After a full year of no travel-and very little and I do mean Li-TIL social interaction, Hubs and I took our first flight. What better place to visit than Vegas… I mean, if it’s good enough for Bey and Jay, we take no exceptions to hopping on the Vegas bandwagon.

Honestly, I wouldn’t have taken a plane ride anywhere just yet as I’m still a little skeptical about travel considering the fact that COVID is still looming and very much unpredictable. Needless to say, I couldn’t bring myself to say no to supporting a good, good girlfriend. One of my close friends was celebrating her retirement and she never asks me for anything. Thus, when she called and said she wanted me to be there for her, I said a prayer, the Lord said “say less”… and the trip was awesome- Hubs and I had a much needed escape as well as the honor of seeing the joy on Crystal’s face throughout her retirement celebration. As promised, here’s a recap of our mini getaway.

We flew out on Thursday morning and landed around 3:30pm – Our hotel of choice was the Cosmopolitan. We knew we’d be spending a fair amount of time at the hotel so we wanted a room with a beautiful view and a Terrace so that we could enjoy the city without being caught up in the hustle and bustle – Chile people were out and about like MASK OFF and COVID WHO?, Lol!

The hotel staff were amazing during check-in and throughout our time there. They were on it! Everything was sanitized between each guest as we approached the counter to get our room keys. They scored major points with me for that, it definitely set the tone for our stay. The rooms at the Cosmo are really spacious and the view was immaculate. The video/pictures really don’t do it much justice.

Day 1:

We settled into the hotel around 7:30 because we grabbed food from Hattie B’s. The food was amazing and so were the drinks. I strongly recommend the Lemonade & Tea Vodka slushy. It’s nice and strong but also sweet and delightful. After we got food, we took a Lyft to find a liquor store because baybee ain’t nobody got time for overpriced drinks when I had a whole entire room with an ice machine and a refrigerator, OKURR?! Lol. After we fed our souls and got our spirits, I was craving an adult nap, I was super exhausted from the flight. The plan was that I would take a lil quick nap and then we’d head out to spend the remainder of the night at the casino. That plan didn’t quite come together, Lol. Honey, I ended up sleeping ’til 2am. Sis was super TIDE… Hubs was such a good sport though. He let me rest while he hung out around the room. I woke up and soaked in the jacuzzi for a good hour and then we headed out on the balcony and made new memories.

Day 2:

We woke up hella late ( we can charge that to the blackout curtains and the Japanese vodka that we’d been drinking the night prior). Since we missed reservations and we were due to attend the retirement ceremony, we decided to get dressed and due Brunch at Henry’s which is a restaurant located inside the Cosmopolitan. We both ordered the Henry which consisted of cheese eggs, hash browns (so so good), bacon (hubs ordered turkey sausage) and toast with strawberry preserves. It hit the spot and the cocktail was so good that I had to lookup the recipe so that I could remake it when I got home. After we ate, we went back up to the room and got dressed for the ceremony. I’d been looking forward to seeing my ace as we haven’t seen each other in YEARS. Our last time kicking it over an extended period was over 15 years ago when we took a girls trip to ATL. As you can imagine, I was ecstatic to see her and celebrate her many accomplishments. Seeing the joy on her face when she saw us made the travel risk worthwhile. Though we’ve kept in-touch throughout that time, there’s nothing like being face-to-face with the people you came up with, love and value. During the ceremony I had the honor of presenting her with an award from myself (and two of our mutual friends). I customized the award and decided to name it the “You Did That Award” because she made 20+ years in the Air Force look effortless and I KNOW it took much dedication and sacrifice to do what she did. She was pleasantly surprised and very much appreciative.

After the formal retirement celebration, hubs and I went back to the hotel for a wardrobe change. We showered, and hung out on the balcony a bit until it was time for our dinner reservations with my sister in-law. She wanted to dine at Crush, which is a restaurant located within the MGM Grand. The food was good and the conversation and time spent was priceless. Lots of laughs and good vibes. Afterwards, she dropped us off at the room. The terrace view overlooking the fountain at the Bellagio was gorgeous, we just couldn’t resist chilling out there every chance we got. Thus, we had ANOTHER round of drinks out there before I headed out with the girls.

We were supposed to get on the High Roller but we ended up getting out much later than planned so we rode around listening to our favorite high school hip hop playlist and it was A WHOLE VIBE! We laughed so hard as we went down memory lane. I forgot how much of a mess I was back then until they reminded me of how “hardcore” I used to be, LOL! Let’s just say, Bone wasn’t the only ones feeling THUGGISH RUGGISH, LOL! Crystal played the Quiet Storm remix (BaeBEE, if you ever want to see me cut up… turn that ish on and I’m up and STUCK from there. Lol! We were all rapping the lyrics non-stop, you couldn’t tell me we weren’t living our best life. We ended up hanging out in some bar (can’t recall the name) at LINQ. After several rounds of lemon drops chased with Tito’s and pineapple, I ended up tapping out. Crystal and her Boo dropped me off at the hotel around 1am, after soaking in the jacuzzi (one of my favorite pass times), I called it a night.

Day 3:

Started the Day with Breakfast at the Eiffel Tower Restaurant. I would say this place is a Vegas Staple and a must visit. It’s definitely an experience. The view and customer service are consistently excellent. If you plan on visiting while you’re in Vegas, be sure to make a reservation because it’s hard to get in otherwise. Hubs set our reservation for 11:15. When we arrived there was a line and people were steady rolling in – I was so happy that we’d planned in advance because folks were being turned away, so definitely plan accordingly. I ordered the French Toast À La Crème Brulée, with Vanilla Cream, and Maple Orange Syrup as my entree. Hubs opted for the Lobster Eggs Benedict, Cream Spinach, with Yukon Gold Potatoes, and Hollandaise Sauce. If you’re a Mimosa girl like me, I recommend the Raspberry Elixir Ulti-Mosa, and the Les Champs-Élysée Ulti-Mosa. I had both and let me tell you, they were notably delicious.

After breakfast we did some shopping and then headed back to the hotel to attend our 2:00p couples massage. Friend, it was EVERYTHING. The spa is GORGEOUS (though it still doesn’t top my Australia spa experience, Lol!). I got a few pictures but it’s a nude spa so as you can imagine cameras weren’t allowed. I enjoyed skinny dipping in the heated vitality pool.

We indulged in the spa for a few hours, and then it was time to head up to the room to get ready for the night. After a few rounds of drinks, we got dressed and headed out to Crystal’s Diamonds & Denim themed Mansion Party to celebrate.

We drank, we ate, we danced, we laughed, we celebrated and most importantly Crystal was full of joy and gratitude. During the event Crystal’s children and her s/o did a presentation in which they invested the first 10K into her new endeavors as a Real Estate Agent. Hearing their outpour of love and appreciation for her, was beautiful. After the event we headed back to the room to close out the night and prepare for our early flight.

I’ll try to link Vegas/Vacay wardrobe inspiration and swimsuits in an upcoming post. Next up I’ll be sharing the dresses I grabbed from the Christian John Rogers Collection so stay tuned for that.