Away

Brian and I have always found it so important to carve out some alone time for just the two of us - without the kiddos. And although I miss them sometimes when we're away, I always return with renewed patience and a refreshed sense of "mommy-ness." So, in celebration of our 10-year anniversary, we went away for a night at our local Ritz. We got an incredible package that included a fantastic rate, a resort credit to be used anywhere on site, and a free breakfast. It was a deal that we just couldn't pass up!

Here are some photos of our room...

The bedroom portion of the room seemed like most nice hotels... but the bathroom... that was another story...

Covered in marble and laid out spaciously with lots of storage space, this bathroom was very nice! And considering it was my once-a-year chance to take a bath (ha, ha), I was very excited for the roomy tub and all the little scented toiletries (and even a loofah! Oh how the little things excite me).

And this was the view from our room:

Straight forward: Across the marina

To the left: Downtown:

 And straight down: the fountain/valet area:

 While we were there, we enjoyed visiting their Beach Club, which is 4 miles down the road and accessible by their private shuttle van.

Here's the cabana we used when we wanted to get some shade (e.g. take a nap). You can see the beach out in front:

 And here's where I sat reading my book and enjoying the warm, cloudy day:

 Here's a view of the beach from the cabana:

 And a view of the zero-entry pool from the cabana:

 After lunch poolside and lots of relaxing, we went walking around St. Armand's Circle and did a bit of shopping. Here we are arriving back at the Ritz that afternoon (notice the beautiful flowers in the lobby?):

 Once we were back up at our room, Brian opened up a special bottle of champagne for us...Cheers!

 We also enjoyed some chocolate covered strawberries that were sent up to our room from the staff to celebrate our anniversary:

 Then we went down to the hotel restaurant and had a nice dinner on the veranda and then went inside and listened to a great jazz band (We even slow danced! So fun!)

 

The next morning, I had to take advantage of someone serving me breakfast in my bathrobe! And let me tell you, it didn't disappoint! It was YUM-O!

Okay - how cute are all these little condiments that came with the breakfast? Those Tabascos are precious! (Can Tabasco be precious???):

After lounging around the room and enjoying a leisurely breakfast, we hit the spa! It was so beautiful, and relaxing and just perfect.

Here is a picture of the "Healing Waters" room where there was a jacuzzi, steam room and sauna:

 Again, it's the little touches that make a "Ritz" a "Ritz". Check out the chilled washcloths with cucumbers on top that were sitting outside the sauna. Oh yea baby... I definitely used these!

 What a wonderful retreat it was. Thanks so much to both sets of grandparents for watching the boys. We couldn't have gotten away with your help. :)