I love being productive on my weekends, but sometimes I don’t feel refreshed, relaxed or ready to go for the work week if I have been really busy traveling, running errands, or doing home projects all weekend. When Will was on his surgery rotations his schedule was packed with hospital time, and not much time outside of the hospital. He typically had to work 6 days a week, which made weekend trips difficult throughout the summer. Instead of trying to squeeze in a day trip during the rare weekend days he had off, we decided to embrace the time we had at home and in our town and have mini staycations. Below are our tips to a great staycation!
Sleep in and spend a relaxing morning in bed.
One of the best parts of the days was the intentionally relaxed morning. I love curling up under fresh white sheets and a puffy duvet and drinking my morning tea in bed while browsing my favorite blogs or flipping through a good magazine. I picked out a new upholstered headboard for our bedroom this summer and have loved being able to make the bed and have the neutral background against our white bedding. The morning light that streams into our bedroom windows makes everything look so peaceful and is one of my favorite parts about staying in bed a little longer on those mornings. If we are both awake, I will bring up Will’s coffee or make a special tea latte to really enjoy the staycation and slowly sip our hot caffeinated drinks together.
Check out the local offerings.
After a leisurely morning in bed, we head to the farmers’ market. We live near our local farmers’ market and try to walk there whenever we get the chance. On a regular weekend we walk around the market and mostly look at the beautiful fruits, veggies, flowers and fresh breads. One of our favorite vendors currently has tempting sweet potato and maple doughnuts that are hard to resist, and since it was a staycation we decided to give in ;)
Explore the area.
We love how walkable Carrboro and Chapel Hill are. We love taking long walks and stopping to pick blackberries, grab a refreshing drink, or take in the gorgeous historical homes and campus. Going on a long walk to explore the area is something we don’t always have time to do during the week or when Will has to work and study on the weekends, so we relish when we have time to walk around together and talk about anything and everything. With no set schedule, our staycation was the perfect time to do this!
Revive at a local coffee shop.
We have so many local coffee shops in our area that are really cute and offer delicious drinks. I love trying earl grey tea lattes and enjoying the bustling atmosphere that a college-town coffee shop provides. Some of our favorites are within walking distance of our home, and others are a drive away, but definitely worth it. If you are looking for a great local coffee shop, we love Sola in Raleigh, Parker and Otis in Durham (not really a coffee shop, but they have a coffee bar), Café Driade in Chapel Hill, and Johnny’s in Carrboro.
Enjoy a dinner out or cook a nice meal at home.
We don’t eat out much on our own, but we have loved trying new restaurants in the area with friends and family. The Triangle is filled with great restaurants, and there are so many we still want to try, and a staycation seems like the perfect time to do so. If we don’t feel up to going out to eat, we also love to cook together at home, and slow, relaxing days provide the time to make more elaborate meals than our regular weekday staples.
Watch a movie.
Will and I don’t watch much tv, but we really enjoy our Netflix shows and love when we can find a good movie to watch on a free weekend night. Sometimes we end up watching 3 or 4 episodes of our favorite shows instead of a movie, but we enjoy it just as much! I’m not sure where we got it, but we have a Whirly Pop, and it is a much more fun way to make popcorn for our movie nights than the microwave bags.
Pamper.
I sometimes have to put painting my nails on my goals list for the month because I never get around to it when I have other projects and priorities on my list. Staycations are the best time for a bubble bath, a warmly scented candle, a clay mask and some nail painting.
Head back to bed.
After a fun and relaxing day, it is so nice to get back into soft, cool sheets and cozy covers. These Crane & Canopy scalloped embroidered sheets are so beautiful and the light blue and white combination is so calming (and a great shade of Carolina blue to boot ;) ). The scalloping looks beautiful paired with the Peninsula duvet cover, shams and throw pillows, and the blue fans throw pillow. I always keep a blanket at the bottom of our bed, and the merino throws, knotted throws and herringbone throws would be so soft. A lovely, fluffy bed is the perfect end to a great staycation.
Items in collage clockwise from top left: scalloped sheet set, penninsula soft white duvet cover and shams, cream knotted throw, blue and white ikat diamonds throw pillow, peninsula soft white throw pillow, blue fans throw pillow
This post was created in partnership with Crane & Canopy. All opinions are my own.
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