{rewind} happy new year!

last week i shared a post about our awesome vegas vacation, but this night was so special that it deserved it's own post. when we decided to go to vegas, my stepmom & dad started doing some research into what we wanted to do for NYE. we ended up buying tickets to an all you can drink/eat party at the wynn. oh. my. gosh. the party started at 9pm and upon arrival, we saw this....

yes, that is a woman hanging from a chandelier, pouring dom perignon. it was insane! every time she needed a new bottle, she flipped right side up and floated back up to the chandelier. probably one of the coolest things i have ever seen. seeing as how this was in the pre function space, i couldn't wait to see what was inside!

{derrick getting his glass}

{awesome seating chart - room was set for 1, 300 guests}

this was the giant dance floor that had four bars in the center - one on each side. there were also two other sets of double bars totaling eight bars!  the DJ was on top of the platform over the bars! there was also servers pouring free flowing dom perignon all night. i drank my weight in dom that night, because i will probably never have it again. i now understand why it is so expensive - it is delicious!

the tables were decorated beautifully! most people probably don't pay attention to things like this, but you know i do! they went all out - silver beaded chargers, linens, overlays, specialty napkins, florals, the works! the color scheme was orange, brown, and green, and it looked great!

onto the food - there were two sets of three different food stations. they picked some of the favorite restuarants from the wynn and each restaurant had it's own station.

{mizumi - sushi}

{mizumi - sushi}

{meat & pasta station}

{meat and pasta station}

ok so, i didn't do the seafood station justice with my pictures. there were raw oysters, platters of king crab legs, lobster tails, HUGE shrimp, and this amazing combo. when i imagine meals in heaven, this is what i see.

{HOLY PASTRIES}

{this was an ice sculpture made with holes for shooter glasses filled with ice cream - genius!}

{macaroon tree}

{bananas foster bar}

around 11pm, the servers came out with bags for each table that had been packed with NYE favors. this was an awesome touch - and we had a great time playing with all the props!

{party people}

{of course we started taking weird pictures}

{party}

{midnight!}

{my family post midnight}

it was an  AMAZING party - probably my all time favorite NYE. we are blessed. 

vegas vacation!

for the past few years, we go on a vacation the week after christmas. for a lot of varying reasons, we couldn't get away from the whole week this year. so we took a "long weekend" trip over new years to VEGAS!

we got there early on saturday morning, checked in, had lunch, and went shopping. 

{our fabulous room. we also connected with leigh & d which is always fun!}

because we've been to vegas a few times, we have tried out all the fabulous restaurants at the encore & the wynn. so my stepmom came up with the great idea for each of us to pick a restaurant off the strip. saturday night we went to me & court's pick - mundo! it was AWESOME. we drank a lot of margaritas, ate a lot of chips and fancy queso, and all had some ridiculously good entrees. after dinner we headed back to encore and hung out at the dueling piano bar until bedtime.

{swanky mexican}

{loved this wall}

{my chicken enchiladas}

court and i spent sunday in the ever-so-fabulous encore spa. we've only been to the wynn spa before - so this was a new experience. my oh my. we hung out in the pool size hot tub for awhile before our massages. my massage was amazing and just what i needed. i hadn't been relaxed like that in months. after the spa we got ready for leigh & d's pick for dinner - capos.  it had a whole "godfather" theme and was super delicious italian food. we loved that place too! 

after dinner we ventured over to fremont street . i had never been before... what an interesting place! someone had told us there was a zip line down fremont street, so of course we had to do it. we really love to zip line, but it's kind of scary after a few drinks! after fremont - we attempted to go see deadma5 at  xs at the wynn. after being there for about 10 minutes, i confirmed i am not a club person and went back to meet our parents. everyone else joined eventually - no one actually even got to hear deadma5! we made an executive decision we won't be going back to a club. ever. 

{post zip line}

{fremont street}

{outside xs at the wynn}

new years eve was so lazy and i loved every minute of it. i finally got out of bed around 4pm to go watch the clemson vs. lsu game with my dad in the sports book bar. new years even night gets it's own post because it was just that awesome. 

new years day was also very lazy. i woke up just in time to watch my gamecocks - what a game! between clowney knocking a guy's head off, and our 2nd string QB throwing a touchdown pass with 17 seconds left to win the game, i was a "jumping up and down on the bed" mess. after the game we went to ride the roller coaster at new york, new york. i ride it every time i go to vegas and i still love it like it's the first time. 

{on the way up!}

{pals}

our last night in vegas we went to the popular tao at the venetian. we had some delicious appetizers and i ordered the filet. however, this was not any old filet. they brought it to me raw, and i actually cooked it right in front of me! it was an early night because we had a early flight the next morning. 

{my mini grill}

it was another fabulous fowlkes family vacation! so thankful we can do things like this - i'm a lucky girl.

viva las vegas!

this past weekend my familiy and the mccrackens went to vegas to celebrate leigh's birthday... more or less it was just an excuse for vacation!

{my parents' swanky suite at the wynn}

{air, lights, drapes}

FRIDAY we woke up and step mom, sister and i went to do a little shopping. then we changed and went to the spa! we spent about 2 hours in there before our massages and it was heavenly. my deep tissue massage was AMAZING and a big 6'5'' man was my masseuse. i am a lucky, lucky girl. then we showered and got ready for dinner.

{first night out}

{all of the "kids" after dinner at lakeside restaurant at the wynn}

{seester}

SATURDAY was leigh's birthday! we got up and went to "the buffet" in the wynn. and let me tell you, it was some buffet. they literally had EVERYTHING and it was worth the wait. then we headed over to madalay bay to go to an ice bar - it was awesome.

{the whole gang - even the glasses were ice!}

next we headed to NY, NY to ride this baby.

{so fun... even the 4th time around!}

then it was duke/unc time, and since courtney and i didn't care a bit about it, we went to the world's largest forever 21. it was overwhelming but i got a lot of great stuff for $150! including an awesome hat for this summer. we got back and changed for dinner at botero which is also in the wynn (catching our drift?) it was so yummy and we sang to leigh!

and then the night began! we rented a "limo bus" that took us bar hoping down the strip!

{started at the las vegas sign}

{next stop - the mix. best view in vegas.}

{next stop - the chandelier bar at the cosmo. the whole bar is enclosed in a 3 story chandelier!}

 SUNDAY we got up and my dad surprised us with a helicopter ride to the grand canyon!! hands down the coolest thing i have ever done. we landed INSIDE the grand canyon, drank champagne, flew back at sunset and flew over the strip at night. it was ridiculously cool and i am so thankful we got to go!!

{hoover dam}

{inside the canyon!!}

{co-pilot on the  way home}

{seesters}

{top 5 favorite sunsets}

{amazing.}

we had one last dinner at la cave at the wynn and it was off to the airport. 

{fruli beer & chard}

the airport is a story for a different day... but it was a wonderful weekend. thankful i am able to do things like this!