Portland

It's the most wonderful time...to get away!  Actually, I've really been looking forward to spending some quality time at home now that I have two weeks off from work, but we had planned a quick trip down to Portland a few weeks back.  Partly because we love our little getaways to a not-so-far off place and partly to help Matt get in the holiday spirit.  Both of us have gotten quite burned out from work so a short break from everyday life is just what we needed.

Whenever we travel down to Portland, we always stay in the same hotel and we often eat at the same restaurants.  Since we go so infrequently, we generally don't get tired of visiting the same places.  We typically only go for one night, but we ended up staying two nights so we didn't feel like we had to pack everything into one day.  The boys were content with spending an afternoon in the room - Chris with his toys and Matt with a good Kindle novel.  Our hotel is within walking distance of an outdoor mall so I was able to get in a little retail therapy while the boys enjoyed some down time.  I love meandering through shops that I don't typically visit near home, like The Container Store, Paper Source and Charming Charlie.  I can window shop for hours.

Even if we don't end up traveling very far, I love staying in hotels.  Perhaps it's the way the room is so clean and the surroundings often feel so new to you.  It always makes me think about cleaning my house and trying to imbue the fanciness of a hotel somehow in my home.  On the second night of our trip, the boys had gone to sleep but I wasn't feeling tired yet, so I looked out the window from our second story room and watched cars leaving nearby restaurants.  It was strange to me that while we were snuggling into our beds, people were just finishing a late meal with friends and family.  Or perhaps they were employees that were getting off their shifts.  It's interesting to think about other people's lives and I can kind of see the appeal of living in the city, where there's always something happening.

After our two nights away, I think we were all glad to get home.  Mostly so we could sleep in our own beds and be surrounded by the conveniences that make our house so comforting.  Time away always helps to make you more appreciative of your house because there things are just the way you like it.  Sure, for us it might not be as clean and organized as we think it should be, but it is our sanctuary from the outside world.  I can't think of anything better than settling in for the holidays at home.