when i got back from dropping her off at school, i spied this on the table, propped up next to the gorgeous bouquet of roses that the ILs sent us for the occasion:
with only one night available for our celebratory getaway, we decided to stay local and booked a room at the terranea resort down in rancho palos verdes. and i was pleasantly surprised and super excited when the hub casually remarked "so i was thinking that we should go and check in at the resort wearing our wedding clothes." now, you know i'm always down for these kinds of shenanigans, while he's typically giving me the side eye and just chuckling at me as he goes on his merry way. but i knew he was also pretty pleased with himself after that weight loss goal i told you about before - his clothes are pretty much falling right off of him these days, and putting on his wedding tuxedo was no different.
the old lady was around to help me make my hair look pretty and to take a few fun pics for us.
we threw our bag into the car, waved goodbye, took this and then off we went.
being a friday afternoon, we hit a little traffic on the way down. but it was okay - we spent the drive chatting about all sorts of stuff, reminiscing about our wedding day, and generally just enjoying having some time together. and then we were pulling up to the resort:
okay, i'm not gonna lie. i started to feel a fun mixture of nervous and foolish just as the valet opened my door. i mean...the hub could easily get away with what he was wearing, but there was no disguising my freaking wedding gown. we got a lot of glances our way and a few "congratulations!" which we accepted with a smile and a "thanks!" and then as we were checking in, the desk clerk caught on...sorta. while she'd eyed our attire and offered her congratulations, it only took a few minutes as she tapped on her keyboard and scanned our registration before a slightly confused look crossed her face.
"oh, i'm sorry - it says here that you're celebrating your anniversary, but i thought it was your wedding day," she said. and that's when we finally explained somewhat sheepishly that it had been just that - ten years ago. haha!
i helped myself to one of the mini macarons while the hub finished up our check-in process.
we followed the bellman with our luggage cart through this maze of hallways to our room, which he assured us offered one of the best views in the whole hotel.
it seemed like forever before we finally arrived, but he was right - the view was totally worth it.
this shot was taken by the nice lady in the room next to us. she was lounging on her balcony reading a book when she noticed us taking selfies and cracking up as we tried to prop the phone onto a trash can perched atop the ottoman.
one more selfie before the dress was exchanged for a more comfy outfit.
and also - before the next wan-niversary, i'm going to have to take this dress to be repaired. see that? there's a nice hole in the seam behind the fake buttons. boo.
as i sat on the bed, the hub noticed that i was wearing one of my costume jewelry rings on my right hand. "where'd you get that?" he asked. "want a different one to wear instead?" and he handed me this box.
inside was another box, one that reminded me a lot of the one that once held the wedding rings i've been wearing for a whole decade now.
and then i squealed as i saw what was inside. isn't she pretty (never mind that my hand looks like that of an 80-year-old woman)?
my present was kind of shitty in comparison. and when i handed it to him, it looked a lot like a tv dinner. i'd bought him a really boring, really practical gift - a lifeproof phone case with a built in backup battery. ho-hum.
he seemed pleased with it though, or at least he faked it really well. and then we decided to throw on some shoes and head down to the hotel bar to hang out and grab a drink and an appetizer. one look at the holiday menu and i knew what i wanted - the sweet drink right at the bottom of the list.
delicious and strong, i was one happy lady after two of those bad boys. in the meantime, the hub had opted for a special - some sort of special craft beer with 15% alcohol content served with a shot of whiskey and a cigar from their humidor.
über sent over a limo straight out of "the wedding singer" to take us to the restaurant we'd reserved in hermosa beach for dinner. it was awesome.
here's where we had our anniversary dinner.
bathroom selfie with the fun handbag i'd managed to score on a tipsy walk-through of the hotel boutique.
and at our table, we were greeted with celebratory glasses of champagne.
i'm not a huge fan of the bubbly stuff, so i perused the cocktail menu for other options.
i ended up with a drink that looked like it was garnished with a christmas tree.
starters: house bread with vermont butter and a jumbo lump crab cake.
we ordered our entree and sides to share: a porterhouse steak, butter poached lobster tail, brussels sprouts with bacon, and grilled asparagus. there was a cauliflower risotto too, but i somehow didn't get a picture of it. i was too busy shoveling into my mouth - i hadn't eaten much all day, so i was starving. and buzzed as hell.
we were full, but does that ever matter when you're presented with a dessert menu? psh.
across the street, we grabbed something to drink at starbucks and picked up a fun new cup that expressed my sentiments exactly.
and then back at the hotel, i discovered more sweet surprises that he'd arranged for us.
and then he proceeded to scoop up those rose petals and toss them at me.
we slept with the window open all night, so we could listen to the sound of the waves crashing onto the shore below us. it was peaceful and relaxing, and it was a pretty fabulous way to end one of the best days ever.
Just like a dream!
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