Happy Sunday Friends! Hope you’re having a wonderful Mother’s Day, with your mom, your children, or someone you love.❤️

I am super grateful for these women right here!

The Hoch and I are taking it easy this weekend. We actually have a lot of trips coming up so we decided we’d hang around San Antonio for the next few weekends. We actually just celebrated our 6th Anniversary (I cannot believe it’s been 6 years!) with a staycation.

I’ve been housesitting for the past couple of weeks so we took advantage of it and acted like it was a vacation in a new city. 🙂 We explored an area in downtown San Antonio known as Southtown. It’s a really cute area with some great restaurants and nightlife. It’s also right by the Riverwalk so we’ve gone running and walking along the various areas as well.

Some of our Southtown Highlights…

Bliss Restaurant: We ate there for our anniversary dinner and it was amazing! Some great food…we ate the bone morrow appetizer (sounds weird, but oh so good!), enjoyed a bottle of red wine, and somehow had room for 2 desserts. 🙈

The Friendly Spot: A funky outdoor bar with a playground area for kids, several bars and projection screens, and colorful seating everywhere.

Francis Bogside: A fun Irish pub (can’t go wrong with those!).

Blue Star Brewing Company: San Antonio’s first brewpub right by the Riverwalk with a nice patio and fun vibe.

Halcyon Coffee Bar: In the same complex as Blue Star Brewing Company, a fun cafe to work, enjoy a coffee, and just chill.

I know most of my posts are usually travel rated, but this goes to show you don’t have to travel far to do something new and exciting. I think it’s easy to put off doing those touristy things in your city because you know you can do them at any time. I am definitely guilty of that, especially when I lived in NY/NJ. But it really is fun to explore your own city and gives you a new perspective as well.

So here are some tips for you to play tourist in your own hometown!

• Come up with some kind of plan, as if you’re actually in a new city with limited time. What do you want to do? Where do you want to eat? Look up things to do on TripAdvisor and Yelp to see if there is something really cool you never even knew about!
• Stay in an Airbnb in a different area of your city. Even if just for a night, actually packing your things and staying somewhere new gives you that whole “on vacay vibe”.
• If Airbnb isn’t an option, look into house sitting (which is awesome since you could actually be getting paid while you vacay 😉 ) or even swap homes with a friend who would be down.
• Visit a museum or go on one of those city tours if you really want to get all touristy with it.
• Take advantage of Groupon, LivingSocial, and similar sites for discounted prices to restaurants, spas, museums etc. It will also give you ideas of things you can do that you may have not thought of otherwise.
• If cities aren’t your thing, don’t forget about camping and hiking. The Hoch and I will do that just for a night to get away and it’s always a great refresher.
• Staycations are all about relaxing and tho it may not be as appealing, stay home for one! You can take advantage of in-home massages, food delivery, and who knows what else thanks to the internet and smartphone apps.
• Before starting your Staycation, treat yourself and have your home cleaned beforehand. Buy some pretty flowers to change the mood. Maybe even buy a new mug or “souvenir” while you’re at it.
• For me, food is a large part of vacationing, so whether you have your meals delivered home, go out to eat, or decide to cook an indulgent meal, have a lot of fun with it! Try something new, add in a fun cocktail, mix it up!
• Lastly, limit time spent on your phone/laptop/tv etc. Take lots of photos and act like you’re for real on vacation!!!

Hope you enjoy these tips! And again, Happy Mother’s Day!

Kimberly