What I Wore to a Casino/Hotel and a Summary of What We Did Over the Holidays

We had such a wonderful, dreamy holiday season this year I'm still swooning with fond memories of it.  It was filled with just the right mix of time alone to rest and relax, and time with family and old friends, and time with some new friends.  

We actually started the holiday season alone, which would be depressing to most people, but my husband and I decided to make the best of it by booking a room in a large casino/hotel in Minnesota for Christmas Day.  We stayed home for Christmas Eve.  I made a nice prime rib dinner which we ate on our fancy china by candlelight...so romantic.  Afterwards, we attended our church's Christmas Eve service.  The next morning, Christmas Day, we drove two hours to our hotel and checked in.  I couldn't believe how huge this casino was, and also how crowded.  I thought the place would be empty because it was Christmas Day;  in contrary, it was packed with people gambling and partying the day/night away.

So that of course brought me to the question:  WHAT DO I WEAR TO A LUXURY CASINO/HOTEL ON CHRISTMAS DAY?

I rarely, if ever, dress sexy, but because I was at a casino, alone on a romantic weekend getaway with my husband, I wanted to wear something sexy.  Now some of you might laugh at my outfit and think "That's not sexy at all!"  and others might be wagging their index finger at me.  Everyone's opinion of what is sexy differs, and for me, this is sexy.  And the real judge of the day, and the only one's opinion who should matter, is my husband's;  and he thought it was definitely sexy.

Because it is FREEZING here in Wisconsin, I wore ponte knit pants with tall black boots.  For my top, I chose a dark, navy blue sparkly sweater (it was Christmas Day after all, so sparkles are important!) with a black tank top underneath.  I finished the look off with a silver chain belt that graced my hips.

I apologize so much for these pictures, but the colors and lighting in this hotel were horrible for photography.  I did everything I could with filters and adjustments to improve them, but this was the best I could do.  I always planned to reshoot these pictures when I returned home, but the rest of the week we had guests and there just wasn't any time.

The back of this top has a pretty ribbon tie.  I purchased this sweater at J.C. Penney.  In most of the photos it looks black, but it's actually a deep, navy blue.  

Because there was so much sparkle in the sweater, I chose a simple, small blue and silver pendant necklace to wear.

I wore a silver bracelet, and lots of rings on my hands, and I painted my nails holiday red!

The sweater is so pretty in real life.  It is filled with sequins, and it is a bit itchy for me, but if I only wear it once a year, I can handle it.  I've always been sensitive to wool and other materials in certain sweaters.

Here is a close up of the belt.  My husband actually picked it up on clearance for around $3.00 at JCP.  We both are huge fans of JCP.  I buy just about everything there...including things for my entire family.   The reward perks are huge!

I felt very comfortable wearing this outfit at the hotel.  Casino/hotels are always such a strange mix of people.  There are the gamblers who come just to gamble and wear jeans and t-shirts, then there are families who come just to enjoy the hotel restaurants, pool, and spa, and then there are people who really dress up and spend tons of money at the finest restaurant in the place and at the gambling tables.  We always fall somewhere in the middle, picking a more modestly priced restaurant and wearing something semi-casual.

Well I promised you I would share the rest of our holiday week with you so here goes.  The day after Christmas, my husband and I went to the Mall of America and he spoiled me rotten buying me a lot of new clothes and seventy five LINDOR CHOCOLATE TRUFFLES!  I promised myself I would be good and only have one truffle a day!  Oh, the sales at the Mall of America were so incredible.  We got so many great deals I don't even know if I'll be able to even wear everything I bought before the season is over.

For my shopping day, I wore a cobalt blue tunic dress over cable knit leggings.  I also had on a new black fur vest...and boy, was I warm all day!  Those fur vests are hot!  I hope to wear this outfit again soon, and I'll do a full post on it then.

My husband was such a trooper and kept walking back to our car throughout the day so we wouldn't have to carry so many bags.  See, he's smiling ladies!  He was thrilled to take me shopping!  What a guy!

One of the favorite treasures I found was this amazing suede and shearling vest.  I'm sorry, I can't remember the name of the store.  It was one I never heard of before and we paid cash so I threw away the receipt.  Oh, this vest is so soft and lux;  and it so high quality too!  The original price was $54.00 and I got it for $19.99.  I put it on over my dress when we were still at the mall so I could send a picture of it to my daughter.  You can just see the excitement on my face right after we bought it.

We spent the entire day at the Mall of America then headed home after stopping at Applebees for a quick dinner.

Winter Storm Goliath then hit the midwest on Sunday, Monday, and lingered into Tuesday thwarting the rest of our holiday plans.  Ashley and Jason were suppose to arrive on Monday, but because of the blizzard they were unable to come to our house until Tuesday night.  So that was kinda depressing because we really treasure our time with them and  hated losing a full day due to a storm.

New Years Eve we went out to eat at our favorite Mexican restaurant in Eau Claire Tacos Juanita.  Then we saw the movie "The Hunger Games Mocking Jay Part 2".  IT WAS SO GOOD!  It was so suspenseful and one of those movies that when it ended, we all just sat there and let it sink in a bit.  I loved it.

It was only 17 degrees on New Year's Eve so this is what I wore:

This is just a sneak peek....I'll do a full post on this outfit on Monday.  I bought this fun sweater at H&M for only $10.00 when I was at the Mall of America!  I absolutely love it, though I find it very itchy too!  What can I say...I'm peculiar to the fibers of sweaters!

New Years Day brought a household full of people.  Ashley and Jason's friends and their five children drove from Chicago to spend a few days with us.  It was so much fun getting to know them better;  their children are all so sweet and adorable.

On Sunday our life-long friends that live in the area arrived and we had a get-to-together with them and Ashley & Jason's friends.  So the house was quite full and happy for awhile.

Sunday night everyone returned home, and the house was quiet once again.  We had two more quiet evenings with Ashley and Jason before they left to return home to Florida on Tuesday.  And if your wondering where my son Jordan was all this time, he was unable to come home due to his job.  We missed him, and worried about him being alone on Christmas, but he survived.  I will be seeing him again soon when I fly out to visit in February.

Once again, the house is still and quiet with just my husband and I.  Things aren't back to normal yet. There is so much laundry to be done after having so many guests, and I have so much leftovers that I've been cooking and freezing like crazy trying to use them all up.  I still have my Christmas decorations up because I won't have time to take them down until this weekend.  For those of you who have your decorations down already....my hat is off to you!

And that is how I spent my holiday season!  It really was one of the best Christmas's I have had in years;  even with Winter Storm Goliath and my son's absence.  God is so good.  He filled my life with so much love and happiness.  I hope you all had a wonderful holiday as well.

Have a Great Day!  Amy

Linking Up with these Fabulous Blogs HERE!