Our Stay at the Strawberry Inn

I’m finally getting around to re-capping our trip to the Strawberry Inn! Let me back up a bit, I’ve wanted to stay at the inn for a few years now. We even had a trip booked that we had to cancel due to my Grandma being sick. Last month we finally made a trip work out to go for a stay. Orion and I haven’t been on a kid free weekend in a few years. So we decided to kick off our new year with a trip together to the Inn. It takes a village you guys, my sister-in-love flew in from Dallas to watch our kiddos and we headed out on our way.

The Strawberry Inn is located just two and a half hours North of Phoenix. You can drive there in no time, and it’s the perfect little getaway too. The inn is self hosted meaning you check in all online, and they send you a code for a lock box for the key to your room. There is a property manager that’s on call for any needs. We stayed for 2 nights and 3 days. It was the perfect little getaway, and I don’t really suggest longer than that, unless you plan on staying during the Summer months when some of the festivals are going on around Strawberry/ Pine, AZ.

Read on, for where we ate, what we did and fun pictures!

First up, the INN! It’s gorgeous and so beautifully done. The owners of the inn actually live in the Phoenix area and own this property. It’s been completely re-done top to bottom and it’s so charming and cute! Totally Chip & Joanna vibes all the way.

I loved that there are lawn games available for you to enjoy. Porch rockers, and a porch swing too! I mean how cute is this?!

We arrived on a Friday afternoon, checked in and got settled. Then we headed for a hike really close to the Inn on Strawberry Trail. We watched the sun set before heading back to get ready for dinner.

Friday night we ate dinner at The Old County Inn. We actually loved this place so much we ate dinner here two nights in a row! The first night we had pizza, which is what they are known for. And the second time we tried different appetizers on the menu. Both nights were delish, and the service there was awesome. They also have an area of outdoor seating with heaters for when it’s cold, and a lawn game area with corn hole too!

We had breakfast one morning at the Randall House, which is a cute little restaurant in an old house. It reminds me of my Grandmother’s house. I had the most delish hot cocoa, complete with a giant marshmallow! I had the egg breakfast sandwhich and hash browns. Orion had eggs and pancakes.

After that it was time to explore the farmer’s market there and some local antique shops. Where we picked up some local honey and gifts for our kids and sister.

We did a little more hiking the second day too. Before going back to the inn to read, relax and take a nap. Do you know how much I enjoyed an un interrupted nap?! Seriously, the best.

We had the best weekend away, I highly suggest going if you haven’t yet. It’s the cutest little getaway spot! To book a room visit the inn here.

Anniversary Getaway at The Saguaro

We recently stayed here to celebrate our anniversary. The Saguaro is a cute little boutique hotel located in Old Town Scottsdale. We've been wanting to stay here for a while now, so with our anniversary last month it was the perfect time to book a stay. 

For local Arizona residents they have a special 'staycation' rate that we took advantage of. We loved the location, close enough and within walking distance to lots of shops and restaurants. 

The property itself is gorgeous. Two swimming pools, spa, gym and restaurant all on property. We love all the vibrant colors of this hotel and the southwest vibe. 

They have beach cruiser bikes on property that guests can check out for the day. We checked them out on Saturday and rode around to the shops and to get lunch. It was such a fun afternoon. 

where we ate:

The Saguaro Restaurant - we only ate breakfast here one meal. 

RA Sushi - we had dinner here Friday night. We loved the sushi and the atmosphere was fun.

The Salty Senorita- we ate dinner here one evening and went during Happy Hour (3-7pm.) I highly suggest the machaca beef, and the tacos off the happy hour menu. The salsa is also very good. We both ate dinner for under $20! 

Shakes & Cones- Organic Ice Cream. We loved all their options and split something since their portions were so big. 

Breakfast Club- We had breakfast here one morning. Great food, huge portions and yummy iced coffee. 

We had such a fun stay! It had been a long time since we had the chance to getaway with out kiddos. Much needed and the best way to celebrate 9 years of marriage! 

How We Celebrated Our 8th Wedding Anniversary

We celebrated our 8th wedding anniversary last week! While we were on vacation with our family. I thought I'd share with you a little today of how we celebrated. We were at Disneyland on the 14th the actual day of our anniversary. No better way to celebrate than with this family we've created together. We're both incredibly blessed for how God has molded our family and for the lessons he's taught us these last 8 years that have made our family grow and be challenged. 

The next day we snuck out together to celebrate just the two of us. BIG thanks to my mom for watching the kiddos so we could enjoy an evening together. Since we were in SoCal we headed to one of the spots I've been dying to check out since all my SoCal friends post about it so much. 

Taco Asylum. Which is located in this cool area called "The Camp"  (located in Costa Mesa, CA) which has an area of eatery places, yoga studios, coffee shops and other local shops. A fun place to go and walk around. 

This place was every bit as good as I'd heard. If you're ever in SoCal you must go! We each ordered our own tacos and we had the chili lime chips & guac which was awesome! 

After dinner we walked around a bit and found ourselves at the cutest coffee shop called Milk & Honey. 

outfit: shoes- Target 

jumper- Old Navy

tassel necklace- JC Penny

clutch- Ivey Expressions via Project Free to Fly 

My hubby knows coffee + macaroons are my love language. Milk & Honey was the cutest and coziest coffee shop! You must go! 

The parking lot at The Camp has all these fun words and sayings painted on the pavement. We just happened to park in the one that said "vacation time" so obviously I took a picture. Local places like these that add so much detail to their establishments make traveling so fun and unique! 

And just for fun sake I thought I'd share with you our wedding high light reel from 8 years ago! 

Love you Orion, and these last 8 years together have been wonderful. We've learned so much about each other, God and his plan for us. Can't wait for 50 more years together. I love this family we've created. This Worley House is ours. 

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5 Ways to Keep Date Nights Affordable.

Do you love date night?

Good, me too! 

My husband and I love date night, to be honest with you when we were first married sans kiddos we had date night once a week, every week. Then kids came along, and we didn't have much of a budget like we did in our early on in our marriage and date night kinda fell to the wayside. 

But in the last couple years we've really realized how important and vital regular date nights are. So we've made it a priority to spend quality time together and make it affordable too. I wanted to share with you how we try to make date night as affordable as possible to that it's no excuse not to have one.

So here we go, let's jump in.

01// Find a FREE baby sitter.

If you're like us we don't live near family at all, so using family as a baby sitter wasn't an option for the longest time. Since we couldn't rely on family we did the next best thing and we swapped baby sitting with friends. We had friends who had small kiddos of their own and we'd take turns watching each other's kids when we wanted to go out on a date night. They'd go one week and we'd go the next. It was an awesome arrangement and we never felt bad for not paying them since we swapped duties so each couple could have a date night. This is a great option if you don't have family living near by.

02// Split Meals.

The portions in most restaurants are crazy HUGE and more than we ever need to each. Stay on budget by splitting a meal together and splurging on drinks and desserts! 

03// Use coupons & deals.

We are not above using a Groupon for date night, or another deal we've found online or in the paper. We often get circular ads in the mail and I always search those too, because we've tried quite a few new restaurants using those deals. Groupon is also another fave because we can do fun things for a great price. 

04// Have a date night at home.

Save on gas by staying home. Order your favorite take-out put the kids to bed and hang out. This can be anything you want to do at home.

05// Every once in a while do something that's totally free and costs nothing.

After all the point is to spend quality time together not about about the amount you spent to do so. Go on a walk together and chat, or play those board games you never play and make a fun night together at home.