Relationship Q&A and our stay at Surety Hotel
Blaine and I celebrated our 15 year anniversary of when we first met! We celebrated December 19th before we got married and still celebrate it! Anyone else celebrate the first day they met or first date with their spouse or just us? haha!
This year we celebrated by having a staycation! We stayed at the new SURETY HOTEL in downtown Des Moines which recently opened last month! The historic Midland Building transformed into this now beautiful boutique hotel. Amazing job Aparium Hotel Group and DLR Group!
The spaces include touches of Iowa such as artwork, coffee, decor, etc from local makers, but they are constantly working with local businesses which I love! They even have yoga classes, local musicians playing in the evening, and special events you can attend!
They did an amazing job preserving the historic features of the building!
This was a historic savings & loan building and you can tell they thought of every detail in the design. The green tile mimics “money” and the flooring “coins.” I already told Blaine we should have a green shower in the new house. He agreed!
Once we settled into our room, we headed back to the lobby. Jodi from Surety Hotel gave us a tour. Thank-you Jodi!
Afterwards, Blaine and I enjoyed some drinks while we waited for our dinner reservation.
We ate at the Mulberry Street Tavern which is inside the hotel. The food was delicious! I highly recommend! I loved everything we ate there from the hummus, Scotch Egg, shrimp cocktail, Mulberry Burger, Butcher’s Steak, Fried Snickers, and homemade ice cream.
Love this do not disturb tag made by FONTENELLE SUPPLY CO.
Thanks so much Surety Hotel for the stay and wonderful experience this beautiful hotel has to offer! WOW! We will for sure be back!
Love the goodie bag they left for us that included ALFAR POTTERY cappuccino cups, CURRENTLY CANDLES, and BLK & BOLD COFFEE which are local entrepreneurs! Thank-you!
For videos of our stay, check out my INSTAGRAM STORIES!
Blaine is sad that our staycation is over…haha!
Since we celebrated 15 years together, let’s do a RELATIONSHIP Q&A:
How long have you been together? 15 years together and 11.5 years married
How did you meet? We met at the OP on the hill in Cedar Falls. He was with his friends, and I was there with my friend who was dating one of his friends at the time.
Who made the move first? Blaine! He told my friend he liked me and he then asked to go back to his place for the after party. Later that night, he asked if I’d like to go on a date with him the following night.
What attracted you to the other person?
Cecilia: The only reason why I went out that Monday night was because my son, Dylan, who was 8 months old at the time was with his dad for the night. I guess Blaine knew I had a son because when he first started talking to me he started asking me about Dylan. I thought it was super sweet he mentioned Dylan in the convo.
Blaine: She is beautiful.
What did you do on your first date?
Cecilia: The night we met, Blaine asked if I would like to go on a date with him the following night. I told him Dylan was going to be with me, but that didn’t stop him. He came over and brought over Applebee’s takeout food. Dylan, Blaine, and I had dinner together, played with Dylan, and then watched a movie.
What do you love most about the other person?
Cecilia: Blaine is very selfless and serving. He thinks of others before himself and his family is always his number 1 priority.
Blaine: She is my better half. She is good at all the things I’m not. She completes me.
What’s the most annoying thing the other person does?
Cecilia: When it starts getting close to his bedtime (around 10pm), he starts to get super cranky. I usually end up saying “GO TO BED!”
Blaine: After I cook dinner, she doesn’t clean up until the next morning.
Who said “I love you” first? Cecilia!
Stay in or go out? Stay in and be boring…haha 🙂
What’s been your best memory in the 15 years together?
Growing our family and going on family vacations together.
Favorite trip with each other?
Cecilia: Whenever we go to Mexico it’s always a great time!
Blaine: Mexico!
Who says sorry first? Blaine!
3 things your partner can’t live without?
Cecilia: Blaine can’t live without coffee, soccer, and Iowa football.
Blaine: Cecilia can’t live without Starbucks, her twin sister, and her phone.
Advice to couples?
Relationships take compromise. You’re 2 different people so you’re going to disagree but learn to BOTH give and take. You can’t always be right. 😉 One can’t always be giving, and the other can’t always be taking. Grow together with healthy compromises so you have the best of both of your worlds. Your relationship should always be a priority even if you have kids. It’s easy to focus on just the kids, but we know our faith and our marriage is the foundation of our family. We don’t want that to crumble.
PS.. no relationship is perfect. 😉
The hotel stay & food was gifted, but all opinions are my own.
