Diary of Love Notes & Daydreams

I think it’s safe to say I have mastered the art of the Date Yourself Night, but I truly leveled up last year when I started my annual January Staycation. 

This once-a-year overnight trip is my belated Christmas present to myself; I look forward to it for months, and it’s the most cherished of all my Date Yourself Nights.

I am privileged enough to work a job that gives me a Christmas bonus that pays for the stay, and given the fact that I was in my 30s before I ever got an annual raise, let alone a year-end bonus, I do not take it for granted. And as DINKS (Dual Income No Kids), my husband and I are able to spend extra money a little more frivolously. So I get it, this might not be in the cards for everyone. But as an introvert, there is honestly nothing better than paying for a fancy-pants, relaxing night entirely to myself. 

Enter the January Staycation: spending a night by myself in a fancy hotel and shutting out the world for 18 hours.

If there’s one thing I love more than anything else when it comes to enjoying my own company, it’s soaking in the tub. I book AirBnBs solely based on whether or not they have a hot tub. I DREAM of having a gigantic soaking tub in my bathroom at home.

I stay in a suite at the Copperleaf Boutique Hotel in downtown Appleton. I didn’t realize it until I walked into my room, but this year I had inadvertently gotten the bigger of the two suites. It may have been booked unintentionally, but I was glad I did. It had more space in both the sleeping and living areas, and if I’m splurging once a year, might as well make the splurge count. Both suites also had an electric fireplace in the sleeping area for added coziness, which is perfect in January.

The whirlpool tub as the main attraction is enough to cancel out the (in my opinion) cons of the hotel. There is a restaurant on site where you can order room service, but if I’m being honest, I was not impressed during my first stay. And they don’t have a hot or even continental breakfast included in the stay. For any other stay, not having a complimentary breakfast is enough to deter me.

And while there is a mini bar with snacks in the room, they are pricey, and there aren’t any vending machines or other snacks on site.

I learned a lot from my first stay, so the second year was a much better experience. Instead of ordering room service, I ordered sushi delivery, which is more in line with date yourself night anyway. And to really treat myself, I stopped to get a slice of cheesecake before checking in (and then pulled a Bruce Bugtrotter because…my mom’s is better *shrug*) for my late night sweet tooth. I brought a pastry with me for breakfast, which was a treat in and of itself, and packed a couple of snickity snacks in case I got hungry after dinner. All to say, the food is not why I’m staying at the Copperleaf. But, it’s also not enough to keep me away.

So I spend the night reading spicy romance and watching tv in the provided bathrobe, eating yummy food, and soaking in the gigantic bath tub until I’m pruny. And then doing it all over again in the morning until check out. Because yes, I do absolutely need to take a soak at 9:00 in the morning. My phone gets ignored, I don’t speak to a soul once my food is delivered and the suite door is locked, and I ignore every ounce of anxiety and responsibility that might possibly be in my brain until checkout the next morning. It’s delightful, and extravagant, and the best part of the worst month of the year. Seriously, January is the arm pit of the calendar. Might as well make it a little enjoyable.

Books read during my 2026 stay: finished The Long Game by Rachel Reid and started Handsome Devil by LJ Shen

Shows watched: Heated Rivalry and Big Bang Theory reruns