Cool off with Callister’s Ice Cream Parlour in Coldbrook
Cool off with Callister’s Ice Cream Parlour in Coldbrook
Disclosure: Our family received an ice cream treat in exchange for this blog post. It was 30c outside and we weren’t about to say no! All opinions are our own.
Nothing says HELLO SUMMER better than stopping on a cool day to get an ice cream!
If you want a convenient spot, with lots of choices, places to sit down in the shade and terrific staff, then make Callister’s new Ice Cream Parlour your choice!
When we were kids growing up in the Valley, one of our favourite things to do as a family was to go to the picnic park in Coldbrook and then go next door to Scotian Gold for an ice cream.
Did you know that Scotian Gold sold all their ice cream supplies to Callister’s when they closed down their ice cream shop?
Now, we can still carry on the tradition of a great family adventure in Coldbrook!
I first learned all about Callister’s new ice cream parlour when I interviewed the owner Leighanna Melvin for an article I wrote in the Advertiser.
Read Interview Here
Leighanna always wanted to have an ice cream parlour as part of the restaurant, and she says everything fell into place from buying the supplies from Scotian Gold to purchasing the building so they were allowed to do renovations.
With the stars aligned, in the summer of 2017, Callister’s built on a massive deck and built their own ice cream parlour! You can see it from the road now, and it’s obvious that it’s a great place to stop for an ice cream!
Besides the super-friendly staff, the small touches is what makes this place great.
On a hot day there are lots of places to sit in the shade.
On a cool evening, Callister’s has yard games that you can grab and use on the back lawn! Washer toss and Yardtzee! I can’t wait to try that one when it’s not so hot!
The ice cream parlour has more than 40 flavours of Farmers’ ice cream, soft serve, banana splits sundaes and more.
Leighanna says they are still working on the menu so if anyone has any suggestions of things they would like to see, they would love to hear about it.
The next time you are driving the thoroughfare through Coldbrook, or having a family picnic, be sure to stop at Callister’s Ice Cream Parlour for a treat!
Support a great local business and cool off in the meantime!
From Laundry to Libraries and Love: Flea Market Furniture Flips!
From Laundry to Libraries and Love: Flea Market Furniture Flips! #ECMFleaMarketFlip
Today I’m participating in an ECM Blog Hop called #ECMFleaMarketFlip. After you read my post be sure to click over to some of the other blog posts linked at the bottom for more fun ideas on how to repurpose your flea market finds!
I am not a crafty person and I am not very handy with tools. Luckily for me, my husband is!
I get an idea and he “willingly” helps me bring it to fruition.
Here are 3 of our favourite projects that we made using the philosophy
One man’s junk is another man’s treasure
Laundry Rack
I can’t even remember where this idea came from, but we were redoing our laundry room and I needed a fold-up rack.
We found an old crib on the side of the road on big garbage day, and my husband turned it into the perfect drying rack!
INSTRUCTIONS HERE
2. Libraries
Then, I got involved in another community project – this time I volunteered our family to build a wee free library in our town!
We headed to our local recycling shop, the Re Used shop in New Minas who donated a book case to our cause.
My husband built turned it on its side, built a roof and doors then the kids painted it.
Then, voila! it was a community library that lasted for over 2 years, until it finally had to be replaced to keep up with the constant use!
HOW TO MAKE A COMMUNITY LIBRARY FROM A BOOK CASE
3. Love
I love to have family photos up around the house. We’ve created a few unique displays, all from old windows we found for free during big garbage day!
With the long windows we cut a piece of plywood that was the same size of the window, and painted it a neutral colour. I printed off the photos, and we used spray glue to attach them to the wood.
Nail it all together, and you have an interesting way to display photos!
We did something similar in our laundry room. We found an old square window. I asked everyone in my family to take a typical laundry picture. It could be anything! Then, I displayed each picture in one of the squares, making the back of the frame as we did above.
It can be fun coming up with new ways to repurpose your flea market finds! Especially if you have someone handy in the house!
Be sure to check out some of these other great ideas from these awesome East Coast Bloggers!
Getting Your Car Detailed is the Cat’s Meow!
Getting Your Car Detailed is the Cat’s Meow!
Disclosure: Our family received a free detailing in exchange for this blog post. I mean, would you turn that opportunity down? All opinions are our own.
“I fantasize about having my car detailed!”
That’s what my best friend dreams about now that we have reached near-middle age and our cars have become a second home to our families.
I remember the days of lifting the car seats and finding an entire meal of Cheerios and Goldfish, or milk being spilled and soured on the upholstery.
Now, our car is full of dirt left from our adventures or that has come off the various rocks and sticks that make it home with us.
It’s so dirty from driving the back dirt roads, it’s calling for a bath.
I’ll give you a tour of how messy it was.
So, when April Preston from Cat’s Meow Car Detailing, based in Aylesford in the Annapolis Valley, contacted me to try out her services, how could I resist?
Why You Need a Cat’s Meow Treatment
Families are busy. We are taking our kids to and from activities, picking them up from school and heading out to family adventures. Our lives are busy, and we spend a lot of time in our cars and especially a lot of time eating out of our cars. They are a mess.
But, who has time to clean them? My idea of cleaning the car was letting the dog in to eat the stray snacks, but that just doesn’t cut it.
We need to keep our cars clean to keep us healthy! Besides, having a clean car makes us far less stressed out about the chaos in our lives!
This is where Cat’s Meow Car Detailing comes in. You need to treat and reward yourself with a car detailing.
About the Cat’s Meow
For those who have busy lives, Cat’s Meow Car Detailing is a mobile detailing company that can come right to your location to clean your vehicle. Cat’s Meow Car Detailing provides the convenience of having you continue your day at your home while we provide polite, professional detailed work. All at competitive prices to compliment any lifestyle! For those rainy or windy days we have the option to clean your vehicle at our shop location in Aylesford, right off of Highway 1.
Cat’s Meow Car Detailing is Mobile!
The best part of Cat’s Meow is that they will come to your house to clean your car! Just provide a hose and a power source, and sit back and relax while the hard work is done for you!
When April and Jason were cleaning our car, I had a cup of tea, a nap, did some writing and worked in the garden.
I also took some sneaky pictures of them working hard while I was not!
This mobile service is available from April to October, and the rest of the year, you can take your car directly to them in Aylesford for them to work out of their garage. It’s just too cold to keep working outside, then!
Cat’s Meow Packages
Cat’s Meow Car Detailing offers several packages including the Tabby, Manx and Angora for both interior and exterior.
Build your own package, and add any extras to get the job done that suits your style, need and budget!
They also have gift certificates that would be perfect for any birthday, Father’s Day or birthday present!
See Packages Here
Our car was given the Manx treatment!
Depending on where you are located, there might be a mileage fee, but not having to leave the comfort of your house makes it well worthwhile!
The Results
When I saw our car after April and Jason had finished, I was literally speechless!
It looked like a brand new car!
See for yourself:
I don’t want my children to go anywhere near the car to get it dirty again!
Cat’s Meow Car Detailing did a FANTASTIC job!
Getting your car detailed is like the Cat's Meow! Find their mobile service in Aylesford. https://catsmeowcardetailing.com/ Share on XApril and Jason were so efficient, polite, easy to work with, and a joy to have at my house! We would HIGHLY recommend them and the services from Cat’s Meow Car Detailing!
How to Reach Cat’s Meow Car Detailing
Call 902-825-9918
Heated Garage Available at: 2407 Hwy 1, Aylesford, Nova Scotia
We were so thrilled with Cat’s Meow Car Detailing that we will be referring them to everyone, and definitely getting some gift certificates for upcoming birthdays!
Now, to keep the car clean… but, knowing it’s ok if we don’t because we’ll just call in the team again from Cat’s Meow Car Detailing!
Family Fun by Laura Churchill Duke: Geocaching
Family Fun by Laura Churchill Duke: Cache in on a fun family activity
Geocaching has been described as using multi-million dollar satellites to find Tupperware in the woods.
In other words, geocaching is a real-world, outdoor treasure hunting game using GPS-enabled devices. Participants navigate to a specific set of GPS coordinates and then try to find the geocache (container) hidden at that location.
Continue reading in my bi-weekly column in the Advertiser…
Fun with Mr. B’s Makery and Crayzons
Fun with Mr. B’s Makery and Crayzons
My boys and I had the great pleasure of spending a morning with Brendon Purdy-Smth of Mr. B’s Makery, in New Minas.
Brendon is part of CAPRE (Community Association of People for REAL Enterprise) that supports the realization of personal potential for individuals with intellectual disabilities through person-centered planning, entrepreneurship, innovation, partnership and community engagement.
Brendon, with the help of support staff , Barry, likes to make things. And, one of those things is Crayzons!
The boys and I went to Brendon’s office/workshop to interview him for a story for the Advertiser, but we ended up having our very own workshop!
Read article here
Barry walked us through the step-by-step how Brendon makes the Crayzons from recycled crayons!
The boys completed each step of the project from stripping the paper from crayons, and crushing it through “Chewy”.
Then, then the crayon pieces are added to moulds so they can be baked.
The final step was helping to package the Crayzons and preparing them for sale.
The kids had a total blast making their creations, and they turned out so wonderfully! They can’t wait to start using them!
And, you can make Crayzons and other great arts and crafts with Brendon, too!
Join Brendon and his team at their workshop in New Minas, or they will come to your group to make Crayzons and a few other craft projects with you! All supplies are included!
Contact MrBsMakery@capre.org to find out about pricing and to book your event!
Activity Boxes and Gifts
Remember, the Crayzons, slime jars and play-do, all made by Mr. B’s Makery, all make great gifts! If you want to go one step further, they will even make up activity boxes for you to take, or they will mail them, too! What a great and unique gift!
Contact MrBsMakery@capre.org to order your activity box!
Cool Give Aways
Mr. B’s mini Crayzon sets also make great take-aways for kids! If you are a restaurant or a dental clinic, or the likes and are looking for a unique treat for kids, and want to support a local entrepreneur and great cause, consider these fun sets!
Where to Buy
Mr. B’s Makery items – from his famous tie-dyed t-shirts (which can be custom made) to his Crayzons and other fun items are available:
- CAPRE worksite, Site 1 – 8736 Commercial Street, New Minas
- Lee’s Shop, Canning
- Go as you Grow, New Minas
- Applewicks, Wolfville
- Retro Runway Fashions, Wolfville
If you are a business and would like to carry Mr. B’s products, Contact MrBsMakery@capre.org.
Save your Crayons!
Another great way to help out Mr. B’s Makery is by saving your old crayons. Brendon is always in need of used crayons that he can melt down and reuse for his art projects and Crayzons. He is trying to collect 1500 pounds of crayons, so please donate!
Drop off locations are
- CAPRE worksite, Site 1 – 8736 Commercial Street, New Minas
- K-Rock 89.3 in New Minas
or, Contact MrBsMakery@capre.org. Pick up is available from MBW Courier all over Nova Scotia and New Brunswick!
We had such a fun morning hanging out at Mr. B’s Makery in New Minas, so do drop in if you can, and bring a bag of crayons.
Pick up some great gifts from any of the 10 entrepreneurs supported by CAPRE. You’ll be glad you stopped by!
Eating out with Friends and Family: Li’s Wok & Grill, Wolfville
Eating out with Friends and Family: LI’S WOK & GRILL , Wolfville
Valley Family Fun is starting a series of posts to feature great local restaurants and cafes to check out to encourage everyone to get out and explore and support our local businesses!
Today’s eating adventure was at Front Street Cafe in Wolfville now known as Li’s Wok & Grill!
We decided to go check it out!
Li’s Wok & Grill has a couple of choices for kids, but they are all things they love.
We also decided to go for the Chinese meals, and they were delicious. Homemade plum sauce to boot. The food was so filling and so great!
Everything was delicious, and we will definitely be back again!
