Canucks Rock: All Canadian Link Up 05/25

Welcome to our weekly All Canadian Link Up!  This weekend and every weekend, Canucks Rock! with our All Canadian Link Up and Candid Canuck feature interview.  Brought to you by your hosts: Did you know Canada?, Tales of a Ranting Ginger and Maple Leaf Mommy!

This week's Candid Canuck is Sara from The Travel Presse. Check out our interview with her..

Sara with her two brothers in New Zealand.

Sears - The Baby's Room #SearsBabysRoom

Did you know Canada..  I am once again an Ambassador for Sears The Baby's Room, and I couldn't be more thrilled.  I was an ambassador during my pregnancy with my little man, all the way up to his birth in January and so excited to be on the other side as an ambassador with a newborn.  This way I'll be able to share the whole experience with you guys, give info and advice on every stage and let you know what worked best for me!

To start off I headed back to Sears in London ON to meet a new department manager and take a fresh look at The Baby's Room.  The Masonville location has been making a few changes and there is some more rearranging happening in the next few months.  They still have my favourite part, which is the nursery displays.  I love seeing the rooms out of the box so to speak, be able to sit in the chairs and touch everything.   It's also a great way to snap a single picture and show Dad-to-be, Gramma's, sisters, etc.. what theme you are loving and they can see all the pieces in one shot.

They now have a bigger display of playards, completely set up, which is so much nicer than looking at a box and wondering what it feels like, or is it really that colour.  Same with the high chairs.

Still a great selection of cozy blankets, receiving blankets, crib sheets, and more.  All from our favourite - Carter's!  I already own all of those monkey ones..haha..  did I ever show you my son's room set up with his Carter's monkey crib sheets, and the big monkeys on the wall?

The travel systems are still very accessible, which I love, everything can be touch, tested, rolled around.  I disliked the double stroller I had for my twins so I was VERY serious about my stroller this time around and had to try so many before I was satisfied I found the one.  And this is one of my tips for you - touch, feel, and test everything!  Because some of these products will be used day  in and day out for a few years, you have to love it or you will begin to hate it very quickly, trust me.  And when you hate your stroller or car seat, etc.. you begin to dread going out and that's no fun for you or your little one.

The feeding area still has lots of options, so does that bath and accessories and gifting.  Feeding gets very important to you and you might have to go through a couple styles until you find the one that works for you and your baby, so don't over buy until you find the right product.

Great sales news!!  The Baby’s Room One Year Anniversary Sale is here! From May 24 to June 5 The Baby’s Room will be saying a big THANK YOU to all who’ve made it such a successful first year.  A great time to stock up on your favourites, try a new product, maybe get that piece of furniture you've been eyeing.  Head into Sears The Baby's Room to see what's on sale! And let us know what you get :-)

Disclosure: I am part of the Sears The Baby’s Room Ambassador program with Mom Central Canada and I receive special perks as part of my affiliation with this group. The opinions on this blog are my own.

Iams SO GOOD! Doggie Jam

Did you know Canada..  mark the calender for Saturday, June 8th if you are a doggie lover in the Toronto area.  We are doggie lovers in this house, with our Boxer/Retriever Maddie and our Shih Tzu Bailey, my boys especially love having pets in the home to take care of, play with and really just love.  If you are a dog owner you know how much love dogs have to give!

On June 8, Iams is celebrating the real love between people and pets at Canada’s first ever concert for dogs by Iams. As a valued and cherished member of the family, Iams believes that dogs deserve to eat delicious and nutritious food and have a little fun, too.  The Iams SO GOOD! Doggie Jam will bring together as many as 5,000 dogs and their owners to celebrate real love at an event to remember.

The Iams SO GOOD! Doggie Jam will consist of a 43 piece classical orchestra performing classical “dog” inspired music that is sure to delight pets and owners alike!

When and where is all this happening?

Saturday, June 8, 2013
4:00 – 8:00 p.m.

Echo Beach
999 Lakeshore Blvd. West.
Toronto, Ontario, M6K 3L3

For more information visit Iams on Facebook, follow Iams on Twitter @Iams

And follow the IAMS SO GOOD DOGGIE JAM hashtag on Twitter: #IAMSSoGood

Tickets for the Iams SO GOOD! Doggie Jam are available from Ticketmaster.

Dine & Dish with Dawn

Did you know Canada..  this is really cool, On Wednesday, June 5th, Food Network’s John Catucci will be hosting Dine & Dish with Dawn - a pop-up poutinerie at Yonge-Dundas Square in Toronto, where the poutine is free if you clean your own dish with Dawn Ultra. That’s right; if you eat it – you clean it!

I decided to play along at home and we went with not one, but two different poutine recipes, and they were both big hits!

Poutine - with mushroom gravy

Ingredients

• Approx 2C beef broth
• 1 pkg onion soup mix
• mushrooms, chopped
• gravy thickener
• french fries, cooked according to directions
• shredded mozzarella cheese

Step 1:
Heat up the broth with the onion soup mix until simmering

Step 2:
Add your mushrooms and let them cook in the simmering broth

Step 3:
About 5 minutes before you are ready to serve add gravy thickener according to the package instructions

Step 4:
Layer french fries, cheese and gravy on top to melt the cheese, serve hot

Poutine - with slow cooked beef

Ingredients

• french fries, cooked according to directions
• shredded mozzarella cheese
• slow cooked beef (cooked in the oven or crockpot, I used an epicure seasoning pack)

Step 1:

Cut a piece of beef and shred it with a fork

Step 2:

Layer fries, cheese and beef, top with beef drippings or make an au jus to top (beef drippings, flour, broth and salt & pepper whisked together)  serve hot

Then it was time for the clean up!  Dawn had no problem cutting through the grease of the gravy pot, a fun dinner and easy clean up!

Other Phone Line Options in Canada

Did you know Canada..  you don't need to be tied to a phone line in Canada, there's other options.

We recently switched to a VoIP (Voice over IP) service, it allowed us to keep our home phone
number, we have more options then we did before, can call anywhere and Canada and it works great - and we are paying a fraction of the cost we were before.  This means your voice communications are transported via a data network, rather than the public switched telephone network (PSTN).  We still use our home phone, no one can tell the difference, we just have a lot more features while paying less (kinda cool right).  One feature I really love, being a Mom on the go, is that when someone leaves me a voicemail I can have the message emailed directly to my email account.  My smartphone, probably like yours, never leaves my hand, so I love being able to listen to messages on the run and know who's called the home line.

There's another cool option too, a great business solution - Session Initiation Protocol - SIP Trunking Canada, it's voice and data traffic on a single network.  This allows for businesses to make full use of their IP backbone to connect the company not only internally but also to the public switched telephone network (PSTN). This eliminate the need for separate voice and data networks and can be a real cost savings.

Say you have multiple locations for your business and each with multiple lines, with SIP you can pool you channels, instead of paying for individual services and a multitude of lines at each site.

With greater flexibility and scalability, there are now more options in Canada for your home and business voice communications, keep up with the future and you'll be surprised with the savings available for you!

What type of phone service to you use?

Nellie's Laundry Soda

Did you know Canada..  having a new babe I've being doing A LOT of laundry and I've also been concerned about using limited amount of chemicals and products safe for baby's sensitive skin.

I gave Nellie's Laundry Soda a try and I was happy with the results!  Hypoallergenic, Nellie's Laundry Soda leaves clothes soft, fresh, and residue free.  You only need a tablespoon or less, a tablespoon will definitely do even your largest loads!

I love that you can decide how much you add to your load.  Especially with baby loads I find myself running some small loads because (well besides the clothes being pretty small!) I also might do a quick load of cloths and bibs, a couple of his towels, etc.. So I like not having to add the full amount as you do with pre measured soaps for my small loads.

The Laundry Soda dissolves quickly in BOTH hot and cold water, and I like that Nellie's laundry soda is unscented and designed to penetrate the fabric as well as remove the odours, not mask them. Nellie's rinses clear and leaves no residue.

Easy to use, works great, and comes packaged pretty cool too.  Another fantastic Canadian company to support!  Find them on Facebook here.

We have a fun surprise for our readers, enter below for your chance to win your own 50 load soda bag of Nellie's All-Natural Laundry Soda!

Giveaway

Lavender Farms in Ontario

Did you know Canada..  Lavender, this purple-hued flower with it's gorgeous scent can be found
on Lavender farms across Ontario.

(Fir0002/Flagstaffotos)

Used for bath & body, culinary, medical, home fragrances like those from Lampe Berger and garden products, lavender is a popular scent!  Fun fact:  Romans used lavender to scent their linens and bath water.  It quickly became associated with hygiene and its unique fragrance was believed to hold healing powers.   Infusions are believed to soothe insect bites, burns, and headaches. Bunches of lavender repel insects. In pillows, lavender seeds and flowers aid sleep and relaxation.

Many of these farms across Ontario make for popular tourist destinations as well.  There's even a festival in Chatham-Kent - Great Lakes Lavender Festival will marks it's 8th annual event this year and it's their 9th year as one of Ontario's oldest lavender farms.  You can find more festivals across the province and many farms that offer shops and events.

Blooming from the beginning of June until the middle of September, Lavandula angustifolia is the most common type of lavender, originating from England. It is often referred to as true lavender, there's actually about 40 different types!

Have you visited a Lavender farm?  Visiting to enjoy the scent alone makes it worth a trip!

Don’t Sweat it. HANDLE IT!

Did you know Canada..  Lady Speed Stick* antiperspirant has you covered to stay cool when
faced with awkward situations, not sure what I mean?  Check out a couple of these clips..




Too funny right?!  Have you ever wished you could stay cool when faced with an awkward situation?  Thinking of the pregnancy one - I remember chatting with a pregnant friend and mentioning it must only be a couple more weeks until baby time, NOPE, she was only 5 months pregnant..haha.. oops!!  She was left feeling kinda big and I could feel the sweat run down my arms, eek!

Available in 4 different fragrances to keep you feeling fresh from morning to night, Lady Speed Stick* will help you not to sweat it, just handle it!! With long lasting superior protection and tough invisible 24 hour protection you are good to go all day.

Have you tried Lady Speed Stick* yet?  If you pick some up before May 25th, I have a coupon for you!  I also have another treat, enter this giveaway for your chance to win 1 of 6 Gift Baskets, and we want to know, what makes you sweat?!

Disclosure:  This post has been sponsored by Colgate, all opinions are my own.

Canadian Giveaway Linky! 05/20

Did you know Canada.. We are so happy to once again bring you this weekly feature with our co-host Tales of a Ranting Ginger - Every Monday we are opening a weekly linky for giveaways open to Canadians. We appreciate everyone's interest and contributions!

Do you have a blog that is running a giveaway and it's open to Canadians?? Link up below!!

Visit here through out the week to find giveaways open to Canadians and get winning!! Good Luck!!

Canucks Rock: All Canadian Link Up! 05/18

Welcome to our weekly All Canadian Link Up!  This weekend and every weekend, Canucks Rock! with our All Canadian Link Up and Candid Canuck feature interview.  Brought to you by your hosts: Did you know Canada?, Tales of a Ranting Ginger and Maple Leaf Mommy!

This week's Candid Canuck is Bonnie from The Koala Bear Writer. Check out our interview with her..