Saskatoon Getaway - 24 Hour Mother-Daughter (and Dog Friendly) Staycation

It’s a bit of a strange year this year - to say the least.

My mom lives on a farm two hours southwest of Saskatoon and it had been months since I had last seen her. I thought it would be fun to plan a 24-hour staycation in the city so we could rest, relax, hangout and catch up (and, of course, do some shopping!)

I was also taking care of a friend’s dog, so it was important to make sure each place we stopped in was dog friendly. (For more pet-friendly locations in the city, check out this article.)
Here is what we got up to in Saskatoon on our 24 hour staycation for the perfect mother-daughter getaway.

2PM

Late Lunch at Leopolds
We started with a late lunch on Leopold’s patio in Rosewood. The neighbourhood “jukebox dive bar” and restaurant has three locations in the city and one in Warman. The Broadway location is the coziest but their patio in Rosewood is spacious and pet friendly. My go-to when stopping in for a bite is their donair but mom’s taco salad looked amazing as well. Alpine’s favourite were the french fries.

4PM

Antiquing at Back to Coffee Beans and Funk’s Furniture
After a leisurely lunch, we headed down to 33rd street for a post-meal coffee and some antiquing. Back to Coffee Beans is an eclectic matchup of gourmet coffee and tea with a wide variety of ice cream flavours all tucked into a two-storey antique shop. Mom and I wandered every aisle and stopped to check out every shelf. We both love picking up unique pieces to add to our homes and my mom was successful with two vintage plates. (Alpine stayed outside for this visit.)

5PM

Sutherland Beach for the Pup
Next we stopped by the Sutherland Beach Dog Park to let Alpine stretch her legs after patiently waiting for us while we shopped. This is one of my favourite locations in the city because of all the dogs roaming freely but also because of its access to the river.  We let Alpine lead the way and she quickly found her way down to the water with a couple new dog friends. We leashed her back up for a stroll across the Circle Drive Bridge pedestrian walkway before heading back through the park and onto some more shopping.

700PM

Flower Shopping at Dutch Growers
Dutch Growers is an amazing mash-up of every plant you could dream of putting in your yard with a lifestyle section full of fashion labels and interior decor. The store is dog friendly and while Alpine took in all the wonderful scents, mom and I continued our day of shopping. The store has been around since the mid-1950’s and there’s a little something for everyone.

830PM

Check in to Alt Hotel
Once we stored all our bags in the vehicle, we headed off downtown for our stay at The Alt Hotel. I was quite excited as the hotel has some of the best views of the city from their rooms. They put us up in a river-view room on the fifteenth floor - absolutely perfect for taking in Saskatoon’s growing skyline. Alpine settled in quickly - passing up the hotel-provided dog pillow and opting for a spot right in the middle of the bed to take a nap on.

9AM

Hit Snooze
I’d like to say we were up bright and early to start our day - but in reality, we took advantage of sleeping in and hanging out chatting and catching up until late morning.

12PM

Una Pizza Picnic in the Hotel
We enjoyed our staycation at the Alt Hotel so much, we opted to dine-in with takeout from Una Pizza on Broadway instead of going out to eat. Mom ran out and picked up the pizza while I took Alpine for a walk. We piled the blankets up in front of the full-pane windows and indulged in The Broadway Pizza: double-smoked bacon, fennel sausage, smoked mozzarella and maple syrup.

130PM
Garden Architecture
Taking advantage of the flexible check-out time, Mom and I stayed downtown and headed to Garden Architecture & Design. We’ve frequently passed by while driving along Idylwyld and have always wanted to stop in. We fell in love with a few of their patio lounge chairs and have them on a future “to-purchase” list as a gift for my Dad to also enjoy.

3PM

Anthology
We popped down the street for some more interior design shopping at Anthology. Another pet-friendly location, they even had a few treats for Alpine to enjoy while we browsed their collection of home furnishings, decor and jewelry.

330PM
Solar Gardens

Our final stop of our staycation was at Solar Gardens in their Avalon Shopping Mall location. Their new store is packed with rows of olive oils and a candy section in the converted barbershop. Outside are twinkle lights strung across a narrow outdoor shopping area with dozens of different varieties of succulents on display. Mom and I each purchased a few succulents to take home with us while Alpine shyly made friends with one of the owners.