Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Random Thoughts from 2009 - Day 5

Board Games and Card Games make me feel like a kid again. I started playing cards early with my Grandma Great (aka Great Grandmother). I was probably 4 or 5 but I could play a mean Old Maid. Then I moved on to Rummy with my grandmother where we had a running score sheet that got saved throughout my college years and we played whenever I was home. My grandmother would complain when I beat her, which I did a lot, but it was our thing. Now, I am really into Phase 10 and this new Mystery Card game that we played through out the Christmas holiday. Tom and I played against my parents and we lost bad every time. There was histrionics, whining, laughter and a little bit of crying. It did not help that my parents weren't good winners as my Dad paraded around the dining and living room doing his happy dance! Oh well, next time!

I love trying new restaurants especially if they have been in one of the magazines because a movie star has eaten there. I have dragged Wendy to L.A. Farm because of a Jennifer Aniston sighting and to Spago and the Ivy because anyone who is anyone wants to be seen at those restaurants. We have drank too many martinis at Dolce (Ashton Kutcher's restaurant) and traipsed to Table 8, L'Orangerie and Osso because they were featured in In Touch. I dragged Scott to Tavern on the Green in NYC for an overpriced lunch to be able to say I had this experience, which is hindsight is a great thing, because they have not shuttered their doors forever. Tom has been on the Rachael Ray culinary tour of Cleveland and Maui and has lived to tell the tale. Maybe my love of food and trying hip restaurants has fed my Top Chef addiction, but I want to go to Volt Restaurant in Frederick Maryland and The Dining Room at The Langham, Huntington Hotel & Spa in Pasadena, CA because of the Voltaggio brothers. I want to eat at French Laundry before I die (I just need to plan my trip to Napa ahead of time) and I am looking forward to trying a couple of new restaurants with Ann Arbor's Restaurant week starting this January.

Las Vegas is another winner - you can never get bored there and you can never go there too many times. I have been there 12 times and I always find new things to do. Given my love of restaurants and trendy bars, there are always new ones to try. There are always crazy adventures (the rooftop at the Venetian, Mr. Connecticut and the Cirque shows), once in a lifetime experiences (like getting married, shooting at AK-47 and indoor sky diving) and never to be repeated times (the nightclub Rain, New Year's Eve and being stuck in Vegas for 2 extra days due to an ice storm). Our last trip included old standbys - a baseball game and a movie in addition to the Caesar's sports book, Serendipity 3 and a Vegas buffet.

Trip to Vegas in 2010? Unlikely - too many other trips planned. Cards, Rachael Ray restaurants and fun in Florida? Most definitely!

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