Happy Birthday to ME! This year I turn 37 ​on March 10 and for the past few years with being pregnant and becoming a new mom, I really just wanted everything to be low-key including my birthday. However, as baby gets older and becomes a bit more independent I decided I wanted to really take more time for myself and celebrate this year because why not? Self-care and self-love is so important especially as parents because you tend to forget yourself the most.   So this year, I am taking that time back and started some amazing pre-birthday festivities with another staycation at Richmond B.C, my second home:)   Lately, I’ve been in Richmond a lot as I was just there to celebrate Valentine’s Day and also it was our first staycation with baby back in May of  last year, so Richmond is always so special for me to come back. Every time I return, I discover something new and realize what a gem the city truly is.
So whether you are visiting Vancouver or just a local foodie, nature-lover and wine enthusiast, Richmond has something for you!   

 ​The River Rock Casino Resort was our very first staycation  since we've had Adelina and now has become one of our favourite places to relax and get away from it all. Both my husband and I are very busy with our work and also as parents to a toddler, our life is hectic to say the least.  However I know how important it is to be able to spend time with each other, to reconnect and to remember why we fell in love in the first place!  As a blogger, I am very lucky to be able to do what I do and I don’t take that for granted; And even though at times it can be tough, moments like these makes it all worth it where I can to spend time enjoying what I do and sharing that with the people I love most. So to start February, I got the chance to revisit River Rock Casino Resort and fall in love all over again this Valentine’s Day. 

(This post was sponsored by Dine Out Vancouver, Tourism Vancouver and Chambar Restaurant but opinions of are my own)

Photo Courtesy of Chambar Restaurant

​I am very lucky to call Vancouver my home for many reasons and I have to say having great cuisine is one of them.  Maybe it’s because we are on the West Coast and we have access to the freshest seafood or because our city is so multicultural and a wonderful place to live that we are able to attract great chefs and restaurants to open here from around the world. I am just spoiled growing up here and I can say that there is no place like Vancouver to live and to eat! Hence with all this wonderful gathering of food, our city holds an amazing food tasting festival called Dine Out Vancouver every January- where the finest restaurants from all levels and types of cuisine gather together to give you a taste of the best from their menus.  Luckily, I got to try two spectacular restaurants this time- one a long table series  at Hawksworth and the other at Chambar, a local favourite.  So I love to share this experience with you and hope that you will venture out this Dine Out season and explore restaurants you are dying to try out or revisit old favourites   you have forgotten. 

(This post was sponsored by Philips Avent but opinions are my own)

Nothing is more joyous than bringing that precious baby home for the   first time to show family and friends and to marvel everyday at your greatest creation.  But what most parents don’t tell you is that after the first week or maybe two if you are lucky, the “honeymoon” period for some babies can end and that’s when the fourth trimester really begins in my experience.  We were however very lucky because Adelina was never truly colic and in my opinion it was really the Philips Avent Anti-colic Bottles that have helped us whether the "Witching Hour" and reduced any feeding issues for Adelina especially during her newborn phase.