Month: April 2016

Celine Dion in Vegas

I didn’t realize how much a concert could effect me. My girlfriends and I had a girl’s trip for my adult best friend’s early birthday celebration. Having started a new job and a young baby at home, I literally was only there for activities for 24 hours. The main event for this 24 hours was to see Celine Dion and it was worth the long traveling, short trip and no sleep. This is a concert after the loss of her beloved husband, and seeing her dedicate her show, and how much love they have basically made me cry uncontrollably for the first 2 two songs. She is amazing.

  

There were times where it would just be her voice and I just let it wrap around me like a warm hug. Though there were probably thousands of others there, it felt very intimate. It was a magical experience, and to know that I was breathing the same air as her and hearing her live was indescribable. The night was perfect…almost. 

You would think that the Celine Dion crowd would be full of classy older people, who would sip their drinks and applause when needed and enjoy the beauty of her performance respectively. BUT NOPE. We had 4 obnoxious women and their bestie gays when them. THEY WERE SOOO LOUD, SO OBNOXIOUS. SO ROWDY. This is Celine Dion, not fucking Chris Brown. Read the room assholes. One even spilled their skunky ass beer down my back and all over the floor which seeped down to wear my feet were. I was torn between telling them to shut up, and trying to fully embrace and experience the wonder that is Celine. Many people in their row shushed them and told them to be quiet, which resulted in them getting even MORE louder and hostile. Also, “YASSSS QUEEN” and “BAE” and off key singing and CONTINUOUS CHATTER during her whole show. Seriously, if you conversation is so important, why even bother coming. Everyone paid a good chunk of money to spend the night with the Queen. Don’t ruin it for us. 

Despite that, I was still able to focus on her and relish in this amazing experience. 

I don’t know if I would ever go to Vegas again, unless it was to see Celine Dion again, or just eat (more on that later). Definitely not my scene. But I had a great time with my girlies, even though I missed my little family at home. 

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db Brasserie

To start off our night with Celine, we had dinner at db Brasserie. It was a comfortable French restaurant, with guests in fancy attire. Not sure if that was the requirement or because people were all also headed to a show. But the outfits in Vegas all seem to be..basically naked or formal!

  
We began with a bottle of white wine for the table, and the charcuterie board. There were rillettes, a couple of terrines, some salame and prosciutto. Slices of baguette and some other loaf lined the board. For the most part everything was tasty, but the salame had a weird aftertaste, to me at least.

  
Then it was time for business. We all had the duck in some form or another. I chose the duck confit, because I will always choose the duck confit when I can. Duck fried in its own fat? How can I not? The duck was so tender, and the skin was so crisp. It was laid across some braised kale, pearl onions and white beans. So juicy…I am sure my eyes rolled back at some point. I ate the whole thing. Perfect portion.

  We had to end our meal quickly to catch our show so there was no dessert! If I had the chance, I would go again to try out all the other things on the menu. Scallops perhaps?

What are some of your favorite places and meals in Vegas?

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Yardbird Las Vegas

When I think of Las Vegas, Nevada, “good food” isn’t what instantly comes to mind. I mean I know there are a lot of great chefs and restaurants out there, but when you think of Vegas you think, Sin City, not “din” city. Harhar. But since I don’t partake in excessive drinking, gambling or partying which is on the itinerary for most spring breakers, food (and Celine Dion) were the highlight(s) of my trip!

For a city that literally, never sleeps, (sorry New York) food places seem to operate 11-11. And since we were up on east coast time, by 9am we were HONGRY. Luckily for us Yardbird was opening at 10, so there wasn’t too long of a wait. It was also our first pick.

We had a southern style brunch…and it was everything you could dream it to be. At our table we feasted on flavorful, juicy fried chicken with honey hot sauce (it literally tasted like honey and tabasco). So crisp on the outside and hot on the inside with the flesh perfectly seasoned, I didn’t need the accompanying sauce. On the side, not on the menu, the chef had maybe the best collard greens in my life (sorry Mom2) with bits of celery and okra. Yummy, perfect cheddar grits, a thick slab of pork belly bacon, and eggs benedict. We had dreamy sausage gravy and biscuits with bits of their yardbird…topped off with mimosas. I still dream of this brunch, and I’m determined to recreate it for myself. Coming soon my dear friends, I will fatten you up just in time for bathing suit season!

I hear there’s one in Miami too. I think its on my MUST EAT if I ever go back, or if I go to Miami.

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Girls Trip: Vegas!

It’s been awhile since I’ve had a “girls trip”. So for my Ride or Die’s 30th we went to Vegas to see the Queen, Celine Dion. Being that I started a new job, and I’m a new mom, I couldn’t take as many days off, so we will no refer to my portion of the trip, #24hoursinvegas.

Friday started off with a lunch with the hubs, and a flight from DC which put me in Vegas at 10pm. Got on the shuttle, and got to the hotel at around 11. We stayed at the Venetian, and it was glorious. Though, to be honest, it reminded me a lot of Atlantis in the Bahamas. Except they have awesome ceilings and grand hallways here. Made my way to the girls, caught up on what they’ve done so far, showered and slept.

Saturday morning started off with a search for food. Ended up eating brunch at yardbird, then shopped a little. After that, GONDOLA rides…cuz Venetian. We had a singer name Rosalina, who refers to us as bellas with a (fake/real) Italian accent and tells us stories of her home. One of my friends told me that shes fake and is probably just an acting student. Fairytale crushed.

Somehow the day escaped us, and it was time to grab a coffee and get ready for dinner and Celine! Since our suite was full of mirrors everyone seemed to get ready at the same time without a hitch.

Dinner was at db Brasserie and was yummy.

We ran down the street to Caesars Palace to get in line for a highlight moment of our lives! She was magical, she was wonderful, she is a unicorn, so much so that the show will get it’s own post later.

Afterwards we took a ride on the High Roller Ferris Wheel.

We got our tickets on groupon, 2 for 1 PLUS there was a 50% off groupon code. So in the end we only paid $39 for two people for a ticket for the ferris wheel AND open bar (which was useless to me because I was on antibiotics and couldn’t drink). After we boarded this tiny pod loaded with a bar and tvs…we decided that maybe it was a good idea that we didn’t pay full price. The floor was sticky, which makes sense, it’s a bar. The people that were in there were random, and some were young and annoying (jeez I’m an angry grandma now). Though I did enjoy our little squad, the view was somewhat similar to what we saw in our room…but I’d say I wasn’t as impressed and hyped as I thought I would be. Maybe if the music wasn’t terrible. And we were on the parking lot side of the pod. I think next time, if we try to do this again, get a big enough group of people you want to hang out with and fill the pod!

Overall, I had a great time, and it was a brief break and a chance to sleep in that was welcomed. I was ecstatic to come home and see my dancing baby and my sweet husband.

Where to next?!

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…And We’re Back!

It’s been a while friend. How have you been? I’ve missed you. Motherhood, career change, travel, renovations…these are the things that have kept me away. But I am back, hopefully better! I tried to reorganize the blog. But then it took me too long to do what I wanted to do, so I guess I will do it little by little while its still live.

At home, we’ve redone my kitchen space. Expanded the main floor to dining, and moved our living space up to the loft so I have more room to play (thank you to my loving supporting husband). We’ve opened up the kitchen bar, so I could have guests watch me cook, or maybe even start a youtube channel! How I will fit that in with a baby, full time job, cookbook writing and blogging, who knows!
Since I’ve been eating out a lot (because I wasn’t cooking as much as I should) there will be lots of restaurant posts, but eating out has refreshed my motivation for cooking. There will be more recipes for you to try with me! I’m also attempting to use a big girl camera instead of my iPhone so hopefully my images will be better too. Wish me luck!

As always, thank you for coming by, your comments, your time, your emails and your support! You know where to find me, hello {at} miemonster {dot} net!

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