Friday, August 24, 2007

Babymoon














Some wonderful friends gave us an incredible two nights at the Chateau Elan spa. We opened the envelope with the red seal that held our reservation information and were speechless. Two nights, all meals paid, plus spa treatments for both of us. The experience was so relaxing and special. We were greeted at the door by a doorman in uniform who offered to help us with our "luggage" which consisted of a couple of very college-looking backpacks. We felt a little outclassed seeing the BMWs and Mercedes parked out front, but we didn't care, we were here to enjoy our stay! Our Vintage themed room was full of antiques.














We relaxed a little in our room, ordered drinks from room service....














...then had lunch in the beautiful airy Versailles restaurant, modelled after a Victorian train station in France, with the glass ceiling and open feel.














Taking a load off my feet on the balcony of the Versailles (the main hotel is in this building as well)

















That afternoon I had my pedicure, which was extra nice because I have a hard time reaching my toes anymore. Jeff sat there and chatted with me and the pedicurist (is that a word?) while he waited for his treatment. He had a men's luxury facial (and if he had known that included an upper body massage he would have been even more excited). "Mavis" was a tiny Indian woman who gave him a longer massage than she had to, and Jeff said he felt incredible afterward. After dinner at the Cafe Elan, we headed back to our room where they had prepared us a "Spa Journey package" which was rose petals strewn on the floor, tea lights, and rose-scented spa products for a hot bath. It was the perfect end to the day. And the best part was knowing we had a whole other day left...

spa journey
















my red toes













(Not pregnant, just had a good meal.)


















Next day we had breakfast in the little spa restaurant, Fleur de Lis, and then walked over to the winery. I wanted to steal some grapes from the arbors but Jeff wouldn't let me. :) We toured the winery and the gift shop, then had lunch again at Versailles. Our massages were that afternoon. I had a special pregnancy massage. It felt great and almost put me to sleep!
Dinner at Cafe Elan was delicious! I highly recommend the peach bread pudding with ice cream. My only regret was not being able to eat huge meals because the baby is taking up so much room!
Jeff and I really enjoyed our "Babymoon" and will remember it with fondness as we are spending sleepless nights with a newborn! :D Thank you to our dear friends who did this for us--you know who you are--and we appreciate your kindness so much.

12 comments:

Laura said...

Wow, Em. What a blessing! I want friends like that! :-) Seriously though, what a sweet thing to do-how generous. And it sounds wonderful! Maybe now Jeff can convince Will to do a couple's massage w/me someday. :-) And you look so cute pregnant-you actually look pregnant now-especially that pic in the bathroom. What a treat-rose-strewn petals-my dream.

So glad y'all had a wonderful time. Love you!

Nene said...

Oh, Emily!! How wonderful and exciting! I'm so glad y'all had such a relaxing time. You look adorable...love the red toes!! I wish I had been that cute at the end of my pregnancy :)

Erin said...

Not pregnant, just ate a big meal... HILARIOUS!

Sounds wonderful for you last pre-children fling!

rcsnickers said...

Wow is right! What great friends you have and the generosity they shared this gift with you! Where is this place? Just gorgeous! Glad you guys had a great relaxing time. I agree, you look cute for being this close to delivery! I saw no swelling. Are your hands still swollen?

Letisha

Emily said...

Yes, we have some pretty wonderful friends...we didn't deserve it, but God was good to us through them!!
Chateau is about a half hour from us, in Braselton, GA, so we didn't have to drive far.
Letisha: hands are okay, what is bothering me now is the wonderful hip/joint pain that some people have...turning over at night is pretty painful, and getting out of bed or out of the car. I've had it on and off since 6 mo. or so, but it's getting worse as the weight increases. Just a couple more weeks or so, though. :)

Elizabeth said...

What a wonderful treat! So glad you had a babymoon and finally posted a belly shot: you are still glowing! Let me know if you need some pregnancy stretches: I have a bunch of stuff from when I worked at Duke and would be happy to pass that along. The real cure would be taking the pressure off in Laura's new pool! Can we arrange that? Probably not...
Miss you, praying for you, Love you!

rcsnickers said...

oh how I wish we could all meet up at Laura's and relax in her new pool!!! :) Wouldn't that be fun?

Letisha

kittyrat234 said...

What a wonderful gift! I am so happy for you.

Do get as much rest and relaxation as you can. Chris and I are exhausted. Caring for the baby is way more intense than you ever expect it to be.

I am so, so glad that you had such a wonderful trip.

Elizabeth said...

Emmie,
By the way, I showed Abbie the pictures, which she loved, and we both thought the same thing about your toes: remember the toe pose? hehehe
Love yu

Anonymous said...

I'm so glad you enjoyed your special treat, Em! Thanks for taking pictures and posting about it so we could enjoy it through you.
I've got you at the top of my prayer list right now - I hope little Mr. Gray comes soon so I get to see him!

rcsnickers said...

Hey you are getting close to your due date and could possibly go past the due date, but what plans to have to keep us informed here??? Not sure if you are into blogging the whole birth while it is in the process to keep us birth junkies updated! I keep thinking oh I hope she post SOMETHING before she heads to Amy's to have the baby! Getting very excited for ya!!

Letisha

Emily said...

Alison, it means a lot to know that we're being prayed for...thank you. We did enjoy our babymoon a lot. I hope he arrives in time for you to meet him too!

Elizabeth: the knee-to-chest stretch helped a lot early on, but lately what seems to work best is just walking to get things moving. If you have any other stretches I'd love to know!

Julie, I'll try to take your advice and stay rested. Part of me keeps thinking "how hard can it be..." naive thinking, I know! Is everything going ok other than the lack of sleep?

I'll post something before we leave. I don't think we'll have internet once we get there but I'll post a birth story after.