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3. Shopping

How to Read Nutrition Facts Labels

EAT, LIVE, nourish By Jill Amery March 28, 2016 Tags: 3. Shopping, grocery store, labels, nutrition, nutrition facts, packaging, processed food 3 Comments

Good nutrition is important for everyone, but especially our little ones’ growing bodies (even though we secretly wish they’d stay little forever). There is so much to think about, and so little time to avoid tantrums at the supermarket. Are you trying to avoid certain things, like saturated fats and too much salt or sugar? Are you trying to choose foods that are high in vitamins and minerals? It’s hard to find time in our busy lives to make every meal straight from scratch, so sometimes we must reach for packaged foods instead of making homemade pasta and canning our own tomatoes (sometimes…).

When you’re trying to make the best and healthiest choices for your family, the first place you should check is the packaging. Fortunately, in Canada, ingredients and the Nutrition Facts label, are found on almost every packaged food product you can find at the store.

Author Aislinn Hunter Answers: What’s in My Bag?

books, GEAR By Jill Amery January 6, 2016 Tags: 3. Shopping, my bag No Comments

The bag: a Roots satchel that I bought to take abroad because it has a special padded pocket for an iPad and looked like something I could imagine Kate Moss wearing with skinny jeans. Technically I think it’s a ‘murse’ (I found it on the mens’ side of the local Roots store) but I love the Italian-dyed leather and that it’s made in Canada. It’s super comfortable to carry too, even after hours of walking – and it does look wicked with skinny jeans.

All that Glitters – Gold Hostess Gifts

GEAR, style By Jill Amery November 19, 2014 Tags: 3. Shopping, celebration, chritmas, covergirl, featured, gold, gold ingot swiss army knife, Holiday, hostess gifts, logitech, metallic gold paper straws, mykronoz smartwatch, slider No Comments

If you’re looking to make a statement, gold always works. Our gold hostess gifts will be sure to knock her socks off.

1. Celebration Champagne Glasses from Chapters/Indigo $38.00 – Because holiday cocktails should never be dull!
2. MyKronoz ZeBracelet2 Smartwatch – Rose Gold 99$ – It tells time, streams music, allows you to answer calls and also displays text messages!
3. Metallic Gold Paper Straws from Etsy $5.81 – These make even a kale smoothie taste festive!
4. CoverGirl Outlast Stay Brilliant Nail Gloss – Golden Opportunity 230 -$4.99 Gold is the new red.
5. Classic Gold Ingot Swiss Army Knife $280 – Elegant and timeless.
6. Logitech Gold Tendrils Wireless Mouse – Heighten her desk to new levels.
7. Gold Stag Place Card Holder 14.95 – Can you imagine a holiday table adorned with these stately gems?
8. MAKE UP FOR EVER Metal Powder $28 – In the corner of the eye, or as all-over shadow, she could audition for a James Bond film.
9. 2014-2015 Kate Spade Large Planner Black Stripe $38.00 – She will never forget an appointment with this beauty!
10. Celebration Champagne Glasses from Chapters/Indigo $38.00

7 Tips for Getting Toys the Kids Really Want

GEAR, toys By Jill Amery December 11, 2013 Tags: 3. Shopping, black friday, cyber monday, Dr. Toy, fisher price, Holiday, hot toys, list, mattel, sales, santa, slider, stocking stuffers, toys No Comments

I’m one of those moms who shops all year long. I buy things on sale and fun items fill the cupboards in the spare bathroom. By the time wrapping week comes around in December, the gifts have trickled into the bathtub, hidden under towels.

While this system has always worked in my house, this year things are different. The boys are 6 and 7 and have very specific HOT toys in mind. I realized yesterday in a panic that I didn’t have what they really wanted. Scouring the internet I finally found the toys in stock at one online retailer and pulled out the old Amex.

This mom has learned a few tricks and I won’t be making the same mistake in the future. Here are 7 tips for getting the toys the kids really want.

1. Write letters to Santa on December 1. If you do it too early the kids may change their mind about what they really want.

2. As soon as the letters are written, hop online and order the special present.

3. Stocking stuffers are great to collect over the course of the year, but larger bulky items are best sourced in December. Having an expensive bathroom as a storage area isn’t very practical.

4. Canada has caught on to Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales in a big way. Making a good list of items and finding the best deals on those days can save a fortune and eliminate the need to shop all year.

5. Pull up a few ‘hot toy’ lists and go through them with your kids to gauge interest. Mattel has a great Hot Toy List and I love Dr. Toy’s annual list as well. This will help you give Aunts and grandparents some ideas. Mattel also have a great online wishlist where you can keep track of the kids’ desires!

6. Check the safety of the toys and whether there have been any recalls. Healthy Canadians and AllAboutVision are great places to check.

7. Canada’s official Free Shipping Day is happening this Thursday, Dec. 12, and eager online shoppers are gearing up for great deals. Over 230 stores have signed up to participate, with several more expected to be added to the site before offers go live at 12:01 a.m. EST. In addition to big-name participants like Indigo, Garage, Roots and SportChek, independent retailers are also offering free shipping with delivery by Christmas Eve.

Once you’ve eliminated the stress from your shopping, you’ll have lots of time to bake, decorate, do charity work and make beautiful memories with the kids during the holiday season.

Disclosure: This post was sponsored by Mattel Canada. All opinions are our own.

How to Take the Stress out of Holiday Shopping with airmilesshops.ca

apps, GEAR By Jill Amery November 29, 2013 Tags: 3. Shopping, air miles, airmiles, airmilesshops.ca, Ann Taylor, features, FTD, hudsons bay company, lego.com, Nieman Marcus, ose, Roots, Sephora, slider, Snapfish, TOMS, Victoria’s Secret No Comments

Ahh. The bustling crowds at the mall. Are you getting excited? Think of it: in every city across Canada, hours have been extended and decorations hung in anticipation of the RUSH. You know the one I mean: the parking lot scramble, forgetting where you put your car and carrying 15 heavy bags and ending up in tears (maybe that’s just me), lining up for the must-have toy of the season because you know it’ll make your little one cry tears of joy.

I have made a vow this year to do a lot of my shopping online. Do I trust online shopping? Absolutely. Even credit card companies protect us these days. Must I worry about store closing times, a perfectly coiffed friend seeing me in sweats or getting lost in a mall? No.

As I write I’m distracted by the thought of a roaring fire and glass of eggnog. The dog is snuggled at my feet and I’m watching Casablanca in the background as I browse online for holiday gifts. For others, of course. Bliss.

Though I have been an AIR MILES Collector for 20 years, I didn’t discover airmilesshops.ca until this year. Shocked, all of the stores I was planning to visit both North and South of the border are actually online – and I will earn reward miles for my shopping. As a bonus, many of the stores on airmilesshops.ca have offers to earn 2x, 3x even 10x the reward miles on your purchases. In fact, right now for Black Friday you can earn 10x the reward miles on your purchases with airmilesshops.ca until December 4^th.

All stores on airmilesshops.ca ship to or within Canada and many offer a special Canadian checkout section where purchases are priced in Canadian dollars. Wow! I get so frustrated when I go through the process on a website only to discover that the store ships only to the US. Nobody should put baby in a corner.

Want to know the stores? Let’s start with Anthropologie, shall we? And then the Apple Store Canada. Followed by a few of my favourites for each family member:

Son: Lego.com
Other Son: TOMS Canada
Mother: Hudson’s Bay Company
Me: Sephora
Husband: Bose Canada
Me from Husband: Victoria’s Secret or FTD
Dog: PetSmart
Father-in-Law: Snapfish
Cool Kid down the block: Roots
Girlfriends like me: Bloomingdales, Ann Taylor and Neiman Marcus.

My ‘work’ is done.

So as packages come in (or are wrapped and shipped directly to the recipient saving me a trip to the post office), you may hear a little squeal from me. And each order I make is adding to my growing bank of AIR MILES reward miles and reducing my holiday to-do list. With this lack of stress combined with my extra AIR MILES reward miles, I might just have to hop a plane to Hawaii for New Year’s.

<Only Half Joking>.

In terms of shipping, the individual stores do that. Visit airmilesshops.ca to start your own holiday shopping!

This post was sponsored by airmilesshops.ca. Our opinions are our own.

Valentine Outfits for the Love Bug

GEAR, style By Jill Amery February 8, 2013 Tags: 3. Shopping, bathing suit, fawn shoppe, heart, love, style, valentines No Comments

In search of Valentine outfits for the love bug? We can’t get enough of Fawn Shoppe. It’s just unfortunate that yummy mummys can’t get in on the action. Valentine’s Day is for more than just you and your significant other to celebrate – share the love with your little ones by finding the right gifts. So if you have a little love bug in your midst, try these on for size. (Them – not you. You’re holding out for diamonds, remember?)

1. Stella Cove Bathing Suit ($52)
2. Poppy Ballerina Petticoat ($93)
3. C De C Heart Dress ($59)
4. Rachel Rilet Red Hearts Dress ($165)
5. Rachel Riley Patent Button Strap Slippers ($149)

Crock-Pot Lunch Warmer

GEAR, home By Guest October 14, 2012 Tags: 3. Shopping, featured, food, gear, lunch No Comments

The Lunch Warmer comes in purple, blue, black, red. It has a 20 oz capacity making it perfect for an individual sized meal!

No time in the morning to pack a warm meal for yourself or your children? Enjoy a comforting meal with the Crock-Pot Lunch Warmer. It warms food on the go, while still staying cool to the touch outside for safety. It’s easy to clean-just stick the removable food storage container in the dishwasher! You can even leave the warming base at work/school and use the detachable food container to transport meals back and forth. How about packing last night’s leftovers of Slow Cooker Lasagna for a nutritious lunch? Crock-Pot