Category Archives: Lifestyle

Lifestyle || Restaurant Quality Barbecuing || How To: Himalayan Salt Stone Edition with @TheBrick #partner

Summer is officially in full swing and you know what that means… it’s BBQ season! Next time you’re hosting guests definitely think about investing in a quality Barbecue. Look for key features like: temperature gauge, large surface grilling area and quick easy flame starters. We love to entertain outdoors so when I saw the Park Terrace 7 piece dining set I had to have it. The large table is perfect for hosting our Sunday family dinner and the glass top is easily cleaned in seconds.

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We took our grill game this year to the next level with a Himalayan salt stone. We can use it directly on the surface of the barbecue we found at The Brick. I know I was a bit intimated by these stones when I’ve seen them in cooking magazines and culinary chef shows. But now that we’ve started using them I know how easy and how amazing they season whatever you’re cooking. Here are my easy tips for achieving restaurant quality meals at home with your grill:

1) SLOWLY heat stone! This is key for the longevity of your salt stone. I put mine directly onto my grill, set heat to the lowest setting. I let it slowly heat for 15 minutes at a minimal. Then you can up the heat and start grilling! If you start on high heat you may crack your stone. At home hack: don’t have a grill? I use this stone in my GE range oven too. 

2) The longer the food stays, the more seasoned it will become. We usual do our steaks 2 minutes per side on the salt stone, then transfer to the grill fast minute to get those crispy black grill marks.

3) It’s not just for meat! We anything from steaks, to mushrooms to lettuce hearts for salads. Seafood too!

4) Clean up is easy and fast. Don’t use soap but instead lightly rinse with water, scrap any big bits off and pat dry. Easy as that!

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Home || My Sit Up Bar with @TheBrick || And a refreshing drink recipe! Strawberry Lemon Spritz #partner

I’m so excited to share our bar sit up with The Brick. We scored these bar modern stools a few months ago. I love the padded leather and adjustable height, perfect for my guests to pull up a seat and make a great summer drink!

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The Strawberry Lemon Spritz

What you’ll need: 

1 oz. Gin  (We choose Hansen Distillery Trouble Gin)

1/2 oz. Simple Syrup

4 oz. Sparkling Water

Fresh Mint

Squeeze of fresh lemon

Lemon Slice

Strawberry

summer drink recipe strawberry lemon gin spritz

Muddle mint, lemon juice, and half a strawberry. Add all ingredients. Garish, lemon slice, mint leaf and half strawberry. Serve on ice.

Such a refreshing drink for those hot summer days.

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Lifestyle || #Travel with Kids || How to maintain your vacation mode zen…

I know the assumption when you have kids, you just don’t travel until they are older. Wrong! Luckily we travel plenty with our little ones. BUT I will say traveling with kids isn’t easy, luckily we’ve learned a few tips and tricks over the last almost 4 years that’s made it so much easier. I truly think you can maintain that vacation mode zen and take your little guys along for the ride… it’s all in the little details.

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Tip #1: Pack Extra! I know it sounds simple, but you can never have enough diapers, spare outfits, snacks and back up power sources. In all of the above cases it’s better to have too many than not enough. Depending on the length of flight and if your trip involves layovers; I usually pack 1 spare outfit, 3 diapers and 3 snacks for every 2 hours of flight time.

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Tip #2: Little People Need Breaks, Pack A Mobile Nap. Weather you are traveling with an infant or a toddler… kids need to get off their feet and/or nap. There is nothing like an overly tired little person in an airport or on a flight. To avoid meltdown mode we travel with a stroller, plane bed box and baby carrier.

Tip #3: Accept Help! Take Advantage of BABY VIP. Most airports let you use the faster security line when traveling with kids… use it! It’ll save you on average 30 minutes in a long line up. Use pre-boarding when applicable. This will allow for ample time to fold up that stroller, get snacks/ movies ready and set up that seat converting bed on the plane. Ahead of time we download Alastair’s fav Netflix series and movies to the app. It’s fast and easy. Then if you are on a long flight that happens to not have TV’s you’re completely set with shows customized to your child’s wants and needs. Best part? You don’t need wifi! Looking for our Netflix Stream Team favs? Check out May’s post for our top picks.

Tip #4: Find the Fun! Most airports have mini playgrounds some where in their terminals. Ask the help desk, if they don’t they usual have free colouring books and little free extras for the kids to have fun or blow off some energy before the flight. There’s no harm asking, they are there to help. B39E57E9-4A0A-4B9C-803F-03F8D69E4D82 Continue reading

LifeStyle || The Importance of Unstructured Play || My #PlayMore message

As you know I’m lucky to call myself a Fisher-Price® Play Ambassador this year. I’m so excited to help spread the word on the importance of unstructured play for our little guys. Through studies and research, Fisher-Price® found that nearly all Canadian parents surveyed (90 per cent) agree overscheduling children’s activities can be overwhelming to them as well as to their children (86 per cent). Along those lines, the majority of parents (80 per cent) believe childhood today is more complicated than it should be. By giving children toys that have been designed to encourage physical, social, emotional, language, cognitive skills and imagination, a lot of what parents seek is right there in their children’s toy box. Let’s join Fisher-Price® to encourage families to take the time to Play More!

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Harper has been loving the Fisher-Price® Woodland Friends SpaceSaver Jumperoo™. She likes to jump to the music, sounds and lights and I like that it folds up compactly for easy storage when not in use.

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