Viva Las Vegas (pt 1)

Last week I had the pleasure of attending the brand new Elvis: The Experience exhibit and show at the Westgate Hotel in Las Vegas which is the same hotel that Elvis used to perform at between 1969-1976. I'm lucky enough to be a part of the Elvis Insiders club which allows members special access to events like this one, as well as discounts on Elvis merchandise and to Graceland in Memphis, TN. This event was to be extra special because there would be a red carpet event and Elvis' family and close friends would be in attendance. I knew I had to get myself out there and am so glad that I did!

The exhibit is over 28,000 square feet and includes many of Elvis' privately own cars, worn clothing from films as well as some of his famous jumpsuits from the 1970s, and other personal artifacts. There are beautiful large-scale photos of Elvis covering all of the walls around the space, and the exhibit is in chronological order from the beginning of his life, all the way up to when he performed in this hotel in Vegas beginning in 1969 which is helpful to those who don't know a whole lot about him and want to know more. It's a beautifully crafted space and it is very exciting to have a mini Graceland exhibit right there in Vegas! They also show you a 26 minute movie about his life in a small theater that is attached. Before we were taken on the tour, we were introduced to Angie Marchese, who basically has the coolest job in the world - she's the head of archives at Graceland. She gave us a personal tour of all of the artifacts and was there to answer any questions we had. Before the tour, Priscilla came into the room as a surprise guest, and guys, I almost lost it. This woman has lead such an incredible life, and has done SO much to preserve Elvis' legacy. Without her, no one would be able to tour Elvis' home, or even attend this exhibit I went to last week. I was so humbled by her presence and she was as gracious and lovely as I had imagined her to be. If only I had been able to meet her, but I'm sure she could tell that us Elvis Insiders felt grateful for her contributions and that was enough for me.

There is also a brand new wedding chapel located across from the exhibit which unfortunately I did not get the chance to see, but I've seen pictures and it looks like a little mini Graceland inside. So cute. The first couple to get married there were married that morning and Priscilla was the matron of honor.

{The Exhibit}

When the exhibit ended, I followed a few new friends I'd made to where the red carpet was being held before the show. We decided to forgo that to find our seats in the theater, and as it turned out I was front row center! Of course, I was so excited and could hardly contain it! Elvis: The Show starred Martin Fontaine as Elvis, and he was backed by 14 musicians and eight choir members portraying the original members of his band. I really felt like I was back in time because these musicians were totally decked out in 1970s clothes and wigs, and what made the show so special was that it was in the exact same theater that Elvis had performed in back in the day. There were photos of Elvis and the Presley family in the background during the show, which was moving and I admit to shedding a few tears. Before Martin and the band took the stage, the Presley family entered the room, and the whole crowd of people cheered and snapped many photos. I wasn't close enough to see much, but wow - what a beautiful family. It was a pretty cool thing to be in the same room as them. I felt extremely lucky. When the show started, we were treated to a little film with clips of Elvis playing from his 1970 documentary That's The Way It Is, showing him getting ready to enter the stage as fans were collecting in the showroom, just like us! And then the music started and Martin came out!

{The Show}

Being front row at an Elvis show is always a fun experience. One thing that some people might not know about Elvis as a performer is that he was very interactive with his audiences - he would give them his silk scarves, kiss them, crack jokes and was even known to sign a few autographs if he had some time. Martin chose to walk out into the audience to greet us during "Love Me Tender", and the ladies were freaking out. I couldn't stop laughing. So fun! I didn't get a chance to snag a scarf this time, but I enjoyed him shaking my hand. I couldn't even imagine what I had done if that was actually Elvis.

After the show ended, I was so exhausted that I called it a day and headed back to my room at The Mirage, where I crashed for the night. I always feel a little out of place at these Elvis events because of my age (I was born 8 years after he passed away, so I never got to see him live), but I always manage to meet the sweetest people who I have a great time with and keep in touch with, and I love their personal stories of how they came to love Elvis, and if they got to meet him. I can't wait to go back to Vegas to experience the event all over again and to bring my friends and family. Martin's show will be here for just a short 5 weeks, and then a new show will start in the theater. This is a permanent exhibit and show.

For tickets and more info for Elvis: The Experience- click here

Elvis' favorite retro treats

It's pretty safe to say that if something has Elvis' face on it, I will probably buy it, and that includes this book that was published about Elvis' favorite foods with recipes and little stories about why he liked them. I've always been kind of obsessed with southern food (if I could eat biscuits and gravy every day I would, but I live in LA, and though I can find them here, it's just not the same, plus I'd gain a lot of weight if I ate them every day), and the fact that there is a recipe in here for Elvis' beloved fried PB & Banana sandwiches makes me so happy. I decided to make them and to accompany them with a batch of another one of his favorites: frosted chocolate brownies, and now all of the leftovers are sitting on my kitchen table taunting me. I guess that's not such a bad problem, really. But seriously, send help. Or just come over and take them from me.

I don't have any special tips for either of these recipes, mainly just that I decided to brulée the bananas for the PB & Banana sandwiches rather than just mash them up and pile them onto the bread. I also don't own a torch so i mashed them in a bowl, sprinkled them with sugar, and threw them into a broiler at 400 degrees for a while until they began to brown on top. As for the brownies, make sure your brownies are completely cooled before you frost them. I made the mistake of frosting them while still warm because I was worried about losing the light during the daytime, and now they look like an ooey gooey mess, which is fine if you like it that way, but it makes it mighty hard to cut them and make them look pretty.

Yum! I bought fresh brioche bread which made them a little elevated.

Hope you all enjoyed my little baking session! I want to try my hand at more of these recipes soon. Allll of the pies sound crazy good, and I wouldn't mind having some of that southern mac & cheese from the book, either.

Some recipes similar to the ones I used:

fried pb + banana sandwich 

frosted brownies

My trip to Memphis (Pt 3)

Wearing my new shirt while watching the Kings game in the hotel room (they won.. go LA!)

Day three (our last day..boohoo, so sad) began with a nice chance to finally sleep in. We took our time getting packed, and headed back to the Blue Plate for our final breakfast in Memphis. Seeing as how the last time I ate here, I ate way too much and almost fainted in the car rental, I wasn't sure of what to order, so I stuck to a light meal. I meant for our last day to be a more leisurely day without as much of a strict itinerary, and that was pretty much what happened. There had been some spots I'd still wanted to see, so we planned out each one and ended up seeing it all with time to spare!

First up was the house Elvis owned before Graceland, on a gorgeous street called Audubon Drive. I wish there was a way I could have seen the inside because I hear that they preserved it how it looked back when the Presley's lived there, but I had to see it from the outside. It's a ranch style house that was said to have been the only house on the block with a pool at the time of purchase. I love it!

 

We then drove to Elvis' high school (which is now just a middle school), Lauderdale Courts (the public housing he lived in during his high school days), and the movie theater I'd been dying to see that he used to rent out for all night movie marathons (which is now a playhouse). Funny story: My mom pulled over so I could jump out and take a picture of the outside, but then I got curious and went in (it was open!) and no one was inside. Not a soul. I thought maybe I'd find some kind of plaque to commemorate the history of him using it) but there was nothing. I saw that the room with the stage was open, so I started to walk over when I realized the room before that was pitch black. I ran through it (trying not to scream), took a picture, and ran out. It was kind of spooky, but so fun.

 

I found Overton Square! This was high on my list, since I'd heard that it was full of cute shops and restaurants. Actually, I found it by accident while driving around looking for the theater. I spotted the mural and had to take that picture I'd been wanting to take, along with some pictures I took at the cutest cafe ever called Java Cabana in Cooper-Young that also sold vintage clothing and yummy cupcakes (I bought their strawberry one, mmm). I also found the record store that has that Elvis shrine, and we found a cute overpass as well. I love this part of town and I wish we'd known about it sooner or had an extra day to eat at one of the restaurants there. 

(Aside from having the coolest shrine, Goner Records is one of the best record stores I've ever walked into. You have to check it out if you're in Memphis, and stop by Java Cabana for some yummy coffee and cupcakes!)

We took a wrong turn on our way back downtown, and ended up stumbling upon a funny little tire garden. I never knew these existed before, and I'm so glad that we found it. It's funny, but also really creative! If I lived in a more country setting, I would paint some tires in pastels and go crazy with plants.

After that, we drove to the Civil Rights Museum which I'd always wanted to visit. But, honestly, seeing the Lorraine Motel in person was such an emotional experience, I still can't believe I was there to see where Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated. Truly a powerful moment. We first entered the museum that was very descriptive with all kinds of information about the civil rights movement beginning from the 1800's going up through the 1960's and 70's. Then you went upstairs to the room that MLK Jr stayed in while he was there to do his speech (which they preserved through a glass door), and the room he was taken to after he was shot. So moving. Then once you were done, you went outside to see it from the ground level. You also went up to the room where the guy shot him from, which was just too disturbing for me and we decided to leave. Overall, I am so glad that we visited. I never thought I'd ever be seeing that in person, and I'll never forget it.

 

We also had the best fried chicken.. ever. It was from Gus' which wasn't far from the museum, and we were in heaven. In fact, the restaurant was so packed we took it to go and ate it in the car. Super classy, I know. :)

I couldn't help but snap a few pictures of more murals in Cooper-Young that I just thought were cool and interesting.

Memphis was honestly one of the coolest cities I've ever been to, and I'm still so sad that the trip is over. I hope can go back someday, and now that I know the city like the back of my hand (we got lost SO many times), I know I'll have as much fun as I did the first time.

My trip to Memphis (Pt 2)

 I wish this picture was real! I don't ever like taking those silly green screen pictures (growing up  around Hollywood they're basically everywhere), but I could not pass this up. I was joking with my mom that I really look like I could have been in the real picture in the 1960's, and that my name would have been Diane or Nancy and that I was the president of his fan club, or his little sister if he ever had one.

Day two was just as busy as day one was. In a really silly move, I had reserved us the back booth at the Arcade Restaurant for 9 am, which really for us was 7 am, and we were exhausted. When we got to the restaurant, I couldn't help but fall in love with the old blue and pink booths. I ordered the famous sweet potato pancakes, and they were amaaazing. I think I need to learn how to make these at home so I can have them whenever I have the craving. Elvis' booth was adorned with some photos of him, and wasn't particularly interesting, but I liked thinking that he sat in the same booth once and maybe even had the same meal as me.

After we ate, we drove over to Sun Studio to see where Elvis, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins recorded some of their most popular early hits. I truly felt like I'd stepped back in time, and I love that feeling. The bottom floor was a shop for Sun Studio merchandise, along with a cafe (where Elvis signed his first contract with Sam Phillips!) I picked up a couple of shirts for myself and Chris, and then we headed upstairs for the tour. The tour guide was funny, and I just loved every second of it. The top floor was dedicated to the original artifacts of the artists who were part of Sun, like old guitars, clothing, records, etc. Then we walked downstairs to the "church", aka the studio where it all happened. I can't believe I got to stand there (or rather sit on the piano bench that they had all once used). I even got to fake sing into the famous microphone!

 

After Sun, we decided to be crazy (well, it was already planned, so we were already crazy) and drove an hour and a half into Tupelo, Mississippi to see where Elvis was born and first grew up. We did some Yelp research and found ourselves dining at a restaurant called the Neon Pig which was an exit before the one into Elvis' neighborhood, and were SO pleased with what we discovered. It was a cool, hip little cafe with a butcher shop and a shelf of homemade goodies to take home such as sauces, dry pasta, local coffee, etc. I ordered something I don't think I'll ever forget: It was a chicken sandwich but the bread was a steamed bun, and it was presented like a taco, with crispy chopped chicken, pickles, bacon and harissa. Oh my god. It's one of those dishes that you can still taste whenever you think about it, even if it's been months or years!

The house that Elvis was born in was as small as everyone says, and it really does put things into perspective. I had learned a while ago that Vernon (Elvis' dad) built this house himself, and that is truly unbelievable. I'm so glad I was able to visit. We also sat inside the church he attended, and the museum was fun, as well.

 

After Tupelo, we headed back into Memphis so that I could catch my Elvis Radio interview live. The plaza was empty by that point because tours to the mansion were over, and that gave the experience a pretty intimate feel. There were still a few people walking around, sitting on the benches to listen to Elvis Radio. Little did I know when we got there, that George Klein (Elvis' oldest friend since middle school) was finishing up his Friday radio show. I knew that he did that show, but had forgotten he might be there. Jim (the DJ who interviewed me) saw us outside the booth and waved to us, and later came out to say that George wanted to meet us and to talk business with my mom. I can't believe that I got to meet him! He is such a sweet man, and has lived such a crazy life. On top of having history with Elvis, he wrote an amazing book recounting his friendship with Elvis, along with being one of the most famous radio dj's and tv hosts of all time in the music world. It was an honor to meet him. He gave me a copy of his book and signed the inside jacket! I was freaking out, and still am a little bit. And my interview was so fun to hear! I put my phone up to the outside speaker and recorded it, and I'm so happy to have that forever.

You'd think by this point we'd be too tired to do anything else, but by 6 pm we were off to have dinner at Flight in the downtown area. Flight is a cool concept because you can pick and choose three small plates as your "flight", or choose regular portions (but what fun is that?) and you can order wine flights, too! We opted for their harvest salad, and flight of veal scallopini (I'm not normally a veal girl, but it was my mom's choice), chicken and waffles, and red snapper) which all were delicious. My mom also killed a gigantic mosquito afterwards which caused a funny scene, and once we were done eating, we made our way to Gibson's Donuts! It's amazing how much I can eat. But there's always room for a donut.

All in all, Friday was a day full of laughs, great food, history, hearing my interview and meeting George! I didn't want the day to end, and Saturday was our last day. More on that tomorrow! :)