even though i am typically a huge fan of drinks that are more floral and/or fruity, i was so intrigued by one of the martinis at vanderpump à paris.
le dirty bleu
le dirty bleu is made with gin, blue cheese stuffed olives, rosemary and everything but the bagel spice. with me being the vodka girl that i am, i had them sub the gin for belvedere. it was absolutely delicious. if you are someone that loves a cocktail that is on the saltier side with a bit of a bite, le dirty bleu is for you.
“martinis. they make me feel civilized.” -ernest hemingway
just before christmas, i was lucky enough to venture to vegas for a much needed getaway with some lovely ladies from my last job. we had agreed to ahead of time to do one calm night and one wild night. our calm evening was definitely memorable because we had the most magnificent dining experience at giada.
for all of my fellow food network lovers, dining at giada was just as dreamy as you think it would be. i was especially excited to experience this with annie – she has all of giada’s cookbooks, loves a good italian meal. today is her birthday so this post is in honor of her. happy birthday, annie!!!
i cannot go to an italian restaurant and not have burrata. the burrata crostini was served with a kale salsa verde and toasted pine nuts. it was absolutely divine.
next, i had an arugula salad. it definitely had a little something special since it was combined with candied lemon, crispy pancetta and parmigiano-reggiano. it was a simple salad but absolutely decadent. for my main course, both amanda and i had the ravioli which comes with lobster, candy stripped beets and preserved lemon butter. our waitress suggested we get the lemon potatoes as a side to share and dip them in the preserved lemon butter sauce. it was absolutely to die for.
annie got giada’s signature lemon spaghetti and was in heaven. the presentation was just stunning.
michelle and vicky split bone-in tuscan ribeye and salmon paired with roasted broccolini. to say they were pleased with their choices would be a gross understatement. everything was seasoned to perfection.
more cocktails were consumed than i care to count and every single one was amazing. my favorite was probably my drinkable dessert. giada’s take on affogato included a bailey’s gelato they make in house. i am still dreaming of it.
our experience was seamless from start to finish. there are few things that compare to an amazing meal with even more amazing women.
if you are in vegas, be sure to make reservations via opentable at giada – the cromwell las vegas. you will be so happy you did.
it seemed like it had been forever since i had put on something new to go out. that being said, a girls trip to vegas seemed like the perfect excuse to snag something fresh. i wanted to look and feel good for our night out at crimson in bloom. this combo from asos + nordstrom definitely did the trick.
the skirt with suspenders was a new purchase from asos. the leather jacket is an oldie but a goodie (also from asos). while it has been in my closet for over a year (thanks, COVID), the goldenrod bodysuit is from nordstrom’s bp section and was only $15! while this particular one is sold out, they have plenty of other options for both color and cut offered in sizes from xs to 4x. what i loved most about it was how soft and smooth the ribbed detail was AND there was no annoying snap closure – i just stepped right into it.
here is a close up shot so you can see a little more detail:
i have already thought of a million other ways to style this skirt with suspenders – an oversized sweater with high top sneakers, a sleek black bodysuit with heeled booties, a pastel pink scoop neck with ballet flats. the possibilities are endless.
months ago, my mom mentioned that she wanted to take hillary and i to vegas to celebrate our birthdays. it evolved into a girls getaway weekend with two of our favorite girls, kendall and lo.
hillary knows how much i love a cocktail garden so when she caught wind of crimson in bloom (located in red rock casino), she made us a reservation. anyone who knows me knows how i feel about flowers and rosé so walking in to this magical wonderland that combined both nearly took my breath away.
the menu was expansive and included tons of hard alcohol options too so we were able to have a little bit of everything.
we started with a bottle of sparkling rosé. i had to experience this flower cart experience and had a still rosé that was enhances with orange blossom, edible flowers and lemon. it smelled and tasted delicious. our waitress, michelle, made the absolute best recommendations.
once we were ready for something with a bit more of a kick, hillary and lo ordered the elderflower.
kendall ordered the rosemary, which was patron based.
staying true to form, i ordered the lavender. it was vodka based and had a little caffeinated kick. the little lollipop to enjoy afterwards was a nice touch.
and because none of us can say no to hillary, we all took shots of tequila or lemon drops before leaving to do some gambling.
crimson in bloom is open until mid may. the theme of the bar changes seasonally so if flowers are your jam, head to red rock before it’s too late.
admittedly, i have been off the map post christmas. normally, i would apologize. 30 year old me will not. i took some much needed time away from my macbook since i had a couple of weeks off from work which meant being able to avoid the double digit number of google meets/zooms and prolonged blue light exposure that typically fill my weeks. at the beginning of this week, i made a list of topics i wanted to cover within the next two weeks. then it occurred to me that something special was happening on the 7th…
it seems like just yesterday that i sent out a group text to my girls about voting on names for this blog. keep up with k. tap had a nice to ring to it (and coincidentally received the most votes).
like many people, i thought 2020 would pan out differently than it did. i kicked off the year with some amazing moments, including turning 30 and having the most epic birthday celebration in vegas. exactly one month later, the world as we once knew it shut down. being the planner i am, i mapped out all of the topics i wanted to post about month by month. little did i know that i would end up being so burned out on all things screen oriented. even still, there were definitely some memorable posts this year. i took what many of you said into consideration and showed my face more on the blog. those were some of the top posts for 2020.
there was some variety in what spoke to you all but the top three were ones i loved as well. the most liked (and commented on) post was about normalizing apologizing to children. while there were some photos from vegas that i adored that made the top nine, the most liked photo of me was one that was completely carefree from some much needed time away in indio this summer. plus, who doesn’t love a yellow bikini? and the final of the three might be my favorite quote from the last year. it is simple yet significant – choose people that choose you.
more than anything, i appreciated having my blog in 2020 as a way to connect with people i know and love plus people i have had the pleasure of meeting online. this was a year where it was important to know that even if we were physically alone, there are still people here for you. many of my posts felt incredibly raw and vulnerable. some stirred up controversy. i got wild direct messages and even lost followers but i wouldn’t change a thing. i can see my growth and that makes me so excited for 2021.
what would you like to see more of on keep up with k.tap this year?
thank you so much for your continued support. it means the world to me. two down, forever to go.
keep up with k.tap 