Kat's 9 Lives

The best thing about the DoubleTree Hotels are the free cookies!!!! They are best when they are nice and warm, but that is not always the case.  There is no resort fee charge as that is very important these days since most Las Vegas hotels have a hefty fee.  Let's all be honest, who spends time in their hotels and let alone enjoy the amenities?!  It's Las Vegas and it only makes sense to live it up!
Of course you will need a car in order to stay at the DoubleTree as it is a little ways off The Strip.  Once you are off the freeway, the hotel is very close and easy to get back on the 15.  The parking lot is never too crazy busy and a simple lot.
The rooms are comfy and the beds are solid.  I always steal a pillow or two from my bunk mate as I love sleeping on a pillow fortress.
Make sure that you sign up for their rewards points if you travel a lot as it never hurts.  Not sure if it is because of the Hilton Honors status, but we normally get room upgrades and free bottles of water.  Here they are very generous with their waters and often give extra bottles.
If you check in too late to your room, which we often do... they may run out of cookies! =*( One time they only had 3 cookies left and I had to work it to get those 3 cookies! lol  Ironically, someone else checked in later than we did.  I proudly ate my cookies! O=D
 There is your Coffee Bean single serve machine for those who like a cup of Joe in the morning.
 The amenities are from Crabtree & Evelyn, which are only so-so.  At least they smell nice.  As usual, a table for people to work on and use for their laptop if they would like and a TV for entertainment.
The bathroom is small but there is some leg room.  Plenty of space for personal items if you want to lay them out on the counter.  Simple shower area and so-so water pressure.  Nothing too special about the shower/bathtub.
All in all I love staying at the DoubleTree purely for the yummy cookies! So they better keep offering me those tasty treats to tempt me to stay.  It's a decent hotel and the location is not too much out of the way, but like I said earlier... you must have a car to stay here to get around.
DoubleTree By Hilton
7250 Pollock Dr, 
Las Vegas, NV, 89119
(702) 948-4000

The food in Vegas keeps on getting better and better.  To really enjoy Vegas, you have to go off The Strip.  Don't get me wrong, I like fine dining but to experience the real culture and fun of Vegas you have to explore! I always have a car so I can stay off The Strip and go to my favorite eats and to find new ones.  The Goodwich was recommended by another store owner nearby and I have been wanting to try this place for a while.
They use to have foie gras sandwiches that I would have died for! What you have to love is that you can add crispy chicken skin into the sandwiches.  Drool drool!! They had me at that ingredient.  If you are a health nut and don't enjoy the wonders of crispy chicken skin, then this place is definitely not for you.  Also... you are missing out!! The skin is one of the best parts and if you won't eat it, I will happily do it for you! =D
The Goodwich is a small stall on the corner of Dino's parking lot.  You can park, order, and they will kindly bring the food to your car as well.  There is limited seating and depending on what time of the year you go, it may be too hot or cold to sit outside.  Ms. Lin Guide and I immediately began munching on our tasty sandwiches.  Best to eat fresh and hot!
Their menu often changes but there are always intriguing concoctions and tantalizing choices.  For our first time, we decided to get the Patty on rye.  Inside was ground beef, smoked cream cheese, onion, and pepper jack.  Of course we added the crispy chicken skin for the extra Oooooomph! The rye was beautifully colored and nicely grilled.  I love the crisp outer texture combined with all the rich flavors of the sandwich and delicious crispy chicken skin.  The bread was so full of butter that it basically melted in your mouth.  I think I am beginning to drool onto the computer! lol
We were split on the 2nd sandwich as they didn't offer the foie gras at this time.  Ms. Lin Guide decided on the Cuban-esque on white, since we had rye on the other sandwich.  Inside was pork butt & belly, ham, swiss, and pickle maystard.  The flavors were good and a slightly different take on your typical Cuban sandwich.  Of course we added the crispy chicken skin for an extra kick.  For me, this was solid but it didn't really blow my mind away as the Patty did.
All in all I really enjoyed their sandwiches and the owner was very nice.  I'd definitely go back for a quick bite and to see what new sandwiches they have concocted.

The Goodwich
1516 S Las Vegas Blvd
Las Vegas, NV 89101
(702) 910-8681

I have never been to Hawaii but I sure love the butter macadamia nut cookies from Honolulu Cookie Company.  Even for Xmas, my friend special ordered the cookies from Hawaii for me.
During that time, we realized there is a store in Las Vegas at the Venetian.  We debated if the location was real or not and called to check if they had the flavors I wanted.  Unfortunately when we called, no one answered so we just ordered the gift online.
Since I was going to Las Vegas for New Years, then why not go down to check it out for myself.  They actually offered all the seasonal flavors and had many samples to try.  You can purchase the individually or pre-made gift sets.  They also had tiny pineapple shaped cookies to choose from.
I wish they had more of the tiny peppermint butter macadamia nut cookies to purchase.  They apparently only had samples to give out.  I tried a couple and just ended up buying more of the big individual cookies.
If you love these cookies and live near Las Vegas, then I would say stock up when you come for a visit.  My friend bought me the cookies with a shipping deal of 25% off and still ended up costing her $15 for shipping.  Plan a trip for Las Vegas and save the money to have more cookies!
Grand Canal Shoppes at The Venetian|The Palazzo 
3327 Las Vegas Blvd South 
Las Vegas, NV 89109 
702-836-9413

Is Miley Cyrus crazy?  Is she just expressing herself?  Or is she just using this as an advertising ploy to get media attention?  Honestly, it's probably everything all rolled into one.
Apparently I am not up to date on what is happening in the crazy music world as Ms. Lin Guide had to show me the crazy MTV VMA Awards Show to let me know about the crazy stuff that Miley Cyrus has been doing.  After watching the video, it lowered any small respect I may have had for her.
Still it was amazing to see the crowd get all riled up for Miley Cyrus.  The sun was really beating down on us in this open area where no one can hide from the strong heat of the sun.  Yet, somehow the crowd was alive and began chanting, "Miley, Miley!" This really raised my energy level as well.
Miley Cyrus comes out in a tight white outfit.  She looked great and it was fine for the afternoon concert.  Fans on my Facebook page commented that she looked like she was wearing a diaper, which I thought was funny.  The costume looked fine and you can tell she worked hard for her body.  She sounded great on the open stage.
She did some of her grinding and torquing all over the stage.  I thought the back up dancers and stage were very umm interesting.  She must have been doing too much drugs when she thought of this.  There are colorful mushrooms everywhere with rainbows, flowers, and random grass hills that she will sit on... no comment.
What do you say when a person sings to inanimate objects in a colorful field? lol I think the mushrooms are a double entendre.  She sang We can't stop, Party in the USA, Look what they did to my song, and for the first time she sang Wrecking Ball... or so you think.  At night time they introduced it as the first performance ever as well.
One of the surprises for the night was Britney Spears, but don't get your hopes up as she is only doing a small introduction.  She came on at night to introduce Miley Cyrus.
 To be honest, I was a little bit impressed and thought that it was a great show in the afternoon.  I actually had more respect for her until the night concert for I Heart Radio. She sang only 3 songs and not as well plus the horrendously tasteless slutty outfit.
I try not to be mean but I have to be honest, she just seems like a cheap prostitute that you would find in a sleazy alley in Vegas.  It's true that we are in Vegas but... my eyes! She's just screaming for attention.
Imagine a white fishnet dress with BRIGHT lights shining down on her with her black pasties popping out at you like black ooze and a weird underwear underneath.  If she wore a bikini or white pasties, it wouldn't have been so classless and so hideous but like I mentioned before... she just wants the attention.  Totally lost any tiny respect I had for her and she barely sang any songs at night.  The afternoon concert at the I Heart Village was such a blast and way better.
The only thing that I thought was cute at night was her banana microphone.

For the beautiful and talented Katy Perry to come on stage, who better to introduce her than Kate Hudson.  Lots of surprising stars come out throughout the night to show their support to I Heart Radio 2013.
The decibel in the stadium rose quickly as Katy Perry took the stage.  Even though the lights were dark, everyone was anticipating what the first song she will sing.
She sang a medley of past hits and one song from her current album.  Katy Perry played to the crowd and told everyone that just because she has an album coming out does not mean she will not sing everyone's favorite classics!
There is never a dull moment with Katy Perry.  She had the knee pads on for her to dance all over the stage.  We caught a nice photo as she got down on her knees as the guitarist played away.
Don't forget the other male dancers on the stage.  Some flirty singing while sitting on the male dancer's legs.
Even though we were in Vegas, she had to pay tribute to those in California with California Gurls! She played lots of her top songs but there are just too many to choose from and too short of an evening.
I am not sure if she was paying an homage to Miley Cyrus for all the torquing with the weird costumes, hair, and dancing or if Katy Perry was making fun of it.  To be honest, I had no idea what that was about until Ms. Lin Guide showed me the video of Miley Cyrus at the MTV VMAs.
Katy Perry did a great rendition of Firework that really showed off her chops.  That song impressed me as I liked it just as must or even more than the album.  It is a very difficult song but she put all her heart and emotion to rock it out.

The fun just keeps on continuing with an all star line-up.  For those who are country fans, next up was Keith Urban.
With a guitar in his hand, Keith Urban serenaded to the crowd.  I won't lie... I did not any of the songs but the crowd did love it.  O=)
After a short break, Muse took the stage coming all the way from the UK.  The crowd went wild again.  Muse consists of school friends Matthew Bellamy, Christopher Wolstenholme and Dominic Howard.
They entertained their crowd with hits like : Uprising, Starlight, and of course Madness.  I enjoyed how they put on the electric sunglasses for madness and did up close shots with the camera while singing the song.
The eerily beats of Muse echoed throughout the stadium getting the crowd riled up and singing with them.
There were lizard people playing music instruments as the background and dancing bobble head like stars dancing to their beats.  No one can say they are boring. lol  For their final song they set the stage ablaze with pyrotechnics.  Even in the cool room, you can feel each burst of heat.
It was really fun to see the stage when they showed all the photos uploaded by people to the social media.  The twitter boards were lit up on both sides of the stage encouraging everyone to share their thoughts and photos.  People at home could join in the fun as well!