I have just realize that I haven't posted many pictures from the past two conferences I attended in the fall. I would like Thank @KidZoomer for sponsoring Alyssa and I to attend both ShesConnected and Blissdom Canada. I would also love to Thank Mimi McQueen for the great clothes that they sponsored for us to look our best in.
Both conferences were wonderful and I look forward to being able to attend more in 2012!
Swiss Natural has a Great Facebook contest going on the whole month of December. Every Friday Swiss Natural will be picking at random a winner.
What do you win? A $250 prepaid Visa card! Now I know we could all find somewhere to use that, maybe even treat mom.
It's very simple to enter:
"Like" Swiss Natural on Facebook if you haven't already
Post a comment on their wall telling them where you plan to spend the money
Tweet about the contest to your friends
*Note: This contest will run from December 1st to 31st, 2011. Good Luck!
~*Disclaimer: This is not a sponsored post. This post was written by Canadian Coupon Mom on behalf of Swiss Natural. All opinions are honest and my own.*~
Do you enjoy holiday baking? I love to bake anytime of the year but I just loath Holiday treats!
Nothing beats a great shortbread or gingerbread recipe. I love snowballs and rum balls and peanut brittle. I love making snowman or snowball cakes and cupcakes. I love anything holiday treats.
This year I have added another Christmas baking recipe book to my growing library thanks to our friends at Thomas Allen & Son Ltd. We reviewed A Baker's Field Guide to Christmas Cookies by Dede Wilson. Let me tell you when we received the book my daughter and I immediately went through it picking out all the yummy treats we would love to make.
This book is great for novice bakers as there is a chapter at the beginning on How to Use This Book. This includes a key to symbols used throughout the book to let bakers know - dough freezes well, cookies keep well, fun to make with kids, quick to make and sturdy enough to mail (even though I have been just told you can't mail food with Canada Post).
The chapters go into telling the baker what the ingredients are that you will need, equipment, how to double or halve a recipe, freezing, forming and cooling cookies and more great tips. It has a wealth of information to teach any level baker how to make great cookies!
Once you get into the recipe section you will notice each takes up two pages. First page is the name and a picture of the cookie/bar. Then it will tell you the type of cookie or bar, maybe it is a molded or rolled cookie. Then you will have Habitat - where it originated. A nice description of the cookie, field notes and the life span of the cookie/bar follows. Some recipes also include a Good Cookie Tip, this is hints on working with the recipe.
The one recipe that I kept going back to was the Cranberry Snowdrift Bars. I love Cranberries and especially at Thanksgiving and Christmas. These bars are a mix between a shortbread and meringue with a tart cranberry filling. YUMMY!
Ingredients:
Crust:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
Pinch of salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/4 cup of granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
Filling and topping:
1 cup whole-berry cranberry sauce, not jellies (such as Ocean Spray Whole-Berry Cranberry sauce)
2 large egg whites
1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
Directions:
1. Coat an 8 inch square baking pan with nonstick spray.
2. Whisk flour and salt together in a small bowl.
3. In a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat butter until creamy, about 3 minutes. Add sugar gradually, beating on high speed until light and fluffy. This may take as long as 8 minutes. Do not rush; mixture should be almost white in color. Beat in vanilla. Add about one-third of flour and mix on low speed. Gradually add remaining flour, mixing just until blended. Pat crust in an even layer in baking pan. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes or overnight. Wash and dry beaters of mixer.
4. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Bake crust until completely dry to touch and a pale golden brown, about 40 minutes. The edges will be a bit darker. Place pan on rack to cool 5 minutes, then spread cranberry sauce evenly over crust using a small offset spatula or back of spoon.
5. To make topping, whip egg whites until foamy in a meduim clean, grease-free bowl with a mixer on high speed. Add cream of tartar and whip until soft peaks foam. Add sugar gradually, whipping until stiff but not dry peaks form. Beat in vanilla. Spread meringue evenly over cranberry layer. Use back of a teaspoon to make peaks and swirls in meringue.
6. Bake until meringue is a light golden brown, about 25 minutes. Place pan on rack to cool. Cut into 20 bars (4x5).
"Cranberry Snowdrift Bars taken from A Baker's Field Guide to Christmas Cookies by Dede Wilson, 2003, Thomas Allen & Son Ltd, $12.88."
We love this book and can't wait to make more delicious easy recipes for the Holidays and year round.
Win It:
Thomas Allen & Son Ltd. is giving oneCanadian Coupon Mom reader their very own copy of A Baker's Field Guide to Christmas Cookies. Enter to win your copy today! This giveaway is open to Canadian residents. This giveaway will run only until December 6th,2011 and the winner will need to respond by the morning of December 8th for the copy to be received before Christmas. Good Luck!
~*Disclaimer: This post was written by Canadian Coupon Mom on behalf of Thomas Allen & Son Ltd. All opinions are honest and my own.*~
Hurry over to the BeanBag Boss for Cyber Monday deals on 13 different colored nylon Beanbag chairs on sale for $149.00 and free shipping with FedEx.
~*Disclaimer: This post was written by Canadian Coupon Mom on behalf of Beanbag Boss. This is not a sponsored post. I will be doing a review soon of a Beanbag chair from Beanbag Boss. All opinions are honest and my own.*~
Want to Win Free groceries for a year?!? Right now is the chance with Maple Leaf Foods. "Like" Maple Leaf Foods on Facebook and click on the $15,000 Grocery Giveaway link on the left hand side. Fill in the form and submit! That simple!
Grand Prize Winner - One lucky winner will win groceries for a year valued at over $8,500!
9 Weekly Prizes of Free groceries for a month, valued at over $700
~*Disclaimer: This post was written by Canadian Coupon Mom. This is not a sponsored post. All opinions are honest and my own.*~
From now until December 9th, 2011 Starlight Children's Foundation of Canada would love for you to help spread cheer and bring a smile to a child's face. With $20 you can donate a holiday stocking for an child dealing with a serious medical condition.
To donate you can visit Starlight Book of Smiles, there you will find different donations that are also available.
Holiday Stockings for a Family $100.00
Holiday Gifts for a Starlight Child $150.00
Holiday Gifts for a Starlight Family $500.00
Starlight Children's Foundation of Canada has been dedicated to improving the quality of life for children with chronic and life-threatening illnesses and life-altering injuries. They offer a broad array of in-patient, out-patient and online resources.
Starlight support seriously ill children and their families from diagnosis through the entire course of medical treatment and beyond. They help with activities like going to the zoo, a sporting event and even making a toy-filled playroom.
Starlight’s mission is to bring fun, joy and giggles right where they are needed
~*Disclaimer: This post was written by Canadian Coupon Mom on behalf of Starlight Children's Foundation of Canada. This is not a sponsored post. I volunteered to share this information on Canadian Coupon Mom. All opinions are honest and my own.*~
This Monday (November 28th,2011) Canada's Finest Coffee is having a Cyber Monday sale and will be offering $2.00 off ALL boxes of K-Cups on their site. The free shipping applies when you purchase 4 or more boxes of K-cups. There is no limit as to how many you can purchase and the promotion will automatically apply.
Enjoy!
~*Disclaimer: This post was written by Canadian Coupon Mom. This is not a sponsored post. All opinions are honest and my own.*~
With the holidays right around the corner lots people have family spread out across the country and maybe some in the US. High Liner knows busy moms are always looking for ways to save money for their families and to connect more often with loved ones without the worry of "what is this costing me?!".
On specially marked High Liner products you will find 40 free GL2GO minutes. You can combined the codes for up to 200 free minutes! What better way to connect with family and friends.
Haven't heard of GL2GO? This is a smart phone app that works with any service provider to make long distance calls for less than 2 cents per minute in Canada. Codes can be redeemed at 40freeminutes.com and are good for a whole year. They will expire January 2013.
Win It:
High Liner is offering offering 3 Canadian Coupon Mom readers a Free product coupon for a High Liner product of their choice. This will give you a code for 40 free minutes. The specially marked boxes will be available in store until February of 2012.
~*Disclaimer: This post was written by Canadian Coupon Mom on behalf of High Liner. I have received complimentary coupons for High Liner products. All opinions are honest and my own.*~
Do you love beanbags chairs? The Beanbag Boss has a Black Friday deal you will want to check out...Save $20 off the Black Leather Beanbag chair with Free Fedex shipping in Canada.
Use promo code: bf2011 at checkout.
~*Disclaimer: This post was written by Canadian Coupon Mom. This is not a sponsored post. All opinions are honest and my own.*~
I LOVE coffee! Yes, I know I have said that a few times and I am sure I will say it again, as I am a coffee drinker and have been for years. We recently decided to treat ourselves and get a Keurig single cup brew machine.
I was then on a mission to find K-cups (single brew coffee) for our machine at a good price and preferably in Canada.
I spent a few hours pricing out stores and finding out that they either don't ship to Canada or have big shipping fees. I found Canada's Finest Coffee one day while searching Google for K-Cups and Canadian shipping. The first thing I noticed right away was when you went to check the prices they asked you to set up an account but that turned out to be not a big deal as setting up an account is super simple and fast. Enter your email and a password and you know have an account to check out all the great K-cups.
Canada's Finest Coffee is a division of Allied coffee which has been in business for over 30 years. They were one of the first stores to sign up with Keurig to sell K-Cups. It all began as an online store serving Canadians and now they have opened a store front in London, Ontario. If you pop in you can browse the many K-cups available along with the brewers and bundles (bundles & coffee) that they offer their consumers. Purchase Timothy's K-cups for $15 a box of 24 or pick up a variety pack of 6 cups for $5.
For the home consumer that would like to shop online like myself as I am too far away from London, there is a wide variety of K-cups available on their website. You can search by brand, tea, decaf, coffee, flavored, and many more. The one thing I would love to see is an option to check more than one at the same time and a search bar to make it that much easier to find a specific coffee by name you are looking for.
Canada's Finest Coffee have some very unique features like their system bundles where you can choose your machine and get four boxes of coffee, tax will only be paid on the machine.
I LOVE their Refer a Friend program and I am sure you will also. All you have
to do is fill in the online form when you are signed in. Your friend
will get a detailed email telling them how it works. If your friend makes
a purchase you will received a free box of coffee the next time you
place an order! Would you like me to refer you? :)
They also offer a Recurring Order if you have a few favorites that would you like to order every month or so. You can choose how often you would like them to be shipped out to you.
Also check out Cup Full of Hope which is a program dedicated to help support youth focused charities in Canada. It gives hope and help help to thousands of young Canadians that either are physically, mentally or economically disadvantaged one cup at a time.
As I sit here and write this review I am drinking what I might have to call the best hot chocolate around! It is Timothy's White Hot Chocolate and it is truly divine. I also picked up Timothy's Perfectly Pumpkin for myself and Green Mountain Kenyan AA and Green Tea for hubby. All are very good. So many choices to chose from. It is really hard to narrow it down to just a few.
Canada's Finest Coffee mission statement is as follows: "At Your Service is the attitude that drives everything we do at Canada's Finest Coffee. In both our At Home and Office Coffee Service
divisions, we strive to consistently provide superior customer
service. No matter where you drink coffee or tea, we want your
relationship with Canada's Finest Coffee to be pleasant, friendly, and
courteous. We are committed to an excellent experience for every
customer, every time." I feel they do a wonderful job meeting this for sure.
I enjoy the simplicity of the website and how straight forward it is. Not over crowded or flashy. I love when you call there, Kathryn is very kind and so helpful! I asked her for suggestions on a dark coffee but not a bitter coffee and she was very helpful in helping us find our dark roast. I would love to see a few things added to the site though. I would love to see a wishlist as I have so many I would love to try and it would be very helpful to be able to save them to a list in my account. I would love the option of mix and match like they do in store 6 K-cups for $5 so to be able to try out the coffee before buying a 24 pack. Other than that I loved my shopping experience with Canada's Finest Coffee, their customer service is wonderful, they are fast with filling orders and the coffee arrive in a couple days (depending on where you live)!
Visit Canada's Finest Coffee online and on Facebook. If you would like to talk to someone there about an order please feel free to call them at 1-800-567-5550
~*Disclaimer: This post was written by Canadian Coupon Mom on behalf of Canada's Finest Coffee. I did receive complimentary coffee for review purpose. All opinions are honest and my own.*~
Looking for great Christmas presents for family and friends? Maybe even your children's teacher?
Check out iLoveScentedCandles.com and fill in your email address to be added to their newsletter and you will receive a Black Friday code for special savings. Enjoy free shipping bonus', free wrapping, % off and free product offers also!
This offer is good only on November 25th,2011 so hurry before the day is over!
~*Disclaimer: This post was written by Canadian Coupon Mom. This is not a sponsored post. All opinions are honest and my own.*~
I love walking into my house with such a beautiful aroma of berries, cinnamon or even woodsy types aromas. We do buy candles and plug scents but most of them are a nice fix for awhile or during the time they are burning (sometimes they only smell when they are not lit) these are very disappointing.
I have heard of Scentsy before and I wondered if it was like all the rest of the smelly stuff so I passed by it until now. I can offically tell you I will be a Scentsy lover for life now.
If you have not heard of Scentsy before it is a independent consultant business or a home party type of business and it was launched in July 2004. It has become a very popular consultant business. Recently Bonnie contacted me to tell me her family's story on why she is selling Scentsy and her goal with it. Bonnie was interested in offering myself and two of my fine readers our very own prize package to try out all the great products she has to offer!
Bonnie and her husband adopted Kate their Guatemalan princess through running a small business in the past which gave Bonnie and her husband the chance to make adoption financially feasible for them. Bonnie has starting selling Scentsy in order to work on a adoption fund to make Kate a Big Sister and she would love Canadian Coupon Mom visit her on Facebook.
Bonnie also said "It is our goal with our Scentsy business not to stop at adoptions for
just our family, but it’s our dream to create a program for children all
over the world to feel the love of a family through the power of
adoption too. As we grow here at
iLoveScentedCandles.com we hope to be able to open the doors to many
children and many families with financial assistance and education about
the power and miracle of adoption."
My family had the chance to review a plug in warmer, scent bars - Midnight Fig, Puna and Snowberry, grab tabs, scent circles, and a scent pak. Right away when opening this beautiful package I knew I would love it. We have the Charlemagne plug in warmer which retails for $20. This warmer is just beautiful and there is no reason to hide this one behind a couch. It also makes the perfect night light. I would keep it away from small children as it does get very hot and they could burn themselves with the warmer or wax. I would suggest with young children to try out a full or mid sized warmer.
The way these work are the lights inside heat up your Scentsy bar that you place in top on the warmer. I love that the plug on the warmer can turn incase you plugs are up side down like ours (I was told this is how it is suppose to be, don't know just find it annoying for night lights etc). The bulb is a 15 watt and is included with your warmer.
I could not wait to try it out and we tried the Snowberry first. I absolutely LOVE it! It makes the house smell soo nice. It seems to work throughout our house, you don't need to sit on top of the warmer for it to be smelled.
They offer 80 or so scent bars at $5 a pack, each include 8 cubes - Corner Cafe, Fall & Winter, Favorites, Romance, Scentsy Man, Spa, and Seven Seas. I have found that I will want a couple more warmers as one bar last a long time for myself. I think this would vary and also I don't like to waste. The grab tabs are wonderful. They are little tabs you put in your warmer after you are finished with it. The liquid will hard for you to remove it.
The scent circles and paks are also a really nice touch in the closet or just having in a room. I have added one to my van. I really enjoy the White Tea & Cactus.
Three Holiday gift idea's
1) The Scentsy plug-in warmer and scent bar combo is
fabulous for just about anyone. It’s small, practical and a reminder that you
are thinking about them all year long.
2) The Scentsy scent circles, travel tins and scent paks are
great stocking stuffers for anyone with a car, a locker, an office, a gym bag,
dresser drawers…. you name it, those three products make any small space smell
fabulous!
3) The Scentsy Buddies! These plush, snuggly,
wonderful smelling Buddies make a wonderful holiday gift. Not only are they
adorable and make a room smell wonderful, you can also register them online and
play fun games… one of Bonnie's family favorites is ‘The Claw’
Price comparison:
One Name Brand Candle: $19.99
for the 12 oz glass jar
a 12 oz candle will burn for about 75 hours at a cost of $19.99 = $.27/hour
One Scentsy Warmer: $20 – $35
(one time purchase)
One Scentsy Wax Bar: $5 for 2.6 oz scent bar
a 2.6 oz Scentsy bar will warm for 50 – 70 hours = $0.07/hour!!!
Win It:
~*Disclaimer: This post was written by Canadian Coupon Mom on behalf of Bonnie an independent consultant with Scentsy. We received a complimentary Scentsy pack for review purpose. All opinions are honest and my own.*~
As a child I used to love My Little Pony and I was very happy to see My Little Pony still around for all the children to enjoy. There are much more available these days for pony fun from skate boards, houses to hot air balloons and remote control cars. The idea's are endless for children to make believe with My Little Pony.
This holiday season why not pick up your My Little Pony fan Pinkie Pie and her remote control car? This bright pink, purple and yellow car makes lots of fun sounds and holds Pinkie Pie and still has room for other pony friends. The set comes with Pinkie Pie and a bright orange remote to make the car go back and forth.
My children love racing around with cars that they either push or have a remote for. This will be a lot of fun for A as she can take her ponies for drives whiles her brother plays with his cars. I love the music and sounds that this car plays from the remote. It does take 2 AA batteries. What we do is buy the rechargeable batteries for the kids toys and make sure to always have a set charged on hand.
Bring a smile to your little girls face with Hasbro's My Little Pony Pinkie Pie's RC Car.
~*Disclaimer: This post was written by Canadian Coupon Mom on behalf of Hasbro Canada. We received the above mentioned product for review purpose. All opinions are honest and my own.*~
