Thursday, March 28, 2019

Maman NYC


Maman is a gorgeous french café and restaurant in the flatiron neighbourhood. They first opened their doors in Soho in 2014 and have since expanded to other locations in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Toronto. They also have a retail market – called marché maman – where you can find décor, home furnishing items and of course food items.

I was welcomed in with the smell of something delicious cooking in the kitchen and immediately fell in love with the floral décor and plants!  Instead of my usual coffee, I settled on a coconut rose tea latte which is a French floral tea with coconut milk and honey topped with rose petals. This is a limited time drink to celebrate spring (which is still not here in the city!) The tea was very nice but a bit too sweet for me (my fault - I should’ve asked for no honey). I have to say, drinking it from a to go cup was hard too because the rose petals kept getting in the way of my sips but otherwise this was a deliciously light and fragrant drink.

This space is gorgeous and can be rented out for private events as well. If you have an upcoming party they can cater at your home or office.  Check out their website / Instagram for some stunning photos here.




Saturday, March 16, 2019

Martha's Country Bakery


We spent a day exploring Williamsburg this weekend – including the famous Bedford Ave and some of the shops around the neighbourhood! We decided to stop into Martha’s Country Bakery to warm up with a cup of joe. The café was nice and spacious and filled with young people, old people and families alike. There was no wait, and I loved the casual atmosphere here!  

There were cases and cases of gorgeous desserts and even though I don’t have much of a sweet tooth everything looked so colourful and absolutely delectable! They serve everything form pastries, pies and cakes, to coffee and smoothies. There is something for everyone here! We ordered a mocha diablo and grey vanilla chai latte. My mocha diablo was slightly spiced but I could’ve handled a bit more heat! Al’s vanilla chai latte was an early grey tea with vanilla. This was the perfect way to warm up before we continued exploring the neighbourhood! 

Food Tip: We had dinner with friends at Birds of a Feather just around the corner from this cafe. Definitely a great spot to try if you like Szechuan food!


 


Monday, March 11, 2019

Water Works


I’m so excited to share a charitable activity that I did with my fellow team members during out offsite. We built portable water filtration units through a company called Feet First and their Water Works program!

Water Works enables households around the world to have access to clean and safe drinking water in the homes. These portable systems have been sent to refugee camps in Africa as well as to Beaumont, Texas and Puerto Rico after Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria barred access to clean drinking water.

Our group split into 4 teams are created four different systems along with a fun painting. Our devices were sent to the Kyaka II Refugee Camp in Uganda and we even received awesome photos from them holding pictures of us!! This was such a great way to spend an evening with colleagues and we really made a different by donating 2 hours of our time. If you’re looking for a corporate event I’d highly recommend this one!

Thursday, March 7, 2019

Havre de Grace, Maryland


Havre de Grace is a cute little town nestled on the coast of Maryland. We chose this spot for our corporate offsite just out of sheer curiosity. We stayed at a gorgeous inn called The Vandiver Inn which had multiple historic houses and massive, unique rooms with fireplaces, couches etc. My room was so big and cozy, it was a shame we only stayed for one night! The Vandiver Inn hosts weddings as well!  

I’m always interested in exploring lesser known towns, and this was the cutest and most random spot we could’ve chosen!  The Inn was walkable to the main street but unfortunately it was too cold and dark to take good photos by the water. I did find a pretty photo online of the plaza though! If you’re an east coaster looking for a weekend getaway this could be a great and affordable spot to unwind!