Over glasses of white wine and sparkling water, a well-dressed gathering of young professionals mingle excitedly between displays of Prada shoes and Tumi luggage at Holt Renfrew Men on Bloor Street in Toronto. They are eagerly waiting to hear Montreal born, Mitch Garber, one of Canada’s top CEO’s share his story of success this evening, an event presented by the W League of Weizmann Canada.

Upstairs, tucked away in a spacious personal shopping suite, 50-year-old Garber greets me, wearing an elegant pinstriped Dolce&Gabanna suit, no tie. Before we sit down side by side, he graciously offers me a bottle of water.

It takes only a few minutes to understand how Garber has been able to accomplish so much. Trying to keep up with this dynamic guy in conversation is no easy task. He speaks swiftly yet articulately, barely taking a pause to gather his thoughts as we chat about what drives him in business and in his personal life.

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Relaxing by the pool with a mojito in one hand and a good book in the other, I’m loving the quiet scene at the recently opened Metropolitan by COMO in Miami Beach, a spectacular, 74-room, renovated Art Deco hotel.

This is COMO’s first U.S. location, boasting exquisite contemporary interiors by well-known Italian designer, Paola Navone, with a top-notch spa and incredible food. I barely unpack because Miami is only a warm up for my next stop, a short flight away, to Parrot Cay in Turks and Caicos.

I know my vacation is going to be perfect when after hours of paddle boarding on Tiffany blue waters, I jog across the flawless sand to my chaise lounge and find a coconut pierced with a straw, ready for drinking.

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Each morning, just before the pink sun rises, I happily wake up, pull on my neon yellow jogging shorts, grab a banana and head down to the beach in anticipation of my 30-minute run.

I park my flip-flops on the immaculately kept condominium walkway, where water hoses dangle waiting to spritz down my soon-to-be very sandy feet.

Not expecting to see a soul, I stumble by early birds and blue herons, squeak open my sleepy eyes in time to witness the tangerine skies and feel the crystal green waters of the Gulf of Mexico wash over my toes.

The Gulf Shores and Orange Beach, recently named one of the best Gulf Coast Beaches by The Travel Channel, is 32 miles of meandering white sand that feels and looks more like fine sugar crystals.

It doesn’t take long to fall in love with Alabama’s sweet tea and southern hospitality where strangers become fast friends connecting over football and a bowl of fried crab claws, and locals giggle every September about the arrival of the lovebugs (a.k.a Plecia Nearctica) and their unusual acrobatic in-flight mating rituals.

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Eating My Way Through Door County, Wisconsin

Waiting to board a flight to Green Bay Wisconsin is like a warm-up exercise for a Packers game. Passengers decked out in the famous green and white become fast friends with strangers chatting about trades, and the state of Aaron Rodger’s shoulder, while a young Delta Airlines agent wearing blue rimmed glasses throws out trivia questions causing a contagion of giggles at the gate.

The folks in Green Bay are completely crazy for their football team and it shows. Whenever it snows, they flock to Lambeau armed with shovels ready to clear the field. So it’s no surprise that this small town of only 100,000 would have a stadium big enough to fit 80,000 of them.  These exuberant cheeseheads also happen to own their beloved league.

But when you’re done with the football and sampling squeaky cheese curds, only a short drive away is Door County Peninsula, a slice of land surrounded by Lake Michigan in Wisconsin’s northeast corner, inhabited by a sprinkling of unique waterfront villages and a thriving eclectic culinary scene that should not be missed.

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