Our Staycation in Review

In my post, Anniversary on a Budget, I shared how me and the Mr. were going to have a staycation versus a vacation for our 4 year wedding anniversary since we are really trying to pay down our debts. Read post here about our crazy goal to be Debt Free by May 2018. Our Staycation is officially over and I have to say that it was surprisingly amazing. I had the best time hanging out with my hubby. We felt like newlyweds on our honeymoon all over again. Although we were at home it didn't feel like it since we didn't have to work. We usually are out of the house by 8:30am or 9am (we work in entertainment so don't judge us by the late time) and we don't get home until after 7:30pm or 8pm most days. It was so refreshing to sleep in and not have to be anywhere right away. We stayed up late too. We both are night owls so it works for us but it was nice to just not have to be anywhere. I shared a few posts of what we did during our staycation and linked them under the specific days before if you care to read. With that said I'm not going to recap the activities really just what we spent and where we spent it. As usually most of our money was on food.

Here's how much we spent?

• Day 1 - $15.75
• 2 Metro Tickets - Roundtrip - $7 
• Distant Worlds Concert - LA Live (I'm not counting the concert tickets since they were purchased months ago but if you must know it was approximately $220.) - $8.75 - We bought drinks (Bottled Water and a Sprite)

• Day 2 - $45.51
• Dinner at Chick-fil-a $20.01
• Movie - Jurassic World $25.50

• Day 3 - $64.17
• Beach Day
• $12 for parking
• $4 for bottled water 
• Dinner at True Food Kitchen - $48.17 (The first and the last time we will be having dinner there.)

• Day 4 - $15.50
• Desserts from Buttercelli- $15.50 (So Yummy. Vegan and Gluten Free too!)

• Day 5 - $0

• Day 6 -$0

Our Grand Total = $140.93 or $35.23 for each year we've been married...lol.

I'm so surprised that we kept it under $200. That's good for us. I will definitely do another staycation, it was so worth it and stress free. We had a blast and feel like we really celebrated our love. I'm grateful for all the well wishes. I love this man and our love and can't wait to see what the future holds. Alright so the secret is out, this is what we spent on our staycation. Leave me a comment and let me know if you think this is reasonable. I'd love to hear from you and any tips you might have to help us save on future staycations and as always thanks for reading!

Day 4 of Our Staycation

Day 4 of our Staycation was a little bit back to the usual but in a good way. We did get to sleep in until about 9:30 am. Both of us were really tired from the beach yesterday. I think being out in sun all day zapped our energy. Well we both got up and lazed about the house all morning then we got dressed and headed to our first destination, my company picnic. We had a blast (not sure why but I like this word a lot but you probably noticed that already). I love my company so much. I work for a large entertainment company and this year is a huge milestone anniversary so they went over and above with the decorations, food, drinks, snacks, prizes, door prizes, games and entertainment. I would share pictures but I sort of want to keep that part of my life private which is the reason I'm not sharing the name but if you friend me on social media you'll find out easily. 

Then after the picnic we decided to go "thrift-ing" or "antique-ing" as I like to call it. My husband really enjoys video games. Okay that's an understatement he absolutely loves them and recently he's been asking if we could go to garage sales, GoodWill or other thrift stores to find old Nintendo game consoles and games. It was so cute. He was so excited about finding a particular system that he wanted to go look for a garage sale on a weekday in the afternoon in our neighborhood. I'm like, "Honey slow down it's probably best if we wait for the weekend. Plus who has a garage sale on a weekday in the afternoon?". Yup that's my hubby but I love him.

We spent most of our afternoon looking for old games. We went to 2 GoodWill stores, a thrift outlet and a local video game shop called Game Dude. Although we didn't find anything we had so much fun just looking at all the random stuff that ends up at the GoodWill and thrift stores. It's amazing what people will give away these days. We also found some really cool retro games at Game Dude that brought back old memories. If you're a game lover and live in the LA area you should check out Game Dude they have new and used games and game systems. They have everything. 

Then we were bad stopped by our favorite bakery, Buttercelli, that has delicious gluten free and vegan items. I'm actually about to indulge in my vegan vanilla cupcake right after this post goes up and my hubby will be enjoying his cranberry loaf cake. Yum! (Don't knock it until you try it.) Now we're home about to snuggle up and watch a movie. I will say that I sort of feel like I had another honeymoon. The last few days have been so peaceful, relaxing and romantic. We both feel refreshed and really happy. Man love is so awesome. Alright I'll save you guys from the mush today. Let me know in the comments if you guys want to see a post where I breakdown how much this staycation cost in total. We did spend some money but not nearly as much as we would have if we went to Santa Barbara like we were originally planning to do. Thanks so much for all your support on my journey to be debt free by May 2018 and as always thanks for reading!

Day 3 of Our Staycation

Today we were beach bums. We slept in, 7:45 am for me (my sleep schedule has been off so don't judge me) and 9:45 am for him. We've both been wanting to go to the beach for a while and today we made it happen. We went to Leo Carrillo beach in Malibu. We love this beach. Although this was only our second time going to this beach, it's going to be hard to get us to go to any other beach.

The first time we visited Leo Carrillo was a couple years ago with a group of a friends from our church for a camping trip. We had a great time there, it was very relaxing. It was our first time camping with tents and sleeping bags out in nature and so close to the beach and we enjoyed ourselves. I think the beach by far was the highlight of that trip. Leo Carrillo is not like the other beaches in the area, where it can get pretty crowded. Leo Carrillo is peaceful and laid back. There are tide pools close to shore with Mussels. As well as tons of huge cliffs you can climb to get a better view of the coastline. And the best part is that it's quiet and not crowded. The first time we went we both fell asleep on the beach. It was so nice and refreshing. Granted we've only been on weekdays so not sure if it has the same vibe on a weekend or holiday. I'd like to think so as not to ruin my perception.

As I played in the water my hubby took pictures of me like the paparazzi. (That's me on the right) The water was absolutely freezing but after awhile I got used to it. I felt like a kid again, running through those waves and giggling uncontrollably. It was a game of tag and I wasn't it. I was doing my best not to get tagged by the waves. Jumping and hopping over each wave as it crashed on the sand. The waves surrounded me on each side. Overtaking me at times. Only once was I caught off guard but in my defense my back was to the water. 
After the water became unbearably cold I went back to our spot on the sand and dried off while my hubby climbed the rocks to get a better view of the beach and take more photos. Then I became his paparazzi. (That's him on the left on top of the rocks.) Today was such a beautiful day. The sky was so blue and the water a teal green. The sand was powdery as if it had been finely sifted. The air was thick and moist and the sun hung high. There was a cool breeze that moved my hair perfectly as my husband snapped pictures. All in all it was a great day. We both needed a recharge and these few days have been just that. For me it's been a bigger reminder to make time to rest. I work and I play hard but I don't really rest as much as I should. Resting is so important. Taking time to regain focus and set a priority and remove unnecessary stress mentally. Rest does that for me. It reminds me what's important in life so when I'm in the fire I can remember my values, I can take my time to respond, be present and walk in purpose. Okay that was really random and deep. I guess just something to chew on for the moment. I know I skipped a day detailing our Staycation. I may write a blog post on it later. Well I hope you enjoyed this post, leave me a comment below with your favorite spot by the water. I'd love to hear from you and as always thanks for reading!

Day 1 of Our Staycation

I'm happy to report that we only have one event planned for today and that is the concert. We've done nothing but lounge around the house all day. I can't remember the last time I didn't have anything to do. Today has felt so relaxing and freeing. For me it's a reminder of where I'm heading in my life. I'm doing my best to build up my career so I can have the freedom to make my own schedule. One day soon. Anywho, so the concert we are attending tonight is called Distant Worlds. It's music from the popular game and franchise, Final Fantasy. My husband is a huge fan and is super excited for tonight. This is a late birthday gift and early anniversary celebration. New experiences are always exciting for me. I have no expectations but feel content I will get some good people watching time in. I love to people watch. I know this is so random but I really do love it. I make up stories about the people I see. What they are doing here and why. How long they have been here, etc, etc. Especially since the concert happens downtown during E3 and we're taking the train to avoid traffic. Tonight should be quite interesting. Well that's it for today I'm going to go back to doing nothing but wanted to give you just a little update. I hope you are enjoying your hump day where ever you are and as always thanks for reading.