My anniversary surprise

Hubs surprised me. Well, sort of. He told me that last Sunday (11/30/08) we were going to be spending the night somewhere and to pack a bag. Yay! But wait, what about our dogs?! He said he arranged for someone to take care of them. Hmmm...if you know me, you know my dogs are my children, and I don't trust just anyone to watch them. Especially old girl Sammi. She's 14+ years old, almost completely deaf and almost blind. I worry so much about something happening to her, especially when we aren't around. Not to worry, it was taken care of....

Hubs ended up telling me where we were going. He surprised me with a night at this very funky, eclectic hotel in Dallas called
Hotel Belmont. It's a fun place that was originally built in the 1940s. It was recently renovated in 2005 and has such a cool, funky vibe! Their motto is "modern luxury, local flavor and mid-century swank." While it still has it's retro charm, it also has modern details. And best of all, our room had a fantastic view of the Dallas skyline, both during the day and at night.

The sitting room. It had views of the skyline as well as some of the gardens below. I can imagine that in the summer the flowers are overflowing.





The bedroom was so lovely. Very simple, but very cozy. The bed was comfortable, and I don't know what they used for laundering the sheets, but they smelled so good.



A garden tub for two. Or four. Seriously, you could fit an entire family in there.



Some of the beautiful views.









We decided to stay at the hotel and eat at their restaurant. They really are into mood lighting. I totally had to lighten the picture up just so you could see us. ;)



We went to the lounge/bar area before dinner and then after. They feature artwork from local artists. Loved that.

Views from the bar patio.





Now, I know you can't see *us*, but you can see the skyline, and that's much nicer to look at. ;)





Roses were blooming and rosemary was going wild outside our door. In freezing weather. And they were gorgeous. I don't know how they were surviving!



The next day started off cloudy, but it did end up getting sunny when we left for breakfast. We went to Allgood Cafe in Deep Ellum. It was all good. And super yummy. Great pancakes.



The gardens were gorgeous. I wished I'd gotten photos, but since it's winter, they probably wouldn't be as nice as the ones on their website. The pool was fantastic. If you were in the pool, then you'd have an "infinity pool" view of the skyline. Awesome.

I loved this place. It was totally my style...I loved that it was a one-of-a-kind place, and not a chain like the Westin or Hyatt, etc. I loved the funky, eclectic style. I grew up in Austin, so that's probably why. :)

It was a fantastic night. And I only sent my neighbor one message asking about the dogs. :)