The Griddle, Los Angeles, CA

Expect a wait if you check out this West Hollywood hit. It is worth it.

Make sure to bring your appetite! The portions are huge and the menu is extensive.  All you really need to know is that you should order some french toast or pancakes.

Or both.

The pancakes come in stacks of three. And they are as big as your head. It is not on the menu, but you can order one or two pancakes.

We had the Oreo filled pancake called "Dark Magic." Pretty spectacular stuff.

What could be better than an Oreo filled pancake?

How about chips a hoy crusted french toast?

This was fantastic! Definitely the rest french toast I have ever eaten. I know I keep saying that. But that's only because each place is better than the last.

Please go here (with a large appetite) if you are in the area. Enjoy something sweet for me!

The Cellar, San Clemente, CA

Last night Sam took me on a date to The Cellar. We had passed it multiple times as it is a few blocks from our apartment. I had always wanted to stop by (it has a quaint patio, wine, cheese and accesories for sale and sometimes live music playing), but had not made time to do so until last night. 

Happy Hour is from 4-6 PM. There were some wine, beer and food specials. I enjoyed a $5 glass of pinot noir and Sam had a $5 glass of Chimay white.

The cheese plate was fabulous. We had 3 different cheeses each paired with a little treat. The first was a cheese made from cow's milk prepared in brie style. It was very creamy and was served with Spanish almonds and raw honey. The next cheese was a goat cheese served with a pepper jelly. Last, was a blue cheese served with fig and almond bread.

We also enjoyed the burger which is dressed with bleu cheese, roasted peppers, and bacon.I have a hard time not ordering sweet potato fries when they are near, so we added that to our order as well. 

These were the best sweet potato fries we have ever had. Ever. Seriously. 

They are served with just the right amount of sea salt as well as cheese (the brown looking stuff on top seen in the picture) and

-honey! 

The honey really brought out the sweetness of the fries. Why had I not thought of this before?!

If you like wine, cheese and good food make sure you stop by The Cellar if you are in the area.  They have a great selection of wine and cheese for purchase in their shop. If you don't have time for a meal run in to check out the shop and grab something to go. Enjoy!

Aria, Las Vegas, NV

My husband and I just returned from a stay at Aria.  The hotel and casino was built recently. The lobby, casino, and rooms are modern and tastefully decorated. The casino is bright (and doesn't stink of smoke) unlike some of its older neighbors on the strip. The rooms themselves are decked out with remote EVERYTHING. From the curtains to the lights and music, everything can be changed with the touch of a button or an on screen control.

There are plenty of food and drink options on the property. We rarely left the hotel (with the exception going out for shows and tours) because we found so much to eat and see at Aria. The crepes at Jean Philippe Patisserie are not to be missed (the sandwiches are good, too!).  Our favorite crepes were the chocolate and the nutella.  Julian Serrano serves great tapas and sangria. From 4 PM to 5:30 PM, the sangria and 11 of the tapas are half off. The sliders, meatballs, lamb chop were my favorites. We also had the calamari, tuna cones, and raspberry tuna skewers. This restaurant serves three different types of sangria- red, rose, and white. We tried the red and rose. The red was one of the best red sangrias I have ever tasted. The rose was light and refreshing.

The fitness facility is huge with plenty of cardio equipment, free weights and Cybex machines. The treadmills overlook the pool and have tv's mounted to them. Swipe your card at the desk when you arrive and grab a towel and bottle of water.

Be sure to get to the pool early if you are visiting at the end of the week or weekend. The pool started to get crowded on Wednesday and Thursday was much busier.  I imagine it is packed on weekends.

702 Helicopter Tours, Las Vegas, Nevada

You only turn 30 once.

We went to Hawaii for my 30th for over a week.  Sam wanted to save some dough and go somewhere closer to home for his 30th.  He picked Las Vegas.

This was our third trip to Vegas together (his 4th total) and I wanted to do something special.  I spotted a helicopter tour on Travelzoo.  702 Helicopters had great reviews on TripAdvisor so I bought the deal ($69/person) and some how managed to keep it a secret until his birthday.  I paid extra for a private tour and for transportation to and from the airport. It was so worth having the tour to ourselves.  The transportation had us biting our nails because they definitely forgot us. After several phone calls, a white limo arrived 20 minutes late. Because we had booked the transportation with the company (they contract it out it seems) they held our spot in line and we didn't miss our flight.

This was pretty much the coolest thing we have ever done. Okay, so snorkeling in The Keys and Hawaii is pretty cool. We loved sailing on a catamaran in Santorini. But, this? This was epic!

The tour is a quick 15 minutes, but the ride takes you down the strip on one side, around the bottom and then back up the other side, ending with a close look at the Stratosphere.  We had a blast!

My only regret? Not forcing Sam to bring his nice camera.  The photos that follow were taken with my phone.  The first of which is us in the limo on the way to the tour.

The Neon Museum, Las Vegas, Nevada

Last night we visited The Neon Museum in Las Vegas. It is north of the strip, passed downtown. This is perhaps one of the coolest things to do in Las Vegas, Nevada. Sam heard about it via one of The Property Brothers. I surprised him with tickets for his birthday trip.

Las Vegas is an ever changing city.  The neon signs of the past and present are a good way to show this change. The hour tour is $25 and depending on the time of year may sell out quickly.  I suggest buying tickets prior to arriving at the museum.  From our hotel on the strip (Aria) it was a steep $31 (including tip) cab ride to the museum.  Thankfully, a friend of mine did the 8 PM tour, so we caught a ride with him back to the strip, saving us thirty bucks.

If you are going at night you may want to wear closed toed shoes and watch where you step. In summer months, bring a bottle of water or you can purchase one for $1. It was hot when we arrived for our 7:30 PM tour and we had forgotten water, so we opted to purchase a couple of bottles.

Many of the tour guides are volunteers. Our guide, David (or Dave, I'm not sure), was fantastic. The amount of information he packed into our hour tour was amazing.  I could not believe it when he mentioned this was only his second tour!  What a wealth of information!