Birthday Staycation

To say we love birthdays is an understatement. We love a reason to celebrate - big or small. This past weekend was Jacqueline's birthday. To commemorate this occasion, we decided to live like tourists in beautiful downtown Halifax.

The Location
Before we married and had babies, we lived in downtown Halifax. Our condo was situated along the boardwalk and we seriously felt like the world was our oyster.  When we weren't working, we were dining out with friends, shopping in boutiques, fueling up on coffee from cute cafés,  listening to local musicians or watching local theatre. We travelled mostly on foot and we loved it. 

Our lives are different now, but for this weekend, we wanted to relive a bit of our downtown days. So, we rented an Airbnb in downtown Halifax to accommodate our families, packed up what seemed like the entire contents of our homes (our babies are small but they need so much stuff!), and set out on a birthday staycation!  

The sights
We arrived at our destination on Friday afternoon and did not get back in our cars until we left Sunday afternoon. We walked everywhere; pushing our strollers up Halifax's hills to get where we wanted to go (now that's a workout!).

On Saturday, after a delicious breakfast prepared by Jacqueline's husband in our kitchen, we kicked things off with some shopping. Biscuit General Store is one of our favourite shops. They carry unique fashion apparel as well as some quirky home goods, affordable jewellery and one-of-a-kind gift ideas.

Biscuit General Store

With shopping bags in hand, we headed to the Halifax Central Library. This space is a book and architectural lover's dream. (Side note: Lindsay's book, Winds of Change - The Life and Legacy of Calvin W. Ruck can be found here!) Although the library is filled with books, it also has a play area for toddlers, tablets and video games for older kids, a computer learning lab, public use computers,  coffee shops situated on two different floors, and lots more. The glass building also offers some amazing views of the city. We had so much exploring to do!

Halifax Central Library

Feeling peckish, we decided to go to Prince George Hotel for a few nibbles. We're so glad we did. The service was fantastic and the food was delicious. Our server even provided Jacqueline with hot water to warm up her baby's bottle and another staff member directed Lindsay to a conference room so she could breastfeed in private. The lounge is also very stroller accessible.

Prince George Hotel

On Sunday, after devouring the delicious breakfast prepared by Lindsay, we headed out to the Halifax Seaport Market. Saturday is the market's busiest day of the week and Sunday is much calmer - especially for little babies who may not be used to crowds. That being said, there are far less purveyors on Sunday.

Both babies fell asleep so we casually shopped for fresh veggies at Noggins Corner Farm Market, and sipped kombucha while they napped. We decided to have lunch and found a table on the top floor overlooking the vendors' stalls. There were even local musicians playing fiddles, which made for a quintessential East Coast Sunday afternoon.

Sòlas Kombucha

Other Perks
In addition to exploring all downtown Halifax has to offer, there were several other lovely perks.

Lindsay ordered a dozen cupcakes from layers cupcakes. These sugary treats are so, so good!

layers cakes

Jacqueline's mother-in-law sent Jacqueline a beautiful bouquet from The Flower Shop.

The Flower Shop

Jacqueline's husband treated us to caviar, dahling!

Acadian Sturgeon and Caviar Inc.

Chef Craig Flinn

The weekend was made complete by home cooked meals and quality family time. Oh, and our mom's blueberry cream cheese pie, aka Jacqueline's birthday "cake"!

Have you ever taken a staycation?