PARIS NOT PERRIS

I left for Vegas Wed. afternoon and stayed at Paris (as opposed to Perris - HA HA. Only V will get that.). Is it me or are all hotel rooms in Vegas starting to look alike? Nice enough, but meeh. The trade show was Thurs., so I spent the rest of the time gambling, drunk and sleeping.

The sourcing wing of the trade show was about 98% Asian manufacturers. Of course we were looking for a factory in Mexico or South America. Luckily I found one Mexican manufacturer (in the state of Yucatan) who seemed nice and provides just what we need. Doing business in Mexico solves a couple issues: 1) they are not China; 2) NAFTA means no import/export fees/taxes/tariffs or quotas; 3) Yucatan is in the central timezone; 4) everyone speaks English; 5) it's near Cancun & the Mayan ruins so there are vacation possibilities.

I went to another section of the convention center for the retail apparel show for women, juniors, kids, and accessories. Big f-n show. The men's show was in yet another hall of the convention center. You had to ride a shuttle to get to the different halls. Then they had 11 bus routes to return you to your lovely hotel. Big business, big show, big, big, big. I talked with a couple other mom-owned small businesses from SoCal and traded some tips. They were nice enough to let me take pics of their booths and tell me how to make it look good on a budget. I swear I walked 5+ miles despite the buses and shuttles.

After organizing all of the business cards, notes and brochures back at the hotel, I went down to have some fun around 6 p.m. I played blackjack for hours and drank at least 10 tiny Malibu & diet cokes. I didn't think I was drunk, but back in the room at midnight I promptly started watching an infomercial on the big flat screen and ate a Snickers bar. Unfortunately I also realized I couldn't sleep because of the frickin caffeine. More infomercials and some Law & Order fixed me right up.

The Girl watched my plane take off Wed. and land on Fri. in Santa Maria. She thought it was really neat and wanted to know about the pilot and what the inside of the plane looked like. She did pretty well with the in-laws, but picked up a snotty nose and fever from Nana. We came back Sun. to relax and get better before The Hubby returns Mon. night.

PS - I forgot that the free nights at Paris were part of some Coach bag promotion, so after the registration person reminded me, I picked out an adorable little black purse ($198 retail!) for free!!! It did however cost me $400 in gambling for that free purse and 2-night stay. But did I mention... I WAS ALONE FOR 48 WHOLE HOURS?!?!?!