holiday party time. excellent.

as luck would have it, the hub and i were once again invited to the most fabulous client holiday party down in santa monica.  in years past, we were given a room at casa del mar, which we'd come to really love.  this time, though, we got to stay at their sister hotel - shutters on the beach, literally just across the street.

the only snag was that the teen's work schedule didn't allow her to hang out with the bean while we partied at the beach.  i thought about asking the hotel if they offered in-room babysitting and hit up my friend nanette for sitter recs, and then it came to me.  one text to lilcee solved the problem in the most perfect way:  the bean's very first sleepover.  she'd been asking to do it for the last few months, and after giving it some thought, i decided that she was ready.  she's really comfortable with lilcee, mr. lilcee, and casa de lilcee, and luckily we were able to make it happen.  i'll be grateful forever to them for helping us out, because let me tell you, this little getaway did wonders for the hub and me.  our lives are so crazy busy and we so rarely get time away together, not to mention the bean was over the moon excited for her sleepover.  total win-win situation.

armed with a party dress (they were going to a holiday shindig too) and pajamas and books and toothbrush, my sentimental ass was a little wistful as we dropped her off.  i was a little worried about how she might react to us leaving her overnight, but we barely got a goodbye kiss before she and mini cee were off to play.  heh.

our room at the hotel was gorgeous, as expected.

i always love looking at all the stuff in fancy hotel bathrooms.  at casa del mar, we always got a little white teddy bear on the bed.  here, it was a mini shamu placed near the gigantic jacuzzi tub.

minibar of toiletries:

and fun beach towels.

on the desk we found free postcards and a grown-up magic-8 ball:

after relaxing for a bit, it was time to get ready for dinner.  i'd gotten a really cute dress from rent the runway, and i adored it:

dinner was lovely and delicious, and we lingered for just a little while chatting with various folks i knew from years past.  i managed to get a picture in front of the christmas tree, although sadly this was the best i could get with the hub in clown mode.  a few scotches on the rocks will do that to you, i guess.

back home for the night, our room had gotten turndown service.  we each had a pair of slippers by the bed and a little book of short stories to read.

plus, there was a pair of tickets for a free ride on the ferris wheel at nearby santa monica pier.

good times, good times.