Travel Diaries: Muskoka, ON

And just like that, my favorite trip of the year has come and gone (seriously, why does vacation time always go by so fast?? Can my work weeks go by this fast??). My family and I have been going up to Muskoka for the last thirteen summers— my sister and I went to Camp Tawingo in Huntsville,  about 45 min from our lake, and it just made for the most magical and memorable summers. My parents have always dreamed of owning a place up here and to be honest it still feels a little surreal that we do! I first saw the place over Thanksgiving, when it was a dark, snowy, cozy winter wonderland, sooo very very different vibes than over the summer. It felt like such a perfect fit for our family, like it was always meant to be ours; needless to say it was love at first sight!

Muskoka is without a doubt just my most favorite place in the world. It is here that I am happiest, most relaxed, most myself. Life becomes temporarily, beautifully simple—  our cottage has no air conditioning, so you wake up warm, starting your day by immediately jumping into the lake, which is subsequently followed by the repeated cycle of laying on the dock, getting too hot, jumping off the boathouse balcony into the sparkling waters to cool off. My sister and I always have a beer in hand (we have been craving Bud Light Limes ALL summer and finally tracked them down!), making up games that make no sense to anyone besides ourselves, including hits like “What’s In Your Udon” (you declare various body parts as ingredients to go into a hypothetical bowl of udon, i.e. my fingers are shrimp tempura) and “Workout Dance Party” where we head to the dock in our bathing suits and take turns making up dance/workout moves to our favorite songs. (We’re available for birthday parties if interested, please DM). We read books, sleep in or stay up as late as we want, eat fresh fish on the grill with fresh Ontario produce on the side, play more Clue than any human should probably play in a 7 day timespan, play bartender and make up fun drinks like “The Flirty Cabinner” (check out my Canada IG Story highlight if you want the recipe for that btw, it’s actually bomb) and try to not get yelled at by our mom for dirtying her kitchen, and make s’mores by the fire, underneath a canopy of the craziest stars you’ll ever see in your life.

If I could wake up and relive the same day here over and over and over again forever, I’d do it in a heartbeat. Then again, I think what makes a vacation feel so indulgent and special is the fact that it is so fleeting. As always, this trip went by way too fast— I leave a little piece of my heart up north every time I leave (I would sob every year I was picked up from summer camp, and leaving my cottage has proven to be no different), but extremely extremely grateful for all of the wonderful memories 🙂

It would be my great pleasure to show off my fave place to you guys and share some more photos from our trip! If you ever get an opportunity to experience the quintessential Canadian experience that is Muskoka, I seriously could not recommend it any higher. It is pure magic in these parts!

Yellow One Piece

Gingham Dress (similiar) // Polka Dot Dress

PJ Salvage skull pajamas (Top) // (Bottoms)

One Piece Suit // Denim Shorts // Hat // Bag // Sunnies

Full outfit details for this look can be found here!