Three Plus Two Equals SIX!

I am slowly starting to put a few things aside for our upcoming vacation to the Caribbean. One little secret about me is that I am kind of obsessed with swimsuits. YUP! I love them and I don't think I will ever have enough(wink). I always like to purchase one or two new ones for our annual trip down south. One important thing to note is that I am always extremely thrifty with my swimsuit purchases. I would never ever pay full price for anything! Here is my newest beach attire.

I purchase the turquoise top/bottom and stripped top during Victoria Secrets semi annual sale right after x-mas. The black one is from Roxy's extra 40% off sale items event (free shipping too) a month or so ago.

With these five new pieces I can mix and match to create SIX different swimsuit combos. For me it's important to have lots of choices so finding swim pieces that complement each other is key.

I picked up the flip flops from Gap at their extra 40% of EVERYTHING sale last weekend.

With the crazy winter we have been having an escape to the beach cannot come quick enough!

Here we come sunshine!

xoAngela

Back from the Bay Bye

We arrived back from our trip to Sydney, Cape Breton (Nova Scotia) early last night. It was a fun filled, action packed trip that included a beautiful wedding, a surprise birthday party, the best chai latte ever (Wentworth Cafe, downtown Sydney) a speeding ticket (courtesy of my heavy footed husband), a family reunion of sorts and lots of giggling cousins.

I am still trying to get things organized, washed and put away around here so in the meantime here are a few pictures from our trip.

 Sydney boardwalk.

The largest fiddle in the world!

Which way would you go? 

Stunning colors of fall.

Beautiful fishing town of Main-a-Dieu.

Most Canadians love their Tim Horton's but I do think the award goes to Cape Bretoners. They have an extra strong affection for the Canadian owned coffee company then any other I have seen. With our "Timmies" stops along the way I developed a new found love for their "Pumpkin Spiced Tea". Let me me tell you, it is amazing! It is everything I love about fall transformed into a warm hot drink. Love.....Love.....Love (to the Beatles tune)

 Hope to be back on track soon. 

xoAngela
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A Fun Day in FUN-DY!

The next day we woke up and hit the trail yet again. This time we were Fundy National Park bound!

For those of you that are not familiar with the area, Fundy showcases a rugged coastline with hiking trails, camping and more than 25 waterfalls and is most famous for having the highest tides in the world. It's a beautiful natural gem located in Southern New Brunswick, Canada.

With five children in total, three under the age of six  we had to choose some hikes that would best suite the little ones.  We choose Dickson falls and Wolf point to discover.

After hiking up an appetite we headed into the town of Alma and settled upon a great little seafood restaurant called Fundy take out. My husband ordered the fish and chips and said it was the best he has had. We finished off our seafood feast with some famous Alma sticky buns from kelly's bakery. One word, YUM!   

Here is a shirt my nephew picked  out at the local gift shop in Fundy. Love it!

Another day the Maritime way!

We had a wonderful time with our family from Ontario and are so grateful for the memories we shared. We look forward to spending more time with you guys in the future. Big hugs to you all!

xoAngela
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Home Away From Home

As I mentioned in yesterdays post, we drove down to St. Andrews on our vacation to go whale watching in the Bay of Fundy.  After our sea adventure we retreated to a two unit cottage that was minutes from the waters edge where we spent the night.  The Seaside Beach Resort is a stones throw from downtown which makes it the perfect central location to stay.

We grabbed a bag of charcoal and fired up the iron grill. I had forgotten how much I love the smell and taste of a charcoal grill. Super yummy BBQ!

St. Andrews is one of those places I must visit in the summer. A summer is not a summer until I have strolled the main streets of St. Andrews and smelled the sea salt in the air.  The smell takes me to a very comfortable place. I can remember when I was a child spending lots of time exploring the ocean floors. Being by the ocean just make me feel at home.

While exploring the beautiful ocean front of our cottage we came upon a jelly fish that did not go out with the tide. We tried many things to get the slimy creature back to it's ocean home.  Finally after many attempts with several branches he/she was rescued. We watch the sun go down knowing we had saved the life of one little jelly fish.

The next morning we headed to the awesome park beside the St. Andrews elementary school. The kids loved it, it is amazing.  You could easily spend a whole afternoon there.We would have stayed longer although we hurried along on the happy trail to Comeau's which is a restaurant famous for it's local seafood.

Following a delicious deep fried seafood feast we headed to New River Beach, aka seaweed beach.  I am not sure why but the beach was covered in seaweed. I don't remember this from my past visits although maybe it was left overs from tropical storm Arthur.

Another great day with such a wonderful family. 

Stay tuned to see where we headed next on our East Coast adventure.

xoAngela

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A Whale Tale!

Well vacation is over and I am slowly starting to get back into the groove of things around here again. My plan is to devote the next couple of posts to share with you some of the highlights of our great East Coast vacation.

Earlier in the summer we were thrilled to learn that our family from Ontario was planning on flying out to spend some time with us. They are not so familiar  to the Maritimes so I really wanted to share some authentic Maritime experiences with them. We decided to book a trip on the Jolly Breeze. Seriously, what's more Maritime than heading out to sea on a sail boat?

Our first morning together as a family of nine we headed down some windy, less-traveled roads (wink) to the seaside village of St. Andrews to embark on our Atlantic sea journey. The skies were foggy and the air was cool. We thought it might be a rather damp and chilly adventure although twenty minutes into the trip the skies opened and the sun shone. This wonderful change in weather made it the perfect day to be at sea.

After a forty-five minute gorgeous scenic boat ride out into the Bay of Fundy we were thrilled to see three whales, along with lots of porpoises and seals all along the way.  It really is amazing to see these giant sea creatures in there natural habitat with your own eyes.  The anticipation of  the whales cresting onto the surface of the water is extremely thrilling. They are incredibly majestic to watch. The beauty of it all almost takes your breath away.

The Jolly Breeze is a fantastic tour filled with great activities for the young and the young at heart. The kids began their whale journey by dressing up in pirate costumes.  They also get up close and personal with some sea creatures with an on-board touch tank. The captain gets volunteers to help raise the mass and the kids get their faces painted in the cabin below. We were all served a hot bowl of delicious chowder and the kids even got to steer the ship all by themselves (icing on the cake).

This was a great experience. The kids had a ball. This is my third trip to see the whales and I would guess it will not be my last. The Jolly Breeze has not seen the last of our family, we hope to make this a tradition and share this experience with more friends and family that come to visit, any takers?

Stay tuned to see more of our East Coast adventure.

xoAngela

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Signing off for a few!

I just love Summer! I think I may have mentioned that a few times in the last month or so (wink). I am not a huge fan of the cold weather so I enjoy every second of the warmth and sunshine while it's here.  I am taking a few days off from the blog to spend some quality time with family we have not seen in far too long!  They flew in last night and I cannot tell you how excited we all are!

I wanted to leave you with a little Summer inspiration.  

With the weather being a bit humid  I like to get my hair out my face and off my neck. I have attempted this double bun twice now. It's easier then it looks. Just separate your hair into two sections (top and bottom). Make two pony tails, one on top of the other.  Take each ponytail and wrap it around the base using several bobby pins to keep it in place. Repeat these steps with the second ponytail and VOILA! Give it a good spray and your good to go.

My other favorite is my hat. Nothing says summer and beach like this puppie!

Fashionable yet functional!

Toodles

xoAngela

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Stay Home Days

My daughters and I have got into the habit of calling weekends "stay home days". When the  girls were younger they would have trouble with the names and days of the week so,"stay home days" just stuck.

The girls and I have enjoyed a week long stretch of "stay home days" as I am taking some vacation time. We have been having fun going to the beach and enjoying  lots of ice cream. I can't believe the week is almost over though. Time sure flies when your having fun!

I thoroughly enjoyed staying super casual this week with minimal makeup and with what my daughter called this morning "messy hair". Little does she know I am actually attempting the beach kissed hair look, ha ha.

I have been achieving this "messy" look by washing my hair at night and letting it air dry a bit. Once it is just a bit damp I put it into a french braid and sleep on it all night. In the morning, I take out the braid and run my fingers through it. I then use a comb to tease my roots a bit to add a  little volume at the base. I then distribute a few sprays of Lush Sea Spray throughout my hair.  I kind of scrunch it in with my hands and this is what I get, fuss-free easy hair that only gets better as the day goes on (wink).

Wishing you all many lovely "stay home days"!

xoAngela

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Weekend Camping Getaway

My family and I unplugged from our busy lives and ventured out into the wilderness to enjoy a few days of camping and spending time at the beach. Camping is something we all look forward to each and every summer. There is just something so peaceful and relaxing about forcing yourself to rough it!

So we arrived after work on Friday evening and by the time we got everything set up it was beginning to get dark which meant campfire time. The kids and I dug out the marshmallows and got the sticks ready as my talented husband built us a fire. We also brought some graham crackers and chocolate which made for some yummy smores. It doesn't get much better than this! I could stare at the fire for hours and this trip my daughter says to me, I just like looking at the fire mommy. Yay, I guess I must be doing something right for a change ha, ha.

We all slept great and woke up to a bright sun shiny day!  We ate our pancakes, fruit and bacon and packed up our things and headed to the beach. We like to hit the beach nice and early so we avoid over crowding and also the suns high intensity in the afternoon.

My youngest was so fascinated with the sea gulls.  She dropped a chip (chips are a must for our beach days) and realized that the birds would eat them. Yes,we were the annoying people on the beach feeding the birds, but she had a ball.

There is nothing more relaxing than being on the beach and watching the boats go by (unless of course you are on the boat, wink).

It's great how fast and easy the kids all make friends. They found some great "beach" friends that they would play with on the beach and had camp friends at the campground. Two little social butterflies they were.

Here is a picture of me and my husband. We were totally photo bombed by my hilarious daughter. She cracks me up! Love it!

I actually don't have many more pics from our weekend. I guess we were having to much fun to remember to even take photos. We made some great memories though, memories we can reminiscence about all Winter long (yuck, can't believe I just said the word). We hope to embrace the wilderness a few more times before the summer is over.

Do you and your family enjoy camping?

xoAngela

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A Trip to the Little Red Island aka PEI

My family and I decided to embark on a much needed mini vacation last weekend. Close friends of ours live in Prince Edward Island and with the projection of sunny skies we thought it would be the perfect weekend to visit. The weather was sunny and warm and the beach was stunning.  I don't think we could have picked a more perfect weekend if we tried!

Here are some pictures from our PEI adventure. It truly is a magical place set among red fields, rolling hills, wild flowers and some of the best red sandy beaches encompassed by the beautiful Atlantic ocean.

Going across confederation bridge to the Island.

PEI potato fields

Love these red dirt roads lined with wild flowers.

My handsome husband/chauffeur! (ha)

Our home away from home (wink)

This is the walkway to the Beach (Lakeside). The kids had a ball building sandcastles and playing in the waves.  At one point we looked out into the distance and saw two porpoises (aka dolphins) swimming. Super cool!

 One evening we drove out to Brackley beach to indulge in some gourmet seafood take-out. The take- out is called Richards and people line for 30-40 minutes (at times) to indulge in the Atlantic Ocean's finest catch of the day. My husband got the Lobster roll and I got the Fish.  Both were very good and served with a side of fancy coleslaw, gourmet dill tarter sauce and fresh cut fries. YUM! 

Another fantastic place to eat is the "Water's Edge" in Charlottetown. It has a newly designed patio by the harbor front with fantastic food, staff and management.

Our days were spent on the red sandy banks of Lakeside beach and our nights roasting marshmallows with the picturesque view of the water in the background. 

One word "breathtaking"!

I don't think I could ever tire of these gorgeous sunsets. A huge special thanks to our dear friends for being so hospitable and for welcoming us all into your home.

We miss you and that stunning view already!

P.S.  We will be back for sure!

xoAngela

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Six Steps to the Perfect Family Getaway.

For the past couple of years my family and I have held an annual get together in the summer. We usually rent a house or cottage preferably on the water and all chip in to enjoy a few days of R&R (not the booze - well not that kind anyways, ha ha) and plenty of good times.

Imagine waking up to this!

Here's how you can plan your family or friends getaway:  

Pick a Date - Send an e-mail to everyone who is interested with a few available dates. The date with the most votes wins.

Find Accommodation – Once you figure out how many are planning on attending your get together you will have to find a place with enough room to accommodate everyone.  This is trickiest part, although you would be surprised how many people rent their homes and cottages for the summer. You can find sites on provincial websites, kijiji and various property management companies.  It is always nice to end your day with a campfire so be sure to ask what amenities are available when booking your accommodations. It may seem like a lot of money but remember you are splitting this 3-4-5 ways.

Plan Your Meals – Instead of everyone bringing a whole bunch of food send out an e-mail with all the meals for your stay broke down by day.  Example, Monday – breakfast, supper etc. Ask everyone to fill in which meals they would like to plan to make. If you are really on the ball you can get them to send you what they are planning on making and create a menu for everyone to have. You don't have to get fancy either, keep the meals easy like a breakfast casserole, or pulled pork sandwiches or freeze a pot of  spaghetti sauce to bring.

Plan Your Days-  Find out if there are any local attractions like beaches, vineyards, gardens etc, and send out a little e-mail describing some of the local attractions to everyone.  If you are planning on doing a beach day let people know as certain beach essentials will need to be packed.  Bring along some board games and a deck of cards for if you have a rainy day.

Fun Things to Bring – Glow stick are always a hit whether you are young or old, same applies to bubbles, hula hoops and fireworks (although always use extreme caution) and of course marshmallows if you plan on having camp fires.

A vacation would not be a vacation without a few drinky poos. One idea I came up with was to ask people to bring one “local” drink to share with everyone. It could be a bottle of wine from a local vineyard close to their home or beer from a local brewery or maybe there all-time favorite cocktail. 

Last and most importantly – Take lots of pictures/videos, enjoy every minute with your family/friends, focus on making memories that will last forever. Life goes by way to fast, take time to stop and nurture  relationships. It may seem like a lot of work to plan something like this but once you do it you realize the cost of time with those that you love is priceless.

Happy planning!

xoAngela
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