Rainy Rambles.

Tuesdays will now be my alliteration days~ wooh hoo, get excited- I am finally committing to a for sure weekly blog post on Tuesdays!

It seems like today I just have a bunch of crap to ramble jamble about so imma get to jambling and you get to......... reading. (Honestly, tried to make it rhyme.. was not happening)  

>> I have been trying a few Pinterest things this week and so far I am satisfied with the outcome. If you are looking for a way to make your home smell a little better, my roommate, Austin pinned this before we moved into our apartment and we finally got around to trying it out.

BudgetSavvyDiva.Com suggest that you put 2 teaspoons of vanilla in a coffee mug and place the coffee mug in your oven at 300 degrees for an hour.  It makes your house smell like a cute little bakery! 

My second Pinterest find, is a teeth whitening home remedy thing. I have been going pretty crazy with the tea and coffee lately and my teeth are not hiding it for me. I went to Target to purchase some sort of whitening kit or strips and then I remembered how broke I am so I went to Pinterest to hopefully find  homemade teeth whitening suggestions- I found this

So I tried it and will try it once a week as suggested; so far I feel like my teeth seem whiter. This was definitely a cheaper investment than white strips or gels. However, my gums did burn just a little bit - haha I don't know if this is a good or bad sign.. we will see in a few weeks when my gums start to deteriorate. 

>> At first, I started this post talking about how rainy days just want to make me cuddle with my little doggie and as I was typing, I tried to refer to Benjy as my little BUBBY- so the sentence read something like " I like to just lay in bed and cuddle my little "bubby" but my computer kept auto-correcting BUBBY to Hubby and I had minor heart attacks every time it changed- So that will be added to the list of "Why Sierra is not ready for marriage" 

Side note:  If I ever write about my future/imaginary/probsnotgunnahappen hubby; please shoot me dead if I  refer to him as my "little" hubby. Or if I refer to him as hubby, period. 

>> This week my soul sister Marissa moves into my apartment for another summer adventure! If you have been following this blog for awhile, you know that the original reason for starting the blog was to share my summer adventure, last summer. 

If you did not read them you can check out some post: And so the adventure begins, Just a Small Town Girl, &  Currently Exploring California 

This summer isn't as uprooting as last summer was; I am staying in Edmond working at a Theatre Camp and Marissa is moving here to work at the hotel, I also work at. Luckily enough, we both have jobs working with the degree's we just graduated with.

BUUTTT it is really hard to compare this coming summer with last summer. 

On this day last summer, I was just settling into my internship and her into her new job; we were scared and amazed all at the same time. We did something we will never ever forget and this coming summer in comparison seems prettttttty lame. 

It is hard not to get down on myself.. maybe I should of tried to get another internship or maybe I should of tried to move this summer or SOMETHING! 

but.. I keep telling myself this; 

We create our own adventure 

In my opinion; adventure is about the attitude we wake up with every single day. If I wake up every day thinking "Oh wow- same o' same o'" then more than like likely I am probably going to have a pretty average day. There are so many things I can be looking forward to this summer!

I get to spend much needed summer time with my male counter parts Austin & Tyle

I get to go to the lake multiple times with Demi (this is me inviting myself Demi Jackson)

I literally get to surround myself with the people I missed so dearly last summer! (I am talking to you Kaitlin & Kelsey) 

I can get snow cones on the daily. 

Frontier City, Paint your Art Out, & Camping at Turner Falls are just small things that are making the summer list. 

Everything is what you make of it. Sure, we won't be able to visit the beach every single day nor will we almost die every day in traffic but I am almost certain this summer will be for the books!

So, if your reading this, even if you are exactly where you have been; if you aren't traveling and you don't have seemingly awesome plans..... 

Cheers!!

Sierra

If the people living below me wrote us a letter.

I have been expecting a letter from our downstairs neighbors from the moment we moved in. I have also expected numerous noise complaints and maybe even a few police appearances however none of that has happened. Let's be clear, we do not throw crazy parties or play our music that loud; we are just an active bunch and we make a lot of noise that we cannot control.

 I can only assume the tenants living below us have nothing but love for us.
 if we ever receive  a letter from them I assume it would say something like this;

Hello you elephants living in the apartment above me, 

I'd like to start by saying that the amount of activity you guys have going on up there is impressive. I can never exactly tell what you are doing but I am going to assume you are either 

A. building a time machine or 

B. giving dance lessons to 55 overweight men who are simultaneously throwing pumpkins on the ground. 

Whatever is happening up there, it is extremely impressive.

I'd also like to say I am a woman with a family down here; I know you guys have barely seen me and if you have seen any person coming out of my apartment they have moved swiftly, much like a scary asian child in a horror film but yes people live here. 

I thought you guys would get the hint to be quiet when you first moved in by our constant banging on the ceiling but it seems you have ignored our loud request. Thank you though, banging on the ceiling is a fun activity we like to do now; even when you guys are not making much noise at all. 

Also, I think all of you should pursue singing; please do. I know I enjoy the musical stylings of apartment 18;  specifically I enjoy the songs while one of you is in the shower singing and another time is when you guys are just shouting songs in many different octaves. It is an added bonus when your dog joins in by howling. 

Speaking of your dog, it scares me, okay? I am glad I could come out and say it. One time we met around the corner and he is terrifying. I know I reacted as if he was a hippopotamus trying to eat me but I was truly taken back by the dog and the girl walking it. 

You all must also know that I am quite convinced that if we EVER made eye contact my soul would turn to dust, so therefore I avoid it at all cost. 

So thank you for living above me; I'd prefer for you guys to be a little quieter and maybe not ever cook food because the burnt fumes waft into my home but I am glad we could finally communicate. 

Sincerely, the mysterious people downstairs. 

Take me to Vegas!

I just got back from the funnest trip to Las Vegas! My dear friend Demi and I decided to go to Vegas for our post graduation gift to ourselves. We both have college degree's now, it's WILD!

When we finally booked our flight I immediately starting googling and Pinteresting  everything there was to know about Vegas. I found these sites extremely helpful: Do's and Don't of Vegas , Things to do in Vegas for under $20.00

  I have been to Vegas one other time before so hopefully I can combine both trips and help someone out who is planning a trip to Sin City in the future.

>>Booking a flight and hotel

I wish I had way more tips on booking a flight but I have come to realize that the earlier you book the cheaper the flight will be. So try to book as early as possible to get a cheaper deal. 

The first time I went to Vegas I stayed at Harrah's and the second time we stayed at Flamingos. For Harrah's reservations we got the best deal through Hotels.com but for Flamingos we booked directly with the hotel.. When I compared prices it seemed like all hotels get way more expensive Friday-Sunday  so if you can go earlier in the week- that's where you will get lower prices of hotel rooms. Flamingos and Harrah's are located central of the strip. They are both nice but dated hotels. Flamingos has an awesome pool! If you are going to Las Vegas to hang out at a nice pool for an affordable price Flamingos is a great place to stay.

When booking a place to stay this map of the strip was really helpful! Also if you are going with a group of people and you all are splitting the room you could probably stay at most of these places for a very affordable price!

This map also shows you how to get around using the Monorail- I only used it one time and ended up walking back to our hotel. It is super easy to walk around in Vegas if you do not want to spend money on cabs (wear comfortable shoes).  However, if you chose to stay off the strip or at the very end of the strip the monorail website might be helpful! 

>>Fun things to do

Obviously this is a really silly topic because Las Vegas is literally full of fun things to do but here is a little run down of what we did.

It is so fun to just walk around and go into all the hotels. Most of the nights we went out with a few hotels in mind and then ended up running into things to do.

The first night we went into Senor Frogs  located at Treasure Island Hotel. Señor Frogs has such a fun staff and atmosphere that makes it a really great place to start your night at.

After leaving Señor Frogs we ran into a promoter for the Mirage Hotel. In Vegas if you are girls and you are dressed up promoters will approach you. Promoters will offer you so many incentives to go into their club. Free admission, free drinks- they want women in their club. Once you meet one of them you just have to decide if they are legit or not. They will usually be really helpful and offer to walk you into the club put you in line and tell the people to let you in free; the will also offer to give you their phone number which they will text you and say something like Justin- Promoter for the Mirage Hotel. 

My tip is this remember your promoters name- that way if you get up to the front and they tell you to pay- you can say "Promoter told me its free" and hopefully that will help you out. It is great to be a girl in Vegas. 

We ended up going to One Oak in the Mirage and it was such a fun club! 

Like I mentioned before walking around is a lot of fun. Here are a few pictures from us walking around The Strip. 

Bellagio Fountains

Caesars Palace 

We went to the dance club in Paris Hotel called Chateau. It was a lot of fun and a club I would recommend. Another club we went to was TAO   in The Venetian and it was also a lot of fun! 

                                

One of the coolest things we did was see a Cirque Du Soleil show, if you can afford to go see one DO IT! They are so great, everything about the show is a performance! We saw O at the Bellagio and it was fantastic! I have heard that all of them are great- my tip would be to look up the youtube trailers for the different shows and decide from there which one to attend. 

Another fun thing to do is go to a pool party! Demi and I were pretty satisfied with The Flamingo's pool but we ended up meeting people who were at a pool party at Tao Beach Club at The Venetian.

There were a lot of people and it was so fun. 

>> Other Tips! 

If you are driving to Las Vegas bring your own alcohol, if you are flying go to a liquor store off the strip and purchase your choice of beverages there. Drinks are not cheap in Vegas but you do not get in trouble for carrying a drink around outside. My suggestion is to take a drink to go, save money and drink responsibly :) 

Also buy groceries off the strip eating out; not that much saves a lot of money.

When you check into your hotel talk to the front desk and make sure there are no hidden fees. Make sure you see a run down of what you are being charged for and make sure you clarify exactly what you are being charged. 

Look into the shows inside your hotel- they can be affordable and fun! 

Go to happy hours to get drinks and food cheaper. 

Talk to people! We met so many other travelers and they were willing to give us advice and have just as good of a time with us. 

Don't take the weird naked cards from people on the street. 

Drink lots of water- with the heat it is so easy to get dehydrated.

Do as much as possible and have the time of your life!! 

Cheers!! 

Sierra 

Enjoying your own city

I follow a blog called Two Thirds Hazel  and she did a link up post about being a tourist in your own city. I thought I would join in on the fun  because I rarely explore Edmond or any city close to Edmond for that matter.

This post inspired me to not only be a tourist in Edmond but also explore

parts of  OKC and Tulsa this summer as a way to enjoy all the fun things Oklahoma offers. (Be on the look out for future post much like this one) 

My friend Andy joined me on this little adventure today and she was my model throughout the afternoon. 

We started at Evoke. I don't think this was being like a tourist really because I cannot get enough of Evoke (I have almost been there every day this week) but we thought it was a good starting point and if you have never been to Edmond it really is a great place to enjoy a cup of coffee in a swanky atmosphere. 

My roommates have visited Evoke for brunch before and they tell me the mimosa's are to die for. Also, Evoke has an amaze balls waffle sandwich. 

After Evoke, we wandered right into an antique shop. I work at a hotel and on the weekend old cute couples will come to Edmond just to go to antique shops. Apparently, the shops alone are with the trip. 

Although Andy and I didn't buy anything it was fun to look around. The store has so much stuff. 

They next place we decided to go was a cupcake shop called Pinkitzel. 

There is so much more than just cupcakes at Pinkitzel 

I ended up buying these groovy pants at Pinkitzel! 

We ended our lovely adventure at Hafer Park- its a fun park for a nice stroll on a nice day. 

Well... I feel like this post was sufficiently awkward-- First of all I am not a photographer and second of all I am not very good at informational post but if I want to share my trips to come, I need to get better at sharing and pictures. 

Cheers!