For Valentine's Day this year, Husband gave me 8 hours of kid-free time. My therapist has been pushing for me to spend the night away from home given the fact that I haven't had a full, quality night of sleep in a year. So I decided to combine 8 hours kid-free time and a hotel stay to make one fabulous night away. We enlisted our wonderful babysitter to stay with the kids from 3-7 pm on Saturday night so that Husband and I could tack a date on to the front-end of my time away. To make things even more fun, I bought my hotel on Travelocity using the "Top Secret Hotel" option where you only know the price and the city and the hotel's star ranking and you get a great deal. I was going to go for the $60 4-star in downtown Minneapolis, but Husband pushed me to go all out for the $100 option. And I'm glad he did because the hotel was...
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| Interactive Video Screen in museum on top floor |
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| Reflection of Foshay tower in another skyscraper from the observation deck. |
The lobby was over-the-top swanky. All pink neon lights. Would be super weird to work in that for an 8 hour shift! There was also an awesome bar located on that level - think fireplaces and great lighting and the kind of couches and chairs that you can sink into.
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| Pink lobby |
I wanted to use every minute of the hotel stay so Husband and I got there shortly after the 3 pm check-in time. I decided not to bother getting dressed up/pretty because it felt like too much work. So ponytail, basic cardi & jeans, and no minimal make-up it was. Maybe next time I'm go for the gussy. (diiiirty...)
and then headed up to the museum and observation deck. It's free for hotel guests and it was cool to see the city from that vantage point. Our townhome was blocked by a skyscraper, but we could find other neighborhood landmarks.
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| Totes yelled at him not to do that. He has primate tendencies. |
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| Husband took a picture of me dancing a jig because it was cold up there. |
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| Weird mini elevator at the museum entrance. |
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| Further creepy John Malkovich moments when we got stuck in the stairwell and couldn't access the 27th floor. |
Then we headed to the bar on the first floor and spent too much money on overpriced drinks and appetizers and talked about our dream to live abroad for a year in the near future. Husband mentioned he hadn't seen me so relaxed in a long time. Something about knowing I had HOURS ahead of me to do whatever I wanted to do, including getting to sleep a full night's sleep, certainly helped with that!
7 o'clock came very quickly and Husband left to go back to the offspring and I spent the rest of my visit reading, watching TV, and sleeping. I chose not to bring my computer to limit my options (though I did have my iPhone). I wanted boredom. Boredom was my goal. I miss boredom. Self-induced boredom, that is.
In the morning I got breakfast in bed - french press coffee and eggs benedict - and felt v. fancy-pants.
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| Mini Tabsco! |
By the time I was achieving boredom, it was just about time to check out. Husband brought the kids to the hotel 30 minutes before noon so Bella could see the observation deck, too.
This hotel stay was so much more relaxing for me than the one I did a couple years ago. Something about starting with a date with Husband and then having time to myself and then a late check-out did the trick - not to mention it was half the cost of the other place I stayed! So, in conclusion, YAY for taking the time and money to do this.
PS - This is what happens when you miss a couple nursing sessions. Neck cleavage.
PPS - ZOMG meeting your husband for only a few hours at a hotel FIVE ALARM FIRE HOT HOT!
omg neck cleavage - been there!
ReplyDeletelove this idea, I think I'm going to propose it to my husband :)
I almost commented about the W in your last post--'cause I recognized the carpet--but didn't want to sound stalky. Eric and I spent a couple nights there back in May, and it was lovely. But I had the EXACT same thought about the lobby: very posh, exciting overpriced cocktails (though didn't indulge too much because I was trying to get pregnant at the time), made me feel somehow prettier than usual, but HOW WEIRD WOULD IT BE to work a shift in the dark pink lighting? Especially a day shift ... I'd walk outside for a lunch break feeling like a mole ...
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you took some time to yourself! That's just awesome.
That sounds like a great night. I think I would have watched 8 straight hours of HGTV. Can you tell me how you find your babysitters? I live in the mpls area and have yet to leave my kids with anyone but my mom- I think its time to venture to babysitter territory. And the 3-7pm time period is perfect- home for bedtime!!
ReplyDeleteSounds like you had an amazing night for which you deserve!! I am still lost on how you got this hotel deal, I tried to check it out today but was unable to find what you are talking about! Glad to hear you had a great night and have a wonderful fun hubbster!
ReplyDeleteI had to wait till the kids were asleep to come back to this post and really process it. I think this is so awesome!! I'm so glad you took time for yourself. I want to do the same, did you feel at all guilty for sending your hubby back? I feel like Mike doesn't get much sleep either, but I'm not breastfeeding so we split the night wakings. We went to a hotel together in October and it was AMAZING. Just laying in bed watching tv, being bored, spending time taking a shower instead of rushing. Eating every bite of food with small and slow bites. Now you have me looking on travelocity :)
ReplyDeleteKatie - We used SitterCity last summer to find a sitter. Unfortunately we randomly got a bad apple (not so bad, just a little sketchy at the end) so then I got all nervous. But I do think they are reputable. We got lucky with a friend referrel, which is always the ideal channel but so hard sometimes to line up! Good luck to you!
ReplyDeleteLet this be - Type in a city & night and then click on it and there will be a "Top secret" option that shows up. Hope that helps!
Care - Go! Do it! And no I didn't feel at all guilty. I just have not slept a good night in so long and he has been able to have some good nights of sleep on business trips. Plus he was very much all about me getting rest so that stopped any guilt feelings. Finally, dude snores sometimes so that makes this all very fair, too :)
I'm so glad that you were able to take a night for yourself. After the whole thrush saga, you needed and DESERVED it!
ReplyDelete