What to Do - sparkleshinylove

Roxymandy February 2, 2016

Spending the Day at Ste. Anne’s Spa + Giveaway for a Spa Day for Two!

Spending the Day at Ste. Anne Spa + Giveaway for a Spa Day for Two!

One of my favourite people is having another little boy, so a group of girlfriends and I decided to venture out to Ste. Anne’s Spa for a day of pampering. The only unforeseen challenge? The end of the day consisted of us having a serious discussion about how to tell our spouses and loved ones we just couldn’t leave. The excuses were just too far-fetched to actually use, so a follow up trip was immediately suggested.

Why did we have such an amazing time?

Well to start, we wore fluffy white robes ALL DAY. Something like that certainly changes your relaxation level! Ste. Anne’s is located in Grafton, only a short ride from our own home-base, and a little over an hour drive from Toronto.

The spa is situated in the woods which sets for a very tranquil scene, and the spa itself was very picturesque.

Spending the Day at Ste. Anne Spa + Giveaway for a Spa Day for Two!

Upon check-in some quick paperwork was done and then it was right down to business – a tour and changing into our robes.

Spending the day at the spa means you receive all-inclusive services such as a three-course lunch, afternoon tea, $120 spa and wellness credits, and full use of the facilities. Since it’s all-inclusive there is also no worry about tipping for services provided.

We created a schedule for our day prior to our arrival by choosing spa services (plus we had the option of a wellness class), and when we checked in we were provided a printed schedule to keep in mind where we had to be at certain points of the day.

For our downtime periods where nothing was scheduled we hung out at the outdoor hot tub (the plunge pool and pool were also available), the steam room, and there were plenty of lounging rooms to relax or gossip in, and even a gift shop if you felt like some retail therapy.

Spending the Day at Ste. Anne Spa + Giveaway for a Spa Day for Two!

One of the highlights? The food! We had a set time and table for lunch and tea time, and the menu selection was great. We loved choosing different specialty teas and desserts with our meal. The whole thing felt very indulgent.

Ste. Anne's Spa Review

Our tea in the afternoon was amazing! Luckily one of my friends knew you could ask to have everything on the menu put together into a tasting plate that pretty much made our day.

Spending the Day at Ste. Anne Spa + Giveaway for a Spa Day for Two!

When it was time for our spa service we sat in one of the lounge areas and were met by the spa representative who would be helping us. I had a pretty intense Athletes Massage that left me lazy for the rest of my day.

Wellness classes can also be booked which include Yoga, stretching and meditation, but we opted out as our pregnant friend was limited in what she could do, plus we enjoyed just hanging out for the day.

We didn’t feel rushed at all with our schedule, and at the same time we were never bored. We were absolutely ready to stay there much longer!

Spending the Day at Ste. Anne Spa + Giveaway for a Spa Day for Two!

To book your own stay at Ste. Anne’s Spa, visit their website here!

Now for the fun part – how would you like to win a day trip to Ste. Anne’s Spa for yourself and a guest?

I’m teaming up with Stephanie from Bawlers & Crawlers to giveaway an amazing day trip for two to Ste. Anne’s Spa!

Enter via Rafflecopter below to take part in the contest. The contest is open to Canadian residents only. The contest winner will receive an all-inclusive day at the spa for two people ($120 spa allowance for each person, lunch, afternoon tea, and full use of the facilities).

Good luck to everyone who enters!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Xoxo Mandy

Roxymandy January 20, 2016

An Easy Make-Ahead Breakfast Casserole from Beretta Farms

I am sure I am known for a few things, but unfortunately “chronically late” is something I may best be known for. I really try to be on time! I set my alarm early, lay my clothes out before bed, and I meticulously plan my exit from the house, only to fall short and arrive ever-so-slightly late for pretty much everything.

Anything to save time is appreciated, so making breakfast the night before is something a girl like me appreciates!

Last weekend I decided to try this make-ahead breakfast casserole for our busy Saturday morning. My son has soccer on Saturday’s pretty early (ok, it’s 10am, but when you are chronically late that seems early!), so having something I could just pop in the oven seemed like the perfect idea!

An Easy Make-Ahead Breakfast Casserole from Beretta Farms

This casserole features Beretta Farms Organic Honey-Garlic Sausages, and they were delivered right to my door! I live outside of Toronto, so often delivery services don’t quite reach me, but Beretta Farms brought my groceries right to my home so I could save a bit more time.

Beretta Farms offers local, farm-fresh, healthy option foods. They only sell grass fed, organic and naturally raised products, without the use of antibiotics or added hormones.

An Easy Make-Ahead Breakfast Casserole from Beretta Farms

The recipe had very few ingredients and was super easy to make ahead! It took me very little time to make the casserole, pop it in the fridge, and the next morning when my alarm went off I put it in the oven and voila! Breakfast was served and it was so much more impressive than cereal!

Not only were we on time for soccer that morning, but we had time for a Starbucks stop. It was a miracle really.

Check out this easy to make and yummy recipe below. The recipe is from Cynthia Beretta, founder of Beretta Farms.Thanks so much to Beretta Farms for delivering some fabulous food to our family, and for saving us some previous time in the morning!

To place your own Beretta Farms order, or to find a retailer near you visit www.berettafamilyfarms.com.

Beretta Breakfast Casserole

Ingredients

1 loaf fresh brioche egg bread, cubed
10 eggs, slightly beaten
4 cups milk
1 tsp Dijon mustard
½ cup chopped green onions
1 tsp each sea salt and freshly ground pepper
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 lb Beretta Honey-Garlic Sausage, casings removed, crumbled and cooked
2 cups sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
½ cup mushrooms, sliced
½ cup red pepper, chopped

Directions

Butter a 9 x 13-inch casserole dish. Arrange bread cubes in single layer. Sprinkle with
shredded cheddar cheese. Beat together the eggs, milk, mustard, salt, pepper, and
Worcestershire sauce. Pour over the bread and cheese. Sprinkle the crumbled sausage,
green onions, mushrooms, and chopped peppers overtop. Cover and chill overnight.
Preheat oven to 350F, and bake uncovered for 1 hour or until set.

Xoxo Mandy

Roxymandy January 18, 2016

5 Things You Should Know About Monster Jam!

5 Things You Need to Know About Monster Jam!

Having a boy has exposed me to a whole new world filled with weekends reading books about trucks, playing trucks on the floor, and talking about trucks. I spend many of our car rides looking for cool trucks to point out to my son so he gets a glimpse at one of his favourite things.

I had never been to Monster Jam before, but my son was incredibly excited to go so it was really a no brainer. I have to admit – it was pretty fun!

I know it sounds obvious, but the trucks were HUGE! I had never seen one in person before, so I was surprised how massive they were!

5 Things You Need to Know About Monster Jam!

We had a really great time, and if you are thinking about going to one of the upcoming shows, here are a few things you should know!

1. Ear plugs are a must! The show is extremely loud, so we bought some great ear protectors for my son at Walmart for $20, and we also heard that Princess Auto had them as well. Even when I was in the bathroom I had to keep my earplugs in – it’s that loud. Definitely bring some sort of ear protection with you.

2. There is a lot of enticing merchandise for kids at the show. They even have what looks like monster truck tire ear muffs at the show, but please note these are not actually ear protection – they are just for fun (thanks Steph for pointing that out to me!). There is everything from t-shirts, to snowcones in collectors cups, to toy monster trucks that all of the kids were going crazy for.

3. Monster Jam is not just for boys! As I said, I actually had a great time! It was really entertaining. There was a lot of action happening at once, and it was fun to watch. The girls in the crowd were going crazy for the lone female driver on the course.

4. There is a Pit Party before the main event. We missed out on tickets this year (they were sold out when we tried to get our hands on them), but we have heard it’s really fun and a great way to get up close to all of the featured trucks. Families can see the trucks up close and check out the track before the show. Buy early or you will miss out like we did. Normally the Pit Party is a few hours before the show, with a two hour break in between the Pit Party and show start.

5. Worried about a smaller child sitting through the show? If you have a small child or one that has a short attention span, note that the show is approximately 2.5 hours with an intermission. If you are worried about the length of the show, it’s good to know the first half is where all of the monster truck racing happens, and the second half is just for the monster trucks to do a freestyle of the course. If you are concerned about your child sitting through the whole show, you could just pick the half you would rather see and still have an amazing experience.

Monster Jam is likely coming to a city near you, so make sure to check out the show and see when you can attend it yourself!

For more information about Monster Jam, visit their website here!

Xoxo Mandy

Roxymandy January 6, 2016

Friendships in My 20’s vs 30’s

With a new year starting, I have been reflecting on the good and the bad that occurred last year. I’ve noticed over the last couple years that even with the bad that has happened, generally I have been a much happier person! One of the major things I have noticed is the shift in my friendships, specifically the difference between my friendships when I was in my 20’s, and now that I’m in my 30’s.

In my 20’s I was still in university, and although I was broke, somehow I still had lots of money to spend on hanging out with my friends. It may of had to do with me living with my parents! I clearly remember being upset if I had plans on a Friday, but not on Saturday. It was as if not having plans with my friends on a weekend equated to having a terribly boring social life. If I had no plans at all, depression practically set in. I am exaggerating a bit here, but I had this nagging feeling that I needed to be doing something fun with my friends all weekend, and most weeknights if I could help it.

I think I had my most varied group of friends in my 20’s as well. In high school even when you are friends with different cliques of people, you usually spend a great deal of time with the same people over those years. My 20’s were so much more full of people coming in and out of my life. This was because I had high school friends who were scattered across colleges and universities, my new-found university friends, my friends from my various summer jobs and my first “real” jobs after university, and other friends I had picked up along the way.

My 30’s was when I finally learned what the difference was between a friend and an acquaintance. I thought that everyone in my life was a friend, but really so many of them could only be characterised as acquaintances. An acquaintance is someone you can socialize with and have some great times with, but if your car breaks down they are probably too busy to come by and help you (but they want you to call them next weekend to hang out).

I think the only influence having a baby had on my friendship revelation was time constraints. I didn’t have time to be everywhere anymore – I had to be much more choosy with what I could do with my spare time. Looking back this was a good thing for me because it forced to evaluate not only who I was socializing with, but WHY I was socializing with them.

I think the difference is that I’ve had life experiences along the way where people have actually PROVEN they are not a friend, but instead either an acquaintance or not a friend at all. There are those people that you spend so much of your time talking to about their relationship issues and problems, but the second you bring up something you are going through they are suddenly too consumed with their own problems to even listen.

I think back to some people I was friends with even a few years ago and say to myself, what were you thinking? I had some truly unhappy and negative people in my life that I am so happy that I cut ties with along the way. How did I know that it was the right thing to do? I didn’t feel a loss when they were gone – I just felt a bit lighter. There’s nothing worse then having someone in your life that doesn’t want the best for you, or spends time calculating who has more of what in the friendship.

I don’t think my friendship shifts are necessarily about having less time. Sure, I have less free time now than I did in my 20’s, but if something is important to you then you make time for it. I have friends that I literally drop everything for because I know they are so overwhelmed with their own lives that I will take any moment I can with them. I also have friends I only see every other month, and they are some of my favourite people to hang out with and I cherish spending time with them.

It’s the friends that don’t have the same regard for my own time I just let go of. There is no ill will on my part at all, but if someone doesn’t put any effort into me then I can’t just can’t continue to pull them into my direction.

One of the major things I try to focus on now in my 30’s is being happy, and what it takes to get me there. Although my 30’s are plagued with being carded at the liquor store less and less, an increased interest in anti-aging beauty regimens, and a newfound appreciation for sleep, my 30’s have also afforded me a bit more wisdom on my friendships and what’s truly important in them. I think that is why I am so much happier in my friendships now than I was before.

Roxymandy December 24, 2015

The Highlight Reel of my NYC Trip

The highlight reel of my NYC trip

Every year near Christmas I travel to NYC for some holiday shopping! I wrote about my last few trips here and here, and this year was a little different because I spent the night.

Highlights of my NYC Trip

My first time in New York I was there for about a week and did everything on the tourist bucket list. I’ve seen Times Square, Rockafeller Centre, the Empire State Building, and everything on those “must see” lists that you see over and over again on the Internet.

Each year that I go back I tend to choose the Christmas season because it’s so beautiful in the city, and I have shopping to do!

This year instead of flying in and out the same day, I stayed overnight to get more shopping time in. There were a few extra things I wanted to do this year as well.

As usual I flew Porter which I LOVE, but this year I used the new underground tunnel instead of the ferry. It was beyond fast and easy! I also tried their pre-booked parking as well which I really liked. I paid in advance to park, and a free shuttle took me to the airport in under 5 minutes. Porter really does think of everything!

Highlight of my NYC Trip

One of the highlights of my trip was heading to Soho for some shopping, and to have lunch at Ladurée. I can’t believe I’d never been to Soho before! Especially since it’s right beside Little Italy which I have been to before.

There were so many great stores, from the fabulous and luxe Chanel and Louis Vuitton, to boutiques and shops that had independent designer wear and handcrafted goods that couldn’t be found anywhere else.

Highlights of NYC trip

The Highlight Reel of my NYC Trip sparkleshinylove

Ladurée was beautiful. There was a back terrace, along with a bake shop in the front selling their famous macarons. The restaurant was intimate, and very chic. The staff spoke French, and the menu was French as well. On my way out I obviously had to buy a box of macarons, and a few extra to eat as I shopped.

I had the Salade Soho, and I could hardly finish it, and I also had their Chocolat Ladurée. It was their famous version of hot chocolate, but it was more like a drinkable chocolate sauce. It was pretty amazing, and a must try if you visit!

The Highlight Reel of my NYC Trip sparkleshinylove

The highlight reel of my NYC trip

After spending the rest of my day on 5th Avenue I made a quick stop at Sprinkles Cupcakes. There were many cupcake stops on my trip including to Magnolia and the bake shops at The Plaza Hotel Food Hall. Sprinkles was fun because they had a cupcake ATM! The inside of the shop was cute, but pretty ordinary. The cupcake ATM was a must-visit because hello, it’s a cupcake ATM! Oh yes, and the cupcakes were good too!

The highlight reel of my NYC trip

My day of marathon shopping ended with a reservation at Bergdorf Goodman’s famous BG Restaurant. I made a reservation well in advance, and requested a view of Central Park.

The Highlight Reel of my NYC Trip sparkleshinylove

I arrived for a rather early dinner at 5:00pm, and the place was completely packed! I was so glad I had a reservation because the restaurant was full of women just like me, completely exhausted and ready for a glass of champagne!

I had the Lobster Macaroni and Cheese which was actually the best I’d ever had (and that’s saying a lot since I order it any place that offers it) and a glass of champagne. It was the perfect location, and a great restaurant for a girl who needed a shopping break.

Before I left on my trip I booked a visit to the 9/11 Memorial Museum. Last year I didn’t realize how busy it was, and I couldn’t get in because so many people had pre-booked tickets. This year I knew I wanted to see it so I booked my entry time online.

The Highlight Reel of my NYC Trip sparkleshinylove

Even at 9:30am there was a line up just with people who had pre-booked tickets. It didn’t take long to get in, but when I left a couple hours later the line up was massive.

The museum was incredible. I realized after walking for a few minutes that it was a very different museum experience because there were no children, and everyone was very quiet.

The Highlight Reel of my NYC Trip sparkleshinylove

Photos could only be taken in certain areas of the museum, and in most sections they were prohibited. It’s hard to describe the whole experience. I thought it was beautifully done, but I had a hard time seeing some of the photos and footage. It was amazing to see things that were recovered (such as seat belts from one of the planes) and things recovered from the buildings, but it was very emotional. I couldn’t get through some of the museum, and it still took me two hours from start to finish. I absolutely recommend seeing it for yourself – it was very powerful. I did need a bit of time once I left to get my head straight again as it was based on such tragic events.

The Highlight Reel of my NYC Trip sparkleshinylove

On my way to Starwberry Fields in Central Park I happened to pass Tavern on the Green, and they had a beautiful patio that people were enjoying because of the amazing weather. I only wore a sweater while on my trip because it was so warm in the city, and I couldn’t help but stop for a mimosa on the patio.

I’d never been inside Tavern on the Green before, but it was gorgeous. It was packed on a Saturday afternoon, but the patio had lots of room so I took a breather. I can’t wait to head back one day to have lunch or dinner there. In this case I had no time, but it was the perfect spot for a mimosa!

The Highlight Reel of my NYC Trip sparkleshinylove

If you are looking for a weekend getaway you should consider flying with Porter to NYC! The trip is quick and easy from Toronto, and I can’t wait to get back there.