Hey there, thank you for joining me for another episode of YQG In Bloom.
My name is Tracy Martens and today I have with me, now I'm going to butcher this so
I'm going to say right here, Marija Kulas-Rosettani.
Perfect, you couldn't have said it better.
And she is so cool local on Instagram and I'm going to be doing this a little different
today as there's no script.
Why?
Because you know what, we're just going to talk local.
We're going to talk about local in Windsor-Essex County, local wherever you decide to travel
and how you can support any community, not just your own.
So thanks for being here.
Thank you for having me.
This is very exciting and you've made my day already with letting me meet Phoebe.
She's a doll.
Yes, my new puppy and she is local.
Where did you get her by the way?
She is a friend of mine has both the parents and they had a litter of 11.
Whoa.
Yes, and there are still some available.
So were you able to choose which one you wanted?
Yes.
Okay, that's great.
That's great.
She's a doll.
She's sweet.
She is.
And I hope that you will enjoy the drink that I brought you today.
Since Maria loves local, she brought me something and I haven't not tried this one, Fatlou Blonde.
It is from the Fat Lou Brew Company and it is local.
Whereabouts is this one located?
They are located in LaSalle.
They do have a storefront that is now open once a month.
Oh, okay.
So I believe their next storefront opening will be 420, Saturday, April 20th, which is
a week from yesterday.
So you could go on in.
It's dog friendly.
We brought in our two fur babies along with us for a visit and they have wonderful merchandise
that's for sale as well and to go, beer to go.
But I also hear good news that they're now available at some OG pizza places.
Oh, okay.
So you pick up your pizza pie and you also pick up some beer to go.
I'm not sure which locations exactly, but they have posted that on their Instagram page.
I'm not even sure if I follow them, but we also have here the beerded dog.
I have to bring that.
Because you're from Harrow.
That's correct.
And this one is the Wee Heavy Lassie Scotch Ale.
Being that it's 11 o'clock Sunday morning, I'm just going to go with the blonde for right
now.
It's five o'clock somewhere everybody.
That's what I always say.
And I'm just drinking, I believe it's either Acorn and Oak Coffee in here or we have 14th
Coffee at home as well.
One of my favorites or it could be Red Lantern.
So I don't know.
My husband made me the coffee this morning.
So I'm not sure which local coffee is brewed in here, but mine's no alcohol.
I met her for the first time at 14th Coffee.
And I had never been there before and that's out in the county of Windsor.
And it is the cutest little place.
So if you want the opposite of your hustle bustle, people watching busy coffee shop,
mind you, there were some people still coming in.
Yeah, there was a little stream of people coming in.
It is off the beaten path.
And I don't know if you would call that McGregor.
I'm thinking it's probably in between.
But it's close to McGregor.
But it's right off of Walker Road and it's that farmhouse feel.
There's the chickens, the farm outside.
It looks like a garden shed and you go in and there are coffee brewery.
You would blink and miss it unless you see the iconic truck, if you will.
There's an old school truck.
I don't even know.
I don't know my cars.
Or what year it would be, but it's black and there's the 14th Coffee Company, the roasting
symbol on the side of the truck.
So that's kind of your landmark of what you're looking for as you're heading out that way.
And about a month and a half ago, I posted a little reel on them making the ultimate
cappuccino, which it really was so good.
But let's start off.
Why local?
What makes you love local so much?
So I really think that the start of all of this kind of was during, I would say COVID.
That's why not that I didn't always have a love for local, but I feel like that the push
for supporting local, buying local kind of came to fruition during the pandemic.
Where we knew that we need to support our locals because they were being shut down and
due to the limitations allowing in and out of the store and whatnot, which really broke
my heart.
So it was the whole, what could we do?
So I'm thinking, well, we're always buying gifts for one another.
We're always getting something for someone.
So if we can make a conscious effort that when I'm going out of my way to get something
for my stepmom for Mother's Day or a coworker, I'm going to try to make an effort to find
something cool, which allows me to research when Windsor Essex and see what's really happening.
What could I get that's a unique gift?
And that's also a conversation piece because I feel like our earrings or our beverages
or anything.
All of these little things other than local dollarama.
Oh, there you go.
And I have my bag of tricks of local stuff.
Everything also becomes a conversation piece.
And I just love the idea of the story behind it.
I actually get to talk to the people.
My dad says when he comes over, the big joke when they come over for dinners, why does
it always taste better here?
I said, it's not because it's Harrow, but it's probably everything on the table was
either picked by the farmer who freshly picked those raspberries that morning.
And I see the red on her fingers or the, you know, we make our own sourdough bread that
was just made today or the freshness, the conversation, knowing where your food and
your items and your things come from, meeting your maker.
Yes, that to me is huge, too.
Yesterday I want to call it.
It was my local Saturday because I started out at the market downtown in Windsor.
Oh, you went.
Oh, yeah.
We're going to go next Saturday.
Next Saturday we'll go.
We hit Kings Bake Shop me and Jake, and we got our cookie croissant.
I've had them before.
I still haven't had one, so I'm going to have to try one.
I've heard so much about it.
When you get them and you go to eat them, put them in the microwave for probably about
10, 15 seconds.
OK.
And it heats everything.
Oh, my God, it's ooey gooey yumminess.
I think I'm going to need a nap after that, though.
I don't know if I'll be able to continue shopping, so I'll take it home.
I'll save it for home time.
Yeah.
And then we had, I grabbed some fava bean wraps from...
Oh, the garlic sauce.
It was so good because I didn't feel garlicky all day after.
OK.
So it was nice.
I don't know my limitations when it comes to garlic.
Same here.
Everybody who knows me well knows, oh, boy, you had garlic last night.
So, yeah, and then we went out to Harrow to...
Yay, Harrow.
Yay.
Shout out to Harrow.
Well, I went out there twice yesterday.
We started out at Hawksview Honey to get our honey, and then we went to Amherstburg because
I have to go into River Bookstore because you got to smell the paper.
And then we had to hit Evelyn's for our...
Candy.
And then our popcorn.
Oh, gosh.
Richmond.
Oh, yeah.
It was amazing.
And then over to Caffeine & Co. for the...
Yum.
What did you get there?
You know what?
I tried it.
It is Earl Grey Tea Matcha Latte.
It was very different, and I actually really enjoyed it, and it's not sweet, so you would
like it.
OK.
It is not sweet at all.
It combined my two favorite things.
So can I mention something that you may want to try when you go there?
And again, I don't tend to like sweet, but if I want to have a little treat, it's almost
always there.
It's the banana bread.
It's chocolate chip banana bread with Nutella.
They had just a little bit left.
I loved it.
I usually go for the Caramel Brûlée Cookies or their little cheesecakes.
Oh, yum.
Yeah.
It's been a while since I've been there, so...
Although I did also post a picture yesterday of candy sushi that they had there.
And they...
Oh.
And it looks just like sushi in a little sushi patty.
Yes.
And they said it's like rice crispy squares.
Do you eat it with chopsticks?
I'm assuming, but it's that with...
It's like rice crispy treats with almost...
I think it's Nerds.
And then what looks like would be wasabi is, I'm assuming, icing.
Oh.
It was the cutest little thing.
That's interesting.
Yeah.
So sometimes when I go to Amherstburg too, we love to hit up Romano's because we like
authentic Italian with my husband's background and we love their desserts, especially for
hosting a dinner party.
But we also love the downtown espresso cafe.
Yes.
That's one of our favorites too.
Yeah.
Because we always bring the dogs and they get so much love and they have the cute little
patio that's open by the side too.
And the Flow Cafe.
Have you been there yet?
Yeah.
I have tried Flow because my friend owned Tara Green Garden that used to be right next
door to it.
And then we always hit Lord Amherst.
Their espresso martinis are really good.
And then...
So we were drinking espresso martinis.
It's funny that you say that, my husband makes a wicked one.
He made for our dinner party last evening.
But Friday night we were at the spa go with a bunch of girls at the casino.
And those were flowing.
But one of my all time favorites is at Pepper Cat.
They bring a fancy one and then they have the little letter stencil and they bring it
out to you and it's got the PC for Pepper Cat.
Oh, that's cool.
So you almost don't want to mess it up as you're sipping it.
So you want to sip it like a lady and not gulp it.
And it's really cute.
It's a nice little touch when they bring it out to you.
It is nice.
I like sitting on their upper balcony and your bright trees.
Oh, never.
I haven't had a chance to do that yet.
I think we went twice and it was in the winter.
Okay.
It was in the winter.
We've only gone a few times in the summertime and it's usually it's packed, but it's nice
to go on the upper level balcony because the trees, they'll block you from the heat.
And it's so nice.
I have to remember that one because I think we've also attended there when they had the
open streets.
And we just kind of sat in it a little bit.
That's where our table was.
It's just people watch and all about like the people watching.
Right?
Yeah.
I love their open streets on the Saturdays.
I think last night I ended up back in Harrow.
Again.
Getting back to that.
Cheers and Chill.
And they are the mobile bartending service that I just had on my podcast a couple of
weeks ago and they had a cocktail class at Daisy and Co.
Wine Bar.
Daisy Wine and Co.
Yes.
Okay.
Yes.
Okay.
And it is amazing in there.
It's great.
It is so cute.
Isn't it, Holi?
Do you like the back area with the little chaises and the bookshelves?
Well, I only got to see that briefly because of the event, the cocktail making event that
was there.
We kind of took up the front of it.
So anybody that wasn't part of that, they went into the back room and then they had
those nice barn door that slides shut so that they had a little bit more privacy.
But it was so nice.
And then we hit the bearded dog for food afterwards.
It was right before they closed and I had the Samuel Jackson burger.
Oh, that's my husband's.
Minus the Sriracha because I'm not a huge Spice fan.
I think we were there the weekend prior with our pickleball.
We had our end of season pickleball, so we all got together and we decided we have a
lot of players from Amherstburg and from Harrow.
So we decided to have a nice meal there and some cocktails.
I had the nachos, but my husband loves that burger.
It is so good.
But the Daisy and company, Daisy Wine and Company, she's been doing a lot of really
neat events because I feel like there's not necessarily a lot happening in Harrow, if
you will.
But we're starting and storefronts are starting to open and we're so excited.
You can touch on the coffee shop again momentarily.
But she's had a paint night, I believe, to date.
She's had decorate cookies for Christmas time.
She's had local sommeliers from various wineries come in and talk about I think she had Leslie
and Bob or was it just Leslie from the Walnut Grove bed and breakfast in chatting about
wine and having pairings all the time.
And now they have a really cute while you must have seen it yesterday, a few little
bistro tables out front, which is so nice because last year she didn't have that.
So it's kind of nice to be able to and Harrow's not that busy downtown.
So if you're having a drink on the patio, it's still quiet.
And I don't know if it's dog friendly.
I have to ask her that if I could bring Argo and Ryan to come in, you know, try to behave
themselves while we're enjoying some wine on her little patio there.
Now I do have to say in Amherstburg when we did go into Evelyn's and we went into Richmond
Popcorn because our puppy is under 10 weeks old.
Technically she's not supposed to be out on the ground outside.
So we brought her just to get her used to the car and they nobody had a problem with
us all her into the places.
I mean, she wasn't running around and so all places are pet friendly patios and the whole
bit.
So that's something that I like to promote as well.
Just being a new dog mom ish, if you will.
Like we got our goal.
I was terrified of dogs prior to getting our goal, by the way, believe it or not.
Now I'm just all over any dog that I see.
But we're all about I like to also make little special comments on my post, if you will.
And I like people to know, you know, so you just look at so many places in the States.
A girlfriend and I were just talking on Friday night at the casino about bark side.
So we need something like that here.
Yes, or we can have local beers, local food.
And it's a combination of a dog park as well.
People can socialize.
They have workers that actually go up and pick up the dog poop and engage the dogs while
you can just like chill.
Okay, good.
I'm glad you said that because that's my problem with dog parks is I find that, you know, the
dogs need to socialize.
But unfortunately, the dog parents seem to socialize a little bit more and they don't
really take care of their animals.
They don't keep an eye on what's happening.
That's why my older dogs, I had to stop bringing them because my dog was getting bullied over
balls.
And nobody was bothering.
And then it makes it awkward for you to say, excuse me, can you go and get your, you know.
But it's nice to have a place where they actually have people.
It's almost like a little sitter.
Yeah, and I haven't been there yet.
But she explained the process and how it works.
You arrive through like two double doors.
I'm not sure, I think she said it was somewhere off of Jefferson, not too far from the border.
And she said she walked in, they asked for all the paperwork, like up to date shots and
vaccinations if you will.
And then you go and after you pass those double doors and everything was checked, it's like
you can let your dog is to be on leash up until point and then you can remove and it's
a so I'm thinking, wouldn't it be so cool to have something like that here?
Because we have the dog park, we have the local breweries and distilleries and all that.
But why not put the two together?
Exactly.
But I don't really know how much red tape would be involved and all that and so much.
Look at you.
I made a new friend today.
And like, I'm not really a cat person, but you're making me fall in love.
Yeah, I think you smell Argo and Raya.
And that's why they're gonna have a thing to say about that when I get home though,
for sure, because Argo doesn't really like cats.
But I'm glad you had a good time at the event.
Was it sold out?
Was it busy?
It might have been sold out.
I'm not 100% sure but I know he has another one coming up.
I'm not exactly sure of the date and they haven't started selling the tickets yet.
But it is with the cookie bar.
So where is the cookie bar?
I've never been there.
Well, it used to be on Polisher.
It was a really, really tiny place on Polisher and now they they renovated or built a new
place.
It's gorgeous on Drouillard.
And their treats, their sweets are so good.
Oh boy.
I've actually had for an event that we did, it was a charcuterie board of cookies and
treats and snacks.
That sounds fun.
It was very nice.
Nice touch because you get tired of your cheeses and your meats.
Well, you know what, it's funny that you say that.
A girlfriend of mine that I work with mentioned going to Cooper's Hawk.
They went to the Vines restaurant and they were offering some type of wine tasting and
pairing but it was, I'm not sure how she coined the term, it was more like a junk food pairing
but they didn't tell them what it was.
It was like a surprise.
I like that.
So I told her you need to send me pictures because we're trying to enter wine.
Is it going to be chips?
Like what do they mean by junk food?
And I wonder what wine they would serve it with.
So I'm still waiting to find out from her tomorrow what exactly was served at the Vines
restaurant on Cooper's Hawk because I'm really curious about that.
And the same thing, well, I mean with different cocktails that would be easy to pair but it's
kind of like your coffee so it'll say has notes of chocolate or notes of strawberry.
So I was really hoping that I was able to tell you about the new coffee shop that was
open right across from Daisy and Company but when I drove by on my bike, I rode by on my
bike it said coming soon, I think April 27th, they had a pop-up day and she had advertised
it as 10 to 3 or until supplies last.
So I work and I was done at 2.30 so I'm like I'm going to get in my car and I'm going to
make it and I'll have like 20 more minutes to get in, snap some pictures, introduce myself,
like do a reel, grab some coffee.
She will be serving acorn and oak coffee there.
So I was hoping to get there but I parked my car, I turned the corner and all the balloons
were gone and I said oh she must have shut down but I have 20 minutes left and there
was a big sign and it said thank you Harrow for your support, all sold out and apparently
by noon she was done.
That's great.
And I said that's great news and I think April 27th is the date that she put out there.
So we're totally excited.
There's no local, like there's a Tim Hortons but it's just nice to support local and I
hear there'll be wraps and soups, light fare, lighter fare, treats of course and we'll see
what else she has to offer.
I'm really excited about it.
That does sound exciting.
I'm like yay another business opening in Harrow.
Rather than having shut down storefronts, you know we've got the RC Bud Shop now, we
have the coffee shop coming, the wine bar opened, we've got the bearded dog that have
extended their hours which is great.
Who else?
Well Uptown Meats and Deli, they're just, they're absolutely wonderful.
That's why I said if you get there early enough to go there because they have a little bit
of everything.
Food wise, like local garlic sauce, local drinks, sauces, charcuterie boards, like they
have a lot of good stuff in there, a lot of good treats.
It's like kind of almost a little local market slash deli if you will.
That's cool.
But I'm excited.
Priscilla's unfortunately moved out of there but they're just down the road.
Yes.
And she's got beautiful property.
It's wonderful.
I've been there and I really like it out there.
Yeah, she did something really neat.
So she moved out of the area and so did Blimey's but I mean in the interim we got Cannadel.
And yeah, I don't even know what, oh Uptown Meats ended up moving forward into Priscilla's
area.
And then OG Pizza kind of took over there but I'm really excited about the coffee shop.
Yeah, it just seems that there's a lot of things opening all over or moving around and
they're not closing, they're just moving to different locations.
And then there's the Joe coffee shop.
Did you ever go to the new one in the Colchester area?
I haven't been to the Colchester, just the one in Kingsville.
Oh, the Colchester one is so nice.
Yeah.
We were at the Harbourfront yesterday.
We took the dogs for a little walk and sniff.
It was just so nice out and we stopped over, sat and they just got their little dog bowl
out and it was wonderful.
How do you have time for all of this?
She's a teacher too.
Yes, I am.
Teachers don't really have a lot of extra time.
We take our work home with us but I've really come to a point in my career too after 18
years of doing it where it's I need to find a balance.
I really need to find what I really like to do and again, I can't even explain why or
what it is.
I just, I love, I'm a people person.
I love talking.
I love going out and meeting and socializing.
I like learning about people.
So I mean, what a better way to do it and support local products.
And I'm done relatively early and then I drag my husband around all over.
He's like, okay, where are we going today?
I try to find things that we could do where the dogs can come along because it helps them
with socializing and they just love adventures and car rides.
So they come along too and Argo actually has been on a couple of GL Heritage posts about
the farmers market there being dog friendly, bring your pet.
So when we arrive, all the vendors are like, oh, there's Argo, Argo's here.
So now Ryan is not as popular yet because she's only been with us for about nine months
now, but she'll get there.
Oh, because wherever he's going, she's coming.
So I mean, she'll be just as popular as him.
And now I must say you are like me where even if you go on vacation, if you go somewhere
else, you tend to shop local to whatever area you're in.
Absolutely.
It's not just here.
And I try to find out, you know, when I'm going somewhere, okay, what can I do here?
What can I find?
Or people, friends and family know that about me.
So if I'm traveling somewhere with them or somewhere to their hometown, they know, okay,
you're going to love this.
You're going to love this little local, you know, pastry shop or bakery or whatever, right?
Just to add a new experience, we were in Guelph a couple of weeks ago too and we found Pet
Culture.
So that it's a really cool little family owned shop in the Guelph area and they have all
kinds of pets and your pet can come in with you as long as they're well behaved.
And they've got all kinds of pet supplies and I got to know the owner there and he gave
me his business card and, you know, I'm like, yeah, I could do the big box pet shops and
whatnot.
But I was really excited to find out what Pet Culture was all about.
So we went in there and then we found a local distillery and brewery that was dog friendly.
And I mean, I just think that a lot of places are even opening up to the idea of, yeah,
you can bring your pet along.
Well, we had gone not last summer, the summer before, to Toronto and my husband, for Fan
Expo.
But my husband and I had said that we wanted to do local.
We wanted to eat at anything that was not a chain, try not to do big box stores and
just really explore.
And other than one day taking the subway and we ended up at some park where we had squirrels
running up to us and we had nothing but tic tacs and we're giving them tic tacs and they
were having a blast.
But we walked everywhere.
We found some lovely diners, the Kensington Market.
I ended up getting two tattoos.
Really?
Oh, wow.
Oh, you've got to give me these suggestions.
I'm going in a few weeks.
My best friend lives in Toronto.
She always has a list of, oh, I know Maria is coming.
We're going to check this and this out.
But she also knows, you know, taking to the new and happening local things.
I googled.
Possibilities are endless in Toronto.
Well, and that's the thing.
I googled when we were going there, the best diners.
And George Street came up and it was kind of like in an area that was a little sketchy.
Especially when we were walking and we walked from Queen Street right across the street
from the Toronto sign.
Okay.
But I was just looking and googled.
And then when, like even this time we were at the diner and I asked her, it was raining
out a couple days ago, and I'm like, what's there to do around here?
So I always ask the locals, wherever I am, what's there to do around here?
What's your favorite thing to do around here?
Or even when I go to eat, because people know me, I can't make a decision when it comes
to a menu.
So I'm always asking the waitresses, what is your favorite food?
And that way I also get out of my own comfort zone and I'll try something different.
Okay.
So did you get your earrings there?
Yeah.
On actually Bowsette, I got them at this little shop in Kensington Market.
They're pretty.
Yeah, they're really cute.
It was this cute little random shop, but it was raining so we didn't stay for too long.
And it seemed that the theme of this year was cheeses and pastries because when we went
to St. Lawrence Market is amazing.
Oh my goodness.
So do you need bags?
Like you have to become prepared with your own bags, if you will.
Well, we didn't have bags, so they did.
There's a few that have the bags, but I would suggest it.
But we got some really nice cheeses that we don't, we need a good cheese store.
We do.
That cheese place.
Everywhere.
That one.
Yeah, we do have the cheese bar, but it just seemed everywhere you turned there was cheese.
This one I'm talking about is there's the cheese bar.
That one's in Tecumseh, correct?
Yes.
But there's another one called that cheese place.
And it's between, okay, now I don't want to mess this up, but it's out my way-ish between
like Howard and Walker, I want to say.
Okay.
And like a little plaza-ish and there are gourmet olive oils and meats.
You can get grilled panini sandwiches.
Okay.
To go, I had to get one of those because it was lunchtime.
I said, I heard all about your grilled paninis.
I need to get one while I shop.
She made me want to think it was like a mortadella with like a really nice cheese on the bread.
It was warm and crispy and the cheese was all melty.
Oh, it was so good.
And I think I got an olive oil and a couple of gourmet cheeses there too.
Yeah.
Oh, wow.
Very interesting.
I'm going to go check out the health because they've got some really cool finds too.
Yeah.
I'm definitely going to have to because at the St. Lawrence Market, my husband got a
blue cheese, which I'm sorry I don't.
Yeah, me too.
My husband loves it.
I don't even want to smell it.
No, I don't eat mold.
I mean, that's just sorry.
Not willingly or knowingly.
But I got a lavender gouda and it is so good.
Purple cheese, come on.
Purple.
Lavender.
It was very, very good.
I'll have to give you some.
What are you going to pair that with?
Cracker?
I'm going to pair it with.
I got a rice cracker and I have some chutney for cheese that I got there too.
Our second cheese that I got was a sweet one and I know it had like a toffee, a crunchy
toffee caramely thing.
And it's a really sweet one.
It's a hard cheese.
And then when we were at the Kensington Market, we walked into another place that was cheese
and the lady standing there, here, have some samples and she starts slicing off some cheese
for us.
And we ended up with a cheese that is made with whiskey and another goat cheese, which
I'm not a fan of goat cheese, but it was so good.
Oh, I love goat cheese.
So yeah.
And then pastries like crazy at the market.
They were so nice.
But I love how you said that you were allowed sampling because I kind of feel like oftentimes
the cheeses aren't necessarily inexpensive.
Like they tend to be expensive, but I want to know that I like it before I'm spending.
The nice thing about that place was she wasn't trying to get us to sample the most expensive.
She actually, we were sampling the ones that were on sale.
Oh, wow.
She's like, this one's on sale this week.
Try it out.
And it's like, okay.
I'll have to make note of that because I love markets.
I love anything like I can't wait for the willow tree to open and the GL heritage.
And that's the great thing about living in the county too.
I just ride my bike half a block or whatever and I come home with fresh produce for dinner
or for snacks.
So like it's market time.
Like downtown Windsor Farmers Market.
I think going on two weeks now that they're open.
The first week was just downpour.
I don't know what the turnout was, which is too bad.
I had events to do.
We're hoping next Saturday to go with the dogs.
Me and Jake rushed through it and it was really nice.
It was packed.
Oh, I bet.
So were the vendors all there?
Like as I know, sometimes some vendors tend to come once a month or every other week.
So if you're looking for someone in particular, there are some that are not necessarily there
every week.
It was packed right from Wyandotte to the other block.
It was packed.
There was a lot of usual vendors.
There was a couple new ones that they said they were going to be there this week, but
not next.
I mean, trying to feel it out.
And a lot of the farms, there was a couple of farms that were there, like Bouchard Farms
and all that.
They're always out and about.
But it's not season.
Right.
They don't have much.
They might not have the greenhouses.
Yeah.
And some of them had told me too, it's not really worth us coming and setting up a stand,
if you will, because we don't really have much to offer.
Yet.
Yet, exactly.
Until everything starts coming in.
So I'm really excited for the one in Amersburg, GL Heritage, because it's only a 20 minute
drive for us, and because we feel like we can always stock up on the local produce.
We don't have to drive all the way into Windsor because my husband does for work anyway five
days a week.
So he's like, no, I don't want my road rage on a Saturday morning.
We'd rather just, you know, dood-to-do down County Road 20 and pull into GL.
And they always have awesome food trucks that are local, local live music.
And the dogs can just sprawl on the grass and chit chat with people.
There's always local coffee being served.
That's nice.
I don't even remember who was there last time.
I believe it was Acorn and Oak last time.
They had a little mobile unit last year for probably one of their last times.
So I'm not sure when their opening date is, but I'm really looking forward to that.
I'm happy for summer again.
I do want to switch topics real well.
It's not switching topics because we are talking local, but everything you're wearing is local.
Almost everything.
Almost.
So I'll start with my earrings because we talked about yours.
I have the bronze pigeon.
I'm not sure if you're familiar with her.
So she actually relocated from Toronto.
And I believe she did a post that she now has a storefront in Devonshire Mall.
I don't go to the mall.
So I don't know.
But I'm pretty sure that she made a post.
I read it on her page, Instagram page, that she now has a place in Devonshire Mall.
But I ordered these beautiful earrings online.
She hand delivered them to Harrell.
I wasn't home, but in the most beautiful packaging, she added in like a really nice satin free
hair scrunchie.
Thank you for your support and for supporting me with her little card.
And the packaging was adorable.
So as somebody else who does that too is Waterside Boutique.
They're in Amersburg.
And they ship.
So you can order and they always have great deals on their Instagram page too.
And they'll ship to you.
And it's just like the cutest wrapping.
Like the wrapping is just adorable.
Like the box with the polka dot ribbon and just the care that's taken into it.
Like I really appreciate that.
And I think like the inside of the box, when you open it says you have great taste.
It's just really cute.
I just looked at all like the little minute details, if you will, that I find important.
So I kind of like that.
The t-shirt of course is Fat Lou Brew.
The back says La Salle, Ontario.
So we love the fact that we're not really beer drinkers per se.
But we love having a collection of all local things when people come over to promote and
conversation pieces when people come over.
I did wear my, it's over there somewhere, but my bearded dog merchandise, their hoodie.
Because they have great merch if you ever go into the bearded dog.
And they have these really great takeout containers.
You can just go in and kind of make your own little pack of whatever you want to grab and
go cooler.
And you just take it to go.
So like if I know a friend of mine who loves beer, I'm going to go in there, just grab
it, go, pay for it and out I go.
Or when I'm getting my takeout and I have it ready.
So rather than going all CBO, if you will.
Yeah, both for sure.
I mean, all CBO still carries Wolfhead and all that stuff.
But it's just great going in there and grabbing.
And you have a little bag of goodies.
I do.
Oh, and the overalls, by the way, are from Essex and I believe Stepping Out.
Okay.
Stepping Out.
I love FATE, but these are not from the FATE boutique.
These are from Stepping Out.
And they were so wonderful, the customer service.
And helping me find my sizes and everything.
Love, love, love Ocean Bottom Soap Company.
Like Charmaine is just a doll.
Her whole staff is phenomenal.
And the fact that everything is all natural, non-toxic, pretty much organic.
I know where all of her stuff comes from.
She uses really, really good quality essential oils.
So I just can't say enough about her.
And she also carries, which a lot of people may not know, like items for men as well.
So I've really got my husband to become aware of what he's putting on his body.
So we got rid of like the, I'm sorry for any Irish spring lovers, but like it's bright
green.
You can buy it at the dollar store.
Time to get rid of it.
Just saying.
Anyway, but he's got like this study beard oil.
So now if he wants a little bit of feeling a little itchy or some moisturizing and he'll
put just a little drop and he'll work it into his hair.
He doesn't have much, but it's all natural.
It's essential oil.
I mean, it's wonderful.
So she has things for pets.
You can go there for like baby showers and get like little soaps with your labels, you
know, personalized.
Her products are amazing.
Like I don't even know where to begin with anything of hers, but she's just wonderful.
And she also has her soaps and some limited products available in small locations.
So she actually collaborates with a lot of local wineries and breweries and does soap
using their product, using their grapes.
Great friend of mine, Sandra Giles, Grape Lakes.
You have to go there.
Grape seed oil is amazing.
So she goes there and she made a soap for her using her grapes grown on her property.
So it's a Grape Lakes, if you will, soap that's using, there was an asparagus soap.
She's big on her asparagus and never been sprayed pesticide free.
Her asparagus is to die for.
And she made an asparagus soap.
So she collaborated with her.
The weirdest thing, right?
But it's using the things that are from her land, if you will.
I think she did Sprucewood wineries using their grapes.
I think she did something for Banded Goose Brewery, if you will, using their beer and
their B&Bs up top.
Barza soap.
She's done it all and she's wonderful.
So that's one of my, oh, this is a fun find.
I'm all about upcycling.
I'm all about thrift shopping.
I'm all about reusing and trading, doing clothing swaps with friends and stuff.
Because hey, maybe you wore that shirt five times and you're never going to wear it again,
but it's new to me.
I'll take it.
So that's so Sarah made this out of an old pair of jeans.
I love that.
I think it's so cool.
And it's actually a fanny pack.
Or you can kind of sling it over your shoulder or over your head and wear it that way.
But it's like, it's adjustable.
Okay.
And the back pockets work so you could throw your phone in there.
That is really cute.
And she tends to have all kinds of different patterns, if you will.
And she does full size shoulder bags and purses.
She's very crafty.
Vintage, a lot of vintage materials and vintage, if you will.
So that's another thing I wanted to bring to share.
This was my bronze pigeon, another little for me to put the earrings in.
I love it.
Now, have you heard of Bespoke Aromatherapy?
She's been on my podcast.
And I've been to one of her classes at Tara Green Garden.
Okay, I'm so glad.
I didn't realize, but I love her.
We actually went to high school together.
And we just reconnected through me making an appointment and wanting my personal inhaler.
I still have my personal inhaler.
Oh, so you know exactly what this is.
And then I love her B-com bomb.
Although I can say she has changed her packaging.
Oh, okay.
This is amazing because before the packaging looked like the Vicks inhalers.
Oh, okay.
But they were purple.
This is nice.
And it's like a plastic metal.
It is really cute.
And just to let you know, did you ever smell or try her B-com bomb?
Okay, so you know all about this.
Wow.
Pulse points behind your ears.
Sometimes I just put it on my knuckles where it's really dry.
Or you blow your nose a lot and you have a cold.
And it's all natural smelling.
I'm not getting a headache from the fragrance.
So and the aromatherapy classes and workshops, she's now collaborating with Valero Wellness.
Yes.
Yeah, she's finally found a really good fit for her and I really enjoyed her stuff because
when I did the class because of the epilepsy, there are certain essential oils that actually
help so that you don't have as bad of a seizure.
Oh, really?
Or it helps keep them at bay.
Like frankincense, lemon, any of your citruses.
Oh, wow.
But there are some that trigger like eucalyptus.
Really?
So she made sure to keep them away from me.
Oh, that's interesting.
Because she didn't know about that either.
So then we were doing some research.
Well, that's good for her to know.
Yeah.
Right?
So wonderful.
And those inhalers last forever.
Well, this one I've had and it's still pretty.
I've had mine for two years.
Yeah, mine is just going on from last summer and it's still really good and I carry it
in my purse.
But she's actually sending me she's trying something new.
I'm going to be your guinea pig, if you will.
She's starting to ship things.
So she's shipping.
She has one for women and their monthly cycles.
Okay.
Something that's supposed to support you in all of your phases leading up to your monthly
cycle.
And I have I'm going to have to have tremendous pain.
And I've had surgery in the past.
So I'm really excited to try it.
So she's shipping it to me.
And I said to her, well, are we not going to meet up so you can tell me how to use everything?
She's like, oh, all the instructions come in the package.
It'll be very like precise and clear cut for you.
And if you have any questions, contact me.
So I'm excited to try a new product of hers, which is on its way.
So Laura, I don't know when it's coming, but I'm excited.
Laura, message me.
Call me.
Try stuff too.
Let me see.
You just recently went to the Dutch house, correct?
Yeah.
So actually, I think it's in here.
So I can go on and on about the Dutch house because we buy one of everything when we go
there.
But I recently picked up a brand new lavender peppermint lip balm from them.
Because again, I try to do all natural if it's going on my skin.
Love the Dutch house.
I can go on and on about all the things I buy there.
A couple more things.
Oh, and I really enjoy the harmonic egg.
Have you ever done one of those?
She's also been on my podcast.
So wellness, new earth wellness.
I bought this chopstick there after we had our harmonic eggs.
So this was at the front desk as I went to go pay before we left.
My husband and I both did a session.
I've done a few sessions.
And what do you think?
It's been a while.
Okay.
It is amazing.
And I noticed almost like a metallic taste.
I really got into it.
She's like, a lot of people don't get that.
And I do.
I'll wear my comfy sweats, the whole bit.
And I really enjoyed it.
But okay, note to people, if you have reiki or any registered massage, any energy work
done, wait a couple weeks before you do the egg.
Nobody...
Well, at the time, I didn't think to tell them that.
I did it within the same week.
And for two days, I felt like I'd run a marathon.
I was just so tired.
Oh, so that's how it affected you.
But relaxed.
I was very, very, very relaxed.
And it actually helped with my seizures for a bit.
And it just makes you feel good.
It relaxes you, especially we're all stressful.
Everybody's stressed out and it's almost like getting a massage without getting touched.
Well, and you know what I love?
I said to my husband, the joke to my husband is I'm a kindergarten teacher with 31 screaming
kids that need me all day long, right?
I'm overstimulated.
It's loud.
There's nowhere to go.
There's no...
Unless I go when I go home for lunch and I ride my bike.
But I said it's just that this is me.
Nobody can talk to me.
Nobody can come near me.
This is me time and I can do whatever I want.
I could daydream.
I can meditate.
I could sleep.
I've slept in it.
You know, whatever you're going to do.
But my husband kind of didn't understand the gist of it, if you will.
He was kind of like, yeah, it was relaxing.
Maybe I'll do it again.
But for me, knowing the environment that I'm in all the time, it's really hard to find.
That's why I enjoy places like 14th.
It's like I can go out and have a coffee and sit on the picnic table and just watch the
chickens and chill and daydream in my own...
Maybe probably shoot the shit with Nathan because like, let's be for real, like Nathan
and I always chat when we're there, right?
But sometimes it's hard to just find that quiet where it's leave me alone.
I just need some quiet time and it's a harmonic egg for people who are overly stimulated and
just overly stressed out and just need that time.
I haven't booked a session recently because we are in here.
It's kind of far for me to travel.
I know she does ones that are away.
Like you...
Mobile?
Well, you don't have to be there.
You can just set your attentions, but I want the whole experience.
I want to get in there.
I know.
And the colors and the music.
And I am severely claustrophobic and I never felt bad whatsoever while I was in there.
I didn't even have my hand on the button in case I was just like, okay, this is just...
So have you ever done a float session?
No, because that one freaks me out.
So float, to be honest, like you can't even compare the float pod to the egg.
The eggs, the magnitude of the egg is probably 10 times the size.
But I remember doing...
I did about three float sessions, but my first one, I actually had to lift it and...
Because I kind of felt like it was not as close as an MRI machine, but I was like tripping
out.
Like get me out of here.
What's happening?
Oh my gosh.
I can't do...
The MRIs are...
Yeah, forget that.
Those are the CAT scans.
And I used to be...I used to go tanning.
Tanning beds, I couldn't have them close all the way.
And I'd have my finger on the button just in case.
Put it up.
Okay, I want to see what else...
I might have one more thing, maybe...
Oh, actually two more things.
So here's another all natural company that's new-er.
Have you heard of To Will Naturals?
No.
She's by the mall.
Okay.
So I went to that strip mall, probably a little bit more south than Devonshire Mall.
I don't even really know what's in the strip mall because I've only been twice.
But she's got amazing things.
And again, something for my husband.
I got him a shaving bar.
So he's not using all natural chemical, fragrance, riddled items, but it's a beautiful shaving
bar.
Now she's got products for dogs too to keep flea and ticks away.
I'm surprised I didn't do a whole doggy bag with just dog stuff, but that can be for another
time because all doggy things and all things dogs and pets.
But I really like her because she's wonderful too.
A new-er, I would say a few years now.
I could be mistaken, but very, very sweet.
The owner was there when I went in and showed me all around the shop and told me a little
bit about herself.
And then I think this might be the last thing I brought.
Again, all natural.
Have you heard of Gem?
No.
She's been in the Glam Organic Spa Salon.
It's located in Harrow.
She did have a second location in Tecumseh Town, but now she's expanding in Harrow and
that location is no longer open.
But wow, the services that they have there.
And they have all natural organic makeup with compostable.
Like the all wooden one too.
I can compost it.
So this is a mascara that I feel great about wearing because it's non-toxic.
It doesn't burn my eyes because normally I wear things up.
So I buy their lip pencils.
I buy their eyeshadow pencils.
Oh, the reflexology there.
I can't say enough.
Lymphatic massage coupled with reflexology.
Lori Ursu is like to die for if you can ever book a session with her.
An hour, I think it's 90 minutes of pure bliss.
And I wake up drooling and snoring every single time because I'm like, again, it's quiet.
I don't even know what's happening.
She does her thing and I feel like a million bucks.
So they do organic facials.
They always have a facial of the month, pedicures, foot refinements.
My husband's been in with me too and we've done organic side by side facials.
They have amazing, amazing, amazing full body treatments.
Everything they use is all natural.
Usually if they've made essential oil base with some coconut oil or whatever it is for
their concoctions.
But Elate is the brand that they carry there and I love it because again, it doesn't hurt
my eyes.
It's not burning.
It's not.
So I have them too.
And I think that's all that I brought along to kind of chit chat about.
And I think this I got at the Wellness Expo.
They always have the Health and Wellness Expo in Kingsville at Lakeside Park.
Is it Lakeside or Lakeview?
Lakeside Park?
I think so.
I'm thinking Lakeside Bakery.
But anyway, I bought this there too and I can't even remember who it was from.
It was a mental health awareness company and they had all kinds of things.
So I bought a few of these to match different items and I put my essential oils on here.
Oh yeah.
Oh you have one too.
I just noticed.
Well this one I got.
This was my very first one that I got.
That's pretty.
And it's from the…
You have the lava stones too on them?
Oh it's all lava stones except for I think four of them.
And I got this from the Bideva and her son made it.
And it's my favorite one even though I…
Because I wear my essential oils every day.
My frankincense…
What's your favorite?
What do you put for you to help you?
Well it has to be the frankincense and then a frankincense mix that I got at Urban Art
Market.
Okay.
But then also TLC Wellness.
She's been on my podcast.
I have a little roller that I got at Wellness Expo that has citrus smell.
Oh nice.
So I will use that.
Almost like a perfume.
I do that too.
I do it here and here but then I have the essential oil, the frankincense that I put
on these.
I have a ton of bracelets that I make sure have the lava stone.
I mean this is a few years old and I mean it's starting to die out but I still use
it and she has a ton of different ones.
I've actually been to her sip and string class where you make your own bracelets.
I mean they're great.
We could seriously talk all day on the amount of stuff that is in Essex County.
If you want to know about any of these places feel free to DM me on Instagram, Facebook,
even leave a message on YouTube or follow Maria at at so cool local on Instagram and
look through who we follow and that is your best places.
Look through who we follow and then you can find different companies.
You can see on our pages or our stories any events that are coming up because there is
so much going on and even when I go away like I was just in Toronto for a couple days in
my stories I shared the various places that I went and again when we go away we try to
shop local although I did stop at Costco in London on the way home.
Well everybody does Costco just saying so do we.
Yeah you have to.
Everybody always asked me oh where did you find this?
How did you find out about this?
Events coming up we have the Strawberrylicious that is coming out June 1st and that is in
LaSalle and that is from Wolfhead Distillery because they are now they're offering a new
strawberry gin.
It hasn't come out yet.
Well when it's there.
I know I'm very excited about it.
And again I'm going to actually be there.
I'm going to go to that.
We did their Caesar Bar not that long ago.
I brought a bunch of neighbours.
I think it stopped now.
They don't do it in the summer.
They don't have their brunches on the weekend anymore or at least right now.
I always have people co-workers of mine or neighbours.
You know I'm really I have a neighbour that just moved from Toronto recently.
Do you have any ideas for me like what could I do or what could I do for an event or I'm
trying to plan something cool with my wife to do something.
I said yeah get a day pass at Kingsville as a state of health and have a spa day.
You can have like a Reiki treatment.
You can do sound healing.
Like what are you interested in?
You could reach out to people like us who know a variety of different cool things that
you could do as a day trip or overnight.
Any stores any products any events that I like I make sure I follow them.
So yeah definitely check out my followers check out her followers or who she's following.
Check out who I'm following and you will find out about the different events.
There's also Twappy.
There's so many different social media.
My travelling backpack.
I love her.
She's always up to date on everything that's going on like every weekend Friday Saturday
Sunday what free events family fun events pet friendly events.
Yes right.
So there's so many people that you could find things out from.
Just Google.
There's so many cool things to do here or there.
And if you're going out of town if you're going away even international look for local
stuff to do and support the local economy of wherever you are because it helps all of
us.
They will appreciate it.
They really do.
And thank you so much.
Thank you.
Cheers once again.
Can't wait to do it again.
I know we'll definitely have to do one more in the summertime and then I will definitely
have a glass of something.
Maybe we'll have the strawberry gin that we'll have to be sipping that time.
And again my name is Tracy Martens.
Thank you for joining me for another episode of YQG In Bloom.
Have a great day.