Category: Outdoors
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Springtime Sabbatical
“A spring breeze is blowingI’m bursting with laughterWishing for flowers” Matsuo Basho Losing my job at the beginning of Autumn felt fitting. As if on cue with the leaves falling outside, the ending of that job felt like a release. The winds of change were telling me that it was time for something new. Autumn…
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A day of imagination at the Royal Botanical Gardens & Dundurn Castle
“There is always music amongst the trees in the garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it.” Minnie Aumonier In my quest to escape the winter funk last month, I planned a play date with my girlfriends at the Royal Botanical Gardens and Dundurn Castle in Hamilton. The goal was to create…
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The sunrises in our backyard
“The whole sky had looked like gold, she said, and as for the clouds! Well, their beauty was beyond description. They floated in red and violet splendor over her head”. Hans Christian Andersen, The Little Mermaid When we were putting together our must-have list for our realtor, the most important feature to have in our…
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Pancakes and a stormy walk
A winter storm had been forecasted for the weekend so aside from coffee in bed and blueberry pancakes for brunch, nothing beyond that had been planned for the day. We were watching a blurry backdrop as we feasted on our pancakes. Sharp lines of blues and browns were replaced by smudges of white. The trees…
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Eclipse Getaway at Ironwood Cabin
I am usually the planner in the relationship, but my husband deserves full credit for this glorious eclipse getaway we just returned from. I knew this event mattered to him because he told me about it last November. He excitedly informed me that a total solar eclipse would be visible on April 8th, 2024 in…
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Glamping at Whispering Springs Wilderness Retreat
One of my highlights this summer was planning a glamping retreat for my work team this past June. The theme was “summer camp”, and we landed on a 3 day retreat at Whispering Springs. Even though I no longer work as an event or wedding planner, it felt nice to dust off my planning skills,…
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Tulip picking at TASC Tulip Farm
I grew up in a house where lavender, tulips and gardenias were frequent visitors. The fragrance alone transports me back to childhood summers and motherly hugs. Tulips often appeared on dining room tables for my Mom’s birthdays and Mother’s Day brunch. These seasonal springtime flowers are her favourite. Five years ago, we went to Terre…
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Autumn Foliage
The minute the month of October ended, my surroundings were saturated with Christmas and winter content that I was not yet ready for. My heart was still in Fall mode. In Toronto, the golden leaves were still rustling beneath my feet, and the season’s harvest was still sitting in our kitchen basket, waiting to become…
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Sunrises in Muskoka
I’ve been lucky to spend some pretty memorable times in Muskoka this past year, and it just so happens that I’ve always gone up there during the change of seasons. I mark my moments up there as a symbolic place in time when the physical changes in nature was matching the changes and shifts I…
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Ontario Flower and Farmers’ Markets
As if right on cue, the air turned crisp overnight when the calendar marked the first day of the Fall Equinox earlier this week. I noticed on my walk that morning that, just like me, fellow urbanite pedestrians traded their shorts and sandals with jackets and scarves. Literally, an overnight switch had occurred. Those crisp…
My Turquoise Bag 