A couple weekends ago, right on the heels of wrapping up our One Room Challenge, the hubs and I had the incredible opportunity to take a staycation at newly openned Arrive Hotel in downtown Memphis. I absolutely love my home, but the chance to get away after 8 weeks of renovating, I couldn’t say “HELL YEAH” faste enough! We had an incredible stay and my only regret is that we didn’t book a second night! Here’s how it all went down.

We pulled up and valet took care of our parking, which was great because finding parking downtown in 30 degree weather is not fun. We checked in late in the evening, so the lobby was moody with low ambient lighting, but still bustling with people hanging out and having drinks at Bar Hustle. I told the hubs we absolutely had to come back for own cocktails to kick off the night.

We headed up to our room to put away our bags and was totally impressed by all the thoughtful details we passed by on our way up. We opened the door to our room and the designer in me was instantly excited! Graphic black and white tiles in the walk-in shower, subtle floral wallpaper accent wall, leather strapped wall-hung headboard. There wasn’t a detail over-looked! After drooling over the decor and dropping our bags, we got ready and head back down to the bar.

Bar Hustle has perfected the neighborhood bar for the 2019 millennial feel. Perfectly curated and eclectic lounge seating combined with an bespoke cocktail menu and a wait staff that looks as if they should be having the drinks, not serving them! I went with the Bird Graveyard and hubs had a classic Old Fashioned. Both were stellar! We decided to try a few of their bar bites too and let me tell you….the grilled cheese! OMG the grilled cheese! I don’t know if it was because we were hungry, but that was one of the best grilled cheeses of my life. The hint of dill makes it feel like grown up grilled cheese. I don’t care…a good grilled cheese is a good grilled cheese to me!

We finished our drinks and bites and headed downstairs to dinner at Longshot; a shuffleboard den known for it’s house-made sausages and fresh bread. What they should be known for are their fried brussel sprouts and curried carrot “sausage”! The hubs and I aren’t big meat eaters, so we tried the veggie options on the menu. I highly recommend them for any type of eater, because they were amazing! So flavorful that you’d never miss the meat…although the brussels are accompanied by a bit of bacon. But who can really turn down bacon? Lol!

After dinner we wanted to take a stroll down Main street, but like I said before, it was sooooo freaking cold! We managed to take a few steps outside the doors of Longshot on to Butler Ave. where there’s a tunnel completely covered in a mural by local artist Birdcap. We were out there just long enough to snap each other’s picture and run back inside to the warmth of indoors! Indulging in great food and drinks led to an eventful, but early turn in that night, but we got some of the best sleep we’d had in a while. I think it was being able to rest knowing we weren’t surrounded by hundreds of packages, tools and construction dust that helped.

We woke up the next morning rested and refreshed, enjoyed nice long showers and took our time getting dressed. Said time was spent having a mini photo shoot with each other and I’m in love with every single photo I managed to snap with my remote! Once we got dressed, we headed down for breakfast in the lobby at Hustle and Dough. Hubs opted for the avocado toast (country sourdough, chili-lemon butter, sliced avocado, garlic-brined toasted pepitas, lacto fermented minced jalapeno, avocado oil, fleur de sel) and I had the Tamago sando, or egg sandwhich. Both were quite interesting to say the least. Neither were like anything we’d ever had before and we spent a good 20 minutes discussing their flavors, what we liked about them and what we’d change about them to put our own spin on them. The rest of our time was spent with me doing a full on photoshoot in the lobby, trying to capture all of my favorite details!

The hubs and I both HIIIIIGHLY recommend a stay at Arrive! It’s located on Main St. of downtown Memphis, very close to some of my favorite spots, like Stock & Belle, South of Beale and the National Civil Rights Museum. The walkability couldn’t be more perfect! This place is going on my list of favs; even if its just to make a stop at the bar for drinks! If you’re ever in Memphis, be sure to stop by!