Off the topic of real estate and home staging, but as it is summer and I just returned from a short 5-day holiday to Vegas after the 4th of July and thought I’d share some of our finds with my readers. This post is about some of our favorite eating places in Vegas.  Others on activities and places will follow.

For anyone who has been to Las Vegas as well as those yet to go, Las Vegas is chock full of things to do, places to go, sites to see and of course places to eat.  Restaurant options in Vegas range from the well known buffets, fast food (chains and one offs), casual dining and formal establishments.  If you want it, you can find in Vegas! 

And depending on your situation, your options can vary.  Many places we've visited are children/family friendly and being vegatarians we sometimes have to browse several menus before finding places that will meet everyone's wishes.  And of course there are those more romantic places better suited to couples.  Hopefully some of our experiences will help with your planning on your next trip to Las Vegas.

As with most people who revisit places they’ve been, we have our ‘regular’ eating places we try to hit every time we’re in Vegas for the simple reasons of knowing we’re going to get a great meal and we won’t come away disappointed as you sometimes can when trying a completely new restaurant. So, here are a few suggestions on where to eat based on our personal preferences.

Peppermill: Located on the strip about 1 block south of Circus-Circus (next to Ross), the Peppermill is actually a standalone restaurant with its own parking lot. It offers a very unique décor on the inside and is apparently frequented often by the likes of CSI actors and Penn&Teller. Its open 24/7 and offers a comprehensive menu for Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner. Prices are very reasonable and the portions large. We have been to Vegas 4 times and have made dinner at the Peppermill a ‘must do’ for each trip. Kids are happy with the offerings on the kids menu and of course love being able to have breakfast at any time. Very reasonable prices for very good food and an atmosphere that cannot be matched!

Café Bellagio: Located inside the Bellagio next to the botanical atrium, the Café offers a variety of items on its menu and fantastic views of the gardens. As it is after all the Bellagio, dressing up a bit for dinner doesn’t make you look/feel out of place in the well decorated restaurant. No children’s menu here but the staff are happy to let you split an adult portion between kids if desired.  This is also on our 'must do' list everytime we're in Vegas.  Actually sat at the table pictured below, though the atrium display changes often and currently is summer themed with a large ferris wheel as the main feature.

Mon Ami Gabi: A new one for us! Spotted this restaurant by noticing is outdoor seating area near the Effiel Tower at the Paris Hotel and a quick browse of its menu. Tried it the next night before seeing the Criss Angel Believe Cirque-de-Solae show at the Luxor. We walked at 4pm, and requested reservations for 5pm. Requested the balcony but were told reservations were only accepted for indoor seating and to request balcony seating when we showed up at 5pm. Got outdoor seating, and were placed alongside the railing with direct views across the strip to the Bellagio fountains. The menu is French Bistro styled and they offer an extensive wine selection if you like. Prices are consistent with proper sit-down strip restaurants but the quality is above some other chain places, in my opinion anyway. While temps outside were around 100 degrees, the combination of misters and the air conditioned ‘breeze’ coming out of the wide open walls to the interior, we were very comfortable sitting outside.

Bon Appetite!

Well I cannot believe its July 4th this weekend.  Where has the summer gone so far?  I guess I've been too busy staging to notice, but atleast there is a vacation on the horizon!

Here are the events happening around Colorado Springs this weekend.  While the usual Memorial Park fireworks display is not happening, there are several around, and the one in Palmer Lake sounds like fun!

Have a safe holiday!

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COLORADO SPRINGS PHILHARMONIC SALUTE TO THE TROOPS: Traditional concert and fireworks, activities at 4 p.m., concert at 8 p.m., fireworks at dusk, Friday; Iron Horse Park at Fort Carson, Gate 1 from Highway 115; free, open to the public; csphilharmonic.org.

COLORADO SPRINGS SKY SOX INDEPENDENCE DAY FIREWORKS EXTRAVAGANZA: One Man Village People Act and fireworks after the game; 7:05 p.m. Saturday; Security Service Field, 4385 Tutt Blvd.; $7-$10; skysox.com.

TRI-LAKES FOURTH OF JULY: Pancake breakfast at 7 a.m., children's parade at 9:30 a.m., parade at 10 a.m., street fair 11 a.m.-3 p.m. in Monument; music, food and activities at 3 p.m., fireworks at dark in Palmer Lake; free; trilakeschambercom.

BUFFALO BAR-B-Q AND FIREWORKS: Food, crafts and entertainment, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, fireworks 9:30 p.m. Saturday; Soda Springs Park, 900 block of Manitou Avenue, Manitou Springs; free; 685-9655 or 685-1444.

FIREWORKS AT FLYING HORSE COMMUNITY: 9:15 p.m. Saturday, Colorado 83 at Northgate Road; free; 785-3235.

FIREWORKS AT THE AIR FORCE ACADEMY: Family-oriented games and music by Blue Steel at 5 p.m. and fireworks at 9:30 p.m. Saturday; enter through North Gate, Exit 156-B off I-25; free, open to the public; www.usafa.af.mil.

FIREWORKS EXTRAVAGANZA: After races; gates open at 3:30 p.m.; El Paso County Speedway at the Fairgrounds, 366 Tenth St., Calhan; $8-$15; elpasocountyspeedway.com.

SYMPHONY ABOVE THE CLOUDS AND FIREWORKS DISPLAY: Florissant Jammers show at 5:30 p.m., Colorado Springs Philharmonic concert at 7:30 p.m. fireworks at dark Sunday; Woodland Park Middle School, 600 E. Kelly Road, Woodland Park; free; 575-9632.

On the way to work one day, my husband heard the end of a commercial on the radio for Phantom of the Opera.  A quick websearch and a few clicks later and we found out that the Andrew LLoyd Webber show was making a tour stop in Denver.  We've always wanted to see this, but thought we'd have to catch the compressed version the next time we were in Las Vegas.  But this was great news!!!

To give some additional perspective, our kids absolutely love musicals.  Started innocently enough with Grease, then Joseph (with Donnie Osmond of COURSE!), then grew to include CATS, Phantom of the Opera, Hairspray and now Mamma Mia!  Oddly enough, they don't seem to really be into the High School Musical movies, but then there's probably a HUGE talent gap between the story and songs of ALW than HSM.

So, we started looking and the best first option for us was going to be a Wednesday night show.  Weekends were almost completely sold out, plus the tickets were more expensive.  So we bought some seats in the balcony after calling the theater to see which were the best available seats. 

Got the kids dressed up, and headed up early to grab some dinner before the show, sort of make a whole 'event' out of the show.  The Buell Theater is located just 2 blocks from the 16th St Mall in Denver.  And as a bonus treat we walked past the Federal Mint, which impressed the kids!  Dinner at the Cheesecake Factory and then a quick dash back to the theater.

Inside, the kids were just wide-eyed and amazed.  All the people, all the fancy dresses, and the theater itself decked out in opulent red.  As we walked through the crowd, we got the impression that ours were likely the youngest ones there, especially as our daughter is just nearly 7.  We found our seats in the balcony and waited the 10 minutes for the lights to dim and the actors to take the stage. 

In a word, the show was brilliant!  The Phantom, Christine, Raoul and Carolotta were well cast and very good!  In comparison to the DVD with Gerald Bulter, the bar was set pretty high, but the cast rose to the challenge nicely!  To our pleasure, the kids stayed awake through the whole show, inspite of a 2 1/2 hour run time with a 15 minute intermission. 

Our 1st family outing to the theater was a success!

We will definately be back!  As we're closer to Colorado Springs, we do get the occaisional pass through of a big show like this, but usually we start seeing commercials for it on Wednesday night for a show that is on Friday/Saturday only and the tickets sell out fast.

If you're in the area, I would completely recommend catching this show!  Its only on for 1 more week so you'll have to be quick!

Cheers!

I saw a local stager on our local news tonite.  I thought she did a BRILLIANT job of explaining what home staging is all about.  According to the story, professionally staged homes sell on average in 1/2 the time as unstaged homes.

The news piece didn't really say much about WHY sellers shouldn't attempt to stage their own homes, or stress that different stagers charge different rates for home staging services.  Rates do vary.  Quality costs just as it does with any other service industry.  Potential service buyers should shop around and choose the best service they can afford.

It was disappointing in the conclusion to the story that the news broadcasters concluded that potential home sellers should 'seek' out certified home stagers, when in fact, NO such national standard exists for home staging.  In fact, for an appropriate 'fee' one can buy every single existing certification, regardless of any actual experience or achieved results.

The bottom line is that RESULTS speak for themselves.  What a stager can deliver matters more than what cerfications they have bothered to buy....or, earn, depending on the circumstances.  Just as anyone can buy a degree online, but it doesn't mean that that you know your market, your trade, or what it takes to get the job done.

What you know and what you can deliever are very different things.

When shopping for any service, be it an electrician, a plumber, a realtor or a stager.  SHOP AROUND.  Lots of people will claim to be the 'best'.  But utltimately, what you're willing to pay, and what you get for your dollars matters.  There is a provider for nearly any service.  Are you paying for a certificate, or are you paying for the best service available.  Only you can decide.

Might come as no big news to many who have lived in Colorado Springs for a long time but News 13 did a snippet of a story tonite on winter watering.  Especially because it has been so dry this winter with some warm windy days and not much snow, plants need some TLC during the winter to green back up when Spring gets here.

They recommended watering established lawns every 4 weeks when its a low-snow winter like we've had so far.  My husband dragged out the hose and sprinklers to put some water on our lawn last weekend when it was warm.  We also water all our trees, especially the pine trees every couple of weeks during the winter after losing a few our first 2 years in our house.  We water more often when its warm and windy because the evergreens can really dry out without some help.

So just a little tidbit to pass along.....think SPRING!!!!!

I recall during the early months (or years?) of the Iraq war pretty harsh criticism that Bush and Cheney didn't have an exit strategy, nor did they have a clear definition of what constituted 'success' of the operation.

Now, with the Simulus Bill all but signed into law, I wonder the same question.  With a business plan, we all lay out our business goals, objectives and targets for the year.  To be effective, our goals and targets need to be measurable and tangiable.  If I just say I'm going to grow my business this year.  That is a vague goal, very hard to measure success and as a business owner, its hard to focus on a blurry goal line.

What does it mean to 'grow' my business?  Get one more job this year than last?  Make at least $1.00 more this year than last?  Make 1 more business associate than I had last year?  Better to say, grow my business income by 10%.  A well defined goal, that is measurable and worthy. 

With this stimulus bill, how will we know if it is or isn't successful or even working?  We will know how much money is spent for sure and where it went, but when will the administration declare 'success'? 

When the stock market is back above 10000? (artificially or not?)

When property values are stable? or when property values are back to their 2006 values (whether over inflated or not?)

When we lower unemployment by creating just 1 new job? or by 25%?

Whether or not the stimulus bill is actually going to stimulate anything has been well debated in many many forums.  What I haven't heard any one ask is 'How do we know its working?' and 'How do we measure its success?"

I am sure that business students and political students will be studying this era decades from now, and history will show on a large scale whether we take the right path today or not.  But I think by being vague about specific goals and objectives will naturally lead to vague and maybe inappropriate claims of 'victory' before any real victory is in hand. 

To borrow from Hyundai........."Think about it...."

Just received our water bill from Meridan Services Metro District, only to find out that our typical water consumption averaging around 23.00/month now produces a bill of over $50.00/month.

Seems that Meridian Services Metro District is now charging for something called a "Water Service" fee, totalling $29.27.  More than our actual water usage?

Called up to enquire what this was all about, and got some kind of story about the 'board's' decision to proactively charge to ensure that our future water needs are met.

What?!?!  Are they some how producing more water?  Are they suing Wyoming for additional water rights?  Sounds like a tax to me.  Perhaps some Merdian Services executive needed a pay raise?

If it is indeed some kind of fee for future water access, seems to me it should be based on how much water a household consumes, NOT a uniform increase across all customers.  Why not pro-rate the water rate to include this 'fee'?  Oh, because they would then be charging MORE for water than like sized companies perhaps?

This to me rings of the 'Storm water zone fee' or whatever it was called that Colorado Springs Utilities wanted to charge is customers.  A tax is a tax.  Calling something a 'fee' ought to come with some sort of detailed page explaining exactly what this fee is supposed to entail. 

If Merdian Service Metropolitan District wants to raise rates, at least be up-front about it with your customers.  I would HATE to see what happens if the 2000 to 3000 (or more) homeowners in Meridian Ranch pay their MONTHLY $30.00 (which by the way equals some $90,000 per month!!!!!!!!) to Meridian Service Metro District and it winds up in some executives pay check.

Shame on you!

Want to invest in the future? Raise the rates and let the water usage dictate how much our rates go up!  An across the board 'fee' is nothing more than a tax!  Those who use the most water should pay more towards the future supply.  Those without a sprinkler system, and who conserve water should pay less!  Those on a septic system where 100% of the water consumed goes back down into the Earth should pay less as well.

My husband plans on attending the board meeting tomorrow in protest...more to come!!!!

Hope to have before/after pics posted of our work.  The investors did a brilliant job of updating the property and our staging (leans towards contemporary) was a perfect fit!  It can be a struggle when your staging inventory slants one way, and the property to be staged is slanting the opposite direction, but this time was 'the perfect storm'.....for the competitiion anyway!

Pics to come soon!

Just an update....this home was just leased to buy, and I've retrieved all my items.  I didn't even get my pics uploaded...here's a sample anyway....

Before:

After:

Before:

After:

heard it from her home warranty contact that John Laing has recently really scaled back its Colorado Springs area operations.  Apparently, (or supposedly?) there is now only ONE sales person in the whole of Colorado Springs for John Laing, and that many if not all of the models are now closed to all but scheduled showings.

I haven't yet been able to verify this myself but if it is so, to me it seems quite the conundrum.  Like many builders here, nearly all the available spec homes have been sold off, leaving potential buyers with only the option of building from Day 0 and waiting 10-11 months for completion.  Sure seems like a catch 22 in that, you need sales to pay your staff and to invest in things like spec homes.  But without a staff and some inventory you miss potential sales.  And round and round it goes.

Personally, I really like the John Laing floor plans and quality.  I hope it is just a temporary arrangement and things perk up in the Spring!

Good luck John Laing!!!

Over Christmas we had the unfortunate experience of our Fisher-Paykel washer draining VERY VERY slowly.  My husband tried to fix the problem unsuccessfully despite searching diligently on the web for troubleshooting tips.

The kind folks at Fisher-Paykel technical support referred us to a repair source in town.  After calling them up we discovered it was going to cost nearly $100.00 just to get them to come to our house.  Seems that there is $1.00 per mile surcharge for locations beyond Powers and we live up in Black Forest.

We looked for other options and through ServiceMagic we found Peyton based Sure Tech Appliance Repair.  Called them up and got a same day appointment.  Mr. Doyle Decker arrived promptly and quickly fixed our problem.  Total cost, under $70.00.

If you need an appliance repaired, before you schedule an appointment, I recommend checking our Sure Tech for yourself!  The service all makes and models and can be reached at 719-649-0065 or via email at suretech@falconbroadband.net