jillivictorio@gmail.com /

A few weeks ago John and I celebrated our 12 year wedding anniversary in our garden. It was a change of scenery compared to our anniversary celebrations in the past where we’ve usually travelled somewhere or made dinner reservations out at a special restaurant – (Darn you Covid!). But it was a beautiful night nonetheless and just as special celebrating at home. We enjoyed a delicious meal John cooked – one of our favorite dishes, Rack of Lamb with Risotto. He’s perfected his recipe over the years and I always look forward to him cooking it for us!

A CASUAL SUMMER TABLESCAPE

To create an elegant and effortless table, I set out a white linen tablecloth, white linen napkins, and cotton placemats.  I put out yellow dahlias I picked from the garden with pink anniversary peonies from John in a ceramic vase for a relaxed, summery look. Tapered gold candlesticks completed the table.

FLOWERS

I clipped these gorgeous dahlias from my garden that morning and mixed them with these lovely pink peonies John gave me. Photos don’t do justice for how these flowers pair so well together for a stunning bouquet. Peonies were our wedding flowers 12 years ago, so I love that I get to enjoy these special flowers every year during this season.

SUMMER DRESS

Since Covid started and with businesses being closed, we hadn’t had a reason to get dressed up and go out, but we liked the idea of getting dressed up for a special dinner at home to celebrate our anniversary. I wore a dress by Callahan in Rust. I wanted to wear something comfortable, still dressy and look romantic and this wrap style dress fit the occasion. For shoes, I wore my favorite white Sam Edelman block heel sandals.

Although we do miss dining out at restaurants, making our everyday surroundings at home elevated with little touches is just as special.

Happy Anniversary John! I love doing life with you. Hopefully we’ll get to travel again and celebrate somewhere afar next year.

June 21, 2008; San Juan Island WA

jillivictorio@gmail.com /

  1. Traditions & Something New

Peonies (our wedding flower) on every anniversary, June 21

For our ten year anniversary, we renewed our vows in Hawaii and took professional photos. A year later on our eleventh anniversary, John and I woke up excitedly that we didn’t have to work this day as we both took the day off, and beautiful peonies (our wedding flower) greeted me on the breakfast table. I also got a text from our contractor that he was on his way to our home to start demo on our kitchen that morning – exciting times! (More to come on our new reno project). John and I exchanged the traditional wedding gifts. We usually have an idea of what we’re getting each other, but it’s still fun choosing and shopping for the gift. The traditional gift for an 11th wedding anniversary is Steel. We knew exactly what we wanted to gift each other as it is also something we’ve needed for the house and that we’d get a ton of use out of. I’ve wanted these steel Yeti wine tumblers for quite sometime to use at the pool, or while traveling/camping. Yeti makes really great high quality ones so I got John a black steel wine tumbler and he got me the pink steel wine tumbler. Cheers!

 

2. Anniversary Trip

We finally broke away from the kids for an overnight trip to San Antonio to stay at one of my bucket list hotels, the Hotel Emma.  John and I don’t get many date nights so it was nice to be out without kids for once. If we really wanted to, we could ask my dad to watch the kids and make date night a priority, but because he already watches Baron during the day, Monday to Friday, which is a huge help to us, we don’t want to take advantage of his time and we respect his time. But for  special occasions such as John’s and my wedding anniversary, we do make special arrangements in advance for childcare and we are so grateful for the extra time for John and myself.  I assume this may be a challenge with balance that many married couples with children face and understand that we could improve on this area in the following year. More on this later.

So today I want to recap our 11th wedding anniversary.

First things first- we NEED talk about this hotel. We first discovered Hotel Emma last winter on our first visit to San Antonio. We didn’t stay at the hotel, but we dined and drank around the Pearl, and toured the property and grounds. I just knew John and I would have to come back for a weekend getaway without the kids. As our 11th anniversary was approaching, we booked the last River Terrace room! It really might be the most gorgeous hotel we’ve ever had the pleasure of patronizing. You step onto the grounds and you feel as if you’ve been transported to Europe. Just look at this place-

Lobby

 

Lobby

Lobby

For starters, the attentive staff welcomes you with their signature cocktail La Babia, in their amazing library. For any fellow bibiophiles, this library needs to be on your bucket list asap.

Hotel Emma Library

The rooms are gorgeous. We opted for the River Terrace Room because this balcony!  The hotel was definitely a splurge but we don’t go out as often and we love treating ourselves on our anniversary so we went for it. Man was it the right decision. We’ve never felt to utterly spoiled at a hotel. This terrace was my favorite feature as it was our own private little sanctuary to enjoy a glass of wine, or morning coffee with a cozy fire and overlooking the river.

So in love with the bathroom design – vintage mixed with industrial and old world charm and all. the. brass. accents.

To our delight, a beautiful plate of chocolate covered strawberries that John had arranged was on our table upon arriving to our room. A surprise bottle of champagne in a bucket of ice and a handwritten note was left by the Culinary Concierge.

We headed up to the rooftop pool to check out the views before getting ready for dinner.

Outfit Details:  Jumpsuit: A New Day |  Sandals: Teva

We eventually pried ourselves away from the hotel and headed out to dinner and explored the Pearl District. The hotel shuttle will take you downtown but since our dinner reservation was so close to our hotel, we wanted to walk to dinner and enjoy the sights around the Pearl on this beautiful first day of summer.

Coincidentally, J-Lo was also leaving the hotel lobby at the same time as she was headed out to her concert that night. I don’t usually get starstruck, but I thought it was cool that even a-list celebs love the Hotel Emma.


For dinner we enjoyed a beautiful dinner at Cured, just a few minutes walk from the hotel.  We’ve always enjoyed going to out special restaurants in Seattle and the Eastside for our anniversary dinners, and we were looking for a comparable experience in San Antonio. We believe we found just the spot at Cured. At first glance, the building reminded me of one of John’s and my old favorite date night restaurants in Madison Park, Madison Park Conservatory (RIP) with its cozy atmosphere, reclaimed and exposed wood and brick interiors.

Cured specializes in charcuterie boards and house-cured meats. Overall food was delicious, ambiance was beautiful with warm exposed brick, ornate details and elevated updates throughout the interior in a historical atmosphere. The building used to be the Pearl’s Administration Building built in 1904 and has been lovingly restored. As you enter the building, a large charcuterie case shows off hanging meat in the dining room; it’s stocked with options like smoked vealwurst, smoked duck ham, and jalapeño sausages.

I loved everything we ordered, but favorite dish was the Beet, Avocado and Citrus Salad.  The flavors and textures just remind of the delicious farm to table foods we enjoyed in the PNW.

Aged pork belly, bresaola, smoked double barrel cheddar, pink lemonade jam

 

Avocado, Beet & Citrus Salad

 

Wagyu Beef Short Ribs

After dinner we ended the night with a gorgeous stroll at sunset along the famed San Antonio River Walk, followed by more champagne, macarons and turndown service.

River Walk

Outfit Details | Crop Knit Top: Zara similar here | Blazer: Wild Fable | Shorts: Prologue |  Sandals: Sam Edleman, similar here

 

When we returned back to our room, THESE were waiting for us. At Hotel Emma, turn down service comes with macarons. Every. Night. Winning.

Turn Down Service with Macarons!

We made ourselves right at home lounging in these amazing lightweight cotton Guyarobes by Dos Carolinas made exclusively for Hotel Emma.

 

In the morning, you can ring downstairs and hot, freshly brewed coffee magically appears in your room, or you can head down to the Library and enjoy the same freshly brewed Merit Coffee at the coffee cart with an assortment of continental breakfast pastries.

We opted to do both because the library is just so fabulous – had one cup of coffee there and brought more coffee up to our room to enjoy on our terrace.

I find that the best time for truly experiencing architecture during travel and resort amenities is very early in the morning before the crowds come down or arrive. Since becoming a mother I’ve been an early riser and just can’t sleep in. I am a morning person and love quiet mornings exploring hotel grounds without any distractions. The stunning Southerleigh is a hidden gem tucked in the Hotel Emma. Truly a treat for the senses, we got to admire all the rich architectural and design elements that went into this building and had the place pretty much to ourselves.

Pearl Farmers Market

I’m so glad we made plans to visit the Pearl Farmers Market. This has got to be one of my favorite farmers markets I’ve been and we’ve been to a lot!  The Pearl Farmers Market is held every Saturdays and set up along the beautiful outdoor space through the Pearl grounds, which is also just outside the hotel, hosting local produce, meat & cheese producers, fresh flowers, fresh baked goods, live music & cooking demos. It is also very family-friendly with a splash pad for kids in the middle of the plaza. This is the perfect spot to grab breakfast or lunch and a bistro table while the kids splash or run around the park.

Outfit Details | Dress: A New Day |  Sandals: Teva

 

Before checking out of our hotel, we had to stop by the gift shop to pick up a bottle of the most wonderful scent we experienced throughout the hotel during our stay – Milagros by Soular Therapy designed and produced this exquisite room fragrance exclusively for Hotel Emma. The spring and summer aromas of amber, sandalwood, oakmoss, and citrus greeted and followed us throughout the property and we wanted to experience the same aromas at home. I never knew ‘scent marketing’ was a thing but I’m now a believer!

Scent Marketing definition by Air Aroma: By using scent, brands are able to connect with consumers on a deeper emotional level, resulting in a more memorable experience. Scent can attract new customers, increase sales, heighten value perception, and expand brand recognition and customer satisfaction.

 

After a weekend of being wooed by Hotel Emma and her gorgeous architecture, attentive staff, macarons, champagne, and coffee, we were refreshed and ready to go home to see our kids and how the demo was coming along. Besides, isn’t that one of the best things about getting away? At the end, as much as we love a luxurious getaway, we’re ready to go home. And we’re reminded of how special home is and how much we love being at home with our little family.

3. Notes on 11 years of marriage

Over the years, each person learns that marriage isn’t all about spending every waking moment together, it’s more about discovering our individual dreams, talents and challenges and growing together and as one as lovers, best friends, partners, and companions. As a family.

Marriage is a time of constant learning and adjusting. It’s the time of endless self-discovery and growth. The journey continues, but every year there is something new. That, is my reality of our marriage in the 11th year.

What does your marriage look like today?