Alphablog - E

E is for Emmy.

Aka: Em, Emmster, puppy, little tiny stinky, etc. (And yes, she answers to all of those.)

Emmy is our puppy who is a dog and not a puppy, but who I will call puppy for the rest of her life. She has a total puppy face and I don't see it changing anytime soon!

Clinton and I adopted her 3 years ago, in October 2010 from MCACC. It's true when they say that you don't choose the dog, the dog chooses you. I wanted a medium-sized dog, and I have never ever liked itty bitty dogs, but Emmy is 10 lbs soaking wet. We went and looked around and thought she was super cute, and we played with her a little bit in the bonding room. Clinton was in love, but I wasn't actually totally sold because I wanted something bigger, so we decided to sleep on it. When we went back the next day, there was another family at her kennel trying to get her attention, but she was hiding at the back and wouldn't acknowledge them. As soon as they left and we walked up, she came up to the front and stood up and whined, licking our hands through the gate - and that was it for us. She picked us!

Our vet thinks she is a Chiweenie, which is a chihuahua dachshund mix. She has skinny, long legs and big eyes like a chihuahua, but she definitely has the doxie coloring floppy ears, and we love her endlessly. She was guessed to be 1 when we got her, and we just celebrated her 4th "birthday".

Emmy is a complete and total lovebug. All she ever wants to do is cuddle, seriously. When she's not cuddling, she plays with toys (plushies only, she'll refuse anything else), likes going for walks or to the dog park, finding a sliver of sun to lay in, or trying to sneak into the kitchen or our bed even though she's not allowed either of those places. We love to hike and despite her tiny stature, she rocks it out with us no matter how far we go - and then spends the entirety of the next day sleeping. We don't have kids, so she's pretty spoiled, but she's a good dog.

We love her. <3

Alphablog - D

D is for Double Date Night

On Saturday the 19th we met up with some friends for a double date night. A few months ago Clinton's best friend Robert asked if we would want to meet up with him and his fiance Ashley to go see a comedy show. The comedian was Anthony Jeselnik who is not really my speed (offensive comedy), so I was definitely more in for the social aspect of the evening.

We decided to meet for dinner first and Clinton and I were in charge of picking where. Clinton thought a steakhouse would be a good choice since the other half of our part is sort of picky. He picked the steakhouse at Rawhide since it happened to be very near the venue. I sort of tried to warn him that the place wasn't exactly known for fine cuisine - it's an old western town with saloons and shootouts and stuff and it's more about the novelty than anything else, kind of like the Renaissance Festival. We went anyway and, well... it was a little bit of a disaster, ha! The food was pretty blah - frozen garlic bread, rubbery/inedible corn on the cop, and Clinton's steak was the most undercooked steak in the history of undercooked steaks - and then the service wasn't good, either. This all sounds like we had a pretty irritating time but honestly, it's the company that counts and we were all laughing and having a fun time, so whatever! It was the first time I had met Ashley so it was good that we finally all got a chance to hang out.

After we ate, we headed over to the venue where the show was, grabbed some drinks, and settled in for some laughs. I liked the opening act - I think her name was Cameron something? She was pretty funny and interacted with the crowd a lot, which was cool. After that, Jeselnik came on and did his show, and it was kind of what I expected - it wasn't my cup of tea, but I didn't have a miserable time or anything - but the guys were cracking up, so that was kinda funny to watch. After the show we all stood around in the parking lot shooting the breeze and joking around for another hour or so, before I had to bow out since I was the only one who had to work the next morning.

Despite the comical dining experience and the not so comical comic, I still had a great night, and I'm really glad we went.

Alphablog - C

C is for Concert.

An AFI concert, to be exact. It was easily one of the best shows I've ever been to, and I've been to some pretty good shows if I do say so myself.

Clinton is a huge AFI fan. He is the reason I started listening to them back in 2004 - I was totally just trying to be cool when he said I should listen to them like "oh yeah, totally, they sound great!", coming from the girl who, at the time, listened to almost exclusively soft pop rock (think Snow Patrol, The Killers, Keane, etc). Clinton has pretty diverse taste in music, however, and has opened my eyes to more than one band but by far, his biggest success with me (and perhaps most surprising) has been AFI. I'm definitely not on the same level of fandom as he is, but they are for sure one of my favorite bands now.

They started releasing sort of creepy black and white video snippets and photos over the past few months on social media to get people talking, and then it was announced that their new album, Burials, was to be released on October 22nd. Excited is an understatement. Excited probably works to describe my feelings on this news, but I don't think that my husband has looked forward to something so much in... well, possibly ever. So when I found out that they would be coming through Arizona, I decided to snatch up a couple tickets the second they went available for pre-sale.

The concert was on Sunday, October 20th and the album release buzz coming from everyone at the venue waiting for the show was almost palpable. We stood in line with the rest of the crowd for the sold-out show just itching to get inside. There was even a tiny child there who we got a kick out of. I mean, the kid was probably only about 6 years old so whether or not he should have been there was pretty questionable, but he looked pretty cool in his little patch-covered, punky denim vest.

We got in and milled about for a bit until the first opening act came on. The openers were The Coming and Touche Amore - a lot of people there knew all of the Touche Amore songs, but neither of us had ever heard of them. Marquee Theatre is standing room only and your spot is dependent on how early you get there, how packed the show is, and how aggressive you are. Considering we got there at a decent time, the fact that it was a sold out show, and how completely unaggressive I am in public, we still managed to be standing in a pretty decent spot, about 30 feet back from center stage. A circle pit formed to the left of us, but not near enough to bother us. The closer it got to the main show though, the more people started crowding in and packing tight to get closer to the stage. We decided to move back so that we could see better (Clinton said he wanted to "take it all in") and not be crushed. We wound up almost smack dab in the middle of the place which worked out great. Another circle pit (tangent: I do NOT get moshing. At all. It is dangerous and seems painful and you miss the show?? Why do people do this??) formed right in front of us w/ about 2 people in between, but the security at the show was super on top of things and stayed right there the whole show, holding the perimeter so it didn't get out of hand. It was actually pretty perfect for us because there was an opening that we ended up being able to see right past. Serendipity is not just a John Cusak movie, my friends.

AFI came out, and the place trembled with excitement. Clinton yelled so loud I thought he was going to burst a blood vessel. Davey Havok greeted the crowd, and thanked the openers.The air was electri, and suddenly, the opening chords of The Leaving Song Pt. II ripped through the air and the crowd burst to life.

Don't waste your touch, you won't feel anything
Or were you sent to save me?

A few songs in they played their first single from the Burials, I Hope You Suffer.
EVERY person there sang it, which just goes to show how desperate the fan base has been for new material. It was awesome.

Seriously, every single thing about the show was spectacular. They sounded amazing. It is the absolute worst when you go to a show and it sounds nothing like the record, or they use a backup track the entire time - the whole band was spot on but seriously, I've got to give it to Davey - that dude can sing his damn face off while jumping and dancing all over the whole place. Maybe there's something to being a straight edge vegan...

I got a little sad at one point in the concert when they played The Leaving Song because I had a really terrible time for a few months in 2005 and listened to that album a lot, particularly that song - and even though none of that stuff is an issue anymore, hearing that song just brought me back to the way that I used to feel. That's the awesome thing about music though, it's so powerful - you may not want to remember those things but it's a visceral reaction. I'm not complaining because it happens on the opposite end where I hear songs that make me unreasonably happy as well.

That small bit aside, I had a fantastic time. The crowd was rowdy but we were in a good spot, the band sounded stunning, the setlist was really perfect (no stuff nobody has ever heard), my darling husband was insanely happy (He said it was the the second best day of his life), they gave us two encores, and we got to witness Davey prove his Total Fucking Rockstar status when he STOOD on the crowd and sang his beautiful heart out.

It was a show totally worth staying out past midnight for on a Sunday night - I wouldn't change a single thing.

Alphablog - B

B is for Bones.

Bones is one of my favorite tv shows. When we first started watching it I was not a huge fan - I thought it was cheesy. The truth is, it is cheesy, but that is part of the charm. You really grow to love the characters and this week, one of America's favorite tv couples finally tied the knot, and it was perfect.

I just wanted to keep a reminder of it here in my little corner of the internet.

Alphablog - A

I've decided to do a little blog project wherein I write every day for 26 days. I've been neglecting the blog for other creative outlets, but I'd like to try and make it a habit, so this is my attempt at giving it a little more attention. Let's get started!

[note: This post is actually from Wednesday, October 23rd, but I went out that night and forgot to hit 'Publish', so there will be another post later today!]

A is for Anniversary.

On October 6 we celebrated our one year anniversary! It's a funny thing to say because when people ask how long we've been married and we say a year they always come back with something about being newlyweds, but we've actually been together for 8 years, and known each other for almost 10! But we have a new anniversary now, a married anniversary, and so yes - it has only been a year.

Our wedding was fantastic - so filled with love from every single direction, and I still reflect on it often. I know that the wedding is just one day in a whole life, but I will always remember it fondly and I don't think I will ever stop looking at the photos. It was such a joyous day and it still makes me so happy to think of it.

My friend/photographer put together this slideshow - she said that she tells clients they are only up for a couple months, but mine is still up, so I'll keep looking at it for as long as it's there!

http://www.dreamboxphotography.com/archive/whitneyclinton.html

It's an odd thing, really. In some ways, it's amazing how fast the year has gone, but it also feels like we've been married forever. I realize that that is a terribly cliché thing to say, but it's true. Something funny happened to me recently - I was looking through old Facebook stuff recently, and I saw something where I said, "my boyfriend and I recently adopted our dog" and it looked so weird! I couldn't even fathom calling Clinton my boyfriend, it just sounded so strange! I laughed and told him about it and he agreed that it did sound really odd.

A lot of times, people will ask things like, "So how is married life," and the truth is, it is exactly the same - sort of. We were together for quite a while before (including 5 years of shacking up) so really, nothing has changed other than the rings on our fingers, a piece of paper, our titles, and my name. So why does it feel so different? Our lives are exactly the same as they were before we got married. We loved each other, we were happy together, we were committed, and there was never really any doubt to our relationship - but somehow, we are even happier now. More than one person told us that we were ruining a good thing - that couples who are together forever get married and then end up hating each other. I don't know, I think those people probably just didn't really belong together in the first place. Even though nothing has technically changed, there is just a more secure feeling that comes with knowing you've got a partner for life. I'm pretty stoked about my partner - I think he is kind of awesome. So yes, things are the same, but they're also different. Life as a Reissig is a thousand times better than life as Reissig and a Martini.

We honeymooned in Las Vegas - we've been there plenty of times before, but our honeymoon was more chill - all about relaxing, and eating as much gourmet food as we could get our hands on. We ate at Todd English's Olives at the Bellagio, and it was amazing - one of the top two meals we've ever had - and so we decided to go back there for our anniversary. It's not 100% decided yet, but we have kicked around the idea of going back and doing this every year.

We exchanged the traditional paper gifts - I commissioned an artist to do a drawing based off of a photo (featured in the above slideshow!) taken of the spot where we had our ceremony, and he found someone to make paper flowers - the song on them is "our song", they are made to match our wedding colors, and some of the flowers are made out of wedding photos.

Sunday morning we got up bright and early, and headed to Vegas. We got there around lunchtime. I had told Clinton he could decide what we were going to do, where we were going to stay for the night, etc. - all that really mattered to me was that we eat at Olives, and possibly go check out a place I had seen my friend post about a few days earlier. When we arrived, we went to the Mirage just to look around and check things out since we had never been there before - he scoped it out beforehand and had some plans including lunch at BLT Burger, and an afternoon at the Secret Garden to see dolphins and the jungle cats from the Sigfried and Roy shows.

After eating our fill and walking around the Secret Garden and watching a dolphin training session (so cute!) we still had some time to kill before our dinner reservation, so we decided to go check-in at the hotel and then walk around the shops at Caesar's Palace for a while. We stayed at the Bellagio, which was a surprise to me. Clinton decided it was worth it - we were only staying one night, and it was our anniversary, after all! Plus it was super convenient to be staying in the same place as the restaurant, so we didn't have to deal with driving or a cab or anything. I was very happy to stay there - it's on my bucket list! The room was gorgeous - I took a bunch of photos to save for inspiration down the line. We were in a blue room, but we passed a few others with open doors that were orange, yellow, and green - they all seemed to have a color scheme but similar design elements.

After wandering around the shops for a bit, we decided to head back to our room and get ready for our date, and then we promptly decided that a mirror double-selfie was totally necessary for this momentous occasion. It's not every day that you celebrate your 1-year anniversary, after all!

There's a secret at Olives, and beyond the fantastic food, this is the real reason to go - you can sit on the patio and watch the famous fountains! There is one catch - you cannot reserve a patio table. You can make a reservation, and then ask to be seated on the patio once you get there, but they won't hold a prime table for anyone. Trust me though, the wait is worth it! Sitting outside by candlelight, devouring a mouth-watering meal and watching the fountains dance is a magical experience. We arrived for our reservation and told the hostess we would like to wait for a patio table, and then sat at the bar. We were there for about an hour and a half which sounds like a long time, but it passed quickly. We ordered drinks and chatted between ourselves and even met another couple there celebrating their 22nd wedding anniversary! If I recall correctly, their names were Eric and April, and they were so lovely.

After 2 drinks each (you don't even want to know how much 4 drinks and a tip are at an expensive restaurant, ha!) we were finally seated. Our waitress brought out the standard bread basket which, by the way, is not standard at all. They serve delicious bread and flatbreads with 2 a mix of olives and 2 kinds of tapenade. Sooooo tasty. Clinton ordered an appetizer and a side, while I ordered a main dish, and we shared everything. It was, of course, to die for. Between the two of us we've now tried 7 things there, and I haven't had a single regrettable bite. I sometimes dream of eating at Olives - that's how good it is! It was so lovely to watch the fountains lit up at night and celebrate in such a charming spot.

We had talked about going to a show after dinner, but we were both tired since we had gotten up so early and had a pretty long day, so we decided that we just wanted to go back to our room and relax. Well, we obviously needed to take some more photos first! What can I say, I just love pictures.

Monday morning while Clinton was getting ready I enjoyed looking out our window - there were some really cool clouds forming, and I liked looking down at the pool area - seriously, even the pools at the Bellagio are beautiful!

We checked out and put our bags in the car, then went back in to have breakfast at a sweet little cafe overlooking the pools (where I had the best breakfast sandwich, it was on a delicious rosemary bun!) and relax for a little bit longer. After that, we decided to check out The Cosmopolitan - a friend of mine had posted a photo from there recently that intrigued me, and I wanted to check out The Chandelier, a 3-story bar/club inside that is just one huge chandelier! I seriously, seriously wish that photos could do this place justice, but they simply can't. I'm a sucker for a shiny thing so I could hardly contain my excitement. Clinton was literally in the middle of a sentence when I burst out with, "Oh my GOD, this is the prettiest thing I have ever SEEN!" It was stunning, and we didn't even get a chance to go inside! Something about it being 10am, apparently people don't go to bars then... weird. Still though, it was just beautiful, and I was amazed at the detail and level of planning that must have gone into making it.

After I had gotten my fill of the sparkle, we walked around the strip for a bit, finishing up with a walk past the Bellagio lake for one last look at my new favorite hotel and Olives, and then we made our way back home.

It was a fabulous anniversary, and I look forward to many, many more of them.