The 2nd Annual Birthday Staycation!

Last year when my birthday rolled around we decided to celebrate with a little staycation at the JW Marriott. It worked out so well that we decided to make it an annual thing, as it falls right in the middle of summer AND right at our half anniversary... both the perfect excuses to treat ourselves a little bit. I must say the little "every 6 months" vacationing plan we've come up with has been working out rather well... the goal is to always do a little traveling for our anniversary in January and always staycay in July, we'll see if we can stick to that.

Anyway THIS year we booked our staycation at The Biltmore Resort & Spa and could not have been happier that's where we ended up. Growing up in Arcadia The Biltmore was always THE talked about place and where everybody always seemed to be going so it was time for me to see what all the fuss was about. And now I understand. That place is AMAZING, everything about it. What we loved most is how historical and old-school it is but at the same time how it remains updated and modern. The property was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright who I have been obsessed with since a field trip to his house in elementary school. It was so fun seeing his style and all of the tributes to him throughout the property, again such history and meaning that you just don't get at newer hotel properties. Needless to say our stay there was flawless and we will definitely be returning in the future.

The weekend started off with a little homemade birthday breakfast courtesy of my favorite husband... M&M Pancakes of course. Not to mention served on our custom made special day plate.

Then it was off to The Biltmore for some much needed pool time. The package we bought included breakfast lunch and dinner at any of their dining choices so we opted for a little poolside lunch and enjoyed our refreshing drinks and meal while catching some sun. THE best.

Then this handsome guy took me out for a birthday dinner at one of their restaurants... I highly recommend booking these packages that include the meals with the stay. I realize some might do more harm than good to your final bill BUT if you can catch the right ones they are totally worth it. We just think it's so nice to book the whole package at once, and have just one charge rather than worrying about paying for each meal as you go. We did this at the JW Marriott last year and it worked out perfectly there too. 

After dinner we enjoyed an absolutely gorgeous sunset out on our balcony, literally felt like the sky was pink and orange as far as we could see. We went and got some milkshakes to enjoy by the pool and ended up storm watching as the sky filled with lightning, no thunder or rain for a while, just lightning. It was awesome.

The next morning we leisurely woke up and roamed around the hotel before we sat down for breakfast. The Biltmore really is a gorgeous property with SO much to explore including a strip of little boutique shops, cafe/coffee shop, gorgeous gardens, games... the list goes on and on. Yes ALL on the hotel property. In our opinion a good hotel makes you feel like you've been temporarily transported to a totally new place/environment even if you're still actually in your home state.

We had the best time on our little getaway. The time by the pool, delicious meals, completely uninterrupted time together, even the rain/storm all made for the perfect staycation. We can't wait to go back to The Biltmore, maybe we'll find an excuse to make it back before next year : ) I am SO grateful and happy to be married to a man who enjoys little getaways like this, and who treats me so good beyond what I would ever deserve. We both realize that this is the time in our life to be doing things like this, truly just savoring and enjoying life together, sometimes in more extravagant ways than others : ) No matter what it is that we're doing we are always happy and thankful to be doing it together, and weekends like this remind me just how lucky I am to be married to my best friend.