What’s one of the best things about owning a lakefront property? Inviting guests to come hang out on your dock!
Your dock becomes centre stage when entertaining guests! It’s the launching pad for swimming, kayaking, paddle boarding, fishing and boating. It is a fantastic place to lounge in the sun, read, and relax. It’s a great place to watch the sunrise with a cup of coffee or the sunset with a cocktail.
Here are three ways to help you enjoy all the activities on your dock this summer!
1. Get Comfortable with Dock Seating!
Lakestyle knows that having comfortable seating arrangements on your dock for your family and guests is super important. Your dock should have a variety of seating options, to suit the multiple activities and needs that the summer season demands. Here are a couple of our favourites:
Adirondack Chairs
Patio Leisure Line has a great line of stylish Adirondack Chairs that have been a staple on Lakestyle’s dock for years. They are a family owned and operated company based out of Brantford, Ontario. They pride themselves on being a ‘green’ company as they construct all their furniture from recycled high density polyethylene. Lakestyle loves these Adirondack Chairs because they require zero maintenance (no staining or painting EVER!) and they are heavy enough not to blow off the dock during a summer thunderstorm. Patio Leisure Line Adirondack Chairs come in 10 amazing colours and are available in Costco Locations across Canada. Lakestyle has a special love for their red ones!
Cedar Dock Benches
Lakestyle has a fantastic cedar bench that can easily be installed on any brand of dock. With its wide armrests, it also doubles as a great place to set a drink or snack. The weather resistant cedar wood can be left natural or can be stained or painted to suit any style dock. Order this cedar bench on Lakestyle’s online store, with delivery available across Canada. With four feet of bench seating, you’ll be able to accommodate many dock guests comfortably without hogging much room on your dock!
2. Keep Lake Toys Organized on Your Dock
Since docks are often the gathering place at the lake, they can easily get cluttered with all of the various lake toys and equipment that make lake days amazing. Here are a few items that help keep your dock more organized!
Kayak/Paddleboard Brackets
Lakestyle has these handy kayak/paddle board brackets that work well to keep your dock surface clutter free! These brackets work great for canoes and large floatables as well.
Storage Options on Your Dock
Canadian Tire has a number of unique outdoor storage options to help keep smaller lake toys at bay. Here’s a unique circular model, the Circa Rattan Table Storage Box, that has 35 gallons of storage. It’s storage, a table and seating, combined into one good looking dock solution.
Dock Bumpers
Lakestyle also has a number of different bumpers for your dock, to help keep your kayaks, canoes, paddle boards, paddle boats and motor boat’s saddle from bumping into your dock. Check out all the styles, sizes and colours of bumpers, you’re sure to find the right dock bumper for your lake needs.
3. Dock Accessories: It’s all in the Details
Docks are the perfect balance of form and function. Docks should look great but you will want them to work well too! Here are a few dock accessories to think about that can elevate your experience for your family and guests.
Dock Ladders
Having safe access to the water is essential for a dock. If you can’t get in and out of the water easily, it can be annoying, but also a safety hazard. Make sure to have at least one dock ladder, preferably two, so your family and guests have easy and safe access to and from the water. Lakestyle has a great selection of ladders that are compatible with any brand and style of dock.
Dock Lighting
Sunrises and sunsets are great moments to enjoy on your dock. Some of our favourite lake memories involve a hot cup of coffee watching the sun come up over the lake, or enjoying a cocktail as the sun sets over the water. At dusk and dawn, a little mood lighting is a nice addition to your dock. Lakestyle has these great solar stud LED dock lighting that can gently illuminate your dock, deck or walkway.
About Lakestyle
Lakestyle is a company founded on a desire to help people fulfill their lake lifestyle dreams. By utilizing easy to maintain dock systems and accessories, people are able to spend less time working and more time having fun! Check us out at www.lakestyle.ca, follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter @LakestyleCA!
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We love cosy weekend escapes to the cabin during the winter months. Spending those dark, cold days snuggled up in a winter wonderland is exactly what city slickers/cabin folk need to rejuvenate during the winter months.
Typically, we do less entertaining at the cabin during wintertime, so our winter meals at the cabin tend to be more casual and family-style, that warm the belly after snowshoeing, cross country skiing, ice fishing or skating on the lake, compared to our favourite fresh summer recipes.
Here are a few of Lakestyle’s Winter Recipe Meal favourites, something great for lunch, dinner and even a little low maintenance dessert.
Creamy Tomato Soup Recipe
Once you make this tomato soup, you’ll never reach for the canned stuff again! We don’t bother peeling the tomatoes as we like the extra texture it provides to the soup. The soup may be a little thicker, so you may want to add a little extra water or vegetable stock.
Ingredients
8 medium tomatoes 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil Salt + Pepper 1 Tbsp butter 1 onion, chopped 3 garlic cloves 1 medium carrot, diced 1/8 tsp red pepper flakes 1/3 cup heavy cream 1 Tbsp chopped fresh basil or parsley
Preheat the oven broiler. Cut the tomatoes in half and squeeze juice out of tomatoes, reserve juice. Spread tomatoes over a small rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle with 1 Tbsp of oil and season with salt and pepper. Broil until the tomatoes begin to caramelize, about 10 minutes. In a large pot, heat the remaining 1 Tbsp oil and the butter over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, and carrot and cook until softened, about 10 minutes. Add the roasted tomatoes, reserved juices, and red pepper flakes and simmer for 15 minutes.
Stir in cream and remove from the heat. Puree soup until smooth.
Garnish with basil or parsley and serve immediately. Cooled soup can be stored in the fridge for up to 3 days, or soup can be frozen for up to 1 month.
Short Rib Bourguignon Recipe
This is a lovely winter recipe to have simmering in the oven, while you enjoy your outdoor winter activities or are curled up with a good book by the fire. Serve it with mashed potatoes or rice for dinner.
Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour 1 tbsp. paprika 1 tsp. cayenne pepper 1 tsp. salt 1 tsp. black pepper 3 to 4 pounds beef short ribs, cut into thirds 3 to 4 tablespoons unsalted butter 1/2 cup bacon, diced 2 large white onions, sliced 4 shallots, quartered 1 pound mushrooms 1 cup celery, diced 1/2 cup carrots, diced 2 cups red wine
4 cups beef stock or to cover
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Combine flour, paprika, cayenne pepper and black pepper. Add the short ribs, coating them lightly in the flour mixture. In a large Dutch oven or deep oven-proof pot melt butter over medium heat until golden. Add the ribs, shaking off any excess flour. Sear the meat until brown, moving the ribs around covering them with the butter.
In the same pot, sauté the bacon for 2 to 3 minutes, then add the onions, shallots, mushrooms, celery and carrots and sauté until golden. Deglaze the pan with the red wine, adding a little at a time. Let reduce over high heat for 1 minute. Add the rest of the wine and beef stock, and bring to a simmer. Once the liquid has come to a simmer, cover and cook in the oven for 2 to 3 hours. Season to taste.
Slow Cooker Chocolate Bread Pudding Recipe
Sometimes, a dessert is born out of “extra” ingredients. If you’re like us, we often have leftover bread and buns at the lake! This warm, gooey dessert is a perfect end to another winter day at the lake. Of course we topped it off with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Ingredients
6 cups Dried Bread Cubes or leftover day old bread/buns 4 cups whole milk (or 3 cups milk + 1 cup cream) 4 eggs 2 Tbsp. butter, me 1 tsp. vanilla extra 1/2 cup sugar 1-1/2 cups chocolate chips 1 cup Skor bits (optional) Sauce: 1 tsp vanilla 1/2 cup water 1/4 cup brown sugar 1/2 cup butter or margarine Spray slow cooker with cooking spray. Place bread cubes in slow cooker. Mix together milk with eggs, butter, vanilla extract and sugar. Pour over bread cubes in slow cooker. Fold in chocolate chips. Cook on High for 2 hours. At end of cooking time, mix together vanilla, water, brown sugar and butter in small pan on stove top and bring to a quick boil, removing immediately after sauce comes to a boil. Pour over cooked slow cooker bread pudding and remove to individual serving dishes. Can also be served with vanilla ice cream or whipping cream, sprinkled with icing sugar.
Lakestyle is a company founded on a desire to help people fulfill their lake life dreams. By utilizing easy to maintain dock systems and accessories, people are able to spend less time working and more time having fun! Lakestyle is the exclusive Canadian retailer of Tommy Docks, beautiful and easy to install, quality docking system.Check us out at www.lakestyle.ca, follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter @LakestyleCA!
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