his wife, and he knows when I am exhausted, so he had no problem letting me drift off to sleep while he channel surfed beside me. Now that's what marriage is all about. 

Day 2. Special Guests.

Given that I went to bed at 11pm on our first night I was up at 5:30am Vegas time and ready to party. The great thing about this city is whenever you are ready to go, it's ready too. It was the perfect lazy morning, I read some of my book, watched Good Morning America, and waited for my body to feel like getting ready for the day. 

We started our day with an Irish coffee and a Bloody Mary, which was great except all my Bloody Mary came with was celery. Are you joking me? I can't get an olive? A pickle? A pepperonchini? Luckily I had some turkey sticks in my purse that I packed in case I needed an emergency snack, so I tossed one of those in there to jazz it up - a lady who brings her own meat to the party is the classiest lady you'll find. 

Then it was time for brunch with a dear college friend of mine Ryan! We did speech together and whenever I travel to Vegas we always catch up. We went to Palms for an awesome meal that consisted of made to order eggs Benedict and breakfast pizza, sushi, smoked salmon, all the best baked goods and street tacos (they were so good I had two despite my stomachs claims to be full). It was so wonderful to catch up and hear all about Ryan's Vegas adventures. And then Robin Leach stopped by our table (he knows Ryan) and Devin and I wanted to play it cool so we did not get a picture. 

Then I took another nap because I love naps, and woke up at 5:30 am. 

Then it was off to the strip! We took the bus that runs from Fremont to the strip and it was very convenient. Here's Devin waiting for the bus and clearly very happy to have me photographing him. 

Oh here's a smile I forced out of him. He's happy even when he's frowning, I promise. 

We had dinner reservations at 7 so we got drinks at a place called 3535 (recommended by Ryan) before we went for food. Damn. These drinks were phenomenal. This is a sampler of infused alcohol. There's an espresso infused whiskey, a bacon and ancho infused whiskey, and cookie dough Ingushes cherry cordial liqueur. I took a sip of each one and made a face like I had taken a sip of gasoline. 

Which is why I ordered a peanut butter and chocolate martini that was out of this world. I also got a coconut martini that included banana infused liqueur and rum chata. 

We then ate dinner at a restaurant called Javier's which is in Aria. It was a recommendation from my brother in law and Devin and I love Mexican food so it seemed like a no brainer. First of all we had this appetizer that sounded like a queso dip from the description but was actually a giant plate of melted cheese (thinking thick and melty like the cheese on top of a pizza) with mushrooms and chorizo and spices and amazingness. It came with corn tortillas so we made little cheese roll ups, which were very similar to the kind they have on Taco Bell's dollar 

menu but infinitely better. Like obviously not even in the same ballpark in terms of quality and tastiness but that's the only comparison I have. It was insanely stringy also, which is the best quality of melted cheese. Each spoonful begged not to be separated from the pile and attempting to pull the cheese apart just created longer strings of delightful cheesy heaven. If you can't tell I wanted to dive in for a cheesy swim but let's talk about our meals also. Phenomenal. We both went the seafood route. I did a mix of shrimp and crab enchiladas and Devin did a sampler plate that included a shrimp taco, a lobster enchilada and a seafood stuffed chili relleno. Everything we ordered was bursting with flavor, fresh seafood, and of course more cheese. Expect I was so full from the cheese explosion and brunch that I could only eat half an enchilada. Don't worry, that totally came back to the room. Because when food is amazing not even being a leftover can keep it down. 

Then we made it back to Fremont with overly full tummies and found our way to an arcade bar. 

Devin played a few of the classics. I killed at Tetris and then shockingly I dominated at the fighting games. We played twice and both times I beat Devin and then went on to win 3 rounds against the computer. I've never played an arcade game like that before so it could be luck, or it could be I am a born champion. 

Let's go with the second option.

Then I managed to stay up to an impressively late 11:15 before I told Devin it was my bedtime. The new goal of the trip is to see midnight. We'll see what happens. 

Day 1. Four footballs later.

We've made it to Vegas. Our flight was pleasant except for our seatmate who started off the trip by cat calling a 60 year old flight attendant because he liked her boots. And then proceeded to chat out loud for most of the flight, to no one in particular. Thank god for headphones.  

Two years ago Devin and I took our first trip together to Vegas with my family, so this town here has special meaning for us. On that trip a snow storm kept us from flying back to Chicago on time so we ended up having a bonus day that we spent on Fremont Street, we had such a blast we decided to start the honeymoon right here at the Golden Nugget! 

Step 1 was to find lunch. We ended up at Sam Boyd's where we got a giant hot dog, some fries, and this awesome 99 cent shrimp cocktail which is Cosme family tradition. We also effectively spent $8 on lunch for the both of us which is one thing we love about Fremont St - All the deals!!

Next it was time to get our first of 4 footballs. Oh. The glorious Fremont St footballs. They are essentially a big old football cup filled with a delicious liquor slushie and we always add an extra shot because we're on vacation so why not?

We felt a little sleepy post football so we stocked up on some provisions for the room and reenergized. 

Rested and ready for fun we hit the street. We gambled, ordered 3 more footballs, and people watched to our hearts content. 

These are the faces we make when we are having a blast.

We also tried the new Crown Royale Apple because I love most things apple. It definitely got my seal of approval. Two thumbs up! 

Dinner was at Pizza Rock which is just a block off Fremont St. I had read some great things about it and heard they did pizza by the slice which is just our style. We ordered the purple potato (absolutely phenomenal, an olive oil base and a great punch of flavor) and the picante (banana peppers, chorizo, pepperoni, cheese, and so much yumminess!).

After dinner we bounced about Fremont and watched the The Doors light show on the famous canopy of lights. Then I was asleep by 11 pm because I am just that wild. I think Devin stayed up to watch SNL but I can't be sure because having a King bed means I don't know anything that goes on outside of my corner. 

Honeymoon -Let's Do It

6 weeks ago I married the greatest love of my life and today we are finally leaving to celebrate our union! The past 6 weeks have been packed with 2 trips to DC, Thanksgiving, final class projects, and Christmas parties with friends. For the next 11 days though we are abandoning our Midwest lives to travel all along the west coast. We are armed with a "fun-tinerary" I labored over for more hours than I will publically admit and 10 pairs of shoes for every possible occassion. There will be lots of exploring (my plan), some relaxing (Devin's plan), and more cateastrophies than we can count. 

Part of the reason I started this blog was to chronicle all our grand travel adventures. Since Devin and I met we have dreamed of all the places we would go together. Part of what I love about sharing my life with someone is getting to experience new things through his eyes, watching what excites and moves him. I love learning what takes Devin's breath away, what he looks forward to when he wakes up in the morning, and what foods are so good he will continue to rave about them days and weeks later.

Amongst everything else I love about this man sitting next to me, I love his willingness to follow me around the country. Jumping in with both feet and hoping for the best. He balances out my obsessive need to plan out everyday, and is slowly teaching me to go with the flow (which I did not pencil into the itinerary). So let's do it - West Coast here we come! 

"I could go anywhere with you and I'd probably be happy." -Bright Eyes

The Lost Art of Reading

When I say the art of reading has been lost, I mean mostly on me. The rest of you have all been plowing through books like champs - good for you! You should be proud. I have to admit that it has been far too long since I've had a good reading year - like before college long. I've read books along the way, but rarely, and often not to completion.

So a few weeks ago I decided to put an end to this dry spell! To do so though, I had to go to the library and pay the $34.90 in fines that has accumulated on my account. It's definitely the most money I have ever given to a library and I can't even be mad. When I first got my Iowa City library card I was so excited I checked out a ton of books, read none of them, and then waited 6 weeks to bring them back. So, I think we can all agree the fine was justified. I am really thankful though because the library is so much more high tech than it used to be when I was a kid and I was able to pay the fine using a self-checkout kiosk, which saved me the massive embarrassment of having to hand a librarian my credit card to pay off my insane debt.

When I was a kid I was obsessed with the library. I would try to check out so many books that my dad would tell me to put some back and remind me that we would be back in just a few days for more. I signed up for every program the library offered for kids and was on a first name basis with the librarians. The library was my jam! Then somewhere around college I got too busy for books, which is such a sad excuse but actually kind of legit. It wasn't like I just turned my attention to Netflix. In fact during those college years, I hardly watched any TV....expect for a few marathons of desperate housewives. I just never thought to make reading a priority, and now in grad school I always feel guilty reading for pleasure because I should be reading for science. But scientific writing, while it feeds my brain, does not feed my soul. So in an act of self-improvement I am returning to the land of books which I once considered my own personal playground.

I am hoping this blog can also be used to share some of my thoughts on these books, in case you too are attempting to read more often.

Here are my current reads:

This was pretty interesting. The problem I had was that the story does not really unfold the way they would have you believe. I mean right there on the cover it says unlocking secrets, and I'll let you know that secrets were not unlocked until the very end of this book. Also, I wish there had been more about his traumatic brain injury because I am all about the brain, but it was still pretty interesting. Super dark, but insightful in a way.

This book was excellent! I really loved it. It was a short read and written in the style of a dictionary, but tells the story of a modern day couple. Beautiful and clever writing. If you enjoy the intricacies of word meanings, you will enjoy the word porn that is this novel.

Music Update: here's a great tune we've been listening to around our house lately. This is Benjamin Booker. My husband was playing this the other night during one of his dance parties for one,  that quickly became a dance party for two, and I have to say while a lot of Devin's music is not to my liking - I am quite fond of this song! It is a wonderful song to dance around the living room too (if you are into that sort of thing) and in my opinion this acoustic version is even better than the original album version.

Enjoy!

Picking a Name

I honestly wanted to start blogging weeks ago, but felt I needed to wait until I had time to invest in a proper blog title. The trouble is this blog isn't intend to be focused on anything in particular. It's not  about food, or a once in a lifetime trip across the world, this blog won't feature pictures of adorable babies doing the cutest things you've ever witnessed, and to be frank we don't even have a dog that I can entertain you with.

It's just us. My husband and I. Living in a two bedroom apartment, with too much stuff (important stuff though, stuff we can't bare to throw away, stuff we claim to love so much that it has found a permanent space in the closet of our guest bedroom) and too much love. Love that makes us optimistic and foolish.

These are the things that currently fill our apartment. Empty cups we plan to take to the sink tomorrow, laundry we pile up with hopes that it will get folded before the next load finishes, movies we plan to watch when there is time, and food we intend to eat prior to the expiration date. Then there are pictures. Pictures linking us to the past. Pictures of places we've been, friends we've known, family we can't live without and moments we can't bear to forget. Tickets stubs to movies we've seen. Paystubs from the hours we spent apart and bills demanding the money from those paystubs. Links to the past, plans for the future, all littering our apartment. Our link to the present though, is sometimes painfully unapparent.

There are days I can't seem to let go of the past, as I use my memory to relive moments I wish had never ended and then there are days I don't stop dreaming about the future. Those things that are right in front of us though, well those are things I sometimes miss.

So, a blog about people (and science, and food, and travel, and love). Which is unremarkable and remarkable all at the same time. Because life seems to be constantly changing, throwing curveballs at us and introducing plot lines we didn't realize we'd be the stars of and you can't just jump into the conflict of a story. You have to provide some rising action.

Oh, and the title? Well, if you know me I am known for my catastrophes and my husband has adorably deemed them Cate-astrophes. Or as he puts it "A constant stream of solvable problems and fixable mistakes."

Right now life is pretty simple, even though we don't always perceive it that way. I have a feeling though, that someday we will look back at this time and remember with smiles how easy it all was, before mortgages and babies who needed us more than we knew was possible, and we'll wonder why we didn't just pick up and leave more often. Explore the world. Stay out till bar close and run through sprinklers at the homes we only dreamed of owning. Why is it we didn't take advantage of the freedom? We'll wonder what the answer is, and this will remind us: because we were always enough. Wherever we were. We were enough.