Veri Artistic!!

collection

My hubby own collection of quarters from all states(total of 56). We bought this booklet map from borders. Its kind of interesting to see different states of their own unique icon.

Ads of pdts - nt bad

Layered Fruit Mousse Mold dessert

I saw it(similar one) during one of the hse warming parties, tempt to do one next time. So I look up in the net n find this!!

Need!
1-1/2 cups boiling water, 1 pkg. (8-serving size) JELL-O Strawberry Flavor Gelatin
1 cup cold water, 1-1/2 cups sliced strawberries,
1 tub Whipped Topping, thawed,

STIR boiling water into dry gelatin mix in large bowl 2 min. or til completely dissolved. Stir in cold water. Place strawberries in 6-cup mold; cover with 2 cups of the gelatin. Refrigerate 30 min. or until gelatin is set but not firm (gelatin should stick to finger).
MEANWHILE, refrigerate remaining gelatin 30 min. til slightly thickened(consistency of unbeaten egg whites). Add 2 cups of the whipped topping; stir with wire whisk until well blended. Spoon over gelatin layer in mold. REFRIGERATE 4 hours til firm. Unmold.

Peanut Butter & Chocolate Eclair

1 pkg. JELL-O Vanilla Flavor Instant Pudding, 1-3/4 cups cold milk, 1/4 cup creamy peanut butter(optional), 1 tub Whipped Topping, thawed, 24 HONEY MAID Honey Grahams, 6 squares BAKER'S Semi-Sweet Chocolate, 3 Tbsp. butter

BEAT pudding mix and milk in large with whisk 2 min. Add peanut butter; mix well. Stir in COOL WHIP. Layer 1/3 of the grahams and half the pudding mixture in 13x9-inch dish, breaking grahams as necessary to fit. Repeat layers. Top with remaining grahams. MICROWAVE chocolate n butter in microwaveable bowl on HIGH 2 min, stirring after 1 min. Stir until chocolate is completely melted n mixture is well blended. Spread over grahams. REFRIGERATE 8 hours.

Tips from my buddy in baking;
add butter if u wan yr brownie to be chewy,
for banana chocolate topping; add 2 cups of butter n sweet chocolate(melt together) then blend in mashed 4 bananas.

a week after our trip

a week after our tour, i still try to clear my stuff; like cleaning my hse, doing laundry, tidy our goodies. hehhahaha

I bought a bebe tshirt (like it!) tot of buying in outlet but dun have wat i wan nor my sizes. End up goin normal boutique nt bad n their service(outlet too) is gd. My hubby buy mooncake from LV chinatown(nt bad); we mixed flavours + a souvenir from LV Paris casino (cost abt USD 18). we fill it up w soda, since we cant drink much alcohol; thus tis is useful when u wan to walk the LV strip (long n tiring; end up veri thirsty).

ok, my hse is goin to fill w decro by my hubby who buy stuff from states we have toured, so does my fridge magnets. Below r the photos we taken at LV casino n one of show we went, he bought it mainly to get autographs..fans. hehha Basically, buying photos from the attraction places is dear, each can cost abt USD20.

note: LV

LV is virtually free parking, a dessert area mainly just the strip or nearby, downtown or outlets to walk onli. If u r tired during yr walk on strip, take a bus ride. There is a bus ride; $3 per ride or $7 for 24hrs access, is convenient(my hubby n I opted for this when we r tire of walking, we could just hop to bus). There is a montrail also, but not advisable cos its ex $5 per ride plus its route is the back of the hotels so u will miss the sightseeing. Never drive yr car on the strip cos u can hardly move much as it is heavily jammed. LV is a city that never sleep even the shops might close but the casinos r alway open. "Sin City"; a saying 'whatever happens in LV, stays in LV.'

Another destination to go when u in LV; Grand Canyon west near LV skywalk (120miles /3hr drive). Take u full day if u go w tour coach(there is alot agencies doin that, even got heliopter rides) or u drive up yrself.
Take Highway 93 south to I-40. Take I-40 east to Kingman. North on Stockton Hill Rd to Pierce Ferry Rd. Take Pierce Ferry Rd north to Diamond Bar Rd. Go east on Diamond Bar Rd. **Diamond Bar Rd will end at the only entrance to Grand Canyon West, which is the Grand Canyon West Airport. Take the park and ride shuttle to Grand Canyon West and the Skywalk. Parking at The Skywalk is provided but access to the Skywalk is only permitted by supplied coach buses. Cost of coach ride is $30, which will take you the Skywalk and two other viewing areas. There is also an additional fee of $45 for being on Hualapai land making the total cost $75 per person. No personal equipment is allowed on the Skywalk and lockers are provided. No photographs may be taken by visitors to the Skywalk; however, up to three photography stations are installed. Photographs taken may be purchased in the gift shop at $29 each.

day 7

Our aim; visit all the casinos n hotels on the strip. First, we catch the free show at our hotel Circus Circus Hotel, Casino and Theme Park, n play the games. See the Lion Habitat at MGM Grand, go for Dolphin Show and Secret Garden of Siegfried & Roy at Mirage Hotel,take a lift up in the tower Paris Las Vegas(Tic needed).
New York, New York

At LV, it is best if u could catch one of the featured shows(though ex but worthwhile). My hubby n I decided to get one today cos we will be leaving tomolo noon. We bought at one of the tic booth, charge a service fee n pay abit more to have yr main course half price when u dine at the hotel.
sg beehoon; nice.

Beatles concert at the small V theater in Planet Hollywood Hotel.

Show in the Sky at the Rio hotel(alittle off the strip), lovely evening Gondola Rides at the Venetian(Tic needed), Spectacular Fountain shows at Bellagio n Caesars n visit their forum shopping mall n catch the volcano show at The Mirage or go Carnaval Court at Harrah's for live music all day, watmore enjoy the free show at Treasure Island.


Excalibur (revived the feel of medieval castle days)

Free tram ride from Excalibur to Sphinx at Luxor Hotel, Mandalay Bay


Our fav hotel Wyn & Encore is also the latest on the strip, less than a yr.
Circus Circus Hotel, Casino and Theme Park, We stayed in this. It's on the strip(but at the far end), cheap n spacious w veri basic room amenities, no parking fee but also no breakfast n internet. Internet fee applies for 24hrs basic since my hubby n I cant be bothered w that cos we always been out til 2am(by the time, we r too tired to surf) plus alot of nice food around us(who cares the hotel breakfast :p).

Our accomplishment: Apply all casino member cards( is free) plus most casinos will give u a free amt of plays either in tables/ slots or even give small gifts. With these cards, u can accumulate points to certain amt, u may entitle to further free stuffs.

day 6

First thing in morn, go outlets cos under the sun walk the strip, sure kena heatstroke. I noticed I got veri tan from this trip, can see my sunglasses outline on my face. LV is so much hotter than LA, i sweat easily as I walk. Since it is a desert(didnt even snow in winter season). Luckily, we go in late summer period, cos i heard previously from ppl that in aug even the winds is scalding hot.


In-N-Out burger started out in LA, now is famous in California n LV. Consist of only 3 main choices, my hubby n i fell in lve w this once we taste it. They are traditional made n fresh except i dun reali like their fries.

Ethel M Chocolate Factory, view the live chocolate production. Venture out to Hoover Dam then have a view from Stratosphere Tower. After that, we go Fremont Street Experience FSE at downtown.



Lighting start at 8pm onwards.
Street artist performer; creative
one of my fav dessert.

Later in night, we continued our walk on th strip, taking in beautiful sights n activities. Have FUN!!

day 5

In morn, go Citadel Outlets(Located on Interstate 5mins east of downtown LA),
then Farmer’s Market n explore the stores around there. There is a stall sell sg food.



Since it is our last day in LA, we go shopping in these areas; Beverly Center(large shopping mall that offers 160 boutiques and restaurants including Bloomingdale’s, Macy’s n H&M), Macy’s Plaza. As for factory outlets, there are Camarillo Premium Outlets n Desert Hills Premium(1hr's drive from LA, at Palm Springs)

How I wished I got mre time for LA; cos onli 70% of my destinations are covered. Places i wish to go like; La Brea Tar Pits(famous cluster of tar pits located in Hancock Park; excavation of La Brea's oozing asphalt pits has so far yielded over a million fossilized skeleton parts, the remains of 40,000-year-old dire wolves, prehistoric camels and sabre-toothed tigers.) n Michael Jackson's House.

Los Angeles to Las Vegas is approximately 270 miles (430 km). It shld take us 3hrs drive but cos the highways in LA is abit heavy, this make us 4hrs instead. LA highways is often heavy on peak hrs, unless u travel out early or late at nite(So if u r using the LA highways for long distance, consider adding an hr to yr destination pts).We also found out most LA ppl travel to LV often for a short getaway or work proj.

Arrive at LV soon.
My hubby n I often like to have asian food when we r travelling to other states. Stopover at LV Chinatown for food(big portion n delicious). Chinatown is pretty small, but alot nice gd food stalls n 1 big asian market store. After having a full meal, we decided to take up the challenge of walking the LV strip. First stop; MM store(4 storey) sell all sorts... c til i blur. Free MM 3d show too.



wah!!.. MM got such history.
Next is Coca Cola store(my hubby n I prefer this over MM), here things r much mre collectibles



I love their shirts design(cool vintage look) n their mascot bear; kawaii. At there sell special drinks called 'around the world' ;unique.
Pretty excited n surprised, we just happen to be there for the photo session(we r the first! hehhahah w/o any effort) The bear is pretty big, as his costume consist of 2 parts. There is selling of photos w computerized iceberg background, each for usd 20+ /2 for 30+.
At the end of the day, we onli cover 1/3 of strip, too tiring. To be continued for our strip journey tomolo.

day 4

In morn, we decided to go Santee Alley ~ 9th-12th st first. LA Fashion District, Downtown’s electric clothing market where you can buy anything you want at huge discounts; gd for Bargain hunters. Mon - Sun, frm 10am to 5pm. Sat are the busiest days, Sun; only abt 30% of stores are open. Eye-opening experience for us where u can find a wholesales centre in the heart of Downtown area of LA(like pratumum in Bangkok,Thailand). Most sellers n buyers r Mexicans.

SAN DIEGO
LEGOLAND California


abit disappointing; (too kidish n nt interesting) for me. Main attraction for me is the Mini USA.
famous landmarks.
SanFran's Golden Bridge
Hollywood sights

Parliament


LasVegas(LV) Welcome sign at the start of strip


famous Egypt pyramid hotel on LV casinos strip, beside it is a castle-like casino hotel.

MGM hotel n Paris hotel

The Mirage hotel n its volcano fireshow.

Too pity, we didnt had time for the other 2 attractions; most talk-about SeaWorld® California n SanDiego Zoo.

On our way back to LA,

Crystal Cathedral famous as its said made of crystal itself, afew tourist there like us r phototaking this breathtaking sight.

Queen Mary; at long beach pier. It had a long history abt 80+ yrs old, so old. Now is permanently resided at the pier as a hotel. My hubby n I explore the ship; its grand like Titanic. There is even got ghastly ghost tales tour around this ship. Kind of creepy at nite when the cold sea breeze blowing at us.
wedding chapel


For more exciting rides, these are the 2 theme parks; Knott's Berry Farm , Six Flags Magic Mountain.
Note: Most theme parks had 2 option of parking fee: preferred (usd20) or normal(usd12) flat rate. Preferred ones will be nearer to entrance but if u arrive the place late, preferred is nothing. Eating at theme is ex n crowded, prepared for long queues, this applies to the theme rides too. for theme parks, arrive in morn, best!!