My 30th Birthday in Vegas

I’m currently sitting on my couch watching HGTV and going through photos from my birthday weekend in Vegas. It was a such a great getaway and I felt so loved and thankful. Jerry is my perfect travel partner. We love to do the same things when we travel: find the cutest trendiest most instagrammable spots…and eat. We LOVE finding cool new places to eat at and this trip did not disappoint.

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We stayed at The Linq Resort and Experience. We’ve visited Vegas several times but had never stayed at this particular property. We ended up loving it. There’s so much to see and do without even needing to leave the resort, including the Promenade which is “an outdoor retail, dining and entertainment plaza” that has tons of shopping, unique restaurants and bars, and is anchored by The High Roller which is the world’s largest “observation wheel” featuring transparent pods to give you the most incredible views of Vegas. Some of the pods even have a bar inside them. We didn’t ride the High Roller on this trip but we’ve done it before and it’s definitely worth it for the experience (& the photos).

This is a (very over-edited) photo from a 2014 trip we took to Vegas.

Our room at The Linq was super-spacious and very comfy. I loved that the resort had everything you could possibly need: a gym, pool, spa, room service, tons of restaurants, shopping, and even a tattoo parlor. I also felt really safe, as the elevators require a key card to activate (small thing, but I’m a bit of an anxious Nelly lol). The bed was so comfy and made it way too easy to sleep in. We started my birthday morning with birthday cake in bed from Milkbar. Every time I see a Milkbar cake, I drool, so I HAD to have one for my 30th. Milkbar is quite literally just a walk up bar located inside the Cosmopolitan. It seems so mini compared to the photos I’ve see of their flagship store in New York. What it lacks in size, it makes up for in style, The pink and white exterior is complimented by string lights and is the absolute cutest. The best part? They offer on-demand delivery via Postmates! We almost had my cake delivered to the hotel, but at the last minute, I decided I really wanted to see Milkbar for myself.

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The Neon Museum | I’ve been dying to see The Neon Museum (or Neon Boneyard as it is sometimes called) for years. So when we started planning my birthday trip, I put it at the top of the list. The museum is a collection of working and non-working retired neon signs from hotels and casinos in Vegas. Some of the signs date back to the 1940’s and there are carefully positioned ambassadors are ready to tell you the history behind many of them. A particularly sweet man named Sweeney went into elaborate and fascinating detail with us about the giant Sahara sign (ask them about when The Beatles stayed there!)

We went during Tim Burton’s Lost Vegas exhibit, which featured sculptures and neon signs by Burton that were specially made for The Neon Museum. It was so cool to see. It’s about a 20 minute drive from the strip and the cost to get in is $30 per person. There are also times available to go at night to see the working signs lit.

Seven Magic Mountains | Since it was installed in 2016, J & I have talked about going. We’ve drooled over the gorgeous photos of the perfectly stacked painted rocks for years and had a minor panic when it was almost removed in 2018. Luckily, the exhibit was extended until 2021! It’s about an hour drive from The Strip and unfortunately it’s an hour south- which meant it was not a simple stop on the way home. But was it worth it? ABSOLUTELY. The Seven Magic Mountains are stunning in person and even bigger than I imagined. The boulders are all locally sourced and stacked up to 35 feet high. I read on another blog that it is a great idea to go early in the morning before the place gets flooded with people. We ignored that advice and went in the early afternoon. It was definitely crowded, but the photos didn’t suffer for it.

It’s totally in the middle of the desert, so I was a little worried about photos. Lighting can be tricky especially attempting to shoot in the afternoon with no shade, but we lucked out and went on an overcast day which made for perfect captures. We brought our new iPhone tripod (linked below) so we could get photos together and honestly… these photos of J & I are some of my favorites. We both love art and we were like giddy kids running around snapping photos.

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Room Service | Nothing makes you feel more pampered than room service. In fact, I feel that it is a a basic requirement for a good vacay. On the morning of my birthday, we ordered room service from Corner Kitchen & Donuts. There’s nothing like eating pancakes and croissants and coffee in a hotel bed while watching a movie on a Friday morning.

Cafe Lola | I came across Cafe Lola on Instagram (check out @ilovecafelola) and it was basically love at first sight. They have three locations in Vegas and we visited the one in Henderson. It’s located in a small strip mall that doesn’t serve it justice, but once you step inside…wow. Everything is so girly and sparkly and I must have said “isn’t it pretty?!” to Jerry about 100 times. The booth seats are pink velvet with beautiful marble tables all under gorgeous, completely-over the top chandeliers. There was a boxwood wall with a neon sign in the middle that said “I followed my heart and it lead my to Cafe Lola” - so cute! In the corner was a pink old-school phone booth covered in flowers.

OMG but the food. It’s not your typical cafe. You won’t find burgers and fries on the menu but you will find delicious fresh salads (we got the Hail Caesar), different types of toast (we had the Barney’s Upper East which was salmon and lox with capers- to die for! And the Egg & Olive), baguettes, charcuteries, and some of the most beautiful pastries, cookies, and sweets. I had studied the menu before we arrived (as one does lol) and knew I wanted Tea Time. Tea Time at Lola is your choice of tea (or upgrade to champagne!) plus a selection of their most popular pastries and toasts. Between the darling 3 tiered tray everything came on, the perfect little white teapot, and the pink tea cups…I was in absolute Heaven.

Sticky Chicken | After Cafe Lola, J & I headed back to the hotel for our spa appointments. After a 50 minute massage we were hungry but definitely not willing to venture far. Right at the entrance of the Promenade is Sticky Chicken, a former food truck that is now stationary and selling some bomb Korean Chicken. It’s super casual and quick but absolutely delicious. I got the Sticky Chicken bowl which had chicken and “yummy sauce” along with mango and ginger on top of rice. J got the sauced and tossed tenders and we shared an order of the cheese street fries. It was so good that we’ve brought up how we wish we could go there for dinner at least 3 times since we got home.

Blacktap | Anytime someone asks me where they should eat in Vegas, without hesitation, it’s always Blacktap. It’s a super trendy burger joint that is famous for their “Crazy Shakes”- absolutely incredible, giant, gluttonous monster milkshakes that are topped with more deliciousness. I got the CakeShake (because…duh, birthday) which is topped with a giant slice of birthday cake. They were even sweet enough to stick a candle in it for me!

& the food! I got the Mexico City burger which comes with pepper jack cheese, an onion ring, pickled jalapenos, and chipotle mayo- it’s so bomb that I get it every time we go. J got The Texan Burger which comes with an onion ring, bacon, aged cheddar, sweet baby rays bbq, and mayo. I can not say enough good things about Blacktap. Seriously, go. Even if you’re not going to Vegas. They have locations in New York and at Disneyland!

Vegas doesn’t have to be all slot machines and nightclubs and hangovers. I’ve been there and done that. Vegas also has an insane restaurant scene and some of the most incredible art in the world. It’s a city where you can drive a Lamborghini around a race track at noon and kiss your honey on a gondola ride at sunset. You can go to Vegas 10 times and never have the same experience.

I had such a special birthday weekend and I’m so grateful to my sweet husband for it. I’ve been dreading the big 3-0 because it seemed so final. It sounds so “adult” and full of obligation. But so far… it ain’t so bad ;)