friends Archives — Smores and Sundresses

Outdoor Summer Goals for a New Year

January 17, 2019 By deniseriches 10 Comments

The best way to spend a cold winter day, in my books, is to make plans for summer. Summer is way too short, in my opinion, so in January, my husband and I start planning for summer vacations and long weekends.

We spent last summer perfecting our little townhouse backyard, and you can check out those projects here, here and here.

I’m really looking forward to this summer because the work is done and we’ll be able to spend more time enjoying it than working on it. So here are some ideas for summer outdoor fun to plan for now, when it’s cold outside!Continue Reading

3 Benefits of Camping With Friends

September 7, 2017 By deniseriches 4 Comments

This summer, we were lucky enough to camp with various friends before embarking on our annual trip to Algonquin, and I have to admit, I learned a lot.

We’ve stayed with friends and family before, but camping with them is entirely different. I didn’t expect to learn anything but I’m thankful I did. Camping with friends has taught us new ways of doing things, using new tools and doing basic things a slightly different way.

No regrets here. Read on to see what secrets we learned:

A Review of Long Point Provincial Park (LPPP)

August 3, 2017 By deniseriches 3 Comments

We were fortunate to camp with close friends for the 150th Canada Day long weekend, and we went to Long Point Provincial Park, which I’ll refer to as LPPP going forward, to save time.

LPPP is located on the northwest shore of Lake Erie, near Port Rowan. My husband also camped at Backus Heritage Conservation Area, in the same area. I referred to LPPP as a peninsula, but it’s more accurately a spit, a narrow stretch of land jutting out into a body of water.Continue Reading

Building The Ultimate Party Platter (& Buffalo Chicken Dip Recipe!)

March 16, 2017 By deniseriches 7 Comments

Do you like to entertain?

We LOVE having friends over for some wine, dinner and a hearty, hilarious game of Cards Against Humanity.

Though sometimes, you don’t feel like making a big dinner, and that’s when grazing on a variety of foods sounds like a better idea. And there’s no right or wrong time of the year for this, either, because you can easily adapt your food variety with seasonal items.

What You Need to Know About Twitter Chats

October 21, 2016 By deniseriches 2 Comments

Chatting online has come a long way from chat rooms hosted by Excite, AOL, and instant messaging. Remember the mug avatars? In the Twitter world and blogosphere, maybe you’ve heard the term “Twitter Chat”. Maybe you’ve stumbled across one by accident and wondered what it was all about.

These chats are fast-moving, live chats via Twitter. There is a hashtag for each chat and it’s what connects all the participants in the chat, because the hashtag is in every tweet. For example, The SITSGirls hosts a Twitter chat every Saturday morning at 10 a.m. EST, and their hashtag is #sitsblogging – the theme is all things blogging.

The point of a Twitter chat is to gather a group of like-minded people to spend an hour chatting. They relate and share tips, tricks, aand advice. Sometimes they include contests (these are referred to as a Twitter party). It’s a fantastic way to grow your followers and connect with people.

If you’re sponsoring a Twitter chat, it can help your following grow as well. It can a terrific way to engage with potential clients and customers and get “social” on social media. Think of it as a type of “Meet and Greet” party.

Twitter parties are usually an hour long, and many towns and cities have their own Twitter Hour.