Rochester Place Resort Review

Do you guys remember the girls trip I went on last month to the Windsor Essex area?

Well I had so much fun, I decided to go back again, this time with my family in tow!

Louis had booked off a week in August months ago, but we couldn't decide on where to go.

While visiting Windsor back in July, I had the opportunity to tour the luxury cottages at Rochester Place Resort, and immeditaely knew this would be the perfect place to bring my family for our little summer getaway.

The cottage itself is actually a trailer, but unlike any other trailer you have ever seen or been in.
The contemporary design and top of the line finishes throughout the cottage made it feel like we were staying in a high end condo.
The cottage comes with stainless steel appliances, vinyl flooring, quartz counter tops, a ton of storage space, and my personal favourite - the indoor/outdoor propane fireplace.
The model we stayed in was The Berry which offers 533sqft 1 bedroom, 1 bathroom.
The living room is furnished with a pullout couch, which Louis and I opted to stay in, so we could  watch our favourite shows on the wall mounted LED television.

The design and colour scheme of the cottage was so beautiful and calming.

The kids had so much fun eating their meals and snacks on the beautiful kitchen island where they could turn around and watch their favourite shows at the same time.

The resort offers a ton of recreational activities for the whole family as well.

There is a park and pool located on site as well as a recreational room where they host events and have it stocked with arcade games, board games and more for rainy days.

When the kids weren't busy swimming at the pool or playing at the park, they had a blast just enjoying the back patio of the cottage.

The patio is furnished with beautiful outdoor seating and a top of the line BBQ so you can make your meals and eat them together as a family.

Rochester Place Resort is the perfect place for a girls/guys weekend, couples getaway or family vacation.

These cottages are also available for purchase for as little as $200 Bi-Weekly.

Amenities Available

18 Hole Golf

Aqua Fit

5 Star Restaurant

Yoga

Playground

Weekly Live Entertainment

Kids Club

Ice Cream Socials

Pool & Splash Pad

Recreation Hall

Volleyball, Pickleball & Horseshoe

& More

Services

Golf Cart Permit

WIFI

Laundrymat

& More

For more resort info click  HERE

My Favourite White Shirt

For the past five{ish} years my signature outfit has been a pair of jeans and a black t-shirt.
Pretty boring, right?
I wasn't always this boring when it came to my style, but in the midst of motherhood this style was just easy and comfortable.
I mentioned in a previous post that as the kids are getting older I want to start playing with fashion again.
I used to love shopping and putting together outfits.
I would spend hours at the mall, thrift stores etc putting together stylish outfits and I can't wait to get more creative with fashion now that I'll have more time on my hands when all the kids are in school.
I've been slowly introducing clothing items that I have shied away from the past few years into my wardrobe again, like this white open back top from Pink Blush.
For years I have been scared to wear white because of all the tiny finger prints I was sure to get on me but I'm ready to step outside my comfort zone and wear some lighter colours.

The material of this shirt is so comfortable and the empire waist hides all my mama lumps haha!
 

 **This is a sponsored post which means I was provided compensation and/or product for this post. As always, all thoughts and opinions are 100% my own. **

 

 

WAYHOME DAY ONE

Hey Guys!
I know I've already spammed your Instagram feeds with Wayhome photos but I'm not stopping there.
This was the first year that Louis & I attended Wayhome and we had THE best time.
This was Wayhome's third year and as soon as we heard the line up for 2017 we wanted to go, but unfortunately was out of our budget.
There were a lot of complaints from people about this years line up because in the past Wayhome was more geared towards Indie acts but this year they decided to add more genres like EDM & Hip Hop.
I personally love the diverse line up this year because as a music lover, I don't discriminate against different genres of music, a good song is a good song regardless of genre.
I have favourite bands and songs across all genres of music so I was really excited to see some of my favourite bands come together for this wonderful weekend of music and art.
The week before the festival Louis came home from work to tell me that he had won 3 day passes to Wayhome!
I was super excited of course, but how would we find a babysitter for ALL three kids for THREE days on this short notice?
Then Louis told me, that kids under 12 were free at Wayhome.
Hold on, WHAT?!
Kids at music festivals!? Isn't that a little crazy.

We decided to go the Friday alone to check out the vibe of the Festival before bringing our kids the rest of the weekend. 

The vibe of Wayhome is awesome and super chill.
I'm sure it could be a different story depending on the crowd your with but we had the best time.
There were all the food trucks you could dream of and tons of room to walk around.
We chose to stand right up by the stages but saw that there was more than enough green space at each stage that if we came back with the kids we could set up a little spot on the grass and hang back and enjoy the music at our own pace.

 

 (Wayhome Vlog Day One)


Wayhome Kids

(Wayhome Vlog Days Two & Three)

Meet Southwestern Ontario's Millennial Entrepreneurs

 Last week, I went on a road trip to Southwestern Ontario for a little girls getaway.

While in Windsor, ON I had the opportunity to meet a few local Millennials who turned their passions into booming businesses.
I came home that week feeling so inspired by the people I met on this trip, that I had to come home and share their stories with you.
I hope that this post inspires maybe even just one person to go after their dreams and make a living doing what they love.

  

The first millennial entrepreneurs I met on our trip were Danielle Chevalier & Chris Mangay, owners of Urban Surf &
 AXFIT.

Danielle & Chris have brought a California vibe to Windsor, ON. 

 The first thing you'll notice at Urban Surf is how chill and down to earth the staff are.
Everyone is SO lovely and immediately makes you feel like your amongst your best friends.
Urban Surf offers water sport rentals (canoe, kayak & SUP) between the hours of 9am - 6pm everyday and one hour SUP (stand up paddle board) fitness classes for $25 on weekends. 

Danielle, her husband Chris and three daughters (13yo Rya & twin baby girls) live on site and they are serious #familygoals.

How cool is it that they are able to make a living spending time together as a family doing what they love?!
After meeting them, I may or may not have gone home and told my husband that he needed to quit his 9-5 job asap so we could pursue a family business together.

 If you are in the Windsor, ON area you must make a stop at Urban Surf!
I have plans to head back with my family later this summer.

For weekly schedules, special events & more click HERE

The next millennial entrepreneurs I met were Benjamin Leblanc-Beaudoin and Ginette Tremblay, owners of Iron Kettle B&B.

I'm gong to warn you, the story of how they came to own this business will melt you.
Ben & Ginette stayed at the Iron Kettle B&B on their wedding night back on July 27th 2013.
A few months after their stay, they found out the owners were in the process of selling it. 
Ben, a chef who can be seen on Chopped Canada and Ontario's Southwest Next Stop Taste Video Series, got the idea of purchasing it with his soon to be wife and the rest is history! 

Combining his culinary skills and her eye for design they run the most charming B&B Southern Ontario has to offer! 

To book a stay at the Iron Kettle click HERE

How To Get Kids Glasses for FREE

Both our oldest and youngest have been wearing glasses since before the age of two.
A couple weeks ago, as I was standing in line with my son at Canada's Wonderland, a lovely woman started talking to me about her son who also wore glasses.
She asked the usual questions - how long has he been wearing glasses? Which Dr does he see? etc etc.
Then she asked me the one question that no one had ever asked me before.
 She asked me if I knew about the Loblaws Kids See Free program. 

FREE?!
WHAT?!

Kids can see FREE?!
She explained to me that Loblaws offers this amazing program where kids can get one pair of glasses a year between the ages of 4-10.
I couldn't believe I had never heard of this program before!!! 
My daughter is 8.5 and has been asking, no BEGGING, us for a new pair of glasses for quite some time.
She is at this age where she is starting to care about her appearance, and she was outgrowing the style of glasses we had purchased for her a couple of years back.
Having three young kids with only one full time income means we are on a pretty strict budget, so unless her glasses were broken or lost, we had no plans to replace them - until we heard about this program.
In order to get a FREE pair of glasses your child needs a prescription no older than 90 days old and  has to be between the ages of 4 - 10.
Simple as that.
We purchased our daughters frames at Zhers but you can stop any Loblaws owned Optical centre.
The frame must have a value of $49 or under and Emma actually chose an adult frame, so we just paid the difference.
This post is in NO way sponsored.
I just know first hand what an expense glasses can be for young families and wanted to share and help others like that kind lady at Wonderland did for me.
You can find your neasrest Loblaws location HERE

Kelsey,
Ox.

On My Playlist - Top 15

**This is a sponsored post which means I was provided compensation and/or product for this post. As always, all thoughts and opinions are 100% my own. **

 

I was going through the blog archives, and came upon THIS post from 2012 where I shared what music I was into at the time.

One of the things I love so much about music, is it's amazing ability to evoke such vivid memories of the past.
Clicking the music videos in that post brought me right back to that period of time.
To me, music is the closest thing we have to a time machine.

 Obviously, I am a huge fan of music - so I thought it would be fun to share with you what's currently on my playlist.

On My Playlist

Humble - Kendrick Lamar

Unforgettable - French Montana ft Swae Lee

Ride - Lana Del Rey

Not Fair - Lily Allen

Secrets - The weekend

She's Out Of Her Mind - Blink 182

Quit - Ariana Grande ft Cashmere Cat

I'm The One - Dj Khaled ft. Just Bieber, Quavo, Chance the Rapper, LIl Wayne

Masks Off - Future

Bloodstream - The Chainsmokers

Despacito - Luis Fonsi, Daddy Yankee ft Justin Bieber 

Blem - Drake

Congratulatons - Post Malone ft Quavo

Paper Bag - Fiona Apple

Now or Never - Halsey 

Sudio Headphones

My favourite way to listen to music is under headphones.

This way I can get completely lost in my music.

Right now, I'm obsessed with my Sudio Sweden Regent Headphones.

My favourite thing about these headphones is that they are wireless with 24 hours of continuous playtime.

I usually listen to music at the end of the night as I'm laying in bed, or when I am working out - and the last thing I want to worry about is an annoying cord getting in the way.

You can also get interchangeable caps to change up the look of your headphones.

Use Coupon Code: kelsey15 for 15% off

I love discovering new songs and artists and would love to hear what you are currently listening to in the comments below.

Kelsey,

ox.

 

Ste. Annes Spa

I had the opportunity to visit Ste Anne's Spa in Grafton, ON last week for a much needed day away with my hubby.

I honestly can't even remember the last time my husband and I took the time to do something for ourselves, and boy did we need it. 

Truth be told, my husband and I had been fighting a lot leading up to our day at the Spa.

We were both so distracted by work, kids, mortgage payments and all that boring life stuff that we weren't taking the time out of our hectic lives to make one another a priority and our marriage was suffering as a result of that.

Ste. Annes Spa was just the place we needed to go to escape the chaos of  our every day lives and spend that quality time together reconnecting with one another.

 

The spa is just under a two hour drive away from Toronto, but as we drove down the long winding road that lead to the spa, it felt as though we had left Canada and were driving straight into Europe.
The Spa is situated in the middle of beautiful forest, trails and gardens and the spa itself resembles a castle.
We had the Day Spa Package which included an all-inclusive three course lunch, $120 spa service, after noon tea, use of all the amenities and a wellness class.

We arrived at the spa at 10am where we checked in and got a tour of the Spa.
Our lunch reservations were at 11:30, so after our tour, we headed down to the locker rooms to change into our comfy white robes that were provided to us by Ste. Anne's.
The first place we chose to visit was the quiet room, which shouldn't be a surprise, because with three kids quiet is not something we get to appreciate very often haha.
The quiet room offers massage chairs, puzzles and even adult colouring books.
To be honest, it felt pretty weird for me in that room at first.
If you know me, you know I talk A LOT, and relaxing isn't really something I'm used to, but I loved this room so much that I ended up back in it at the end of the day before we went back home.
After the quiet room we went into the Eucalyptus steam room and OH MY GOD.
Louis practically had to drag me out of there so we could go eat lunch.

Lunch was beyond amazing.
I've been talking a lot about trying to live a healthier lifestyle, which can sometimes be difficult when travelling, but the lunch menu at Ste. Anne's offered a wide variety of delicious and healthy options.
To start I chose the Vegetable, Quinoa & Hemp Seed salad which was absolutely delicious.
For my main course I had the Baked Haddock coated in almond and pumpkin seed crust which was just perfect!
I was pretty full after my meal but couldn't pass up on the delicious chocolate tart for dessert.

It was a beautiful day, so after lunch, we went outside to explore the trails and gardens before it was time for our spa service.
It was so refreshing to be outdoors surrounded by so much natural beauty.
After our walk, we returned to the spa for our Signature Facials.
As I walked into the treatment room, I was expecting to get right down to business with the facial, but to my surprise there was a bowl of warm soapy water waiting for me to soak my feet in.
After a gentle leg/foot scrub, my facial began and it was so relaxing I almost fell asleep!
As the mask was setting on my face, I  also got to enjoy a wonderful foot massage. 

After our spa service we headed back outside to enjoy the beautiful day.
Ste. Anne's has an outdoor pool, hot tub and plunge pool to enjoy but we decided to skip those this time around to enjoy time together outside in the gardens.
There are hammocks set up all over the grounds and we spent half an hour just laying out in the sun talking about life and plans for the future.
After our time outdoors, we headed back inside for our Wellness Class.
We chose to do Yoga Nidra - which is a form of Yoga without movement.
It is also referred to as a "yogic sleep" which makes sense, because my hubby fell asleep about 2 minutes into the class haha

After hubby woke up from his nap, I mean, Yoga class - it was time for our afternoon tea.
I didn't take any photos because by this point in the day I wanted to take everything in and really be present in the moment.
There were many delicious teas to choose from and we were given an assortment of finger foods & desserts to eat alongside our tea.
It was the perfect end to our day and I can't wait to go back and visit again.
Next time, we will definitely be trying out the outdoor grotto.

To book your stay at Ste. Anne's Spa, visit their website HERE

Kelsey, 

ox.
**This is a sponsored post which means I was provided compensation and/or product/experience for this post. As always, all thoughts and opinions are 100% my own. **