Did you know the best beaches are in Northwest Florida? Spoiler Alert! This post is about 12 reasons to plan a trip to Northwest Florida, and the beaches are at the top of the list! My good friend, Karen, and I had an opportunity to hit up several Northwest Florida destinations in partnership with VISIT FLORIDA and local tourism boards, South Walton, Emerald Coast, and Visit Pensacola. From East to West, we visited Inlet Beach, Rosemary Beach, Alys Beach, Seaside, Destin, Okaloosa Island, Pensacola, Pensacola Beach and Perdido Key. These towns are just a few inside the larger region called…

I’ve needed eye glasses pretty much all my life. I first started wearing them when I was in Grade 2 – what my parents thought was the result of me having my eyes glued too closely to the TV every day! Turns out, bad eyesight is something that runs in our family. When I was in elementary school, I didn’t mind wearing glasses because I was known as the school “brainer” by all my friends (a nickname I inherited because I was in the gifted program and was always the teacher’s pet). But, the situation quickly changed when I got…

Exotic location, tropical climate, beautiful beaches, turquoise water and lush scenery, Mauritius is one of the most underrated islands in the world. Full stop. The land of the Dodo bird – it’s been on my bucket list for over a decade! I finally had the opportunity to visit a few months ago for my honeymoon. When people asked where we planned to go for our honeymoon and I told them Mauritius, many asked me “why?” or “where is that?”. It was surprising to see just how many people didn’t know anything at all about this beautiful island nation just in…

Where in Toronto can you find a hotel/resort/entertainment complex/sports facility, all in one property? Well, prior to Hotel X Toronto opening earlier this year, the answer would have been nowhere. Hotel X is Toronto’s newest (and only) luxury resort-style hotel. In fact, it’s not just a hotel; it’s an entire experience. I had the absolute privilege of being treated to the full experience last week with girlfriends, Solmaz, Soheila, and Karen, for a girls (and fur baby)-themed staycation. The Location Hotel X Toronto is located on the grounds of the Canadian Exhibition Place, just across from the Enercare Centre. It…

Ontario, “yours to discover”. I never really understood what that meant as a kid, whenever I’d see it on an Ontario license plate. It’s shameful to admit that I was raised and live in Toronto, and I will plan trips all around the world, but have never taken time to explore my own backyard! I was surprised to see just how much there is to discover within less than a 3-hr. drive from Toronto. I went on a little road trip with some girlfriends to Ontario’s Southwest, specifically Sarnia & Point Edward and Grand Bend. We visited several places along…

My husband and I recently went on our honeymoon. We spent a week in Dubai and a week in Mauritius. As both were places we’d wanted to visit for a long time, this trip was quite the dream come true! We saw a lifetime’s worth of sights, which I’ll write about in full travel guides on each location soon. But first, I wanted to recap our stay at one of the hotels in Dubai that made our honeymoon extra special: Fairmont Dubai. With over 600 hotels offering a total of more than 100,000 rooms, Dubai is ranked as one of…

I used to spend far too much of my time money at coffee shops. I’m ashamed to admit that every morning, like clockwork, I would go to Tim Hortons to buy an XL coffee, and sometimes get 1 (or 2) breakfast sandwiches to go along with it. The combined total of my order could be as high as $10.25, and it didn’t just stop there! At least 1 or 2 times a week, I’d also buy specialty coffee, like a latte or flat white at an independent coffee shop (averaging about $4-$4.50 a pop). Talk about throwing my money down…