Copacabana

Hanging out in a cabana at Encore.
Gals in little dresses.
Including moi.

XS lives up to its name. Too much is indeed never enough.
It's new fave dance club in LV.
I dig the Pussycat Dolls Casino.
I still call myself a feminist.

Loungers on the water.
Lovers on the red carpet.

Sunglasses inside the poker tournament.
Not because we were playing. No makeup.
With the pros in the poker room, video poker for us.

Love letters from Michelle's bartender.
He was jealous he got replaced.
We have history! No love! I just don't understand!

Is it a sin to paint a Rolls Royce flat black?

Electric Avenue

Yesterday my house had no electricity. A nasty storm knocked down power lines in our neighborhood. After making soup on my gas stove there was nothing else to do, so I napped through the outage. Quite a contrast from the sleepless nights and endless lights of Las Vegas.

The lovely view from our room.

Catching a view from a tabletop at Tryst.

Feet firmly on the ground, really wanting to jump into the waterfall. If it had been warmer...

High five!

One of my favorite indulgences. Norman Love chocolates come in flavors like peanut butter & jelly, banana nut bread, cinnamon roll, pineapple and new york cheesecake. When you close your eyes, it tastes so much like the real thing, it's unbelievable. (Plus, unlike most gourmet chocolates, these taste as good as they look.)

Remember those fuschia YSL shoes I posted just a few days ago? I spotted them paired with rubberized stretch pants everyone seems to be sporting and couldn't resist a quick snap. They are incredible in person.

Let It Ride

I'm going to Las Vegas for some R&R. Rest & relaxation? Bah! Rowdiness & revelry are in order.

Maybe we'll stop by Forty Deuce?

I love the lights of the strip, particularly the flashy Flamingo sign my dad designed.

When I was 21, my friends & I gambled at cheap slots for free drinks. Waitress?

Gambling while glam or glittery makes it all so much more fun.

My parents used to drop us off at Circus Circus, just like these tots. They'd hand us each $20 and pat our backs as they left for the casino. The best year was when my brother and I pooled our money and spent every cent scoring a stuffed Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle.

Dean Martin running a table. Classic.

All of these images are from the LIFE photo archive, which goes from the 1750s to the present. Happy hunting here!

The Rat Pack

So, here's a shot from The Hard Rock Hotel's Penthouse in Las Vegas. It was Caroline's room. So jealous! I'm having issues with my memory card - eek! - so this is a little teaser. I'll have my reviews and dish in no time.
Who knew that room service included hand-feeding guests?! Yep, we're just getting started..

Lounging at Hard Rock

I'm heading back to Vegas! I'm checking out Hard Rock Hotel's new poker lounge.

My good friend Daniel Delshad is hosting his debut poker tournament there with Dream Team Poker. The design was done by Kelly Wearstler.

Hard Rock says it's the first poker "lounge" in Las Vegas. Fine by me. Poker rooms usually seem like they're for strictly serious players. If you aren't really into playing the game - like moi - but like to watch, there's a bar and lounge area.

Now you know where to look for me next weekend.

Las Vegas Vices

We stayed at the Mandalay Bay, headed to Mix for dinner, played craps, watched a show at Forty Deuce, enjoyed the beach at the hotel and Dana drinks your milkshake.*


*Please see There Will Be Blood if confused.

Bird of Paradise

I'm heading to Vegas and a must-see is my father's Flamingo sign.

The Flamingo project was one of the few million dollar signs in its day and it's still impressive. He took drawings and designed each sheet-metal plume with intricate light displays and also helped install the elaborate sign. My mom tells me it took a too long to complete. I'm sure she was pregnant and alone in LA at the time, or something else pressing was going on at home. In the end, I believe it was worth it.

He created many other fantastic signs like Circus, Circus and the new Hollywood sign. I need to learn the stories behind those... When I was a child, signmaking was a part of his past.

The signmaking company he worked for was called Heath. He owned a pewter pin that made me think of the words, "health" or "Heath Bar." The pin sat in the drawer where he kept all of his treasures. The drawer wasn't full, so I knew the few things inside were particularly special.

My mother often let me dig through the drawer while we folded hot laundry on their bed.

I remember being alone, looking at his treasures one afternoon. He came home & saw me peeking in his drawer. He shouted that I wasn't allowed in there.

"It's personal!"

I scurried out of the room, hot with embarrassment and mad at him for snapping at me.

Once the emotions settled, I wondered what it was he didn't want me to see. I couldn't wait to get back into that drawer. I was hooked.

I can't wait to watch the lights go up the feathers of the Flamingo this weekend. It was my father's pride and joy many years ago, and despite all of the change in Vegas, it still stands.

Know When To Fold Em

Glamour Girls & Two Wild and Crazy Guys. That's who's leaving for Las Vegas this weekend. The first visit in seven years. Lucky seven folks. Couldn't resist.

I'm feeling Sharon Stone in Casino. Pale dresses accented in gold. Big hair, diamonds real and fake. In fact, lots of fake everything.

For the men, two wild & crazy guys. Tight open shirts revealing chest hair and ridiculous necklaces. No holding back on the hair gel.

Oh yeah. This is a Robert in his new shirt & necklace. Rowr.