RagsReborn's first year

My booth set up at the Holiday Handmade Show.

I survived my first year!! It's actually been over a year since my Etsy shop's anniversary date is November 16, 2014. And I conceptualized RagsReborn a few months before I opened the Etsy shop. But I'm just gonna say 2014 doesn't really count and go with 2015 as my first year.

Before I do my self reflection and year end wrap up, I would like to tell you about my wonderful experience at the Holiday Handmade Show held at The Crown Center church in Moore, OK.               Everything worked...
       the staff was extremely helpful (huge shout out to Debbie and her family! P.S. all of your grandchildren are adorable!),
  the other vendors were nice (and had handmade items),
       my sales were good (great, actually...cha-ching!)
  and I saw some familiar faces -- thanks to Lacey & her mom and my coworker, Deb, for coming out!

Two things that stood out for me at this show was -

       1. The event organizer and her family: the show wasn't particularly organized but what they lacked in preparedness, they made up for in willingness to help. Each and every member of the event organizer's family (I think they are a prominent family in the church) interacted with me throughout the day. I had help unloading my car both Friday night at set-up and Saturday morning day-of-show, setting up my booth and getting chairs from church storage. Everyone stopped to shop and chit chat with me at my booth. I felt welcomed even though I was not a member of the church. The grandchildren helped me work on Christmas presents that I had brought to sew for my friends & family. I even got to babysit one of the grandchildren's pet cricket! 

           At the end of the day, I thanked Debbie for having me and she invited me back to the spring show. I have met many nice people at craft shows but I think she was the best.

       2. The parking arrangement: this sounds silly but it made a HUGE difference. People actually used the porte cochere properly. (I had to Google the proper word for this but it's basically the valet parking drive thru thing in front of buildings.) Usually, people park all crazy and have no regard for other vendors when they are unloading/reloading for a craft show.

            Everyone at The Crown Center was so polite!! The cars parallel parked behind each other and took turns pulling up to the front entrance. Everyone left enough space in between the cars, too. If there was no room to park in the port cochere, cars parked in the parking lot and waited until there was an opening to pull up. This sounds like common sense but all the other craft shows I participated in did NOT operate like this. The most surprising thing (Wes witnessed this when he came to help me pack up) was that a car drove in the wrong way but instead of just parking incorrectly, he backed up, drove around and entered the correct way. I wish I could have witnessed it myself. I think that one act alone would have been enough to restore my faith in humanity. LOL 

Okay...back to "RagsReborn's first year." I have made 18 sales on Etsy!  That is a big deal to me. I was only expecting a few, if any, Etsy sales since my main focus is craft shows (coming to you direct: live and in person!!). I am terrible at social media (more on that later) so I didn't think my Etsy shop would receive any sales at all. I'm going to deem this first year a success (^_^) But, I have only received 3 reviews. How do I get more people to review my products? I'm not even asking for just good reviews. I want any sort of feedback. 

$$$$$ I haven't "crunched the numbers" (as Wes likes to say) but I think my books look good. I am not sure if I made a profit but I'm pretty sure I at least broke even. I sorta keep tabs on costs for craft shows and aim to recuperate my booth rental fee and whatever other costs I have figured. I did seven shows this year and I only lost money on three. That's less than half!! $$$$$

       To me, sales or no sales, just being in seven shows is a win. My very first show was the Indie Trunk Show in May. Then, I gave myself a really ambitious November schedule (three shows in a row!) and I made it. I am now a pro at packing/unpacking my car (well, technically Wes is the expert since he does the packing/unpacking) & booth set up. I have come out of my shell to interact with customers. I have sold a good amount at each show and I have done a couple of custom orders that I am really proud of. I also made a business transaction. 

If you like RPGs and intense board games, check this place out! It's in Norman, OK. 

An old college friend also realized his dream and opened up a board game cafe with a few of his buddies. (2015...the year of dreams!) To further the "local helping local" cause, he agreed to let me outfit his store with RagsReborn pillows!! I've decided that my favorite things to sew are custom order pillows. I get to be a little more creative and I feel like they're more important than a regular t-shirt pillow. Maybe 'important' isn't the right word... a custom order pillow carries more sentiment for the buyer and I really enjoy seeing the look on people's faces when I deliver the finished product.

Now for my only complaint... I completely suck at social media! *insert angry face emoji!* I learned how to use Instagram and Facebook just this year (and for the sole purpose of furthering RagsReborn). I wasn't expecting tons of followers but I'm a little disappointed with what I have now. 

       I only have 64 Instagram followers and 73 Facebook likes. I know people who get that many likes per hour. I only have that many in an entire year. How do I increase these numbers??? Someone help me!! Someone pretty please "friend" and "follow" me! I post good pictures, I do status updates, I blog regularly... how do I get people to notice these things? I'm not outgoing or popular in real life and I think, unfortunately, that is affecting my social media presence. But I don't know how to fix it. I was in a young professionals group for networking but I kinda stopped going. It's just not my personality to be an extrovert. So I am calling out to you... please check out my Facebook page and Instagram account. And if you buy a pillow off Etsy, please leave a review.

This is how I blog... on the couch in my most comfortable and unflattering clothes with dogs on my lap and my lap top on the ottoman (my "ottoman top"??)

And finally a tremendous THANK YOU to anyone who has looked at any of my social media platforms, came out to a show, bought a pillow, had me sew a custom order and just said "Hey, great job!!" You guys are the best!! 

             

It's Erica's birthday!

I have officially lived my 30th year of life and am now onto the 31st. Everyone always makes such a fuss about the big 3-0. There are millions of lists proclaiming things to do before you hit 30, things to stop doing before you hit 30 and things to do while you're 30. (We'll visit these lists in a second.) I always thought these "big years" were just overly hyped up... I mean, nothing exciting happened when I turned 16 or 21. I just got older, the earth revolved and life went on. But surprisingly, 2015 has been rather significant. 

       It started with the passing of my first ever pet - R.I.P Kensington, then I got engaged and married twice (to the same man), 

                       I got a tattoo and dyed my hair a crazy color for the first time-- yes, the FIRST time; I am the world's latest bloomer. Look me up in the record books... "Erica Ngo: World's Latest Bloomer", 

     I "dreamed big" (oh, the cheesy catch phrases!) by starting my own business and I finally accepted & embraced issues with my health.  

I'd say that year thirty has been quite the adventure.

Shout out to @beatinfertility for having this inspirational picture on Instagram that I'm totally stealing and using for my blog!

Before I started this blog entry, I wanted to do some research... what exactly is a 30 year supposed to be doing with their life? I've never been similar to my peers but no matter how different we all are, everyone will come across the same doubts and fears as we move into adulthood. Along with these doubts & fears, we all try to create bucket lists for ourselves. Let's see what the Internet thinks our bucket lists should look like--

I'm fabulous because I don't do many of the things that BuzzFeed thinks is bad for 30-year-olds.

First off, let's explore things that I should no longer be doing: http://www.buzzfeed.com/shannonrosenberg/unhealthy-living-habits#.qj65WmXpx

       I'm safe here; being the World's Latest Bloomer, I never really even picked up half of these habits. The only ones I still obsess over are #8 (mostly at craft shows when I see all the vendors around me doing so much better than I am. *screams & cries* "Why does no one like my pillows!!!"), #15 because I love to sleep & #18 because, really, who really stops doing this? 

Living your dreams and pursuing your goals came up a lot on these lists. I am proud to say that I can check that off because I have RagsReborn---my life, my breath and my soul!

Now that I've kicked all my bad habits, let's see what I'm supposed to have achieved. I picked the top two websites on my Google search. 

       http://www.businessinsider.com/things-to-do-before-youre-30-2014-6

Whoa, whoa, WHOA... "Go bungee jumping or skydiving," "Climb a mountain ," "Learn to bar tend," "Go scuba diving." I can't do any of these things. I can't even swim!! Plus, none of these things interest me. Next list, please.

       http://lifestyle.allwomenstalk.com/awesome-things-to-do-before-you-turn-30

This list seems more realistic. I have accomplished about half of the things described on the list. Woo hoo, go Erica!! 

* I've traveled to Paris (not as this author described... I went with family when I was 10.) 

* I've turned my hobby into my dream job (that should count as "working at my dream job"). 

* I was a member of a young professionals group who did volunteer work and I have various charities as my life insurance beneficiaries. 

* I took a road trip this year! And have fallen in love. <3 (Since my road trip was with my husband, I decided to mark these off the list as one item.)

* I have traveled solo and am on my third passport (the damn things keep expiring!!)

* I've taken several "how to" classes, read some of the classics, watched plenty of "must see movies," learned a plethora of DIY crafts and have met many new & interesting people throughout my lifetime.

* I haven't written a book but I've written a blog...does that count?

* I got a tattoo & have ridden on a motorcycle.

* I've always lived pretty healthily and I love exotic foods!

* I've seen my favorite band (Goo Goo Dolls!!!!) and a Broadway show (I saw Cabaret in Madrid...maybe that doesn't really count as "Broadway.") 

This picture goes with the last section of this paragraph... the "be content with what you have and stop pitying yourself" part.

Last one... what should I be doing now that I am in my thrities? http://distractify.com/old-school/2015/04/22/smart-things-to-do-at-30-1197892772

       After reading this list, I feel pretty good about my future 50 year old self. I do almost all of these things already. :) There are only a few that I need to get myself into gear on. 

       I was exercising on the regular but don't as much anymore. I'll add this to the list of New Year's resolutions. And I MUST "learn to be content with what I have." I live a pretty good life but there a lot of things that people my age have and talk about that I will never experience. That is when the suicidal pessimistic loner version of me comes out. "Stop being suicidal pessimistic loner Erica" will also be added to the list of New Year's resolutions. The last thing that keeps coming up on all these lists and will definitely be a part of the resolutions is "become a homeowner". 

These lists are all pretty generic and I agree with a lot of their points but we each live our own special and unique lives so I have made a list of my own. The top three things that I am most proud of achieving in my thirtieth year are:

     1. I found my best friend, my other half, my soul mate and all that other mushy titles that I'm supposed to use when referring to my husband. I love being married. It wasn't something that was on my bucket list but now that I am married, I wouldn't have it any other way.

     2. I "discovered who I am." It sounds so cliche but I think I finally accepted myself as a person (Who Erica is-- "I'm a fiercely independent weirdo who can't whip or nae nae, who loves dogs and doesn't like crowds and only has about 3 or 4 friends but having any more would be too stressful so I've stopped trying to make new friends which makes me come off as really socially awkward."). I let a lot of my former friends go and focused on what made me happy. I joined a book club, attend numerous craft shows, and finally stand up for myself at work (much to my boss' dismay).

     3. I discovered some health problems but instead of dwelling on it, I sought medical attention and accepted my infertility with pride. I'm actually working on a stand up routine... here are my first two jokes:

How infertile is she?

     Having sex with Erica is the number one form of birth control!

How infertile is she?

     Inspirational posters have a disclaimer made just for me!

Okay, so maybe the stand up was a bad idea. LOL Endometriosis sucks big time and I'm still a little sad and bitter (anyone infertile who says that that aren't is a liar) but I think I'm mostly okay. I have my fur babies, Sadie & Athena, and of course, I have my craft shows. 

All in all, year 30 was quite great. The pros outweighed the cons. Husband, thriving Etsy shop/craft show/small business & new puppy. Happy birthday to me and I look forward to year 40!

Erica's last craft show of 2015

The Holiday Season for RagsReborn's craft shows is coming to a close...three shows under my belt with only one more to go before the year's end. It'll be this weekend, Saturday December 12th, 2015.

       **For those of you who can't come support RagsReborn at shows, I am also having a sale on Etsy (www.etsy.com/shop/RagsRebornGifts). All of my tote bags have been marked down to $8 for your holiday shopping convenience.**      

       Please come out to the Holiday Handmade Show at The Crown Center. It's a handmade show so you know it'll be a good one with lots of local talent. It'll be great to see everyone and close out the year by selling out of pillows.

I've been posting about my shows and experiences on social media (have you started following @ragsreborngifts on Instagram, yet?) but I guess I haven't formally blogged about how things are going. So here it is... laid out as unbiased as possible...other vendors take note if you're interested in participating in any of these shows next year.

The Craft and Vendor Fair at Triumph Family Worship:

Hands down this was the most fun show I have ever done. Even if my sales tanked, I would still say this was my greatest experience. (Luckily, I had the best sales of the year at this show!) From beginning to end, the church staff & event organizers went above and beyond to support the vendors. I will definitely be applying for this show again next year. I don't have any negative feedback on this show. Only good--

     1. This was the only show where the staff thanked me for participating. The church (Triumph Family Worship... if you need a flock, I would recommend joining this one) recognized that the vendors and crafters are talented & have something to offer and we were sharing our time & talent with them. It was like the show needed us instead of the other way around. I'm not saying I don't need shows (because I do... so if you're an event coordinator reading this, please don't reject my upcoming application) but it's nice to feel appreciated once in a while.

     2. Information was distributed to vendors early on (about a month before the show) and again the week of the show. Then as you arrived at vendor check in, a last minute check list was given. It was the same information packet over and over again but I liked the fact that it was available. I didn't have to ask what time set up was and if wi-fi would be available. I knew well in advance so I could plan appropriately and if I happened to forget, I was given at least two reminders. 

     3. The staff was great! I guess it's because the parishioners were helping their community. This wasn't a show where they were out to make money (the booth fee was only $20!) It was a church and they just wanted to put on a show & have a good time. Everything was reasonably priced, from the rent fee to the concessions to the items other vendors sold. (My mom bought a pretty large scented jar candle for only $3!) Everyone came by each other's booths and everyone was super friendly. I met a lot of other vendors and probably the entire population of the church. And to top it all off, everyone wanted to buy a pillow (^_^)

PC West Fest at Putnam City West High School:

This personally was the worst show I have ever done. I sew both pillows made from upcycled t-shirts and totes decorated with gently used t-shirts. I have brought both pillows and totes to my shows and no one gives the totes the time of day. I figured that it is because my main display is pillows and totes just get set aside in the corner. It's not that people don't want to buy them; they just can't see them. (Being my own biggest fan, I refused to acknowledge that maybe people just hate totes and I should stop making them.) To test this theory, I brought only totes to this show. And with that, I had to stop being in denial... my totes suck. I was there from 10am - 4pm and only sold 3 totes. Ugh. But that wasn't the show's fault. I know of at least two vendors who were boasting of high sales. 

PROS-

       1. The president of the Putnam City West Foundation (the event coordinators) was very nice & helpful. He was the only one of his staff who wanted to look out for the vendors. Kudos to Richard!

       2. The vendors weren't monitored very well. This can be both good and bad, but for me, this time I liked the freedom. The staff was barely present. I didn't like the fact that I couldn't get help when I needed it in the beginning but as the day wore on, I enjoyed being able to do as I pleased. I'm not usually a rule breaker but I used electricity even though I didn't sign up for it on my application, I used a little extra space for my booth (the booth assignments weren't marked off with tape or chalk), no one cared about collecting taxes and a lot of people started tearing down early (although I stayed the entire time). These are normally rules vendors have to follow and if you don't, the show runners get mad at you. But, these people just did not care. I think the mentality was once you signed in, you were pretty much on your own to do whatever you wanted. 

CONS-

       1. The show was tiny. TINY! I think there was less than 25 vendors there. I expected a small show but not this small. I'd reckon there were only 18 vendors. And over half of them were direct sale (Avon, Scentsy, etc.) so in terms of crafters, there were only about 5 or 6 of us. I was the last booth and literally one out of every three shoppers looked around after seeing my booth and commented, "Wow, is that it? Really...no more booths?" 

       2. A lot of the vendors were just out for themselves. I don't think this is necessarily the show's fault (unless they purposefully selected jerks to participate in their show) but this is just a personal complaint of mine. My neighbor (a caricaturist) commented that this show was one of the most un-supportive he's done and he's been in business for six years. After talking to John a bit, I realized he was a pessimist who just liked to complain so I couldn't believe everything he said but I do agree with this. 

     Wes had to work on the day of this show so I did the entire set up of my booth by myself. I passed by a lot of people who asked if I needed help and when I started to say yes, they went on about what they were doing instead of actually stopping to help me. I made 3 trips to & from my car before the husband of a jewelry vendor actually got up to accompany me to unload. The event staff was at the sign in table chit chatting away and didn't even get up to open the door for me as I walked in with both hands full. 

     A vendor came up to John and myself and asked how our sales were going. When we told her not so well, she boasted about her sales (she actually gloated like a little kid who just beat up her younger sister). I have never had this happen. I'm not saying everyone should be nice and hold hands around the campfire but we are all vendors in this community together and that woman was just plain rude. 

       3. There was a personal emergency within the Friends of Putnam City West Foundation staff. This emergency hurt the show's organization & marketing. The president of the organization personally apologized to all of the vendors for this unplanned mishap but nothing was done to remedy it. Advertising was minimal and general vendor information was not given. I had to email the show a few days prior to ask if it was cancelled because I hadn't heard anything. 

YMCA Arts & Crafts Fair at Earlywine YMCA:

This was another good show. My sales weren't as good as the Triumph Family Worship show but I still had a really good day. The YMCA staff was friendly and helpful. I met some new vendors and saw a couple of my old buddies from previous shows. My only complaint is that there was a lot of direct sale vendors and the show was advertised as a "craft show." I was sandwiched between Essential Oils and Zurvita Zeal for Life. A couple of things I really liked about the show:

       1. The booth layout was really clean. It was held in the basketball court at the YMCA. It was a big space but it wasn't jam packed with vendors. The show only accepted 30 participants. There were vendors along all four walls and a couple in the middle. There was enough there for variety of products but not too much to where it was overwhelming. There was plenty of space to walk through with clear aisles and pathways. 

            This made it feel like the event organizers were out to select the best vendors that fit their show instead of accepting as many vendors as possible just to rack up on the booth rent fee. We had enough space to properly display our items and the shoppers could navigate through all the different the booths with ease.

       2. It was at the YMCA... great location!! Everyone who was coming in to work out also got a chance to stop by the show. Many of the people weren't buying but I still got A LOT of traffic. The show stayed busy all day. Literally, all day... it started at 9am and there was a constant flow of people all the way until 3pm. No one packed up early because there were still shoppers. I believe the final count was 605 people (they had a volunteer sitting at the door with one of those clicker counting things). 

           I think next year I will try to find more craft shows being held at local YMCA chapters. 

       The Earlywine YMCA can't be the only one who does an annual craft show, right?? (If you know of any Oklahoma YMCA's that host craft shows, please let me know). 

          My booth rent is going toward a good cause and I felt like I was really taken care of as a vendor. Plus, all the shoppers were in a great mood. :D You know how studies say that exercising releases endorphin? ... I think that since everyone was going to the craft show directly after working out, they were happy & excited and in a mood to shop & socialize. Their attitude kept my spirits up all day and even if I wasn't making a sale, it was still nice to see crowds of smiling faces throughout the day.

Bought a pair of earrings right before closing time. I didn't even get a chance to grab the woman's business card because it was 3:05pm and I was her last customer.

So all in all, I think I've done well thus far.  (Fingers crossed for continued success this weekend!) There's always room for improvement but I'm happy with my show experience. There were three other shows that I wanted to participate in on  same the days as my November shows  but I cannot be in two places at once. 

       The Central Presbyterian Church's Christmas Bazaar and Church of the Servant's Earth Glow Market were also on November 14th. I heard that Earth Glow was a good one so I will definitely be applying next year. 

       The Santa Market in Edmond was on November 21st; that is a huge show that is well known amongst the vendor community. I applied but got wait-listed. Oh well, there's always next year. 

       I thought about doing OKC Flea at the Centennial Building at the fairgrounds for their December show but I changed my mind. It's too close to Christmas and I think I've already worn myself too thin trying to do these four shows. I could do another one but I think I should probably rest and sit this one out. I will be going as a shopper to check it out because I know they have spring and summer shows, too. There's always next year! If you know of any good craft shows to participate in, please let me know. I am always looking for shows in and around the metro Oklahoma City area. 

A huge thanks to everyone who came out to support me this year!! And if you haven't had a chance to come out to see RagsReborn, there is still time. The Handmade Show at The Crown Center is this Saturday!! Pillows galore and they are all good ones!

Erica made an infinity wrap last year.

I've only sewn a couple pieces of clothing...my most impressive being a skirt -- read about that here. I usually just hem up pants and skirts (because being short blows) and mend holes in clothes. I would like to start sewing actual articles of clothing but I haven't had much time. My mom sewed all of my clothes from birth until about 6th or 7th grade. At the time I hated it because it made me stand out even more as "the weird sheltered Chinese girl" but looking back at old pictures, I now see that I had some pretty bitchin' outfits. Popular kids and bullies be damned. I wish I still had a homemade wardrobe but I sadly have not been able to wear or make any more Ngo creations.  

I made this "Bina Brianca" infinity wrap last autumn but never got around to blogging about it (I think I started it the night I made the wrap but never finished it). It's getting chilly now and I'm wearing it again so I thought, "Hey, what a great time to bring this blog entry back out!" 

I saw the wrap online and kinda stole the idea but homemade infinity wraps are everywhere so I'm not the only one ripping off the Brianca company. It took a ridiculously long time to make because I took a really long time to measure the cloth properly but it's a really easy project. It literally can be done in two steps. 

After reading chapters about my honeymoon vacation, you guys need a break. So here's a short and sweet (and easy!) tutorial for this week.

INFINITY WRAP TUTORIAL:

     Materials needed- cloth (preferably jersey or something "flowy"), scissors, tape measure, sewing machine, pins

1. Section out your cloth into three pieces. 

     One for the middle (back) and two for the sides. 

     The middle piece should measure four times your body width (aka you can wrap it around yourself 4x). 

     Each of the two side pieces should be half the size of the middle. So, each side piece should be able to wrap around your body twice. 

After this is all measured, cut the cloth into the three sections.

2. Now you will pin the pieces back together (yeah, it sounds a little silly since we just cut them all apart).

     Before doing this, I folded & sewed a hem along the inner edges of each piece of cloth to keep it from fraying in the future. After you have your hems sewn, pin the two side pieces to the middle piece.

Sew each side piece onto the middle piece from the top to about a third into the middle, then sew from the bottom until about a third into the middle. 

     You're basically sewing it back together and leaving ample room for arm holes.

As promised, done in two steps. There are infinite ways to wear the wrap (see what I did there?) and you can google them all but I mostly like to wear mine as either a scarf or a shawl. Keep warm and happy late Thanksgiving!

Old Town Albuquerque, SoZo Coffee & a visit to the Boynes

Erica & Wes' belated honeymoon road trip, part 4 -
       TEMPE, AZ & ALBUQUERQUE, NM

I've tried to kiss this dog in every picture but she refuses to kiss me back!

The last installment of my travel journal is here!

Late night arrival

We arrived at my cousin, Dianne's, house late Saturday night.  I've visited her every year since she & her family moved from Oklahoma to Arizona and this is the second year that Wes & I have visited together. Dianne is awesome. She was the one to buy me a prom dress when I was the most unpopular kid in my class and didn't even think about going to the prom. She always brought Trevor (then only a baby) over to play and he was the only one who could get my dad up and smiling when he was very ill. Her two boys, Trevor & Andrew, are the only two kids I've actually loved for their entire lives (sorry to all my friends with kids).

It was too late to really hang out when we arrived in Tempe so we all just chatted a bit (thanks to Wes & Andrew, I learned the true definition of a box and that my laundry container is really not a box) and went to bed. The next morning, we had lunch at Red Robin and then spent the rest of the afternoon playing games with the boys. Sadly, I am horrible at board games. We played Gloom (a Christmas present from me a few years back), Risk & 4 player Connect4 and I came in at a dismal last place each time.

Risk lasted almost 5 hours. How is that even possible?

Playing games with Trevor & Andrew was a lot of fun even though strategy board games aren't a usual hobby of mine. I've known them since birth and it's always interesting to see how they've grown & changed each year when I visit them. I fear for the day that they're too cool to want to spend a weekend with me. (;_;) We had pizza for dinner and left at the boys' bedtime. It was a school night after all.

We spent the night at my friend, Christine's. I met Christine several years ago through another cousin of mine. I've also been visiting her and her husband each year for about 7 years now (convenient how everyone is located in Arizona). I told her that Wes was a huge coffee aficionado so she took us to her favorite coffee shop Monday morning.

I had a Thai chai. It tasted like a Thai tea with some chai tea spices.

SoZo coffee is all about local art and artists. If I lived in Tempe, I would be there every morning for my cup of joe. There was local art on the walls and they have free independent movie screenings each Monday night and a stage for nightly performances (live bands, acoustic sets and poetry readings!) Christine's piano students' recital was scheduled to be at SoZo that upcoming weekend. Feeling the artist love, I placed a RagsReborn card on their community board.

Then it was lunch time. Christine took us here last year and I should have remembered how big the sandwiches were but I didn't so I got a full sandwich instead of a half. It was so much food. And it's so so good so I wanted to eat it all. But in the end, I struggled and had to give up that last few bites of my sandwich. Forefather's has the best Philly cheese steaks that I've ever had!

I got cilantro jalapeno ranch on mine! 

Our last destination was Albuquerque, NM. I wasn't sure what was there but a friend I used to know almost moved there and recommended that I visit if I ever got the chance. We stayed at the Best Western Rio Grande Inn. Wes booked the hotel so I can't leave a review (unless I steal his user identity, hehehe) so I will leave a review on my blog.
       It was the best hotel we stayed in our entire trip. Even better than the fancy Las Vegas hotel! The room was clean & had signs everywhere boasting of their environmental friendliness and pleas for patrons to do their part. The hotel did its best to not waste water and electricity. Our room had a fridge but no microwave (which was odd because they usually come in a pair). The only food we had for the night was microwavable Easy Mac. I called the front desk and asked if there was a microwave I could use (thinking it was in some sort of community kitchen area by the lobby) but instead, the front desk sent a microwave to our room and had it installed for us! The guy who brought it up was super friendly, too. Not often do you encounter friendly hotel service at 11pm.

And I got a towel folded into a chicken.

While in Albuquerque, I decided on a trip to Old Town. Old Town consisted of a plaza, church and tons of gift shops. It reminded me of the small town I studied abroad in while in Spain. It was modeled after old Spanish towns so I guess that shouldn't have been a surprise. I had to pay for parking (which I hate) so we only paid for an hour but ended up staying for two. Luckily, the meter maids weren't very diligent in their patrols. I could have walked around the plaza and went into each and every gift shop (so many neat things!) but we left in the middle of the afternoon. They had a set of street performers who played movie soundtracks on the wooden flute and other Native American instruments. Wes recognized the score from the Karate Kid II. 

 The gazebo at the center of the plaza. Essential for every town square.

 The Catholic church; San Felipe, I think it was. The first adobe Catholic church I've ever seen.

 Rectory and church courtyards.

One of the many gift shops. Wes bought souvenirs for friends and a necklace for me. I once again sucked at shopping and gift giving.

Before we left, we dined at Sadie's. It's a local chain that is known for its super spicy chili and generous portions. The food was definitely spicy and the plates were loaded. It was pretty darn delicious. :)

I got the taco and Wes got the tamale. Both came with beans and smothered potatoes. 

Somehow, we both got sick on the last day of our trip. Maybe it was the change in altitude or just being in the desert for a week. Whatever it was, we were ready to be home. With sore throats and headaches, we drove home and were back by Wednesday. It was really nice to have the extra days to just stay at home and relax. Originally, I wanted our trip to last the full two weeks but I'm glad we got back early to recover. And we got to see the pups a few days sooner than expected. Athena has doubled in size!

The puppy is almost as big as Sadie is now!!

Erica & Wes do Las Vegas!

Erica & Wes' belated honeymoon road trip, part 3 -

     BOULDER CITY, NV & LAS VEGAS, NV

My neck. My back. My Netflix. My snacks. (Even though I like Hulu more.)

Before venturing into Las Vegas, we made two impromptu stops. One was to the Hoover Dam and the other was to an alpaca store in Boulder City, NV (the world's largest alpaca store, to be exact). The Hoover Dam was damn impressive. Hahaha...puns. We wanted an alpaca from Alpaca Imports but they were over priced and we really had no place to display it at home. What does one do with a stuffed alpaca?

Then came the main part of our road trip... Las Vegas! \(^_^)/ We stayed at the MGM Grand and saw a different show each night. They were all really really good. It's hard to pick a favorite. 

Our home for the next few days.

Wednesday: Arrival and Ka. 

I couldn't find a good souvenir at the gift shop so I just took a promotional picture. 

We gorged ourselves at the buffet and saw a sign for BOGO Ka (a Cirque Du Soleil performance) tickets. If you purchase one ticket at regular price, the second one was only $10. How do you not take advantage of a deal like that??!? The show was amazing. It was Wes' favorite of all their shows. It was the story of a prince & princess (royal twins) who are attacked by a villain who wants to abuse gunpowder. The twins get separated and they go on crazy adventures before reuniting and having a double wedding (they each fall in love along the way). My favorite act was a trapeze type act on a vertical floor.

Everyone was taking pictures when the show ended. (They had some good display props, costumes and artwork.) We came across a group of young female tourists who asked for me to take their picture. I took a few and became the best photographer ever. LOL They were so excited to return the favor and took several pictures of me & Wes with my phone. As we walked away, they all shouted out their thanks to me and proclaimed that I was #1. I think they maybe had been drinking just a tad. Hahaha!

Thursday: My favorite day <3

Korean BBQ for lunch.

We started the day with lunch with my uncle. I called and told him we'd be in town and he asked what type of food we liked. Korean is one of Wes' favorite cuisines so we all met up at Sura. My uncle was their first customer when the restaurant opened. We ate for hours (he kept telling us to take our time and get more food) until we felt like we were going to burst.

Wee Kirk O'the Heather

After lunch, we went to get married... again! We had a renewal of vows ceremony at the Wee Kirk O'the Heather chapel. We had an Elvis impersonator officiant (because Las Vegas, right?)  This was the absolute best part of our trip for me. I wish I could show you pictures but they didn't allow photography inside and our photo order hasn't come back, yet. You can see the pictures at www.weekirk-photo-lab.smugmug.com/ Click wes_erica. We have both candid and posed pictures. 

Our Elvis was hilarious. He was super nice in person and a ham of a performer. He had "Elvis vows" for us to recite and act out. I could see him out of the corner of my eye gyrating his hips away and then he made Wes do the moves. I couldn't stop laughing. Oh, and the lady at the front desk asked how long we've been married before renewing our vows so we told her five and a half months. Elvis remembered to throw that in throughout the ceremony. Five and a half months!  Five and a half months! We were the happiest re-newlyweds. 

That night we saw another Cirque Du Soleil performance, Zarkana. It was a traditional circus type show. The premise centered around the legend that theaters have to leave one light on at night so the ghosts of the theater can come out to play. There were all sort of circus acts ranging from tight ropes, sand art, human balancing pyramids, and hand ropes (my favorite). I enjoyed all of the acts --they were all crazy impressive-- but wish there was a story to tie it all together. Sadly, the theater didn't have any cool displays and there were no giggly tourists for me to be a photographer for. So we just left after the show.

Hand rope performance. They allowed non-flash photography.

After the show, we walked around the strip a bit and caught the dancing fountains at the Bellaigo. Then we called it a night. 

Friday: Sharkreef at Mandalay Bay and David Copperfield... DAVID COPPERFIELD!!

I got to pet some sting rays and blue horseshoe crabs.

We walked what looked like a short distance to Mandalay Bay (it was NOT a short distance and we took the tram on the way back) and toured the aquarium. The aquarium was neat but I think we've been spoiled by the one in Sydney and nothing else compares. I'm not sure what we did after the aquarium. I think we went back to the hotel and I took a nap. Yeah, that sounds like me. 

That night, we saw David Copperfield. David freakin' Copperfield!! I have seen all of his live TV specials and I had the biggest crush on him when I was little. He was my favorite celebrity in grade school. This was gonna be awesome. 

The website that I bought our tickets from messed up the ticket dates (don't trust BestofVegas.com) so we got a seat upgrade. We were in the third row!! We shared a table with a couple from Norway. The show was great. He only did a few grand illusions but the audience interaction was what made the show. It was really funny and the audience members he chose were all pretty good, too. I almost got to participate. One of the stagehands came to our table beforehand to ask for a volunteer but it had to be a male. Our table-mate, Christian, got the honors.  His show centered on when David was a child and this dinosaur toy that he had. For the last illusion, he made a life-size dinosaur skeleton appear in this empty box. Oh and he had dancing duck who waddled to Shake your tail feather. 

Saturday: Walkin' the Strip

This was actually just a store at the MGM Grand. We didn't come across the actual sign.

Saturday was our last day and we hadn't gambled or done any shopping. What horrible tourists we were! I won a $5 slot machine voucher from the Lucky Cat at the Cosmopolitan so that's where we went. Wes advised that I play at least $100 because the machine would recognize that I put a large bill in and then it would pay out more but I was cheap and only put in $1 (you had to put in a bill in order to use the voucher). We wandered around the casino to find the perfect machine for me to spend my grand $6 on. I played the Big Bang Theory machine. I was doing okay at first (got up to $11) but then I lost it all. LOL

 Me winning my voucher a few nights before.

Big Bang Theory!! I'm there with Penny but I'm a bit dark compared to her lit up image. 

After that, we had lunch at Shake Shack--per my cousin, Kent's, advice. Good recommendation; yummy burgers!! Then we went to the Venetian for some shopping. I realized that I hadn't bought any souvenirs!! (I guess shopping isn't my strong suit.) I ended up with a shirt for my mom, another shirt for Mike and nothing for myself. Wes got us a poker chip magnet. I really didn't see anything that I liked. 

Lunch!!

Then that was it. We drove out of Las Vegas in the middle of the afternoon and headed back to Arizona to see more family. Take a break ladies and gents, there will be more to come next week!