Our staycation

We took a mini road trip to Costa Mesa this weekend, an area of Orange County that's about an hour and 10 minutes north of our house and has an incredible mall called South Coast Plaza.

I've had a desperate need to spruce up my work wardrobe, and had actually been thinking about making a day trip up to Costa Mesa when Jason recommended that we make a weekend out of it. The reason? We had a free night's stay at any Marriott, plus a $50 gift card off our second night. So we decided to drive up Friday after work, knowing if we left at 7:00 we'd miss the serious traffic and still check into the hotel at a reasonable time (not too late for Isabelle).

Our package at the Costa Mesa Marriott, which is only 1/4 mile from South Coast Plaza, included a $25 mall gift certificate; free parking for one night (it's $18 a day); free breakfast both mornings; a free pay-per-view movie; and a $30 restaurant voucher which we applied toward dinner last night. And the best part was that we had a small, two-room suite which allowed Isabelle to sleep in her own separate area.

We had a great time! We had breakfast before hitting the mall at 10:00 Saturday morning, and spent some time shopping and letting Isabelle ride the carousel. After lunch, she and Jason napped at the hotel while I returned to the mall and did some solo shopping. We took Isabelle to a park in Newport Beach and let her run around and make friends with the other toddlers, came back to the hotel for a fairly decent dinner, and then Jason and I watched "Date Night" after Isabelle went to bed.

Isabelle made her mommy and daddy very happy by sleeping in until 8:00 this morning - and even after the two of us showered and got ready, we all had breakfast, and the hour drive home, we still made it home before noon!

Riding the carousel - she was a little nervous when she first got on, but by the end she loved it!

It's hard to tell from this picture, but she had a giant Mickey Mouse balloon tied to her stroller and two new "Mumbles" (stuffed penguins, named after her favorite character from the movie "Happy Feet") that she has been fiercely hugging since we found them in the Disney store.

Lounging in the giant bed with a snack cup full of cereal, a sippy cup full of milk, and Curious George on the TV. Life is good!