Friday, October 10

Quick And Easy Thanksgiving Dessert Recipe

Location: Trenanthia Cottage located in Muskoka, Ontario, Canada (90 min north of Toronto)
Who doesn't love a bit of homemade cookie lovin'?  Not a whiz in the kitchen?  No problem.  Going up to the cottage for Thanksgiving and want to keep it simple?  No problem.  Got some kids that really want to join in the fun?  No problem.

One seriously fool-proof pumpkin cookie recipe, coming your way.   Enjoy!

Keep Calm and Pumpkin Spice Everything - a play on the military poster campaign - Keep Calm and Carry On

Thursday, July 31

5 Ways To Repurpose And Reuse Old Stuff

Location: Trenanthia Cottage located in Muskoka, Ontario, Canada (90 min north of Toronto)
Some very cool improvements have been going on around here, and we’ve been able to repurpose and reuse our old stuff.  Our renovation motto was “YOLO”.  Er, wait, wrong motto. It was “reduce, reuse, recycle”. And after a lot (and I mean a lot) of hard work, we finally completed our wicked transformation.

Prepare yourselves for some seriously useful (re-useful?) decorative tips and secondhand-savviness

one of the bedrooms gets a make-over with reused window panes & postcards


Friday, June 27

Cottage Life Hack: How to Remove White Heat Stains from Wooden Tables

Location: Trenanthia Cottage located in Muskoka, Ontario, Canada (90 min north of Toronto)
Have you got a favourite wooden table that's got a cool scar, uh, I mean, unpleasant white stain from heat or steam?   Maybe it was a misplaced pot, or just a regular old cup o' coffee.  Doesn't matter, we've got a super simple solution courtesy of my ever-resourceful Grandmother.

white mark on wooden table due to something hot
Unsightly white mark on a wooden table

Tuesday, June 24

Ladies and Gentlemen of the Class of 20xx: Wear Sunscreen

Location: Trenanthia Cottage located in Muskoka, Ontario, Canada (90 min north of Toronto)
Not just because a speech falsely attributed to Kurt Vonnegut told you to, but because I’m telling you to. Also, it’s important.

I know, I know. You hear that all the time. From your mom, your grandma….your mom. Whether you’re catching some rays on the deck or doing cannon balls in the lake, summer is a time when everybody yells “don’t forget sunscreen!” at you a thousand times.  And that’s the thing, we still forget.

But how essential is it really? Well, it turns out, very. Not only does it prevent skin cancer, it keeps you from burning up and looking like the Kool-Aid Man. As the first official week of summer approaches, here are some tips and tricks for sunscreen use that'll keep you & your loved one's skin healthy:

Saturday, May 31

Top 5 People You Should Always Invite to the Cottage

Location: Trenanthia Cottage located in Muskoka, Ontario, Canada (90 min north of Toronto)
When you plan a group trip to the cottage, you need to choose your guests wisely. Screen them. Hand out surveys. Hold auditions. However you do it, make sure you have a mixed bag of top quality cottage guest material.

Here’s a guide to help you select the 5 people you definitely want to invite to the cottage:

Monica Gellar from the tv sitcom Friends wearing a yellow sweater

Sunday, May 25

Top 5 signs summer's on its way

Location: Trenanthia Cottage located in Muskoka, Ontario, Canada (90 min north of Toronto)

One of the classic telltale signs of summer is the inaugural activity of putting the dock in the lake.

When you live the cottage life you come to know the dock as a sacred monument, a structural manifestation of summer itself. It signifies everything we love about the season from afternoon sun bathing to midnight star gazing. Oh, and cannon balls. Don’t forget the cannon balls.

Other than the dock, let's have a look at the top 5 signs that summer is on its way - canadian style...

woman sunbathing in the snow, on a muskoka chair, wearing summer clothes

Friday, May 16

Born To Be Wild(life): How to Lure Critters to Your Cottage

Location: Trenanthia Cottage located in Muskoka, Ontario, Canada (90 min north of Toronto)
Over the past week there have been videos going around of stranded ducklings reuniting with their duck mama, a baby deer mistaking a logger for his mother, and a hero cat rescuing a little boy from a dog attack. This can only mean one thing: furry beasts are taking over the world.