Puttin' on the Ritz

On March 8^th Jeffrey and I celebrated our 5^th wedding anniversary.  Was it really 5 years ago that we got married?  Well, the pictures give some proof—we do look about 5 years older now than we did then, but it still seems like it was just yesterday.

Jeffrey is a great husband most of the time, but he really outdid himself this time.  Secretly, he planned a trip for us to Dallas.  And I almost ruined it.

One day Jeffrey excitedly told me that we were going on a mystery trip for the weekend.  He told me we deserved some time together and that Carter would be staying with his parents for the weekend.

And I started sobbing.

“I can’t leave Carter for two nights in a row!” I cried, totally in panic mode.  Quickly re-routing the plan, Jeffrey said he would rearrange things so that Carter could stay with us one of the nights.

With my overprotective mommy malfunction mollified, I was able to start getting excited about our trip.

We left on a Friday morning and drove directly to downtown Dallas where we toured the Dallas Aquarium.  Carter loved the jellyfish the most—he kicked his little arms and legs so much every time we walked by their tank.  My favorite was learning how they feed the octopus.  His dinner came inside one of those little hamster exercise balls.

Except that instead of a hamster, the ball had a lobster or something inside.  The octopus had to open it himself when he got hungry—who knew? 

After the aquarium we drove up to a very nice, very private valet at a hotel.  But not just any hotel—The Ritz.  Honestly, I would’ve been happy staying in the lobby—it was so beautiful.  Vaulted ceilings, elegant floral arrangements in vintage glass vases, polite staff; everything was just perfect.  Our suite (Jeffrey didn’t think a regular room would be good enough for our first “big” anniversary) was just as lovely, augmented by a beautiful flower arrangement that Jeffrey had delivered to the room shortly after our arrival.

 

That night we just hung out in the hotel, played with Carter, and fell asleep early (I’m sure that sounds like a nightmare to a kid, and like heaven to any adult). 

The next morning we ate a leisurely breakfast, provided by The Ritz’s room service, and we ate in our plush hotel robes.  That’s the life!  Then we dropped Carter off with his grandparents and went to the mall to look around.  Once we got back to the hotel, Jeffrey told me to change into comfy clothes for a surprise.  He took me to the elevators and the doors closed, but when they opened again we were standing at the entrance to the hotel’s spa.  Jeffrey said, “Go check in—you have an appointment.  I’ll see you later.”

The spa.  It probably deserves its own post.  Ahhhh-mazing.  While you wait for your service, you can sit in the quiet room, the locker room, the sauna, the hot tub, or the snack room.  The showers had everything you could possibly need or want.  I could’ve stayed there all day except that I had a massage, a facial, and a manicure to go to.  I left several hours later feeling beautiful and refreshed. 

When I got back to the room there was a snack waiting for me (wine, grapes, and cheeses) and a note from Jeffrey saying to meet him downstairs at the hotel restaurant once I was ready for dinner.  I got dressed up and met a very handsome man in a suit, looking very much like James Bond, sipping on a martini at the bar by the restaurant.  He escorted me into the restaurant called “Fearings” and we dined on some incredible food, including chicken fried lobster and lamb.  Delicious!

The next morning we left early (I’ll admit it—I was itching to see Carter after almost 24 hours without his sweet little face), but we were sad to go.  I would love to go back to The Ritz…maybe even sooner than 5 years from now.

(Hint, hint)