MISS AMERICA 2009 - LAS VEGAS, NV

For the third year in a row, some of my girlfriends and I headed to Las Vegas to attend the 2009 Miss America pageant. We stayed at the Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino which is really convenient because not only is the pageant held there (as is Miss USA), but more importantly there is a shopping mall attached to the complex!







We arrived and headed out to enjoy the warm weather...it is great to get out of Minnesota in January when it is FRIGID. 50 degrees feels like a heat wave when you are leaving negative temps behind!














Miss America Kirsten Haglund was filming a promo spot so I snapped a photo...









We made it for one night of prelims...here we are catching up with the super cool Andrea Preuss (former Mrs. America & Mrs. United States) and her family, as well as her hilarious hairdresser Sean, who I love seeing each year!










It was great to finally meet the legendary Dohn Dye. I just LOVE this guy and he is a terrific pageant coach!











Sarah Moses, her super fun sister Bridget and I headed out for dinner at the Wynn Hotel










The best thing about attending pageants is running into old friends! Diane Tucker (Mrs. America/Mrs. World 2006) and I at the Fashion Rocks event. She is SO SWEET and fun!








I got a kick out of chatting with some of the models (who also happened to be Miss USA & Miss Teen USA state titleholders). Alicia Blanco (Miss AZ USA--in the purple dress) went on to place as 2nd RU to Miss USA in April, and Laura Chukanov (Miss UT USA--in the black lace cocktail dress) placed as 3rd RU to Miss USA. So I was in some good company!









Meeting "Mr. USB" (United States of Beauty) Jorge Esteban and Craig Allen Hurst at the Fashion Rocks event. These two were hilarious!














At Hawaiian Tropic Zone for the Fashion Rocks event
















A stop to Vegas wouldn't be complete without a visit to the Pussycat Dolls lounge at Pure. Suffice it to say I will not be auditioning any time soon, ha ha!









A quick photo just before walking into the theater



















Bridget, Sarah, and I with the Miss America stage in the background...










Sitting with Miss South Dakota Alex Hoffman's family (this is her darling grandpa and grandma). What a fun family!












Katie Stam (Miss Indiana) was crowned Miss America 2009...I picked her from the start!












After the pageant, we went out to dinner at Koi (one of our favorite restaurants--try the spicy tuna rolls!)










Sarah and I with our FAVORITE dish, the spicy tuna rolls!













We met Lee Meriwether (Miss America 1955) and let me tell you, this lady is still gorgeous! And what a figure!










With Kate Shindle (Miss America 1998)...she was a cool gal!











Class of 2006 reunite! L to R: Victoria Broz (Mrs. NV America 2006), Diane Tucker (Mrs. Arizona/Mrs. America/Mrs. World 2006), and me (Mrs. MN America 2006)









It was so fun to meet up with old friends!











This is my favorite photo from the entire weekend...if you look closely, you will notice I am holding a can of deodorant (NOT hairspray). This was intentional, as I am re-enacting a really funny thing that happened the year prior. Sarah's sister Bridget was fixing her hair in the ladies' room and was spraying what she THOUGHT was hairspray (you guessed it--it was deodorant). I was crying I was laughing so hard...so I had to re-enact if for Bridget! It was almost as funny the 2nd time around! I guess we are easily amused!










A quick photo op with some of the members of the Las Vegas Wranglers hockey team...I was old enough to be their mother! HA!

PAGEANT SHOP OPEN HOUSE & TRUNK SHOW - NEW BRIGHTON, MN

Owner Sarah Moses hosted an Open House and Trunk Show at her store The Pageant Shop in New Brighton, MN. She brought in some AMAZING gowns from designers such as Sherri Hill, Stephen Yearick, Claire's Collection, and Tony Bowls. It was great to catch up with Caroline Hayden (who had some fabulous pieces as well).






L to R: Angela Richels (Mrs. MN Int'l contestant), my client Leisha Gust (Mrs. MN Int'l 2008), owner of The Pageant Shop Sarah Moses, Kris Mohlin, and me












Sarah and I had a BLAST working with our client Feryl York, a contestant for Mrs. Iowa America 2009.










L to R: Caroline Hayden, Sarah Moses, me, and photographer Paula Preston catch up at the trunk show