In My Online Absence

While I was on my unintentional blogging break I went to Vegas for a friend's 30th birthday. We stayed at The Hard Rock, where I had never stayed before, and I loved it!

Since The Hard Rock is a boutique hotel it was the perfect place for us to stay. We were a group of about 10 so the small size of the hotel made it easy to meet up at any given point.

We had (2) regular rooms and a suite and they were all really nicely designed; they kept with the rock and roll theme and had fabulous bed linens and great stereos (the suite even had a touch screen stereo that you could hook your ipod up to!).



I particularly enjoyed gambling there because their roulette table was just a $5 minimum bet all day and night. I'm not sure if it was because we were there in the office season or because they're located off the strip, or a combination of the two, but this allowed me to play for quite awhile.

Everyone who worked there was beyond friendly in a chill, relaxed way, rather than an overcompensating customer service way, which I see as a huge plus.


Saturday night we ate at Nobu and there was a plate for every price point and delicious drinks as well. Think kobe beef, sushi, tuna tacos, and even the more basic dishes with chicken looked and smelled amazing.

After dinner we headed up to the suite for a few pre-club cocktails (and a mini photo shoot, my friends crack me up) and then headed down to Vanity, the nightclub at The Hard Rock.

A good friend had been to Vanity over the summer and did not like it, she even went so far as to warn me against it, and I seriously trust her opinion and taste level. Due to this information I went in with low expectations, but I am happy to report that it far exceeded them!

The crowd outside resembled a bunch of Rock of Love rejects, but that's to be expected. I was a happy little fashionista dressed in Gucci H2T, and my friends all looked amazing as well, so I didn't really care about anyone else.


Once inside the design was very cool, very Vegas, total excess. Mirrors, LED lights in waves on the ceiling, velvet seats and an enormous chandelier as the centerpiece. The bathroom was quite literally a vanity with huge mirrors with round light bulbs going up either side and stations to sit and fix your make-up. Cute without being kitsch.

Ladies drank free champagne until midnight so we squeezed a glass in before they cut that off. You cannot be sad while sipping a glass of champagne (or prosecco or cava or any other country's version of sparkling wine for that matter), and I was in a good mood to start, so the night continued to go up from there.

They played a great mix of dance and rock and the crowd was attractive and well dressed (for the most part, that can't keep all the riff raff out) and we danced into the morning before heading back down to the casino to gamble a bit before bed.

Rush, Rush

"No Time! There's Never Any Time!" - Jessie Spano

I am notoriously waiting til the last minute to do things and today is no exception. Tomorrow morning we leave for Vegas for the wedding (doesn't it seem like I've been talking about this forever) and tonight I have to perform several beauty-related tasks, see my friend's newborn baby (congrats Karen and Phil!) and actually pack (because I only fake-packed last night, which means I retrieved some of the items already on my packing list from my closet).

So tonight I'm sure I'll be up til 1am or so and tomorrow I'll be exhausted as I drive to Queens (probably running late again) so we can get a ride the rest of the way to the airport.

On the plus side, we are flying Virgin America and I can't wait to report back on how it goes. I've wanted to fly them since they launched in August of '07. Until my cousin launches his kid-free airline I'm sure that this will be favorite (or so I hope).

A Dress Fit for a Kimberley

A second opinion always helps.

So last night, before my mom and I went to a lovely and delicious dinner at Plum in Bayside, we stopped home so I could try on the Milly dress I'd ordered from the website. It's a beautiful black and white brocade with gold metallic thread running through it that I got on sale.

When it had first arrived, next day despite being shipped UPS Ground - I just love when that happens, I had to put it on by myself. Milly dresses are well-made and this one had one of her neat corset contraptions in it, which basically means you need to hook yourself in as you would with a bra. While this is fabulous in regard to fit and makes the dress look like it was made just for you, it's not so great when you're trying to put it on in an empty house. So the first time I tried it on I hooked it, swiveled it around my body (which was no easy task), and then tried it on with one shoe as I rushed to get ready because I was meeting John to go see a band play.

Needless to say, this was not the best way to try on a new dress, in a totally different cut than you're used to wearing, if you want to be excited about it. Rookie mistake. Perhaps it's why I didn't even blog about it.

Anyway, with the help of my mom last night, I was able to get a proper idea of what the dress would actually look like on the day of the wedding. She hooked me in, I put on both shoes (I had on one originally to which she said "What are you doing? Go put the other shoe on! You're never going to be standing like that." As I stood there with one leg bent in half like a flamingo), and I stood up straight (I attempted to show her that the dress gapped in the back to which she said "Would you stop arching your back? Stand normal.").

Looking in the mirror, standing up straight, with my dancing shoes on, the dress actually looks quite lovely. It meets all of my original criteria:
Sophisticated? Yes, but without looking too "old." Sexy? A little bit, but let's keep in mind that this is a family function and no one wants to be "that girl" in a room of relatives. Stylish? Always.
And it is definitely a little less Kimbo and totally Kimberley.

Perhaps I was just caught up in the mania of the search, and if that was the case, I'm definitely happy my mom was there to help me calm down and see what a great dress it is and how it really is just what I was looking for for this event.

I'll see if I can't Polyvore it up for you all so you decide for yourselves, but I think (fingers crossed*) this is it!

Sick of Looking

Have you ever become so obsessed with finding the perfect outfit that you just get sick of looking for it? That's where I'm at right now with the dress for this wedding. I'm as sick of looking for it as everyone around me is of hearing about it.

When I'm on a shopping mission the term "abnormally obsessed" might not even do my condition justice. The item I am searching for or want, but refuse to pay full price for, it is all I think about. Whether it's searching for it in general or looking for coupons to stores where it's sold, I explore every single option.

It actually takes effort for me to keep the search from consuming me. And, yes, I do realize how sick this sounds.

Today I started reading Spent, Memoirs of a Shopping Addict by Avis Cardella (is it just me or is it a bit coincidental that her first name is an anagram for "Visa?"). Only 1 chapter in and I relate entirely too well to her plight.

Hopefully the book will at least distract me, if not give me some clarity, during this bout of fixation.

In the meantime, send me any great websites for formal wear. Thanks.