My Vintage Kitschen

Viva Las Vegas!

I went to Las Vegas this week and didn’t know what to expect. I’ve heard it’s amazing and I’ve heard it’s the tackiest place on Earth… well, besides Wal-Mart on a Friday night. After a quick trip to Vegas for work, I’m pleased to report that Sin City is just like most vacation destinations – nice, but I wouldn’t want to live there.

Overall? Vegas is fascinating from the wannabe sociology major in me. People watching is an Olympic sport in this town. There are chic-looking ladies and men who should lay off the complimentary margaritas.

I stayed at the Wynn right on the strip. This is definitely one of those hotels you get to stay at thanks to a group rate. The room was fabulous, complete with hip art and curtains that were operated by a switch on the wall.

Besides working, I spent some time in Vegas simply walking around, wondering how much the electric bill is for some of these well-known casinos. You know the ones – the Bellagio, the Mirage, Treasure Island, etc. It was great to be outside at night and not fear frost and ice on the ground.

One thing that stood out to me right away is that Vegas smells funny. It smells like Febreeze, peppermint and stale cigarettes. It’s odd to be surrounded by so much smoking INDOORS. I guess that smell cocktail is what they use to try and deodorize?

I’m not much of a gambler, but I did play some of the funnier-themed slot machines like Kitty Glitter, Wolf Run and Top Gun. I made just enough cash to take advantage of a sale at the Swatch store inside Caesar’s Palace.

I definitely ate well in Vegas. It’s oddly veggie-friendly, so that was exciting. I tried restaurants inside my hotel, cocktails at Spago and even a traditional casino buffet. Ahh, buffet. The buffet inside the Wynn should get a post of its own! (EDIT: Thinking about it now, I think I will post a photo post together of Vegas food and dedicate to my buddy of buddies, and UK foodie, Miss Melanie Seasons.)

Would I go back to Vegas? Probably, but just for a quick trip. After all, I can really only take riding escalators over freeways for so long…

Today’s LA2M lunch is featuring Dave Linabury from Campbell-Ewald. Dave oversees Navy For Moms, a Ning-based community for mothers with children in the Navy or thinking about the Navy. It’s a great idea. I’m pretty jazzed about today’s session since this is what I do at work. More or less.

The biggest barrier for the Navy’s recruitment was, duh, moms. C-E was challenged with overcoming that barrier, especially in the Boston area. After some research, a private launch and activity from influential moms, the site took off immediately.

Some interesting points about the site from today’s presentation:

• Young adults are now coming to Navy For Moms instead of Navy.com to get info and ask questions about joining the Navy

• C-E reviews every piece of content that goes live to ensure security for the sailors (can’t give away their locations, obviously)
• There are more than 27,000 members, thousands upon thousands of pieces of content, from videos to photos and more
• Groups and events are huge with the moms; tons popping up all the time. From a sociology perspective, subgroups are key

Dave says he asks his team to think like sociologists instead of marketers, and I couldn’t agree more. These women and family members are looking for community and advice. The people running the back-end of their site need to think like that, too.

Another amazing point: Are we measuring ROI or IOR? Something to think about.

“Social networking is about connections, and that’s more important than anything else.” Couldn’t agree more.

…That is the question.

I was kind of surprised today to see TJMaxx retweet a Twitpic of a kid spotted at one of their stores with a leash.

Am I being too sensitive, or is that just weird?

I had the chance to check out 500 Days of Summer last week with my buddy Sarah (whom I still call Moreas, despite her married name being Brush). The movie was amazing for a number of reasons, in addition to being a kick-ass Yelp event.

I think I liked the movie so much because I could identify so well with both the male and female leads on how they felt about love. Once you see the movie, you’ll know what I mean. I don’t want to ruin it!

Other highlights of the film included the wardrobe (Zooey Deschanel, you never fail to amaze me with your clothes!), the choreography and the soundtrack. Definitely one of the best soundtracks I’ve heard in a long time. Slash Film has a cool take on the soundtrack that’s spot-on.

Other cool movies recently? Definitely Away We Go. John Krasinski, I heart you a little bit more.

I don’t hate you. Love, Lish.

Slowly but surely, people. My Target officially has an Orla end cap now! I added a few more pieces while bumming around with my mom this evening.