When you have a new baby, your whole world revolves around their needs, their wants, and their demands. It’s a beautiful, frustrating, and unpredictable cycle the first year, and I have to say, we’re grateful we’ve survived with smiles on our faces. But it was a year and one month before my husband and I had a night ALONE again, and that night was this past weekend. Sweet relief!
My mom was kind enough to offer to stay at our house overnight while we went on a romantic staycation at the Hyatt Regency Dallas, one of the most iconic hotels in Dallas history. It’s located right next to Reunion Tower (the big “ball” in downtown Dallas,) and within walking distance to Dallas landmarks like the Sixth Floor Museum known for it’s rich Kennedy history and the West End, a tourist attraction that has never lost its luster.
I stayed at the Hyatt Regency one time for my birthday when I was 13; my Mom let me invite three of my little friends to stay with me in the hotel. We ordered room service and hung out in the hot tub, and basically felt like movie stars. My love affair with the hotel started then, and never stopped.
Jeff and I checked in and were given the keys to our room on the 21st floor. The view? AMAZING. Dallas may not have mountains or oceans, but we have a skyline that is breathtaking. Our room was modern and beautiful, with the comfiest bed. Score!
We then went downstairs to Monduel’s Bar for a little happy hour action.
My husband indulged in the “Old Fashioned Experience”, where he tasted five different versions of an Old Fashioned: Classic, Smoked Sazerac, Oaxacan, London Dry, and Fireside. Daniel, the bar manager, explained each drink and the unique flavors, as well as which ingredients are made in-house. He brought me a virgin Moscow Mule, which was an awesome combo of sweet and spicy, filled with healthy ginger. We watched some football on their massive televisions playing every game you could ever want, laughed at ourselves instagramming photos on our romantic date like a couple of high schoolers, and just enjoyed the moment. No worries about baby. No changing diapers. No cares.
We followed up happy hour with a delicious dinner at Centennial Cafe, which is a nice/casual place. The have all the American food favs, so I ordered my go-to for celebratory meals…sea scallops! We also had an amazing shrimp scampi and avocado for our appetizer, and followed dinner with the most sumptuous banana pudding known to man.
The service was impeccable, which is a real treat when you’ve been serving the minute-by-minute needs of a baby for over 400 days!
One things I’ve learned about romantic getaways is that it’s truly about having an experience…that’s where the memories are made. We left dinner and went 470 stories above the city to the GeO Deck of Reunion Tower, which is a mind blowing view of Dallas. The wind whips around you as you take in the city lights…especially romantic a night. Nothing beats a sweet kiss that high up in the sky! (Side note: if you do a Hyatt Regency staycation with kids, this is still an absolute must-do. They will LOVE being up this high and seeing the city from 360 degrees.)
When we retired to our room, we changed into our coziest clothes and capped off the night with something extra sweet…chocolate covered strawberries!
Cuddled up in bed, enjoying strawberries and excited about a full, restful night’s sleep? It was like a dream for a new mom. I didn’t realize until that moment just how badly I needed this mini adventure/mental break.
When we checked out the next morning, we both felt refreshed and ready to come home to our boy. Staying in our own city close to home but feeling a world away was the perfect solution to new parent life. If you have little ones at home, I highly recommend doing this from time to time. We can’t wait to plan another!
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