Monday, June 22, 2009

Vegas baby!

I gave official notice to my manager last Friday. Now going back to school has never felt more real! Some of you out there might be aware that I had decided to pursue a full-time MBA program at the start of this year. It was really time to go, from the moment that I received offers from the schools that I had applied to, it has been a struggle trying to motivate myself to put in the hours and the effort that I used to. The reason for the change in my attitude is finally out in the open and I guess I can "slack" easy ;)

For my birthday on June 11th, KL and I decided to re-visit a very familiar city. We went back to Vegas!
We got a room at the Signature hotel at the MGM Grand, which is a really great place to be! I had great difficulty leaving my room every day and I still cry when I think of the jacuzzi tub in the bathroom - I miss it so much!

What I wore for the car ride from Orange County to Vegas. As you can see, comfort is of utmost importance:
outfit F21 tee Dries Van Noten sandals


F21 tee, Elizabeth and James pants, Dries Van Noten sandals

A shot of the view at night from our room:
Las Vegas night view


One of my favorite stops in Vegas (besides Barneys at the Palazzo ;)), is the Bellagio Conservatory and Botanic Gardens. As the name implies, it's a magnificent display of landscaped gardens, meant to invoke the essence of each season. Besides changing the displays with each seasons, I think Bellagio also comes up with new displays for special occasions like Independence Day and Christmas. When KL and I were there, it was the Summer display.

The flower ferris wheel that dominated the display:
Bellagio_flower_ferris_wheel


Ladybug! One of the very few insects that I am not squeamish about:
bellagio_ladybug


I love how rosebuds were used to recreate the snails' shell. It took me some time before I coaxed the right expression out from the snail ;)
bellagio_snail


Lovebirds!
bellagio_lovebirds


They were so cute and couldn't stop grooming each other. Some of them were already asleep when KL and I were there (it was 11pm plus after all!) as the lights were switched off.

And of course what would a blog post be without food? In place of a cake this year, KL told me that I could pick whatever sweets I wanted from Payard!
Macarons from Payard - the chocolate and strawberry ones were heavenly! I can't remember what flavours the other colours were, I think I need to go back there for a second tasting!
payard_macarons


More sweets from my sweet:
payard_cakes


On the left is a little slice of berry heaven named Joie, complimented with a dark chocolate-hazelnut creation named the Louvre. I have a hard time deciding which one is better, so I'm gonna cop out and say I love them all!

On the day of my birthday itself, KL took me out for dinner at the Wolfgang Puck Bar & Grill. I have always said that I wanted to try out this restaurant whenever we were in Vegas (yes, even though I know it's so much nearer to drive to the one in L.A.), so my wish was finally got granted ;)

Our appetizers:
wolfgang_puck_crab_fritterswolfgang_puck_gazpacho
Left: sweet corn crab fritters, right: chilled tomato gazpacho

I ordered the sweet corn crab fritters with a zesty aioli while KL got the chilled tomato gazpacho with a dollop of crème fraîche and croutons. Halfway through, I had to give up my fritters to KL...veggies are his Kryptonite and he can only stomach so many mouthfuls of "veggie stew"! My apologies for the photos everyone, it wasn't a candle-lit dinner, but somehow the pictures turned out darker than expected!

For the main course, I ordered grilled tuna with a red onion salad, while KL had beef filet, with herb creamed corn, pesto and balsamic.
wolfgang_puck_tuna_fishwolfgang_puck_steak


Dessert! Apricot melba with toast almonds, vanilla ice and raspberries! No fighting here, we each got a share.
wolfgang_puck_peach_melba


Then it was off to catch the Criss Angel's show, Believe.
Criss_Angel_Believe


It seems that the reviews for this show weren't too good but I have to say it's really bad at all! Just don't expect a usual Cirque du Soleil show, this show is really more of a "Best of Mindfreak" performance with surreal imaginary thrown in to link up each illusion. Personally I felt that the "links" were really the weakest part of the show, some of the performances felt a tad too contrived at time, but in all fairness I did enjoy the dancing bunnies. That's all I should say I guess, without giving too much of the show away.

Lastly, I shall sign off this post with pictures of my birthday outfit, worn with Dries sandals during the day and my trusty Ann Demeulemeester lace-up boots at night!
outfit2outfit3


Lanvin dress, various necklaces from F21 and Made Her think, Dries Van Noten sandals (left), Ann Demeulemeester lace up boots (right)

16 comments:

L in progress said...

looking great! loving both shoes!!!

Mark said...

Happy Birthday! Your post made me hungry, as usual.

- une mandarine

THE DIVINITUS said...

Looking fantastic birthday girl; perfect dress, and Givenchy-y necklace...

WendyB said...

Love those Demeulemeester boots.

Angela said...

oh drooling. i love love love macarons.

Cocktailoffashion said...

Hi Rebecca,
Thank you for visit my blog and for your lovely comment!

Wow, it looks like you had such an amazing time in Vegas...the food looks delicious.

Love your lanvin dress and those Anne Demeulemeester boots
are just too amazing!

Wishing you a lovely week.
Anna

Hanh, Life-in-Travel said...

You look great. I love both your outfit. Now, i see your Dries sandals...made me thought about getting them. they 're on sale now..do your sandals have heels?

Have fun girl!!!!!

Hanh,

diane said...

I've never been to Vegas, I'm so jealous! And all of those photos of sweets and food, you're killing me. xo

Lexy @ QUIRKY EXPLOSION said...

Great blog and post! The only problem is that, um, the food looks sooo good and I'm kind of really jealous that you got to eat those. AND, I just had macaroons that looked JUST like the ones you ate - I thought it was pretty coincidental. Maybe..

Check out my brand new blog?
girlwiththebowtie.blogspot.com

cocktailoffashion said...

It's me again! I am just letting you know that i have passed on an award to you on my blog. Please come and collect it.

Have a great day!

Pupusas said...

Yay Vegas! I am loving your Dries Sandals.

PrincessImp. said...

Hola everyone! <3

Hanh - I got the flat Dries sandals. They are really comfy as the sole has a thin layer of cushioning and I wore them everywhere! The heeled version is awesome too but I personally feel I might not be able to wear them for too long.

cocktailoffashion - thanks so much for stopping by and the award :) Going there to pick it right up <3

Fashion Is Poison said...

fuuuun! hope you had a great time :)

Egle Z. said...

the food looks amazing. im hungry now! looks like you had a great time!

Trina said...

The macarons look so tasty! I've never tried them before, but I always see them in pictures.

Anonymous said...

oh, love the dress with your ann d's! have them, too. aren't they the most comfortable yet sexy shoes?