September 29 is National Coffee Day

Calling all my coffee aficionados!

If you're like me, mornings are just not quite the same without a fresh cup of joe.

This Sunday September 29th is National Coffee Day and participating coffee shops everywhere will be celebrating! 

This includes Canada's favourite coffee - Tim Hortons!

Did You Know?

• Nearly eight out of 10 cups of coffee sold in Canada are poured at Tim Hortons. 
• More people visit Tim Hortons in a week than Disney World’s Magic Kingdom in a year. 
• Over 30 spontaneous pay-it-forward acts of kindness occurred at Tim Hortons restaurants across Canada in less than 10 days.
• Only three people in the world know the exact blend and roasting fingerprint of Tim Hortons coffee.
• Tim Hortons team of Coffee Masters taste-test more than 75,000 cups of coffee annually to guarantee the company’s quality and consistency standards are met.

Amazing, huh?

I'm not surprised that Tim Hortons is Canada's #1 - when I think of Canada, one of the first images that come into my mind is Tim Hortons.

It just goes together like mornings and coffee... or hockey and ice... or peanut butter and jelly...

you get the picture.

Check out this interested infographic - The Art of Coffee: From Bean to Cup

Are you following Tims on Twitter yet?

Surprises are in store for Twitter fans on September 29, 2013. Make sure to follow @TimHortons to celebrate National Coffee Day with Tim Hortons and use #TimsCoffeeDay.

How do you like your coffee?

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Back-to-School in Sears Style

I can't believe it's that time of year.
To many other moms out there, this is exciting, much anticipated and welcomed with very open arms (hot coffee in hand).
Me? Not so much.
Why? Because I will miss having my little girl at home with me. I know, I know. Cut the apron strings and let her go.

We attempted to send her off to JK last year, but that didn't work out unfortunately because my son was born that same week and I was home alone (my husband had to be back at work right away) with a new baby, recovering from a cesarean and I also suffered from post-partum blues for 2 weeks post-pregnancy. It was rough.
Therefore we decided that I would home school her for JK year which turned out perfectly because we have a large rec room which became the perfect and complete classroom to her and she learned a lot at home with "Teacher Mommy" for that year.
She also socializes very well with close neighbor friends and cousins of the same age that she plays with often (thank goodness!).

I do love routine, which is one reason I am actually quite longing forward to it and of course the fact that my little girl is bursting with thrill makes me happy for her too.
I know she's ready (she was ready last year!) and she can't stop talking about it.
I now have an active gig working from home and have gotten extremely busy with blogging projects outside of work so it will be a relief to me as well as I know I won't have the time to home-school her as much during the day anymore.

Well, it's "Back-to-School" for our Ava and of course, I'm sending her off in Style!
Sears Style!

I recently became a new Sears Mom Back-2-School Brand Ambassador and was given the opportunity to shop with a $100 Gift Card (Thank you Sears and Mom Central!) to get our Back-to-School Shopping started.
Initially I thought: Hmmm... how much can one really purchase with $100?
I know it sounds like a lot but as a mother that shops for my children quite often, I know how pricey children's clothing can be! That's not including shoes, backpacks, etc.

I shop at Sears a lot and I really love their separate Babies and Kids areas - The Baby Room and The Kids Room.
Everything is so well laid out and it's easy to find what you're looking for.

I needed to grab some essential wardrobe pieces for Ava and also a standard-sized backpack.
For their Back We Go Event, you can get 25% off selected items and I was also happy to see that their backpacks were on sale (with already low prices) plus with an additional 30% off!

As tempted as I was to grab the Hello Kitty, I knew that I needed something different and that steered away from any characters. I wanted her to be able to use this for the next year if possible.
Loved their selection. Whether you want a cute character like Hello Kitty, Disney Princess or Cars or a classic and reliable brand such as Roots, they have it!

I was dying of cuteness overload in the clothing section. And was blown away at the pricing!

Yes the chaos of back-to-school shopping has begun. Moms went crazy for this awesome deal!

The mix and match clothing deals were an obvious steal and the prints on those shirts and pants were way too adorable and pretty.
And they carry amazing brands such as Foxy Jeans™, HELLO KITTY™ , Levi's®, Nevada®/MD, Converse® and more!
With their Price Match Guarantee, you can rest assured you're getting the best deal.

And if that wasn't awesome enough, did you know about KidVantage?

KidVantage is Sears' The Lifetime Wear Out Warranty that covers children's apparel and footwear as long as a child in the family continues to wear the size. If the item wears out, Sears will, at its option, either repair it or replace it with the identical item in the same size, or if it's unavailable, a similar item of equal value in the same size. It covers children's apparel sizes from infants up to 18, and footwear up to senior kids' size 6 .
I love this!
Amazing prices AND quality you can trust. This is what us Moms are looking for.
And of course, I'm not sacrificing style here either.
Smart and Stylish Buying. Now that's something that's always on trend!

I was really happy with the items I was able to purchase for my daughter for less than $100 and cross off our Back-to-School Shopping List!

Pair of flats not shown here. {Click Photo for Larger Image}

Have you completed your Back-to-School shopping yet?
I highly recommend heading to your closest Sears for everything you need in one place and to save you money!

If you're on Facebook, make sure to 'Like' Sears Canada and Enter for a Chance to Win Sears' “Back We Go” Facebook contest.
Enter the contest HERE.
Good luck!

****
Disclosure: I am part of the Sears Back to School Blogger Campaign 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.

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What's in a "Nayme"?

What is the meaning behind your name?
Was there a reason you were named what you were or behind the name you chose for your child?

For many, your name goes far beyond what others call you. It holds a distinctive meaning to you, your parents and the special people in your lives.

There's a new symbolic twist to the insipid old name necklaces that once use to be on trend, made famous by none other than style icon, Sarah Jessica Parker as "Carrie" on Sex and The City.

Given a more tasteful and charming significant facelift, Toronto Founder of Nayme, Louise Henry, had a goal in mind and that was to bring back the exclusive meaning behind a personalized gift helping celebrate life's special moments.

"I always knew that I wanted to start my own business. I admired those who pursued their passions, worked creatively and built something from the ground up. After graduating from university, I decided it was the perfect time to pursue my dream. The idea for a personalized gift was sparked while I was in one of those little tourist shops in Florida during the summer of 2012.  Even though I knew I wasn’t going to buy that personalized “Louise” key-chain or mini license plate, I couldn't resist looking to see if my name was there. This got me thinking: wouldn’t it be nice if there was a quality gift designed around my name that carried more meaning?"  - Louise Henry, Founder.


The Nayme Necklace (pronounced “name”) is a sterling silver necklace, with each pendant designed to  symbolically represent the meaning of a name.
Made in Canada, each pendant is crafted from quality .925 sterling   silver, accompanied by a delicate, Italian-made .925 sterling silver chain.

Each necklace comes beautifully wrapped in a black ribboned gift box, detailing the name, its origin, meaning and Nayme’s unique representation of that meaning.

It was a simple process for ordering online. You enter the name, it pulls up the meaning behind the name including a detailed description of the product including images of how it will look like once you receive it.
Not only was the ordering process easy but the shipping was quick *and it's FREE in Canada*!

I was smitten the moment I first laid eyes on this brand and thrilled to have received this lovely personalized necklace made just for me, Carol... a bird in flight.

What a beautiful package! What made it even more lovely was opening it to see your name and the meaning behind your name on the box itself along with the tranquil and sweet bird in flight pendant.
Nothing beats personalized gifts. Nothing.

Isn't this stunning? Knowing that it symbolizes the meaning behind my name and truly reflective of who I am as a person ("Like a Bird") and the power behind the word FREEDOM associated with it, makes it that much more substantial.
It's not just another piece of jewelry dangling off my neck for fashion purposes, it's so much more.

Each Nayme Necklace retails for $130 CDN each. Given it's quality and personalization, I think it would make the perfect gift for that very valuable person in your life.

I love my name and knowing why I was named what I was from my parents and being able to wear it proudly in this symbolic and lovely way is just wonderful!

And a lovely surprise just because my readers are so special to me. 

Within the next few weeks leading up to Mother's Day courtesy of Nayme, one of my readers will get the chance to win a custom Nayme Necklace.
Whether for yourself, your mother (or mother figure), daughter or other special woman in your life, you won't want to miss out on this opportunity.
Please be on the lookout on the blog or Facebook and Twitter as I announce the Mother's Day Nayme Necklace Giveaway.
 

What's the meaning behind your name?

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A True Canadian Winter

We haven't had one of these in a while.
I believe that last extremely snowy and cold winter we had was back in 2008.
I remember this because my daughter was born a few months before that and trips to get her immunizations and doctor check-ups during that winter was very challenging to say the least.

You can say we've been pretty "spoiled" the past couple of years with milder winters.
Being Canadian you would think we'd be use to all this snow and freezing temps but according to my twitter stream and facebook timeline it's clearly evident that no matter how Canadian one may be...
we do not like the cold.

Big fluffy scarves, thick mitts and wool hats, double layers of clothing under husky coats and thick-set sorels or solid Uggs has pretty much been the fashion attire the past couple of weeks.

Mother nature teased us this winter with spring-like weather mid-late January and then just like that shook us with snowmageddon shortly thereafter.
Not just a measly 5, 10, 15, or even 20 cm of snow. Come on. It's Canada. She took it to higher levels (literally) with a whopping 40+ cm of snow.
I guess she felt she's been too lenient with us the past few years.
This past snow storm pretty much made up for it.

This was the sight of our backyard in just the beginning stages of the recent snow storm.
I think it looks beautiful and picturesque, don't you?
Snow can be beautiful.

But chaos hit the streets and commuting on the roads was near impossible (and extremely dangerous). So dangerous in fact that many people decided not to go into work that day to risk traveling in these conditions. But not my hubby. No way. He thought he'd brave it and go in anyway to catch up on some very important work.
God bless him for his determination and loyalty to his work (Can we say "Superstar Employee"?), but I on the other hand, would never risk driving in this weather.
I have a serious phobia of driving in bad weather conditions; I mean a serious one.
I hyperventilate if I was in a vehicle (even though not driving) and the weather was bad.
The good news is hubby made it home safe and sound with no major issues on the roads... well, almost.

Had to get stuck right in front of our driveway.

So my children and I spent the time stuck indoors doing lots of arts & crafts, playing games and watching tons of fun movies. We also did some baking.
But if you have children under 5, you will understand when I tell you that no matter how many indoor activities you do, cabin fever will kick in sooner than later. Plus having a little one watch all that snow outside and not be able to get out there is torture.

I would not, however; be complaining one bit had I been sipping a hot baileys coffee near an open fire in a ski chalet hidden somewhere in Aspen.
Perhaps something like this?

Aerin Lauder's Ski Chalet in Aspen (Photo courtesy of chiccoastalliving.blogspot.com)

How did you spend Snow Day this year?

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Spreading some #RandomCupsofKindness with Tim Hortons

If you're like me, I tend to want to avoid watching the news because most times it's filled with things I'd much rather not see to keep my soul at peace.

Sometimes we really just need to do what we can, even if it's just the little things to lift spirits and bring some cheer to those around us.

As we celebrate and dwell in the festive and enchanting season of Joy, Peace and Happiness, I was thrilled to be chosen to take part in Tim Horton's special Holiday initiative named Random Cups of Kindness.

Throughout this week from December 18th to December 22nd at Tim Horton's restaurants across the country, Employers and selected Bloggers are surprising guests by paying for their meals/coffee.  

It’s their way of thanking their customers before the holidays. 

I have a bundle of Tim Horton's Gift Cards waiting to be distributed to deserving strangers randomly throughout the GTA! 

I cannot wait to get started tonight; my first stop is the local hospital where I recently gave birth to my son, Brampton Civic Hospital.

You can follow along on the fun and surprises if you're on Twitter by following the #RandomCupsofKindness stream.

Have you done a random act of kindness lately?

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Tim Hortons' new Specialty Beverages {Review & Giveaway}

If there's one thing you probably already know about me from my blog and tweets alone, it's that
I am a serious Java-holic! I love me my coffee. :)

And living in our beautiful Country of Canada, I don't know what warms the heart (and hands and tummy) more than a fresh cup of "Timmies".  Doesn't it make you smile when you're on the road, in need of a warm beverage, and you see a Tim Hortons on the horizon?
Aside from having probably the best coffee, their prices are fabulous! Got some change on you? Grab a Tim's Beverage!
Whenever I have meetings with clients, meeting with a good friend or a night out with my husband, this is usual the hot spot. Call it "the meeting place." :)

It's such a proud trademark of Canada.
I remember coming home from Paris (and come on, we all know Parisian's know their coffee's or café's), and the first thing I wanted when I stepped in Pearson International Airport was some Tim's Coffee!
Comfort at it's finest.

If you're not familiar with Tim Horton's -- where have you been? Here's more from their website:
Tim Hortons is one of the largest publicly traded quick-service restaurant chain in North America based on market capitalization, and the largest in Canada. Operating in the quick-service segment of the restaurant industry, Tim Hortons appeals to a broad range of consumer tastes, with a menu that includes premium coffee, espresso-based specialty coffees including lattes, cappuccinos and espresso-flavoured shots, specialty teas, home-style soups, fresh sandwiches, wraps, hot breakfast sandwiches and fresh baked goods, including our trademark donuts. As of July 3rd, 2011, Tim Hortons had 3,811 system-wide restaurants, including 3,189 in Canada and 622 in the United States. More information about Tim Hortons is available on the company’s website, at www.timhortons.com.

I was thrilled to elated to find out that Tim Hortons introduced a brand new line of beverages to their Café Favourites family of specialty coffees.
Now, they have latté's! Yes, latté's! Mocha lattes and cappuccinos made with premium espresso. Starting at $2, the new drinks offer guests a delicious, fast and convenient choice for latté's, at a value price.

Starting November 14, Tim Hortons launched lattés in 2,500 locations in Canada. In mid-December, it will be in rest of Canada and U.S.
It is the largest new specialty coffee introduction ever in the country! 

I really was very skeptical about Tim Hortons Lattés. Aside from only enjoying and purchasing latté's from two very popular competitors, I was pretty darn excited. And, so was my wallet.
So, of course, at my daily trip to Timmies, I decided to try out their Butter Caramel Latté.

Make sure you open your lid to catch a warm smile! :)
I was blissfully surprised after taking a sip at how good it was! Seriously. Yum! I can honestly tell you, that it is comparable to any $6+ dollar latté anywhere else!

The new lattés are a natural extension to the popular Tim’s Café Favourites family of specialty coffees, which includes French Vanilla Cappuccino, English Toffee Cappuccino (my fav!) and Café Mocha.
Tim Hortons already sells more specialty coffees than all other quick service restaurants combined in Canada.

Tim’s Café Favourites now includes:

Classics

• French Vanilla Cappuccino
• French Vanilla Cappuccino Supreme
• English Toffee Cappuccino
• English Toffee Cappuccino Supreme
• Café Mocha
• Hot Chocolate
• White Hot Chocolate
• Apple Cider

Espresso

• Latte
• Cappuccino
• Flavoured Latte
• Flavoured Latte Supreme
• Mocha Latte
• Espresso shot (single or double)
• Tea Latte

“We carefully explored lattes for some time,” said Paul House, Executive Chairman, President and CEO, Tim Hortons. 

“The unique blends we’ve developed deliver a rich, creamy drink, consistently and fast. With nearly half a century of coffee experience, we’ve learned how to produce premium coffee, consistently, at value prices. We’re also helping introduce high-quality lattes at a value price to people outside larger cities. A good latte isn’t easily available in many communities. Now, anyone can enjoy a delicious latte in one of our thousands of locations, or grab one in a drive through window, any time of day.

We’re fortunate to have loyal guests who have made Tim Hortons the coffee leader in Canada and a strong regional competitor in the U.S. We expect our new lattes will be enthusiastically embraced."

So, if you're wondering whether or not it's worth trying, I truly recommend it!

It's frothy, tasty, fresh and the price is right!

Tim Hortons graciously offered to give 2 of my readers an opportunity to win a $25 gift card so they can try the new latté out for themselves. 

Sweet! 

All you have to do is head over to Tim Hortons' Twitter Page , leave a hello tweet for them and then comment below and tell me
Which Latté do you want to try?

But you have to make sure you write a comment to be qualified! 

Want to increase your chances of winning?

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