I hope your weekend was great! We seized an opportunity to be child-free, and ran south to Dallas on Friday night and came back on Sunday afternoon. It was so relaxing, and we just needed some time to be us and be grownups, stress-free and responsibility-free for a little bit. Simon booked us a room at the new Aloft hotel in Plano, a part of the Starwood group, and an offshoot concept of the W Hotels. Half of a vacation for us is where we stay; not everyone feels that way, but we enjoy checking out new and/or unusual places.

On the whole, we always enjoy Starwood properties. They have interesting design, the beds are deliciously comfortable, and it’s almost always a sure bet. The W in San Diego is one of my all-time favorite hotels, as a matter of fact, so I was anxious to see how the Aloft concept would translate. Plugged as a lower-price, lower-amenitied W, the Aloft is pretty much like a Courtyard Marriott, but somewhat cooler. Here’s a rundown of our experience.

Pros:
Quick and easy check-in
Really cool lobby area
Fun fabrics, design, amenities
Bliss Spa products in the room
Cool magazines like Dwell and Wired in the room
Rainhead shower
Tall ceilings
 

Cons:
Fluorescent lighting in the room (ick – the lighting designer must have been a man)
Non-heavenly bed.
Semi-scary dark shower area, with tiles that will look dated and old quickly
Non-child friendly, most likely. Wouldn’t have felt appropriate to take Jude
Amenities could’ve been bigger. The spa products were a little skimpy

Overall, a great experience. It was brand new, felt clean, and was enjoyable. Would it be my first choice? Nope, but I give them props for having a cool idea.

We got into town Friday night, and ate at Cafe Express, and then hit up the Central Market for some other little goodies to take back to the room. On Saturday, we enjoyed a Chick-Fil-A breakfast of chicken biscuits & iced teas (yum – Simon knows what I like!) and then shopped at Northpark until our feet fell off. There were so many sales right now! Craziness! But really, it was fun to just hang out and enjoy time with my honey. Lunch was at our favorite, Taco Diner, and then more bumming around town. Dinner at Taverna Risotteria. Dessert from Eatzi’s.

I had some Christmas money burning in my pocket, and I had a list of home decor items that I’m looking to purchase. Oh, and yes, a Madeline Weinrib Amagansett runner is in our very near future! I am so excited! I’ve been in contact w/ the showroom in NYC and samples are headed our way. I’m super stoked. Muchas gracias to Mom & Dad for Christmas money! We are thankful!

We did some damage at IKEA and came away with a lot of goodies for not a lot of $$$$. I got a few big frames for some of my vintage travel posters, and some floating shelves for Jude’s room (actually, a picture ledge to lean some books on), as well as a lamp and some other pieces that we’ve been needing. We got a cabinet to set our TV on in our room  and a couple of Euro down pillows for the spare bedroom (only $9!).  And, we were able to use some of our gift cards from Christmas to Pottery Barn to score a couple of duvet covers for mega cheap. Like, so cheap that if I told you, your eyes would pop out of your head. I know an excellent deal makes my husband feel so proud, so I’m happy to pat him on the back on that one.

It was also such a joy to meet up with some of our friends who we haven’t seen since our wedding. They are getting ready to welcome their 2nd & 3rd-born children any day now(twins!). Their oldest son is such a delight, and it was great to reconnect. Thank you again, Ben & Elizabeth, for lunch!

We came home refreshed and ready to meet the week. And it was a good thing we were so refreshed, because our little Joodle Doodle has pink eye(!). Neither one of us has ever had it, although Simon says perhaps how we’ll get the chance. I know I’m psyching myself out, but I keep thinking, “Oh man, is my eye starting to itch? I think it looks red.” Poor punkin – he has been oh so sad all day, and we couldn’t get in to the doctor until 2:30. He was a great big sourpuss all day. And putting eye drops into a thrashing toddler’s eye? HA! Right.

Here’s hoping today goes smoother . . .