Recipe Recap / My birthday in Vegas

Hi Everyone,

I am so happy to be home!  I have been in Las Vegas since Tuesday!  I love Sin City, but 4 days there is way to long!  Every year my Husband and I go on a trip for either my birthday or his.  Last year we went to Vegas for mine and this year we decided to do the same.  I didn’t have any plans except to chill out, play some slots and eat good food.   We did manage to do that, and then some.  Since I just got home, I’ll give a short briefing of my trip without a lot of detail.

For my Birthday celebration, we started the morning off with the Buffet at the Wynn Hotel. It was fabulous!  We have been staying at the Palazzo, so the Wynn was a nice short walk.  There buffet is simply excellent.  They have everything from yogurt, granola, to muesli, omelets, pizza and desserts a mile long.  It was one of the best breakfast buffets I have ever had!    By the way, they even had buckwheat pancakes and multigrain french toast.  Lots of healthy options there.

For the day we spent it at the Palazzo pool to cool off!  We needed that since it was around 112 out!  Ugh!!!  Then I decided to treat myself to a much-needed pedicure.  My Husband sat there with me and he couldn’t believe how many layers of nail polish they put on your feet.  I asked him if he wanted one and he said no thanks!  He doesn’t know what he was missing.

For dinner, I got dressed up in my sparkly white dress that I have been dying to wear.  I don’t think my Husband liked how short it was, but hey it was my birthday and I wanted to feel young.  I never dress like this and it was fun!!!

Here’s a picture of my Husband and I in the Palazzo Hotel and Casino just before going to dinner.

For dinner we ate at Lavo Restaurant at the Palazzo.  Sorry for the blurry picture.

The food and service were excellent!!  For a fancy smancy place the pricing wasn’t to bad.  I was pretty stoked to try this restaurant.  I saw it on Food Network, and I just had to go there.  They are known for there softball size meatballs, and yes we got one, we simply had too!  It was the most moist meatball I ever had.  It cost $22.00, but well worth it.  It was made with Kobe beef and topped with Ricotta and Olive Oil.  I honestly never have had such tender ground beef.  My Husband said that I should eat Kobe beef all the time, but this was a one time thing.  I can only imagine the calories in this appetizer.

For my main entrée I got Spaghetti with tomatoes and basil.  It just hit the spot.  We also ordered a basket of garlic bread.  Delish!  The only thing is they took the bread away too quick.

My Husband got the Alfredo with shrimp scampi, scallops and lobster.  We both never had a scallop before and it wasn’t to bad, I may try to cook with them someday.  He said he loved his meal.  It looked good!

I also had a glass of white wine.  Yes I know it didn’t go with dinner, but I wanted a Chardonnay.  We skipped out on dessert, even though I had a free coupon.  It was a wonderful restaurant, I highly recommend it.  Oh and dinner cost about $92.00 which we didn’t think was too bad.  The rest of the stay we ate cheap, mostly free food from the hotel.  My birthday was the only day we spent so much on food and entertainment.

For our evening event we went back to the Wynn and saw Le Reve.  Oh my gosh it was probably one of the best shows I ever saw.  It was amazing!  It was a love story all done in water.  I didn’t get to take any pictures, since they didn’t allow it but here are a few shots I got at the end.

The flowers on the ceiling that opened up at the end of the show.

The water fountain that changed constantly from raging waters to simple streams.  It was truly amazing.  I HIGHLY recommend seeing it if your ever in Las Vegas.  I guarantee you won’t ever see a show like this.

After the show, we went back to the hotel to change and headed to Fremont Street in Old Las Vegas.  They had a Rock of Ages show going on the Fremont Experience Big Screen and rock bands playing.  Now this was a happening place, so many people.  We stayed to see the light show, played a few slots and left.  I’m getting old, I was tired.

Before we left Fremont Street, I saw this restaurant and had to take a picture.  That’s about how I feel right about now!!

My recommendations, if you ever go to Las Vegas, stay at the Palazzo.  We got the Prestige package which included free valet parking, free Internet, breakfast, appetizers, cocktails, a HUGE room, chocolate, champagne and more.  It was worth the price since I had breakfast there everyday, but the one.  Plus we got several GOOD cocktails at the lounge.  There appetizers were just ok, but it’s free food and with the prices the restaurants charge it saved us a butt load of money, plus they had a latte machine, yum, yum, we must have drank about four of those everyday.

Here’s my Pina Colada that I got at the hotel lounge.  I look a little worn out.  It was in the low 100’s everyday.  At 10am it was 110.  It was HOT!!!!!!!!!!

That’s my breakdown of my big birthday event.  Now here is my recipe recap for the week.

Monday – Chocolate Peanut Butter Frappe – Amazing drink!  I love it and so does little Jenny!!  I miss having my frappes when I was gone!

Tuesday – Skinny Bitch Tuesday/Peach and Cherry Crisp – This is a nice healthy crisp that I put on my yogurt everyday until it was gone!!!  Delish!!

Wednesday – Potato Salad with Balsamic Dressing – This is quick, simple and a huge hit at my work BBQ.

Thursday – Cucumber and Tomato Quinoa Salad – I love-making a big batch of Quinoa on a Sunday and having it throughout the week.  You can make simple and wonderful dishes with it like my salad here.  I love it and the next day it even tastes better!

Friday – Peanut Butter and Chocolate Pretzel Balls – This is one of my favorite snacks.  I make them and pop in the freezer.  Matter in fact I’m going to get one right now!!  There so yummy!!

Saturday – Nutella and Banana Wontons – This is a simple and wonderful tasting little dessert.  It tastes so good and is low in calories.  It’s a great way to use up a ripe banana and wontons.  Here’s a tip:  If you have left over wonton wrappers, put them in a ziplock bag and store in your freezer.  When your ready to use them, take them out a couple of hours before hand and let them thaw on your kitchen counter.

I wanted to thank everyone for sending me birthday wishes.  You Guys are all to sweet!  Thank you for making my day better!!!

Now that I am officially home and done with all of my travels for the year, I am going to start fresh!!  Starting tomorrow (today) I am going to begin my 90 Day Chaleane Extreme program, eat healthy and change my eating habits.  I think I eat way to light at lunch that I tend to binge when I get home from work.  That’s not good!  I’m also sticking to workouts before blogs, that seems to work for me.  I gained quite a few pounds (10lbs) this year and it’s time to change that.  I know I have said this before, but with traveling this summer, it really messed me up.  Now that I am home I can control myself and be better.  I know I can do this and I’m really excited to see my results.  First thing in the morning I am taking my measurements and weighing in.  So wish me luck!  Second thing I’m going to do is liquidate all the bad food in the house and go grocery shopping for lots of fruits, veggies and protein!!  Ahhh, Trader Joe’s here I come!!

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!!

Toodles,

Jen

P.S.  Ohhh, how I missed my frappes this week.

Skinny Mocha Mint Frappe

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