Summer is going by as fast as ever - especially with the kids both working. It's all about them having their first real summer jobs with full time hours this year. They are both very busy as rangers at a local campground and for me it means lots of driving, arranging of schedules, pickups and drop offs. I think they are enjoying themselves and while I know it is a big change for both of them, they are aware they have landed quite the awesome summer jobs as teens. simple Because of this, life around here has become more hectic with 4 jobs between the 4 of…
Category: Delicious Stuff
If you are thinking about places to go this summer with your significant other, please allow me to suggest one of my favourite parts of the Muskoka Region in Whitney, Ontario: The Scenario We had a crazy insane summer. My husband had two jobs, I had two jobs, both our kids had a job each. Very different schedules and hours with no public transportation and only two cars that both ended up dying half way through the summer. To say it was stressful would be a terrific understatement. I love my husband and having been with him for 24 years…
Brought to you by Niagara Canada and The Co. The Niagara Region in Ontario, Canada is one of my favourite places to visit. There is such a diverse selection of things to do, places to see, and experiences to have that you need to go for at least a few days each time to do it right. Visits with family or friends you can’t go wrong. I am so grateful to live only a few hours away from the 8th Wonder of the World. We are currently planning our next trip and it will include investigating local history of the…
Watertown, NY Before you start your engines to head down to Niagara, New York, consider going the other way first. That's what my daughter and I did recently when we were hunting down awesome deals on clothing, shoes, gift items and also looking for some exploring. I can only imagine how amazing it would be in Watertown, NY for their Black Friday sales. We live on the eastern edge of the GTA so it's about equal distance for us to Niagara or Watertown. But here is one of the best parts of going to Watertown - it took us 3 minutes to get…
The Burlington Chocolate Trail A few weeks ago I was invited to preview what will be the Burlington Chocolate Trail - happening the whole month of May. All I really noticed when I saw the invitation was CHOCOLATE. (How did they know I was a chocoholic?) I LOVE sweets, cakes, chocolate, marshmallows, gooey stuff. So d'uh of course I was very excited to go. Last year I visited some great spots in Burlington and had a blast. I had no idea prior to that trip how amazing this town to the west of Toronto was. It's a great place to bring your family for a Staycation. Back to the Chocolate Trail…
Cheesy Goodness It's that time of the year again where this delicious recipe pops up! My sister and I have had this cheesy potato recipe from our Dad from many moons ago. We make it all the time and bring it to dinners and potlucks. It's the perfect dish to travel with and if you can make it ahead of time, you only need to heat it up right before serving. Highly sought after, this dish is super easy to make. But I must warn you, if you make it once, you'll have to make it many more times. It's very easy…
This is a neat little treat with any size of pretzels that you can make with every seasonal colour. Today we are going to use Christmas colours. My very good friend Micheline Kerswell, taught me how to make these. We used to get the kids together at Christmas break to do up hundreds of these pretzels when they were younger. Micheline is from a traditional French Canadian family and they have some amazing recipes and I've been fortunate enough to try many of them and even more fortunate to learn the secrets of how they are made. I'll use images to illustrate…
Do you know how to "charcuterie?" Do you even know what that means? Basically it's a cured meat board with cheese and other good stuff. It is a delicious addition to gatherings of any size. They are easy to put together too. My husband doesn't like to be overwhelmed by details so when he goes shopping for the ingredients I ask him to get some cheeses and cured meats that he likes. It can be that simple. I wrote this post for those of us who want more information about what goes on to a charcuterie board. To help with this,…
I’m so excited that it’s 'apple picking season’. I have a TON of memories about apples in my life. Growing up in Ontario I have been so blessed to be able to enjoy this fruit fresh picked every year. I remember going out with my Dad each year to pick the perfect apple. My three siblings and I would resist going to the apple farm early in the cool autumn mornings but then we wouldn’t want to leave. My dad would force us to get bundled up soon after the new school year started and we’d begin the trek out.…
Tea Time In Canada we have officially reached summer. I can smell the roses blooming and the frogs croaking away all night. The local weather warning statements have started coming out calling for 'sudden and severe thunder storms' in response to the very high moisture in the air. Today we've reached fish tank humidity levels. Cottages are opened up, boats dropped in the water and beaches rediscovered for most of the population. What better time could I ask for to experiment with cocktails? I’ll be all set for the summer. I've always preferred iced tea over pop which is why I…
In case you are wondering, a "smorgasbord" is a Swedish buffet. Growing up we used to refer to a large quantity of yummy food as a smorgasbord and now it's a pretty good way to refer to these smoothie recipes. Do you eat all the fruits and veggies you are suppose to every day? I know I don't. As a matter of fact, I feel like I'm in so much of a hurry most days that getting the good stuff in my diet is not very realistic. According to the Canada Food Guide, If you are a woman between the ages of 19 to 50 years of age…
I've just had the pleasure of watching an auditorium full of high school kids turn into Agents of Change. These future leaders came together with their teachers and school administration to donate a couple of dollars each for the pleasure of watching a movie together. Each kid in that audience learned that there are more than 36,000 kids in their region who rely on nutrition programs to eat at school or in community centres daily. toonies4tummies In this post I'm going to give you the chance to donate to this program online three times. This is the first time - click…
I am about to show you how to make the most delicious shortbread cookies you will ever try. This recipe is being posted early so we have time to prepare for any parties or cravings that might sneak up. I'm making them in anticipation of a repeat of last year when I found out the same day that my daughter needed some for school and if they don't end up going there we'll enjoy them at home - they are DELICIOUS. My favourite shortbread recipe can be found on the back of the Canada Corn Starch box. I've made this so many times…
It has happened - we are engaged. By engaged I mean committed. And by committed I mean to an act of craziness that might just save my life completely - medically and psychologically. I found out last fall that I needed to make some major changes in my life "or else". Keeping an open mind for a solution this is what I found: The Whole Life Fitness Manifesto, or WLFM, is an approach to improving one's life in many ways and it only takes 2% of your entire day to be involved. 15 minutes of intentional movement, 5 minutes of personal…
Magical Lights and Sounds Recently we had one of our favourite experiences in Kingston - the Lumina Borealis at Fort Henry. It runs until February 4th Thursdays to Sundays and you have to go to see it! https://youtu.be/Mcz8cH1D2jo Fort Henry is a World Heritage site where the St. Lawrence River meets Lake Ontario. We have enjoyed visiting it a few times since my son started going to school in Kingston last year and if you'd like to see more, you can find a few more details about those visits here. "Hearts warmed through frost and snow, will be the ones to see and…