We survived Vegas

I'm back in WI.  Tan, tired, and broke.  Sounds like a good time to work on some free house projects, right?  I thought so.  That is what we'll be doing all weekend, and I will hopefully be catching up with my favorite blogs as well.  I took next to no photos on this trip, lame for a blogger, I know.  I did snap a couple shots of our 'GO' room at the Flamingo, it was pretty rad.

I loved the hot pink accents and that groovy white vinyl headboard!  The bathrooms have tv's in the mirror.  I watched Friends while I was getting ready one day - the one where Ross and Rachel get the hot nanny 'Molly' - in case you were wondering.....

Our room overlooked the Bellagio fountain show, so that was pretty awesome.  However, we were underwhelmed by the strip attractions, I can't say anything really stood out. We went to the VooDoo lounge on top of the Rio for the awesome views, unfortunately the vodka tonic I got tasted like the bartender made it with dishwater.  And it was $10.  Wah Wah. 

This is before I actually tried the drink. 

I think Shaun's was better than mine.  Or maybe he has lower standards.

At least we got to look at this for awhile.  The view, not the dudes on the stairs.  We did not get one photo of the two of us over the entire trip.  Bummer.  But we got some neat individual shots using the 'nighttime' shooting mode on the Rebel.  Without even trying, the lights created some awesome effects. 

Cool, huh?  I thought so.

Chicago lights and designer eye candy

I must have looked like a complete nut running around the streets of downtown Chicago snapping pictures in the dark Sunday night.  But I really had no choice, it was just too pretty.

The next day we did some shopping, and I just had to stop and gape at the prices in Jonathan Adler's store.  I'm not sure I was allowed to take pictures in there, but this place was insanely awesome so I am going to share anyway:

            

This bedding was dying to come live in my aqua and brown bedroom, but I couldn't bear to even look at the price:

The setup in this 'bedroom' was stunning!

           

I love this combination of orange and brown.  This rug is awesomely graphic, but not over-the-top:

            

I want painted wall niches! I wish I could be this bold with color. Actually, the dark teal here is almost identical to the color in my front hall. Hey, I'm a designer after all!

            

This store was so beautiful.  Check out the chandelier at the entrance!  At $750, I will never own it.  It also takes 30 candelabra bulbs (insert "how many __ does it take to screw in a lightbulb" joke here) so that sounds like hours of fun.  But, it's gorgeous to look at.   

                       

So, what did I buy from the store?  Not a thing.  The one thing I thought about buying was a delightfully-scented candle, but it was $38 (or, $30 more than I was willing to pay for a 7 oz. candle) so I left with just my 'window-shopping glow' and these pictures.  In fact, I didn't buy anything on our entire shopping trip besides the hotel, food and parking.  This is a first for me, folks!  And also kind of depressing.  I have to go to the mall now to make up for it.   

Digging the Raffaello hotel

Every year my mom and I take a little overnight trip to Chicago for wasteful spending and drunken debauchery shopping, wining, and dining on the Magnificent Mile.  Last year we stayed at the Doubletree, and while it was very nice (not to mention it had warm cookie bribes) I decided to try a different hotel this year, one that we can't stay at in Wisconsin.  I found a great deal on a 'boutique' style hotel called Raffaello. 

It has a fantastic location, right behind the John Hancock building and next to the Water Tower place.  It looked gorgeous online, and was only $99 a night with $23 overnight parking that lasted until 4pm the day of checkout!  This is a steal in downtown Chicago, most hotels were charging around $40 - $50 a night for parking.  Oh, and we got free coupons to Bloomies and Macys just for staying here!  Here is what we saw when we walked in:

Yeah, this pic is as blurry as the Sex and the City ladies filmed in 'soft focus', which is why I want a new camera.  But wowsers, the online pics were right on!  This building is historic and all the moldings, beams, and original marble were still there.  This was our room:

You can't really see the lovely detail on the crown molding because I'm a stupid photographer.  Anyhow, the bathroom was so huge I had to take three pictures to show it all properly.  You could have a really comfortable Jello-wrestling match in here.

Ok, one last bathroom pic - doesn't this make you want a frosted door of your very own?  The designer of this place did a great job with the $25 million renovation budget, adding modern fixtures while keeping the original structure of the building.   

That weird contraption by the bathroom door is a shoe shiner.  HECK. YES.  The red side is for brown shoes and the black side is for black shoes.  Of course I used it.  My old black shoes have never looked so purty!  Here is another 'soft focus' shot of the bar and tv area:

        

This hotel is the only completely non-smoking hotel in Chicago.  Also, they are in the process of selling many of their suites as 'hotel condominiums', apparently hotel condos are the next big thing in real estate.  According to an article in the Daily Herald:

Individual hotel rooms are sold to investors who buy the unit and allow the hotel management to rent it out when they’re not using it, sharing the revenue.

A unit can be used as a downtown weekend retreat, as lodging during business trips or as a place for family members or friends to stay. Buyers have the choice whether they wish to place their room into the rental program for general hotel guests.

Owners who join the rental pool help pay for program expenses such as front desk, reservation and housekeeping services. Revenue generated is used to offset the owner’s share of those expenses.

The historic 17-story building has 175 condominiums hotel suites with prices starting in the $270,000s. The Raffaello is 77 percent sold and the fastest selling condominium hotel in Chicago.

Hotel amenities include a lobby with on-site board room and meeting facilities, a restaurant with room service options for suite owners and guests, and a 24-hour doorman with valet parking service, valet/butlers and a professional concierge. Raffaello also features an outdoor patio and private top floor deck and garden.

If you had the money, is this something you would invest in?  It is definitely an intriguing idea.  It wouldn’t be a bad thing to always have a place to stay when you visit the city, plus have the added revenue of renting out your room.  However, I would be worried about messy people like me guests trashing my room, but I suppose there are safeguards in place to remedy that situation.  Also, it's kinda creepy that strangers are sleeping (amongst other things) in your bed, but that's true of all hotel rooms.  Either way, this is a gorgeous hotel with a lot going for it, at a very reasonable price.  Check it out next time you visit the windy city!

ps - check out this picture of the conference room floor. GAH!  I die from the beauty.