Seven Blessed Years

Our 7th Wedding Anniversary

I've decided I'll have to make a tradition out of taking this sort of picture of myself when we go out to celebrate our anniversary. It wasn't until I got home and loaded my pictures onto my computer, I realized I did exactly the same shot last year, at The Oxford Hotel. Weird.

I have to be honest, Justin planned this little anniversary getaway 100%, he completely spoiled me, and I fought him on the whole thing, believe me. I didn't want to leave Eisley {clingy pregnancy hormones} and I told him we didn't need to do anything this fabulous, especially while I was 9 months pregnant. He reminded me that: 1. We wouldn't have a chance to get away again in quite a while, no thanks to Miss Violet and her expected neediness upon arrival. He's right, who knows when our next vacation might be? And our last vacation was well over a year ago... And: 2. Our first five years of anniversaries went uncelebrated.

I caved. And I'm really glad I did.

The first thing we did for our mini-getaway was to go see Cirque du Soleil's Alegria. It was, of course, magical. We've seen two other shows before, Varekai & Corteo. We have yet to see a CdS show that didn't leave us astounded. It's an art form on it's own.

They have everything: contortionists, trapeze artists, flame throwers, clowns {the artistic, non-scary kind}, out of this world costumes, tantalizing music... we love this art form.
Since Alegria was running down in Colorado Springs, Justin decided to make reservations for us to stay in nearby Manitou Springs - a quirky, hippie town that sits at the base of Pikes Peak. I've always loved a trip to Manitou Springs - it's the town Boulder can only aspire to be. Seriously. Gorgeous old buildings, history, amazing views of the mountains and rock formations - there is no town quite like it in all of Colorado. It's a CO gem, to be sure.

And Justin, he picked the most lovely place to stay: The Cliff House.

Except it wasn't all green & lush when we were there last week, for obvious reasons. This hotel was brought back to life just over a decade ago after a fire destroyed it's original body. Still, the hotel carries a sense of history with it, and still looks just as lovely as ever. Yes. If you know me, even just a little, you know Justin made a fantastic choice in staying here. Just like last year with The Oxford. The man knows how to aesthetically please a woman.

The Cliff House has suites named after the celebrities that have stayed there, such as Kathy Bates or Buffalo Bill. Ours was the Jenny Lind Suite -she was a Swedish opera singer, just like me.
To say the least, it was very nice. Too nice...
It was wonderful and superfluous. Wonderfully superfluous, I won't ever forget how lovingly my husband planned this.
A TV behind a painting! What the...? Take that, Holiday Inn Express...Our gift from The Cliff House. {So beats a shower cap. Even though there was one of those, too...}
Except there was no butler. We had to serve ourselves our own drinks. Lame...

No, but seriously, in case you have any doubts on the quality of this hotel...
behold! You know a place is really schnazzy when they provide you with Aveda products. When I saw these I knew we'd be okay... {but I still checked the mattress for bed bugs.}
The Cliff House, to my surprise & delight, was furnished with well over 20 {just from the rooms we saw} original Rockey paintings. Charles Rockey is a famous Manitou Springs artist. I love his work, and I recognized it almost immediately as my mother owns an original Rockey. She obtained it when she was living in the Springs doing theatre at the Iron Springs Chateau Melodrama and Dinner Theatre. Today he's quite famous - it was amazing to get to see so many of his works up close.
The Cliff House was filled with historic items that I wanted to steal... but Justin reminded me that they had our credit card on file and this wasn't just some hotel bathrobe you can charge to your room...
Another Rockey of The Cliff House during it's restoration:
We didn't have too much time to bum around Manitou, but we did walk down the main strip just a bit. It's a very eclectic little village!

I panicked when I realized we'd forgotten to pack chocolate. But no worries, the local fudge shoppe had us covered.
Most of their little shops weren't "my type" of chic boutique, but interesting and lovely nonetheless.
We even took a stroll down Lovers Lane. Seriously.
And then headed back to our room {I labeled our room on the picture below}.

We got cozy and watched... The Fugitive. Most romantic movie. Ever.
Justin had made dinner reservations at The Cliff House's dining room. It was absolutely delicious! We had a dinner for two special with house salads, fillet mignon, and creme brulée. Although I did get really angry at myself for not bringing the camera down, especially when another couple a few tables over had the waiter snap their picture - I was insanely jealous. In the morning it was time to pack up and go home, leaving all luxury behind - but getting back to Pie was worth it. One last stop, however, was to get a couple's massage at the Columbine Day Spa. This was a first massage experience for both of us - and this sent our weekend anniversary getaway over the top.

It's a joy to look back on 7 years with Justin - and to look forward to many more. The weekend ended with me feeling like an incredibly spoiled wife, which is exactly what I am. But I still look back on last year's anniversary with so much fondness, I know the memory of this year's anniversary will last a long time as well. Next year I think we should just go to McDonald's...