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Now that some of the COVID-19 travel and stay restrictions have been lifted, Ontarians will be planning more local getaways than ever with their families and friends this summer. I’m trying to use this time as a silver lining and explore some of my own backyard. One of the places I’m excited at the thought of re-visiting is the Cedars of Lake Eugenia Resort. 
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I’m always down to try a new beauty trend. As I’ve moved into my 30’s I do all I can to keep my skin looking young and firm and I’m no stranger to a good chemical peel or needle poke to help keep me looking fresh and rested. I’ve heard of PRP facials by their other name ‘Vampire facial’, and those famous pictures of Kim Kardashian’s face covered in blood. Yikes, right? I was a little apprehensive about it, but then again, I’ve heard celebrities sing its praise with their glowing, baby like skin, which is definitely something I strive for. So, why not?  BEFORE  I was given the opportunity to check out the Toronto Zoo’s latest exhibit recently, and this time it wasn’t new exotic animal to admire. Terra Lumina is a new immersive art and light experience on a 1.5km trail inside the zoo. The 11th exhibit in Moment Factory’s night walks, the event begins at sundown, the dark forest comes to life with messages of hope and harmony for the upcoming future.
 Tired of doing the same old thing for date night, group events or family time? How about being a hero? This is where the traditional dinner and a movie take a backseat. It’s time to put YOURSELF in the action!
You and your friends are now a team, working to save the last known dragon egg, preventing their extinction. Okay, now just where would a dragon egg be in Toronto?! In a castle of course! Where else? Join Secret City Adventures for their newest escape room experience, The Dragon’s Song – taking place at Casa Loma. I was lucky enough to get a sneak peek through Travel Massive’s media night event! Fall is by far my favourite season and one of the main reasons why are the beautiful changing leaves. Being a city girl, I usually admire the foliage from the Don Valley Parkway or Evergreen Brickworks. This year, on the long Thanksgiving weekend, my partner and I were treated to 2 night stay at an eco-friendly micro cabin near Frontenac Provincial Park from South Eastern Ontario! (https://thegreatwaterway.com ) We were REALLY going to experience an autumn forest at its peak! I first found out about CabinScape through South Eastern Ontario. They’re a company that rents out 8 different micro cabins (anywhere from 120 sq feet to 168 sq feet) in the Canadian wilderness. Many of them back out onto picturesque forests, rolling farm acres or private lakes and rivers. What caught my interest the most was that they were all solar powered and eco-friendly. As someone who likes to travel as much as I can, I try to offset my carbon footprint anyway I can. This seemed like a really responsible long weekend getaway.  I have to admit, everyone I told my weekend plans to sort of looked at me in surprise. “Buffalo, for the WEEKEND? What’s in Buffalo? I haven’t been since I was a kid”. Buffalo, New York sort of has a bad rap here in Toronto, many of us just hop across the border for a day to enjoy sweet, sweet American shopping at Target and Outlets, then drive back home before the sun goes down.  There is nothing I like better than finding a really unique Air BnB experience. I have favourite folders of tree houses, farm stays and yurts all over the world that I may not even get to, but one can dream. I enjoy roughing it a bit and find camping pretty fun. My friends and I can forgo electricity and running water for a long weekend to cook over an open fire and take a dip in the lake.   My husband and I were celebrating our first wedding anniversary this year and we wanted to have a fun getaway. We were looking for somewhere close that would justify only being there for a long weekend and somewhere we’ve never fully experienced together. May sound like a weird destination for a romantic getaway, but we hopped on a Porter flight to Halifax.
I search for beautiful/unique Air Bnb’s like it’s my job, I follow Air Bnb hashtags on Twitter and Instagram and follow the ‘Best of’ Air Bnb accounts. It’s a fun little hobby I have. I found a cute spot on the north end run called Urban Garden Flat run by owner Terry, who left a little message board out for us wishing us a Happy Anniversary with snacks and local beers. I would highly recommend this place as it was beautifully decorated, had everything you could ever need and the price was right. Check them out at this link here: https://www.airbnb.ca/rooms/31846253  I need a minimum of a trip every 3 months. I just recently received my fourth week vacation allotment at work (WOOHOO!) but sometimes, schedules don’t work out. Pals are using their vacations on out of town weddings, my husband is jet setting to the middle of nowhere Canada for work, my mommy friends can’t get a long term sitter, man, getting older is hard. BUT! I was recently given a free stay at the hip Queen Street location Drake Hotel (www.thedrake.ca) from Daily Hive Toronto (www.dailyhive.com) (BLESS you!)
Out of all the places I’ve been in the world, Mexico wasn’t one of them until just last month. People are usually pretty surprised “Not even once? An all-inclusive around Cancun somewhere?” Nope, resorts aren’t normally my style, and maybe what took me so long to finally visit Mexico was that I assumed it was all one big tourist trap of giant beach hotels, open bars and college kids. My bad. I found Merida almost by mistake, I was browsing through Air BnB and saw a gorgeous house for rent in the city centre. Never having heard of Merida before, I pulled it up on a map. It wasn’t near a beach (but still accessible to one, read on) and boasted food markets, free art galleries and not completely over run by tourists. Bingo. My husband and I along with a couple friends of ours booked for the end of February.  Here are some events we really enjoyed, or tips we found out about while visiting and maybe you will too if Merida is in your future!
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SarahHey! I'm Sarah! A 30 something living in downtown Toronto with a great guy and an OK dog. I love seeing what my city has to offer and try to hit up as many fun events or attractions as I can! I haven't slept since 2004.
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