12th Anniversary Vacation in Texas

Our wedding anniversary usually rolls around soon after the kids have gone back to school. And since the 1st week of school is usually a slow week at the office for Aaron, he closes down his practice! He had an entire week off work, so we decided to spend 2 nights in Dallas and 2 nights in San Antonio to celebrate our 12th wedding anniversary. You can pop over to see earlier anniversary post and Love Story over HERE and our 11th Anniversary staycation HERE! Also, you can view all my videos from the vacation saved to my “Anniversary” story highlights HERE ON THIS LINK.

I shared a POST ON INSTAGRAM with this caption: He’s spent the last 2 weeks taking care of me and now we get to CHILL for an early wedding anniversary getaway! Honestly, I was shocked with how sweet & tender he was with me when I was awfully grumpy and needed so much help. I didn’t deserve his perfect kindness but I’ve also never felt so perfectly cherished as I have these last few weeks. And I’ve laughed so much when he’s called me beautiful every day since my surgery (and if you saw my swollen face and nauseating bruises in my stories, you know what a JOKE it’d be—and I still can’t tell if he’s serious😂) Each year seems to be one of the most stressful and exciting times of our marriage and it’s been so rewarding to get closer together because of the struggles. Our 12 years haven’t been a fairy tale. We struggled in our relationship. We struggled through our broke college years. We struggled to get pregnant. We struggled to enjoy parenthood. And sometimes, we struggled to Just. Like. Each Other. But each day he kept choosing me and I kept choosing him. He was my best decision. He is the sweetest feeling I know. ❤️

Last year, we spent a few days celebrating our anniversary at the Fairmont hotel in Dallas (shared the fun HERE ON THIS POST). When they reached out to me a few weeks ago, I couldn’t say no. They have the most professional and sweetest employees. All so kind and gracious! Upon check-in, we ordered a few dinner options and spent the evening at the pool. Most of the restaurants are closed in the hotel but there is a handful of menu items available for pick-up and there’s a Starbucks in the lobby that we had breakfast from each morning. Aaron and I always love floating in the water while watching the sunset as we chat about all the things. Next month, we’ll have a week that we’d like to take the kids on vacation and so we explored a few getaway ideas we know they’d love! I think the beach here in Texas would be great! The next day, we slept in until 7:30am (haha) and then spent a few hours out shopping at the local mall! It’s been ages since we’ve gone shopping in stores like this! We slipped our masks on and packed hand sanitizer. Aaron bought a lot of cute clothes from H&M and I was surprised with how much he was willing to let me control the purchases, haha. We also ate at one of our favorites: Maggiano’s. We always split the fried zucchini with lemon aioli sauce and pesto ravioli. It’s the same place we had our wedding reception luncheon for my close family & friends since we were married down in Houston.

ROAD TRIP TO SAN ANTONIO!

We packed our things and hit the road! I received great podcast recommendations from so many of y’all on Instagram and we listened to Bad Batch! During my surgery recovery, I loved Dirty John and Dr Death so I knew the same production team that produced Bad Batch would be entertaining! The 4 hour drive to San Antonio from Dallas flew by! Aaron and I both forgot to bring any sandals (woops!) so we made a quick stop to Target. I grabbed cute leopard bow slides while Aaron had no luck since Target carried zero men’s sandals. Poor guy, haha.

We arrived at La Cantera Resort & Spa! Last week, we booked floor SEVEN since it included free valet, personal concierge (she brought me up 4 extra pillows so that I could sleep inclined and a big box fan), free drinks and snacks throughout the day, happy-hour chef meals, and free day access to the gorgeous spa. Highly recommend booking on this adults-only floor SEVEN if you stay here. We wore our masks throughout the stay except while eating or at the pool. Hand sanitizer was available everywhere. There were a few infinity pools, small slides, lots of restaurants, cabanas & fire-pits, tons of beautiful areas to lounge, and an adults-only pool. This was hands-down the most romantic resort we’ve been to in Texas.

Morning at The Spa

The resort was gracious enough to book us a couple’s massage in the morning. We strolled over to the spa that was right down the road from the resort. We were led through the gorgeous saunas, steam rooms, his & her lounge areas, soaking tubs, etc.. We left the main facility, walked outside and down steps to a long pathway that led to a private hut that was nestled into the side of a hill. The hut had a large balcony with lounge chairs and an organic wooden bathtub. It looked heavenly! Inside the hut were 2 heated massage tables and shower. The 2 massage therapists asked us our preferences and I explained my jaw and rhino/septo surgery that I still had sutures on my face and some numbness. She knew exactly how to position me on the table. The Swedish massage was incredible and we nearly fell asleep. I thought it was over and we’d leave for the pool.

Afterwards, the therapists told us not to move and the host would be in to draw us a bubble bath and take our lunch order to enjoy on the private balcony for the next hour. WHAT???? I thought we were just there for the massages. They quickly left, and with glazed over eyes, I looked at Aaron and I couldn’t stop laughing. Is this real life?! Our host started a bubble bath and brought us our favorite juices, acai smoothies, wraps, and salads. He told us we’d have the serene hut & balcony for the next hour to ourselves. It was the most romantic experience we’ve ever had. Later on, we made it into our swimsuits and went to the spa’s exclusive infinity pool. It was beautiful, peaceful, and dreamy. That experience will be a must-do for us next time we visit!

Afternoon at Topaz

We strolled back to the resort and changed in our room. We brought Aaron’s ipad and went to our reserved cabana at the adults-only infinity pool to watch our favorite show! We ordered some yummy food at Topaz, the poolside menu service. Our waitress was absolutely darling and the manager spoiled us since they found out it was our anniversary from their computer system. (Literally everywhere we went, we were congratulated for celebrating our anniversary. That was a sweet touch!) Topaz had the most unique and tastiest food selection I’ve seen from a poolside menu. We ordered the Lobster grilled cheese w/ sweet potato fries, beef lettuce wraps with yummy dipping sauces, and smashed guac & chips with edamame & ricotta along with our favorite frozen virgin miami vice drinks. DE-freaking-LISH. We’d watch an episode and then hop in the pool for an hour, on repeat all day long. The manager of Topaz surprised us with a “happy anniversary” rich chocolate cake and 2 La Cantera Secret drinks. It was such a lovely way to spend the afternoon.

We finished off the perfect day at the Resort’s SweetFire Restaurant. We loved eating outside on the restaurant’s patio while the sun was setting. Tap HERE to see my Instagram post.

Such a great anniversary weekend!!

Thanks so much Fairmont Dallas + La Cantera Resort & Spa for hosting our stay