What's new & fashion help, please?

So I know I haven't posted very much lately. It's been really busy around here. We are rushing to get all kinds of things done (eg, shed). Why the rush? Well... my husband's being transferred to Calgary for six months. He leaves on Sunday.

Whoa. It's kind of a big deal. I'll be staying here (although I may pop out to visit once or twice), and he gets to come home for three days every two weeks.
Luckily for him, he's got good friends out there and is looking forward to the work - a change of pace from what he does at work here. For me, things won't change too much, only it's going to be a little lonely. The dog will keep me company, though, and those bi-weekly visits I'm sure will make the time fly.

Last weekend we did a bit of traveling as well. I had some work to drop off to galleries, so we went out to Oakville, hitting Toronto on the way. While in Oakville, where I'd never been to before, we decided to take a walk down through some suburbs to the lake. It's really nice! The waterfront neighbourhoods are lovely. The downside is the nasty fishy smell from all the algae or seaweed (I'm not sure which) washed up on the Lake Ontario shore. And the geese, which are everywhere (and when geese are everywhere, goose poo is a walking hazard! Not only that, but they're hissy, mean creatures). That was our Friday adventure.

Then on Saturday, we drove down to Niagara Falls (the US side) for some cross-border shopping. We went to the 'Fashion Outlets of Niagara Falls'. It was decent, but not as good as the outlet shopping in Baltimore we did last fall. I didn't get too much but my husband found some great deals on really nice clothes for work.

I did find a dress for a wedding we're going to - for only $40 - at Dress Barn. Believe me, I was not comfortable shopping at a store called Dress Barn. Can you think of a worse name? Ugh! Who wants to buy their clothes in a BARN for goodness' sake?! It was desperate times, after exhausting all the other possibilities at the mall, before we went in.

Anyway, most of the dresses were what I think of as 'old lady dresses', but I did find this nice navy blue empire waist dress. I think I will have to get a little shrug or something though, because the wedding we are going to is an older couple and I feel like it might be seen as disrespectful or inappropriate to wear a sleeveless dress in the church. Am I way off there? I'm not a church-goer myself, and most of the weddings I've been to are young couples. I'm not sure where this notion comes from that I need to cover my shoulders. The dress does have straps.

I have some ivory coloured heels that I was thinking to wear... maybe this short strand of pearls, too. So take a look and tell me... (obviously, I'll do my hair and I guess I'll have to wear lipstick, too, since I look awfully washed out in the picture without it).

Alternately I have some strappier and more current white heels like so:
which would maybe be better (?). The ivory ones I'm wearing at left are kind of old and although they are more comfortable, I think they're not as nice.

Ugh! I am just a jeans and tank top kind of girl... this dressing up business is not for me! So if you have advice on shoes, shrug, makeup, whatever, please share. Just be nice, yeah?

Tropical Traditions Raw Organic Canadian Honey - Review and Giveaway!

***This giveaway is closed***
Winner: Hannah

Woo hoo! Another yummy product review and giveaway from Tropical Traditions. This time I got to try the Raw Organic Canadian Honey. All four words in that are music to my ears!

It has a creamy consistency (very spreadable), and melts in your mouth. The flavour is mild, not strong like a buckwheat or orange blossom honey, but more mild like a clover honey.

They don't say what flowers it's mainly from, but it is apparently harvested far away from people and crop farms on the 'wild frontiers of the Canadian north'. I wonder where that is, geographically? Nowhere near me in Southern Ontario, that's for sure. They have calculated the bees' flight distances and can say with certainty that this is organic honey - no pesticides or chemical fertilizers have touched the plants the bees are visiting.

The 'raw' part comes from the fact that it has not been processed in a way to keep it liquid in the jar. It has only been warmed enough so that it can flow (for filling the jars) - to the same temperature it would be in the hive. From the website: "It contains live yeast and enzymes, because it has not been processed. It also contains pollen because it has not been filtered—merely screened."

Honey is a most amazing food. It contains small amounts of antioxidants, and is also an antibiotic. It can help heal cuts, and I always take it in tea when I feel a cold coming on. I have also heard that eating local honey can help with allergies, by building up a tolerance in the body to local pollens. Of course, if you're not from the 'wild frontier' that this honey comes from, that won't apply. But it's interesting!

I'll be completely honest. I was planning to work up a great recipe with the honey in it. But... things didn't work out that way. It's not that it won't work in recipes (I'm sure it would) - it's that it's so freakin' good straight out of the jar that we have been eating it spread on toast, in tea, and (eeks) by the spoonful right out of the jar! I love this stuff.

Luckily, there are already lots of recipes here if you are looking for another way to use it.

You can pick up a 17.6 oz glass jar of the Raw Organic Canadian Honey at Tropical Traditions for $10.99 (US). I was checking out the honey at my grocery store today and it's about $6 for 8 oz, so this is a good price!

Tropical Traditions has a Referral Program, so if you place an order with them as a first-time customer, please select “Referred by a friend” and in the box that says “How did you hear of us?” enter my sponsor ID number 5687267. By telling Tropical Traditions that I referred you, you will receive a free copy of the book Virgin Coconut Oil: How it has changed people’s lives and how it can change yours! by Brian and Marianita Shilhavy with your first order! This book is filled with testimonies and research showing how healthy coconut oil is, and it also includes over 85 recipes showing how one can incorporate coconut into their diet.

And yes, one of you gets to try this deliciousness for free! Tropical Traditions has offered one of my readers a jar of this yummy honey!

The giveaway:
A 17.6 oz. jar of Tropical Traditions Raw Organic Canadian Honey!

How to enter: Head over to Tropical Traditions and let me know one other thing you'd like to try, OR one thing that you learned there. Make sure I've got a way to contact you if you're the winner!

Extra entries (please leave an extra comment for each. If you already do any of these things, leave the comment - you do get the entry for it!):

• Subscribe via email to the Tropical Traditions newsletter
  
• Follow @troptraditions on Twitter (leave your Twitter name!)
• Follow me on Twitter (leave your Twitter name!)
• Tweet about this giveaway for ONE entry, this is not a daily! You can use this if you like:

  Yummy! Win Raw Organic Canadian Honey from @TropTraditions at Emily's Latest @emilyisland http://bit.ly/dCmb1p US/CAN 6/30
  

• Follow my blog (publicly) – 2 entries, leave 2 comments
• Add my blog button to your blog– 2 entries, leave 2 comments (please leave a link to your blog)
• Blog about this giveaway, linking back to this post and to Tropical Traditions – 2 entries, leave 2 comments and please include a link to your post
  

I will be verifying comments so please actually do the things you say you do ☺ If you already do any of these things, it still counts for entries!

Please be sure to include your email address if it’s not public in your blogger profile! Anonymous comments without a way to contact you will be rejected. Canadian or US mailing addresses only, please. Giveaway ends June 30th at 11:59 EST. A winner will be drawn the next day, announced here, in a separate post and emailed!

Prize will be shipped by sponsor. Note for Canadian entrants: Tropical Traditions is not responsible for customs or duties that Canada may charge if you decide to participate in this Tropical Traditions sponsored blog giveaway. (FYI - it's unlikely to have a charge, being well under the $60 that incurs duty charges! There was no extra charge on my jar, which came to Canada quickly and packaged well!)

Supplement Source.ca Winners!

Sorry I'm a little late with these! It's been crazy around here.

The winner of the $50 gift certificate to SupplementSource.ca is...There were four qualifying entries for the $25 gift certificate, and I numbered them by date. The winner for that is:and the second qualifying entry was:Congratulations to you both! I'm sure you'll enjoy shopping at Supplement Source. I'll be emailing you shortly!

If you didn't win, stick around - I've got some more fitness related giveaways coming up (as well as more yummy food ones!).

EcoMom has stuff for EcoDads too! (Review and Giveaway!)

***Giveaway closed***
Winner: Jamaise

Remember a while back, I got to try some great products from the great folks with eco-friendly baby products - EcoMom? My poor husband seems to get left out of these things too often, so when EcoMom offered him the opportunity to try out the Pacific Shaving Company All Natural Shaving Oil, he was all over it.

By all over it, I actually mean the reaction was - I get to try something? Cool! Then, when he saw the teeny, tiny bottle of shaving oil he was a little mystified. This tiny bottle does up to 100 shaves? Will oil really work better than the usual shaving foam? How will my skin react?

The first time he used it, the results were wonderful. He alternates between an electric shaver for work days, and a blade on weekends or for when he wants a closer shave. So the blade shaves usually take a little longer but are more thorough. He tested out the shaving oil on a weekend and we were both really amazed at just how smooth his skin was after using it. It has a very slightly herbal scent and left his skin so soft. What he was most impressed by is that it doesn't leave him with little red marks and bumps like he sometimes gets from shaving. And he's been having less problems with ingrown hairs as well. It's just a clean, perfect shave. The oil has soothing ingredients like aloe and cucumber, so perhaps that's why - or maybe it's something to do with the way the blade goes across the skin more easily. We're not sure. But it's good.

Hard to believe such a small bottle has so many shaves in it, but only 5-7 drops are needed for each shave!

There are mostly recognizable ingredients in this product (it contains Sunflower Oil, Bergamot Fruit Oil, Avocado Oil, Meadowfoam Seed Oil, Cucumber Extract, Organic Aloe Vera Juice, Kukui Nut Oil, Tangerine and Grapefruit Peel Oil and Menthol, along with the three I'm about to discuss), but there are a few ingredients that don't really scream out 'all natural'. They are:

• Laureth-4. This functions as a surfactant (lowers the surface tension of liquids which makes them easier to spread) and emulsfying agent (it makes the other ingredients form a homogenous liquid). It has been linked to irritation of the skin, but my husband did not experience this at all, and I couldn't find any real information about that problem. The Cosmetics Safety Database ranks it as 3/10 (10 being the highest risk).
• Cyclopentasiloxane. This is a silicone product that is used to improve the feel and 'slide' of products. It has been linked to cancer, neurotoxicity, skin irritation, endocrine system disruption, and tends to bioaccumulate (builds up in the environment). However, the Cosmetics Safety Database ranks it as 2-3/10 which is still very low. I am guessing the links to problems are at large doses.
  
• Tocopherol (Vitamin E). This is used as a preservative in cosmetics, but it has the benefit of possibly protecting the skin against wrinkles and tumour formation caused by UVB rays! Cool. At high doses, though, it has been linked to tumour formation in animals. The Cosmetics Safety Database ranks it as 2/10 or very low.
  

Overall given the low risk ranking of these ingredients and the minute quantities in the product, I'm not overly worried about them. I do like to know what's in the products our family uses!

My husband (and I) have been really impressed with the good shaves he's had using this. You can find it - as well as lots of other great eco-friendly products for dads, mums, and babies at EcoMom! They have added a TON of new products to their website since my last review. I have been consistently impressed with the products they carry.

One other thing they offer which is great for families that want to save some money while making a healthy difference in their home, lives and environment, is the EcoPass. For $99 you get a year of free shipping with no minimum order (regularly, orders of $75+ get free shipping), as well as a 15% discount on all your purchases. And, right now you get a free $50 gift card when you buy the EcoPass! That could really add up to big savings. Check out the site for details!

Discount alert!

EcoMom has offered my readers a discount code as well! Simply use the code SBBL220 to get 15% off your first order. This code expires July 30, 2010.

And now, one of my lucky readers can win some eco-friendly shopping fun at EcoMom with a $20 gift certificate! Awesome (I'm jealous!). Remember, they have loads of products for women, men (Father's Day, anyone??), household products, and baby items as well!

The giveaway: A $20 gift certificate to EcoMom!

How to enter: Head over to EcoMom and let me know one thing that catches your eye, OR one thing that you learned there. Make sure I've got a way to contact you if you're the winner!

Extra entries (please leave an extra comment for each):

• Become a fan of the EcoMom Facebook page (please comment with your first name & last initial for verification)
• Sign up for the EcoMom newsletter
• Follow @ecomomCEO on Twitter (leave your Twitter name!)
• Follow me on Twitter (leave your Twitter name!)
• Tweet about this giveaway for ONE entry, this is not a daily! You can use this if you like:
  

#Win a $20 gift certificate @EcoMomCEO at Emily's Latest! Eco-friendly mum, dad & baby! @emilyisland http://bit.ly/cW0abB US/CAN 6/24

• Follow my blog (publicly) – 2 entries, leave 2 comments
• Add my blog button to your blog– 2 entries, leave 2 comments (please leave a link to your blog)
• Blog about this giveaway, linking back to this post and to EcoMom – 2 entries, leave 2 comments and please include a link to your post
  

I will be verifying comments so please actually do the things you say you do ☺

Please be sure to include your email address if it’s not public in your blogger profile! Anonymous comments without a way to contact you will be rejected. Canadian or US mailing addresses only, please. Giveaway ends June 24th at 11:59 EST. A winner will be drawn the next day, announced here, in a separate post and emailed! Prize will be shipped by the sponsor.

We did receive a product for review from EcoMom, but our opinions are our own and honest. We were not paid to write this review. Thank you to EcoMom for the opportunity and sponsoring a giveaway!

Shed progress, happy mail and my million dollar idea

Once again, we spent the entire weekend working on the shed. Who knew a roof this small would take the two of us two days? We got the fascia, drip line, shingles and soffits done. Now 'all' that remains is the siding and the doors. Oh, and lattice at the bottom. And to get those side gardens planted. And maybe, if I'm really feeling it, some pretty curtains for the shed windows.
It may not look like much but we are proud of our work so far. Bear in mind, we've never done this before and are learning as we go. Don't worry - the black walls are just covered in tarpaper. The siding will be a colour called 'Clay' - kind of neutral beige that matches our house siding. It will look nicer once that is on, and I can plant the gardens once we stop stomping around as we're building.

Yesterday I had a happy mail day - I got an awesome package from Jessica over at Dairy Free Betty, full of Newfie treats. Who wouldn't want to see this in their mailbox???That's right, it's a big sparkly green package! Check out what was inside!Homemade jam-jams, Cheetos (yarm!), a Newfie house magnet, Pineapple Crush (I've never seen that flavour before!), Screech tea and Bakeapple tea, and some very cool and funky glittens (yes, I made that up - I don't know what they're called - they're like mittens AND like gloves!). Lucky me!!! If you haven't read any of Jessica's blog, you really should check it out. I love her enthusiasm for life (and food!). She's just a really fun, sweet person and it comes through on her blog.

So here is my million dollar idea. A fruitstaurant. Yes! More than just a juice bar or smoothie stand - a full out restaurant. Breakfast: some fresh fruit salad, an apple cinnamon muffin and some berry muesli! Maybe some currant scones with fresh raspberry jam! Or stop in for lunch - watermelon soup, slightly salty dried fruit chips and cherry pie! Wouldn't it be awesome to go through a drive-through mid-afternoon and pick up a banana for hubby, a blueberry-mango smoothie for you, a couple cups of chopped pineapple, apple slices or grapes for the kids? There could be a bakery aspect; I'm thinking things like plum upside-down cake, take-home baked apples (prebaked or pre-peeled and stuffed to bake at home), peach cobbler... and a preserves section for jams and jellies, sauces and fruit pickles.

Think it's a winner?

Just a couple of things...

Remember my Skin MD review from a while back? Great stuff.

Anyway, I got a heads up that they are hosting their biggest giveaway ever: a $300 basket of goodies including lots of Skin MD products, and some excellent things for your next backyard BBQ bash! Click here to enter - this is the prize:Awesome, right?! The giveaway ends on June 25th, and is open to US and Canada.

Also, to get ready for summer they are offering 20% off all during the month of June! Just enter the discount code SUMMER10 during check out at www.skinmdnatural.com.
___
In other news, we have wrapped the shed like a big black present in tarpaper (preparation for siding and roofing shingles), and my husband installed the windows today. It's like the ugly duckling - not so pretty today, but it has great potential. I know it will be nice when it's finished.
___
I'm not feeling so hot these days - must be coming down with something. Sore throat, headaches, aches and pains, that sort of thing. You'd think with summer on the way, cold season would be over. I wish. I'm feeling a little over-exerted from all the construction. And a little whiny, huh?! Sorry!

ps, go enter the Supplement Source giveaway, would ya? Two gift certificates and they do have lots of stuff - workout wear for your guy, skipping ropes, lifting gloves, greens for smoothie lovers, as well as, of course, supplements!

Small changes

I'm trying to tidy things up around the blog a bit, and have added a new pages tab along the top. Now you can access giveaways (current and past, including winners), a little 'About Me' page, and a page for PR through the top tab.

Things are at a standstill in the backyard - well, everything's growing (not one plant casualty yet! fingers crossed), but the shed is in stasis as the weather's been rainy this week. We did find a patio set, which my husband assembled - love it! Super comfy and pretty stylish, and we got it on sale (yay!).

Last night we hit the gym for the first time in a while - we got loads of exercise, believe me, building that pergola and digging/planting the gardens. It felt good to get back to some yoga and pilates, though. Our gym has some really great fitness instructors.

Otherwise, things are pretty quiet around here. Oh, do enter the giveaway if you haven't yet - a gift certificate at Supplement Source can buy some pretty cool stuff (it's not all supplements!) - and I have TWO to give away!

What we've been up to

Crazy, crazy month. We did SO MUCH I can hardly believe it.
Here's our yard on May 3rd:By May 7th the contractors had finished their work and left it like this:By May 22nd, we had the pergolas up - these were designed by my husband and he did the majority of the work. I was his assistant. These went up on evenings and weekends.By May 28th we had over 400 square feet of gardens dug out around the pergolas, a new rock garden (from rocks we 'farmed' at a nearby construction site - ugh! HEAVY!), a new raised bed all along the back of the pergolas between the patio and the wall (that garden alone is 4x24' and 2' tall) AND we raided the nurseries and planted three truckloads of new plants, re-sodded, and added some nice hanging baskets as well... Oh yes, and bought and assembled a new barbeque...
Can't forget the 15' Armstrong maple we planted... And those wooden things in the pergola are the walls of our shed, also built this week...














Can't skip a photo of the gorgeous new rock garden, either -



















Did I mention a shed? Oh, this shed...

Which is not quite finished yet, clearly. And those are more gardens on either side of the new shed. A shed also designed by my husband, who has really impressed me with his capabilities lately!

We'd hoped to get the shed finished as it's the last thing on our list. Alas, my husband is back to work tomorrow and it will have to happen piecemeal over evenings and weekends. Most of the hard part is done (we just need to finish sheathing the roof, then tarpaper the whole thing, do shingles, siding, fascia, soffits, and lattice along the bottom. It will be pretty when it's done, with two windows.

Also on our to-do list are: hang gorgeous Mexican hammock, and buy patio furniture! Then... relax!

Supplement Source.ca Review and DOUBLE GIVEAWAY!

***Giveaway closed - winners: Jennifer & Suzi!***

I have another great company to tell you about, and a giveaway as well for TWO lucky winners! Supplement Source.ca is a Canadian retailer of all kinds of performance supplements and fitness accessories (they have locations in London and Petawawa, as well as a head office and warehouse in Woodstock, Ontario).

As you know, this week the backyard has been our gym - weightlifting (hefting dirt, sod, trees, shrubs and wood), cardio (our backyard has a hill that we must go up and down a hundred times a day, yoga (okay, not exactly, but I have been doing the forward fold a lot while planting - and Cadbury has pitched in with downward dog), etc.

But regularly since March, my husband and I have been hitting the gym three to four times a a week. And it's really paid off - we've both gotten a lot more fit. He's lost weight (I haven't - but I'm there more to tone than lose weight) and we are both stronger, more healthy and have more energy.

I know to make the most of those gym workouts, a lot of people use supplements. SupplementSource.ca has everything from protein packed snacks, fat burner and muscle-boosting supplements, tanning and shine lotions for fitness competitors (not us any time soon!), and even superfruit Acai berry supplements. Personally I am sticking with my daily multivitamin and healthy eating but I know a lot of people use these to help their bodies along with building muscle and faster fat loss. If you are looking for a Canadian source, this is it! I do strongly recommend researching any supplement that you are considering - ask your doctor, look at several sources for information on what's in it. All supplements are not equal and may or may not be right for you!

SupplementSource.ca was kind enough to send an Athlete Armor DryWik shirt for my husband to try out. He's been wearing it to the gym and has found it to be great for wicking moisture and breathability during workouts. I think it looks great on him, too! Here he is on our way out to a fitness class!

They also sent along a sample of Ripped Freak Hybrid Fat Burner capsules for him to try. This is a capsule that "optimizes levels of the body's 2 most powerful fatburning hormones, epinephrine (adrenaline) and norepinephrine (noradrenaline)". What makes this different from many other supplements is that you only take it once or twice a day. The 'hybrid' part means it's got natural ingredients that have been altered or synthesized to enhance their effects. To be perfectly honest I don't understand what it does, but supposedly it works!

The last sample was a tasty treat of protein-packed Chef Jay's Tri-O-Plex double chocolate chip cookies. They smell amazing and are soft and delicious! And guess what? Every order gets a sample of these! Yum!

Some of the other cool stuff that SupplementSource.ca has to offer -

• Grizzly lifting gloves for men and women - if you do any weight training at all (we do the BodyPump class at our gym which is group weight lifting), you will know these are a lifter's friend!
• the Acai 1000 that I mentioned - which is rich in antioxidants and apparently may even help with weight loss (I have read this, but as you know I'm not a nutritionist or doctor or anything like that - do your research if you are considering any supplement).
• Greens for you smoothie lovers
• Protein bars and other snacks (which I find great not only for a pre- or post-workout boost, but also great for keeping in my purse or in the car as 'emergency' snacks!)
  
• Skipping ropes (great for cardio!)
• Lots of lifting straps, belts, gloves, pads, etcetera - and I have to mention this Leather Head Harness - mainly because Dwight Schrute wore one in a recent episode of The Office and seeing it here cracked me up!

Okay, so who wants to win???!

SupplementSource.ca has generously offered two gift certificates to my readers! One lucky winner will be able to spend $50 any way they like on this great website. The second winner will be selected from entrants who sign up for their V.I.P. newsletter!

The giveaway: A $50 gift certificate AND a $25 gift certificate to SupplementSource.ca (two winners)!

How to enter: Head over to Supplement Source.ca and let me know what you'd put this towards, OR one thing that you learned there. Make sure I've got a way to contact you if you're the winner!

Extra entries (please leave an extra comment for each. If you already do any of these things, leave the comment - you do get the entry for it!):

• Follow me on Twitter (leave your Twitter name!)
• Tweet about this giveaway for ONE entry, this is not a daily! You can use this if you like:

  Win a $50 GC to SupplementSource at Emily's Latest. Gym & Fitness awesomeness! http://bit.ly/a5OQie @emilyisland 6/12
  

• Follow my blog (publicly) – 2 entries, leave 2 comments
• Add my blog button to your blog– 2 entries, leave 2 comments (please leave a link to your blog)
• Blog about this giveaway, linking back to this post and to Supplement Source.ca – 2 entries, leave 2 comments and please include a link to your post
• To enter for the BONUS gift certificate, sign up for the Supplement Source.ca V.I.P. Supersale Alerts (top left of their website) and be sure to let me know in a comment!
  

I will be verifying comments so please actually do the things you say you do ☺

Please be sure to include your email address if it’s not public in your blogger profile! Anonymous comments without a way to contact you will be rejected. Canadian or US mailing addresses only, please. Giveaway ends Saturday, June 12th at 11:59 EST. Winners will be drawn the next day, announced here, in a separate post and emailed!
(The bonus prize will be selected only from newsletter subscribers!)

Prize will be shipped by sponsor. We were sent a shirt and samples to review honestly, but I was not paid to write this.

This week

..is crazy! My husband has the week off and it's no vacation - we're working hard over here. The pergolas are finished and now we're building a shed, digging and planning gardens (to be planted tomorrow or Friday?), planting a big tree, moving rocks in the landscape and re-grading and sodding some areas.

I'm exhausted from all the work in the 32 degree heat. Anyway, I'll catch you up with some photos at some point - we're proud of the work we've done and it's only going to get better.

Athletica.net Winner!

Ooh, the big day has arrived - time to draw the winner of the Athletica.net giveaway. Thank you to all who entered (and to Athletica.net for the opportunity!). With 208 entries, Random.org chose...who is...Congratulations!

If you didn't win, remember they still have that awesome sale on where you can get the Roll Over Pant and Capri (along with other items) for really great prices! I can vouch for the quality; the Classic pant for gym and yoga is still my favourite pair of pants among my fitness wear.

Stick around for more upcoming giveaways! I have some really great stuff in the works!

Girls Night In For Cancer

Tonight's your last chance to enter to win the $75 Athletica.net gift certificate!

So, the Girls Night In that I hosted was a big success! I had a bunch of my friends over and together we raised $160 for the Canadian Cancer Society. We spent the night chatting and munching on sweet treats - I didn't take any photos, because I forgot! Oops! But believe me, it was really fun.

Anyone can host one of these events - and it can be on any theme or schedule, I just chose to have a dessert party, but you can even turn your regular meet-up (book club, mom's group, whatever) into a fundraiser. It doesn't have to be a huge thing - I had four friends over to my house. And it doesn't mean you have to give a lot - they suggest what you might spend on a night out, but really anything helps. My girlfriends are all new moms so are not super flush but together we still make a difference.

The money all goes to the Canadian Cancer Society and is directed to research on cancers that affect women - cervical, uterine, breast and ovarian. They make it so easy to host the event. I really recommend doing this - it's fun and you do feel really good when you contribute to a worthy cause.

If you want to host one of your own events, you can sign up here.
:)

Lastly, I still have some reviews & giveaways to come, promise!

Girls Night In for Cancer (pre-party prep!)

So tomorrow night, I'm hosting a Girls Night In to support the Canadian Cancer Society. This is a great cause - all the donations go to help fight cancers that specifically affect women: breast, uterine, cervical and ovarian.

This is a cause close to my heart. At 27 years old I had noticed a lump in one of my breasts during my monthly self-exam. My doctor sent me for ultrasounds and a mammogram (NOT fun!). They determined it was nothing to worry about, even though it was painful and had been getting bigger. The reaction was to 'keep an eye on it'.

The lump kept growing (and was very painful to the touch), and even became quite visible. Finally in 2005 I had what was by then a 5cm lump removed from one of my breasts. Make a circle with your first finger and thumb - that's how big it was. The surgery was the most painful thing I have ever endured (and I've been through a few horribly painful things). It was a week before I could even leave my bed. I would wake up weeping from the pain. The surgeon did a good job of removing the lump, but the surgery did leave a scar and an area of scar tissue that still aches from time to time.

Luckily for me, the lump turned out to be benign (if benign is what you call years of pain and an excruciating surgery) - at least, it was not cancerous. Phew. But it absolutely reinforced for me that self-exams are so important. I wish I'd insisted on removal when the lump was still small because I think it would have saved me a lot of pain. You know your own body best - follow your intuition and do those self-exams, ladies!

I've also had some experience with chemotherapy injections. Not fun at all. Anything that can help save women from going through the scare or reality of cancer and its treatment is important to me.

ANYway.

A few of my girlfriends are coming over for this - it's a dessert party, so I've spent some time today baking! Hooray :)

I made Lime Star cookies from my Martha Stewart Cookies cookbook - hers are flowers, but all I had was a star cookie cutter, so mine are stars. They're quite yummy. They took for-freakin'-ever to make, though. Chilling! Rolling! Cutting! Chilling! Re-rolling! Cutting! Every time I make cookies, I remind myself that they are a LOT of work - even drop cookies seem to take forever. It's not the mixing, it's the dropping or slicing or cookie-cuttering or rolling into little balls and squashing or forking or tossing in sugar....

I also made chocolate cupcakes from my Vegetarian Times cookbook - the cupcakes turned out wonderfully (and the recipe is already vegan; I'm going on 6 months now for eggless baking!), but the icing was a disaster. I followed the recipe, but it turned out like syrup. So I took a quarter of it, dumped a pile of icing sugar and a melted square of bakers chocolate in, and worked with that. Still not the lovely, fluffy cupcake icing that I was hoping for, but it just got too frustrating.

** Do you have an icing recipe that works for you? I am an icing failure. This isn't the first time my icing endeavours have ended up sloppy and useless. Hook me up, you icing masters! **

...And now I've got two jars of chocolate syrup in my fridge. Honestly, after taste-testing sweets all day I could go a week without chocolate.

Tomorrow I'm going to make some of Averie's Raw Vegan Peanut Butter Cups. I can't wait to see how these turn out.

And I might do chocolate covered strawberries, if I have time.

Please remind me next time I'm having a party, to go with tested and true recipes. Like the eggless chocolate bundt cake that turned out so well.

Other than that... I hope this party goes well. It's small but not everyone knows everyone, so there could be awkward moments. Plus I don't really have a plan per se. I do have some lovely door prizes, though! Everyone should go home with a little treat. I'm not telling what, as I know at least one of the girls reads my blog from time to time!

If anyone wants to donate to this great cause , you can actually donate online using a credit card at my event webpage. The money goes directly to the Canadian Cancer Society, and tax receipts are available for charitable donations over $25.

And you can also host your own Girls Night In if you want to support a great cause with your girls. You just sign up and they help you with party ideas, you can create your own event webpage, with email invitations, donation forms and so on. They suggest that attendees donate what they would normally spend on a night out. There is no timeline or season for it - you can do this at any time.

I am really proud to support the Canadian Cancer Society.

A contest you might be interested in...

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Nestle Nescafe Dolce Gusto. All opinions are 100% mine.

Another one for my Canadian readers! Divine.ca has a contest on right now where you can enter to win a NESCAFE Dolce Gusto machine. The contest runs until June 20th and there are 10 up for grabs!



I don't know about you, but I don't begin a day without my morning latte. I have an old-school Krups espresso machine, though - the Nescafe Dolce Gusto does much more. It is a capsule machine with the Krups technology - that makes the perfect cup to order with much less fuss. You can get the capsules at grocery stores or online, whatever's easy for you!

Knowing that it's made by Krups ($179 at most retailers, like the Bay, Home Outfitters, Sears and kitchen stores; there is also a $159 T-Fal version at Walmart) makes a big difference to me. I've had my Krups machine for two and a half years and I still love it - still going strong after daily use all this time. So I can recommend Krups machines! I haven't tried the Nescafe Dolce Gusto yet myself, but hopefully they'll have a demo on next time I'm at one of the stores.

The one thing I'm not 100% behind with the capsule machines is that I think most of those capsules end up in landfills. I know some are recyclable - but you must empty the grounds out first (into your compost bin, ideally) - and I'm not sure people who are after the convenience of capsules will take that extra time. So hopefully if you are a lucky winner, you'll be the responsible one and compost and recycle! Right? Right!

Good luck!

Glorious garden colour in a box!

This one's for my fellow Canadians. Go to the Wave Petunias website and join the Wave Fan Club. Really. It may seem weird to become a fan of a flower, but you won't regret it.

For the second year in a row, I've been one of the lucky 'fans' to win a box of Wave Rave petunias and Serena Angelonia. Last year, they sent a box of purple and white & purple striped petunias, and white Angelonia. Sadly, the plants had been sitting in a hot FedEx truck all day by the time they got to me, and were really wilted. But they perked up after just a couple days (and a good watering) and were lovely in our front garden all summer long.

Today my box arrived from Wave in perfect condition - the plants are healthy and ready to be planted (just in time for the May 2-4, which is the big planting weekend here in Southern Ontario). The Angelonia even has blooms already (it also blooms all summer) - purple this year. The Wave Rave petunias this time are half purple and half the new Easy Wave Neon Rose, which will not be available in stores until Spring of next year, so I get to be ahead of the next garden trend!

If you want to get in on some beautiful summer colour for next year's garden, do go and sign up for the Fan Club. I have been really thrilled with the plants - they spread nicely, don't get rangy, and bloom all season - plus they're FREE! All you need to do if you win is a quick survey at the end of the summer to let Wave know how you liked the plants. Also - as if you need more incentive - new Fan Club members are entered to win a Flip Ultra camera!

This isn't a paid post or anything, btw - I was just so happy to get my big box of plants today! I wanted to share the opportunity with you.

In other news, stay tuned for an upcoming giveaway. Here's a hint - it's something delicious, Canadian and organic; and it comes from a company I'm happy to be working with again. Any guesses?

More progress, sewing, and a salad you must try.

I know it doesn't look like much progress, but we did spend the entire day yesterday (until 9 pm) working on this - AFTER a 15 minute 'Awesome Abs' workout, followed by an hour-long BodyFlow (Tai Chi, Pilates and yoga) in the morning! Wow. A lot of physical labour for one day! Thank goodness we started going to the gym in March - if I didn't have two months of thrice-a-week workouts under my belt, I'd be more than just a little achy today.

With the start of the cross pieces up, you can get a sense of how the finished pergolas will look. And a sense, in this image, of what we don't want to be looking at - the ugly chain link fence, the side of our neighbours' house, and the ugly pile of plastic that's been sitting there for a year and a half already (their only daughter is about 9 months old. It'll be a while yet.)

The 'hard' work is done on the pergolas; now it's repetitive drilling and placement of the remaining beams and cross-pieces. My husband's going to work on it tonight while I'm teaching - can't wait to see how far he gets!

Oh, and there's still the shed... another project for this spring. The makings are sitting in our garage.

We are still debating the vines to go up the block retaining wall and chain link fence. I've done a lot of research into vines and haven't come to any solid conclusions. I'd love something that keeps its leaves all winter, but euonymus in the vine variety is hard to come by around here. It has to be something hardy in zone 5b and preferably something not poisonous, not thorny, not a big bee attraction, and not top-heavy (a la wisteria, silver lace vine, etc). The standard Boston Ivy and Virginia Creeper aren't ideal in my mind. Too bare in winter (though they are showy in the fall). I'm not sure what we'll end up with.

You can also see, on the right, our teeny-tiny compact Stella cherry tree! (Those two green blobs sprouting out of the middle of the lawn!) We finally planted it. It's small for now but will grow to 15-20' in width and height, and bear up to 50 lbs of cherries a year - it'll take a while to get to that point but MAN, that's going to be AWESOME! The big benefit of this variety of cherry tree, besides the compact size, is that it's self-pollinating.
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Other than that, not much is up. I've been sewing another bunny, but managed to jam my machine while working on the last bit of its dress. This is my new Husqvarna, that I got for Christmas. Argh! I'm the bane of sewing machines. Meanwhile, I've got an itch to do another baby quilt - just for fun. Got to get that machine working!

Oh, and if you're in the mood for some crafty/sewing giveaways, check out Sew, Mama, Sew for an enormous list of giveaways all over the blogosphere that are running now until the 20th. Fabric, handcrafted items, patterns, all sorts of goodies.
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BTW, on the weekend we had friends over and made Toasted Panzanella - a big hit. This is one of our absolute favourite summer recipes. It's easy, good for making ahead, great for picnics or pot lucks, unusual but doesn't have 'weird' ingredients that will make picky eaters turn their noses up. It's the kind of dish that you can't stop eating, it's just that good. Highly recommended!

Progress

Wow! Between me, my husband and our very nice and helpful friend, we got eight posts up and the framework for the pergolas! Still lots more work to be done, but it's coming along.

It's gonna be pergolic

Which is kinda like bucolic, only with more pergola.

At least, that's the big plan. The patio that was creating chaos at our house last week is finished, the new sod is settling in (thank goodness for all that lovely rain we had), and we're about to get serious about making the pergolas that have been in our heads for the last year and a half or so into reality. This afternoon we're going to attempt to get the posts up - it should be interesting as they're about 12' high.

Meanwhile, our back/side yard has gone from this:
to this:
All along the back of the new patio will be garden (as well as at the sides, eventually) - we'd like to plant some vines along the existing retaining wall to give us and our neighbours some privacy - and those holes will be where the posts for the pergolas go. The pipe sticking up in the middle is for the electrical that my husband's going to run from the house. It's kind of hard to tell, but the big stones at the right form a retaining wall that is about 3' high.

The cherry tree will go in at the top of the hill (to the right of the wall), and I think we've agreed on a Freemanii maple for the left side of the yard. Not really my preference, but it was definitely my husband's turn to pick a tree.

Have I mentioned that my husband built a new garden bed for raspberries as well? It matches the ones he built last spring. It's sitting empty for now, but once we get a truckload of dirt in for all these new gardens, I'm planting. Can't wait.

Some of my must-haves for the new garden beds:
Cimicfuga simplex 'Brunette' or 'Black Negligee' (pretty, tall, unusual and amazingly scented)
blueberries
irises
hostas
white bleeding heart (or Dutchman's bloomers :) )
white climbing roses - maybe on the pergola posts? up the deck posts, or on the fence? not sure.
lavender
Siberian bugloss (beautiful foliage, little pink to blue flowers)
Heuchera (love them all)
tall ornamental grasses (mainly to block the view of the dog's 'area')
Artemisia 'silver mound'
alliums
Cerastium Tomentosum (Snow in Summer)
Japanese Kerria (a shrub with pretty yellow flowers)
rhubarb

... and about a million more. I may add to this list just to keep track for myself! As you can probably tell, I have a penchant for white, silver and purple. I'll probably throw some more chives in - they're pretty, work with my purple craving, and yummy too. (The kerria will be from a slip my mum's planted for me - I'll have to find the perfect spot where it will accent and not clash :) )

That's what's up at our house these days. What are your garden/yard plans for the summer? Any gorgeous plants you are lusting after that I should know about?

a little share...

Hi! I got these for my birthday! Lovely!And, I made these today:

Sorry for the crappy photo; I was lazy and just used the webcam.

Low fat vegan black bean brownies from Happy Herbivore! Yum! You know I can't just follow a recipe - I substituted 3/4 cup of cane sugar for the agave nectar(since I don't have any), and added a heaping tablespoon of honey and the same of ground flax and flour, and 1/2 cup chopped walnuts. I think they could be just a little sweeter and more chocolatey, so next time I'd add 1/2 cup of chocolate chips. And no, you can't taste the beans at all.

This is definitely a delicious treat. They're not cakey like regular brownies, but rather rich and dense - a texture more like fudge, but with a brownie flavour. I'm not 100% sold on the cinnamon-chocolate combination (one I've been on the fence about for many years), but I do like these a lot! As in, I just ate two! Well, they're low fat - so I can eat twice as many, right? :)

Coconut Peanut Butter Winner!

Ooh, lucky number 39 gets a jar of delicious Tropical Traditions Organic Coconut Peanut Butter!
Who's the lucky winner?Congratulations! I'm about to email you. As usual, if I don't hear back within 48 hours, I'll draw another winner.

If you didn't win but can't resist the sound of this yumminess, do check out the Tropical Traditions website - they've got a rather astounding range of delicious organic products. When you place your first order, please select “Referred by a friend” and in the box that says “How did you hear of us?” enter my sponsor ID number 5687267.

By telling Tropical Traditions that I referred you, you will receive a free copy of the book Virgin Coconut Oil: How it has changed people’s lives and how it can change yours! by Brian and Marianita Shilhavy! This book is filled with testimonies and research showing how healthy coconut oil is, and it also includes over 85 recipes showing how one can incorporate coconut into their diet.

Thank you for the birthday wishes yesterday! And don't forget to enter to win a $75 gift certificate to Athletica.net. It's a really sweet prize - they've got lots of awesome casual and fitness wear. I'm loving the yoga pants they sent me!

Dear 33,

We've been together for a year now and I feel like things just aren't really working out like I'd hoped. I know you tried hard, but there were just too many downs and not enough ups in our rollercoaster of a relationship.

I will try to remember the good times - our awesome trip out to the west coast of Canada, and our weekend jaunt down to Washington; you even came along for the anniversary trip my husband and I took to Mexico. But really, he's my travel partner and - sorry to be so harsh - I don't need you. I've been trying to think of what you've given me, and I realized that it's not really much of a haul: three new grey hairs, a little pot belly that is proving very difficult to get rid of, and a much more jaded outlook on life. Thanks a lot.

You disappointed me in too many ways - you know what I'm talking about. You were all full of promises and hope, but you let me down too hard. It was very cruel now that I think about it.

And don't think I haven't noticed your attention wandering to that fresh young thing who's winding down her relationship with 32.

I hate to have to tell you this way, but we're through. In fact, I've just met 34, and we have some big plans.

I may want you back one day (27, if you're reading this, call me), but for now I am ready to move on.

Emily

Athletica.net Review and GIVEAWAY!

***This giveaway is closed. ***
Winner: Casey Aubut (confirmed)

Sometimes I just get lucky. And, hey, I'm not talking about that - I mean, once in a while I win a really sweet contest. A little while ago I won a giveaway over at Trying to Stay Calm for an Athletica gift certificate.

Remember how I recently signed up for a gym membership with my husband? I definitely needed some new yoga clothing, as all of mine was several years old, with faded colours and saggy knees. Shameful! I spent a long time shopping and ultimately decided on the awesome Classic Pant (Gym and Yoga Pants) in Stone Grey.

And I am really pleased with them. They are snug, but flexible enough for yoga and pilates. The fabric is smooth and comfy, a supplex-lycra-spandex mix that is breathable enough when you're really working, but not too cool during cool-down and meditation.

I also like the length - I'm an average height, I guess, at 5'6", but sometimes I find pants are too long so I trip over them. These have a nice length, just like in the picture on the Athletica website - they hit the floor at the back in bare feet, but aren't so long that they drag when I have shoes on. Here's me on the way to yoga. I know, grover arms! I'm working on it! -->

They have a hidden drawstring at the waist which I LOVE, since all the forward folds in yoga means pants with unstructured waistbands end up showing a little more at the back than I want to. I've worn them to yoga several times already, and never had an overshare at the back.

Of course, Athletica.net has a lot more than yoga pants (although there is a large selection of them). They have fitness and lounge wear for women and men, as well as casual clothing (check out the Camisole Flounce Dress - *love*). The selection of women's sportswear is particularly good. There's actually a big sale on right now - check it out for deals like the Lily Lotus pant for only $24.95 and the capri for only $19.95! If you do much shopping for quality fitness wear, you will know these are really good deals.

ps, the dog was desperate to be in the picture with me. He ended up walking through a whole pile of pictures before we finally got one without him. Okay, it was pretty cute (until the 5th or 6th time...!) I know it's because he's eager to be 'famous' on my blog! Here's an outtake!

ANYway, here is the fantastic news: Athletica has generously offered a gift certificate to one of my readers! One lucky winner will be able to spend it any way they like on this great website.

The giveaway: A $75 gift certificate to Athletica!

How to enter: Head over to Athletica and let me know what you'd put this towards, OR one thing that you learned there. Make sure I've got a way to contact you if you're the winner!

Extra entries (please leave an extra comment for each. If you already do any of these things, leave the comment - you do get the entry for it!):

• Subscribe via email to the Athletica newsletter (bottom right of their website) - 2 entries
  
• Follow me on Twitter (leave your Twitter name!)
• Tweet about this giveaway for ONE entry, this is not a daily! You can use this if you like:

  Win a $75 GC to Athletica.net at Emily's Latest. Yoga, casual & sportswear! @emilyisland http://bit.ly/dawxTh US/CAN 5/23
  

• Follow my blog (publicly) – 2 entries, leave 2 comments
• Add my blog button to your blog– 2 entries, leave 2 comments (please leave a link to your blog)
• Blog about this giveaway, linking back to this post and to Athletica – 2 entries, leave 2 comments and please include a link to your post
  

I will be verifying comments so please actually do the things you say you do ☺

Please be sure to include your email address if it’s not public in your blogger profile! Anonymous comments without a way to contact you will be rejected. Canadian or US mailing addresses only, please. Giveaway ends May 23rd at 11:59 EST. A winner will be drawn the next day, announced here, in a separate post and emailed!

Prize will be shipped by sponsor. Note for Canadian entrants: Athletica is not responsible for customs or duties that Canada may charge. For what it's worth, I was not charged any additional fees at the border on my order.

Rats!

I got in a little heated discussion this morning on Facebook. About rats.
Some people - sheesh. So much 'opinion' is based on misinformation and ignorance!

This is the comment that kind of got me into the fray:
"The only people who would throw a rat some praise, are the ones who own one! Let's face it, these people are usually weird...or a tad offside anyway..."

For the record:

I had rats as pets for years. Love them. They're cute, affectionate (they love to be petted and are mood sensitive in the way that dogs are), friendly, playful, and lots of fun to watch get into trouble. I have had rats that loved nothing more than to snooze in my lap and cuddle. They can be easily trained to come when called and will happily do tricks for treats. Each has its own personality. They are less work than a dog, and less aloof than a cat. I don't particularly consider myself 'weird'. Try 'open-minded' or 'informed'.

Another bewildering comment: "They are genetically altered MICE."

Um, no. Not even close. Rats (Rattus norvegicus is the domestic rat) are a completely different genus than mice (for example, Mus musculus is the house mouse - Peromyscus maniculatus is the deer mouse - both of which I have also had as pets!). They are related within the Rodentia order in the way humans are related to oh, say, the ring-tailed lemur in the Primates family. As in, not that closely. And definitely not 'genetically altered' unless you consider selective breeding a genetic modification (fancy rat breeders breed for temperament and looks the same way dog and cat breeders do) .

One more that boggles my mind: "rats typically live amongst garbage, sewers, trenches, etc...They've been known to launch themselves at people, and even eat people!!"

I mean, seriously? You're stating that as fact? Let's put just a little more thought into it.

Any animal - including humans - will do desperate things in desperate times. Rats, like most other animals, would much rather run than fight - but if they are cornered, sure they'll defend themselves. Same goes for cats, dogs, birds, humans, etc.

When you need food and there's no-one to feed you, a garbage bin can be a lifesaver. When you're injured, sick, or protecting your young, you defend. When there's danger in open areas and a sewer is safe, where do you hang out? :)
There's a vast difference between feral and domesticated. But any animal, any of us, can be desperate.

The pictures throughout are just some of my pet rats of the past... The white & grey one was Asha, a hooded rat, and the brown one was Marta, a 'rex' (meaning she had curly fur and whiskers) above. Asha was sweet and timid, very gentle, and shy until she knew you. Marta was the brave one - a bundle of hoppy, excited energy, who would try anything once and loved being scratched behind the ears. Here are the two girls enjoying naps in their hammock:

Lest you think they spent their lives caged, these pets actually spent a lot of time hanging out with me on the couch or running around a pet-safe room, exploring and playing. Their cage was quite large and contained a solid running wheel, hammocks, platforms, and something new to examine and discover every day - whether that was a food treat, a new box, nesting material, chew toys, etcetera.

When life is good for any of us, we're sweet-natured and fun. That goes for people and it goes for animals.

I miss my rats - Popper and Boo, Ratticus, Ruby, Marta and Asha. I hope one day I will welcome some more little furballs into my life :)
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pssst, get excited.... the Athletica.net giveaway will be posted soon! Saturday, if I can (we are pretty busy on Saturday) or Sunday!

EcoMom Winner!

Time to draw the lucky winner of the prettiest non-toxic nailpolish I've ever seen, and a bar of my husband's new favourite soap from EcoMom!

And the winner is....- a long time follower and all around lovely person! You can (and should) visit her blog, by the way, for thoughtful, well-written posts about life with her family.

A big thank you to EcoMom, who was sweet to sponsor this giveaway. If you were intrigued by the goodness at the EcoMom website, remember they also gave us a coupon code to use while shopping there: use SBBL220 to get 15% off until May 31st!