No seriously, anyone who tells you a babymoon is overrated, is lying to you. I’m really just saying this for effect, since I can’t think of any mom in their right mind who doesn’t see the invaluable need for a weekend getaway before your life is taken over by yet another little one. As my husband (a.k.a. my editor) is reading this, I know he’s thinking – she’s trying to play all hard and cries with the best of them any time we spend more than a day away from Garrett. Well touche, my love, because I not only didn’t shed a tear this time, you may recall I was the one saying we need to do this again before number two arrives. Yep, that’s how great a babymoon is. Sure, date nights do the trick – but the catch is that you have to have the resources to do them like every week. Sorry to say that, fixing up a house and juggling new job situations, all while a certain toddler wants your undivided attention – has us prioritizing date nights the way I prioritize working out – man, a nap sounds so much better right now.
Alas, so enters the aforementioned babymoon. If you’re as lucky as we were to be invited to a wedding for a dear friend of mine, who happened to pick a lovely spot on a ranch in the hill country of Bandera, TX, then you “twofer” and make a vacation out of it. Bandera is chock-full of little guest houses and cabins for rent, kinda like Airbnb for us quaint folk. We landed on one called the “Man Cave”, which had a pool and in big bold letters “ADULTS ONLY” in the bio – sold! It felt like this past weekend would never come, which to my friend I joked that I remember feeling the exact opposite before our wedding. Not that I wasn’t psyched to marry Grant – but I literally felt my stomach turn every time a new, well-meaning friend/family member would remind me of their own personal countdown to my wedding. Like, do you think I don’t know I only have one more week to procrastinate the seating chart, favors, and programs, etc. etc.?! But I digress…We dropped Garrett off with the fam, who had more things planned for him than a toddler knows what to do with, and headed out of town. First stop, San Antonio, where we wandered the River Walk and grabbed an early bird special at Iron Cactus, one of my favorite restaurants from my college days in Austin. Although I totally forgot they were known for their premium tequilas and handcrafted cocktails – ohhhh right, college. I admit to stealing a few sips from the hubs, before we walked around Alamo Plaza and soaked in some Texas history. Ironic side note – we realized it was San Jacinto Day, which was after the Battle of the Alamo when Texas won their independence from Mexico. Don’t say I never taught you anything.
We then had the brilliant idea to actually see a movie, Beauty and the Beast, and cuz I have that kind of hubs who’s just happy with a coke and popcorn in his lap. Bless his heart. Once we finally rolled into the Man Cave late that night, we were so ready for a restful and uninterrupted night of sleep. We slept in until about 8am, and yes, for those of you sans kids – this is called “sleeping in” 😉 We spent the morning before the wedding gorging ourselves at the best country diner in downtown Bandera, and then checked out the local shops to try and let that pound of food we just ate settle. The wedding itself was truly magical, set on the most beautiful backdrop at Dogleg Ranch – where a mutual friend’s brother manages what’s typically a hunting destination. The moment we pulled up in the car, Grant and I couldn’t believe how much it reminded us of our own country wedding (check us out on Style Me Pretty). They were married by a mutual friend of ours from our days in NYC, and it was such a special ceremony – don’t you just love when they write their own vows? Guests were then directed to find their name attached to vintage handkerchiefs (which I helped hunt for in Old Town Tomball), where we anxiously awaited the amazing dinner catered by LeRoy and Lewis Barbecue. Not to be outdone by the BBQ, smores were served around a fire pit, and needless to say this mama was a happy camper.
Why is it that things so anticipated, seem to go by the fastest? We curbed our babymoon withdrawals with some comfort food from our new favorite diner, and headed on out of town. Garrett could not have been any more excited to see us, and for a kid who typically zones out on car rides – he was talking up a storm the whole car ride home. And we are soooo those parents who say to each other – “man, our kid’s cute”. But seriously, he is. If all goes as planned, maybe we’ll be able to squeeze one last mini-moon in before August – quite possibly to Alaska or Canada to escape the looming TX summer. Lord help me…
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