tunic dress- thrifted "how sweet it was vintage" (all of my dresses this week have been thrifted, a must do!), boots- chinese laundry (vegan), faux feather earrings- forever 21
my lovely future (some day) sister in law, rene, took these gorgeous shots for me. she is such a talented lady... for reals. not only does she have ridiculous photo skills, is hilarious and beautiful, but she BAKES. dude. I keep telling my hubby and his brother that if he doesn't marry her that I might have to! only for her baked goods, obviously. we had our mini photo shoot in the in laws back yard while we were waiting for everyone to get there. when the hubby and I are in town the family tries to have one big night with all of us. we cook, we eat, we drink vino, we laugh, we sit by the firepit, and we enjoy each other far too much. most of the siblings and cousins on my in law's side are all in their twenties and married or in a serious relationship so it really is like hanging with your closest buds, but its family instead. very cool. we celebrated my little sister in law's birthday and it was wonderful to be home again.
as for TODAY... I am off with my hubs to scottsdale, arizona! he booked a few special days for us at this fancy spa resort, the montelucia, to celebrate my 25th birthday! seriously, go have a look at that place because I was swooning when I saw the website! it was a surprise that he planned all by himself and he told me a few days ago on my birthday. I am so lucky to have him. :) so I will be back on friday after some pool time, maybe a massage and a facial or two, and some soothing desert yoga. nomaste.
remember to enter the "autumn goodie bag" give away by checking out this weeks posts and commenting. here are monday and tuesday.
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.
