Monday, August 3, 2009

Birthday Weekend!

Garth and I had originally planned to go away for my birthday. But, in haste, I decided I wanted some new furniture and decor for our new place as a birthday present instead. As the month went on I slighly regretted my decision, but I kept telling myself the new decor was a great investment.
Fast forward to Friday. My office is closed on Fridays, so I was bumming around the house when Garth came home from work with this HUGE present. He is insisting I open it right then. So I do. It's the most beautiful 6-piece luggage set that I have wanted since we got engaged. Then Garth asks if I'm ready for the second half of my gift. I protest that my birthday isn't until tomorrow, but eventually cave. He says, "Go pack your bag." I'm so confused. I'm like "Don't you have to go back to work?" And he says, "No. I took a half day of vacation. Now go pack your bags!" After a few more moments of shock, I was so excited and started screetching and hugging him.
We both pack quickly and we're on the road. I still didn't know where we were going, but once I saw what highway we were on I knew we were going to the hotel we had originally planned on going. Oh boy, I was so excited.
Here is our room on the 20th floor:
The view:
Did I mention the package Garth chose included champagne and truffles?

The pool:
Tennis courts on the 4th floor:
The hotel lobby:
About to go eat on the 27th floor:
It's my birthday:
Sipping a martini:
Our sushi appetizer:
I ate raw eel!!














The pri-pri African Chicken. Yummo:
Our dessert with 24K edible gold:


Eating 24K gold!!
Then the restaurant brought out a birthday fondue:
Birthday dinner @ Cygnus:
A sunset walk after dinner:

I want to live in those condos behind me:
Our hotel is the tower closest to me:
Garth spotted the South African flag and had to represent:@ the art museum:



So the art museum is a really pretty building, but the art was not impressive. We wanted to be sophisticated, but all we kept saying was "We could paint that!" At least we tried:
Downtown Grand Rapids:



There was a free concert going on outside our hotel:
We dug the band:
Rocking out:


I told Garth to mimic the astronaut and this is what I got. Hilarious:



Mmmm my spinach and eggplant pasta:View from the restaurant:
We found another concert in the park, though this was much more like a rave:
I have never felt so disconnected to our culture:


The end:Whew, that was a lot of pictures. Sorry about that. The moral of the weekend is - I have the best husband in the whole wide world. Thanks baby for a weekend I will NEVER forget!

77 comments:

Shoeaddict329 said...

YAYAYA!!! I'm so glad that you had a very wonderful birthday treat! You have a VERY romantic husband...think he can give Luke some pointers? haha!! P to the S...you look super tiny in that pink flowered dress!!

d.a.r. said...

Awww!!! What a sweet husband!! Glad you had a fantastic birthday!!

Meg said...

Ah, so sweet! Looks like ya'll had a blast! Happy birthday, friend!

Holly said...

What a great husband you have! Glad you had a great birthday weekend!

Nessa said...

I want a hubby like that!!!!lol. Happy B-day!!!!! XOXO

Saskia said...

Go Garth!!! What a great surprise!!

Happy belated birthday :)

Saskia xx

Kelly said...

I've stayed there! It's very nice. You have such a romantic husband. It's great! :) Glad you enjoyed your birthday.

Brandi said...

What a great way to celebrate your birthday!! You have a FABULOUS hubby! Good job Garth!!!

Christie said...

Once again, your relationship inspires me. Happy Belated Birthday to you- it looks like you made the most of it and I'm glad you had a great time!

Anonymous said...

That sounds so amazing - you're a lucky woman!

&& I love your comments about the art museums, I always think the same thing!! It's amazing to me what people value as art!

Lauren said...

Aww...what a great birthday treat & what a great Hubby! Glad you had such a great weekend!

jlc said...

Wow!! It all looks just fabulous and PERFECT!!

umm and is it just me or do you look really super skinny now??

Happy Belated beautiful! You deserve it!

Mrs. Dirnberger said...

Happy Birthday Sweets! garth is soooo super fab...we need more of him around!

Jen McCrady said...

what a PERFECT weekend!!!! he is too sweet to do all of that for you!!!

(well maybe not TOO sweet!)

Jordan said...

What an awesome husband/gift/weekend!! Surprises like that are so much fun! Happy birthday!!

Lauren said...

Oh my word, you have the sweetest husband EVER. But I don't have to tell you that. So sweet and romantic :)

Shannon Dew said...

Looks like you had a fabulous birthday girlie!!

Kristin said...

That is so completely adorable! I'm glad you had a great birthday weekend!! I LOVE your pictures, you have such cute style!

:-)

Megan said...

What a sweet husband! Looks like it was a fantastic birthday weekend! So much fun!

Kristen said...

What fun! The martinis and sushi and dessert and fondue and chicken and EVERYTHING look AMAZING!

LWLH said...

Happy Belated Birthday!
How sweet of Garth, your a lucky girl! :)

Ginger said...

aww what a sweet husband!!

5th Belle Avenue said...

HOW FUN!! What an amazingly romantic gift from your precious hubby! Looks like you had a phenomenal birthday! Happy Belated!!

Sarah Wyland said...

Aw! That is such a great surprise. You have a wonderful husband!

Lacey said...

What a wonderful birthday surprise!!! It looks like yall had a blast!

lola said...

Aw, that is SO SWEET! :) Yay for fantastic birthdays.

Jessica said...

What a great surprise! Happy Birthday!

Lindsay said...

How sweet! looks like you had a great time! and that hotel is beautiful for sure! happy birthday!

AmyT said...

SO sweet!!!!!!!!!!! Looks like so much fun!!!

Kate said...

What a WONDERFUL weekend! Happy belated birthday!! I'm so glad you have such a sweet husband!!!

Nette said...

Okay, I don't think it can be denied..You do have the most wonderful husband! Kudos to how he even executed it! To daggone sweet! Nice pics and so glad you had such a great b-day!!:o)

Rebecca said...

Oh my gosh! What a wonderful surprise! Happy birthday

Katie & Ryan said...

What an amazing surprise and such a thoughtful husband! Glad your birthday was wonderful!

- Sarah :-) said...

How amazing!! Sounds like you guys had a blast... hooray for birthday getaways!!

katie + bret said...

What a wonderful husband and a great birthday weekend! I love all the pictures - thanks for sharing!

SnoWhite said...

how awesome! glad your birthday was so special.

Anonymous said...

That's an awesome gift - you're hubbie did wonderful!

Miss Jody said...

oh my gosh! while reading your post, i was actually getting all excited and happy for you! even "aw-ing" and "oo-ing" the whole time...out loud! thank you for this post:) i really enjoyed it! AH!! i'm so happy for you, what a wonderful man!
You do know...he couldn't have done this without you being so wonderful ;) you in return my dear, must be a remarkable woman yourself :)

Mrs Anne said...

Garth is amazing.
I ♥ him for being so sweet to you!

:)

my bday is in 10 days... i'm sending my J over to get some pointers from Garth!

ha~

THE Stephanie said...

How fun!! And I LOVE the pic of Garth mimicking the astronaut. TOO FUNNY!!

Mrs EyeCanSee said...

Looks like a great bday weekend! You're husband is too cute!

Liz said...

What a good hubby you have! Happy Birthday. :)

Liz said...

OK I sweat I didn't steal from Holly - maybe I should read through the comments before I send. :)

Jules said...

That was so wonderful of him to surprise you like that! It sounds and looks like you had a wonderful birthday!

Meredith said...

What a wonderful and caring husband you have! It looks like you guys had a blast!

Jen said...

How sweet!!! What a good hubby! I'm glad you had an awesome birthday :)

Kelley at My Island Wedding said...

what a great compilation of pics!!! The champagne looks quite yum!

Hope it was extra special!

Thanks for sharing!

Happy birthdaya!
-Kelley

Heather @ Simple Wives said...

What a wonderful gift!! :) Check out that Sushi! Yummy! :)

Hope you had a fabulous birthday!

Annie said...

sounds like you had the sweetest birthday ever!! what a wonderful husband you have! :)
enjoyed all the pics!

Crystal said...

Wow! What a great husband!! Sounds like you had a great time. Yey for birthdays :-)

Lucy Marie said...

You lucky girl!

Lisa said...

What a sweet hubby and what a great birthday!! Luxurious hotels are one of my favorite things too :).

Melissa said...

What an awesome surprise!! I'm so happy you had an incredible birthday!!

Happiness Is... said...

What an awesome birthday! Glad it was so great! :)

Girl Meets Beau said...

AWWWW!! That is the sweetest thing ever! You two are so stinking cute! I love that he surprised you with such a fun weekend. What a great guy :) So happy that you enjoyed your b-day weekend!

Sweet, Sassy, Southern and Classy said...

What an awesome husband! He clearly adores you. I'm so glad you had a super happy birthday!

Mrs. Southern said...

You always have the best weekend trips!!! Hope you had a very happy birthday!

JennyLee said...

What a sweet surprise!!!

Nicole said...

I love surprises!! What a great hunny you have! Glad you had an awesome Bday =D

Unknown said...

That looks like you had an awesome birthday vacation! Yay foy you having such an awesome hubby, happy birthday!

In This Wonderful Life said...

oh my goodness!! How sweet is he!! You lucky girl. The pics are just beautiful..glad you guys had a great time!! :)

Liana said...

every single picture is great! looks like such a great time, happy birthday!

Kim @ NewlyWoodwards said...

AWESOME trip, AWESOME hubby!

Where's the picture of the luggage? I'm dying to see it.

And, I'm totally craving sushi now...

Mrs. J L said...

that is soooo sweet of him!
Happy birthday!!! I am so happy that u had such a great wkend with ur hubby on ur birthday AND that u were able to get the luggage that wanted AND the furniture. Woohoo!

Jon and Steph said...

What a FANTASTIC birthday! Your husband is sooo sweet. It looks like you guys had a wonderful time. That hotel is amazing.

Happy Birthday!!!

Casey (@ Chaos and Cardboard) said...

Aww! You guys take the funest weekend trips!! Glad you had an awesome birthday!

Anonymous said...

Wow looks like an awesome birthday!! I would have loved THAT!! We eat sushi at least once a week if not more...lol

Courtney said...

What an awesome hubby! Sounds like the perfect birthday! :)

Unknown said...

What an amazing gift! I love it. It looks like you guys had such a nice time :) Happy Birthday!

Lucky in Love said...

That is the sweetest thing ever! You are truly so lucky to have a guy that would do that for you! Love it!

CJ said...

happy Birthday! You are a lucky girl! looks like you've had a great birthday :)

TexanCouture said...

That sounds like an amazing birthday! I love surprises like that!

Whitney said...

Oh my gosh - how fun! Don't you just love surprises like that?!?!

MyRunningJourney said...

What a fun bday weekend!!!!!!

Perfectly Imperfect said...

Wow! Great job Garth!! And girl.. you look amazing!!

Mrs. McB said...

What a wonderful trip!!!!! :)

Adventures in Newlywed said...

What a FABULOUS birthday surprise!!!