Making A Quick Getaway

My three beautiful children...Whom we desperately needed a break from.

My husband and I have never fully mastered the art of setting a standard date night. This is partially due to a lack of familial help with the kids and also because I have never been the best at leaving them with a babysitter.  I would be a complete bundle of nerves, checking my phone often and not able to focus on much else other than what the kids might be doing. I was a especially awful when one of them was under six months old - Although, to be fair, its hard to fully unwind when your boobs are engorged with milk (Amiright, ladies?!) and you are counting down the minutes to nurse and or pump and dump breast milk. Now that all three kids are over the infant stage, its become slightly easier for me to leave them. We have slowly been attempting to remember to actually plan date nights, we've had a few spontaneous evenings out, and most recently we took a huge leap: We slept over night away from them!

                                                                               

The Lobby at the Highland Hotel

Obviously, an endeavor like this takes some planning but it was so worth it. We were thinking of doing an escape on the East End of Long Island, unfortunately we realized that we were attempting to plan our trip during Fathers Day Weekend and the US Open. The hotels were either all booked or set at astronomical prices per night; so we thought since everyone was going east, why not go west? Now my hubby is as country mouse as you can get and I am pretty much the exact opposite, but I was determined to bring him into a part of the city he wasn't super familiar with and would enjoy. I chose for us to stay in Chelsea. Chelsea is such a fun area, boasting art galleries, history, and such easy access to walk and enjoy views from the Highline. I had also been waiting for a few years to check out the Highline Hotel, so I was super excited to book with them.

Hello, Room Service?

The Highline Hotel stands apart from other boutique hotels for so many reasons, but I honestly felt transported to another time just cosy atmosphere. There is a sweet little coffee shop in the lobby and in the evening it turns into a small bar. There is a lovely courtyard and an adjoining restaurant, there were antique typewriters everywhere ( This left me overjoyed for obvious reasons.) and antique embossers on the desk in each room. We had the best time staying here- and this is coming from people who usually do not spend a great amount of time in the hotels we stay in!
walking through the gates. The building has so much history ( 'Twas the Night Before Christmas was written there!), and the modern details paired with retro design and historic architecture mixes into an exquisite yet

I couldn't resist climbing right in at Bathtub Gin

Another reason I chose Chelsea as our destination was its close proximity to some Speakeasy Restaurants and Bars. My husband and I actually met while I was bartending, he tended bar for years, and we even have done a few parties where we both were behind the bar mixing drinks. I can barely drink after having had three children, there are probably mice with a higher tolerance for liquor, but I love a well built cocktail. I have high respect for the creative influence in curating a signature drink list and most especially when those drinks utilize fresh, locally sourced ingredients.

Drinks at The Raines Law Room

We started our cocktail crawl at Bathtub Gin, where the drink list is in a hefty book. I wish I took a little more time looking over all the choices but my drink of choice was the Wakey Juice Joe: A concoction of gin, matcha, cold brew, falernum, lime, coconut cream, and fresh mint. It was incredible- as was the food we ordered to make sure we weren't starting out on an empty stomach. Next stop was The Raines Law Room.  Both the atmosphere and the cocktails were amazing there as well...Although, I admittedly cannot remember for the life of me the names of them or what they consisted of. I loved how intimate the seating options were in Raines Law Room and that you could summon your server easily by the pull chain on the wall behind our couch. The dim lighting, velvet settee, and naughty wallpaper gave the place a sexy boudoir vibe.

A rare photo of us sans-children. 

We spent much of the rest of our stay in the city lazily walking the Highline and checking out a few random galleries before rushing home the next morning back to the kids. It was a much needed reprieve from parenting! What are your favorite weekend escapes? Leave me some future adventure ideas in the comments below!