Niagara

I’ve always had a soft spot in my heart for horses and trail riding. Something about the open air and the partnership with another living creature just takes my breath away, and if I do one thing in my life, it will be to live on a farm at some point and go riding every morning.

For now though, I live in the city, and opportunities to connect with horses and head out to the country can be sparse. Luckily for me, my best friend Sarah got me a trail ride package for my birthday this year, and since she’s located in Vancouver, she asked Paige to come along as my cowgirl sidekick. Of course she couldn’t say no!

The day of the ride, Paige and I got all suited up in our cowgirl best, pairing Free People ripped jeans with cute embroidered lace tops, tassels, and ditsy floral prints. We took our time getting to the Niagara ranch, stopping at wineries and fruit stands along the way to pick up goodies for the ride home. When we were finally all saddled up, we rode out with a small group headed by a handsome cowboy guide to the beach, arriving just in time for the sunset.

After a walk through the woods back to the farm, we dismounted and said goodbye to our new four-legged friends. It was a truly magical evening, and I’m sure we’ll be headed back to the country very soon for more cowgirl magic and country air!

August is one of my favourite months of the year, not only because it’s my birthday month and generally the hottest month of the summer, but also because peach season!

I’m a big fan of fresh fruit in general (I mean, who isn’t?) but peaches are very high on my list of favourite things to eat. Peach jam, peach cocktails, peaches and cream ice cream: you name it, I love it. This year I didn’t have time to do a lot of canning like I usually do, but I wanted to find a way to preserve that Niagara peach taste for a little while longer, so I started experimenting with making peach simple syrup.

I love making sodas with fresh fruit and interesting flavours, and in the past I’ve made everything from pineapple syrup to lemon mint, so peach seemed like an easy next step. I’m a big fan of all things floral, so I decided to add a bit of rose water to one jar to give my creation a flowery twist. The result was a tasty, summery concoction perfect for cocktails, sodas, pancakes, ice cream, and whatever else you desire.