VEGAS RECAP

J and I took a little mini vacation to Vegas (our favorite!) from Saturday - Tuesday and stayed at the Bellagio. It was my first time staying at the Bellagio and it was just as fabulous as I expected. J's been to Vegas several times and this was our third visit together, my third visit total. We always go all out on the restaurants and try new places here because we love to eat. :) And being pregnant this time, I was looking forward to the food more than anything else.

View of the fountains from our room. They were gorgeous and I never got sick of watching them with the music they were choreographed to. 

On Saturday we had reservations at Carnevino and J knew the menu inside out from looking online and at yelp reviews for weeks before we got there. He already knew that he was ordering the nine month aged steak, but we left the rest of the plates up in the air to decide when we got there. I wore my one and only maternity dress so that I could stuff myself silly and still be comfortable for the show we were seeing after. We saw the comedian Ralphie May, and he was hilarious. It was raunchy, but really funny. 

This appetizer, the Stracciatella, was probably the best thing I ate on the trip. It was amazing. Moscato poached pairs, prosciutto, walnuts, aged balsamic, and the best pile of fresh mozzarella cheese I've ever had is hiding underneath that stack of pears and prosciutto. It was fantastic, out of this world, no words are good enough to describe this dish. I wish I could eat this every single day for lunch. It was perfect! 

This dish is not on the menu, but it was the wagu beef cheek ravioli w/ 25 year aged balsamic vinegar. The balsamic vinegar was on a couple of the dishes and it was so good. I wish I could've brought a bottle home. The ravioli was different and fantastic, but I probably wouldn't order it again. The beef cheeks were pureed, which was a really strange texture, but the flavor was awesome.

This was probably my second favorite dish - the Carbonara. It almost had an asian flavor to it, and it was fantastic. The bacon was thick and crunchy and the brussel sprout leaves were perfect. I love pasta and carbonara is one of my favorites. I'm so glad we ordered this. 

This was a nine month dry aged reserva KC Strip cooked medium rare. I didn't get a picture before it was cut because they come and carve it table-side. It was so different than any other steak I've ever had, and the nine-month dry age on it was the reason we (J) chose this restaurant. It had such an earthy, different flavor. The texture was a little different than a regular steak, but it was still a meaty flavor. I'm happy to say I've tried this, but it wasn't my favorite. 

Mash potatoes with a poached egg from a super chicken and bacon. They break the egg table side and stir it into the potatoes. The egg takes the mash potatoes to another level and it was so incredible. 

On Sunday J watched/bet on football all day while I shopped. We had lunch at Gordon Ramsay's BURGR at Planet Hollywood. When J originally told me he wanted to eat here, I wasn't too excited because I thought a burger wasn't going to be that special or different. I was wrong. It was a burger on steroids - so incredibly good and I'm glad I gave it a chance. 

Gordon Ramsay is one of my favorites chefs. I love Hell's Kitchen, Kitchen Nightmares, Master Chef, and right now Master Chef Junior is my favorite show on TV. Last time we were in Vegas we ate at his restaurant Steak, and it's probably one of my favorite meals I've had to this day. He's the best and I love his shows and restaurants!

At BURGR we split the Hell's Kitchen burger, the truffle fries, and the creme brûlée oreo shake. I was in heaven. The burger was amazing with jalapeño, roasted red peppers, asadero cheese, avocado, and a jalapeño aioli. I don't know what exactly was so good about it, but I've a lot of burgers in my day and this is now my favorite. 

Every time we go to Vegas, we go downtown and do one night on Freemont Street. It is so weird on Freemont, but I always see the strangest things, and there's so much to do. We read about this fondue restaurant, F. Pigalle, that opened up a couple weeks before our trip and we knew we had to try it. I have actually been to the original restaurant that inspired this one in Paris, France and can say that F. Pigalle in Vegas blows that place out of the water. ;) The food was better! I'm not sure if this is the exact one that F. Pigalle was inspired by, but here is the Yelp page for the one I dined at...I think - it was about 10 years ago and I drank a lot of the wine.

There are only four things on the menu: Cheese Fondue, Shrimp Fondue, Steak Fondue and Chocolate fondue. We had all but the shrimp. 

 Sides for the steak fondue. The sauces were horseradish, steak or teriyaki sauce, aioli, chimichuri. The horseradish was my favorite and my second favorite was the chimichuri. OMG, so good. I loved the flavor of the steak - it was awesome. 

Just like the original fondue restaurant I went to in Paris, F. Pigalle serves (unlimited) wine out of baby bottles. The wine comes with the meal, you don't have to pay for it, and you can have as much as you can drink. You can sit there until 4am and drink wine out of baby bottles if you want. :) I obviously wasn't drinking wine but the server was so excited when I asked for my sprite in a baby bottle too so I could join in on the fun my hubs was having drinking out of a bottle.

I'm not positive and I'm no historian, but I believe during the Napoleon era there was a tax put on wine glasses in France. As part of the rebellion against the tax, some places served wine out of baby bottles instead of wine glasses. So the baby bottles at F. Pigalle are an ode to that era. Super cool!

Chocolate fondue - my heart!! So incredibly good with the rice crispy treats and the strawberries. 

Sprite and chocolate fondue - what more could a pregnant lady ask for at 11:30pm on a Sunday in downtown Vegas?! If you go to Vegas and are looking for a party spot, please please please visit F. Pigalle on Freemont Street. I'm hoping that next time we visit Vegas we stay downtown near Freemont and do one night on the strip instead of vice versa.

We stopped for a quick snack on Monday at a restaurant called Trevi at the Forum Shops at Caesar's Palace while we were shopping. We just wanted something quick and easy and pretty much everything (except the Cheesecake Factory) was Italian. We split the mussels and they were unexpectedly awesome. Mussels are usually served in a white wine sauce so I loved that these were in a red sauce. I don't know why I was so surprised, but they really were great. 

I didn't get any pictures of our dinner on Monday night, but we ate at Lupo at Mandalay Bay. It's a Wolfgang Puck restaurant and we just kind of wandered into it while hanging out at the Mandalay Bay Casino. It was great and the best thing we ate at Lupo was a parmesan cream soup. The service was great, and so were the calamari and meat + cheese plate. 

My husband wanted to eat at Rx Boiler Room, a Rick Moon restaurant, but we had been at the casino forever, it was really late, and I was on the verge of a meltdown because I was starving. I was craving pizza and something "normal" to eat and didn't want anything too fancy or fussy. So the Italian restaurant won and my pizza was great. Don't mess with a pregnant girl when she's hungry.

The Jean Phillipe Patisserie was a little cafe spot in the Bellagio that was to die for! This was our breakfast before our flight out on Tuesday. I had the pistachio gelato (I'm a pistachio gelato snob, btw) the previous day and I was craving it for breakfast. This was our second breakfast at this place while we stayed here. The first time we had a ham and cheese croissant and a raspberry jelly donut that were both out of this world. I think my husband said the ham + cheese croissant was one of the best things we ate while there and I can attest that it was fantastic. This croque monsieur was basically the same as the croissant, however it had a bachemal sauce and it was SOOOO good.

We grabbed these chocolates from the Patisserie and enjoyed them from the comfort of our sofa at home. I love vacation, but there is nothing like the feeling of coming home. The plaid one in the top row is my favorite. It was a chocolate waffle praline chocolate. SO good. They're all good. 

Thanks for stopping by!

Sarah

CHRISTMAS WEEKEND RECAP

Every year for Christmas J and I drive up to Lincoln, NE on the 23rd to start the celebrations with his side of the family. I didn't get many pictures this year, but it's your typical family Christmas - LOTS of food, and LOTS of drinks. I'm on the water wagon this year, obviously, but it is so much fun to celebrate with the whole family. There's such a special feeling in the air just before Christmas.

It's about a 2.5 - 3 hour drive to Lincoln from where we live and Lucy always comes with us. :) 

Back Button Sweater

 This picture is on Christmas Eve - and this is J's (our) niece, Addie. She was giving her new baby cousin a present - the first baby present! 

Intarsia Sweater // Faux Leather Leggings // Booties

 Oh Nebraska! Why are you always so much colder than Kansas? We woke up to this white surprise on Christmas Eve morning. Nobody was expecting the snow, so it made our last minute errands an adventure. 

 Christmas Eve lunch at Granite City. My FAVORITE salad ever is the Asian Chicken Salad. I would eat this salad for dessert - I get it every time I go to Granite City and if I'm driving from KC to Lawrence, sometimes I stop and get one to go. Granite City, if you're reading, please open up a restaurant in Lawrence. I promise to keep you in business ;)

We ran errands all day on Christmas Eve day, then rested up for a couple hours before heading to J's brother's house. Here's J and Lucy - I'm working hard, wrapping presents and drinking hot chocolate.
J's pajama pants

I swear my Mother in Law missed her calling as an interior designer. I love her house and the way she decorates. She really has a great eye - and a shopping problem. I love seeing what's new every time we visit. 

Christmas Eve spread: Prime Rib, Caesar Salad, rolls, veggies and dip, bruschetta fixings, charcuterie board, cream cheese + strawberry habanero jelly. We do two separate Christmas celebrations at J's brother's house and this is the more traditional of the two. The previous night we usually have ahi, scallops, filets, shrimp, etc. I am such a foodie and I can't wait till I can eat raw fish again. 

I don't know where Lucy was when this picture was taken but if she'd seen her dad cuddling another dog, she would've had a fit. This is Oliver. There were two cavalier king charles spaniels in Lincoln as well as Lucy (a cocker spaniel) and the three of them got along so well and were so adorable. Oliver was such a sweetie. 

Here's Lucy and Teddy, my parents' new cocker spaniel. He's a pup so I couldn't get a picture that didn't look like this - Teddy on the move.  I think this is as close as Lucy would let him get to her. This is the only picture I took on Christmas, because at this point I'm so exhausted. We always spend Christmas day with my side of the family. There's brunch at my mom and dad's and then we go to my Aunt's house for Christmas dinner with my extended family. 

Once we get home on Christmas night it always feels like we've been gone for weeks. Does anyone else travel like this for the holidays? I love being able to see everyone, but I'm nervous about next year. Once the baby's here, I'm not sure we'll get to do our Christmas tour of the midwest ;) Hopefully babies travel well??? ;) 

Thanks for stopping by!!

Sarah

RESTAURANT LOVE

I love my city's downtown restaurant scene and there is this one particular spot that for some reason never has a restaurant stay for long. I can't understand why because it's a perfect location, has indoor and outdoor space, and windows all around because it's on a corner. 

Well, something did open there and luckily, I got to try it out last week.  On Thursday (12-17-15) it had a soft opening some friends of ours were invited to, and they were nice enough to bring us along. I know we'll be going back soon, and often. It was fantastic and I think we've finally got a restaurant worthy of the location. It's called RND Corner Grille and I am drooling on my desk thinking about how good it was.  

 This is the carpaccio and it was some of the best I've had - yes, I've had lots. I love it! It wasn't completely raw, it was lightly seared (I believe) and it had really great flavor. Can't wait to go back when I'm not pregnant so I can shovel even more in my mouth. :)

The calamari was also really good. I loved it, but I love everything. My husband is kind of a calamari snob and he really liked this style (calamari steak) over the regular curly kind. 

 My husband had the boneless ribeye and it was great. He normally never orders steak at restaurants because he says he can make a better steak at home and most restaurants ruin the cut, but he said this was great (and ate every bite). I loved the crispy onions and the jus ;)

 This is my roasted salmon sandwich, which was fantastic. I didn't eat it all in one sitting (I'm always the slowest eater at my table) and the second half was just as good (if not better, crazy when that happens) microwaved the next day for lunch. I used to be obsessed with a salmon wrap from a restaurant called Boozefish in Westport (KC, MO) and this reminded me SO MUCH of that wrap. It was fantastic with the salmon and red onions, aioli, and arugula...mmmmmmmmm. Seriously. Now I'm craving this. It's probably my new go to salmon dish. 

There were so many other things on the menu at RND Corner Grille that looked awesome, such as the Tuna Poke, Tater Tots, Caprese Salad, Brussel Sprout Salad, Crab Cake, I could go on. I did try the baby spinach salad (not pictured) and it was also really good. I am super excited about this place so if you're in Lawrence, or you're in KC and need a good date night, this is your spot. 

On Saturday I went in to Kansas City to finish up my Christmas shopping and to get lunch and see a movie with my sister. First of all, I got to see my parents' new puppy, Teddy. 

How cute is Teddy!!!? He looks like such a little teddy bear and he's wearing the cutest Christmas sweater...even though it was about 60 degrees that day ;) Please don't mind me, I rolled out of bed, dove into my car and headed straight to the mall.

My sister and I went to lunch at Paulo and Bill's and then to see the new Tina Fay and Amy Poehler movie, Sisters. Makes sense, right? The movie was okay - Tina and Amy are always really funny. Lunch was great! Is anyone surprised my favorite thing to do now that I'm prego is eat? I think it's always been my favorite past time, but now I treat every meal like an event. I think about food a lot.  

I didn't get a picture of the Phyllo Shrimp before we ate the first two, but this was really good! It was phyllo dough filled with chipotle cream cheese (YUM!!) w/ shrimp and a mango/onion salad on top. Delish!

This is the pizza classica, (minus the mushrooms b/c my sister's a total wimp about food) which we shared and it was awesome. Exactly what the doctor ordered before the movie. 

I have no idea why, but I never really dined at Paulo and Bill prior to a few months ago. It opened when I was in middle school, I think, and my first time going was with my girlfriends back in October (2015). I don't know why it took me so long to go here, but I'm hooked now (that I live 45 minutes West of it). Of course I never tried it when I lived down the street. 

Sorry for the random restaurant post. It's just what I'm really into these days as all my clothes are starting to look strange on my big belly. I'd rather post pictures of my meals apparently. 

Thanks for stopping by!!

Sarah

LIFE LATELY - CAMERA ROLL

Sweater // iPhone 6 Plus case 

Sweater // Necklace sold out, similar here // Watch // iPhone case (ignore my nasty nails)

Socks, old similar here and love these and these 

Sweater // Necklace, old - Similar here // Earrings

Dinner at Port Fonda w/ my friend Amy. 

Pink Leather Jacket

Port Fonda just opened up in my city (there is one in Westport - KC, MO) and we had friends in town so we decided to try it out. I didn't get to try any of the AMAZING looking drinks, however the chicken chimichanga with chipotle cream sauce was a pregnant woman's dream..... Will definitely be going back...a lot!

Nikes - I wrapped these so I could open them again ;)

And of course I have to put up a pic of Lucy. She is so sweet, she wouldn't move to let me make the bed so I had to make it around her :)

Bedding here

Top // Nail Polish - Kennebunk Port by OPI

Top // Leggings // Shoes

These are just a few of the looks I've worn lately and random pictures I've had sitting on my camera roll. As my belly gets bigger finding clothes that not only fit, but look good too has been quite the challenge. I'm a work in progress for sure.

Thanks for stopping by!!

Sarah

PALM SPRINGS MINI VACAY

One of my favorite things to do is to scope out hotels/resorts, restaurants I want to try, and what activities around the area I want to do. I am a review slut. I read them all! I've read some pretty great reviews of the Parker so when my girlfriend and I were deciding where we wanted to stay in Palm Springs, I was really pulling for the Parker.

My husband and I stayed at the Parker in Santa Monica, California about a year prior to this trip and the Parker Palm Springs was so incredibly different. It is a destination in and of itself. The rates can be kind of pricey so when my girlfriend found a deal for $199/night, (which is basically 1/2 the regular price!!) there was no passing it up. This is the room we were set up with. It had so much personality and was pretty large as well.

Double beds ~ One for me, one for the preggers girl. They don't look so comfortable, but they were! 

 Vintage Furniture, Vintage everything. 

Necessary luggage for one night away... Seriously

Killer Dragon Faucet. The details at the Parker were over the top. #LOVE.

Goodies ~ Really good goodies :) Hermes soap, where am I!?

Hi, I'm a dork. 

I really loved these leather chairs and wanted to bring them home for the office.

One of the details I really loved was the vintage photos in the rooms. That's Mr. Redford up there. 

So that was the room, which was pretty great. The grounds and the main areas of the Parker were even better though. That's a separate post - coming later this week ;) After we got to our room, we changed and got ready to go explore Palm Springs. But not without a really obnoxious picture in front of the Parker first.

There were a few cars in front of this wall when we walked out and immediately when I asked for a picture in front of it, the Valets hopped in the cars and one went backwards out of the frame and one forward. Those valets at the Parker know the drill when a girl asks for her picture. Love that service! And how cute is Jen? She was 6 months pregnant and such a trooper when I made her do ridiculous things like this and snap a billion photos of me. We had such a great time together! 

Our first stop exploring Palm Springs was that Pink Door. Look up #thatpinkdoor or @thatpinkdoor on Insta and you'll see. :) It was a Palm Springs MUST for me. After hitting up this spot we went to find dinner. We happened to be there on a Thursday night and downtown there is a big street fair every Thursday night. There were food vendors of every kind (the smells were amazing) and vendors selling all sorts of things. I had already researched places to eat and I knew there were lots of great spots so we skipped the street vendors and moved on to dinner. I know I'll be back with the hubs someday and that Thursday night street fair would be so up his alley. 

We rode on a little wagon with a bike and the driver pedaled us to our restaurant. We ate at Tropicale and it was fantastic! I had a fried chicken salad (on iceberg instead of mixed greens) and Jen had the fried goat cheese salad. They were both amaze and the waitress was great. The other thing I really loved about this restaurant was the diversity of the menu. They had a little bit of everything and I highly recommend it. There was great music and a great atmosphere as well. Drinks out the outdoor bar is a must. I wish I had taken more pictures, but my phone had died. I did get the below picture of my (awesome) salad on my girlfriend's phone. 

We went to Cheeky's for breakfast and it did NOT disappoint. I had the chilaquiles (add scrambled eggs) and the bacon flight.  Everything was fantastic but the show stopper was the bacon flight. Duh. I really thought the Jalapeño slice would be my favorite, but the Nodine's Applewood was my fav.

Then, this happened... After breakfast we laid at the pool for a few hours, then headed to the Parker Spa, "Psyc" for pedicures. It has been a while since I've had a pedicure and, girls, this really hit the spot! Why is it that a good spa session can make you feel like a whole new woman

The final stop in Palm Springs was "Great Shakes" downtown. Yes, this was amazing. I got the s'mores shake with extra fudge and asked them to put their salted caramel sauce around the sides of the cup. I don't know what it is, but I am all about marshmallows. Seriously, how cute is this shake? Loved the donut, loved the shake, LOVED PALM SPRINGS!!! Take me back, now!!I have about 16 other pictures of the Parker that I want to share because I thought it was decked out so cute. I'm going to do another post on it, so if you're sick of it already, don't read tomorrow. :) 
Thanks for stopping by!!Sarah