An Oceanstone Meeting

A meeting at the fabulous Oceanstone Seaside Retreat with the East Coast Mom Media was a no-brainer…I had seen so many posts about the wonderful place from my fellow bloggers that I didn’t want to miss out!  Join me as I show you my day and then hop over via the links at the end of the post to see their take on the day!

Oceanstone Resort has been on my list of places I wanted to explore after I saw all the beautiful posts that my fellow bloggers had shared on social media.  So when the next East Coast Mom Media workshop was being hosted at Oceanstone, I knew I wanted to be there!  Not only to explore, but to connect and to learn, too. So, I shuffled my schedule, booked a carpool buddy and we hit the road for Oceanstone a couple weeks back.

First off, when selecting your carpool buddy, pick someone who is energetic, willing to grab coffee first and who is game for pit stops at iconic Nova Scotia sights.  This trip my carpool buddy was Sara of Dashboard Living based in Truro.  You need to check out their blog!  She was great company, very inspiring and encouraging!

So we roll in and wander down the path to the main lodge and meet up with the group of other bloggers.  Lizzie from Oceanstone greets us with a warm welcome and we go on tour of the nearby restaurant, Rhubarb, and some of the sweet cabins and rooms available to stay in there.  I’ll let the cabins themselves tell you how adorable and well thought out they are!

I mean, seriously, right?  I could stay in any one of the spaces we looked at.  Some are tucked along the ocean and some are tucked among the trees and paths.

Here’s some shots of the grounds, again, equally as charming as the cabins.

After our tour, we made our way back into the main building.  I couldn’t help but snap a couple of pictures of the sitting area by the reception – doesn’t this make for a warm welcome?

Oceanstone made us feel so welcomed and spoiled, we got a cooking lesson from their chef, who was not only a great chef, he was very entertaining and personable….now if only I could remember his name…Steve maybe? Hmmm…..apparently I need to take better notes. Anyway, he got us involved, this next photo shows Thanh of Love and Sundays and Kayla of Short Presents slaving away over a hot stove….er, cutting up veg for the salad.  They fed us an incredible meal, along with a tasty dessert and had drinks set up for us all day long, too.  Seriously, they treated us so well!

This is what happens when you get a bunch of bloggers with smokin’ social media in a room….photos of the food before we eat the food!

After our tasty lunch, we got down to business.  Blogging business, actually.  The East Coast Media Moms, Erin of DIY Passion and Colleen of Curtains are Open, lead us as we discussed Content Planning and  Scheduling. { Sidenote: I’m writing this at 5:30am and the post is due to go live at 7am…I think I need to take our talks to heart and look at the calendar and plan my content and time more wisely… }  As always, the discussions are lively, interesting and humourous and we may have gone off the beaten path a few times, too.  But I learn so much from my fellow bloggers, they are so supportive and willing to guide and help.  I feel like I’ve learned more in the past year or so than the previous 4 years of my blogging.

These types of events are so great.  To be able to explore new places and learn new skills, or hone the ones we have, is so important.  Plus getting spoiled while hanging out with bloggers who have become friends is win-win all around.  Jennifer of Simple Local Life is especially dear to me, so any time we can meet in the middle-ish and chat is a good day in my books!

Before we knew it, it was time to go again.  All goods things must come to an end, I guess.  I love that one of the last things we did was take the little jars that Lizzie from Oceanstone left for us and wander down to the beach, looking for tiny treasures to tuck inside to remember our time at the charming Oceanstone Resort.  It was the perfect way to wrap up our time!

They also sent us away with a bag of goodies, too, and when I say goodies, I’m not even kidding!  Hello, I mean Lure Caramels, a s’more kit, Fisherman soap and a sweet hand written note!  I’m telling you they spoiled us!

As we rolled out of Oceanstone Resort, Sara and I took a right and headed to the iconic Peggy’s Cove as it’s so close by and I think it’s a rule that if you are that close, you have to stop, right? It’s so stunning.

From experiences to learning to run my blog better to chatting with new and old friends, these ECM Workshops are a win in my books.  I’m so thankful for businesses who see the value in what we do and are willing to host us and for fellow bloggers who are willing to invest their time in us, coaching and teaching and offering opportunities – what a great day!

Be sure to follow the other links to see what the other bloggers who I hung out with have to say about their time exploring and learning at Oceanstone!

To be continued,

Lori

I was provided this opportunity to explore Oceanstone through their generosity and through East Coast Mom Media but my take on it is just that!