Five Years. Five Celebrations.

Milestones reached and goals accomplished are all reasons to celebrate. I am a big fan of celebrating anything you want any day of the year, but sometimes it’s nice to go a little bigger to create longer lasting memories. And for us, that milestone was our five-year wedding anniversary.  I am somewhat of a traditional girl, but the idea of receiving the traditional or even the modern-day option of the five-year wedding gifts of wood or silverware I was not interested in. I accidentally came up with another great idea! Ladies, I know you’ll love it –

March 29, 2019 was our five-year wedding anniversary. And for the past year or so leading up to it we kept talking about what “big trip” we wanted to take to celebrate. The problem was we were trying to decide where to go anywhere in the world. That’s a lot of incredible options! We finally made our big celebration decision, but in the meantime, we celebrated with smaller trips and dinners… which led me to the perfect real, modern-day idea for a five-year wedding anniversary, five years means you get five celebrations over the course of that year!

I didn’t even realize this was what we were doing until the 3rd celebration. In less than a month we had celebrated three different times in three different ways at different places we have come to enjoy over the years. 

Number One.

Santa Barbara. We drove up Pacific Coast Highway and spent 3 nights at the beautiful Hilton Santa Barbara. We chose to go here because this was where we got engaged in 2013 and we have fallen more in love with this city every trip we take. We walked almost everywhere and enjoyed some of the great restaurants and wine bars along State Street.  After this trip we said we could live there, and maybe one day we will.

We also took our dog, Jedi with us on this little getaway. A few people asked and wondered why we would take our dog for an anniversary trip. He has become a part of our family (as all dogs are) and SB is a very dog friendly city, so why not? We also quickly realized that he makes us explore and go places we might not otherwise have gone. Sure, we could have slept in until noon (or 8:00am if we’re being honest), ordered room service and sat around and done nothing until we decided to venture out, but that’s kinda boring. I’d rather sleep in my own home, and go out to brunch like we do quite regularly anyway. Instead on this trip, we went to a few locals spots in the mornings so he and we could get a bit of exercise in. We went to the majestic Butterfly Beach and a semi secret/locals trail where paragliders took off from the top of it’s cliffs. Some of the best views we would have never gotten to see and experience had we not taken Jedi.  After the trip was over, we realized it was much more Jedi’s vacation than ours. We had a blast and can’t wait to go back. Maybe we’ll take him wine tasting with us the next time.

Number Two.

Dinner & Jewelry. On the actual day of our anniversary we went to Fleming’s Steakhouse in Newport Beach for a nice dinner. I told my husband several times we didn’t need to go out to dinner for our anniversary as we had so much else planned, but being the amazing man he is, I was met with the response, “There is no way I am not going to take you out on our anniversary.” Dinner also included a beautiful necklace that was not expected.  It was a very busy Friday night at Fleming’s as it to be expected, and we didn’t have the best experience, but it wasn’t the worst either. Everything was just good. However, it was a great evening and memory to continue our journeys of celebration.

Number Three.

Las Vegas. Joe had to do some business in Las Vegas, so why not turn the trip in to another excuse to celebrate, right? We stayed at the stunning Waldorf Astoria Las Vegas on the strip for 3 nights and enjoyed Vegas a bit differently. When Joe worked, I went to the pool, worked out (actually took my first ever Pilates class) and went to the pool. Here, we did enjoy some room service for breakfast on our last day as we were semi tired of wandering the strip looking for good, no too overpriced food. In the end, you get what you pay for and the majority of the time, room service is always a good choice, especially at this place.

We went to one of our all time, hands down, favorite steakhouses for another anniversary dinner celebration, Del Friscos Double Eagle Steakhouse. We have been here a couple of times before, but this time I was sorta blown away by their service and hospitality (and of course their food). I had simply made a reservation on Opentable and said it was our anniversary in the drop down of menu choices they offer on their app. I actually didn’t tell Joe I had done that because I didn’t think much of it as most restaurants don’t take those “what are you celebrating” options on Opentable too seriously. When we arrived, our table was waiting – the perfect booth facing the entire restaurant – and it was covered in rose petals and a card signed by every server and manager working that night.

We were greeted by every manager with a “Happy Anniversary! How is your evening going?” The VIPs (housemade specialty martinis) and food was amazing, as always. But I was even more impressed with their anniversary dessert that was “on the house.” They served their warm Butter Cake, homemade whip cream and strawberries and their Chocolate Hazelnut Crunch Bar! Yummmm… A whole heck of a lot better than Fleming’s pre made, mass-produced, not so good, box of 4 chocolates. *ahem*  Again, as I always say, you get what you pay for.

Number Four.  

Remember that big trip I mentioned that we talked about for over a year? Well, we made a decision and booked an 8 Day Greek Isles and Maltese Nights Cruise with Seabourn! This will be the very first cruise for the both of us and we cannot wait! We sail in October and are already counting down the days. I spent hours and days calling, researching & making spreadsheets between several cruise lines and itineraries. In the end, calling a Delta Vacations Specialist was the best choice and we ended up with our first cruise line choice and itinerary with Seabourn. Funny, how the first choices usually always end up to be the right of best ones.  

Number Five.

Rome. Our number five celebration will be purchasing new luggage and enjoying an extra night in Rome at the beautiful Aleph Rome Hotel, Curio Collection by Hilton.

So there you have it. There is no reason you can’t celebrate your five-year anniversary in five special ways. You heard it here first!  I’m not sure I recommend keeping up with the tradition in the years after, but this milestone seems like the perfect opportunity! If you can’t take five trips or your five years has already passed, do something memorable, new, revisit a place that has great memories for just you two, or create a tradition… just do something out of the ordinary.

Happy Anniversary & Happy Celebrations!

💜XOXO

Serina