Best Birthday Gift Ever

Remember how I mentioned that my husband had been able to surprise me with an awesome birthday gift?

Well, this past weekend, we cashed that gift in.

My beloved hubby, he got me a babymoon.   

He watched deal sites for a few weeks and found a sweet little getaway for us in southern Colorado, tucked in a valley and hemmed in by mountains, in a town full of art galleries and good food.

The bed in our little suite was so high off the ground that Daniel had to give me a hand anytime I wanted to climb into it (for real, climb).  It was also like sleeping on a soft, fluffy, happy, cloud... and I spent a good portion of our weekend napping in it. 

And when we weren't exploring the surrounding mountains (by car... because I'm 30 weeks pregnant and the wind still nearly knocked my rather substantial self over), snoozing in that fluffy cloud, doing a little Christmas browsing in the local shops and art galleries, or eating fantastic food (which I will make sure to discuss at the bottom of the post for my foodie sister), we curled up on the couch in our little living area and watched Diner's, Drive-ins and Dives... because it was always on, entertaining, and easy to walk away from when we found something more interesting to do.

 

Our last morning, we awoke to a blanket of snow and flakes continuing to drift into the courtyard and town.  While it made for a bit of a tricky drive out of the valley both to Mass and back home to see our sweet Nugget (she was thoroughly spoiled by Nonna and Papa for the weekend), it was a beautiful sight to wake up to.

Should it be of interest, our yummy meals are below.  Should it not be of interest... just skip to the last paragraph.

1st Night Dinner at the Inn: I had steak, with some kind of mashed beans (there where whole beans as well, I'm not sure what the exact make-up of it was), and delicious veggies on the side.  Daniel had a surf and turf over mashed turnip (we think) that he raved over.  

Breakfast: Ryus Ave Bakery: They are only open Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, so we were pretty excited after reading the awesome reviews online that we were there one of the days they are open.  It was lovely.  Coffee (for hubby), hot chocolate for me, a (free!) cranberry coffee cake on my plate and a pecan cinnamon roll on his.  And then,  because we were feeling a bit extravagant, we bought an almond roll to round it out.  So. good.

Lunch: Next Door Deli: Tiny little place, delicious sandwiches!  I had a cubano (only without cheese, because I'm odd like that) and Daniel had... hmm... I don't remember, but it was a sandwich and it was good :).  

Dinner: Alys': Oh. my.  This was by far the best meal "experience."  It's set up in the living room of a former home, so there are less than 10 tables.  Alys wanders through periodically to check up on you and your meal comes in three amazing courses.  I had the best salad I have ever eaten (seriously, I want their house vinaigrette for every salad I ever eat), chicken marsala over linguine, fresh squeezed tangerine juice (because she noticed I was pregnant and not drinking while Daniel had wine and offered, "I just squeezed some tangerine juice, would you like some?" YES!) and pear and walnut cake to round it out.  Oh. my.  Daniel had a buffalo sausage and potato soup, steak of some kind and tiramisu.  We were both very happy customers when we left.  

The best part about this little trip was that my hubby and I had time to just be.  We adore being a family and the time and energy we put into our sweet girls, but we also recognize that maintaining a healthy marriage makes our family that much stronger.  I have a hard time leaving our Nugget, and I'm grateful that my hubby knew that and found something close and short-term, but still just for us.  Happy Birthday to me!