on our third day in vegas, we started it out the right way again…c a b a n a time! woo! we started early {again} and this time around we ended our pool time a bit later than the day prior. our first day at the cabana, it actually rained. like hard. everyone was in awe because it never rains in vegas and if it does, it only lasts for a few minutes. but the rain that happened the day prior was fierce. it thundered, there was lightening, and it rained very heavily where they were posting flash flood warnings! thank goodness we had already clocked in some major pool time before it rained but it did cut it short by an hour or two.

our second day at the pool, it did rain again but it was very short lived and we were back out in the pool partying it up within no time! after spending 7-8 hours in the pool…yes you read that correctly…we spend that much time out in the sun drinking, eating, and ‘swimming’, we all went back to our rooms to get ready for the evening.

this time around, we were heading out to old vegas {aka fremont st.} for some sushi and amusement. we met up with matt and johann, grabbed a cab to our destination of choice and didn’t fear for our lives like we did the day before with our crazy reckless cabbie driver!

[strawberry lemon vodka lemonade!]

when we arrived, it was quickly apparent that old vegas was double the craziness of the strip. our eyes were getting whip lash from all the {discreet} gawking and weirdness swirling all around us. we slowly walked our way to the sushi restaurant and we were 100% entertained along the way. we finally made it to the restaurant {super cute and quaint place} and we were seated right away {we had reservations and we were early but it was not a problem…thank goodness because panda – aka johann – was hungry!}!

[old vegas & sushi]

[ready to manger manger!]

[fremont street has gotten crazier!]

[people peddling for money]

[bright lights, lots of people, and pure craziness]

[need i say more?]

[the man in the diaper scared the crap out of hc, rightfully so and said. hahaha]

after we ate, we walked along freemont street again. it was so overwhelming and honestly, quite sad. so many ‘street’ acts were going on, waaaaaayyyyy too many children up too late and viewing a lot of nuttiness, it all really made my heart heavy. it was gritty, real, and definitely a world i am not often exposed to {i really don’t view myself as a sheltered person either}. but it was heartbreaking to see so many people doing what ever they could to make a buck and it was just a wee bit disturbing to me. after we spent some time in old vegas, we headed back to our hotel area and got ourselves some gelato and called it a night!

***

the next day, we were meeting liz, josh, and family at mon ami on the strip for brunch. before we met up, we stopped at giada for a drink! it was delicious. i had a prosecco sangria that was super yummy! we enjoyed the ambiance, decor, and the movie they were playing on the telly! i was totally sucked in…it was subtitled and fabulous. the movie was called nights of cabiria and i was in love.

after a few drinks at the bar, we headed out to mon ami for brunch and we were all on time! woo hoo! we were seated on the patio and got down to business with our order. i claimed the diy bloody mary bar, matt ordered a ginormous st. germain drink, and we ordered a bunch of apps to start with. it was fun and yummy. we had a great time with everyone as usual. you can’t beat eating, drinking, and amusing conversations.

[cheers! prosecco sangria…yum!]

[matt’s tall drink of choice]

[little brienne]

[their lovely alfresco dining area]

[lovely liz and her beautiful babe]

[delicious scallops]

[love these two]

after brunch, we all trekked back to liz and josh’s cars to head on out. one car went back to their house and the other car {us} went to a mall so josh could pick up stella’s birthday gift. while josh did that, we stopped by the yard house for {you guessed it!} another drink. heyyyyy, it’s vegas!

[the yard house]

[s’mores…you just can’t go wrong]

[liz and josh’s pool]

[stella, liz, josh, hc, matt, johann, and cheri]

we all then headed back to liz and josh’s house and ended up staying there the entire afternoon and evening until it was time for us to leave. liz cooked us dinner {tacos}, the boys hit the pool and drank whiskey, i hung out with the ladies, and in the end, we were all outside by the pool enjoying the warm evening.

it was another fabulous trip to vegas. hc and i had the best time hanging out with matt & johann. we love vacationing with them! we also loved that my brother and tashina were able to join us and we always love seeing liz and josh {notice the love theme here?!}. every single one of them are great people and we are so lucky to have them in our lives. we are so blessed!

xoxo

so, i couldn’t squeeze our vegas trip onto one post. it would have been waaaayyyyy too long! i think a two part story is just perfect. i must also say that i have been so behind on my posts. always too much to do with very little time!

we were so excited about our trip. we were looking forward to getting away and relaxing for a few days. it had been a bit since hc and i have had some time to ourselves {besides the random date nights – in which we need to get better at that too!}.

i’ll leave out the details but our flight there had a {not so great} layover so we spent our time at the bar {who doesn’t?!}, had a few cocktails and eats before we boarded our plane destined for sin city! during this time, i learned, from hc, how to properly order a ‘philly cheese’ steak sandwich and also they don’t call ’em philly cheese steaks either! you learn something new each day!

[just me and my louis]

[our view for a few hours]

[wiz with]

[cheers to layovers!]

[here we go!]

once we arrived in vegas, it was a series of events that started our fabulous get away off on the wrong foot! first, our or i should say my luggage took forever to show up! after waiting quite a bit to retrieve it, we finally got a cab to the hotel. our check in was smooth but once we walked into our hotel room, it totally stunk like smoke! ugh. just awful! hc called downstairs to complain but he didn’t get any real answers and no real solve for the problem.

they sent a gentleman up from housekeeping and all he did was empty out an aerosol can of scented spray into our room which made it worse {i couldn’t even breathe}!!! argh, i was fed up! that was it…i walked downstairs and inquired about why we couldn’t switch our room! after a long exchange of words, we didn’t get our room exchange {due to the nature of the rental} but we did get a credit!

hc and i finally settled in after a very long day and woke up to a beautiful, sunny, warm fabulous day! we had rented a cabana {something we do every time!} and we were ready to soak in the very bright sun and consume many delicious libations!

hc secured the cabana and johann was already down there by the time i had gotten ready and joined them. as i was relaxing, johann and hc went upstairs to get matt to join us and the party ensued! after a few hours, huy and tashina finally joined us! the last several years we have visited vegas, huy has been able to join us…we are lucky he’s so close! just a few hours of driving from l.a. and bam! you’re in vegas!

[my bro and his fiancé, tashina]

[delicious lobster eggs benedict]

[we loooooove our cabana time!]

[goofing around…poor matt got splashed by huy]

after hanging out at the pool all day, some dark clouds rolled in and we decided to call it quits at the pool. we traipsed our way back to our hotel room and got ready to head out for the evening. we cruised around the hotels to get to caesar’s forum shops {my favorite place to shop while in vegas} to pick up a few things for matt.

our final destination that evening was at the pamplemousse restaurant right off the strip. it’s a quirky, mysterious, dated french eatery that matt’s sister, liz, recommended. our cab ride there was the most obscene ride i have ever taken! like ever! we clung on for our dear lives! the cab driver sped down the boulevard as if he was in the indy 500 and blew e v e r y red light he hit. i don’t mean a light that had just turned yellow to red but a full blown red light! i think he went through four in a row and then as we neared the restaurant, he realized it was on the left side and proceeded to stop in the middle of the three lane street {mind you, without a signal on to notify the other drivers we needed to turn} as cars flew by us! oh em gee. we, obvs, made it there unscathed by the care of God.

[hanging at the grand gardens in bellagio]

[love these two]

[we looove starbucks! a chic looking starbucks in caesar’s forum]

pamplemousse was vintage, chic, and it felt like we were straight out of a movie. keifer, our server was a riot. pure delight. he totally made our evening, our meal. his personality was quirky and amusing. he told us the history of the restaurant, we played vegas trivia with him, and he was absolutely sweet and kind. we ordered the five course meal and every morsel was delicious. keifer insisted that we ordered the belgium chocolat mousse…he said it is made in true french style! oh, it was absolutely fabulous. perfect and sweet.

[getting ready to dine at pamplemousse]

[cutest couples ever]

[best crudites presentation]

[palette cleanser // sorbet with champagne]

[dining with the best: hc, liz, and josh]

[seriously. to die for decor in this place. vintage, funky, quirky, so vegas]

[pure french chocolate mousse // divine]

we loved, loved our experience at pamplemousse. it was entertaining, fun, delicious, and grande. we had the best time hanging out with the group and laughing with our fun server, keifer. i love exploring and reveling in such fun vegas finds!

xoxo