the traveling cupcake: life

Showing posts with label life. Show all posts

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Celebrating an Anniversary

Today we are lucky enough to celebrate two milestones. The first milestone is our second wedding anniversary. The second is Kaitlin's one month birthday (see a separate post on the mini traveling cupcake for that one!)

Even though I have been blogging for almost four years, it occurred to me the other day that I never blogged about our wedding day. During that time blogging had taken a back seat to a very busy job and, of course, wedding planning. Planning our wedding was the most fun I have ever had. I loved every minute of it. It was difficult, seeing how we were living in London and getting married in New York City, but thanks to the internet and a lot of convenient work trips back to NYC we managed to get everything done.

And it was the perfect day.

We got married at the same place where we got engaged - Carl Schurz Park on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. We had a short but sweet ceremony (that I wrote myself) and Brians best friend was our officiant. We had a cocktail reception afterwards that combined (in my opinion) the two best parts of a reception - cocktail hour and dancing! Afterwards a bunch of us (including my parents!) went out to a bar and danced until the early hours of the morning. I woke up the next day with no voice - a sure sign of a good party.

And the best part about that day is that I got to marry my best friend and all of our very best friends and family were there to witness and share our love. I have never felt more loved than I did on that day, and I will treasure that always.

Enough sentimental blabbing from me - I'll let the photos tell the rest of the story! All photos were taken by the amazing Kiersten of Prema Photographic. She is the sweetest, nicest girl and we had a blast hanging out with her all day.

(Warning - this is a photo heavy post. Even though its been two years I still have trouble narrowing down my favorites!)

can you tell i liked the photos of us walking away?

go mom!

this is Brians wonderful Grandpa who sadly passed away a couple of weeks ago. We love and think of him every day.

and AC/DC style entrance for the new bride and groom

*sigh* i love new york

this, my friends, is true

Thursday, April 12, 2012

Lake Austin Spa - A Mini Getaway

To say that we have had a stressful and hectic first quarter of 2012 would be an understatement. And the rest of the year looks to be just as crazy, if not more so once the little one gets here and flips our lives upside down (in a good way, of course). We had been dying to getaway, to go on vacation. We didn't want to stare at the piles of boxes and things needing to be unpacked. We didn't want to have to go to Home Depot again. We didn't want to have to deal with buying any more baby-related thing (how much does an infant really need??)

We wanted - no, no, better yet - needed a break.

Enter Lake Austin Spa.

I often find that the best recommendations come from people you know. That's how we found this little gem. One of Brian's coworkers recommended it as a place to go "if you really want to relax and not have to worry about a thing." SOLD. Sign us up!

We spent three nights at this oasis in the Hill Country of Western Texas. I did a little bit of research before getting there but not much - most of my research included perusing the spa menu and making our appointments! The resort has 40 cabins which means that their maximum occupancy is never more than around 80 guests. They were pretty full while we were there but you wouldn't have known it - we were always able to get a lounge chair by the pool, had a choice of tables for dinner and plenty of peace and quiet.

Perhaps the best thing about the Lake Austin Spa is that everything is included in the room rate - I mean everything. Well - everything except spa appointments. Close enough. They have a full schedule of work out classes, hikes and classes every day and you are free to enjoy as many as you like - or as many as you can pack into your day! Since I'm about to burst I wasn't able to enjoy many of the fitness classes that they had on offer but Brian was able to take a few each day. We went on boat tour of the lake on afternoon and I even went to a cooking demonstration lead by the head chef at the resort. In addition to all of the scheduled activities you also have access to kayaks, water bikes and paddle boards should you want to take to the open water on your own.

If you wanted to take a more relaxing approach to your stay you had plenty of options there too. The resort features two pools - one on the main resort and one at the spa. The spa menu includes anything and everything that you can imagine, from massages to facials to body scrubs and everything in between. There are hammocks set up by the lake, begging you to spend your afternoon in them reading a book. Or perhaps you would rather take a leisurely stroll through the resorts gardens - where fresh herbs, flowers and vegetables are all in full bloom. The garden is also the place where the chefs get most of their vegetables and herbs for the days menu. There is every kind of herb you can imagine in full bloom, vegetable plants, fruit trees and plenty more growing bountifully getting ready to be picked for that days lunch or dinner. It doesn't get much fresher than that.

Which brings me to the food. Their website mentions that the seasonal menu includes fat grams and calories posted next to each item in case you are watching your weight. Any of the dishes can be made to accommodate your dietary needs - whether it be vegan, gluten free, sugar free, nut free - or any other ailment that you might have! As much as they can the pick the herbs and produce from their own gardens, and everything else is sourced as locally as possible. It feels good knowing that what you are eating is fresh, organic and truly good for you.

Now, I do have to mention, since this is a health spa the portions are TINY. An appetiser of fried olives included only five olives. Five. I could - and did - eat five olives in 10 seconds flat. Luckily, our super nice waitress let us know ahead of time about the teeny tiny portions and let us order as much food as we wanted. Six appetisers, two salads, three entrees and three desserts later we were happy and full. And every bite of each one of those plates was amazing. We didn't have one single complaint about the food the entire time we were there. You can have your meals in the main dining room, outside on the patio, in the Spa cafe or even brought straight to your room, should you be too tired from the days activities to venture outside (although the staff full encourages you to wear your bathrobe to the dining room whenever you like). And remember - all of the food is included in your rate, no mater where you chose to enjoy it.

We each had a massage appointment at the spa and boy did we ever need it. I was able to get a Mama-To-Be massage and it was just what the doctor ordered. My therapist was super friendly and knew all the tricks to relieving pregnancy pains. The staff encourages you to hang out in the Blue Room (where you can relax and catch up on your reading - or take a cat nap!) and to use the steam room, sauna and pools before or after your appointment. It only takes a few moments to feel the tension in your shoulders and the furrow in your brow melt away once you are here. I should mention that Lake Austin Spa has recently (and is frequently) named the #1 Destination Spa by Conde Nast Traveler Magazine amongst many other top rated awards. With accolades like this it's a good idea to book early!

I can't wait to go back to the Lake Austin Spa after Baby C has arrived. It is an excellent place for a girlie weekend - in fact while we were there Brian was one of the only men that we saw during our whole stay. Of course that being said it is also a perfectly romantic place for couples to getaway from it all. Next time I am here I am looking forward to taking advantage of more fitness classes, a few deep tissue massages (I'll need them after lugging around a baby all the time, right?) and enjoying a glass of wine by the pool. It doesn't get much better than that.

Lake Austin Spa Resort
1705 South Quinian Park Road
Austin, Texas 78732

Like what you see?

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Celebrating an Anniversary

Thursday, April 12, 2012

Lake Austin Spa - A Mini Getaway