hiking the scarborough bluffs

one thing i really wanted to accomplish this summer was to spend some serious time exploring the city i live in (toronto).  we've lived here for over 5 years & i'm ashamed to say i have seen very little of the city.  i often forget just how much this city has to offer.

one amazing gem, located on the east end of the city, are the scarborough bluffs.  a few weeks ago we went out to do some hiking, walking, exploring, picnicing & relaxing.  it was a beautiful, sunny day.  we could not have asked for better weather.

finding information on the parks was a bit of a challenge.  so we thought we'd share a few things to help you plan a trip to the bluffs:

- the park is accessible by ttc (woot!). you can take the subway to kennedy, and take the #12 bus down (exit the bus at kingston road (at brimley) & continue walking down the road).  you can also exit at either warden or victoria park subway & take the #12 bus as well (this option is a little bit longer).

-  there are a few different parks, all relatively close to each other.  scarborough bluffs park offers some incredible views of the top of the bluffs. bluffers park has the marina, yacht club, and a beautiful walkway that has some great views of the bluffs along the water.  cathedral bluffs has the beach (at the bottom) and some hiking trails above.

- if you want to do a lot of exploring along the top of the bluffs, good shoes are a must.  the bluffs is a fairly large area, so expect to do a lot of walking.

- this is a great park to have a picnic at.  all along the water are bbq pits and lots of grass to toss a blanket.

we had such a great day!
if you've been to the bluffs and have recommendations on things in the area worth checking out, let us know.

st. jacobs

i fell so in love with this cute little town when we went a few weekends ago.  beautiful homes, friendly people, adorable shops, and little stands selling fruit, veggies & flowers.  b had to drag me away!

one of the best things about st. jacobs - it's the perfect day trip from the city.  

here are a some things we did:

[st. jacobs market] this market is huge!  not only does it have fruits, veggies, meats and cheeses, but also flowers & plants, baked goods, clothing, jewelry, antiques, furniture, and a flea market.  you can find just about anything here.

[antique market]  there are loads of antique markets in st. jacobs.  the downtown strip has a few, but my favourite was the st. jacob's antique market.  voted number one by the waterloo region, it is located just next to the market. 

[explore the town] downtown st. jacobs is so cute.  cafes, restaurants, specialty food stores, and shops line the downtown strip.  

[beer sampling at block 3 brewing company]  wherever we go, b does some research into the beer scene. i was surprised when he said st. jacob's had it's own brewery.  so of course we stopped in.  this place had an awesome atmosphere (records playing good music & board games to play), friendly staff, and a variety of great craft beers.

[exploring the country farms] this is the best place to get produce.  little fruits & veggie stands are everywhere.  this is the produce actually grown on the farms in the area.  some larger farms also have little shops. 

bedroom makeover

this room is by far the brightest in the condo, so i knew we could get away with painting some of it dark and not have the room look like a cave.  

the walls before painting had only the builder's paint on them - a chalky, matte, off-white colour.  it made the room feel really boring.

we decided to go for a bold, dark grey colour, but only paint the 2 longer walls as to not make the space too dark.  the two skinnier walls (one has the window, and the other has the closet) are painted a crisp white to contrast the dark grey.  they really pick up the natural light from the window.

   

the love how the grey really highlights the gold accents of the arrow jewelry holder & lamp, and brings out the wood tones in the headboard & vintage dresser.  

i am so happy with how the space turned out, and i'm thrilled that it's finally painted.  so long ugly builder's paint!  

bruce peninsula [national park]

guys, it's almost summer. and you know what that means...camping!  who doesn't love camping: the fresh air, the relaxed casual pace of the weekend, and food cooked over an open fire (why does it make something as simple as pancakes taste so darn amazing?!?).

   

  

  

only a few hours from the city, bruce peninsula surpassed my expectations.  located at the top of georgian bay at the start of the bruce trail, the park has amazing hiking trails and views of some of the bluest water's i've seen in this country.

here are few of the things we did while camping at the park:

[visitor's centre & lookout tower] the 20 metre tower located at the visitor's centre is worth the climb - it overlooks the region and georgian bay.

[hiking to the grotto] on our first day there we did our largest hike, starting on the marr lake trail to boulder beach, walked along the coast to the grotto & indian head cove, & continued along the horse lake trail back to our site.  we packed lunches, took (a lot) of photos, & had a really awesome day.

[half log dump hiking trail] this trail can be short, taking you right to the shore, or extend past to offer some amazing views of the cliffs.  hiking from halfway log dump to cave point is only 1km in distance, but is a trail full of ups & downs.  it was definitely a challenge in spots, but the amazing views were worth it.

[tobermory] this place is tiny & very touristy.  full of cafes, restaurants, & boat cruise options, it's a nice change of scenery. a great way to spend an afternoon..

[boat cruise] we did the fathom five non-stop glass bottom boat tour with blue heron cruises & had a total blast.  touring around georgian bay, it offered some incredible views of the cliffs, remote islands, the flowerpot rock & a trip over a ship that sunk in the harbour.

[watch the sunset]  a vacation tradition for us, we grabbed a bottle of wine & enjoyed the sun setting over cyprus lake.