If you follow me on Facebook or Instagram, then you know that we are very thankful for the six day staycation we are just finishing.

We decided to sell the spots we’d initially purchased for Yacht Week in the US Virgin Islands, in exchange for six quiet days at home in Brooklyn. At first, this decision shocked both of us, as we’d looked forward to sunshine, clear water and fun with friends. But, as we approached the holiday season, we both knew we needed time to relax, reconnect and rest versus a week of travel. Many of our friends and family have asked us before, during and now, following my posts on social media, what exactly we did during our staycation that made it so beneficial.  As I look back over the past few days, I think the reason we both benefited so much from the time was because we did exactly what we wanted to do, together. The only rule we made during the time is that we did things together versus getting together separately with friends or doing things that only interested one of us.

• We slept at least nine hours each night.  We set an alarm each day, just to ensure we didn’t sleep past any of our plans, but we actually woke up naturally each morning.
• We enjoyed a relaxing breakfast routine of coffee, fresh grapefruit, toast or yogurt and the New York Times. We rarely have the pleasure of reading the paper together while sipping coffee so doing this six days in a row was a nice change of pace.
• We watched all eight episodes of Making a Murderer on Netflix. No, we didn’t watch it in one day, instead we spread it across four days. If you liked Serial, then you’ll love this documentary/series.
• We saw two movies together: Joy and The Big Short. While you can probably imagine who chose each one, we both left the theater after each, having thoroughly enjoyed the movie and agreeing that we’d recommend it to others.
• We hosted a New Year’s Eve dinner party. Hosting five of our friends for New Year’s Eve provided us the perfect opportunity to see friends during the holiday. We’ve realized, more and more, that we enjoy hosting smaller parties, of 20 people or less, more than the larger parties we used to host. Everything just feels more manageable while also providing us with a small enough setting to truly talk and enjoy everyone’s company.
• We worked out each day. During the course of the six days we went for two runs, two spin classes, one gym session, and one hot power yoga class. It was the perfect way to kick start our bodies and get back on track after an indulgent few weeks.

• We spent a lot of time in the kitchen together. Since Bo is the stronger cook, it’s historically been easy to let him be the more dominant cook in the kitchen. But, over the past few days, we’ve had a great time balancing the kitchen tasks and partnering on meal planning and cooking. Including New Year’s Eve, we cooked four dinners together.
• We tried a new neighborhood restaurant. We’d heard great things about French Louie, so on the 29th we enjoyed a leisurely date night together. We took our time, first having a cocktail at their bar before being seated for our meal. We ordered four small plates and shared the dishes instead of going the traditional entree route. If you’re in Brooklyn, French Louie is a perfect spot for brunch or dinner and in the summer months they have an outdoor garden.
• We drove down to New Jersey for lunch with extended family. It’d been far too long since we had seen my aunt, uncle and cousin who live down in Mt. Laurel, New Jersey. We took advantage of the time off to hop in a rental car and make the 1.5 hour drive down for a holiday lunch. We scheduled this for the beginning of our staycation time since it meant leaving town. We also wanted to ensure that if there was traffic or bad weather, it wouldn’t ruin the mood of our staycation. Luckily we had no traffic and had such a great time with them that we’re already planning our next trip.
• We crossed a few things off our to-do list. While these few days could have easily been all about conquering our to-do list, that would have left us overwhelmed and exhausted. Instead we chose a few, small projects that we wanted to accomplish and focused on only those projects. Once those were done, we allowed ourselves to relax.
• We indulged in a couples massage. Bo has never loved massages but after feeling his tense shoulders the other night, I convinced him that a couples massage, enjoyed in the comfort of our home, would be a great way to end the staycation. If you’ve never tried Zeel, we highly recommend the in-home massage service after today’s wonderful experience. The two masseuse both arrived 15 minutes ahead of the appointment time so they could create an in-home spa like environment. If you want to give it a try, you can use this code (7uet)  for $25 off your 1st #Zeel Massage.

Hopefully, each of you will take at least 48-hours in the near future to invest in yourselves. Do the things that make you happy, try to disconnect a bit, turn off the alarm, and relax!