What happens in Vegas

I just got back from a short work trip to Las Vegas.

I'm not going to lie - I remain unconvinced. This is my second visit and I just can't seem to get over my impression that the city is overrun by people in bad t-shirts drinking giant slushees.

I stayed at the Paris.

It's like you're in France! Except not.

Things that surprised me about the hotel:

:: The half-hour queue for check-in. I mean, I get it, it's a big hotel. But half an hour? In a 4-star hotel? 

:: The French staff. I can only imagine they were chosen because their general rudeness seemed very stereotypically Parisian...

:: The room. I was in a Premier room - not the cheapest, apparently. The TV didn't turn on (not that I wanted to watch it, but I wanted to check out that way and couldn't), it had a fine view of a parking lot, and well, it was kind of old and tatty.

Not that I'm really in a position to complain about any of this. I wasn't actually paying, the bed was comfortable and I spent approximately zero time in my room or in the casino, so none of it mattered that much.

What would improve the Arc de Triomphe? I know. Gordon Ramsay's head. 

The main reason I spent no time in my room (apart from the whole work thing) was that a big group of us spent our Friday night at the MGM Grand.

First, a big group of Aussies and I grabbed dinner at the hotel's Nobhill Tavern, which was all fine and dandy. 

Then we went, en masse, to see David Copperfield's show. 

I have no pictures of this, sadly. You're not allowed to take them.*

The best thing about the performance? When Steve Carrell came out on stage half-way through. The majority of the audience totally failed to realise it was really him, politely but unenthusiastically applauded, and he ambled off again looking dejected.

Actually, the whole show was pretty interesting. For a few of the tricks I could see that logically, there was only one way to do them. But others? I was baffled. He disappeared a few audience members, magicked a few vehicles on stage and predicted the future. Oh, and he popped some balloons with the power of his mind. As you do.

Then, because I have no idea how to gamble, I had hours of work ahead of me and I was stupidly tired, I left the Aussies at the blackjack tables to gamble the night away, and retreated to my comfortable bed.

So maybe that's the secret to Vegas? The shows are pretty cool (Elton! Seriously. I'm not joking. I would pay good money to see Elton...), there are some great restaurants, and if you've never seen the Eiffel Tower, well. This is a mock-up of it on the Vegas strip. Enjoy.

*I do actually have one picture of me posing with David Copperfield post-show, but I look utterly insane in it, so I feel you can live without that.

Recent reads

I picked up Suite Francaise in my favourite second hand bookstore a few months ago without knowing anything about it. I tend to allow a couple of hours on a day off to browse, drink coffee and forage in the $1 section, and come away with anything between half a dozen and 15 books, varying from battered Agatha Christie to hard-back new-ish releases, the occasional classic and pretty much anything in between. 

And then, to be honest, I read the books I was most excited about, and kind of forgot about the others. Until I was prepping for an interview with Michelle Williams a couple of weeks ago and I found it she was kind of-sort of-maybe-possibly attached to a film adaptation of Suite Francaise. 

So I started to read. And lo and behold, it's beautiful. Written and set during 1940 and 1941, it's an often unsympathetic portrayal of a country still traumatised by the First World War, but forced to adapt to being occupied by Germans. It's about class and greed and family and religion, national identity and what survival instincts come to the fore when the things you care about are threatened.

Ombre birthday cake

So I made my own birthday cake this year.

I do realise that sounds a little bit, well, lame. And I'm pretty certain one of my friends would have been happy to whip something up for me - but baking makes me happy. And I'd been looking for an excuse to attempt an ombre layer cake for quite a while, so I set some time aside to bring this monstrosity into existence.

I used the Old Fashioned White Cake recipe from my trusty Magnolia Bakery cookbook, doubled it to make a four layer cake, and added a different amount of food colouring to each layer to achieve the ombre effect.

Aloha!

Guess where I'm going?

Hawaii, baby!

Or more specifically, Maui.

I have to admit, Hawaii had never particularly appealed to me - I'd envisaged, well, America. But with more than an average amount of tourists, and way more than an acceptable number of honeymooners. It just didn't seem like a great destination for independent travel.

But then I started reading Alex in Wanderland's posts about Hawaii. And by the end of her descriptions of amazing coastlines, hikes, wildlife and general chilling, I was sold.

And luckily, with all the transatlantic to-ing and fro-ing I've been doing over the past few years, I've racked up a few air miles. So my return flights from LA to Maui in April are costing me a grand total of....

Wait for it (it's worth it, I promise)

£3.20.

Imagine my GIANT SMUG SMILE OF PURE JOY when I realised this, if you will.

It's going to be a flying visit - the plan is to be back in time for Coachella, so I only have four days. But I'm pretty sure my friend A and I (and hopefully another friend too) can get some serious exploring/beach-lounging/partying done in that time!

Because, as has been well-documented previously, it's not a proper tropical holiday unless there's a cocktail or two.

Obsessed (again)

What can I say? I'm a little behind the times.

But I'm currently listening to this a minimum of twice a day.

Wino forever

I'm going to preface this by admitting that this is basically a post about pretty much nothing. Just some idle musings as I watch TV instead of doing the six million other chores I should be getting on with...

I love Girls (apart from Jessa. She annoys the hell out of me). Season two's kicked off here in Yankland - Bring on the awkward sex scenes, the naked cupcake eating and the insane Jessa costumes.

But lest we forget, Lena Dunham isn't the first person to hone in on the epic struggles of the middle-class college graduate.

Ethan and Winona got there first.

Or more accurately, Ben Stiller did - he made Reality Bites back in 1994 - a group of slightly pretentious, idealistic graduates working out what they want from their careers and love lives. And Wino's little pixie cut, Ethan's greasy indie locks and Janeane Garofolo's bizarre-length fringe will never fail to rock my world.

I might be biased. Ever since Mermaids I've been a tiny bit obsessed with Winona Ryder and those big doe eyes and air of fragility and general mastery of Jo March-ness in Little Women. Lena Dunham's great and all, but has she acted opposite Cher? I don't think so.

Although, to be fair, Reality Bites did lack a skirtless girl scampering around Brooklyn after accidentally smoking crack. So, you know, there's that.

Malibu sunset

There are worse places to go for fish and chips...