April Vacation and Peach Suite Hotel Supply

Park du Bois -deCoulonge, Quebec

Well, it's looking like we'll be going to Quebec City for the remainder of April vacation!!

It was a spur of the moment decision.....in the past we've gone south to warm ourselves, but this year we're changing it up a bit. 

I've never been, oddly enough.

 I've got enough french/canadienne blood to give me the rights to serve any guests a bowl of Poutine and answer the phone with, "Hello, eh?"  

I've gone to Montreal many times and had a blast, but I'm a little nervous for Quebec City. 

If' you've ever been, I'd love some tips on things to do, best places to eat, what's too touristy to do, etc!!!! 

The hotel you're at on vacation can really set the tone for your stay. I've had my share of less than cozy suites, questionable bathrooms, and wafer thin towels. So, I'm really hoping the place we stay has a wealth of good quality accouterments and generally great style. 

If I was in the business of Hotel ownership, I think a site like Peach Suite which offer all Hotel Supply Online would be pretty handy to me. Think of all the linens they go through......let alone little mints for your pillows!!! :-) Although, I will be in Canada, perhaps we'll get a little bottle of maple syrup on the coverlet. Nah,too sticky. Whether you're in Canada or Atlanta Hotel Supply information would always be of importance. Peach Suite offers everything from guest room safes to concierge desks, recreational equipment to catering supplies and even snow-cone makers.

What impressed me the most is there Hotel Bar Supplies. After perusing through their products I learned that  there is so *very* much I don't know about bartending and the specific glasses that go with it. Do any of these names ring all bell (I caught a few of them, but I couldn't tell you what they looked like): snifter, collins, cordial, high-ball, hurricane, malt, rocks, and tumblers...........these are all the names of glasses for the bar. 

I can only tell you that my cabinet is full of old cleaned out jelly and mason jars which, as it turns out, can hold any type of liquid you put in them. :-)

Disclaimer: I was reimbursed for this post from Peach Suite, all opinions and statements are my own. 

BuzzEgo: Read the news you WANT to read!!!!

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of buzzego for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

 

 

BuzzEgo is just about the coolest idea since sliced bread in my book.

Wanna know why??

'Cause I can read any type of news or articles I want that I am interested in and I don't have to see things I don't like or have no interest in. This is particularly handy for me because I have some pretty strong OCD and for me, I have a real problem seeing/reading about violent/agressive news. Heck, I work at a library and when I'm shelving I have a hard time putting away certain titles that have the wrong *words* in them. Get the picture? I got it bad. That means most news sites are a no-no for me, because I never know what I'm going to see. 

Not so, with BuzzEgo. This website is kind of a mashup between stumbleupon and pinterest in that you are given all kinds of options on the style of information you want to learn about, the theme's you are interested in,  and in turn it gives you what you want to see. 

When I signed up, I saw all the themes they had to offer for the type of "Panda" that I picked. Oh yeah, you gotta pick a panda (or panda's):

Once the panda was picked, they tossed out all kinds of themes of articles and posts at me and I could follow or unfollow certain ones; in essence arranging my news how I like it. Perfect!!!!!

You can see the theme's I have chosen so far and get a general sense of the website from this:

I can click on any of the images of articles above and go to a separate window which will take me to the site. Am I going to give the wild woman with the food a thumbs up??? Probably not. The cool photography?? You betcha.

 It's very cool beans in my opinion.

I totally reccommend BuzzEgo. 

I KNOW I'll be getting my news from there. 

buzzego

 

A Visit to Webb Family Farm and the Marvelous Mess Party!!!!!

Webb Family Farms has a special place in my heart, and not just because I grew up shlepping through the woods and fields around it. I love Webb Family Farms because of the old fashioned, hardworking, farmers who run it and HOW they run it so carefully, organically, with respect to their animals, their land, and their consumers. The Webb Farm is in their 3rd and 4th generation now of stubborn Webb's running the operation.

I helped out recently at a school trip to the farm to visit their maple sugaring operation. 

They were nice enough to let the elementary school kids come to visit and learn about how maple syrup is made..... and what it's like to live on a farm. The Webb's live remotely enough that the bus couldn't actually make it down their driveway, so the kids got have wagon rides to the farm. I think that alone could have been a great field trip!!!!! The smiles on kids faces were magical. 

Then they got to see the sugaring operation:

 They also had a little vanilla ice cream with some real maple syrup on top. Holey moley, that stuff is good. 

After seeing the sugar house they moved on to the goat barn to see some adult and young (some very new!!!) goats. Kathy Webb told me she was fairly certain each child got a chance to hold a baby goat. 

 Can you believe the little sweater on that baby goat???!! Serious cuteness factor overload. 

The kids were totally thrilled. The real kids from the school, that is. I'm fairly certain the goat kids in the barn hightailed it with their moms just as soon as they could to get away from all the children wild on ice cream and maple syrup. 

They all got a wagon ride back to the bus, and I followed in a car. But before I made my way home I wanted to stop at their dairy barn. You see, maple syrup isn't even the biggest product the Webb's provide to the community; the Webb's also run a successful Organic Dairy Farm.

They sell their milk, unpasteurized, at their farm store onsite (along with the organic grains and organic beef) and they supply to MOOMilk, which stands for Maine's Own Organic Milk. MOOMilk is so essential to the survival of the organic dairy farmers of Maine, and 90% of their profits go back to the farms. Look for their in your local grocery store (HERE is a map where you can find them now) and if you don't see the product, don't forget to ask the store manager if it is something they can supply in the near future. You can find MOOMilk on FACEBOOK as well. 

Here's my favorite cow, Cocoa Cream:

Seriously, that light isn't doing anything for the beauty of the face of this cow. I would have loved a better photo, but a cow barn can only be so accommodating when it comes to lighting.  

Another great way to grasp the feeling of this family run farm is to watch a new Documentary out this year called, Betting the Farm. The film follows several different organic dairy farmers as they join and grow the MOOMilk company. It is the story of the survival of small farms when faced against big companies with even bigger budgets. I think it looks fascinating and plan on buying it on itunes. 

Here is the trailer for what looks to be an incredible film:

Betting The Farm TRAILER from Pull-Start Pictures on Vimeo.

Please consider sharing this video, this post, and most importantly BUYING MOOMilk from your local grocery store or requesting it as a new product. You won't regret it. 

Don't foget, you can find the Webb's here:

Webb's on Facebook

And, MOOMilk here:

MOOMilk Facebook

MOOMilk Website

As well as the the documentary Betting The Farm here:

Betting the Farm Facebook

Betting the Farm Website

Like them ALL and share them, will you please??????????

Now, did you come here for a Marvelous Mess Party too?????

Here it is: