Stay-cationing

Pasea Hotel in Huntington Beach holds a special place in mine & Weston's love story. We had our first date at Tanner's Treetop ("for just a drink" as he phrased it), celebrated out first year's anniversary weekend there, had our parent "meet and greet" over dinner, AND most importantly he proposed to me in the relaxation garden at Aarna Spa; naturally we couldn't imagine celebrating our second anniversary anywhere else!

As soon as you step foot onto the property the hospitality staff makes you instantly feel like you are a part of their Pasea family. They cannot seem do enough to enhance your stay. We were blessed to get a room on the 8th floor overlooking the Huntington Beach Pier & stunning pool. But in all honesty there isn't a bad view in the entire hotel.

Couples massage room

We started our stay-cation with a 100 minute couples massage at Pasea's Aarna Spa which is a worthwhile upgrade from the 60 minute option one we selected last year. It's everything that a 60 minute massage entails... plus a foot scrub and aromatic touches that will leave you feeling new again. Arna left us relaxed and ready to enjoy the rest of what Pasea has to offer. The spa recently added a one of a kind, gorgeous salt rock wall installation in their relaxation room. Definitely a must see after your treatment, with a little glass of champagne or water, to rehydrate after the massages... of course.

This last year with COVID shutdowns, we all could use a little refresher of the normal life... and for us specifically, left us yearning for live music and concerts. In a fun way to bring this back to the guests, the property created an experience on the roof of the lobby for local musicians, bands and soloists to perform towards the overarching balconies and allow for a 'socially distance' experience from the comfort of their guest suite.

We LOVED this!! In fact, we coined the new nickname "Sip & Sounds" because we enjoyed some champagne while taking in the concert vibes.... and you can totally "sip with us."

Protip: Bring a cooler with wine, cheese, snacks, waters, margaritas or whatever you want to sip and enjoy the concert with a drink in-hand.

Need dinner plans? Pacific Hideaway is a new rooftop patio in Huntington Beach, adjacent to Main Street that we made reservations for. Being nearby downtown we could easily walk to-and-from dinner which saved money on Ubers. "Tucked above the Fray" located above the Kimpton Shorebreak Hotel, Pacific Hideaway boasts coastal cuisine mixed with impeccable cocktails. We opted for the turmeric roasted cauliflower which was super flavorful and a great way to start the evening. For our entrees, we were both craving that California cuisine with, you guessed it, tacos! They definitely gave us something to taco-bout.

Each plate came with 2 large tacos, so we did a mix and match with the blackened mahi mahi and the braised beef tacos. We found it was the perfect amount of food where you didn't walk out with feeling incredibly full.

Pacific Hideaway

We ended our evening with a nightcap at Tanner's Rooftop Lounge where Weston & I had our first date. We revisit this place every year and love our little tradition. Our anniversary falls the week before Valentine's Day, so Tanner's was offering love inspired cocktails for us to try out. Both of our cocktails were phenomenal: I ordered the Desert Bloom (tequila cocktail like a margarita) and he ordered the Date Night (warm Irish whiskey drink). See them pictured below

Coffee is an integral part of our morning routine, so vacation is no different. Blend Cafe is conveniently located in the hotel lobby. We grabbed a cup and lazily drifted through Pacific City (open air shopping), down to Main Street through the local surf shops and eventually grabbed some breakfast burritos at Sessions. It's a cute little brunch, lunch & coffee shop.

Pasea's pool is a great spot to hang for the day, with a live DJ on Saturdays spinning from the Tanner's Rooftop deck. There are plenty of lounge chairs to soak up some rays while taking in the beach views. They have a great jacuzzi in case the sun doesn't want to cooperate in February like it did last weekend. And if all else fails, order some yummy cocktails from the pool bar.

I made reservations for FarmHouse at Roger's Gardens about a month before our anniversary because of how popular and booked out it can get. We ate here last year during Dry January and instantly regretted it, because we eyed their fancy drinks all night. We had made a mental note to come back when it wasn't January. I previously wrote a blog on this night entitled Farmhouse 5 stars.

Needless to say, we were amped to be coming back to celebrate our 2nd anniversary. The menu looked scrumptious online, and we are very into the farm-to-table type restaurants. We started our night off with The 'Vaccine,' a gin-based cocktail, which were quite tasty. Honestly it went great with the way 2020 went and our high hopes that the actual vaccine will help us get back to normal for 2021.

Us with our Vaccines!

Brussel sprouts are one of our go-to's when we either dine out or cook at home. Needless to say, these brussel sprouts with cipollini onions were NOT what we thought. The fish sauce they were made in made them taste incredibly salty, and were barely palatable. Thank goodness we also ordered the french fried satsumaimo sweet potatoes with papaya mustard, because they were very tasty and the papaya mustard was a fun twist.

For our main dishes, Weston ordered the dijon & pistachio crusted cod, while I ordered the the grilled tuna sandwich sans a bun. Weston's was far tastier than mine with a balanced and mild flavor.

Protip: bring your own nice bottle of wine as the corkage fee is only $25

Cheers to the weekend & living life to the fullest! Have a glass of wine for me!

Love,

Slayplayrosé