Rubbermaid Lunchblox Giveaway

I take my lunch to work every day so when I was contacted by Rubbermaid to try out their new lunchbloxes I was all for it. I'm always looking for ways to make lunchtime more interesting, easier to pack, and healthier. The magic of these lunch boxes really became apparent when I started using them.  

So let's see how good they are:
1) They are very compact because they are rectangular blocks and all the pieces snap together.  Just picture Rubbermaid and Lego getting together and having a baby.  Not only do you have lots of compartments for different parts of your lunch, but they all snap together like a set of lunchtime Lego blocks.

2) They have a specially made cooler block that snaps onto the lunch containers.  Our schools are not air conditioned so they are often very hot in June and September and food can spoil quickly in those conditions.  The cooler pack is a brilliant idea!
3)  There are two sizes of containers.  One is designed for sandwiches and the other for salads - perfect for a little lunchtime variety.

4)  I love the slew of tiny containers that come with each kit so you can bring salad dressing or pieces of cheese or yogurt for lunch as well.  I recently found out that the packaging for individual containers of yogurt are not recyclable in our area.  I have been making an effort to decant yogurt from a big container into a little one so my lunches are more environmentally-friendly and these containers are perfect for this.

Sandwich Lunchblox kit

5.  I love that there are measurement guides on the containers which help with portion control.  
6.  I love the colours - I'm a blue and green girl so these are a natural choice.

Salad Lunchblox kit

Not only was I given some Rubbermaid Lunchbloxes to try, but I have some to give away as well.  One lucky person will win the following:

• two Rubbermaid Lunchblox salad kits
• two Rubbermaid Lunchblox sandwich kits

That's a total of about a $50 value and years worth of yummy lunch toting.   Here are the giveaway details:

• The prize is only eligible if you live in Canada   
• To enter just leave a comment below (and please leave an email address so I can contact you if your name is drawn).  
• The contest ends on Tuesday, September 25th at 9:00 pm.

I can't leave you without sharing my one and only lunch packing tip.
When you make muffins or cupcakes to pack with your lunch the icing can get all over everything.  So instead of icing the top, you should split the cupcake or muffin in half and put the icing in the middle like a sandwich filling.  Brilliant, eh?  
Oh, and if these carrot cupcakes have you drooling, you can find the recipe here.  
Do you have any great lunch packing tips?

SmartSilk Pillow Giveaway

I was recently asked to do a product review of some pillows and to hold a giveaway.  Reviewing pillows sounded like a good idea to me.  Who doesn't like to successfully multitask - sleeping and doing a product review at the same time.  


Now these aren't just any pillows, as they are produced by SmartSilk, a Montreal-based company, that makes all natural bedding designed to protect us from dust mites.   In addition to making pillows, they also make mattress pads, duvets, pillow protectors - basically the whole shebang to keep us healthy and comfortable at night.

Does anyone else get a little grossed out at the thought that we have millions of creatures in our beds - now they may be microscopic, but they are creatures nevertheless.  There is only one creature I like to share my bed with (wink wink) and he is not microscopic.  Dust mites apparently love warm humid conditions and thrive on human skin flakes (ewww).   SmartSilk has very smartly developed bedding that is made with woven silk which is mold and mildew resistant as well as producing an environment that is naturally cool and inhospitable to dust mites.  SmartSilk bedding actually repels allergens and dust mites.  Score one for silk - zero for dust mites.

SmartSilk™ is the first all natural bedding to be certified asthma & allergy friendly™ by the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America, the Asthma Society of Canada and Asthma UK.

In addition to helping your allergies, the SmartSilk products are natural heat regulators. Do you ever wake up at night and have to flip your pillow over to find a cool spot?  Well these silk products help the air to circulate and wick away moisture keeping you dry and comfortable.   A true story:  Just after I was contacted to do a review about these products, I was at my art class and two of the women there were raving about how comfortable their silk duvets were for keeping them just the right temperature all night long.  I was intrigued.
I received the pillows last week and was pretty excited to try them out, but I had to wait until I could get some blog post pictures first.   

There were two pillows in the package (which you can see in the photo below) - one came fluffy and one was vacuum packed that instantly fluffed up when it was opened.  Watching the pillow inflate pretty much made my day. 

Doesn't silk bedding sound like it is made for a princess?   SmartSilk has created a woven core of pure fine silk to form a thick padding and then covered it all in soft comfortable 100% cotton.  The outer covering is quilted to keep the silk from moving or bunching.  The pillows felt wonderfully soft to the touch, but had some internal firmness and support - a perfect blend of oomph and squish.

I had to go out and buy two new pillowcases.  I just couldn't bring myself to put these beauties in some old faded, stained pillowcases.  They just took the bed to a whole new level, don't you think?

I had my lovely model pose with the pillows to show us just how comfortable they really are.

What do you think Juno?  Do the pillows keep you feeling cool and dry?

 Can you breathe more easily?

Why yes to all of the above thank you very much.   Anything else, cause I really need to get back to what I was doing.

Now as for what my husband and I thought of them - we loved them!  My husband likes a nice cool pillow, so he was happy.  And I like a soft pillow with a little internal fortitude to give my neck some support, so I was happy.  My husband commented that he loved their texture.  He is a feather pillow fan, so these felt comfortable for him.  If you like a stiff pillow you may find these too soft, but if you like a squishable pillow to rearrange to fit the contours of your head then these are your dream pillows.

Oh, my lovely assistant has one more piece of news - SmartSilk has generously agreed to give two of these pillows to my readers.  

Here's what you have to do to have your name entered into the pillow giveaway:

• visit the SmartSilk website and let me know what percentage you get off for the Valentine's Day sale - and while you are there have a look around at the impressive testimonials and the way these products can help people with allergies, night sweats, and fibromyalgia
• follow SmartSilk on Twitter or Facebook
• be a follower of my blog
• you get a second entry if you blog, tweet, or mention the giveaway on Facebook.

Leave me a comment to let me know you have done these things.  Also would you please make sure to leave your email address as I need a way to contact you if you are the winner.  It would be a pity if I had to re-draw a name, but that is what I will do if I cannot contact the winner in 24 hours.  This giveaway is open to Canadian and US only.

The giveaway ends on Tuesday, February 14th at 9:00 pm EST.  Isn't it perfect for a Valentine's giveaway - comfortable sleep for you and your mate ... oops, on second thought maybe that isn't what we are going for on Valentine's day.  Well you will still love them!

Giveaway Winner

Yesterday I was a busy girl.  Here's a hint as to what I was up to.  Any guesses?

Details coming soon!

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I loved all of your great suggestions for photos to make into wall art - everything from cherry blossoms to sweet babies.  Unfortunately I could only give one canvas away and that lucky winner is Paula.  I have contacted her by email.  Thanks to the rest of you for entering.

Some Lovely Ducks and a Giveaway Reminder

I took this photo of these lovely ducks when we were in Waterloo this past weekend.  I did use a photo effect (can't remember which one now) on Picnik, an on-line photo-editing site, and I cropped the picture and rounded the corners as well, but that was all.  The ducks were very cooperative and swam right near me.  


What do the ducks have to do with anything, you ask?  Absolutely nothing, apart from the fact that I like them and wanted to include them in a post for the outdoor Friday Photo Challenge at Razmataz.  

Not only do I like the ducks, but I also like that I have a great giveaway going on.  If you are interested in winning a 16 x 20 inch photo canvas from Easy Canvas Prints then click here for details.  

The contest ends tomorrow at 9:00 pm EST so get quacking and enter your name to win.

Linked to Friday Photo Challenge at Razmataz

Photo Canvas Giveaway

I was recently approached by Easy Canvas Prints to see if I would like to be given a free photo canvas which I would then do a product review about on my blog.   I was indeed very interested as I love photo canvases, however it turned out I'm not eligible because I live in Canada (don't get me started on how often this happens to us here in Canada).  While the company ships to Canada, the product reviews are only available to be shipped to US addresses.   Megan (yep I know her personally now) and I emailed back and forth and after some discussion Easy Canvas Prints have generously agreed to let me give away a 16 x 20 inch photo canvases to one of you lucky US readers.

I love photo canvases and last November bought one from another company (only because I hadn't heard of Easy Canvas Prints I hasten to add) to give to hubby for Christmas.   I chose one of our favourite photos taken at our Georgian Bay cottage which we now have hung in our family room so we can enjoy it.  We love the canvas texture and that the photograph wraps around the edge of the frame so you don't have to frame the picture.  There is something so modern and almost unexpected about displaying photos this way.

EasyCanvasPrints

With Easy Canvas Prints there are three border options - you can have the photo wrap around the edge; or have a mirror image of your photo along the edge; or have a coloured border. 

You can see the edge of the one I had made in the photo below.  I love the look of the trees and rock wrapping around the edge.

As for the giveaway, it is only open to US residents (or Canadians who have a friend or relative in the States that it could be shipped to), which is very sad for the rest of us as the prints on the website look great (sniff, sniff).  


Here are the nitty, gritty giveaway details -to win a free 16 x 20 inches canvas print:  


1.  leave a comment letting me know what you would put on the canvas for one entry
2.  become a follower and let me know in a separate comment for another entry
3.  blog, tweet, or mention this giveaway on Facebook for another entry


Please make sure there is a way for me to contact you if you win.  If I am unable to contact the winner via their blog or email, then after 24 hours a new name will be drawn.   The giveaway closes Friday, April 8th at 9:00 EST.


I'll have another giveaway soon for the rest of us. Promise!

Sarah Richardson's House Up-date and Giveaway Winner

A few weeks ago there was some serious Sarah Richardson house stalking going on (which you can read about here).   Many thanks to a tip from an anonymous commenter who told me that Sarah's house is now up for sale and the MLS listing can be seen here.  

I don't want to have the real estate police after me so I'm not going to post the photo of the gorgeous kitchen, but if you follow the link you can see it.  I was very surprised to see a published photograph of it before the show has aired.  I'm curious to know how they got a photograph of the landscaped front yard when we have had feet of snow ever since we visited the house.   The house is for sale for a cool $1,o26,000 and this is how it is described in the listing:

Absolutely gorgeous brand new custom home designed by Sarah Richardson and built by Double Oak Homes, backing onto The Silver Creek Ravine in Georgetown. Features Sarah Richardson design and decoration throughout, soon to be seen on HGTV Canada. Over 5,000 square feet of elegantly finished living space. Full walkout basement, media room, open concept main floor, and over $200,000 in upgrades. A home for the most discerning buyer!

Any takers!

 

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I also wanted to post the winner of the $40 CSN gift certificate.  

The winner is Shannon from The Fam who said she would get a stroller if she won.  I will contact her by email.  Thanks to everyone for entering the giveaway. 

 

CSN Giveaway

Last summer (July 17th to be exact) I won a $60 CSN gift certificate from Joy at Thrifty Parsonage Living.  I was thrilled to have won and started pouring over their website.  Every now and then I'd ask my husband if I should order a striped Dash and Albert rug, but then we would agree that there wasn't anywhere to put one in our house. Then I'd look around CSN some more and I would ask him about getting some red dishes to use at Christmas and Valentine's Day, but then I couldn't decide which ones to buy.  And so it went on....


I may be one of the most indecisive people in this world.  Months went by and I finally decided that what I needed was a clutch purse to use at our son's wedding in May.  So just before Christmas (and only weeks before the gift certificate expired) I ordered a stone-coloured leather clutch.  Not only did the purse arrive very quickly, it is lovely.  It is made of a soft leather and has a shoulder strap so if you are like me and can't coordinate a purse and a drink and a camera then this should help.   The clutch is big enough for my cell phone, my camera, my keys, a lipstick, money, and tissue. There are several pockets so it can all be organized efficiently.  One of the things I like best is the pretty lining.  I'm not benefiting in any way by giving you my honest opinion of CSN, but I just wanted to let you know about my experience with the online shop.  


I was recently contacted by CSN to sponsor a giveaway and I was more than happy to do that, especially given that it came close on the heels of my positive shopping experience there.  They have offered a $40 gift certificate (does not include shipping costs) to be used at any of their on-line stores.  


The amazing thing is you can buy almost anything from CSN, from adjustable bar stools,

to Dash and Albert rugs (swoon - I just can't get enough of these),

to red dishes,

Oh wait, am I listing all the things I would buy.  This isn't about me, is it?  You need to go to CSN and have a look for yourself.


The giveaway is open to residents of Canada and USA only.  Here are the details of the Giveaway:


1.  Leave a comment telling me what you would order if you won.
2.  Become a follower and let me know in a separate email (or let me know that you are already one).
3.  Post, tweet, or mention the giveaway on facebook (and leave me a separate comment letting me know you did so).


Please, please, please leave me an email address so I can contact you if you win.  Twice now I have had to re-draw names because I was unable to contact the winner.


The giveaway ends on February 14th at 9:00 pm.

Oh and just in case you are curious, here are a couple of photos of the purse I ordered:

Toronto Design Bloggers Meet-up and a Giveaway

Last night I attended the Toronto Design Bloggers meet-up.  It was great fun and I'm so happy to have met such interesting talented women and found some great new blogs.  

The event was held at the Hotel le Germain in Toronto. It was the perfect venue - modern, cool and very hip - much like me!  Just kidding, but have a look at the pretty shelves in the lobby.  I love the mirrored backing, the square shape of the shelves, and the restrained placement of glassware.

Over 50 bloggers attended, which was a bit of shock to me that there were that many bloggers in the Southern Ontario area.  Now a few of us design-wannabe bloggers, like myself, attended as well so it wasn't strictly design bloggers.

Thanks so much to Vie from Verdigris Vie, Daniella from Dress Design Decor, and Jennifer from Rambling Renovator and anyone else I missed, for making this such an outstanding evening.  They found sponsors for the evening, including GK hair (the representative who spoke had the most gorgeous hair) and Delta faucets (who have a new one-week old blog called Beige is Dead).  Greenery, decorating the tables, was provided by Coriander Girl and photos were being taken by Natalie of A Bit of Blue.  There were also giveaways and lootbags, but more about that later.

I have to confess that for weeks I have been both excited and nervous about going, but as the event got closer I got progressively more nervous.  When I entered the room and did the old look-around-to see-who-I-know, there was nobody I recognized.  I almost turned around and walked out, but I convinced myself to stay for ten minutes and if I didn't find somebody to talk to I would leave.  I'm so glad I stayed as look at all the cuties I met and chatted and laughed with. 

Kelly from Jax does Design, Tara from The Cinnamon Post, Vanessa from Decor Happy, Emma from The Marion House Book,  Jennifer from Rambling Renovator, and Lindsay from Aubrey+Lindsay

See here's proof that I was there (well along with the somewhat blurry photos I am posting due to the low light conditions).

Lindsay from Aubrey + Lindsay, Sarah from White Blossom, and me (do you like how my shawl matches the room decor - see the drapes in the above photo.  Does that make me a wallflower?  Just kidding)

As I mentioned before there were giveaways like hair products, showerheads, design books, and cookbooks. I even won something, which I'm very excited about:

Looks like I'm going to be dressing up and partying with the cool kids in Toronto.  I had no idea this was going to be such a season of stepping out for me.  I'm totally pumped about it.

There were also sweet lootbags.

Look at all the loot we got - there is a ticket to the One of a Kind craft show, a coupon for 10% off Pistachio Eco Essentials store, a free alphabet print from Lindsay at Penny People, some GK Hair hair products and hair brush, and the Christmas issue of Canadian House and Home and Style at Home magazines.  Amazing, eh?

I'm a bit of a magazing junky so I already have these two magazines (thanks Mom and Dad for renewing my subscriptions every year for Christmas).  Sooo, I was thinking I would pass these two magazines on to some of my readers.   

Here are the giveaway details:

I will give the magazines to two separate people so let me know in a comment which one would you prefer to get (and if you both want the same one I'll have to do rock-paper-scissors with myself to pick).  I'm going to limit this draw to Canada and the USA because of shipping costs.   All you have to do is leave me a comment below, making sure you leave me your email address so I can contact you, and I will select two winners on Friday, November 26th (that way you will get the magazine in time to enjoy it before Christmas).  You're in for a treat as these are both outstanding issues!