the affair.

When I'm not playing mommy to an overly expectant princess of a pooch (which is never, by the way), you can find me lost in my own world behind the screen of my laptop or between the pages of one of my many Moleskin journals. I'm a writer by nature, and I'm sure that if my head was not buzzing with some new concept or a scene for something in progress that I'd surely be crazy. Or normal, because sometimes I do believe that I am crazy. But that's a different blog post entirely. However, my craziness over the past few months has inspired me to look at a few of my characters in a new light in an attempt to give them new depth. It is with new inspiration and old encouragement that I continue to fight the good fight for self, for creativity, for novel. *raises fist*

Writing also makes me late from my breaks at work.

I am currently working on a novel I started Sunday, May 2, 2010. Holy shit, that was a long time ago. In fact, I had to look at the properties of the file to tell you when I created it, and I'm honestly surprised that I've been working on it for this long. You see, typically, I am very good at coming up with story concepts. I absolutely love beginning a story, searching through fonts to continue it in, typing away merrily as though I have it all figured out, becoming irritated with the look and then changing the font several times all before creating a new concept, deserting the old one to use up space on my laptop all to start the cycle again. This novel, though, this one is a bit different. You see, the reason I fail at literary (I wish) completion is due to the fact that I have no accountability about writing. I don't have an agent or an editor; there is no one official to tell me, "hey, Cass, you really need to stop slacking and start writing!" Well, it was like that until Liz Strohm decided to change the game up.

Liz and I went to high school together. She graduated a year before me because, well, you know, she was a year older than me. We had spent dance classes and theatre classes together; while we didn't necessarily spend our break time hanging out together within the same group of friends (though both sects of our friends knew each other), we did find time to hang out after school. From early on, Liz knew of my passion for writing. She always encouraged it, and even after we lost contact for a couple of years after I graduated, Liz and I eventually found each other again, created our own weekly dates and revisited the topic of my love of writing. I would let her read current work and every week the stories would change. I'd start one and drop it, begin another and then forget about it, until I told her about the novel I am currently bound to. Liz loved the concept so much, as well as the idea that being a writer was my only option as future revenue, that she forced me into a contract about the progress of my story.

Okay, okay, perhaps I wasn't necessarily forced, but the idea was entirely hers. I just went along with it, ready to sign my life away to her with the quick swipe of a messy signature across a piece of paper she found at the bottom of her purse. It was with that signature that everything in my writing universe would change. 

Liz. She means business. With a smile.

As you can tell from the date I posted above, my novel has taken me a long time to construct, and I'm not even done with it yet. I update Liz weekly, albeit late at times, but she always gets her update. Even my move from L.A. to Vegas has not upset the flow of emails she receives regularly, as hard as it is to write at times. And it is hard. If there is anyone out there who thinks writing a novel is easy, boy, are you mistaken. I don't know what I'd do if I didn't have the passion to write. I really believe I wouldn't have a purpose. But with all of the love and enjoyment I get from my craft, it is a lot of work. I've come to many walls writing this novel, moments of agonizing writer's block; I've let those tiny whispers of "what are you wasting your time writing this for?" and "do you really think this is going to amount to anything?" get to me. And it's easy with the content I'm working with in regards to my storyline. Reading my friends' work and the work of some amazing authors out there often intimidates me. The fact that deciding to "be a writer" as an occupation often merits a stable income resource alongside it because not everyone is a Stephen King or J.K. Rowling also teeters me towards the side of pessimism. But then I recall all of the lovely emails of praise and constructive criticism from Liz, and others with whom I've shared my novel, and the fact that people actually do want to know what will happen moves me forward, because after all, writing really isn't about being a Stephen King or a wealthy billionaire J.K. Rowling ... (oh, how nice that would be -__-); it's about affecting that one person out there, making them feel something, relate to something, learn from something that came from my own head. I learned that the day I was messaged from a counselor from a summer camp I worked with once upon a time. She and I were merely acquaintances, friendly, but nothing more. It had been several months since I'd seen her. I'd posted a poem I'd written on my poetry blog and then linked it to my Facebook not really expecting much of anything to happen from it. But then I got that message from her; she said the poem was exactly what she'd been feeling lately, and that she loved it because of that. I don't think I've ever been prouder of something I've written. I made someone feel something that day, all because I shared a piece of myself in the form of written word. Whenever I am feeling like I'm hitting my head against the wall, struggling at a lost cause of a novel, I remember that girl and that poem, and I wipe the dust off my shoulders and continue to press on against that wall. The world I've created won't write itself without me, though I often end up watching everything unfold in surprise. 

Through all of the hardships of writing, these things keep my fingers tapping away at the keys. They keep me creative and receptive of the recipes life inspires to stimulate my own fantasy worlds. And so, I press on with my novel because I want nothing more than to finish it and touch somebody in the world with it ... and because legally I'm bound to finishing it.

I am also environmentally friendly, acting as my own notepad.

166,384 words currently. 254 pages currently. I don't know what the counts will be tomorrow, nor do I have an estimate of where those counts will be at its completion. All I know is that this work in progress is going to take me somewhere; maybe not fame-wise or money-wise or even to wizard rock band status. But it is going to take me to an end of hard, loving labor, fueling proof that even someone as scatter brained as I can actually finish something of substance. And there is substance to it in some way, to somebody. To me. But until then I will hold up my end of the contract and continue to fuel this fire that's ready to blaze out of my hard drive. 

I hope you all continue to follow me throughout my journey to see its completion. I hope my passion makes you proud.

Thanks, Liz. I love you.

Staying creative,
Rae. 

P.S. I've changed the font to this blog post three times.

now a mommy.

I'm going to not be so angsty this time around and write to you about something special that has happened in my life. The reoccurring theme around here seems to always be connected to Las Vegas, and seeing as how the city of Las Vegas has become synonymous with the word change, I'm going to fill you in on a big change that took place on April 3rd, 2012 (yes, I'm late - I know this):

Take heed - she will cut you.

This is Nellis Mae. She is now a 6 month old Chihuahua-Yorkshire Terrior mix with a huge weigh-in of about six pounds, a plethora of sloppy puppy dog kisses to give and a personality enough for a Great Dane ... maybe ten Great Danes. Regardless of the amount of dog she is, Nellis has become the daughter of my roomie and bestie Denise and myself. She was a free pup, given to us graciously by Denise's friend.

"Really humans ... this is it?" On her first night at our place.

There was a bit of nervousness about actually making the decision to take Nellis; between Denise's schedule and mine, we are both extremely busy. Then there was the issue of finances and parental responsibility. Was I actually ready to become a mother? No, she would not be born of my womb (haha) but we were going to be bringing another life into our world ... would we be ready to handle that? But more importantly, would I succeed as a pet owner?


Horrible flashbacks of my failures with my pet hamster from my past flooded into my brain as we made our way to Nellis Blvd. in North Las Vegas. I had only seen this puppy in a picture on Facebook; in that form, she was fine, cute to look at without the strings of being attached ... but I walked into a backyard where I could hear barking - oh no! This is a tangible, real little creature. I was absolutely nervous ...

Despite our lack of shared DNA, this animal got a lot of my traits, i.e., laziness. 

Until I saw her. Everything - my worries, my failures, the face of the hamster we had to get rid of, and the fact that I was probably walking into a very irrational contract all dissipated at the sight of her precious black face. We drove Nellis Mae home that night. She laid across Denise's chest, both scared and curious. We formulated the name almost instantly; Nellis, from where we picked her up. It was simple yet original, and unlike anything cliche when naming an animal. Despite the "animal" that she is, Nellis has become a vital addition to our home. We love her dearly (the vast amount of pictures of her on my phone and Facebook and Twitter account can all tell you that), but beyond that, Nellis has put me through some learning experiences about life and myself.


I never thought I could love something so much at first sight. And that's what it was, love at first sight.


I never thought something could love me so unconditionally.


I never thought I'd be the one to spoil anything (which is really biting me in the butt right now).


And maybe, someday, I will be a good enough parent to an actual litter of children.

My only fear is that my children will never be this adorable.

Making the decision to become pet owners and mothers to a very special furry baby was one of the best decisions I've ever been a part of. It has also been a great change in my life because suddenly I am responsible for feeding, housing and spending time with someone else. She is our baby, and our responsibilities have changed because of her, and despite my fear of being selfish, I don't mind sacrificing for her. This road hasn't been easy, and I know it will continue to have its challenges, but Nellis brings so much joy into our home with her crazy antics, her puppy dog eyes and the fact that underneath her worms-in-the-head, queen-of-the-world run of the household, she is just a puppy who loves us and who we love even when she barks all night long. And trust me, she does.


I absolutely, unconditionally love this dog.

Rae & Nellis Mae <3

Even in my most childish of moments, being a grown up is becoming more and more evident for me. This little puppy reminds me of that everyday; everyday we make choices that impact our futures. We choose where we want to go and how we will make a life for ourselves, as well as how we set the tone for that life with our attitudes. She brings me patience and frustrations, joy and disappointment; but most importantly, Nellis reminds me to love - to love with all of my heart because love conquers everything negative in our lives, and it is with love that we can live happily and fulfilled in a satisfaction that cannot be robbed by anything.

Staying in love,

Rae.

hater.

It's been a while since posting on here, and it is with a heavy heart that I must update my blog with a not-so-happy post. You see, since moving to Vegas, I have undergone a significant culture shock. As any rational human being would assume, moving from one place to another can do that you. I was born and raised in a suburb community ten minutes from the beach. My weekends were spent playing video games, body surfing and nerding out to the latest fandom I was obsessed with. I was always surrounded by people like me: same schedules, same beliefs, same rather sheltered existence. 

I must state here that when I say "sheltered," I refer to the environment itself, not necessarily in regards to family life; I have seen much in terms of negativity growing up. 

Las Vegas is devoid of any beach influenced suburb. It is a city settled upon a mostly flat slab of dirt, encompassed in a crescent shape of dirt hills. The city is the only thing one can see under the glare of a wicked hot desert sun, like an oasis to the wandering soul. But no matter how lost one is while wandering through the desert, one is never as truly lost as when one finds himself on the threshold of Sin City. 

Many people feared for me when I made the decision to relocate here, that I, too, would be a lost soul found in the clutches of the city. There is no shelter here. Every freeway offers a phone number to a moment of bliss; signs instruct on where the cheapest plastic can be purchased; and the evolution of a city bent on becoming more family friendly is merely a theory hazed over by sand and rock. 

I have met many people here. They are friendly and welcoming and different. I treasure every relationship I have formed because with these I can learn and grow from our differences and come to understand myself a bit more. I am trying to, anyway, instead of being locked into a constant state of culture shock. But it's hard to accept things as they are at times when I've grown up in an entirely different atmosphere. I was never sold sex back home. I have never felt so intimated by billboard-sized women in my entire life. Unfortunately, a small piece of my confidence was lost along the way and has been replaced by a sadness for the world I never thought I'd experience. Maybe this is why I was led here, to show myself where I really stand on the scope of things. Of everything I have witnessed thus far, I can honestly say I have a top three list of things I hate. Now, I realize that the word "hate" is incredibly strong, but with the constant spoon feeding of these three down my throat in an alarming motion, it is very hard not to want to throw up these contents.

Number One: Porn.

I've always been irked out by the idea of porn but it's never been something that has been so easily accessible to my naked eye until I moved to Las Vegas. You may completely disagree with me on this (and with everything you read on here) but my feelings about porn go a little something like this: porn reduces girls like me to hopeless pieces of meat. I will never look like a porn star. I will never be able to perform in bed like one. I think the idea of knowing that somewhere in the subconsciousness of our men's minds they are thinking about someone else to get off on or even worse, as they are "making love" to us is heartbreaking. Porn makes me feel wildly ugly and like I will never be enough for somebody. It casts an unreachable expectation on we girls that are average. The sad part is that it is everywhere; I see ads for it and trucks pulling billboards with naked girls plastered to them. I cannot seem to escape from the fact that sex sells. It really does sell. This in turn leads me to the terrible truth that the value of sex has become just that; it is what it is, sex, in a casual, forgettable form. This breaks my heart the most because I believe that this act is one the purest, most sincere forms of sealing yourself to another forever. Somewhere along the road, though, it has become nothing more than the value of a handshake and as memorable as last night's trip to get take out. 

Number Two: Drugs.

I'm not going to go into too many details about this section because I don't want to use any names, nor to I want to divulge to the world any confidences of my private life (and I am not insinuating that I am a user or have tried), but I really hate drugs. I really hate marijuana. I have always disliked these things because of what has happened to my family over them, but up until recently, my hatred for the substances has returned full force as I currently sit on the threshold of destruction of a person I used to know; someone who is well on her way to losing her children, family and life. Right now, I could sock her in the face if I saw her, but I can't. The only thing I can say is that drugs destroyed this woman who has so much potential, a potential she will never fully realize until she finds the strength to fix herself.

Number Three: Cheating.

Cheating and porn hold pinky fingers at this point, as I consider porn a form of cheating. You may be aghast at this, but I firmed believe in Matthew 5:28: But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If you couldn't tell, I am a Christian, and whether or not you are, that is how I feel. I am so terrified by the act of cheating that I know I've developed a complex against men. My brain dwells on the "what ifs" constantly that sometimes I think I'm going insane or am not meant to be in a relationship. While I have never actually been cheated on, I have experienced the act because of my family. I seen many marriages ruined because of infidelity, and again, I am saddened because this city glorifies the motto of "what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas." Call me old fashioned or weird or even close minded, but when it comes to cheating, I have no tolerance. I don't think I could forgive somebody for cheating on me. I would rather be alone for the rest of my life than be reduced to a fool led on by another as he gives himself to someone else. I believe that you can fall out of love with the one you're with and desire to be with someone else; I get that, that's fine. But would it be so hard to grow a pair and tell your partner that you don't love them anymore? Then pursuing someone else would be okay. I would be sad hearing that piece of news, but I would also feel like a human being worth something if my partner was honest with me from the beginning of the end. 

*Sigh* So this is my rant for the morning. I hate to disrupt such a happy flow of postings, but these are all things that have really been torturing my mind as of late. I am thankful for their presence in my life at this point solely for the reason that because of my introduction to these topics I am able to learn exactly where I stand on these issues. I know now that these are things I can never tolerate; they are a plague in my body and a thorn in my mind. These are things that I can live without and not have a second thought about them because for me they produce nothing good, and I intend to fill my life with only the best.

~Rae

Sharks, Joe's and love.

Two kids in an aquarium.

It's almost the end of February, which means it's the month of love and that I am safe in updating this blog for that purpose. My manfriend and I just celebrated our 3-month this past Saturday. I'm still trying to figure out how three months has gone by with this man; it feels like we've been together forever already, but really, it has only been a blink. We've been up to a lot recently, including the Mandalay Bay aquarium, he cooked me a very lovely meal on Valentine's Day and we went out to Chicago Joe's Italian eatery for the first time downtown for our 3-month. Every moment I've spent with him thus far has been a pleasant adventure, and I look forward to making many more fond memories with him.

Rae is on a date with Rey,
touching a ray. Whoa.

Rey took me to Mandalay Bay for a date because he knows how much I enjoy sea life, sharks in particular. He even bought me a shirt against my will ... because he loves to dote on me much to my annoyance ;) It was a a great night of skipping through tunneled corridors and pressing our noses up to the glass tanks like we were on an elementary school field trip - except there wasn't a legitimate fear of cootie catching, as there was plenty of hand holding. 


We hung around the aquarium for a while until we decided to catch dinner elsewhere. Overall, it was a lovely, memorable evening, and I'm glad I get to share the memory with you :D 

Rey being a ray. Confused yet?

Jaws 3, anyone?

Walking on water ... okay, 6 inches of glass.

My man loves him some jelly.

Thinking cap.

Who knew sharks could need glasses!

It's just a flesh wound, man.

For Valentine's Day, I was spoiled at the hands of Rey. If you couldn't tell, we're food enthusiasts and thankfully for me, not only am I living with an amazing woman who knows how to cook, my very handsome manfriend cooks as well. Looks like I'm not destined to be a supermodel after all. I mean, what supermodel gets the luxury of this kind of dinner? 

Sorry Victoria's Secret. I choose calories.

He made us a delicious dinner of steak, veggies, his own mashed potatoes (that compete heavily with my mom's ... who knew that there could even be a competition!), and Alfredo noodles. Oh, and bread. AND wine. Yeah, I was spoiled. He definitely knows the way to my heart.

Just a slice of heaven.

Oh, and did I mention that during the day he had Edible Arrangements send me send me a bouquet of this deliciousness?? 

Dark chocolate and strawberries. Yeah, he's a keeper.

 Saturday the 18th rolls around and we decided to celebrate three wonderful months together at an Italian restaurant suggested to us by our friend Sybrina. It's called Chicago Joe's, located in the Fremont area on 4th Street. It's basically a brick house that has been converted into a quaint restaurant, covered in random memorabilia, Christmas lights and a romantic atmosphere. It's so cheesy it's cute. The food was excellent and the prices weren't bad. I wasn't allowed to pay for the check despite the fact that our meal was supposed to be my gift to him, so I can't tell you what the actual damage was. What I can show you, though, is our lovely meal in all of its Italian glory. 

Penne and chicken in a spicy sauce.

Mussels and cheese bread, baby.

I went with the mussels and spaghetti dish because I am a big fan of eating something that will absolutely make one's breath insanely rank on a date. He went with the penne pasta and chicken in a spicy sauce so that I wouldn't pick off of his plate. He had a beer and I had my wine. Together, we enjoyed a lush dinner on our own sides of the table before hitting up a bar at the Aliante Station Casino. There, we had fun listening to a guitar player as he serenaded us while we drank beer and So-Cos and Coke all while snapping pictures of ourselves on our phones. I'm still wondering why they didn't card us ...

We are so special.

The love of my life.

And while the next photo would be considered horrible quality by anyone else's standards, I love it. I don't know why ... I just do :) Happy Valentine's Day and 3-month, Reynaldo. I love you so, so much. Here's to many more memories together.

Oh, the quality of Blackberry.

Staying hungry for love,
Rae.

A little orange in the tortilla.

Things got a little "cray cray" in the kitchen during our last Sunday Funday. Denise allowed me to use her camera to document that night's shindig, so naturally I put on my creative cap and started shooting random things at random angles - you know, in an attempt to be artsy. No, I am in no way expressing a desire to be a photographer; I just like to capture the little moments that make my life so rich, even if it's just using my dingy little Blackberry camera. 

Yeah. Cray.

  Thankfully for you, you won't have to endure any Blackberry camera quality in this particular post (I can't promise that for the next one, though). In the theme of "cray cray," Denise discovered a recipe that combined two very yummy types of food into one shell - one taco shell, that is. Yes, we had a little Mexican-Asian feast of Orange Chicken Tacos. No, we didn't decide to just throw the two together to mix things up. When opened our wallets, avoiding the dust and moths that shot out at us unpleasantly, and found a yummy recipe that matched our college student budget. If you haven't figured out the general theme of my food blog posts so far, it's that you can be poor and eat like a king at the same time! How cool is that? All that is required to accomplish this is the research, the right kind of friends and loads of cheap wine from one's local Albertson's ... which was absolutely fantastic, by the way. 

That's right, keep it comin', peasant.

Our dinner consisted of orange flavored chicken, which slow cooked itself on the stove in an easy recipe our master chef Denise tweaked just a tad, making the chicken even more flavorful. I'm not going to lie, when I think of orange chicken, my mind directly goes to the stuff sitting in the tubs at Panda Express. I was trying desperately to divert my feelings away from that route, even though I find Panda Express to be delicious - but in tacos? Really? How could that even work? Well, I'm clearly not a cook for a reason, and the chicken came out nothing even remotely like your typical orange chicken dish. It came out juicy and begging to be snuggled into its own flour tortilla, complete with tomato and avocado chunks as a security blanket. With a splash of lime and our sidekicks, Spanish rice and a red wine from Spain, our table was a delicious Mexi-asian feast of surprising deliciousness. One of the lessons I've been learning in this whole Sunday Funday experience is that tastes, regardless of their origins or how it seems virtually impossible that they should fit together, can be brought together in an artsy culinary way. I suppose it is like painting; a counter of different tastes is like a palate of different colors, all waiting anxiously to be blended together to create something fresh and new.

Panda ain't got nothin' on Denise.

A taco's best friends.

         

Oh, the love.

.

I'm sexy and I know it.

It would not be Sunday Funday without an all American, heart attack-in-a-pan type dessert. Thanks to The Help, we decided to indulge in a caramel cake again, although this time the general consensus was to change out the yellow cake to chocolate. While the cake was an excellent ending to the meal, yellow caramel cake definitely takes the ... cake. Yeah. Something like that

To add to the "cray cray" atmosphere and the fact that I was wielding an expensive camera around like I was the paparazzi at a royal wedding, we had to throw in some random nerdiness. Hope you enjoy the rest of the evening in pictures ...

Viva espana.

Tortilla strip goodness.

Our fancy new dinnerware ... because we're rich peasants with Target credit cards.

And for the main event ...

Orange chicken tacos ... take that Taco Bell!

Well, that about covers our last Sunday Funday. I'll leave you with the more random part of the evening, involving a dining room chair and Harry Potter. Yeah, we went there. Until next time ...

Cesar is so over it.

That's her cooking face.

Because nothing says sexy like HP, dirty dishes and a fork.

Staying hungry for life, 
Rae.

Okay, and these cray crays, too.

love and art.

Okay: two posts so far, both about friends, food and adventuresome eating experiences. You've seen the inside of our home, had a glimpse of our wacky fashion sense and have been fed nothing but honesty. But somehow, I'm going to get even more personal with you, which is going to tap into the surface of my ... *wait for it* ... love life. The best part about that is that this also goes along with one of my other favorite things to do (and if you couldn't tell, I have a lot of favorite things to do, like italicizing words for dramatic emphasis). 


I have been super blessed in my life, despite some very hard challenges. I am surrounded by the best of friends, one of which who lives with me, many who are still living back home in Cali, a few sprinkled across the U.S., and a handful that I have had the pleasure of meeting out here in Las Vegas; I have a wonderful, cooky family that has supported me emotionally with every decision I've made thus far, and have had many forms of inspiration come into my life. Denise has a heart bursting with ideas of cooking and traveling, both of which fuel my own desires of learning and seeing the world. She is also very artsy, which is the direction I'm getting to in this post. I have been fortunate enough to know some very talented artists, especially in the field of drawing - which is where I find myself when I put on that art cap (I would call myself a writer before an artist). I've also dabbled with charcoal, which is the medium I am using for my current project, a piece from a scene in my unfinished novel. I really enjoy using charcoal because it is messy and so full of possibilities; every stroke, purposefully or on accident, is a gateway to another way in which to bring one's original idea to life. 


I bet right now you're wondering what my love life and my love of art have to do with each other. As I mentioned twice before, I've been blessed with knowing and coming to know some artsy, inspirational people. One of which is my boyfriend - or rather, "manfriend" as I call him, as he is a man, not a boy ;) His name is Rey (also my nickname from back home, spelled differently) and we met through our work in Las Vegas. There are many things I love about this man including all of our almost-creepy similarities, but here are three things I love about him most and that stick out to me right now: 1. I know it sounds cliché, but he honestly loves me for me; 2. He genuinely shines in our field of work, which emulates the kind of person he is - compassionate and with a heart of gold; and 3. He inspires me in my art. He is genuinely interested in my love of writing and drawing, and he requested one of our last hang outs to be an art session. Rey loves to water color paint. He loves to paint eyes and create characters from curvy, abstract lines. This past week I had the pleasure of watching him paint while I worked on my own piece, each stroke of his brush calculative and spontaneous at the same time. I didn't know where he was going with it at first but I knew somewhere behind those brown eyes that he did ... mostly. The beautiful thing about creating art is that the destination, which can be hinted in its skeletal form, is never completely known until the piece is finished. It's all about the journey there, that is what makes the piece so much fun to work on. Neither of us have finished our pieces yet, but I'm excited to be working with him. I've never really had the opportunity to actually work in that way with a significant other before, and the fact that we share a common interest in art - and, thankfully, so many other things - makes doing them together that much more fun and with little distraction from one another. We sat in his bathroom, the unofficial art studio, in verbal silence while our hands worked separately, allowing the melodies of Anthony Green, NIN's Ghost Album and some Circa Survive provide the tempo for our works. It was a purely lovely way to spend a Monday evening together doing something different from the norm, bonding and creating together in an unconventionally romantic way.


Here are some glimpses of what we have finished so far:

Do you have an idea of what it could be?

Tools of the trade.

Mine.

Outlining.

Hopefully we'll finish these pieces soon and then I will post the finished products for you guys to see. But for now, I shall leave you with a picture of my and my darling manfriend. He always puts a smile on my face <3 

Staying creative for life,

Rae.

At New York New York ... I love you, babe <3

food and the city.

While making food with friends is a fun and insightful way to spend a day like Sunday Funday, there is always the curious joy of stepping out into the unknown and enduring the sights and unique dining experiences of a city in which one is still quite new. Having only lived in Las Vegas since the end of August, I am still at glorified tourist status. I drive around only knowing how to get to certain places more so by sights rather than actual street names; I still have to ask if Vegas houses certain restaurant chains - and no, there are no Black Angus's or Chik-Fil-A's out here :[ - and the only way I know in which direction I'm headed is by using the Strip as a compass. So it is a bit intimidating when I want to try a new place to dine but really don't have any clue as to where a good place to go would be. It's also less congenial when one's palate has become accustom to equating fine dining with the French experience and one is definitely not in France (and yes, I often refer to France because of how much that vacation has influenced my life, so I apologize if the reference gets old ... but then again I don't as it has forced me to be a lot more brave and even pretentious in many ways that I will not get into at the present time).


Thankfully for me, I live with a woman with a passion for cooking and a knack for finding fresh places to eat; I also have a friend who has lived here for six years and knows of a few yummy local spots. The three of us combined share a passion for foreign foods and experiences. For those of you who crave something a little different in your own dining experiences, here are a few places we've enjoyed, complete with a delectable menu and the savory atmosphere highlighted with European shazam ;)


The first is from a place called Patisserie Manon, a French bakery on Charleston.

a latté, a tart, two élcairs, an espresso and a cup of black coffee.

Secondly, my dear friend Denise found this awesome Caribbean style restaurant called DW Bistro, located on Fort Apache, and of course we had to have a meal there. Thanks to Anthony Bourdain, we were inspired to have a plate of jerk chicken - or rather, she had the jerk chicken. 

Finger lickin' fun.

My plate went a little something like this:

Nicoise - tuna and the fixins. 

And you can't enjoy a Caribbean brunch without the following - mimosas and Merlot :) (*disclaimer: who wants to find me that wine glass? Because I'll give you my right kidney for it ...)

I guess you could include me to that list.

The third place was recommended to us by Cesar after we took a trip to Total Wine ... and left with three bottles of that liquid gold (or red). This place is called Leoné Café, and it is an Italian style joint located in Tivoli Village. The entire center is enclosed like its own little section of an Italian town, complete with cobblestone walkway and plenty of outdoor seating - perfect for relaxing with a cup of Joe, a pastry, light conversation and a bit of people watching.

Warning: sugar coma eminent. 

Rich environment.

Even the bathrooms reminded us of our peasantry. 

Even among the bright city lights and hustle and bustle of Las Vegas, it is possible to find those hidden gems where life slows down, the company is perfect and every bite is a reminder that even a place as barren as the desert can deliver a jackpot of culinary bliss. See you in the next post!

Staying hungry for life,

Rae.