Thanksgiving in Middleburg at the Salamander Resort & Spa

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I have such a love/hate relationship with Thanksgiving. There, I said it. Finally. I love cooking and spending time with the fam (of course!), but let's just keep it real: it's A LOT of work. I spend six weeks planning a fabulous meal and countless hours on my feet, but I never get to sit down long enough to really enjoy the food. That's the part I hate. And the cleaning...don't even get me started.

This year, I decided to remix Thanksgiving and make it way more enjoyable for me. My husband came up with the brilliant idea to go away for a few days and I actually said yes. Eat. Sleep. Repeat. Imagine that!

My sister and I decided to cook a small-ish dinner for my immediate family on the Sunday prior that we called our "holiday meal" since we were all planning to be in different places on Thanksgiving Day. On Wednesday morning, hubs, toddler boss and I headed to Middleburg, VA to the Salamander Resort & Spa, located in Virginia's Wine Country, about two hours from DC.

We had a wonderful stay and my personal highlight was meeting the Salamander's owner, Sheila Johnson, after Thanksgiving dinner in the Resort's family-friendly lounge. She's an incredibly warm person who just happens to be the first African-American female billionaire and the second wealthiest African-American woman next to Oprah. I introduced myself to her and she told me that she and her family noticed toddler boss (and her horsie) from the moment we walked in. You never know who's watching!

I will always appreciate the time she took to talk to me about what it's like to run multiple successful businesses; how she asked Riley if she wanted to sit on her lap; and how she trusted me enough to help her set up her Twitter account...yes, really.

The one piece of advice that I will never forget is the wisdom she shared from one mom and entrepreneur to another: "No matter how many other businesses you have, your children will always be your first." ~Sheila Johnson

Here's the rest of our wonderfully amazing trip in pics...

It was the first snow of the season and toddler boss made sure that she was extra prepared when we left!

When we arrived, the grounds looked just like a scene out of a holiday movie. Love at first sight.

Toddler boss's favorite part of our room

We booked a "standard" room, but trust me, it was anything but standard.

The view from our room

Toddler boss helping her daddy get his pool game on

All settled in for the night!

We did a little exploring before dinner on Thursday and here's what we found...

The Resort's culinary garden

A new horsie for toddler boss...apparently the one on the right was "too big" in her words.

Next stop...a visit to see the really big horsies.

Sheila Johnson's personal horse, Stormy

Finally made it to the gorgeous Thanksgiving buffet after working up a serious appetite!

My second (maybe third?) helping. Can you blame me?!

Spent my last day at the day indulging in pure relaxation thanks to a perfect setting and a crushed Cabernet scrub & massage

Hey Haute Mamas! I'm Riche Holmes Grant, a modern mom + mompreneur who designs smart + stylish products that make your mommy gig easier.

When I'm not busy taking orders from my #miniboss, I'm contributing to MarthaStewart.com or in the kitchen whipping up delicious family-friendly creations in my BambiniWare Apronini.

Get my FREE book on How to Make the Best Food for Your Baby here!

I live in the Washington, DC area with my husband and daughter. Follow our adventures on Instagram via @BambiniWareLife!