what happened in vegas.

As you know, I recently took a trip to Las Vegas. My mom and I made plans to go so that we could see Britney Spears and Celine Dion perform live. Sadly, Celine Dion has cancelled all of her shows....so that didn't happen. But we managed to have a lot of fun despite that. It was actually really great to get away from it all. I didn't have to do a whole lot of work while I was away. So, for the first time in a very long time, I was able to relax. Actually relax. Coming home has been a bit of an adjustment. I am still trying to get caught up on everything and get back into my regular routine. Sigh! But it was certainly fun while it lasted.

What happened during the trip? On the first day, my mom and I were exhausted from the day of travelling. That is why we stuck around our hotel (The Stratosphere) and looked at the shops, grabbed some food, and watched a little TV in our room before calling it a night. The next day was far more eventful! We had booked tickets to take the Pawn Stars tour. It included stops at locations like Counting Cars, Rick's Restorations, Pawn Stars, The Toy Shack, and Tanked. Now, I don't watch all of the shows but I was super excited to visit the site of Rick's Restorations and Pawn Stars.

It was so exciting! I had a lot of fun. Just visiting the locations for real, seeing a few people from the shows, and learning more about the behind-the-scenes. I absolutely loved it. Here are a few of the most memorable pictures from the first couple of days:

The next day was a busy one. During the day, we went to Meadows Mall to do a little bit of shopping. Okay, maybe a lot of shopping. There was a Sears - so I bought a bunch of clothes from the Kardashian clothing line. (What can I say....I love the Kardashians!) We also did some damage at Macy's, Charlotte Russe, and other American stores. It was really fun. Unfortunately, also really costly. Ahh...vacations. After a busy day of shopping, we went back to our hotel to get ready for the Britney Spears concert. As for the Britney concert, that was definitely the highlight of my trip. So, I am saving that for another post!

The day after the Britney concert, my mom and I toured around the Venetian hotel. It was so beautiful! Plus, it had Carlo's Bakery and Buddy V's Restaurant. If you watch Cake Boss, then you probably know why this was so exciting. We ate lunch at Buddy's restaurant and the food was amazing. It was literally the best meal I have ever had. The atmosphere was stunning, the service was fantastic, and the food....my gosh, the food! So good. After that, we went to Carlo's Bakery and waited in line for a half hour just to order. It was an overwhelming but delicious experience.

That night, we went to see Olivia Newton John play at the Flamingo. It was interesting! Parts of the concert were wonderful and other parts? Not so much. But it was nice to see someone I have admired since I was young. Here are a few pictures from these days:

For our last day in Vegas (I know, the trip went by so fast!) my mom and I toured some of the hotels, did some drinking at the Rainforest Cafe and at the Paris hotel, and finished the night off with a bit of gambling. We only gambled a couple of dollars but I actually made $1.22 in the end! Yay! After that, it was back to the hotel to pack up all of our stuff and prepare for the flight the next day.

Overall, it was a really fantastic trip. I had even more fun than I thought I would. It was a much needed getaway from all of the stress of everyday life. Plus, I got to spend some quality time with my mom. This Vegas trip was dramatically different to my last one - but it was fun all the same.

xo Shannon