I’ve been back from Bloggers in Sin City for almost a month now but I still have all things Vegas on my mind. I think I have recovered from my case of Vegas Brain however, given that I accidentally almost poured granola in my coffee the other day, that’s entirely debatable. I’ve been wanting to write a proper re-cap post of the event for ages now but I have been putting it off. At first my excuse was “Oh I’m just waiting for better photos” or “I’ll write it once Almie finishes making another one of her epic BiSC videos” Thanks to Rachel, Kelly & Almie I now have tons of amazing photos & video (!!!) to show you guys but the problem is I’m still not sure what to say (hence the writers block I was telling you about in my last post.)
As some of you already know, this was my second year attending Bloggers in Sin City. Writing my re-cap last year was easy. Instead of trying to capture it all, I decided to focus in on one defining moment from the trip – The Story of the Magic Guitars – and tell that story. This year while I was hanging out with the BiSC-uits, wandering down the strip, downing margaritas, walking through casinos barefoot and wearing a hell of a lot of fake hair, at the back of my mind I was searching for that one epic defining moment that I would be able tell everyone about later…but it never happened. Instead, I had an awesome weekend, made up of many sparkly, wonderful, bizarre, hilarious moments, that in the end make up this big, glittering, epic whole called Bloggers in Sin City. No matter how hard I try, I’m not going to be able to capture everything with words. So, here are a few things that I feel represent what BiSC is all about. Bloggers in Sin City is….
1. FOX MASKS. In the past, I’ve definitely been guilty of being overly concerned about appearances (ie. what other people think of me at any given time) however, I like to think I’m getting over this with age. Almie brought these cute fox masks from BCBG Generation and we shamelessly wore them while walking down the strip one night (as did other foxy BiSC-uits throughout the weekend.) If you’ve ever wanted to do something crazy while not giving a crap about what other people think, Vegas is the place to do it. This is a city that’s home to midgets in Elvis suits and Sad Mickey. Seriously kids, you’ve entered a no judgement zone. So wear that fox mask , put on that sequined fedora or show up to brunch in a wig or two. I know you want to.
2. ROOM-MATES. Once again, the Bloggers in Sin City gods blessed me with another fantastic room-mate for the weekend – Grace of Sunshine and Potatoes. I met Grace at exactly the right time. We have tons of stuff in common (to the point of it almost being kind of freaky) and we connected right away. As you can probably tell from the photo, Grace completely lives up to her name – she’s elegant, classy and kind – like a modern day Grace Kelly. She’s also in Law School and will probably end up saving the world. In other words, Grace is totally winning at life. She’s awesome & I miss her!
3. MEETING OLD FRIENDS AND MAKING NEW ONES. During the welcome mixer, a long string of Bloggers congo lined past me and I said to the person standing next to me: “I feel like I’m at a high school reunion except I actually want to to hang out with these people!” I used to think I wasn’t a fan of big group activities but it’s such a different story when the group is a bunch of super welcoming, like-minded individuals.
More Vegas stories & photos after the jump!
4. THE FLAMINGO. Dear Flamingo Hotel, Thanks for having us again this year. I’m now convinced more than ever, that your weird minty-chocolate-tabacco scented air and bright pink lights, contain magic super-powers that bring on a giant blogger lovefest whenever we’re in your vicinity. Stay Fabulous. Signed, Simone.
5. EMBRACING YOUR INNER BATHING BEAUTY. If you’ve ever had the desire to channel Jayne Mansfield and shamelessly adorn yourself in leopard print, Bloggers in Sin City is the place to do it. It’s also a good place to rock that over-sized hat you’ve been dying to wear. I know, I know, the thought of wearing a bathing suit in front of a bunch of strangers probably makes most of us cringe on some level. However, if you’re going to show some skin, this is a safe venue to do it. See above re: this being a no judgement zone. None of us are perfect & you know what? It’s not a big deal. BiSC is all about grabbing that sparkly beach-ball, tuning out the voice that says you’re probably going to blind someone with your glowing white thighs & joining the conga line.
6. MADMEN AND MAD WOMEN. On Saturday night we had a Mad Men themed dance party at Chateau. Everyone looked awesome! I wore a lot of fake hair! We danced, danced, danced! Thanks to vodka, the rest of the details are hazy.
7. HILARIOUS “YOU HAD TO BE THERE MOMENTS” THAT YOU MAKE YOU LAUGH SO HARD, MIMOSA RUNS OUT OF YOUR NOSE AND YOU START TO SCARE THE PEOPLE AROUND YOU. When Almie and I set out to find a 24 buffet on the Strip we discovered that no such thing exists! (OH THE HORROR.) Instead we had to settle for a meal of chicken wings and jalapeno fries at 3am. FYI. The Vegas Strip at 3am (when you’re sober, overtired and suffering from jalapeno fries indigestion) is a strange, strange place. As we were walking back to the hotel, clutching our stomachs, we came across this guy leaning against a railing, with his mouth wide open, with an unidentified puddle of liquid pooling beneath him – a sight that should have been disturbing, but seemed completely hilarious at 3am. So hilarious, that we couldn’t stop laughing about it and I reenacted the scene throughout the weekend. We even made up a dance move to commemorate “the position.”
8. WIG BRUNCH. Wigs at brunch cure all – even epic hangovers and the Sunday morning “goodbye” sads.
To sum up, I think Brandy’s tweet said it best:
Last year was like that first kiss, complete with full body tingly excitement and the frantic euphoria of absolutely everything being NEW, NEW, NEW. This year was just as awesome but in a different way. Knowing what to expect, I was able to relax a bit, connect with more people and get to know the ones I already knew better. Lots of good conversations were had and that first time high was replaced with a deeper sense of comfort, like I was coming home to meet my tribe. If my first year at BiSC was the first kiss, this year was the part of the relationship where it’s cool to just sit around in your pajamas and be like “hey, I know we’re both hung-over and wearing wigs, but who cares? I like you just the way you are so let’s just go out, do some tequila shots, and sing some karaoke. And let’s preferably do this all at a Harley Davidson theme restaurant” It’s the point where you realize this is love and you’re going to be together for a long time.
For everything else that can’t be put into words, I present Almie’s BiSC video that captures it all. (All of Ameena‘s dancing in this video makes me so, so, happy.)
HERE’S TO NEVER ENDING KISSES & STAYING TOGETHER.