Giving Experiences

This Groupon gift is for Andy and Maxwell! I handed them this box. (Maxwell was very excited about the balloons and what do you know, they went straight to his mouth!)

And here’s what they found inside of one balloon:

Getting the Groupon inside of the balloon is a cinch, just roll it up, and stick it inside of the balloon. Then blow up the balloon as you normally would.

I gave them their gift a little early, in fact I gave it to them the day before we were planning on leaving for Comfort, Texas! Surprise! Vacation! In November! I purchased the Camp Comfort getaway on Groupon. This place is freakin’ adorable. I’d call it rustic chic with great attention to detail. (And just to be clear, this post is sponsored by Groupon, not Camp Comfort!) Camp Comfort is Phil and Lisa’s dream concoction of bed and breakfast perfection! Check out this amazing headboard and quilt in our cabin (and really cute baby):

Lisa is not a designer by trade, she was a public school computer teacher for many years, and her husband, Phil, built log cabins in Texas for a living. Lisa proves a degree in design is not necessary when you have an eye for awesome! We stayed in cabin 5, here is the view inside from the front door. Phil built all of the furniture from reclaimed wood. How fun are those night stands? And that bench? And the blue ceiling?

So, the only thing I planned for the weekend was the cabin at Camp Comfort. I figured we’d just play it by ear and stroller ourselves here and there. Here’s what went down, and I couldn’t have planned it better myself!

Friday night: Arrived in Comfort about 6pm and decided to walk to town in search of food. We walked up and down High Street in about 11 minutes (it’s that small!) and Andy declared the most happening spot to be a place called The Meet Market! Both doors were swung wide open, and there was a guy serving up a pasta bar on Coleman camping stoves… perfect! We love pasta and Diane got up from a table to greet us and let us know that she and her husband own it and to make ourselves right at home. She was super nice to Maxwell and set a plate of cheese and crackers down on our table. We ate amazing pasta prepared by their friend, Mark, who apparently just cooks for everyone a few times a year. We paid $14 for our beer and wine (& he refused a tip). The pasta was free. Oh and she brought over a delicious caesar salad for us too. What the what? Where are we? Welcome to Comfort, TX.

We walked back to Camp Comfort and put Maxwell to bed, and then we sat right outside by the fire and roasted s’mores! Talk about a nice night. Oh and the Meet Market used to really be a meat market in Comfort, you know I love a good on play on words!

The fire pits in the courtyard are cozy and the fire wood is chopped and ready to go. Oh and Camp Comfort even has little s’more packages all wrapped up and prepared for your roasting delight! It’s the little things, you know?!

Saturday morning: We introduced Maxwell to bubbles! Camp Comfort has really awesome, deep bathtubs with air jets. Way fancier than our house. Maxwell was beyond impressed. So impressed that we could not get him to look at the camera! We ate a really yummy little breakfast in the social hall, and then Maxwell went down for his morning nap. We sat on our front porch and read books. Real books, y’all. It was delightful. Check out this view from our front porch, and yes, those are fall colors in Texas! You don’t see that very often in Austin for some reason.

Saturday afternoon: Maxwell woke up around noon, and we decided to take a stroll to town. We ate at High’s Cafe. The food was so yummy (we had this and this) that we actually came back for an afternoon snack (this soup)!  We browsed the cute antique shops and even bought Maxwell a book at the Elephant Polo store which we read at High’s Cafe on our 2nd trip back in one day!

One of my very favorite pictures from our trip was at snapped at Highs Cafe. I mean does it get any cuter?

Saturday night: We strolled back to Camp Comfort for Maxwell’s afternoon nap and Andy and I did some more front porch sitting. We even met our neighbors, chatted it up with Phil, and played with Mooch, Phil’s pup. We walked ourselves back to town and decided to try 814, A Texas Bistro. Fancier than we were thinking, but they welcomed us and our stroller with open arms. Another delicious meal. This tiny town of Comfort knows how to do food. We stopped back by the Meet Market to see our new friends and then headed back to Camp. Andy and I discussed building a cabin in Comfort on our walk back home. True.

Sunday morning: We hung out in the social hall, and ate another tasty breakfast of yogurt, granola, toast, juice, and the best blueberry muffins ever known to man. I forgot to mention that Camp Comfort used to be a bowling alley. And the social hall of the hotel was the old social hall for the bowling alley. Maxwell practiecd his standing, don’t worry I cropped Andy out of the picture, he was in an arms reach! He’s 8 months old, and getting very sturdy! (He actually took his first step on Thanksgiving!)

Check out this awesome chandelier in the social hall, I also love that all of the art work is original pieces of history blown up on canvas!

We stayed at Camp Comfort until the very last second, and then meandered our way back home to Austin through the hill country. We stopped for lunch at Alamo Spring Cafe, another tasty treat! Turns out, we really love Comfort, TX!

Do you ever give experiences over things? I love that idea! I want to give Camp Comfort to everyone I know! You never know what fun adventures lay behind a Groupon Getaway! For more fun ideas about how to give Groupons check out this free printable envelope and embroidered burlaps!