So, I'm not a St. Rose employee, but I have a best friend, April, who works in the E.R. at the hospital and she invited me to be her guest at their annual employee award dinner on Saturday night. The dinner was at
The M Resort Spa and Casino in Henderson, NV in the Milan Ballroom. Fancy...I know. The night started off with a cocktail hour, followed by a three-course meal. The food we had was delicious: salad, chicken, and three desserts! After dessert, they served coffee, which was also very delicious! After the main course, the award ceremony began. It was very nice listening to the stories of the employees and the lives they saved. I think my favorite part of the night had to be the fact that before dinner began, St. Rose Hospital opened with prayer. Now, I know that the St. Rose Hospital branches are Catholic based, but it was just so nice seeing a hospital whose business is to save lives stop, pray, and give glory to God. It was awesome!
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| {April and I} |
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| {April and I} |
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| {St. Rose Employee Award Program} |
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{Inside the Milan Ballroom}
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{Pineapple Upside Down Cake. I honestly couldn't drink half of it because there was so much alcohol. Not very good, but then again I'm not to big on drinking either.}
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| {The Dessert! Chocolate cake, Cheesecake, and Fruit Tart.} |
My favorite part of the meal... |
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| {Close up of the raspberry cheesecake! So good!} |
After the ceremony was over, April, some of her co-workers, and I went to the
Hostile Grape. The Hostile Grape is a wine cellar, bar, and wine tasting room at the conference level of The M. I am not a big wine drinker (or drinker at all for that matter) mainly because I don't know anything about wine. There are so many different flavors, that it's hard to know where to start for a newbie 21-year-old. So, I thought a visit to the Hostile Grape would be a very educational experience. One thing I learned from the wine tasting was that for newbie wine drinkers a good place to always start is with sweet white wines and then gradually move up to the darker reds. It is kind of like when you first start drinking coffee - you use lots of sugar and creme at first, but after you've been drinking coffee for awhile you gradually have less and less sugar and creme and instead drink the coffee black. Same kind of concept is used when drinking wine. Pinot Noir is a red wine, but is also a good place to start if you are new to drinking wine as well. At the Hostile Grape you pay by the ounce.
It was pretty cool, not going to lie. You begin by adding an amount to a card, there was five of us so we each put in $5 bucks each - at the Hostile Grape you pay by the ounce, the average cost of an ounce is about $2.50 so we each had 2 oz. The Hostile Grape is broken down into three smaller rooms filled with wine. Each wine bottle has it's own little station within the group it belongs to. For example, all the Pinot Noir's are grouped together in one section and the white wine's in a separate location. After you fill the card, you select your wine and insert the card in the section of wines you want and press how many ounces you want of that specific wine. The wine spurts out and you taste away! Now, I know my explanation doesn't do justice. There's nothing like actually seeing what it is you're trying to explain. The wine was delicious and I recommend if you ever get a chance to go to the Hostile Grape, you should go! I'm thinking about taking my husband there for Valentine's Day because he likes wine much more than I do, plus it has a very romantic atmosphere. In summary, April and I had a wonderful and fun Saturday evening together!
What did you do over the weekend? Any new places that you've gone to, that you enjoyed?
