happy middle of the week blog-land! I hope you are enjoying all of these vegas posts... only a few more to go, so make sure that you comment and get yourself entered to win the give away at the end of the week! :) skipping around a bit again and bringing you the outfit from our last night in vegas. I saved it for the finale evening since it was my favorite! it was a new purchase right before the trip. I had searched all over to find something bright, sassy, and fun. you know, vegas style. I think that I succeeded.
we also saved the swankiest club for the last night. we had our friend and vegas hook up put us on the VIP list for XS in encore. encore is the newer portion of the wynn and is right next door to it. I absolutely die over the decadence and decor there. when we did our "girl's trip" last spring we stayed at encore... and never wanted to leave! the rest of our group hadn't been to XS before, but I knew that they were going to LOVE it and it was a must see.
strapless dress (with pockets! squeal!)- jessica mcclintock
belt-bebe, patent clutch- bebe,
stilettos- chinese laundry (vegan shoes, thank you very much.)
I kept my hair simple in a high pony with some volume (like always). I also kept the jewelry to a minimum, just some rocking bangles. the dress was so "loud", bright, and oh so much fun.... that I really wanted it to take center stage and shine.
introducing the girls: rach, jess, and britt. here we are in the VIP area outside. do you know who else was there? only paris hilton AND all three of the kardashians. I don't particularly care for any of those people, but still... it was pretty neat to be in the same area as celebrities.
these girls are such a blast and all super stylish in their own way. I love having friends that I can grab fashion inspiration from and feed off of in a positive way.
my blonde soul mate, britt. check out the close up of the pattern on the dress. super funky! I am already dying to wear it out again. perfect for hot summer nights. again, I am so all about blue tones this summer. get on board with it. ;)
so the interesting and fabulous part about XS is that is an indoor and outdoor venue. when the sun sets, the club takes over the cabana area of the pool. so when you need some air, you just breeze out the massive open doors (floor to ceiling, looks like a wall is missing) and step into the pool area. the VIP bar is in the middle of the pool which is pretty fantabulous if you ask me.
the hubby and I at the bar in the middle of the pool.
gorgeous rach. these are my LA girls who I am going to be visiting in a few weeks.
the best part about being next to the pool? when those killer heels hurt, you can toss them off and have a dance party in the water! you can see one of the bar areas in the pool right behind us.
please believe that this water dance off went on for at least 30 minutes. so much fun!
grabbed one of the shots that the profesh photographer took for us.
david and rachel are one of our favorite "couple" friends. they are so silly and even though they both are extremely focused and determined individuals (doctor and accountant) they can laugh and not take themselves seriously at all. it is such a rare thing to find another couple that you both truly get along with. really wished we all lived closer! we already have a vegas trip in the works with these guys for the end of october. you heard me.
halloween. in. vegas.
costume planning has already commenced!
end of the night. the last night of vacation is always bitter sweet. here are some shots of the club for you, so you can see for yourself how amazing it is!
and in case you thought I forgot... here is a HINT about the give away that I will announce on friday...
and that is all from me today. check out the other two vegas posts and comment away! I have yet to hear any out of control silly vegas stories! some one better leave me something :)
hello again and welcome to vegas week: post two! it was lovely to see some new faces commenting yesterday and I know I will have a few blogs and emails to get to this weekend when I have some time. :) anyways, remember that there is going to be a super, amazing, fantabulous give away this friday and to enter all you have to do is go ahead and leave a comment on each vegas post this week. you can chat about the outfit I'm rocking, tell me your own crazy vegas story, or just say hi and tell me what you have been up to this summer. what ever strikes you at the moment. I am thinking I will give a sneak peak of the give away during tomorrow's post! its just mean to make you wait the whole week. ;)
so we are skipping around a bit, time wise, with this post. this was day two of the trip (day one: night edition will be later) and we are outside the gorgeous venetian. if you have been reading for a bit, you will know of my great love for venice. it is seriously one of my favorite cities, and the one that I fell most in love with as a child. I even have my "venetian" necklace from my mother that has charms such as a tiny gondolier with his gondola, and a venetian mask. that being said, of course, I enjoy a tiny piece of Italia when walking through the venetian hotel in vegas.
at this point, I wasn't sure what we were doing at the venetian. all my hubby told me was to get dressed up and be ready to go. as we stopped for pictures in front of one of their picturesque fountains, I was seriously pondering what he might be up to.
zebra strapless maxi- charlotte russe
black chain purse- thrifted in the haight
silver multistrand necklace- forever love
black wooden platforms- bakers
ginormous flower ring- h&m (and view of the strip from our hotel suite...ridiculous!)
so the surprise of the trip turned out to be....
FRONT ROW ORCHESTRA TICKETS TO PHANTOM OF THE OPERA!
my husband knows my super-geeky-theater-loving-heart SO well. seriously. best. present. ever. and the best part? there was no occasion for it at all. he just wanted to see me smile. well darling, mission accomplished. p.s how handsome is he? he dressed up as well, and I do think that he cleans up rather nicely.
allow me a moment to geek out about the experience. so, phantom is a favorite of mine. how could it not be? it is a classic, people! it has the most extraordinary musical score, being more like an opera than a musical. the story is haunting, enthralling, and completely tragic. I have always been a sucker for those unrequited loved stories. the phantom is my man. I've seen this show through out my life at least ten times. every time I've seen it, though, it has always been traveling through. be it through chicago, or san francisco, or even la... I've only ever seen traveling productions. THIS was an all together different experience. this particular theater venue was built JUST for phantom. every little nuance and detail, right down to the foyer was to draw you into the story. the theater itself was built to be a reproduction of the french opera house, "opera populaire" from the story. I was told that the chandelier itself cost upwards of four million dollars. and the very first scene when it rises into the audience, I believe my heart may have stopped at the utter magnificence of it. the way that the show was staged, we constantly had the actors not even five feet away from our seats! I could look into christine's eyes as she sang to rual! and gah, the costumes! the most fantastic costume design I have ever seen. dear vegas, you win.
lets not even get started about the actors themselves. the BEST I've ever seen on stage. and I've seen broadway. vegas sure does know how to do a show right. by the end I was sobbing, of course, my heart breaking for the phantom. it will go down in the history of my life as one of the most thoughtful and amazing things that anyone has ever done for me. it was truly a dream come true. a magical way to start the evening. :)
dude. did I mention that we were in the front row?
I attempted to take photos to commemorate the night, but was promptly scolded by the aisle attendant. how rude. but seriously, can you see the decadence of this place? the entire theater was as intricate as this. love at first opera house. here are some shots from the vegas site:
that is all from me for today! remember if you missed the first vegas post to head back there and leave a comment so that you are eligible for the give away (sneak peak coming in the next post). hope your weeks are off to a good start.
welcome to vegas week here at the discerning fashionista! five days of vegas vacation ensembles. and at the end of the week I will be giving away a special treat that I picked up while shopping over at caesar's forums. :) to enter yourself in the give away just make sure to leave a comment each day. I know there are more of you out there that I am not hearing from, and I would LOVE to get YOUR feedback. join the fun, people!
so this was vegas: day one. we had just hoped off the plane and tossed our stuff over at the mgm. the nice thing about tucson is that it is maybe a 45 minute flight from vegas, which makes for an easy travel day! I was dressed and ready to go straight from the flight. we decided that before the rest of our group arrived from LA (they drove. yikes. 6 hours of el lay traffic, no thanks), that the hubby and I would walk the strip and see the sights. we are no strangers to the vegas, but its still fun to take everything in. it is a place that is constantly changing and evolving.
over the walk from the mgm to the new york, new york. I know that it is one of the more kitschy hotels, but I adore it. possibly because I adore new york. I'm wearing one of my LBD's with my new, gold flowy tunic from francesca's. a pleasant surprise while I was reading my us weekly on the plane was that the very dress I was wearing was in the "good buys" section. rock on recessionistas. 
we walked all the way down by paris and decided to cross over to watch the bellagio water show and then head inside for a drink (mmm mojitos!) and to wander their botanical gardens.
some new bangles, also from francesca's. one of the only stores that I have found in tucson that has some good pieces. aside from the fantastic thrifting and vintage stores, there isn't much to choose from down there.
gold gladiator sandals, target last summer. super comfy for long walks.
teal studded wallet and purse (because I am loving blue tones like crazy for this hot summer season), nordstrom
the beautiful entrance to the bellagio. I love how everything in vegas can be turned into art. even a ceiling.
the bellagio garden.
theres my man! we were having a blast, but we were ready to get back to the pool since the vegas heat can be just as sweltering as tucson.
on the walk back, past the water in front of the bellagio.
sunnies, black ray bans. and I'm on the hunt for the teal (see above note on blue tones) colored ray bans. I cannot find them any where. I will be checking in SF and LA next month, but if anyone has any tips send me an email! stat!
and of course on our way back, logan decided that he needed to play in a slot tournament. I'm not a gambler myself, mostly because I have horrible and atrocious luck (wait for the story later this week) but the hubby loves it.
back at the mgm and heading to the room to get ready for the night out! stay tuned for more vegas-ness. is that a word? yup. it is now. hope you all enjoyed your weekends. we have a busy week in store and looking at these vegas photos is making me long for vacation. the count down is on. 12 days until SF, and 18 days until LA. its on. :)
much love today.
