My life is pretty fantastic, but insanely hectic. In between juggling my 1-year-old and 3-year-old sons involved social schedules (not kidding), my Macaroni Kid publisher mom gig, and keeping up with my hubby’s shift work schedule, there is little “me” time left at the end of the day. So when Las Vegas came calling, beckoning me to join in on a girlfriends' weekend away, how could I say no?! Let me start out by saying I was a Vegas virgin... mainly because I thought that Vegas was never really my jam. Thinking of Vegas always provoked visions of crazy bachelorette parties, all night gambling and huge crowds... and although there is a lot of that always going on, it was so much more! My weekend was full of delicious meals, pampering, dancing (and singing)... and relaxing. Like, sitting by a pool for 4 hours uninterrupted while drinking a daiquiri, type of relaxing.
When doing some Vegas recon work before my trip, I realized one thing - there were a lot of options. You could eat at a new restaurant and see a new show every night for a month, and still not see it all. Enter the amazing company VegasGirlsNightOut.com. They are a boutique concierge service made up entirely of a team of local women, and they can plan your Vegas getaway according to your budget, interests and the occasion that you are celebrating. They have party packages available, or can totally customize your trip with a la carte services including restaurant reservations, show tickets or nightclub passes for your group. As an example, The Glamour Girl package includes a hair blowout and curl, and full make up application at The Look Style Society Salon, a ticket to Divas Las Vegas starring Frank Marino (a Vegas staple and super fun night out), VIP access to one of several of Las Vegas’ hottest nightclubs, and free late night open bar at Hyde at the Bellagio or Chateau. Or if you and your friends are looking for something a little more wild and crazy, you can opt for the Boyz Crazy package which includes 1 ticket each to The Thunder from Down Under revue, and the Boyz II Men show, plus VIP nightclub access and open bar at some amazing nightclubs. There are so many options and decisions to make when planning your trip to Vegas, and having a well-planned itinerary with VIP access will definitely help to make your getaway a success... after all, this is supposed to be a change from the schedules, the planners and the calendars, so let someone else do the planning for you! Another tip- choose the limo package. All of the hotels are much further apart than they look, and if you’re breaking out your heels for this trip, your feet will be in pain early in the night if you are walking! A limo waiting to take you to your various excursions is the way to go!
VegasGirlsNightOut.com did not disappoint when planning this trip for us! In the spirit of full disclosure - it took me until Thursday of the next week to recover, but holy smokes did I have a great time. My weekend getaway got me into Las Vegas late Friday night, and we departed on Monday afternoon. This was the perfect amount of time to get away, without feeling too much of the dreaded mom guilt. Our accommodations were at the Luxor, and while it is one of the older properties on the strip, my suite was beautiful, very comfortable and had a fabulous view. I am also a self proclaimed history nerd, so I enjoyed the Egyptian theme of the hotel, as well as the Titanic exhibit that was there.
On Saturday afternoon, our group enjoyed brunch at Giada. The restaurant was feminine and beautiful, and had a full open air feel to it due to the retractable windows! Our meal started with bellinis made with freshly pureed peaches, and some of Giada’s signature brunch small plates, include some delicious meatballs. At this point, I paused and thought about the last time I’d had a meal without having to order off a kids menu, or clean up the floor after the meal's end... and then a let out a sigh of content, and finished off my bellini. The highlight of this meal (and of my entire trip) was definitely the Polenta en Cocotte (creamy polenta, spicy sausage, dried cranberries, calabrian chile with two poached eggs & toast).
After an amazing satisfying and relaxed meal, we headed over to The Look Style Society salon. I am a spa girl, so this was my happy place. The huge industrial feel of the salon was very cool, and the services were fantastic! My nails were manicured (and they were in desperate need!), my makeup was applied, my lashes were extended, and my hair was washed, blown out and curled. In Vegas, everything is bigger... and so was my hair. It was awesome, and I totally embraced my new Vegas look (for the weekend).
All that primping and pampering can leave a mom hungry (again), so after heading up to our room to get dressed, we were whisked away to Caesars hotel for our family style dinner at Carmine’s. I am a native New Yorker, and I have never been to the Carmine’s in the city, so this was a fun first for me! The food was piled high (check out those zucchini straws!) and the ambiance was warm and fun. Family style eating is the way to go when you’re out with friends, don’t you think? So much fun! The pièce de résistance at Carmine’s was definitely The Titanic. It is a dessert of epic proportions that was made up of over a dozen scoops of ice cream, whipped cream, and fruit. When in Vegas... eat dessert. Lots of it.
Here’s where things got super fun... after a fun visit and photo opp to the iconic Las Vegas sign and a mini limo tour of the strip, we went to see Boyz II Men. {Le sigh.} Back in the day, I was a huge, huge fan. But, truly, even if you are not of the age to be a fan girl, go see this show! The Boyz were funny, sweet and oh my goodness, those voices. It was a perfect show to see with girlfriends, and to start to let your hair down a bit (I may or may not have belted out Motown Philly and End of the Road with reckless abandon, and also caught a rose that was thrown from the stage during I’ll Make Love to You). We had a meet and greet with the group after the show, and my life was complete (sorry kids).
The show ended and it was already past my bedtime, but alas, we were off to Tao, one of Las Vegas’ hottest nightclubs inside the beautiful Venetian hotel. To be totally honest, I was a bit nervous for this one. I’m so far off from my clubbing days, that I started to get anxiety about how out of place (and well, old) I would look. But, that’s the thing about Vegas... the energy is fantastic and the moment we walked in and I heard that music pumping (that awfully hip auto-tuned music... see?! Old.), I got my second wind and I was brought back to a “me” of much younger days. My inner party girl came out, and thoughts of preschool PTA and recipe planning were long gone. I danced the night away with the rest of the crowd, which was made up of tourists both young and mature and it was a blast!
Sunday started with me waking up and immediately getting a Venti cup of Starbucks. With an extra shot of espresso. I thought - Oh man, so this is what Vegas feels like after my first night out in years, huh?! But, as I looked forward to my day ahead, I felt much better. Sunday was our relaxation day. ALL DAY. We arrived at the Moorea Beach Club at the Mandalay Bay hotel at noon, and didn’t leave until 4pm. A private cabana and pool were our haven from the hot sun for the afternoon, and we noshed on a light lunch, plenty of water, and a few daiquiris. I read an entire tabloid magazine, then took out my dusty old kindle, and finished my book that I had started months prior. Does this sound like heaven to you, mom? Yeah? Because it was!
Sunday evening consisted of delicious Mexican food at Tacos and Tequila and endless exclamations of “OMG, I cannot believe I am at a Thunder from Down Under show”... and a lot of eye covering. This is kind of the epitome of a girl’s night out, in the most stereotypical Vegas way possible. Hysterical and so much fun.
I truly cannot remember the last time I felt so relaxed. At the risk of sounding a bit sappy, and pathetic, it kind of changed something in me. I had the realization that I deserve to do this for myself a bit more often than…well, never. Here at Macaroni Kid, we really try to promote the concept of #TakeCareMamaBear - and I think it’s about time I personally take that to heart! Go somewhere with your old friends, your new “mom” friends, or even with your sisters! And, if you want to go somewhere where you can dine at world class restaurants, get pampered, relax, and also wild out and have the craziest weekend ever…go to Vegas.
The writer was invited by Vegasgirlsnightout.com to attend this trip, but no other compensation was received. All opinions are entirely her own.
