Vegas
Tuesday 14th May 2019
Its VEGAS time baby!! Now this is a place I will admit to you was never on my list of places to visit purely because its not usually my scene. But what an opportunity for me to be here thanks to Arbonne as sometimes its the places you didn’t expect to come to that can be the most interesting.
Plan for the day:
Flight to Vegas from LAX
Check into Airbnb
Team grocery shopping
Pool time!
Normally it would cost about $40 ($66 nzd) for an Uber to LAX but I was determined to find another way. Sure enough Citymapper told me there was a bus from Hollywood Boulevard for $8 ($13 nzd) that would also take you out there. I decided to skip catching the local bus to where it left from forgetting it was a) hot outside b) uphill and c) my bag was very heavy. But hey I saved myself $1.75 ($2.90 nzd) but gained a heap of sweat and a couple of blisters to show for my perseverance! These are the times I certainly miss London as it was rather difficult to find this bus stop with everything else going on here! I had a local man basically walk me there and the asked some others waiting at the stop how you pay for this Flyway bus. Seems they take only card once you are on board. I felt a tad lost without Lewis once we got going and I was messaging him whether I had left enough time before my flight and he exclaimed I was a long way away from the airport. To my horror I looked at the map and realised we were headed straight into the center of LA and I thought perhaps there was a stop here I hadn’t anticipated. I was very very concerned at this point and confirmed with the man behind me that he too was heading to LAX. Yes. Plus his flight was exactly at the same time. My nerves settled until he told me he wasn’t someone who stressed. We soon made a detour down a highway and before I knew it planes were flying overhead. It was a very short flight to Vegas from LAX on Southwest which was super easy since I had a free checked bag. The only thing I found super confusing was the fact that I had no assigned seat but I quickly learnt that you can sit anywhere! Very strange concept and im sure this would be a nightmare for families travelling together. A breezy 1 hour flight and after having travelled with low cost carrier in Europe the standard of USA carriers was actually a higher standard for once! The other girls were all taking a bus to Vegas as they planned on driving but were unable to pick up the car due to multiple expired licenses. Whoops!
Checking into the Airbnb
We wernt’t quite organised enough to have got ourselves into accommodation at the MGM Grand but found an airbnb 15 minutes away that was big enough for all 7 of us. It was a short Uber from the airport but I had to wait an hour for the girls to arrive as it wasn’t in my name and therefore they wouldn’t give me the keys. It was a stunning 34 degrees and I took the time to catch up with Lewis and attempt tan my legs. Our apartment was made up of two different sides with a couple of giant kitchens, living rooms and bathrooms. Like LA we were going to be sharing a king size bed between two us which is no problem at all since they are SO big! We were very excited by the smoothie makers that were in each apartment - its the simple things!
Grocery Shopping time!
We took an Uber to the biggest close supermarket and with a giant trolley we filled her up with all sorts of snacks and plans for dinner. It was going to be a big feast and didn’t end up costing much at all considering the amount of food we got! Now I wanted to write about this part mostly because of how we got home. A local lady who owns horses on a ranch approached us all and asked whether she could take us back to our apartment and assured us she wasn’t creepy! She told us she does this once a week when she meets travellers in this part of town and enjoys using her giant mini van. We were all squashed up with groceries on our lap but we were so thankful for some local hospitality!
Pool time!!
It was a shame that the high rise buildings of the apartments blocked the remaining sunshine and the pool area was in the shade. However it was still super warm and we brought some snacks of hummus, carrot sticks and tomatoes to snack on pre dinner. It was nice to have a dip and warm up in the sauna after a busy day of travelling and organisation for the rest of the week. We did a bit of messaging together feeding off each others hype as we begun to call it! Chelsea arrived at this point of time and I hadn’t seen her since nursing school since she moved to Auz and now to Canada! She also has an Arbonne business and was staying with us through out the conference! After relaxing in the pool we went back and Gina & Loz prepared us an incredibly healthy dinner - both vegan and no vegan options as well!
Wednesday 15th May
We spent the morning chilling out by the pool as Vegas being in the desert is rather warm! This weather was perfect for a dip before we came back to the apartment for lunch together and caught up on some business work. Gina and Loz were both area managers and the rest of us all district managers - me, Amelia and Jess so we were all still rather new to the business! Not to mention usually we have to connect through the internet as opposed to being together so it was a bit of a treat! One thing that really made us all emotional was when Gina asked us what our lives would look like if we quit on ourselves and decided not to run our businesses or give it a go. I have to admit it was rather frightening what life could possibly look like for me. Constant shift work which meant I missed family holidays, birthday and possibly even my own children growing up. The images of the nurses in medical assessment always pop up in my head. Some of them worked permanent nights for years and years so they could be there to take their kids to school and pick them up. It pained me to see them so exhausted and putting their own health on the line to make sacrifices for their family. They didn’t have the ability to go down to one income earner in the family. This is something I never want. Something I also need to remember when I go through hard periods in this journey. I also dont just want to be a stay at home mum, I want to be proud of something I achieved and accomplished. Other wise what was the point in even studying and going to university? Im grateful the opportunity that this business has given me!
Limo on the strip!
We all got dolled up ready for our first night in Vegas. Make up is certainly not my strong suit so I needed a lot of help from the girls in this area! Gina ran me through everything and to be honest I looked in the mirror and thought I looked like a drag queen! Totally not me at all! But perhaps I would have to get used to this and practice more myself. After all I do loving being able to put a bit of make up on when I go out and not look the same as when I go to the gym. We grabbed an Uber into town and the first time I caught a glimpse of Vegas I was mind blown. We have travelled to lots of places of course but this was like nothing else! Think bright lights everywhere you look. Giant pyramids, an Eiffel tower, gigantic buildings and even big water features. Crazy place. We pulled up into the MGM Grand and were helped out of the car. WOW. I cant believe this is where conference is going to be!!!!!
After taking some photos infront of the limo and MGM we all jumped in the limo with some champagne and started our tour of Vegas along the strip!. Because the sun had gone down Vegas had completely come alive in a totally different way and was lit up everywhere you looked. Every hotel has its own quirks such as NY NY having the empire state building above it, the Bellagio has a massive water feature, Paris hotel has an Eiffel tower just to name a few. One of the first stops was to a liquor store so the girls could grab some more drinks for the ride before we headed to the famous Bellagio. The inside of this hotel is absolutly insane and has the most incredible indoor garden with water features and a roof covered with bright coloured umbrellas. Outside you can watch the light and water show and we just had to take some photos with our glittery gowns on which fitted into Vegas so well! Next up the limo took us to the famous Las Vegas sign to have a big group photo! Super special and something I was always look back on with fond memories. How cool for Lucy to be back here with such a large team of her own! The night was far from over and the last stop of the limo ride was the Wills/Armfield Nation party which was at the Voodoo rooftop bar on the 51st floor. It was a super mild night out so being on a rooftop bar was absolutely perfect. It was such a cool feeling being able to introduce the New Zealand girls to some of the friends I had made over in the UK with Arbonne. Such as Stuart Armfield and Nicola! Everyone knew who they were of course but to be able to introduce them personally instead of through a screen must have been very cool for everyone. We stayed for awhile, chatting, drinking and dancing getting a lot of good content for social before calling it a night all together and heading back to our Aribnb since conference starts tomorrow!
Thursday 16th
These next few days went so so fast and I didnt even get a chance to keep up with my blog! Infact im actually trying to write this 4 years later having been to Vegas for conference a second time!
This was going to be a massive day, because we were staying out of Vegas and had to get an Uber in each time we brought everything we needed so we didnt have to go back to the airbnb. Arriving at the MGM and actually walking around inside it was like a maze especially with the huge casino in the middle with people smoking. Apparently they pump oxygen into the room to help keep people awake so they keep gambling. Plus theres no windows and its poorly lit so you wouldnt have a clue what time of the day it is. Thankfully the Loz and G managed to navigate us through to where we check in for conference and pick up our survival kits with loads of little bits like fizz, protein etc to keep us going! We even went in to see all the Arbonne Merch! I fell in love with a big green suitcase and SO wanted to bring it back home with me for all our travel! For the first time we got to try Strawberry fizz which is a new flavour thats being released and they gave us one as a tester in our survival kits. It was SO SO good! Right now theres only pomegranate and citrus fizz so I cant wait to have some more options to choose from.
Next up was our bonus training, this was a taster of what was to come over the next few days. Katie one of our RVPs had given us the cutest handmade notebooks with our names and “NVP” on them so we all got these out and started writing notes so we can use all of this amazing stuff to grow our biz to the TOP!
After bonus training Lucy had organised for us to meet the entire team at the Hard Rock Cafe for dinner. We had a bit of time to get ready so we went back to Katie and Kate’s room to get ready since we wernt going back to our Airbnb. The dress code for tonights opening ceremony was black with the New Zealand flag so we had all brought dresses over especially for this. I had actually found mine at an Opshop in Brixton which I was super pleased about. Heading out with everyone we walked the strip in our heels looking at all the bright flashing lights of Vegas around us and I honestly couldnt believe I was here, this place is just so different to anywhere in Europe I have ever been. We had dinner, took some team pictures and then headed into the MGM Grand arena ready for opening ceremony. Arbonne put on an INSANE show with the arena totally full with Arbonne consultants from around the world, dancers, acrobats, lights, a live band, everything you could think of. They also launched 16 new products tonight and they all had the most beautiful little into video for each one which made us all scream and shout with excitement! What im most excited about is the botanics range as I just love the idea of the passionfruit hand wash, papaya body wash, coconut lip balm and body moisturiser. They also released a multivitamin powder, skin elixir, new mascara, prepworks hydrating jelly, strawberry fizz, an encapsulated retinol product, micellar water, the botanics range, V lift gel. So loads of new things to try, and we can order the ”I want it all box” so that we do get to try them! After the opening ceremony finished we went back to Stu and Francis room where they had all the new products already because the NVPS get to try them out months in advanced as a perk! Stu even tried out the mascara and gave himself massive lashes. Hes always the life of the party and makes everyone feel welcomed!
Friday 17th
Today we were still buzzing with all these new products being released and couldnt wait to try them ourselves but we loved seeing them for real in Stus room last night. Conference today was just epic as THE Rachel Hollis spoke to us! She just had loads of energy on stage and was jumping around so much she lost her microphone. What a privilege to hear such a person speak as well as all the NVPS and other consultants who brave got up on the big stage. Dinner was with the team again at Hooters. Ah American food is so tricky and I just feel so gross and bloated after eating all this crappy food. Thank goodness we have a fridge at our place so we can at least take healthy snack for conference during the day.
Saturday 18th
We started the day off early with yoga and the cost of your ticket all went to the Arbonne Flourish foundation which supports adolescents, plus we got a free product! so win win situation. I met the lovely Cassie who is from Auz as we got chatting once I put my mat beside her. I just find everyone I meet in Arbonne is just on the same wave length. Its so cool to be surrounded by so many people from different countries yet have so much in common. Yoga made me feel so emotional because of this, I just felt like I was really missing something in my life until Arbonne came into it. Im just so much happier with my body and skin since I took the leap and started. Plus if you look around every Arbonne consultant has this special skin glow because of the fact that we care about what goes in our body and on our skin. We finished the day at the sauna/pool where we are staying before getting ready to head to the Hakkisan night club. Tonight is the white party for all the area managers and above, so the rest of us who havnt earn it are going back to the MGM to go clubbing. Because I feel like you cant go Vegas and not go clubbing! We had SO much fun in this nightclub which kinda felt like it was underground with multiple different levels. We did pre-drink but decided to get some shots at the bar. Little did we know that they were $21 USD each! EEEK. They had already poured it out and if we didnt pay they were threatening to kick us out. So to prevent this from ruining the night I paid for it and we took the shots and got dancing. I doubt il care about the money in the future! What a way to finish out time in Vegas all together. We got home at 1am and I had to leave pretty early to catch my flight to LA before heading back to London.
Sunday 19th
Home time! After such a late night it was totally hard to get up and get ready to be at the airport at about 8am to catch my 11:30 flight to LA. It made sense to get here this early so I could make sure my bag was checked in and I could grab some breakfast before the flight because we didnt have much left in our fridge with us all leaving today! Once I got to LA I had a bit of time before my 1715 flight to London so I sat outside enjoying the last bit of sunshine before returning to a potentially still grey London. What a trip. I am beyond grateful for the opportunity to come here and to really see what the global Arbonne scene is like! But cant wait to see Lewis again and sleep in my own bed after all this travelling!
