All JLo Has in Las Vegas

Trip date: April 2018

I wouldn't say any of us are big fans of Jennifer Lopez, but any excuse to head to Las Vegas is a good excuse, so Sandra, Lorraine, and I bought tickets to the All I Have tour and headed to sin city. The last time I went down there for a concert it was to see Prince!

It was also Lorraine's birthday weekend, so we were super happy when we were upgraded on Alaska Air to 1st class! We promptly drank them out of mimosas;  I mean, it wasn't hard as we each ordered 2 rounds and we weren't the only one's on the plane. We were informed that they only had one bottle of champagne on board! WTF? I used the complimentary wifi to send a little tweet and all of a sudden our flight attendant was raiding the coach cart for mini bottles of prosecco and we had refills. Social media FTW.

Lorraine had a crazy good Uber deal so we took it exclusively while in town. It was nice to see that all the casinos have designated areas for ride shares now. Last time there was still a lot of trying to figure out where to get picked up. Once we collected our luggage we got an Uber to town, first stop... lunch!

There is no place I enjoy eating at more in Las Vegas than Bouchon. After storing our luggage for us, we were seated right by the open French doors, giving us a great viewpoint of the gorgeous restaurant and the outside veranda. A couple of bottles of Chablis, a tasty tartine, perfect fries, and impeccable service! The best!

Lorraine got a text that our room was ready and we made our way to the Aria where we'd be staying for the weekend. No need to queue up to check in, we just scanned the code they sent us and retrieved our keys. BRILLIANT!

It took us about 15 minutes to drop our bags, change into our suits, and hit the pool. They were even able to make Aperol Spritz!

That evening we went out for a bit of gambling before tucking in to Shake Shack for dinner. God how I love that burger! And then we made our way to the theater inside of Planet Hollywood for JLo!

She put on an incredible show! She danced her ass off non stop in the most amazing outfits! There were elements of old Vegas added in on some numbers which made it very cool too. We all had a super fun time and I would absolutely recommend seeing her. All I Have is in residence until Sept 29, 2018 so you still have time to jet on down!

We finished the night gambling back at the Aria. Cuz, Vegas!

At Michael Mina's Bardot Brasserie the pink flows during brunch on Saturday and Sunday; $25 for bottomless rosé (still, sparkling, or back and forth) so obviously that is where we were the next morning.

The restaurant is really pretty and the menu read deliciously (escargot in puff pastry, King crab crepe, hash browns with fondue) but honestly we all agreed that the food was fine. However since we took down 4 bottles of rosé we still came out winners!

Then we spent the entire afternoon by and in the pool. That's pretty much my perfect day in Vegas.

That night we had reservations at the very exclusive é by Jose Andres. Hidden behind the main restaurant at the Cosmopolitan, there are just 9 seats all gathered around a central bar top where all the dishes are prepared in sight.

It's not inexpensive; $275 for dinner and $130 more for wine pairings (there are higher priced pairing options for you super fancy folks!), but it was a very good meal and a great time.

The 20-some dishes are modern with Spanish leanings. The wines were similar. There were a few people having the $250 wine pairings and after I asked the somm about a couple of those pours he discretely poured me more than a few tastes of those as well. That was great for me, but if I was on the other end of the bar and saw that I'd probably be a bit irked.

We were completely full and more than a bit tipsy when we finished. The girls went to bed but I stayed up and played blackjack. Cuz, Vegas!

The entire next day was spent at the pool. Lorraine showed up carrying bacon, egg, and cheese brioche sandwiches from Eggslut. Happy birthday to her!

We also had lunch at the Aria pool's restaurant, which was fine. And later I went to the spa and totally blissed out in the sauna and hot tubs before having a fantastically relaxing massage. Cuz, it's so stressful in Vegas after all!

Lorraine's birthday night was a bit low key as we had gone pretty big the previous two. Pre-dinner drinks were had while gambling at the Aria, followed by more drinks and dinner at the old school Peppermill. As their website states, it's "as Vegas as Vegas gets". All that was missing were strippers, and I'm sure I saw one having a drink at the bar! It is a great place for people watching, basking in the glow of tacky neon, drinking White Russians, and eating true Americana fare!

Tiki drinks at Golden Tiki were had for dessert. This off the strip rum den was super fun with awesome Polynesian decor and delicious classic and original tiki drinks! I'd highly recommend a stop here!

It was time to head back to the strip and we took a little detour through the beautiful botanical gardens in the Bellagio before taking the monorail to the Aria.

There wasn't enough time for the pool before we headed to the airport the next day, so we did a bit more gambling and then had a pretty good lunch at Julian Serrano Tapas at the Aria. I liked our room at this hotel and I thought the location was really good. I think the service of the housekeeping staff could have been much better though.

A great girl's weekend in Las Vegas! All photos here.

Living Las Vegas- Part Two

Trip date: February 2015

My week of living in Las Vegas was going quite well, the only problem was that staying up until 1 and 2am most nights, while getting up to work in the morning was exhausting. Luckily I didn't have to be dressed and in an office!

My guests had changed as Lorraine headed home and Matt & Jen took her place on the living room hide-a-bed. After my work day Jen, Matt, and I headed downtown to play blackjack and craps in the old school joints. My luck wasn't holding but the table minimums are still fairly low here so it was all ok. We then walked along the Fremont Street Experience (always crazy people watching) to the Downtown Cocktail Room for drinks. The bar is dark and had mainly local clientele on this Thursday evening, the drinks were very good.

Next stop was to the Container Park, a mixed-use area made up of, you guessed it- shipping containers! The entrance was guarded by a crazy robot dragon that breathed fire unexpectedly and scared the shit out of us! We found our destination, Oak & Ivy bar and enjoyed some really lovely cocktails and exceptionally friendly bartenders. I loved this place!

I had never been to the infamous Lotus of Siam restaurant before, and it is one of Jen and Matt's favorite places, so we grabbed a cab and headed the short distance to this Mecca of Thai food in the Nevada desert. It really hit the spot with some amazing Thai food and quelled some cravings I had had since being in Thailand the month before!

Back to the strip we headed to meet friends of theirs who were at Ceasar's Palace. Matt went off to play in a poker tournament while Jen and I sat at a blackjack table. We learned quickly that playing cards at Ceasar's, which had recently filed bankruptcy was a losing battle. Jen and I headed to the bar to wait for Matt and got our drinks the old fashioned way. By having the cute guy who followed me over from the table buy them!

Friday while Matt was playing in another tournament Jen and I met at Mon Ami Gabi for a decadent champagne lunch. Even though the food is not as great as it use to be, this is still the spot that reminds me of wonderful dinners and lunches with an amazing assortment of friends over the years. Baguettes, escargot, butter, and bubbles consumed we decided to do a little day gambling and grabbed seats at a blackjack table inside the Paris. Few things are as fun as day drinking paired with day gambling.

It was our last night and we made some drinks and took them up to the Chateaus' rooftop for fantastic views of the city. From here the three of us walked over to the Aria for cocktails at The Alibi bar. Woohoo, those libations were expensive!!!!

My last dinner of my week of living in Las Vegas was one of the best. Yanaka!! Our waiter encouraged us to order the omakase for two even though we were three and it was perfect. And delicious! And only $130 or so total!!!

We started old-school on our gambling after dinner,  Jen and I on the blackjack tables at the Flamingo while Matt sat at a poker tournament. After a few hands, I got tired of cheap brandy so I left for the Bellagio and their good Cognac across the street. Jen went home and Matt joined me after finishing his tournament, about 3am. We headed back to the Chateau, stopping for slices of pizza on the way. As you do in Las Vegas!

Although it was only February the next morning was hot so I took advantage of the weather and headed to the roof top pool for the afternoon before flying back to Seattle with Jen and Matt.

Got a bunch of work done, gambled with the city's money for the week, ate and drank like a boss, and had super fun times with my friends. Now that's what I call winning in Las Vegas!

Las Vegas photos here
Living Las Vegas- Part One

Living Las Vegas- Part One

Trip date: February 2015

I saw the post on Facebook, condo available in Las Vegas - $350 for the week, and immediately messaged my friend, the poster, that I would take it.

A week in Vegas? I've been to sin city almost yearly since I turned 21 mainly for weekends. But a one-bedroom condo, half a block off the strip, for $350 was too good of an offer to turn down. And I can work anywhere right?

So I called up a few friends and invited them to come down too; Lorraine for the first 3 ½ days, Jen and Matt for the last 3 ½. The week would be starting on Super Bowl Sunday, Lorraine & I anxiously watched the Seahawks in the playoffs from different locations, texting back and forth on which ticket to buy- the more expensive ticket which would get us there in time for the game, or the cheaper one which would get us there near the end. Seahawks won their trip to the big game and we immediately purchased tickets to be in Vegas to watch it!

We had a plan; land, quick taxi to the Marriott Grand Chateau, drop our luggage, get to the MGM Grand, get our bets in, get a seat at a bar with TVs, watch the Super Bowl, play video poker, drink free drinks.

All except one of those things happened. The queue to place bets was over 45-minutes long and kick off was in 15. We resigned to not bet on the Seahawks but happily watched the game while playing video poker. That missing bet situation paid off, so to speak as the Seahawks delivered a heartbreaking loss.

After the game, I sat down on a blackjack table and proceeded to win much more than I would have on the game.

We grabbed a cab to the Venetian and I sat down at another blackjack table while we waited for our dinner reservations at Yard Bird. I walked away with another big win and after dinner Lorraine decided to join me back at the same table. I won $1200, more than I ever have in Las Vegas! The week was off to a great start. And the fried chicken at Yard Bird was good too. Winner, winner chicken dinner!

The rule for the week was I worked during the day while my guests went out and played. When quitting time rolled around for me on Monday I met Lorraine for a late lunch at Shake Shack outside the New York New York. Burgers and fries paired with glasses of wine were delicious. My first Shake Shack burger, finally! I understood the appeal.

That evening we headed off the strip to Herbs & Rye for cocktails. It looks like a divey Italian joint from the outside, inside it looks about the same. Our cocktails were old school in the classic sense, the bartenders were absolutely great, and we ended up staying for two rounds as the drinks were delicious. This place might be different on the weekends, but on a Monday night it seemed to be us and a bunch of locals which was super chill and fun!

We had chosen the highly discussed Raku for dinner that night, a very authentic Japanese restaurant housed in a strip mall. What became apparent almost immediately was that we were in for some comically slow and terrible service. Which was too bad as most of our food was very good. Highlights were the Yellow Tail belly, served sliced and barely charred, the Wagu beef also served just seared, and the foie gras egg custard. We could see we weren't the only table receiving such horrible service so we left wondering about others' experiences here.

We headed back in the direction of The Chateau and stopped at the Cosmo hotel for a nightcap. We found seats at the over-the-top beautiful Chandelier Bar, unfortunately the menu read like a sorority girl's fruity-vodka dreams so we left. Free cognac at the black jack table downstairs would have to suffice. Unfortunately the drinks ended up not being free as I left some winnings there.

I worked all the next day and didn't meet up with Lorraine until that evening when we headed to the Whiskey Bar at the MGM Grand. Our cocktails here were surprisingly good, the space is all big leather couches and open to the casino floor. Our main event for the evening was dinner at Joel Robuchon also in the MGM Grand.

I had been to the original in Paris years ago and it wasn't the best experience, but Lorraine hadn't been to a Michelin starred restaurant before and I was game to give it a try. We had an outstanding dinner, with above par service and some really incredible dishes. Major standouts were shrimp carpaccio with yuzu & caviar, foie gras ravioli in brothcaramelizeded quail stuffed with foie gras, and the amazing cheese plate they put together for us on request!

We closed down our posh evening with blackjack and complimentary cognac at Harrah's. As you do.

On Lorraine's last day I met her back over at the Cosmo for lunch at Jose Andres restaurant Jaleo. We weren't really in love with anything here; the space felt very phony ( I know, we were in Vegas!), and our pri-fixe lunch was really simple and not very interesting.

Lorraine headed out to the airport and I headed back to work in the condo. So far my winnings were holding out and Matt and Jen were on their way into town.

Vegas photos here.

Living Las Vegas- Part Two

Sizzling Sin City!

Trip date: May 2013

You know the old saying "What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas", but I think now a days, people should consider that with everyone equipped with smart phones and internet access, the saying should be "What happens in Vegas, stays on Facebook".

Case in point; Rachel, Ally and I headed down to sin city to see his purple greatness aka Prince about a month ago. We landed late morning, our town-car driver waiting to take our bags to the car, and were whisked off to the Wynn Encore, our preferred hotel choice as it is small, upscale and free of children. A quick check in (both to the hotel and on Facebook) and we were changed into our suits and sitting down to a delicious and wine-fueled lunch.

A little drinking in the pool, a little hot-tubbing (no time machine!), and some pool side gambling makes me a very happy girl. As the afternoon ended, we headed upstairs where we had champagne chilling on ice, and had a little Prince dance party in our beautiful room.

That night we headed to RM Seafood for dinner. I'm not in the habit of bashing businesses online so I'll just say that I don't recommend it and leave it at that. Afterward we swung over to check out the new and very hyped Cosmopolitan, we all thought it was overhyped and not all that great, but Rachel did win big so at least the cab ride was covered ;)

The next day we decided to go to the Encore Beach Club for Will.I.Am's show. Some Boston guys, on a bachelor party, had rented a cabana for $10k and had invited us to join. We really had no idea what to expect, which was evident by the fact that we sauntered to the front of a 2 hour queue and griped about having to wait for 20 minutes to be let in. We walked into a total rave, happening in broad daylight. It was absolute madness. The lifeguards were in the pool, making sure people didn't get too friendly, if you know what I mean. Boys and girls behaving badly and it wasn't even 1pm. And amateurs drinking too much, leading to situations like this...

If you are wondering if that is any of us, you don't know me or my friends very well. We would never touch our knees to a public bathroom floor!

We stayed till the end of the show, both Will.I.Am and the crazy people watching, each entertaining in their own right, before leaving the madness to escape to the spa for a soak and a massage. Two worlds were never so different.

That night we had a lovely meal at the ever reliable, ever delicious, Bouchon. It's a bit of a tradition for us to eat there, one I am happy to continue! Then we were off to the Hard Rock Hotel's Joint for Prince. It was an amazing show! He sang new stuff and old stuff, he played guitar, he played piano, he was awesome.

A bit of gambling till the wee hours, room service breakfast the next day, and a full afternoon by the pool before an early evening flight home, made for a really great girl's weekend. And a lot of good Facebook posts!

Vegas snaps

Viva Las Vegas!

Every year a group of my girlfriends get together and invade Las Vegas. It started out A LONG time ago and we use to go in December for my birthday. A couple of days in Vegas right before Christmas was actually really relaxing- you were whisked away from the last minute shopping and holiday stress and plopped in a chair at a less busy than normal blackjack table with Christmas carols playing on the sound system. I can remember our financial status' by the hotels we stayed in- Harrahs, Flamingo, TI, Mirage...

photo courtesy of brookenbria

For my bachelorette party (hen's night to you Aussie's!) 6 years ago (next month!) we of course went to Vegas. And the yearly party switched from a winter to a summer thing. Some go every year and some we haven't seen for a while. There have been pregnant attendees and those who have left newborns at home with dads. But I'm happy to say I have attended every year and will continue to do so (since I look upon it as my little party!).

No Vegas trip is complete without a trip to In-n-Out Burger, this year we had a kick ass limo driver who took us to the drive thru! Yeah, double double animal style in style!

This year I put the girls in charge of the hotel decisions and kept the limo & restaurant reservations as my job. Ally did a great job of getting us beautiful and connecting rooms at the Wynn Encore. I can't say enough about the staff at the Encore. The service here was really top notch! Our bell hop even took time to show us around our room, including a lesson in using the bedside remote for lights, tv, drapes, etc. There are two pools, one family style and one European pool where you have to be 21 to be in. This was awesome as we never heard or ran into any kids! They have a rule that you aren't allowed to take pictures at this pool either...

photo courtesy of Ally Cox

Some of us went to the spa at the Encore for massages and all declared it the best of the Vegas spas and our massages in our top 3, really it is fantastic and I highly recommend!

Our girl Ally is turning 40 this month so as a treat we had a little surprise party for her before going out to an awesome dinner at Bouchon on Saturday night.

photo courtesy of brookenbria

Brooke and Michelle did a great job of decorating the room and setting up a nice table of snacks. Ally's husband Dino surprised her by sending 2 beautiful bottles of Schramsburg Champagne up to our room. And we all brought fun little presents for the girl of the hour.

Four years ago during one of the annual trips we also had dinner at Bouchon. The Bouchon Bakery was opening the same weekend we were in town so I asked our waiter if Chef Keller happened to be in the restaurant that night. When he said "yes" I asked if he could come to our table for a minute. Chef Keller came out and actually sat with us for a bit, signing all our menus and being very gracious. At the end of the evening he sent out every dessert on the menu for us to enjoy. When we were seated this time we realized we were at the same table and had the same waiter, he remembered our experience also and at the end of our dinner the kitchen sent out every dessert on the menu again. Very nice and an easy way to make us all feel very special!

A few nights of late night gambling, drinking cocktails non stop, laughing our asses off, hanging out at the spa, playing "Wheel of Fortune", singing the Party Pit song and catching up on all the celebrity gossip makes for a very fun weekend with the girls. I'm already thinking about next year...