The Ferg- Prince Edward County

The Ferg- Prince Edward County

After spending the last long weekend up north at a cottage, my boyfriend and I made an extended long weekend and headed to Prince Edward County. I had visited both Sandbanks Provincial Park and Wellington before, but had always wanted to check out the charming little town of Picton. After doing some research, I came across the cutest Victorian home vacation rental called The Ferg located right in Picton. The Ferg was originally built in 1850 and has been restored and renovated with inspiration drawn from Scandinavian design, with touches of minimalism, simplicity, and charm. This spot is perfect for a little romantic weekend away for two, a wine tour with girlfriends, or have the family come out and enjoy the Main House. A little R & R is the Ferg’s specialty!

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Talk about pastel perfection!

A sweet escape from the city is always nice, especially when you visit somewhere that feels so welcoming just like home. The Ferg is the perfect destination to do just that. Booking your stay is so simple, head over to their website to book directly.  I heard back from one of the owners Anna right away, who was so kind and helpful throughout everything. With our instructions on how to get to the house and get into our section of the house, settling in was a breeze. The beautiful historic home is divided into three separate sections available to be rented out and has a very cottage-like feel to it. The Main House for a larger group, The Loft, and the One Bedroom Suite (this is where we stayed.) It was the perfect size and had all the amenities we needed.

Immediately upon entering the home I was blown away by the simplistic, rustic, Scandinavian décor. I wouldn’t have imagined myself appreciating this type of décor, but there was something so refreshing about the minimalism of it. Right away we felt right at home.

Tour:

Guests enter through the back of the home (where the parking lot is located). There is a cute picnic table, a bbq that could be used be all  guests, and well-maintained gardens in the backyard. You come in through the kitchen, while although small, has everything and more that you would need during your stay. There is a small table with two chairs which is perfect for tea for two in the morning.  A small bathroom stems off the side of the kitchen, which included a full bathtub/shower.

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A place for everything, and everything in it’s place!

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Guests then walk into the living area/dining room space where a large wooden table is situated in the middle of the room. The colourful fresh cut flowers stole my hear right away. This is the perfect spot to enjoy a home-cooked meal complimented with a nice bottle of local wine.

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Off to the side of the dining room was the bedroom. It was a small space but was really all we needed for our stay. There was a large bed which was so comfortable I could have stayed in it all day! During the day we kept the blinds open in the room to let the beauty of the natural light do its thing. The minimalism decor also carried through into the bedroom which I very much enjoyed, going to bed with a clear room makes for a clear mind and the ability to rest easy.

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The natural lighting in the bedroom makes for optimal makeup application, an added bonus!

The last part of the One Bedroom Suite was the family room. This room had a large L-shaped couch, coffee table, and a TV with cable.  There was an additional door off of the family room that led outside to a small porch which would be a great spot to sit and wind down after a day of touring around Picton and the wineries, etc.

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My absolute favourite part of the house was the large wooden table with mis-match painted chairs, it came together and worked so well. There is so much character in this space and you really felt at home, truly a great place to relax! The rustic floors added even more charm to this space, not to mention made for a great place to take pictures! There is so much natural light that emanates through the rooms and the crisp white décor really make a blogger’s job of photographing a dream.

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The specs:

This fully self-contained and private One Bedroom Suite offers a queen bedroom, a spacious dining room and living room with a queen sleeper sofa, a charming gas stove to heat the unit, a foodie-equipped kitchen, a full bathroom with a bathtub and a private front porch shaded by an old maple tree.- thefergpec.com 

Amenities:

24/hr Check-In

Cable TV

Family / Kid Friendly

Free Parking

Hair Dryer

Heating

Indoor Gas Fireplace

Iron

Kitchen, complete with Coffee Maker

Laptop Friendly Workspace

Pets Allowed

Organic Shampoo & Conditioner

Smart TV

Wheelchair Accessible

Unlimited WIFI

Mavea Water Filter

Organic Coffee, Tea & Sugar

Thank you to The Ferg for a lovely little getaway. If you are planning to visit, you’re sure to love this space as much as we did!

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The rest of our stay in PEC:

We decided to do a little touring around the area and ended up coming across some really neat spots!

We stopped into Bloomfield and visited County Collective‘s pop-up shop. This has to be hands down the most adorable shop inside and out, not to mention the sweetest owner (Tania!)

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Escape Canvas Utility Bag: Forest Bound- $99.00

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The Tiffany Pratt Canvas Collection is to die for!

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The most beautiful coffee table book out there! Tiffany Pratt- Designer, Author, Maker is the epitome of rainbow perfection and DIY’s

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Next on our list was a visit to the hip and modern Drake Devonshire.  This is a definite must when visiting PEC. This restored historical home dubbed “Drake by the lake” has been beautifully transformed into a hotel, restaurant/bar, and even a hot-spot wedding venue.

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These are the views you’ll get to experience while sipping drinks on the back patio.

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We then headed up the mountain to check out Lake on the Mountain Provincial Park. Now, this concept might sound strange, but it’s actually a lake on a mountain…really think about that for a second. It stands 62 meters over the bay with a constant flow of fresh water, water that no one knows where it comes from…

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We grabbed drinks and a delicious charcuterie board at The Miller House Cafe Brasserie which had a spectacular view from the back patio.  The Miller House has quite a bit of history behind it and is the oldest building in Lake on the Mountain.

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When I found out there was a winery with a big purple barn I knew we had to go check it out. Closson Chase is really the first winery that  helped start the fascination of Prince Edward County’s wine industry.

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After a day and a bit in ‘The County’ I’m already dreaming of going back.

xoxo,
Sara

c/o: The Ferg (Instagram)

Weekend Getaway- Queen’s Landing (NOTL)

Weekend Getaway- Queen’s Landing (NOTL)

On the Easter weekend (which also happened to be my Birthday) my boyfriend treated me to a weekend getaway at Queen’s Landing in Niagara-On-The-Lake (“NOTL”). Neither of us had ever been to NOTL before, so you can imagine my excitement when we pulled up to this beautiful hotel for our first NOTL experience. I mean, who could say no to staying in a magical place like this, enjoying the local shops, and to top it all off, local wine tours! It really made me feel like a Birthday princess, and every girl deserves that on their Birthday, and really, any day! Head over to my Instagram to see some posts of our stay!

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We drove up on the Friday morning (it was a holiday for most, so the traffic was lighter than normal). Typically, the drive is about an hour and half from Toronto, not bad at all for a little escape from the big city !

The Hotel:

Queen’s Landing is a beautiful sprawling historic inn that overlooks the water that blends old world class with modern amenities. We even got to take in a beautiful sunset on our last night there down by the water! The hotel isn’t on the main strip which is nice because its less busy and is a short scenic walk passing by old Victorian homes.

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(Jacket: Zara,  Sweater: J-Crew, Shoes (Tory Burch), Sunglasses (Quay Australia)

With its large white pillars and beautiful gardens it has a really inviting setting right from the drive in.  I felt like royalty the second we turned the corner and saw the wrought-iron fences and a glimpse of the beautiful grounds. Parking was right out front which was convenient for moving our stuff into the room along with available free valet parking.  There is also WiFi in the public areas, which made blogging on the go a breeze! The lobby presented guests with sophistication and charm with the antique décor and fresh flowers everywhere. There were a lot of couples coming in to check out the Inn as a potential wedding venue and I can certainly see the appeal, it’s absolutely breathtaking!

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Checking-in was a breeze and within minutes we were up to our room where a rose lay on the pillow (such a special touch!) Since it was my Birthday there was also a special bottle of wine and a cheese board in the fridge from my boyfriend’s parents, I was on cloud-nine within minutes of seeing all of this!  There was also complimentary water, which you don’t always see at hotels.

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After settling in and dropping off our bags it was off to a late lunch in the beautiful quaint downtown. Lucky for us it was a nice warm and sunny day so we walked around for hours checking out all the little shops and restaurants. We went to the Angel’s Inn for some pub-style food, it was delicious, and great drinks! I was also told I had to check out the basement as it was supposedly haunted, safe to say I went and came back pretty quick!

Downtown was bustling with tons of people coming to spend a beautiful Good Friday in NOTL. I was told it isn’t typically that busy but because it was a long weekend there were larger crowds than normal. Nonetheless, we were able to enjoyably walk around and grab food and drinks no problem.

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We came across THE cutest storefront and of course I had to snap a pic!

After walking around for a few hours we went back to the room, got changed and decided we’d head into Buffalo for a few hours of shopping! One of the other joys of NOTL is it close proximity to the border. From door to door including going through the border it took only 30 minutes!

We got back to NOTL around 9:30 pm and decided to go back to the Angel’s Inn for a late dinner since we enjoyed it so much at lunch. There was a live band and everyone was singing and dancing, it was a really fun atmosphere at night!

On Saturday we spent the better part of the day on a wine tour, visiting 3 local wineries. The wine tour started around 10:30 so we were up and at ‘em pretty early after catching a quick breakfast. Our tickets were purchased on Travel Zoo and included a trolley car style bus (think San Francisco) to pick us up, take us from winery to winery, and then get us safely home. Unfortunately the weather wasn’t the greatest that day and was raining quite heavily for most of the tour. Luckily most of them were indoors and for one we were only outdoors for a little to check out the amazing vineyard. I would really enjoy coming back in the summer to do another wine tour on a hot sunny day.

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After a few hours wine touring, our bus took us back to our hotel. After a lot of wine tastings it was time to head back to the room to enjoy our cheese platter and more wine, because why stop there? We did a nice walk around the hotel since Friday we didn’t spend much time inside the hotel. We checked out the bar and restaurant along with library, and the pool/gym facilities. We didn’t get a swim in, but it looked lovely, there was also a hot tub and sauna, I guess that just means we will have to go back!

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More pineapple spotting!

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I loved all the décor throughout the hotel, but I especially took a liking to this hallway with its palm leaves and bright white colours, I could have taken pictures here all day.

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And then I did…

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We also visited one of the sister hotels of Queen’s Landing, The Prince of Wales. This hotel was just as charming inside, with the most adorable tea-room, definitely stopping in for teatime next time I’m back!

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(Sunglases: Quay Australia, Top: Banana Republic, Jeans: H&M, Shoes:Winners)

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It was one of those Summer-like Spring days so we stopped in a local cafe for some gelato!

IMG_5225I couldn’t help but stop to say hello to the beautiful horses outside the Prince of Wales Hotel. This beautiful girl was named Cinderella, I loved her right away (look at that adorable little flower!) There were horse and carriage rides available that would take you around town in style! IMG_4604

What better way to greet a horse named Cinderella than by wearing all tulle and sparkly “glass slippers”?!

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This town is seriously out of a movie, everywhere I turned I found more and more charm!

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Never too old for tulle and glitter!

(Top: Zara, Skirt: H&M, Shoes, Top Shop, Clutch: Tory Burch, Necklace: Kate Spade)

Before dinner we decided to go down for a walk by the waterfront since the rain cleared out and it ended up being a beautiful night with a stunning sunset. It was only a few minutes to walk down and there was a lot to see along the way. I can only imagine how stunning it is with all the sail boats out in the summer. Our hotel had a wonderful outdoor patio was stunning views of the water.

We decided to take the free private shuttle that you order from the hotel that takes you in and out of downtown. I think this was a great addition, especially when a lot of guests have been out on wine tours!

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(Top & Pants: Banana Republic, Shoes: Payless, Clutch: Tory Burch)

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Couldn’t get enough of this sunset, I could’ve watched it forever!

After dinner and some more drinks (surprise, surprise) we walked back to the hotel since it was only a 10 minute walk or less and was a beautiful night to do it! The front of the hotel was beautifully lit up when we returned, what a perfect way to cap off our magical stay!

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There are 142 guest rooms within the Inn that are all furnished with luxurious bedding, a safe inside the closet along  with high-speed and wireless internet.  There was also a flat-screen t.v and a small gas fireplace (ver cozy touch.) Both the bathroom and the room itself were very spacious. With the added comfort of the 2-inch mattress pad, we slept very well!

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(Top: Urban Planet, Pajama Bottoms: Old Navy)

Sunday morning we had an Easter brunch back in the city so unfortunately we didn’t get to stick around past 10:00 a.m. It was another beautiful day, I really did not want to leave! I brought home with me my two beautiful roses that were left on the bed as a reminder of our lovely time at Queen’s Landing.

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(Dress: Winners, Sunglasses: Quay Australia, Purse: H&M)

Next time you are planning a visit to NOTL, whatever the occasion, be sure to check out Queen’s Landing, you will not be disappointed!

I can’t wait to visit again soon, thank you Queen’s Landing for a wonderful weekend getaway!

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xoxo

Sara

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N-Y-SEE

N-Y-SEE

How could my very first post NOT be about fashion and NYC, the perfect pair! When my boyfriend and I were plannining our vacation, the decision between New York City and Chicago was quickly decided. Of course my boyfriend is WELL aware of my shopping habits but I’m not sure he knew exactly what he was getting into when he was taking me to one of the fashion capitals of the world! I’m glad he’s such a good sport and not only put up with all the shopping but also helped hold all my bags (and there were A LOT!) I don’t know what I was more excited for. Going to my favourite city in the world or picking out all the outfits I would be wearing during the trip! Needless to say, 5 days in New York obviously required a large suitcase. Luckily the weather was absolutely perfect (high of 30 degrees every day!) This certainly helped in outfit choices as I was able to make use of all my summer tanks, shorts, and dresses! This trip just so happened to run over the Labour Day weekend. This meant LOTS and LOTS of white and my favourite summer picks that I wouldn’t get to wear for much longer. I’m going to do this sort of differently. I am going to provide an itinerary of my trip which will not only include my daily outfits but also where I wore each of them! New York is a beautiful place and if you haven’t been I recommend you go. If you have been before well then guaranteed you share the same obsession that I have. It only takes one trip to New York City to fall absolutely in love with it’s inherent energy and have you never wanting to love. Each day there is something new to do and it makes you want to get up and do a million things during the day and stay up all night!

Day 1: There is NO way I could resist wearing this shirt on my flight to Laguardia Airport. Perfect, or what?! I paired this tank with plain jeans short (not pictured) from Forever 21 with a plain black button-up cardigan (also from Forever 21). It’s always nice to wear layers when you’re flying, especially since I always find it quite chilly onboard airplanes. Needless to say, once I got to the airport the sweater quickly came off as it was a scorcher out there! I brought with me my classic Ray-Ban aviators, green lens with gold frame. I also wore my most comfortable pair of shoes my black and white Nike Free-Runs. After walking for hours our first day there I was SO glad I brought runners!

NYC TRIP <3
NY CITY Tank Top- (Winners,$14.99)
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Sunglasses: Blue Ray-ban aviators (Winners, $99.99), LOVE printed daisy tank top (Forever 21, $18.00), Lace shorts (Bluenotes, $15.00 *ZARA KNOCK-OFFS for a fraction of the price!!!)

Day 1 and we had already seen so much! The shirt says it all in just four simple letters (LOVE.) Almost immediately after arriving we went to the Top Of the Rock (Rockefeller Center)– the most breathtaking views of New York (a definite must!) We also paid an extra $10.00 and got two professional photos taken which we had emailed to us so we didn’t have to pay an extra $15.00 to print them. At night we got passes to go up the Empire State building. I’m not sure if it was because of the cool temperatures, strong wind at the top and the extremely long wait to get in but I much preferred my experience at Top Of the Rock. I’m glad it was something I could check off my list and seeing New York all light up at night from the Empire State definitely had some beautiful views I’ll give it that.

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New York isn’t a city, it’s a world!

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Day 2: Oh Central Park… There is so much do! We decided to rent bikes from a coupon that we found on Travelzoo.com. If you haven’t paid this site a visit before I HIGHLY recommend it. It’s similar to Groupon and Wag Jag. We rented two bikes and got water bottles and snacks for two hours for around $40.00 total. It was an amazing way to see Central Park, since it’s massive we were able to cover a lot of ground! Once our self-guided bike tour was up we walked over to a small Italian restaurant to pick up our picnic basket for lunch. Once again we used Travelzoo.com and found a coupon for a luxe 4-course Italian Picnic ($39.00 for two of us, regular $90.) The restaurant was called Pappardella and was a very inviting place with a nice neighbourhood feel. The service was great and the food was even better! It was a great way to cap off our visit to Central Park! You can’t go wrong with Italian food (ever!) Of course we wrapped up our day walking around 5th Avenue (every girl’s dream!!!) And while I am a self-proclaimed bargain hunter –I must admit I splurged this day. Well..I shouldn’t exactly say I did, my boyfriend bought me a Tiffany’s Bracelet for our 3 year anniversary. There’s something about the memory of it coming from New York that makes it all the more special!

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Striped workout tank (Winners, $16.99), Underarmour workout shorts (Winners, $19.00)

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Dinner @STK Rooftop. Amazing restaurant with a great view! Reservations made on OpenTable. Dinner around $40-50 each (well worth it, the food was amazing!)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yellow cab, gypsy cab, dollar cab, holla back!

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Dress (Zara, ON SALE!!! $19.99) Got so many compliments on it!

Day 3: CANAL STREET (Bargain-lover’s Heaven!) It can be quite overwhelming with all the crowd’s and people approaching you left right and center asking if you want purses, watches, perfume, etc. The best way to approach this sort of shopping is to come with a couple of things in mind before hand. Before going I was hoping to find some really nice statement necklaces for really cheap (I knew this was my place to go). WARNING: be careful of the imitations that you buy. Some are really cheap quality and will quickly far apart. With that said, you get what you pay for and if you pay $40.00 for something that costs $400.00 in the store regularly, then you kind of know what you’re in for. I can see how people can quickly get caught up in these deals, but be careful on what you are buying and shop around at a couple of places first to try and find the best bang for your buck! My negotiation skills were in high force that day!

 

MANHATTAN BY SAIL:  Once again Travelzoo was a God sent for this trip! We found a great sailboat tour that toured around the Hudson River for 90 minutes. It was a much better way to get a view of Manhattan on the water without being squished on a water taxi. Turns out they could make a Caesar (or at least something like it– a spicy Bloody Mary) Every Canadian knows what I was thinking! Ground Zero-9/11 Memorial: A few years back I had visited this site with my parents while it was still under construction. Seeing what stands there now, and the overwhelming amount of love you could feel in the love was an incredibly humbling experience. Brooklyn Bridge: This was my first time visiting the Brooklyn Bridge and it was definitely worth the walk and crowded boardwalk.

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Long live the World-Trade xoxo

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No Sleep Till Brooklyn…

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New York Brooklyn T-Shirt (Winners, $12,99), Mauve shorts (Suzy Shier, $10.00)

Having our hotel (The Millennium Hotel on Broadway) right in Times Square was perfect! We where right in the heart of it all and had lots to see very close by. We walked mostly everywhere from our hotel or hopped on the subway located right in Times Square. I would definitely stay in this location again (not to mention lots of shopping open until 2am. MASSIVE 4 storey Forever 21, by 1 am I was like a zombie walking around trying on clothes!

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Rainbow-Print cheetah tank top (Marshalls,$20.00)

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NY Yankees Baseball Cap (Marshalls,$9.99)

GOODBYE NEW YORK, UNTIL WE MEET AGAIN (AND WE WILL!)

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View of the New York Skyline from my seat inside the plane on the runway heading back home 🙁