Celebrating Harry Potter (Part 2)

Late last month I gave you a big Harry Potter post to celebrate Harry's birthday and promised you more from the various activities that happened over the next week. I have acquired quite a few more Potter things since that first post about my Christmas Snape, so my house is more and more like Hogwarts every July. Here's how I celebrated my magical week .

This is my house's Potions cabinet with a little corner for Divination.

On July 31st at 12:01am, we were let into Powell's to purchase the new "book". I knew this wasn't a true Rowling book, since she didn't write it and it was the rehearsal version of the script of Cursed Child, and I had one preordered on Amazon, but then I really wanted to relive the excitement of midnight releases of the other books and go be with "my people". We played trivia games in line and chatted with some others around us. And, of course, we put on our Potter gear.

There were even some fun photo ops while we waited: 

Eric seems way too excited to be an Undesirable.

Got my book signed and stamped by "Harry Potter".

Loved this muggle wall that allowed anyone to share their thoughts about Harry Potter.

On the afternoon of the 31st, we headed to the main library in downtown Portland for Hogwarts Early Admission Program, an event put on by Portland's Harry Potter Alliance. The event was a fundraiser for Youth Progress, which helps underprivileged children get the necessary things they need for success. We donated school supplies for this event, because it matched the theme and back-to-school was actively happening. 

Before we went in, we wandered around the library (because it's gorgeous) and took some pics. Here I am dressed as Luna, scoping out a Spanish version of Half Blood Prince. 

These stairs are the best. Too bad this photo didn't get the full effect. 

Once inside, we got these cute little broomstick pencils, a program for the day's activities and snacks, like these Bertie Botts. 

One of the "classes" was Defence Against the Dark Arts, which Harry excels at and Eric and I do not, apparently. We did this by playing the wizard version of Rock Paper Scissors: Reducto Protego Expelliarmus. Here are some last duelers. 

We played for house points. This little one helped keep track.

After Transfiguration (where we had to transfigure a lump of Play-Doh into things from the books) and trivia (we came in second!), they did a dramatic reading of the new book, which made me a little teary, I'll admit. 

My Weasley Wizard Wheezes shelf.

On Saturday we had our annual Potter Party (usually we do it whatever Saturday is the closest to the 31st, but had to push it this year). Over the last three weeks I've been really putting much of my effort into decorating "Hogwarts" and then "Diagon Alley" and making the remaining prizes and goodie bag inserts.

We played bingo, where I gave the guests a list of Potter-related words and allowed them to use whichever they liked to fill in their card. This way everyone had an equally random chance of winning. Winners received 25 points for their house, some sweets and Chocolate Frog cards.

We sorted into houses while everyone was filling out their cards. It was casual. I put the sorting hat onto their head and they reached into a cauldron to pull out a house pin. I also had a different cauldron filled with wands that I made myself and attached tags to each with the wood, core, length and "personality".

Everyone is required to dress up and my friends have a reputation for going all out, which makes me really happy. Here's Slughorn in his jammies with his daughter, Draco Malfoy.

Here I am as Ron again, this time with freckles, in Diagon Alley. 

Eric as Delores Umbridge

After trivia and a quick Horcrux Hunt, points were added up and the House Cup was awarded to...Gryffindor. I swear there was no preferential treatment happening there. Each member of Gryffindor house got a special prize which included a mini house cup and some other goodies. We ended the night with Pensieve memories, where I asked anyone who wanted to to share a memory of their favorite part of the HP books or the party. We'll share some of the best ones at the next party, which I'm already planning.

I hope you all had a great week and if you're a Harry Potter fan, that you got a chance to celebrate properly. Did any of you fans attend a midnight release? Have you read the book already? (I have, but please no spoilers in the comments for others.)

Vote For Shereen Travels Cheap!

In case you haven't seen it elsewhere, I've been nominated for Best Budget Travel Blog by USA Today 10Best! I'm super honored by this, as I'm on a short list of other fantastic blogs that I actually read as well. I'd love to win this thing, to prove that a small blog can be just as good as ones with a lot of publicity and many more readers. Help me out and spread the word among your travel-loving friends. If you enjoy my blog, you can vote every day through Aug 29, and I'd be very grateful for the love and effort thrown my way. Click below to see the list, or go straight to my page to vote.

This is a big deal for me, and it really is an honor just to be nominated, but let's see how far we can take this thing. Vote, share and vote again. You can also vote for other travel categories while you're at it, like Best Free Attraction, which is a list I helped compile. 

Thanks and have a great weekend! I'm playing at being Ron Weasley at my annual Harry Potter party (a bit late this year), so pics of that, the midnight release and another Potter event I attended in the last week. You can see previous Potterness here.

Why I Love the Bellagio Conservatory

I'll admit, I've probably visited Vegas a lot more than most people. I've gone 5 times in the last 4 years and possibly a dozen times before that. I love the feel of the city and exploring outside of The Strip as well. I like gambling, but I also enjoy wandering the hotels to see the architecture and the creativity. One of my favorite places to visit is the Bellagio. It's the perfect mix of decadence and casual. You can easily spend all your money on the slots or the upscale shops and then spend nearly nothing on other activities and food.

Of all the times I'd been to Vegas and visited the Bellagio, it wasn't until 2014 that I read about the free botanical garden. How was this possible? I couldn't figure it out, so I made a point to hit it up on my very next trip, because free!

Each season, the fantastic gardeners and creators change up the theme of the conservatory and garden with new props and floral arrangements. Even when they use elements again, it's always different. 

In July, they had an aquarium theme that had the feel of Finding Dory with a walk-thru tropical fish tank (complete with digital fish swimming above and below you) that was made by the guys behind the show Tanked. 

There were also floral marine animals, like this whale and the seahorses. There's something to see around every corner and you can see how popular it is when you visit, because no matter when you go, it's always packed with people taking pics and reading about the different pieces that have been created.

Another year I visited, they had a beautiful garden theme, with giant watering cans and a greenhouse aviary. It was full of awesome little birds. Finches, parakeets and more flew around and watched people as much as the people watched them.

Check out this amazing floral snail! On my visit in March, I actually saw a gardener going through and swapping out new flowers for droopy ones and doing a bit of watering.

They always try to include things that are current, like this horse. There's also always a nice live element to things, like this koi pond. Beautiful, right?

Here's another theme that was very cool. It revolved around a shipwreck, complete with sunken treasure.

Each set-up includes a stage for live entertainment. I've never actually visited while this is happening, but I bet the music really makes the space even more magical.

The conservatory is always bright and airy, even when it's dark out. The room is large and the ceiling is completely made of glass. Did I mention that the conservatory is open 24 hours a day? Well, it is! So, when you're up at 3am and not ready to head back to your room yet, you can always come here.

In March, the theme was Chinese New Year. This year is Year of the Monkey, which is where that little guy comes in. Look around while you're checking out the awesomeness, because you'll see little plaques with interesting facts on them about what you're looking at.

Don't forget to walk all around the perimeter, too, because sometimes, the coolest things can be found on the back of a waterfall or other feature.

And make sure you also look up, because the decor just gets better and better everywhere and they use all the space available and smartly. Chinese New Year used these red lanterns and coins to bring luck to the whole shebang. You can easily spend an hour here, but as you can see, there's also an art gallery (which always has a special piece to go with the theme), places to eat, shop and even a spa around the conservatory. Head around the corner to the Jean Phillipe crepe place and get a snack and also see the World's Largest Chocolate Fountain. It has all three kinds of chocolate cascading down...and will totally make you want one of those crepes.

Stay tuned for more of my favorite free places in Las Vegas, including all of the free art around town. What are your favorite free attractions, either in Vegas or your other cities you love?