Fairmont Royal York

I love hotels. I've stayed in a few really amazing ones in Toronto like Hotel Le Germain (uber modern and cool), The King Edward (so fancy), and last January at the InterContinental (I really loved the room). Three years ago Aubrey and I traveled to Ottawa and stayed at the Fairmont Chateau Laurier and it was amazing. (Highly recommend) and perhaps one of my favourite hotels was the Four Seasons in Costa Rica for our Honeymoon (which we stayed in only for a 2 days because of an emergency back home) Truthfully I'd stay every weekend in a luxurious hotel if my budget allowed. I love the shampoos, the beds, the room service. I seriously LOVE hotels.

So you can understand my excitement when we booked rooms at the Fairmont Royal York for this past weekend. The reason for the stay? My sister and I were having an old' fashioned girls weekend. On the itinerary was a fancy afternoon tea and then our own rooms on the Gold Floor. Unfortunately there were some major room issues so I can't really share (or recommend) the awesomeness of the rooms, but what I CAN recommend to you is their Afternoon Tea in the Library Bar. It was lovely! The service was professional yet friendly, the food delicious, the surroundings were perfect. I also had the company of sister, so the tea was perfect.

Have any awesome hotels you recommend? Toronto, or elsewhere that you REALLY loved?

Ps., Like afternoon tea? Here is a list of BLOGTO's best places for Afternoon Tea in Toronto.

too pretty to eat. but we ate it anyways.

We had a little celebration tonight at my Mom's, one that required a cake. I purchased this cake from Knead Bakery that is in our neighbourhood. This is your classic neighbourhood bakery - Small, and tucked off the main road, it has the most delicious breads and sweets. The cake was so gorgeous that I felt as though it was worthy of its own post. I have yet to see a cake ever decorated like this before. Even if you can't visit the bakery - you may find this photo as inspiration for your own cake decorating adventures. xo Lindsay

shopping therapy at homesense

Last night when Aubrey came to help with bath & bedtime with Oscar - I made a dash for the car and decided to go for a much needed retail therapy trip. The joy of wandering HomeSense slowly without a screaming, wiggling child is heaven. I picked up a few things for the kitchen but I'm reluctant to buy much until things can have a permanent home. Here are some shots from last night that you may have seen me tweeting. [Top Left] That ottoman was $69 and if Oscar had a pink bedroom you'd better believe that I would have picked that up. [Top Right] That little whale pitcher was very Jonathan Adler and was $16 and he made his way all the way to the checkout with me, until I decided to leave him at the store. I'm trying to be mindful of bringing in less random "stuff" that wont have an purpose all the time into our home. [Bottom Left] HomeSense has a collection of very organic wooden bowls that are absolutely gorgeous. [Bottom Right] And HomeSense is my go to spot for baskets. I never, ever buy baskets elsewhere. Just some shots from last night from the needed "Time Out" for Mommy. ;) xo Linds

Angus & Company, Shopping in Toronto

As the kitchen renovation has an end date in sight, I've once again found myself being drawn to the softer decorating process for our home. I'm looking at finding an area rug for our TV room, blinds for the kitchen, decorative objects. There is a shop in Toronto, Angus and Company that I have been in on occasion - I recently started following on twitter, and then "liked" them on facebook and my heart has skipped a beat on more than a few occasion at the photos that they post. That starburst mirror I fell in love with - I called to ask how much it cost (turns out it is $1,700 approx). Unfortunately it is out of my budget but I don't doubt its value. Honestly, they really know how to style a room and use a mixture of old, and new items together. Although the majority of items are well over my budget, this is one of my favourite shops to follow and hopefully be inspired by for our own home. xo Linds
All photos via Angus & Company's Blog

Sugar Beach on the first day of Summer

It's the first day of Summer, and the three of us headed Sugar Beach to explore. There is something appealing about the name "Sugar Beach" and I was excited to see the permanent pink umbrellas. It's a small beach, and absolutely beautifully maintained. Wondering why it's called Sugar beach? "The design for Canada’s Sugar Beach, by Claude Cormier Architectes Paysagistes draws upon the industrial heritage of the area and its relationship to the neighbouring Redpath Sugar factory." (via)

It was perfect weather, not too hot or humid. And thankfuly I brought my good camera and snapped some photos of my boys. The sun was perfect, and Oscar was in an equally perfect mood.

Love these photos because you can see his little chicklet teeth that are coming in. :)