What Happens in Vegas...

This Friday, after having one helluva week at work, I went to Las Vegas, Nevada for my friend's 30th birthday! It was such a great and memorable experience. We didn't get to do much because we arrived to our hotel at approximately 5pm, and left early Sunday morning (today). But I loved the little time I spent there, being away from the bipolar city that is Chicago. Oh by the way, it's supposedly spring here, yet it snowed heavy, a few days ago. 

These were literally all over the hotel!

One of the fountains located in the lobby

King suite

"Property Brothers" filming at the hotel

We stayed at The Mirage located on "The Strip". It's a beautiful hotel with lots of activities; casino (a lot of it, obviously), clubs, restaurants, and lots more. Friday we explored the city a bit, walking The Strip. I can't even describe the loveliness. 

Later that night on Friday, we went to party at 1-Oak, a club located right in our hotel. How convenient is that? We then found out that Scott Disick was making an appearance. Caught a glimpse of his fine self. Haha.

On Saturday, we walked the Strip, again. This time I decided to do a mini photo-shoot with onlookers gazing at my clueless self, lol. OK, I wasn't all that clueless. Shout out to my friend for being a great sport with photographs. I'll upload photos when I get them. 

Switching to the pumps

Top- TopShop, Pants- Forever 21, Pumps- Topshop

Later that day, we went ATV riding with Las Vegas ATV Tours. It was such an exciting experience, one that I would recommend anyone visiting Vegas to embark. 

We toured the Nellis Dunes. It was a bumping, yet thrilling ride.

Before and after

I recommend wearing pants and a top.

I would upload videos, but I'm blogging from my phone and it wouldn't let me.

I'd love to visit the city again, hopefully for a longer stay.

I really would love to travel more this year and partake in more fun activities, other than walking on Lake Michigan, shopping lol.

Until then, it's back to my job, tomorrow. 

Have a great week!

xxxo

Cosmetic Dentistry: Surgery #1

Please click to read previous -- here

I was to continue my journey to a healthy smile with the ultimate procedure- surgery! I chose to have local anesthetics as opposed to having a general anesthesia, only because the former has a shorter duration and wears off quicker. It also poses fewer risks. Gosh I was scared, though I wanted to be awake during the procedure. Thrilling! Ha!
Well, the disappointment came after the extraction of my teeth. I was told that my initial teeth had created two big holes and they would have to do a bone graft to better hold the implants in place. 

I was given a flipper to wear for the mean time while my gum healed. Boy are those uncomfortable! Not only did it give me a very noticeable lisp, it made it very difficult for me to eat. I stopped eating out altogether because I always have to take the flipper off for fear of breaking it, and because I couldn't chew properly.

Dec 11, I went for my 2-week check-up. I was told my gums were healing fine. Great! I laid my complaints to the surgeon and a retainer was suggested to me. I'm going to get that Jan 12, hopefully. The Essix  retainer will allow for better communication and feeding.

Before
Now you know why I covered my mouth when laughing out loud ;)
Later on, after this whole process, I'll get braces (or veneers) for my lower teeth

After

I am to go back to have my permanent teeth put in after 6 months of the healing process and bone reconstruction.

Later,

Cosmetic Dentistry: Consultation and Background

                Tuesday November 11 was the day I woke up and decided that I really wanted a cosmetic surgery done…and soon. Immediately, I grabbed my tablet from my bedside and started researching possible options for a new smile. I concluded that I would be needing dental implants, and braces could not possibly close the window gap that I have. Before I proceed, I’d like to give you a lil background of my "signature smile".

                When I was about 2-3 years old, I had all four upper front teeth. Soon, a gap began to form, moving #7 & #8 and #9 & #10 close to each other. One fateful day, I was playing around with my siblings and fell face down. I lost all four front baby teeth. Surprisingly, when my permanent teeth started to grow out, my roots had a joint decision[literally] to send two teeth out (#8 and #9) and retained the rest, thus leaving me with a very huge gap in my mouth. And because it was such a little gap as a child and having a gap teeth was sorta in vogue, I grew up with it.
When people ask me if it has affected my self-esteem, I say NO. If anything, it made me subconscious because I soon realized that my mouth became the center of attraction in that during a conversation, I would trace people’s eyes going to my mouth. This made me very conscious of the way I talked and laughed. But one thing it never did was bring down my self-esteem. It came to a point that some people would want to see my teeth out of curiosity and ask me to smile. Weirdos. Haha.

                So on the 11^th, I did my research and found Clear Choice. Did I know how much I’d be spending? NO. Had I saved up enough money for this journey like I planned to in the future? NO. Jeez I just got my first big paycheck in august and I wasn't ready to dig into my savings. However, I prayed and went with my gut. I set up an appointment for the 13^th and went in for my consultation which took roughly 4 hours. It entailed talking about the company, options that I had, financing options available, and fitting.
Cool fact: I found out my teeth color is an A1-B2. Not bad ;)

                Moving on, I left that facility feeling ecstatic and nervous. Nervous that I would be spending a NEW Car [metaphor] on this. Happy that I would have a better smile moving on.  The conclusion for the cosmetic was for me to have a 4 on 2, meaning, they would extract my two front teeth. And instead of drilling in four prosthetic, they would construct four to be drilled into two holes.

               

  My appointment was set for December 2nd. Today!

Later,

IG Flicks

Just some photos from my Instagram page...

At Jummy's wedding 2weeks ago.
Guipure fabric. Dress made by Puduci

Knit Sweater- Zara (buy Here), Pants- F21

Top- Akira, Skirt(old), Heels- Akira

Went out to dinner at the Signature Room
Dress- Akira (buy Here), Heels- ASOS (similar Here)

Later,

xxxo

Hello?

Is anyone out there?

*dusts cobwebs* 

Well, it's been a while since I logged in to my blogger account, and the sole reason(s) being...

So I haven't talked much about work. But like I said on my last post, my facility is under new and better management- Warren Barr. I like the change that comes with it, but sometimes things get really busy.

I'm yet to sync my life with my work schedule.  I work the 3-11pm shift. It gets really, really busy sometimes with admissions, labs, etc etc, but I'd rather have this than the 11-7am shift. Ultimately, I'll like to work 7-3pm. I've always been a morning person, so getting up at 5:30 wouldn't be a big deal.

My day in life: After work, sometimes getting off as late as 2 AM, I go home, shower; go to bed; wake up the next day at like 9-11 AM; eat; get some work done, and repeat the whole process all over. And on my days off, I run errands and try to catch up with friends.

Besides my previous excuse for not blogging, not having a laptop was another. But I recently acquired a new laptop (thanks to a dear friend), so that will change.

Btw, I'm still plan on having my house apartment-warming.

We'll see how it goes,

See you on my next post.

xxxo

Happy September

Happy new month.

The month of August was an eventful one for me, friends and family.

I moved into my new apartment in Chicago. I love it out here; it's right by the lake and I love being on the 14th floor. I've furnished the unit for the most part, but still getting things in order. I'll bring in the photos later.

I got done with my job training after 4weeks, and I've been doing well on my own, thank God. The facility is under new owners and management, so things are getting very busy.

My father turned 60 on the 24th. I thank God for his life! He's such an amazing father and an inspiration (I'll talk more about him in another post).

My big sis Rosie, got engaged to her boo! Those two are so cute together! Can't wait to begin bridesmaid duty and the whole wedding process.

I pray this month brings us all joy, love,  peace, and fulfilment.

Have a great week ahead, and enjoy Labor Day!!

xxxo

Birthday Dinner

My birthday was on Tuesday, July 15. To be honest, I didn't have anything planned until a week before, because I thought I'd still be prepping for my board exam.

Actually, I did have something in mind. I was going to do a joint shindig with my friend, Clara in Champaign. My plans fell out because I was to go to Chicago for my mom's event (I didn't want to miss it).

Anyway, I called a few friends of mine, and because it was sorta late notice, some couldn't make the  trip cos of work.

I wanted to have an intimate celebration. Although I tried my best to stay off the dinner cliché, it was scheduled a day before. The reason being was because my initial plan (to go wine tasting) was almost impossible. We couldn't find good deals, wineries and vineyards were not within range, so I settled for dinner at a Brazilian Steakhouse, Brazzaz here in Chicago.  And honestly, I enjoyed my night. And because it was an intimate outing, everyone was free to talk about anything. Highlight of my night was cracking up at Funke's expense (private matter) haha! We then went to Nouveau Tavern to end the night.

I won't bore you any further with the stories...here is a collage:

I went with a neutral theme: gold, silver, beige, ivory, cream, metallic grays, nude, soft pewter...you get the gist. I wanted sexy and elegance which was to tie in with wine tasting.

I still want to go wine tasting. Might set something up with the girls.

Thanks for stopping by