Author: soniar

A Memorable Valentine’s Day in Angus

Posted on by soniar

Love is in the air, and many of us want to make tomorrow extra special. If you are contemplating a move to a new house in Angus, ON, this is the perfect time to grab a taste of all that our Pine River new home community offers. Whether you enjoy the traditional chocolates and flowers route, or prefer to seek out a more unique way to celebrate Valentine’s Day, we’ve got some great ideas for you today. Read on for our tips on how to make the most of this love-filled day in Angus.

A Memorable Valentine’s Day in Angus
Valentine’s Day in Pine River, Angus

Flowers & Chocolates: The Best in Angus

Looking to treat your loved one(s) with a beautiful bouquet or some decadent chocolates? Jo-Dees Blooms has great options for Valentine’s Day flowers, and delivers within Angus. While red roses are a popular choice, there are plenty of other options in a variety of gorgeous hues. Looking for the best chocolates around? Skip the drugstore and pick up some gourmet treats at Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory in nearby Barrie. They have a dazzling array of delicacies.

Quality Time: A Relaxing Night In

You can’t go wrong with celebrating Valentine’s Day by spending some quality time with your loved ones, whether that’s a partner, family or friends. Why not cook up a scrumptious dinner together at home? Mouth-watering classics are always a hit, like shrimp scampi, a steak dinner (perhaps with some mashed cauliflower), or this simple vegan and gluten-free Valentine’s Day menu which will suit all diets while still being delicious. For dessert, how about whipping up some chocolate-covered strawberries? Then enjoy a fun games night together, or make hot chocolate and kick back in front of the fireplace for a relaxing evening in.

Wining & Dining: A Night Out

If you’d like to go out for dinner, there are many restaurants with romantic atmospheres a short drive away in Barrie. Try out the Crazy Fox Bistro, Urban Dish Grill & Wine Bar or Il Buco Ristorante. Looking for a more exciting dining experience? You can catch some live music at a pub like Donaleigh’s Irish Public House, if that’s your scene. Or try a paint class at Canvas & Cabernet, where you can enjoy a fun evening of music, wine, charcuterie and painting.

Culture & Entertainment: Get Inspired

Head out for a day or evening of leisure with your loved one, whether that’s catching a flick at Galaxy Cinemas Barrie, checking out the local theatre scene (there are great plays on right now at the Georgian Theatre, Theatre by the Bay, and the Mady Centre for the Performing Arts), or paying a visit to the MacLaren Art Centre or another local art gallery.

Go on an Adventure: Outdoor Fun

Do you like to be active and to enjoy the outdoors with your loved ones? Why not use Valentine’s Day as an excuse to spend a day together on the slopes (skiing or snowboarding), hiking, or snowshoeing? To make your outdoor hiking or snowshoeing more romantic, try moonlit snowshoeing at Horseshoe Resort or take a stroll along Barrie’s waterfront to check out the Festival of Trees. For a unique and dreamy idea, consider booking a sleigh ride at Rolling Sands Percherons, where you’ll be guided through picturesque wooded lands by a horse-drawn carriage for two. How romantic!

Happy Valentine’s Day, and we hope you have a wonderful day celebrating with your loved ones. Join us on Facebook and let us know – how do you celebrate Valentine’s Day?

 

Functional Décor for Your New Home: The Magic of Indoor Plants

Posted on by soniar

Plants are a welcome addition to your new home and have been proven to improve indoor air quality and to provide a soothing and calming ambiance. They also make a space feel bright, fresh, and full of life. Read today’s blog for our top tips on choosing and caring for indoor plants:

Choose Hardy Plants

Especially if you’re new to owning and caring for indoor plants, opt for a hardier variety that will do alright with a bit of neglect. Here’s a list of 20 indoor houseplants you can’t kill, including the aptly-named cast-iron plant, spider plants, and one of our favourites: aloe.

The Magic of Indoor Plants

 

Get Snug with Succulents

Trendy and beautiful, succulents are a great choice for indoor plants. They can be a little trickier to care for, so check out this list of the best succulents and how to care for them.

Add Some Aloe

Aloe is hugely popular for a reason. This all-star plant is great to have around with its many benefits, including treating kitchen burns, cuts, and dry skin. Aloe is included on the list of hardy plants and is quite easy to care for. Plus, it can help clean the air of the pollutants found in chemical cleaning products.

Introduce Pops of Colour

Too much green? Try a “peacock plant” for a beautiful show of purple, green, and red leaves, or a kalanchoe succulent for its pretty pink flowers. You also can’t go wrong with a classic orchid – they’re beautiful and elegant, and surprisingly easy to care for.

Go Zen

Some plants are especially soothing to look at. If you keep skipping your yoga class or downloaded a meditation app that never gets any use, introduce some calming, stress-reducing plants instead. We love the low-maintenance “mother-in-law’s tongue” (aka a snake plant) or a traditional bamboo palm plant.

Take Good Care

If your plant comes with care directions, read them! Not all plants are alike in terms of the water, sun, and other care they require. Read up on soil quality, direct vs. indirect sunlight, and the handy ice cube trick that you’ll be glad you learned.

Plants are beautiful, fresh, purifying, and relatively inexpensive to add to your new home décor. We’re certainly big fans. Which are your favourites?

 

 

Last-Minute Family Day Fun in Angus

Posted on by soniar

Happy Family Day Angus!

If you live in the Pine River / Angus area and are planning to spend today with your family – but you haven’t planned anything yet, and aren’t sure quite what to do yet – then you’re in the right place! Here are some of our favourite family-friendly activities that you can get out and do today, no prep or planning required:

Family Day in Angus

 

Explore the Great Outdoors 

If your family is the outdoors type, then today’s a great opportunity to take advantage of your time together and to go on an adventure. Pine River is in such a great location – we’re practically surrounded by incredible parks, conservations areas, and trails. The Minesing Wetlands Conservation Area is just minutes away and lets you cross-country ski or snowshoe your way along the Ganaraska, Trans Canada and McKinnon trails. If you enjoy (or would like to try) ice fishing, today’s a great day: it’s one of just two weekends all year that the Ontario government designates as license-free.

Hit the Slopes 

Barrie’s Snow Valley Ski Resort is our favourite local ski hill – after all, it’s just a 15 minute drive away! This is a great place to learn to ski or snowboard, with many classes and lesson programs. They also have snow tubing, which is an exciting family favourite that anyone can do. If you’ve never tried snow tubing, you’re in for a treat.

Attend a Nature Festival 

The nearby Tiffin Centre for Conservation is running a Family Day Nature Festival today with free admission from 10am-3pm. The day includes a kid-friendly assortment of outdoor recreation workshops and demos, skating on the pond, snowshoeing, kick-sledding and a scavenger hunt. This is a great option if you have young children who enjoy outdoor adventures and have some energy to burn. Remember to bring your skates.

Go Skating Skating is a fun activity that the whole family will enjoy, whether they’re seasoned hockey players and figure skaters or wobbly-ankled beginners. The Angus Recreation Centre opens its outdoor skating pads to the public on Mondays from 3-6pm (see the full schedule here).

Create Your Own Adventure 

Perhaps there’s something unique that your family loves doing together: cooking a feast of your favourite family recipes, doing crafts, or playing a giant game of Monopoly. Embrace your family’s individuality, and choose one of your favourite activities to make Family Day a fun and memorable day.

What are your plans for the day? Happy Family Day, and we hope you enjoy!

 

 

3 Tips to Add More Colour to Your Home

Posted on by soniar

3 Tips to Add More Colour to Your HomeOne of the 2017 style trends we have blogged about was jewel tones. Do you like to incorporate bold colours into your home’s décor? If you’re not sure where to start, read on for some inspiration.

We all know that we can add more colour to our homes by painting the walls in bold hues, or by buying furniture in daring shades. But what if you’re looking for an easier, quicker, and less expensive way to incorporate a bit of colour into your décor? Here are 3 of our favourite ways:

Textiles

If you prefer to keep most of the colours in your home neutral, adding bold accents through textiles can make a big difference. Fabrics are a quick and easy way to ramp up the colour in your home, and they can be changed out in a cinch according to the seasons or your current style inspirations. We love bright pops of colour via throw cushions, curtains, blankets and throws, and area rugs.

Flowers & Plants

Fresh flowers bring beautiful colour to your home, with a great scent as an added bonus. Incorporating flowers and plants into your décor keeps things fresh and lively. Try bright, vibrant florals in the summertime, poinsettias around the holidays, and soft, muted arrangements during the winter months. Stay tuned for another blog post in a few weeks about the incredible health benefits of keeping plants in your home.

A Gallery Wall

Artwork and photographs are a great way to add a burst of colour and drama to your home. You can find inexpensive artwork on Etsy, at local craft fairs and markets, and at second hand stores. Get creative by framing a piece of wallpaper or fabric that you love, or frame a piece of your child’s handmade artwork for a fun and personal touch.
What are your favourite ways to add colour to your home? Do you prefer big bursts of colour, or subtle accents? Join us on Facebook and let us know!

Celebrating New Year’s Eve at Pine River

Posted on by soniar

10… 9… 8… 7… 6… 5… 4… 3… 2… 1 – Happy New Year!
The countdown to New Year’s is a fun tradition that transcends generations. The New Year symbolizes a fresh start, while also being a time to remember and reminisce on the year gone by. This may correspond with your purchase of a new Lancaster home in Pine River, making it an especially special time! New Year’s Eve is a perfect night to gather with friends and family to celebrate the year – both its trials and its triumphs – and to ring in the new year with laughter and joy.

New Year's Eve at Pine River
New Year’s Eve at Pine River

Here are some ways to celebrate NYE in the Pine River neighbourhood:

Fireworks 

If you love the age-old spectacle of vibrant and magical fireworks, you have a couple options on New Year’s Eve. You could put on fireworks in your backyard in Angus, or head to Barrie for the Downtown Countdown. Starting at 6pm on December 31 in downtown Barrie outside the City Hall, the Barrie festivities feature two firework displays and plenty of family-friendly activities, including horse-drawn wagon rides, face painting, skating, food vendors and entertainment. There is free parking downtown.

Celebrate at Home 

Hosting a get-together at your home or simply gathering with family on New Year’s Eve is a recipe for a cozy and enjoyable evening. Get together to cook a great meal – a family favourite or traditional recipe, or perhaps one of these delicious New Year’s Eve recipes, or one of these traditional good luck foods for the New Year. With a fire in the fireplace and some music in the air, watching the countdown on TV and toasting to each other’s health and happiness is a great way to call in the new year.

Invent a New Tradition 

Creating a New Year’s custom with family or friends is a chance to have fun and be creative. Can you invent a ritual for good fortune, or an entertaining ceremony to do with friends?

Whether it’s kissing your loved ones at midnight, calling family in different cities, adopting an existing tradition or coming up with a new original, traditions help make the night meaningful and unforgettable.

Of course, there’s always the option of going out for a night of dancing on the town.

We wish you a very happy New Year’s Eve! We’ll be back blogging soon in the New Year.

Easy DIY Last-Minute Gift Ideas

Posted on by soniar
It’s getting close to the holidays, and last-minute shopping is not optimal – bustling through crowds and driving around are not how you want to spend time that could be enjoyed with family and friends. Make gift giving easy with these simple and thoughtful ideas: 

Last Minute Pine River Gift Ideas

Homemade Gifts 

You don’t have to be very crafty to whip up some homemade concoctions that your friends and family will love. Bath items like salts and scrubs are easy to make at home and to package in simple mason jars with ribbon – try these festive rosemary Epsom bath salts or this peppermint candy cane sugar scrub. Another easy-to-make DIY gift are hand-mixed spice combos, like this taco seasoning or homemade pumpkin pie spice mix – simply buy the spices in bulk, mix them up, and gift little jars with recipe ideas. Think of what you like to make and then turn it into thoughtful, one-of-a-kind gifts – whether it’s baking, carpentry, knitting, painting or something else you enjoy.

Meaningful Donations 

Most of us have enough stuff, and would appreciate a gift that gives to a cause or charity that we would like to support. Consider something that is close to your friend or family member’s heart, and make a contribution in their name. If that doesn’t seem exciting enough, consider a gift like naming a star in space after them – it’s a unique gift that’s fun and memorable.

The Gift of Experiences 

“Buy experiences, not things.” There’s a reason this is such popular advice. Give a meaningful gift by writing a card with a promise of an activity or experience to come. With your friend or family member’s interests in mind, treat them to an outing that the two of you can enjoy together: perhaps a movie or show, a sports game, or dinner out at a new restaurant.

The holidays are about giving, but the spirit of giving is so much more than buying gifts. We hope you enjoyed these ideas for showing your love and appreciation for those in your life with unique homemade gifts.

Do you have any good gift ideas to share? Join us on Facebook and leave a comment.

 

3 Steps to Optimize Your Daily Commute

Posted on by soniar

Sitting in your vehicle, coffee in hand, glancing at the clock as you cruise to work on your daily commute – sound familiar? Getting to work, whether by driving or via train or bus, can start to feel like a daily grind complete with frustration, boredom or anxiety. With a bit of forethought and some planning, though, you can maximize your commute – getting those precious minutes back and turning them into enjoyable, well-spent time.

Optimize Your Daily Commute

Commuting Essential: Your Vehicle 

If you drive to work, what can you do to prepare your car for the morning commute? An essential checklist could include making sure your car doesn’t run too empty on gas, having a routine schedule for check-ups and oil changes, and changing to winter tires well before the first snow. It’s always a good idea to have a kit of essentials in your car, including a roadside assistance kit, jumper cables, an extra phone battery and warm clothes. Ask yourself what you can do to make your life better – more enjoyable and stress-free – in the morning when it comes to your mode of transportation. Perhaps it’s keeping your vehicle clean and organized, outfitting it with special extras like an essential oil aromatherapy diffuser or a cell phone holder and mount, or investing in a remote car starter to stay warmer on freezing winter mornings.

Creating a Morning Routine That Works 

Most of the stress of getting to work comes from being tight on time. Wake up 15 minutes earlier and budget more time than you need, so that traffic or construction won’t become unwelcome surprises and annoyances, but rather moments to further enjoy your time commuting. A zen attitude in the morning is essential. How can you stay stress-free and positive in the morning? Create a schedule that makes your morning routine hassle-free. Maybe it’s making your and the kids’ lunches the night before, packing bags for work, school or the gym, or getting coffee ready to brew. Perhaps it’s planning easy-to-prepare breakfasts, doing some stretches or sun salutations, or playing music or a radio station that makes you smile. A good morning routine is key and will put you in the right mood to enjoy your commute.

Enjoying the Drive 

Whether you like listening to music, podcasts, or just appreciate the silence and the morning sunrise, the drive itself can be an enjoyable time if you set yourself up with your favourite audio options. There are always some good morning playlists on the radio, or hook up your own playlist, audio book or podcast. Podcasts are a great way to pass the time and to soak up some knowledge and quality entertainment while you’re driving – many of our new homeowners love TED Radio Hour for exciting new ideas and inventions, the ever-popular This American Life for first-person stories and fiction, and As It Happens for first-hand perspectives on today’s Canadian and world news.

What are your tips for making the most of your daily commute? Join us over on Facebook and let us know what we missed!

7 Tips for Finding the Perfect Christmas Tree for Your New House in Angus, Ontario

Posted on by soniar

A Holiday Christmas tree – with its lights, tinsel, and unique assortment of ornaments collected over the years – is an old tradition that dates back centuries. Big or small, real or fake, decorated in all the kids’ handmade crafts or sleek and uniform with matching bulbs, trees are a cheery and fun part of the holidays. Picking out and decorating your tree can also be a great family activity and yearly tradition.

If you’d like to get a real tree for your new home built in Angus this year, read on for our top 7 tips for finding the perfect one:

Holiday Christmas Tree
(Image Source)

 

1. Take some measurements 

First things first: figure out how big a tree you can fit in the space you have designated for it. Measure how high the ceiling is, then subtract the height of your tree stand and whatever topper you plan to put on the tree. Clear the space where you’ll put the tree and measure the depth as well.

2. Know your trees

There are many different kinds of Christmas trees – do you know which one you prefer? Four of the main varieties available, which we’ll see below at local tree farm Drysdale’s, are Fraser firs, Balsam firs, Scots pines and white spruces. Here’s a quick breakdown of these popular coniferous types:

Fraser fir
Fraser firs have a pleasing pyramid shape and branches that turn slightly upward, making them ideal for hanging ornaments. They have excellent needle retention, a good aroma, and attractive dark blue-green needles, making them one of the most popular Christmas tree types. You can read more and see photos of the Fraser fir on the Ontario Farm Grown Christmas Trees website.

Balsam fir
Quite similar to Fraser firs, Balsam firs have long-lasting deep green needles and a uniform pyramid shape that comes to a narrow top. Balsam firs are known for retaining their pleasing scent and for being hardy and enduring, so they’re another popular choice. They work well with lighter ornaments. Learn more here.

Scots pine
Scots pines are actually THE #1 most popular Christmas tree in Canada. They’re thick, hardy trees that are bright green and have round shapes that are fun to decorate. Like the firs, they hold their needles well and stay fresh. Scots pines can have tough and pointy needles, however, so they may not be best if you have small children or pets. Read more here.

White spruce
These dark green trees are an attractive Christmas tree choice. They’re dense and proportional, and have branches that hold ornaments well. They also have a nice aroma when their needles are crushed. Read more about white spruces here.

You really can’t go wrong with any of these popular choices. Just head to the farm to see the different varieties in person if you’re not sure.

3. Decide on freshly-cut vs. cutting your own tree

If you know ahead of time whether you’ll be cutting down your own tree, you can gear up accordingly. Bring warm gloves and clothing so you can trek through the farm in search of the perfect tree. Cutting down your own tree does require a bit of physical labour – you’ll have to cut the tree down at its base using a saw. If that sounds like too much, you can choose from a selection of pre-cut trees.

4. Bring the right tools 

Mostly this means to remember your measuring tape. If you’re cutting your own tree, Drysdale’s Farm will provide the cutting saw and will help you load your tree onto your vehicle.

5. Plan to visit a local tree farm

Take advantage of Pine River’s perfect setting, and get your tree locally. Local farms give you the opportunity to choose and cut down your own tree (a great family activity that kids will love!), while also offering the freshest and healthiest trees.

We’re lucky to have a great local tree farm right close to home: Drysdale’s. Drysdale’s Tree Farm has a huge selection of Fraser and Balsam firs, Scots pines and white spruces.

6. Cut down (or choose) your tree 

Choose and cut your perfect tree from Drysdale’s 400 acre farm (the largest in Canada!), or select a pre-cut tree. A 10-minute drive from Pine River (located at 6635 Simcoe County Road 56, Egbert, ON L0L 1N0), Drysdale’s has a Cut Your Own Tree program which runs through the Holiday season. Not only do they provide saws for cutting your tree, they also offer tractor-drawn wagons to transport your tree.

7. Have fun while you’re there! 

Weekend festivities at Drysdale’s are often free and include a magician, train rides, visits from Santa and Mrs. Claus, face painting, horse-drawn wagon rides, food and warm drinks, and a bonfire. Beautiful wreaths and other items are also available in Drysdale’s gift shop.

Always remember the importance of tree safety, and of taking care of your tree – here are some Christmas tree care tips, as well as some additional tips from Drysdale’s. Most of all, enjoy your tree – and the experience of decorating it with family and friends, and of celebrating around it this holiday season.

 Happy Holidays from Lancaster Homes!