• Turtle_nesting_walk
    active family travel - family - family travel - Travel

    The Turtle Nesting Walk in Hobe Sound, Florida

    June 21, 2016 - By 

    It’s a sunny, humid, June morning. I kickstart my day by exploring Martin County, Florida on my own, at least until an afternoon rainy spell erupts. The highlight of my itinerary today is a turtle nesting walk in Hobe Sound. My ride, Nerissa, from the Martin County Tourism office, picks me up for dinner. I’ve been looking forward to this Turtle Nesting Walk from the moment I landed at Palm Beach International Airport. Hobe Sound, Martin County Florida Turtle Nesting Walk We take a leisurely drive through Jupiter Island, an extremely wealthy area of Martin County where celebrities, an ex-president’s family members,…

  • family - family travel

    Seven Road Trip Necessities This Canada Day #ChurchandDwight

    June 20, 2016 - By 

    Road trip season has begun in earnest around here, so I am stocking up on a few road trip necessities. Car and van trips can be equal parts fun and chaos. Stack the deck in favour of fun and be prepared for anything with these popular brands. This past weekend we headed to Muskoka and the Huntsville area for a weekend away at Ontario Pioneer Camp Blogger’s Weekend. We have several more road trips and plane trips in the works this season and I am looking forward to each one. BUT, I am also preparing for each because road trips…

  • nest_learning_thermostat
    family - homes

    Nest Learning Thermostat 3.0 – Saving Money Every Day

    June 20, 2016 - By 

    Nest Learning Thermostat 3.0 is a different kind of thermostat. It analyzes your usage information to make a heating and cooling profile based on your habits. The Nest Learning Thermostat 3.0 is smart technology and it makes your heating and cooling work for you while saving energy and money too. My husband and I have wanted a Nest for a few years now, so when the chance came to feature one here and install it inside our home, we were both thrilled with the opportunity to test a Nest and share with my readers.   Nest Learning Thermostat 3.0 – Next…

  • playmobil_waterpark
    family - homes

    Playmobil WaterPark Set Makes Summer Fun

    June 17, 2016 - By 

    The Playmobil Waterpark is one of my favourite new summer toys this year. Playmobil waterpark with slides will have kids flocking to your yard for creative play this season. This new, cheery and colourful set can be used both indoors and out. Summer is a great time to find the kids outdoors enjoying the weather, the parks, and people’s backyards. One of the things I love about summer is that children are often motivated to get outside because the weather is so nice. Even so, in the summer months I love to have some indoor and outdoor toys on hand for…

  • tech_gifts
    family - Technology

    Who’s Your Daddy? Best Father’s Day Tech Gifts for Dad #BestDadBestBuy

    June 16, 2016 - By 

    Who’s your Daddy? Gadget Dad? Fitness Dad? Gamer Dad? Geek Dad? Fishing Dad? DIY Dad? Golfer Dad? Handy Dad? There are almost as many types of Dads as there are men in the world. Father’s Day is fast approaching, and that’s got me thinking about our Dad, father of our two girls, chauffeur, support person, DIY handyman, globetrotter, and brown belt. I am grateful for my husband, who is also one of my all round favourite people. Regardless of the type of Dad you have, or are shopping for, you need not panic because Best Buy has you covered with…

  • butterfly_gardens
    family

    Butterfly Gardens Add Beautiful Variety to Your Lawn

    June 15, 2016 - By 

    Butterfly gardens are a wonderful way to add a variety of colors and textures to your lawn. With butterfly gardens, you’ll have beautiful blooming flowers all season long, and a yard teeming with the beauty of butterflies all around. Believe it or not, it’s actually much easier that people think to put a colorful butterfly oasis into their lawn. Butterfly Gardens and the Monarch The monarch butterfly is arguably the most majestic of all North American butterflies. It’s also terribly endangered. In light of that, this post will focus on what you’ll need for a butterfly garden that will be…

  • Travel

    My Five Favourite Travel Necessities

    June 14, 2016 - By 

    I have been giving travel a lot of thought this year and trying to up my game. That got me thinking about my five travel necessities. You know, those things that you have grown to love as a frequent traveler or a travel blogger? We each have some products we love and rarely leave home without. These are my favourite travel products that keep me sane on the road. I have been consistently traveling once a month and that has made me more conscientious about what I need to travel, and what I can live without when I am away from…

  • candy_bubblegum_shake
    family - Food

    Celebrate With Candy Bubble Gum Freak Shakes

    June 10, 2016 - By 

    By now you’ve heard of freak shakes. A glorious excessive sweet celebratory shake that just screams summer. I’ll be honest I think I could manage about one of these a year at best. But it would be worth it. This candy bubble gum shake is the perfect way to kick summer holidays off this year. I plan to make a bubble gum crazy shake for the last day of school with my kids. Crazy shakes, or freak shakes, are a huge craze right now. And there are as many different shakes as there are candies out there. So really, you could make…

  • Strawberry Cream Cheese Cupcakes
    Food

    Scrumptious Strawberry Cream Cheese Cupcakes

    June 9, 2016 - By 

    Fresh strawberries floating around? Ontario strawberries are the best. This time of year strawberries are so fresh! But they don’t keep forever you know. That’s why they will be perfect in these Scrumptious Strawberry Cream Cheese Cupcakes. In Ontario in June  and July you can find the ripest, freshest strawberries around. Now maybe that’s true for some other areas too, but I just know that here we have some amazing berry orchards and U-Pick places. That always makes me happy. Hoping to spend some time visiting a pick your own kind of strawberry farm soon. And with that in mind this…

  • growing_pains
    Parenting - parenting

    Growing Pains and Grace Notes – Raising A Daughter

    June 8, 2016 - By 

    Look away if you aren’t the kind of person who likes sentiment. It’s been a long time since I posted one of these stories about my life, my kids, snapshots of us, the Growing Pains and grace notes inside the nutty every day chaos of parenting, and growing youth, not kids, not toddlers, young adolescents. My girls amaze me more than they know most days. Their strength is apparent to me, their Mom, and yet they very often don’t see it themselves. Some strange warped tween and teen girl mirror only lets them see first the tiny little mistakes, then the itty bitty fleeting…