One Year Anniversary Trip to Las Vegas

It was a year ago this past April that Chad and I knew we were meant to be together. We made a vow to enjoy each other’s company on a trip each anniversary instead of buying gifts, so last year, we started our relationship off with a trip to Gatlinburg where we stayed in this incredible log cabin all to ourselves! This year, we really thought hard about where we should go, but neither of us could figure it out. Vegas kept popping into my head because I knew it was pretty affordable, and the hotels are pretty nice! We sat down on Bookit.com, and found this awesome deal for staying at the Luxor – flights included – and a $70 voucher for food for $530ish each for almost an entire week! We couldn’t say no, so we booked our trip, and then made absolutely NO plans for our time here haha~ The only stipulation Chad had for me was NO WORK on this trip! “That dude be cray!” I thought. But he definitely enforced that rule, and hid my phone from me on several occasions and also closed my computer when he caught me trying to sneak in some editing 😉 He’s currently snoring and sound asleep so I’m sneaking in this blog post! I do think it was a good rule to set. As he said, “People are so caught up in work and what everyone else is doing or staring at their phone that they miss everything going on around them and can’t truly be in the moment and relax.” He has a point! The night before we were to leave, I said goodbye to my precious Molly, who clearly was upset she wasn’t coming along. Also, please note that you won’t see any professional shots in here. The cameras stayed put!

MONDAY: This is the day where I ran around like a crazy person freaking out because I had no idea if I’d packed everything properly. We made our way over to my sweet friend Christina’s house, and she met us with rum and cokes to calm our nerves. Such a hostess! She graciously drove us to the airport, and just as we made it to our gate, Chad looks at me. And then I hear the announcement… “Flight blah blah blah to Chicago has been cancelled. Please see the attend—” and that’s when I literally shouted out, “BUT WHAT ABOUT THE POPCORN??? I WAS SUPPOSED TO GET POPCORN IN CHICAGO. THAT’S WHY I WAS OKAY WITH THIS LAYOVER.” Priorities!!! ALL flights to Chicago, which was where we’d connect from, were cancelled for the ENTIRE day. I was freaking out. Chad still jokes that he could see it in my face the moment I realized I wouldn’t be getting my beloved popcorn. After waiting on the phone for 15 minutes, I’d had enough and walked over to another attendant. We told her what had happened, and her happy smile turned into a serious look, and she goes, “You wanna run?” to which I answered honestly with, “No. I never run unless I’m being chased.” She laughed and said same goes for her, BUT they had ONE flight (directly to Vegas!!) leaving from a totally different terminal in just a few minutes! She handed us our new tickets, and off we raced! When we got there, the attendee that checked us in decided to do some magic tricks for us to get our trip started off better (notice I looked ten million times more stressed and tired after running around the airport in a panic lol)! We had the entire row to ourselves on the flight, landed earlier than expected, and had enough time to eat dinner, check in, and get settled before heading to bed!

You can also see the little storm we watched for a bit:

Also, random, but such a fitting welcome to Vegas thing… Chad and I both hit up the bathrooms as soon as we got off the flight, except I found a box sitting in mine that said Sebastian on it. Recognizing this prestigious name for hair care, I was curious, but also terrified, of what I might find in this box. I was honestly thinking it could be the next CSI episode, but in real life… And this, my friends, is what it was…

TUESDAY: Oh my goodness, this day ended up PACKED. We were in Vegas and ready to get the party started!! We grabbed lunch and did some shopping at Lush before heading over to see the Blue Man Group. If you haven’t checked the weather for here, it’s been HOT. Insanely hot. “But it’s a different kind of heat, so it’s not that bad!” people would say… No, ma’am! Heat is HEAT, and I was dying. By the time we reached the Monte Carlo where the Blue Man Group would be, I felt like death was holding onto me. I grabbed some water with electrolytes, and we just chilled and watched the basketball game (??? I am so not a sports person, so I had no idea basketball was totally happening right now) with the rest of the folks hanging out in the same area.

As soon as the time came, we entered this dark room, and realized the seats we’d purchased were on row C – as in only THREE rows away from the stage!!! We were so close! Everything was beyond incredible, and everyone should seriously go see them.

Clearly after that finale, we were wide awake! And close to the Bellagio 😀 We watched several of the fountain shows, and then on came John Mayer. You know how they say opposites attract? I feel like I must be the only girl who absolutely despises John Mayer, but guess who loves him? Chad. And this is how he chose to spend that time…

 

And because we were at the Bellagio, we obviously had to check out what decor they had (and try to accidentally run into Lil’ Jon!!!).  We walked inside to an underwater themed paradise! They had a mermaid made entirely out of flowers and shells, pearls hanging from the ceiling along with jellyfish, a sunken ship, a sandcastle of the Bellagio, everything.

It was pretty early in the morning at this point, and I was SO. HUNGRY. Thankfully, there was a delicious little cafe that was open! My goodness- it was exactly what we needed. We took a taxi back to the hotel, and I indulged in a nice little bath with my bath bomb from Lush! These things are pieces of beauty, guys. They leave you smelling SO GOOD, and this one even left me covered in glitter! Who doesn’t like glitter?! When I’d soaked long enough and relaxed my tired feet, I discovered something that made me laugh. At the bottom of this, you’ll find my end table vs Chad’s end table. I’ll let you guys take a guess at whose is whose.

WEDNESDAY: This was a day of solid rest for the two of us. We both slept as much as we could, had dinner at a nice little Mexican spot, and then came back to the room to finish off Orange Is The New Black – AKA perfection for my heart.

THURSDAY: On this day, we debated strongly whether to go to see Cirque du Soleil as everyone said, OR go to see the Jabbawockeez. We contemplated it over some delicious Asian cuisine, and decided to just see how much we could see the Jabbawockeez for since they were right there. To our great surprise, the VIP seats that were literally front and center – I mean a foot or two away from the stage – were not booked, which apparently never happens, so they offered us a huge discounted rate on those seats for the same price as one ticket to Cirque du Soleil. It was a no-brainer, especially for my hip hop loving self! Unfortunately, everyone there was banned from using any device at all during the show, so no photos 🙁 It was very good though, and I got to high-five the majority of the team throughout the show! Not to mention I got to rap it out during their performances. You know.

And now it is Friday! We are heading back today, and should be arriving around midnight. This week has been just what Chad and I both needed, which was quality time together and a break from our jobs, and I couldn’t have wished for a better time 🙂 Saturday begins our time back to reality as I ship off a gift card for Father’s Day, enjoy Father’s Day with my own dad, shoot a styled session, boudoir session, and bridal session, and then head back to DC for a crazy adventure that you do NOT want to miss!!!! Be sure to check back to see what’s going down 😉

If you guys have any suggestions on where we should go next year, leave them in the comments! I would LOVE to hear from you!!