merry christmas, darling. — Vanessa in Boston.

One of my favorite things about my relationship with P, is that our anniversary lands perfectly between Thanksgiving and the holidays. Around this time we usually try to sneak away for a short getaway where we can be together and just enjoy each other's company. This year we decided to keep it local and planned a little staycation in Boston's Bay Back at The Taj...

only the fanciest of holiday staycation venues.

The hotel | The Taj Boston, formerly The Ritz Carlton, has been a landmark in Boston's Back Bay since 1927. It borders the iconic shopping district known as Newbury Street and just steps out the front door is the picturesque Boston Public Garden. From ceiling to floor, the hotel is decorated in luxe furnishings and decorations which would be expected by any hospitality service that houses a Tiffany & Co. jewelry store on-site. To put it simply, anyone with an affinity for crystal chandeliers will feel right at home.

Our room | P splurged a little bit and booked us a Junior suite room, complete with a king-size bed, marble bathroom, a separate living area with a wood-burning stove and 300-thread count sheets. We tend to be the type of vacationers who believe that your hotel is simply where you lay your head at night but on a chilly November day, we were grateful to have a beautiful space that we could enjoy, kick up our feet and be cozy. Also included were two 54-inch flatscreen TV's for our late-night ("Shark Tank" and tail-end of "Hook") viewing pleasure, 24-hour room service and L'Occitane bath products. I was also thankful for the adjustable backlit make-up mirror so I could get ready for dinner in a flash after we had checked in and fort he plush bathrobes that added an even greater sense of luxury in case we weren't already cozy enough!

Our dinner plans | Planning dinner was my responsibility and I just couldn't resist crossing off of my Boston dining bucket list. And so, a couple of hours after checking in, Pat and I got dressed up (no jeans!) and ventured up Boylston Street for dinner at Top of the Hub. Up until we reached Trinity Church, P still didn't know exactly where we were headed but I ultimately let him in on the surprise. I had made our reservation on OpenTable and we were seated upon arrival which was about fifteen minutes ahead of our scheduled reservation. We enjoyed a few cocktails (the Oak Punch for him and the Cranberry Mule for me) and ordered Brussles Sprouts with bacon to snack on before our meals of lobster ravioli and Portuguese Chicken arrived. We skipped dessert after filling up on our meals (and the view) but it was so festive a sparkly to be fifty-two floors up on top of the entire city of Boston.

Our stay | Following our delicious dinner, we head back to the hotel to pace ourselves and experience the bar in the hotel lobby. One of my favorite parts about visiting a hotel is checking out the hotel bar menu and reading up on a hotel's signature cocktails, and The Taj serves up quite a strong selection. Paired with Christmas songs playing at the perfect volume and a bowl of assorted nuts, P and I warmed up from our walk back from dinner in a very festive way before calling it a night.

oh! and we checked out Eataly Boston + I literally hit the check-out line with a charcoal lemonade from Juice Served Here.

Our adventures | The following day, P and I slept in a bit and then headed to lunch at our guilty pleasure spot after checking out. We love Fire + Ice because it allows you to create a dish using your favorite ingredients and flavors and the music is always great! Plus it helps that it's all-you-can-eat so you can experiment with different combinations and also try something new.

consider this our official 2017 holiday card.

Other things to do | If you're planning on staying at The Taj or another hotel in the area, additional things to explore include: checking out Boston Public Market (the apple cider donuts will melt in your mouth), grabbing a hot chocolate at Caffe Nero, walking through Downtown Crossing's holiday displays, visiting Boston's historic Chinatown and taking your own photos of a festive Charles Street.