6 Cheap Things to Do in Las Vegas

Towards the end of 2017, I went on possibly my most last minute trip I have ever gone on.  Flights to Las Vegas became extremely cheap, and with that cheap of a flight, it was a great time for a December trip to Las Vegas, Nevada.  Seeing as it was basically the start of Christmas time, I went with my family to Las Vegas with a very limited budget.  We found a very cheap room at my now favorite hotel there, The Flamingo, and our trip was kind of heaven sent from there.

However, beyond flights and hotel costs, Las Vegas is quite pricey everywhere you go.  There are numerous and amazing buffets in the city, but the problem with them all, is that they are basically almost $200 for only three people to eat dinner.  Whenever I go to New York City every summer, I know the city well enough at this point that I know what to do there that won’t cost me a large amount of money.  If you would like me to write a post on free things in New York, let me know!

We were able to find certain things to do that cost us little to no money at all, and I would love to share these things with you today.  It is always great to travel somewhere and have a basic idea and understanding on what you can do, without completely killing your budget.  Here are my favorite picks of cheap or free things to do in fabulous Las Vegas.

.

1. Bellagio Fountains

The reason our hotel room was so incredible, was that we had a direct view of the fountain shows going off at the Bellagio Hotel and Casino.  These water shows go off every half an hour i believe during the daytime past noon, and every fifteen minutes in the evening until midnight.  These shows have different music and different fountains going off at every single show.  

It is completely free and a must see when going to Vegas!

2. The Mirage Volcano Show

Unfortunately I did not get to see this show on my trip, even though I did want to go very badly.  At the Mirage Hotel and Casino, there is a volcano structure in the front of the hotel, that erupts at night time at certain hours after 9:00PM I believe.  After watching videos of the show on YouTube, it looks insanely cool to watch.

This is also 100% free and something cool to watch at night!

3. Neon Junkyard

Another thing I did not get to do, but I know a lot others love, is the Neon Junkyard located in the outskirts of the main city area.  This is the perfect place for those awesome Instagram photos, and is for sure an interesting place to just even walk around.

This is also free to my knowledge and is the perfect stop for your Instagram feed!

4. Day in the Desert

After spending a day road tripping to the Grand Canyon and driving through the desert, I definitely fell in love.  The desert surrounding Las Vegas is honestly insane, and it seems like it never ends.  There are numerous spots that are perfect for photos and what not.  Boulder City is located just a perhaps half an hour drive from Las Vegas, and the town there is just stunning.

The cost for this can vary, with transportation, etc, but totally worth it!

5. High Roller

If views are something you fancy, then this is definitely the destination for you.  I personally am extremely afraid of heights, so I for one made sure to not go on this one!  The High Roller was actually located literally right outside of my hotel, The Flamingo, and was a gorgeous sight even from down below.  The ride takes an hour all together I believe, which gives you plenty of time for awesome photos.  They even have bars inside them at night time, talk about insane!

The cost for this is at the lowest $25 I believe, and if you really would love a great view of Vegas, this is the way to go!

6. Hotel Exploration

The major thing that Las Vegas is most famous for, is the massive and beautiful hotels and casinos.  I like to call Vegas the adult Disney World.  It is absolutely free to walk through all the hotels, and just to be warned, they are not only massive, but you will for sure get lost.  My personal favorites were The Venetian (got lost literally like three times here) and Caesar's Palace.   They both have shopping sections that make it look like you are actually in Venice or Greece.

This is also completely free and a must do if you go to Vegas!

If you enjoyed today’s post, or have been to Vegas and done one of these listed, comment below!  You can view more photos from my trip to Vegas on my Instagram page here.  You can also view my travel diary vlog from Las Vegas on my Youtube channel here.

My Picks of Last Minute Stocking Fillers

This time of December is certainly the craziest time of year, in my opinion.  If you go to the stores from here until Christmas Day, you are mostly sure of being mobbed by massive amounts of people getting their last minute shopping done.  As hectic as it is, I have to admit I do love this time of year shopping wise! Mostly some great sales happen right before Christmas, which is a good reason to be last minute shopping. 

I did a lot of my shopping this past weekend, and even though I have more to do this Friday (it never ends!) I managed to find some really great stuff for little gifts for friends and family.  

Miscellaneous

One gift I managed to get on Black Friday, actually, was a Christmas patterned blanket.  The blanket I bought from JC Penny’s was so incredible soft that I gifted it to my friend, and she loved it!  Blankets can never go wrong!  Fuzzy Christmas socks work wonders, too!

Stationary

Another thing I noticed whilst shopping at Target the other day, was the little things they had on sale.  I got this cute set of cards pictured above, for just $1! If you know someone that loves stationary or is in need of some mini binders for some reason, Target is your place! I personally use mini binders to put my broadway playbills in, but I certainly don’t expect everyone to use it for that reason!!

Makeup
On the topic of makeup, I would say go to Ulta instead of Sephora, mainly because Sephora is so expensive!  If you were to do a drug store brand type of makeup, I’d say Elf is the best in that category.   My personal favorite makeup brand that myself and a ton of my friends love, is Colourpop.  Colourpop has some of the best makeup products out there, and they’re cheap!  Their matte liquid lipsticks and eyeshadow palettes are my favorites from them, definitely try out Colourpop if you already haven’t! 

Chocolate

Now let’s talk about something almost everyone loves: chocolate!  My mother and I happened to find a set of chocolate covered apples for family and I can’t think of a more perfect gift for someone!  Also, a personal favorite of mine is Lindor Truffles, which you could probably find at any grocery store. 

I’d say if you were to do some last minute Christmas shopping, Target is definitely the place to go.  Target truly never disappoints me, even in their clothing department!  Happy Holiday’s to you and your family, you truly deserve the lovely weekend.  

What are some stocking fillers you have found for Christmas? 

15 Days of Christmas Movies

It is officially December, which means it is officially Blogmas season!  Christmas time to me is always the literal most wonderful time of year.  It’s a time of giving, family, and love.  There’s also the combination of some great Christmas traditions, some I’ve been doing for as long as I can remember. 

My personal favorite tradition has always been the Christmas movies my family and I love to watch every single year.  To initiate the start of Blogmas on my little blog, I’d love to share with you some great films I watch every year, merry Christmas season! 

1. The Polar Express
2. It’s a Wonderful Life
3. Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town
4. Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer 
5. Charlie Brown Christmas Special
6. The Holiday
7. The Family Stone
8. Elf 
9. The Santa Claus
10. Hallmark & Lifetime Christmas movies (way too many to name!)
11. National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation
12. How The Grinch Stole Christmas
13. Santa Baby
14. The Nativity Story (this one, I always watch on Christmas Eve!)
15. A Christmas Story (of course I always watch this movie on a loop on Christmas Day!)

What are some favorites you enjoy to watch during the holiday’s? Comment down below, I’d love to find some new watches! 

My Recent Colourpop Purchase

I’m not going to lie, money has been pretty tight recently, and I was a bit overdue for new makeup.  So I made the very inexpensive Colourpop order the other week, seeing as it is probably my favorite makeup brand ATM.  I needed new eyeshadow colors, and by my surprise, I happened to get a new ultra matte liquid lipstick too! Here’s all I received:

I was complaining about how late my Colourpop order was to arrive, but they sure did make up for it! As an apology, they sent me a mini liquid lipstick in the shade Times Square, coincidentally a shade I’ve been wanting to buy! I’ll for sure be buying a full sized one soon!

I purchased here the Hi-Maintenance Eyeshadow Palette, and I’m gagging over how gorgeous the colors are.  They are so well pigmented and apply easily, which is why I love all Colourpop products.  I couldn’t be happier with my purchase of this palette.  

Must Watch Halloween Movies

Today is a very rare day; Friday The 13th, in October!  Halloween is all about movies, well at least in my eyes.  You can defiantly bring back some awesome childhood memories with certain movies you always watched as a kid.  I've listed below some terrific Halloween/scary themed movies to get you going - enjoy!

1. Hocus Pocus
2. Addams Family Values 
3. The Addams Family
4. The Conjuring
5. The Haunted Mansion
6. Jumanji
7. Halloween
8. Friday The 13th
9. Haloweentown
10. The Nightmare Before Christmas
11. The Strangers
12. Ghostbusters
13. Ghostbusters 2
14. The Visit
15. Signs
16. The Sixth Sense
17. Stranger Things (yes, it is a TV show)
18. Monsters, Inc.
19. Scream
20. Carrie

Which Halloween movie is your favorite?

My Natural Skincare Routine

Hello, darlings!  Hands raised, who else gets totally dried skin in the fall/winter season?  It seems to be a recurring issue with myself every year, but this year I am confident that it might be a little different.  I have recently decided to try to switch to all natural skin and hair products, and I feel like it is the right decision for me.  I must admit I am still in the process of the full switch to strictly all natural, but I am using a few products now that are halfway there.  In this blog post, I wanted to share with you some of my favorite skincare products that I use every night.

I reverse different nights between these two products, but both work equally as good as one another.  I am not sure if this is a great way for cleansing your face, but I initially wanted to test them, and they both feel oil-free, smooth, and are quality products that I love.

Clarisonic - Refreshing Gel Cleanser

This facial cleanser is really green for oily skin, and since I suffer from this, it’s the perfect match for me.  This gel feels incredible on my skin, and is probably the best gift I received last Christmas.  It contains both green and white tea in it, and it honestly feels very natural on my skin.  Since I was a kid, I have always had a bad acne issue, and it made me feel awful about myself for years.  When I began high school, I started to use the ProActiv products, and my face suddenly became much better.  There was however, one remaining problem: my face was still oily.

Ever since I began using Clarisonic’s product, my face began to feel much better.  I put this gel on every night, rubbing it on each section of my face for about 10-15 seconds each.  When I wake up in the morning, I wash it off with a hot rag (sorry, I can’t do a cold one in the morning!), and my face feels great for the whole rest of the day.  This gel is so refreshing for my face, and I am so glad I came across it this year.

Purity - One Step Facial Cleanser

One of my family members actually loaned me this product, and I have loved it ever since.  This cleanser is really terrific for cleaning everything off of my face.  It removes oils, dirt, and makeup after a long and tiring day.  This product contains natural extracts to help clean and moisturize the skin.  I won’t lie, this cleanser isn’t the greatest scent in the world, but it works just wonderfully.  I was initially nervous to use it, because sometimes new products can give my face a slight rash (I do have sensitive skin), but with relief it didn’t.

Purity has been a more recent discovery of mine, and I am really glad that I found it.  It feels refreshing and smooth on my skin, working wonders every time I use it.  To apply it on my face, I do the same exact steps as the Clarisonic gel!

It is a safe note to make that both of these products have also really helped my acne a lot.  I still get it now and then, but since using these products, I rarely use ProActiv as much as I used to.  

You can purchase both of these products here:

Clarisonic - Refreshing Gel Cleanser

Purity - One Step Facial Cleanser

Why I'm Taking a Style Leap of Faith

For a long time now, I've been struggling with finding my own kind of style that I am comfortable wearing.  I had an idea what kind of style I wanted to do, but the problem was, I think of others opinions too much.  Which is not a bad thing by the way, because when you think of others opinions you also start to care for your own self worth.   Although, having the fear of others judging you for something you would like to do, is not a good mindset to be at.   This is how I have been feeling lately with finding my own style that I would love to rock myself.  

I would say I have a more modern yet retro style when it comes to how I pick out clothes and outfits.   I love putting a vintage touch on every outfit I wear as much as I can.  However lately I've really been adoring Diane Keaton's style.   If you've read my Q&A then you should know that Diane Keaton is probably my biggest fashion inspiration of all time.   Just from the way she is so daring to the way she is extremely confident in anything she wears.   Not to mention the woman rocks every single outfit she wears, ever.  Diane start of the style of women wearing men's clothing.   Should be in the style in Annie Hall, which to this day is her own style.  I don't want to do the whole style completely but I would love to do it halfway.  The only thing in my way, is the fear of being judged.  

I know some of my friends and my family find my sense of style very odd at times so it makes me venture out a lot less.  However I recently had a change of mind, and I decided why not.  Over the past weekend, I was shopping at Forever 21, when I got caught up in the clearance aisle (which by the way, was filled with so many cute and cheap clothes!).   I made the leap to buy a blouse, and I'm going to try it out.  This is an essential piece in having this kind of style, and I am so glad to finally on a piece to try out! I'm honestly very proud of this decision to buy the blouse, because it's giving me my own reassurance of confidence my own style.  It's so important for me to develop my own sense of style that I am comfortable with.  I am not trying to full on copy Diane's style, but to borrow some of it, because she really has inspired me fashion wise.  I hope I can one day be as confident with what I am wearing as she is.

So with that said, I'm extremely excited to try out the style and see if it works on me.  I think I'm more excited at the fact that I've become and confident enough to buy the pieces, than even wearing them yet.  I think everyone needs to develop their own sense of style, even if it's something really little one plane.  So I hope this post could encourage you to venture out and try new things, especially those pieces of clothing you'd love to try.  

Behind The Blog Q&A

One of my favorite things this past year of blogging has been getting to meet other blogger's.  Even though I know some about them, it's come to my realization that you may not know much about me! Sure, you can probably guess my favorites from the kind of posts I write, but you don't really know ME. Today's post is going to be all about that. 

I've asked my followers on Twitter and Instagram to send me any kind of questions they have, and I'm glad to have received many!  I've also included some FAQ on my own, to help you get to know me.  I'm glad to share some of myself with out, and without further a do, here's some little things about me!


01. Why Did You Start Blogging?
I first had the thought of blogging a few years back when my mom said to me "you should start a blog!" during one of my long rants about Broadway.  The idea has been in my head since then, and it always sounded like a bunch of fun.   I mean, doesn't it sound awesome to write about whatever you want, and perhaps even have an audience?

It was about two years ago I decided to start my own Broadway blog, sadly I had no clue how to promote it!  I had one post that was popular for about a day or two, but nothing afterwards!  I since retired that Blog, and birthed Candidly Darling.  I began this blog because I wanted somewhere to write about what I'm passionate about, and I'm so glad I've found my place to do so.  

02. What Blogging Props Do You Use?
I actually don't use much!  I've an extremely budgeted person, I don't even have a proper camera!  The only main props I really use are my iPhone 6S Plus and my Laptop!  I use a bunch of apps, which you can read about here, and edit everything on my laptop.  

I'll of course use "props" when I do product review posts, but other than those, I really don't have much.  I'm intending on hopefully getting a MacBook this Christmas, so hopefully my blogging game can improve then!



03. What is The Best Thing You Like About Blogging?

What Makes You Happy About It?

The best thing about blogging is getting to let it all out.  It's so wonderful to express yourself and have an audience.  Even if you don't have much of an audience, it's great to just write about what makes you happy!  For instance, theatre makes me insanely happy.  Nowadays you can find me writing tons about it, just because it's what I love!

What makes me happy to also getting to teach some of my readers new things.  That's why I enjoy writing blog advice posts, even my travel posts, they're often so well received.  Why you ask?  Because people love learning new things!  My NYC posts have all gotten mostly positive comments, and it makes me so happy to be able to give everyone my tips, even if they're not the absolute best!



04. Who is Your Style Icon?
I've honestly had so many style icons in my life it's unreal!  This ranges from celebrities to my friends IRL.  I really am the kind of person to base my style on others, guilty as charged, I'm not the type of person to have much confidence in my own fashion sense!

I'd say my biggest style icon is for sure, the queen herself, actress Diane Keaton.  From Annie Hall to her endless real life style (which Annie Hall actually WAS her own style!), Diane just inspires me endless. She's not afraid to go out and try new outfits, even if they are way out there sometimes!  Her confidence is one of the biggest reasons why I adore her, and I'm constantly looking up to her!



05. What is Your Best Childhood Movie?
Hands down, Anastasia.  Anastasia was very special to my late grannie and I, in ways that could be a post of its own.  Let's just say, this movie will forever hold a very special place in my heart.

If you haven't seen my praise for the Broadway show, I'm a huge fan of it, too.  If you're ever in NYC, you must go see Anastasia on Broadway!



06. What is Your Favorite Place in All of NYC?
Oh gosh, so hard!! I love everywhere in NYC, it's after all my favorite city in the whole world.  Besides the endless theatre's I love to be at (my favorites of those are The Winter Garden and New Amsterdam!), I'd say my favorite place is The Plaza Hotel.  

I always make it a routine of mine to visit every time I go to the city, and there hasn't been a time when I haven't!  It's such a beautiful place, and there's just something about it that I love to my core.



07. When Do You Plan to Move to NYC?
I've been planning this move my whole life practically haha!  I am pleased to say that I plan to move there in the summer of 2019, and I hope to my heart that I can make it work.  New York is my happy place, where my friends are, and where my opportunities are.  Moving there will complete my heart, and boy do I hope I can do it.

If you have any advice on moving to the city alone, I'd be more than happy if you could comment or email me!



08. What is Your Dream Job?
For years now my biggest dream has been to be a famous actor, on Broadway and in film.  I love Broadway with all my heart, and my reason to moving to the city is to make that dream come true!  Recently I've also been desiring to be a Broadway Dresser like my friend is.  It's a job to have whole auditioning!

A Broadway Dresser is one who is in charge of costumes for certain cast members, and they look like they have quite the fun life!



09. If You Could Travel Anywhere in The World, Where Would it Be?
My grandmother was raised in Scotland, and traveled all over the world as an adult. I've always been inspired by her to do the same.  Ever since I was little, we dreamed of going to Scotland and St. Petersburg, Russia together!  I'd have to say my top place is St. Petersburg, but I also have dreams of going to Scotland, London, and Copenhagen!



10. What's The Worst Thing About Blogging?

The worst thing about blogging is probably the pressure!  I'm always feeling pressure on whether or not my blog is good enough, and it's almost stressful.

11. Why Do You Love New York So Much?

I just love how it's so alive!  Where I have lived my whole life, it's always been nothing but boring.  New York is fun, alive, and never sleeps.  It's for sure the biggest reason why I simply love The Big Apple.  I also love how it has all Broadway shows, it's such an unlimited option to seeing a great show!

12. What's The Best Show You've Seen This Year?

The best Broadway show I've seen this year, and probably ever, is Anastasia.  Anastasia has always been very special to me, and my friend Christy Altomare starring in it, only made it a million times for amazing.  The show itself is beautiful and unique, it's truly a grown up version of the movie.

13. If You Didn't Live in America, Where Would You Live?

Probably London!  I actually was looking into London for a bit, but at the end of the day, new York is the love of my life.  I would however love to live in London one day, though.

14. What's Your Favorite Food/Recipe?
My favorite dish that I'll have at any restaurant is definitely Wedding Soup.  My favorite recipe is my grannie's Zucchini Bread recipe.



15. How Do You Stay Inspired?
I always stay inspired by listening to music!  Music always cheers me up or gets me going.

16. If You Could Change Anything About Yourself, What Would it Be and Why?
I try not to regret much, but if I could change anything, it'd definitely be my jealousy and insecurity.  I try my best not to be jealous or envious of others, but sometimes I find myself in that state.  I also am aware I put myself down a lot, and I wish I could refrain from doing so as well.



17. What's Your Favorite Quote?
"Always Be a First Rate Version of Yourself, not a Second Rate version of someone else" - Judy Garland

I hope you loves enjoyed my little Q&A!

Feel free to tweet me if you have any other questions, I'll gladly answer anyway! And come say hi on Instagram!