I really enjoyed traveling this summer (I know I still owe y’all some Disney recommendations!) with my family. My husband has made me so unafraid to travel to new places, I am forever grateful to him! What y’all don’t know is that I am no stranger to a Texas Road Trip! These past two weekends I traveled to Austin and San Antonio, which can be reached in a 5 1/2 and 3 1/2 hour drive, respectively. While my trip to Austin was much more difficult to get to because of TRAFFIC (insert mind blown emoji), a road trip to San Antonio is quick, easy and in my opinion, a staycation for us Valley girls.
staycation
-
a vacation spent in one’s home country rather than abroad, or one spent at home and involving day trips to local attractions.
That definition sounds so luxurious on its own and I have recently been obsessed with the idea of mini-vacations that aren’t exhausting from the travel process alone. To celebrate my bestie’s 29th birthday, we decided to head to the JW Marriott Texas Hill Country Resort to live our best lives for the weekend. In case you missed my instagram and facebook stories, this Resort is located in the Texas hill country. The closer you get to the resort, the more distant you get from the noisy roads of the city. Not to worry, though, you’re only a short drive away from La Cantera Shopping Center, but we’ll talk more about that later.
We started our weekend bright and early on Saturday morning with breakfast in bed. Note to self (and to you): this would’ve been a great opportunity to pop open a bottle of champagne for mimosas, but we booked our spa appointments pretty early (aka 9 and 10 am appointments) and didn’t even think about it. Will do next time- FOR SURE.
The main attraction to this resort was the Lantana Spa. We made it a goal a few weeks ago to treat ourselves to a facial at the end of the month and took complete advantage of the day spa. We started with deep cleansing facials. I debated on getting a massage (and y’all are my people because you voted for me to get a massage IN ADDITION to the facial), but was pleasantly surprised by the light neck and arm massage that was included with the facial. This was my first facial, so I could really tell the difference in my skin (especially my nose!) after the extractions were made. Needless to say, I’m a fan of the facial and will be returning for another very soon.
I am also now a HUGE fan of a day spa. I mean, I’m not surprised by this. My ideal weekend is spent with a face mask and glass of wine. It’s who I am and who I’ve always wanted to be. While at the Lantana Spa, we enjoyed ALL of the amenities. I had never experienced a steam room or sauna and Y’ALL…it was amazing. The steam room was overwhelming at first, but once I got out, I found myself wishing I could back in. We didn’t dip into the heated pool, but we did enjoy some time in the hot tub, which was nice.
We DID NOT want to leave the spa. We debated for a good hour whether we should spend more time at the spa or venture off to shop at La Cantera. While lounging by the pool, we were offered a menu from the Spa’s cafe, and while Whiskey Cake was delicious, I REALLY loved lounging and taking time off from my phone. We’ve already discussed plans to return and spend a full day at the spa. We deserve it, don’t we?
We eventually mustered up the E N E R G Y to got to brunch at Whiskey Cake with my cousin. It was 2:30 at this point, so we were STARVING! I’m not big on drinking with my meals, but because I was hungry and Whiskey Cake’s bloody mary bar had lots of snackies…we hit that up. I was that girl- pickles, olives, cheese, sausages, bacon…all of it- in my Bloody Mary. I was a HAPPY CAMPER when my Chicken and Cheese Melt arrived. Side bar: this sandwich was a little messy and I ended up using a fork. Not a bad thing. A good thing: the adult Mac and cheese, but are you even surprised?
We shopped to our heart’s content at La Cantera for the rest of the day. Since the weather was nice, it was a great day for an open air mall. I scooped up my first Lululemon Swiftly top (definitely worth the $$ guys, I’m so sorry (not sorry) to report), my dress (that y’all loved) for my Kendra event and a few other little goodies! Overall, a great shopping day. We ended the night at Hot Joy where we decided that the dumplings were the BEST thing on the menu! I also really liked the spam fried rice…and the noodles…YUM!
The next morning, we brunched at Snooze in the Quarry, which…was good. However, the wait was SO LONG (an hour and a half and that was the real wait time PLUS the wait for food once we were seated) that I can’t 100% say I recommend doing something like this if you do have a drive ahead of you like we did. Max’s Wine Dive is right across the street, faster, and equally as delicious!
I love visiting San Antonio because it really is a home away from home. I know many valley kids who have moved to SA and loved it because it’s got a big city flair without being too far from the good ol’ RGV. This was a staycation to remember and I loved getting some girl time with my best friend! Have you done any staycations lately? Where else would you go for a staycation? Where should I head next?!
shop the post
