PS ..

I love you.

Haha.  I couldn't resist.  It's true though.

Okay for realsies ... what are you being for Halloween? I totally forgot that it's coming up.  I may not be able to post again before the big day .. so I want to share this with you.

Check out this link on Joy The Baker's blog about why it's soooo not cool to be a sexy panda for Halloween.

* FYI there is a teeny bit of choice language .. so probably not best for lil' eyes.

FOOD-RELATED FRIDAY

TGIF Y’all!

Can you believe it?  This week has zoomed by.  I’m really loving Mexico, but I would be lying if I said I wasn’t getting pretty excited to head home.

This is sort of a bittersweet Food-Related Friday for me.  I am totally obsessed with food at the moment, but am unable to really enjoy it.  Things are great here, but the food situation is a little less than ideal.  The food is pretty tasty and well-cooked and all that jazz, but we are all being so careful not to eat washed fruits and veggies (a lot of people got really sick when we came last year), that this week has sort of turned into a carb/protein only kind of week.  A girl can only eat so many white things on one plate.  Know what I mean?

To spice things up a little, and to take a break from the ol’ beans and rice special, we have been eating a lot of PB and B(anana) sandwiches.  The amount of sugary, sweet, delicious peanut butter I have ingested this week inspired this post.

Check it out!!

Here’s the link for the recipe. 

Peanut Butter “Cheese Ball”

Are you seeing that?  It’s a peanut butter and chocolate chip ball! Ummmm helll-o .. that’s the best thing I’ve ever seen.

Tom’s sister and I have a tradition of making really gross great non-baked, baked goods.  At Easter we made these Easter eggs that were essentially made out of confectioners sugar and melted chocolate chips.  Believe it or not, they were not a hit.

I feel like this PB ball might turn the tables for us though …

Have a wonderful weekend Y’all!

THRIFTY THURSDAY

Hey Team,

Happy Thursday.

Exciting news:  there’s a guest post coming up! This week’s Thrifty Thursday post is written by Kristina Ritter.  She’s a really great friend of mine, and is a really thrifty gal.  Kris has a really cute Bassett Hound named Sophie, a great sense of humor, a winning smile, and is always looking for ways to save a buck without losing out on the good stuff.

She’s super knowledgeable about money saving.  I also had no idea that Thrifty Thursday was so significant …  I’m going to hit my fave stores on Thursdays from now on.  Kris also just moved across the country to Port Hardy, BC, and is keeping folks at home up-to-date on her life with her blog The Strange Coast.

Check out Kristina’s advice on couponing (no, not the crazy TLC show kind of extreme couponing):

When Una asked me if I would like to guest post from time to time on her blog on the topic of Thrifty Thursdays...I was ecstatic!!  I love shopping, but I really love a good deal.

Now, Una having this topic on a Thursday is brilliant because most of us are unaware of the huge impact Thursdays have in the world. Let me explain...

Major grocery chains do their entire inventory on Wednesday nights in order to get ready for their big shipments coming in on Thursday mornings. This also explains why most weekly flyers that we get in our papers start on Thursdays.

This is true further up the ladder in big clothing retailers as well ... LULULEMON for one.

Specifically, they do their orders across Canada on Thursday mornings and do all the bargain rack markdowns on Thursdays. Not to mention their website is changed and refreshed every Thursday morning.

So Thursdays are more than just the last day before Friday :)

Now that my excitement for Thursdays has been explained, let’s move on to my main reason for the post this week...COUPONS!!!

I always have a coupon or two when I am doing my weekly grocery shopping because who doesn't love to save a couple pennies here and there? Coupons have recently become more readily available than they have been in the past because the big chain retailers have clued in that consumers are getting smarter and want more for their money.

Recently a friend of mine in Port Hardy introduced me to the world of extreme couponing.  She doesn't buy anything unless she has a coupon for it. In doing so she has saved major cheddar.

I have learned a couple tricks that I am going to share with you just because you are awesome:

1. Write a list of your favorite must-have products (Tide Cold Water, Febreeze, Bounce sheets, etc.), go online and Google those brands and find the customer service email. Once you’ve found the address, have a generic email prepared that you can just copy and paste. My email basically says, “Hello my name is Kris I love (insert product name) and I use it all the time. I find it is not usually on sale when I am refilling my stock and would like to know if (company name) has any coupons to keep me using (insert product name) sign Kris Ritter.” This will usually prompt a response from an automatic email stating they are happy with your commitment blah blah jargin and they are sending you some coupons in the mail .. they just need your mailing address.

2. Now, with regard to trick 1, the coupons I’m talking about are usually a bundle that allows you to redeem up to 8 -10 dollars. If you are trying to save some pennies, this is totally worth the time put into the emails. Trick number 2 is this ...go to your local grocery stores or Walmarts and talk to customer service before trying to use the coupons and make sure they allow all coupons to be used and if they allow stacking (stacking means you can use coupons from various retailer for one specific product). If the store refuses to give you coupon guidelines or wont allow stacking, I suggest you do not bother giving them a dime. There will always be a grocer that will want to give you what you want because they are getting back the money you spend with the coupons from those specific companies.

3. On to my final trick ....online forms. This sounds redundant but even typing in “coupons” and todays date on your browser can give you a list of results and areas that have coupons you can click and print. I usually search for coupon forms before I go down island to do a big grocery order. It’s helpful because it’s usually updated by very savvy couponers who want to share deals they just got as well as helpful advice if you are new to this and want to learn.

Just keep in mind while following my 3 tricks that this can be extremely overwhelming if you try to do your first haul at the store with all your coupons. So try breaking up your order and maybe do just house cleaners and toiletries your first time, for example. This way it is less stressful and you can conquer your first big coupon haul.

I hope this post will spark the interest of some readers and help them to become a little more demanding to the consumer world and to realize that you do have a say and you do deserve to make your penny stretch!!

Thanks for reading and until next time,

Kris

Say Wha?  I learned so many things with this post.  I can’t wait to get my coupon on.

Thanks so much Kristina!  You da Bomb!

Once again, Happy Thursday.

PS – do people still say “da bomb”? 

PPS – I made some serious pin trades over the past 24 hours .. I’m up to 6 countries now!

WISHFUL WEDNESDAY

Happy Hump Day, Everyone!

Today I like Wednesdays.

Today was a really fun day here in Guzman City, Mexico.  Usually, I don’t like to talk too much about paddling, but today I am really excited and have to share.

This morning I raced K-4 500m with Alexa Irvin, Kristin Gauthier, and Kathleen Fraser at the Pan American Games.  It was our first time racing together, and we won a gold medal!  I am so excited.  More excited than I thought I’d be, to be honest.  It was a really special moment.  The medals are so beautiful.  I feel very honored to have one.  We also got a little stuffed animal.  Isn’t that cute?

This is my first Pan American Games, and I am so thrilled to have been able to bring home a gold for Canada.  The atmosphere here is amazing, and the fans are incredibly excited and supportive.  It’s definitely a special place!

My great friend and teammate, Emilie Fournel also won her K-1 500m heat today with the fastest time of the day.  She is so speedy – you should see her in action.  Can’t wait to watch her throw down in the final.

The rest of our team has a lot of big racing throughout the week.  Most people are here trying to gain Olympic qualification spots for Canada.  So today my Wednesday wish goes out to the rest of Team Canada .. I wish the rest of the team the exact same result as our Canadian paddlers today!  Golds all around! Woohoo

We are in the white shirts.  Isn't the background beautiful?  That's a volcano!

KC, Me, Kristi, and Alexa

very very excited

PS – Today is also Emilie’s 25^th birthday so I would like to extend an extra special birthday wish her way!

PPS – I made 2 pin trades today with two different Venezualans – two of the same pin, but it totally still counts!

TRADING TUESDAY

Pins.  Pins, people! This is where the trading scene is headed.  Not really.  But really.

This is pretty unrelated to the paperclip, but sort of cool all the same.  It’s still about trading, so it counts.

Have you ever been to a sporting event, or a conference, or some other gathering where the big thing was pin trading?  It seems to be a major thing at multi-sport games (Canada Games and Pan Am Games, as far as I’ve seen), and in our bags of gear we were given about 20 different pins for trading. 

BTW, this is what I mean when I say pins:

yes I took this on photobooth .. and yes that is why all of the text is backwards

At first I thought this was sort of annoying and unnecessary.  I mean, I’ll never wear these pins again and I always seem to feel like clutter rules my life – I certainly don’t want to start a pin collection after this weekend.  Needless to say, I didn’t think I would really be in to the whole pin thing.

Almost immediately after I had finished making fun of pin trading, I had some advice passed my way from a good friend and past Pan Am Games athlete (the one and only V.T).  She said, “don’t be too cool for pins.”  Bam! … That was it.  Then I got it .. it’s not about the actual pins (you can totally get rid of them afterward if you want).  It’s about how you get the pins.  Each trade is a small introduction.  It’s a conversation either in hand gestures or words, it’s a smile and a new face to look out for, it’s encouragement and an excuse to meet new people.  This is cool.  Why on earth would I have thought I was too cool for pins?

My roommate Alexa and I, as well as our teammate Connor have engaged in a little friendly competition with regard to the number of pins each of us can trade.  I have no doubt that Connor will win the competition (he’s a social butterfly and is especially outgoing when it comes to international friends), but it’s still fun!

So far I’ve traded one pin with a very friendly Columbian athlete, and have given one away to a young grocery bagger.  I’ll keep you posted on my progress.

Happy Tuesday Team!

MONDAY MUSINGS

ARRRRIBA! I'm in Mexico.
We just arrived in Guzman City, Mexico for the Pan Am Games and it is pretty exciting.  New gear, new roomies, new course to paddle on, and really tricky closed-mouth showers.

This is actually a disclaimer for the week.  The net here is not-so-hot, so posting may be a bit spotty.  I'll try to get as much up as I can, but please bear with me!

Let's have a great week, Y'all.

Go Canada Go

FOOD-RELATED FRIDAY

TGIF Y’all!  Yay, weekend!

This post is coming to you a bit late in the day, but I have a good excuse.  No I don’t.  Yes I do.  I was busy stuffing my face with popcorn this afternoon at the new Footloose movie.  Yes I said Footloose.

See …

I love movie popcorn.  I think today I may have even made the claim that “movie popcorn makes the world go round.”  Maybe that was a bit much. 

I could eat movie popcorn every day.  Especially when it has a ton of that weird fake butter stuff on and in it. 

Isn't it weird how it's so different from any other kind of popcorn?  Nothing is as good .. you just can't re-create it.  I think all of the gals I saw the movie with admitted to sometimes going to the movies just for popcorn.  Don’t pretend you haven’t done it …

Here are my thoughts on seeing Footloose:  I need cowboy boots .. red ones.  I need to work on my dance moves.  School bus racing in dangerous.  Line dancing looks fun and easy, when it’s probably not. Ill-fitting prom dresses are not okay in any era.  Watching people who are good at dancing dance, makes you feel like you are good at dancing.  I love movie popcorn.  I’m glad I wore my loose jeans.  I have a belly-ache and am really thirsty.  But I still love popcorn!

Seeing any movies this weekend?  Take me with you!

Happy weekend!!

THRIFTY THURSDAY

Can you believe that it’s Thursday already?  I can’t.  It seems like Monday just happened.  Oh well, I’ll take it!  Upward and onward toward the weekend, I say!

Know what’s really thrifty?  Cheap sunglasses!

Sure, I own a few pairs of nice, semi-expensive sunnies and they’re great and everything, but let’s get real … it’s always fun to go to some crazy accessory store (like Ardene – ohh even thinking about that place overwhelms me) to buy 3 pairs for $10.  That way, you can choose trendy styles and bright colours without worrying about whether or not you’ll regret it later.  Lately I have been rocking a $10 pair of gold Aldo aviators, and not only do I not care about dropping/scratching them, I actually get a lot of compliments on them.

So where am I going with this?  You’ll see … eventually ..

Do you know Kia Byers?  If you don’t, you probably should.  She’s super cool, fun, generous, smart, nice, smiley, stylish, and all-around awesome.  Kia is a teammate of mine and is a serious 2012 Olympic hopeful for Canoe/Kayak.  Not to mention, she’s a total babe, and a fierce competitor, all in one.

see what I mean .. totally fierce

Did I mention that she’s smart?  Check out her main website here and her blog here.  You can catch up on her blog, check out photos and videos, and see what sorts of competitions she’s got coming up (Pan Am Games next week .. whoohoo).  You can also purchase a really awesome pair of limited edition Kia Byers sunglasses.  So cool .. I know, right!?

Kia came up with a genius idea to get the word out about her website, but also to help her cover her training costs.  She is selling each pair for only $5, and all of the money goes toward helping her buy a new paddle, boat, ipod, or outfit.  I’m obviously kidding about those last two – all proceeds go directly toward Kia’s paddling equipment.

Not only are they super thrifty at $5 a pop, they are fun colours, and have a super cool Wayfarer style.  They look an awful lot like these …

all the cool kids are doing it

I am so getting a pair. $5 is nothing.  It’s less than what you pay for a fancy coffee at Starbucks.

So .. looking for a cool stocking stuffer?  Need to protect your peepers?  Want to help out an athlete and look extra cool?  Get in touch with Kia about her sunglasses, or ask me to hook you up.  I’m happy to be a go-between.

WISHFUL WEDNESDAY

Happy Hump Day!

Let’s talk about boobs.  Well, not really … but sort of.

Most of you have probably seen an abundance of pink ribbons lately, and are conscious of the fact that October is Breast Cancer Awareness month.

Today my wish is that these statistics weren’t actually true:

• In 2008, breast cancer caused 458,503 deaths worldwide (13.7% of cancer deaths in women).

• Worldwide, breast cancer is the most common invasive cancer in women.

In 2011:

• An estimated 23,400 Canadian women will be diagnosed with breast cancer and 5,100 will die from it.

• Approximately 64 Canadian women will be diagnosed with breast cancer every day.

• 1 in 9 women is expected to develop breast cancer during her lifetime (age 90) and 1 in 28 will die from it.

It’s pretty startling isn’t it?

The good news is that a lot of breast cancer is treatable, if found and treated early enough.  That’s why education and awareness are so important.

Chances are that most of us, female or not, have already had an encounter (perhaps indirectly) with breast cancer at least once in our life.  A family member, a friend, a co-worker, an acquaintance, or friend’s family member.  Maybe you do the run for the cure each year, maybe you donate to research foundations when you can, maybe you try your best to buy “Pink” products, or maybe you just take extra care to get screened and stay informed.  Whatever you do, it’s important to be aware of the facts about breast cancer, the risks and preventative measures, and to offer support if you can.

Here is the link to the Breast Cancer Society of Canada’s website.  It is packed with information on breast cancer, screening, prevention, events and fundraisers, products, and research information.  It is also a place where you can donate directly to the cause, or shop around for products that support Breast Cancer Research.

Check it out if you have a minute.  I learned a lot just by spending 20 minutes there.

PS – Dalhousie University was just granted a $57, 475 award for Breast Cancer Research! Yay - go Dal!

TRADING TUESDAY – AN AMAZING TRADING SUCCESS STORY

I stumbled across this really cool project last night while wasting time on the web.  I’m so sad that it’s actually come to an end, and that I missed all the fun of watching it unfold.  I wish I had found this sooner.

Here’s the rundown … The Barter Babes Project is a Toronto-based undertaking in which a high profile, high rollin’ financial big shot (Shannon Simmons aka Barter Babe 1.0) left her job and decided to help women in her area feel more confident about their money issues.  Shannon set out to barter with 300 women over a year for financial advice.  She encouraged people to trade whatever they could, and in return, she would save them some serious cashola that they may have spent on a fancy pants advisor.

After a little less than 365 days, Shannon has successfully bartered with 310 women.  Isn’t that amazing?  Some of the transactions included:  a hand crocheted baby blanket, personal fitness training, canned goods, home cooked frozen meals, salsa lessons, tickets to Canada’s Wonderland, Blue Jays tickets, babysitting, spray paint, a Wii console, cooking lessons, a hunting lesson, many-a-yoga session, home made greeting cards, and an entire physics lesson.  SO COOL!  Click here to see the full list of Barter Babes who traded with Shannon.

After all is said and done, Shannon is going to start writing a book about her experience.  She is also waiting to hear back from a network to see if the project is going to be made in to a tv show.  Say what?   What an amazing idea and a great outcome.

I am totally inspired by Shannon’s success .. if only I was a fancy pants financial guru ….

Please trade with me … somebody … anybody ..

Happy Tuesday, Y’all

PS – the videos on the website are totally worth watching.  Here’s one where Shannon learns to cheerlead with the U of T cheerleading team.  I especially like the part where she tries to do the splits … that’s what I think I would look like.

MONDAY MUSINGS

My mom sent me this photo of the sign at TIBS a little while ago.  I think it’s so funny – I especially like the diagram.  Little things like this totally brighten my day and make Mondays more manageable.

FOOD-RELATED FRIDAY

Well folks, we’ve made it full circle.  This is the second Food-Related Friday, and I am still not going to give up talking about Thanksgiving.  I know, I know, it’s over and everyone has finished their leftovers and is probably actually really sick of turkey sandwiches and other leftovers by now (I have a friend who was so committed to her turkey leftovers that she ended up boiling down 3 batches of stock – isn’t that great?).  Luckily, this has nothing to do with turkey, so bear with me.

Remember that I mentioned there were a few unique, slightly non-traditional dishes at Thanksgiving?  Well this one actually turned out to be one of my favorites of the evening. 

One of the couples at dinner is vegetarian, meaning that turkey is a Thanksgiving no-go for them.  So to have an alternative main, they brought a dish of their own.  Pumpkin Parsley Risotto.  It was AMAZING.  So good.

I had no idea how much actual pumpkin comes out of a pumpkin.  Okay, that sounded strange.  What I mean is that I have no experience cooking with pumpkin, so I had no idea how much actual food is yielded from a single soccer ball-sized pumpkin.  Before Thanksgiving, Tom and I went to a dinner and the hosts were telling us that from a single pumpkin, they were able to make:  2 batches of soup, pumpkin muffins, a loaf of pumpkin bread, and roasted, salted seeds.  Say what?  That’s a lot of food.

That was a bit of off-topic rambling ... but I was just so surprised by the discovery.  Back to the risotto …

It was such a great combination of flavors and textures.  Rich pumpkin, fresh parsley .. mmmm.  I cannot wait to make this at home so I can eat as much of it as I want without stealing someone’s main course.

I’m told that the recipe came from a book produced by “Cranks”.  Check out the website for this place.  The photos look so good .. I bet the sandwiches are delicious.  I really hope that I can visit one day.

Cranks a U.K based vegetarian restaurant and catering company.  Some of the other recipes on the website look amazing – and they also encourage people to submit their own recipes, which I also think is really cool.  I really want to try their Homity Pies With a Twist.  They are heart-shaped … so cute.  I may also add their cookbook to my Christmas wish list. 

Unfortunately I can’t find the recipe for the Pumpkin Parsley Risotto online anywhere, but as soon as I’m home from Colorado, I’m going to steal it and post it.

Promise.

Happy Weekend, friends!

THRIFTY THURSDAY

Yesterday I didn’t get an aisle seat.  But it was all good in the end.  On the first flight I had a window seat with an empty middle and then on the second flight I had a window next to a friend that I hadn’t seen for awhile.  When we arrived in Colorado, we got to take a beautiful one-hour drive from Denver to Fort Collins with a special bus driver in an extra-special vehicle (complete with disco ball).  I felt like we all should have been in some kind of 70’s cross-country tour adventure movie.  It felt like a scene out of Almost Famous. Great travel day!

On to Thursday’s agenda .. money, money, money monaayyyy.

I like money.  I’d like to have more money.  I am not particularly great at keeping money in my pocket.

A few people suggested that Thursday be deemed “Thrifty Thursday” and should be used to talk about great deals, steals, and money saving techniques.  At first I was apprehensive about this because I am not an extra thrifty person.  Sure, I like a deal just as much as the next person but I’m not great at sniffing them out, and most of the time I don’t consider myself to be a bargain hunter.  Then I realized that I do have a few little tricks that I use to save money, but more importantly, I have a lot of friends who are amazing at deal finding.  I will be calling on them frequently to share.  Stay on your toes V.T and K.R.

One of my money/environment/clutter saving methods these days is not buying new books.  It sounds like a really small thing, but it is making a huge difference.

I’m not in school this year and I love to read novels.  Having extra time on my hands amounts to more novels read than usual.  If I were to buy a brand new book every time I wanted to read something, I might be running into a monthly book bill of $50 +.  Yikes.

When Tom and I moved in to our new apartment this summer and were unpacking all of our things, I realized how many books we have on our shelves that I have never read.  I have books that were given as gifts, books I bought and forgot about, free books (mainly classics) on my Kobo, and many of Tom’s books that I have never picked up.  My goal is to go through as many books as possible on our own shelves before I add new ones to them.  I am also really in to book swapping with friends.  It’s so nice to be able to trade books while traveling.  I also find that this new method is helping me find books that I may never have read if left to my own devices in a bookstore.  So far, so good.  I actually don’t remember the last time I went to Chapters to buy a book.

Of course there are still books that I would like to own, and to have on my shelf.  I will eventually buy these, but not all at once, and not just for the sake of having them.  I’m finding that I am more selective about which books I really want to own forever.

I am however sort of obsessed with the Penguin Clothbound Classics.  They are beautiful and I love them.  I try to limit my time spent on Amazon so I won’t be tempted.

So if you’re a book lover, and are also trying to save a bit of cash, maybe you can try reading books you already own, trading with a friend, or borrowing from a local library.

What are you reading right now?  Maybe we can swap later.

Here’s what’s on my night stand these days .. 

WISHFUL WEDNESDAY – AISLE SEAT

I am actually about to head to the airport (all my bags are packed, I’m ready to go … ).  Today I’m flying (along with many of my teammates) to an altitude training camp in Colorado, and then on to the Pan American Games in Mexico later this month.  That being said, my main Wednesday wish this week is for an aisle seat on the plane.  Or maybe an emergency exit … or maybe both.  Or maybe an upgrade to first class because Air Canada feels so badly that they might be going on strike soon … or maybe a private jet.  Okay, I’m getting crazy here.  An aisle seat and a soft-elbowed neighbour will do just fine.  Thanks.

Sigh.  Wednesdays.  Hump day.  Ugh.

I like to online browse when I feel like I can’t make it through the week.  Here are a few other things on my Fall wish list.  I have been obsessing over most of them for weeks.  What’s on yours?

Wish List

- This cape.  I LOVE IT!  I have actually been obsessed for over a year now.  I think I would wear it with long gloves and fun boots.

- A Bicycle.  Not just any bicycle though. A road bike.  All of my friends have them (said in a whiney “all the cool kids are doing it” kind of voice), and I really want to get one too.  It seems like such a fun way to exercise and see lots of different places.  Not to mention, get really toned legs.

- Halloween candy.  Too much Halloween candy.

- A fancy camera.  Everyone seems to have them these days, and I think I get it.  I really like the idea of having lovely, nice-looking photos of family, friends, and fun events.  Or selfies (that’s a joke .. don’t beat me up G.O).

- This coffee table.  Or anything from Anthropologie, really. 

Of course, this is just the short list.  Ha!

What gets you through Hump day?

TRADING TUESDAY

Hi Y’all,

It’s Tuesday.  I hope that you like Tuesdays and that you’re having a great one so far.  I don’t particularly love Tuesdays, but I certainly don’t have anything against them (not like those awful Mondays).  Hopefully by now we have all recovered from our turkey bellyaches and back-to-work/school/life blues.

Okay, do you remember when I used to trade things?  Me too .. those were the days ..

First there was a paperclip, then a Scrabble game, then a lovely blue coat, and now an abundance of baking goods.  I can only imagine what will come next ..

Let me refresh your memory as to what is up for grabs these days …

In short, there is: oven mitts, measuring spoons, a cake pan, a cupcake stand, a cool cupcake cookbook, and a mystery gift certificate to TIBS.

If you want the full story on each item, check out this old post.

FYI – I know it seems hopeless, but people really are interested in this stuff.  I have had quite a few offers, but none seemed to pan out, unfortunately.  One was even for bunnies (yes, real, live bunnies). 

I kid you not.

SO CUTE!

eeeeeeek! cute cute cute cute

Do you have something lying around that would make a good trade?  Let me know before I change my mind about the bunnies …

unalounder@gmail.com

MONDAY MUSINGS – TURKEY DAY TALK .. AGAIN

Happy Monday Y’all!

Canadian friends, how did you spend your Thanksgiving?  Do you do something special on the holiday Monday, are you having your feast tonight, or was it last night?  I spent most of my Sunday here:

It was so beautiful outside.  I can’t believe that it’s already mid-October.  It could be late August, judging by the weather.  Yesterday was the perfect combination of bright fall colors, sunshine, and warm temperatures.  I basically spent the entire day lounging outside, reading a book (which you may remember is one of my favorite past times) and then feasting in the evening (feasting is also among my favorite pastimes). 

All in all, a wonderful Thanksgiving. I love the smell of big turkey dinners in the making.  There’s something really amazing about the combination of pumpkin and apple pies, turkey, and root vegetables sharing an oven.  We had the fan favorites, but there were also a few unique dishes that were really great.  I’ll share all of the deliciousness with you on Friday!  Do you have a non-traditional dish that your family makes at Thanksgiving?  I guess if you always have it, then it would be traditional for you.  Tricky.

Here are some of the stats from the festivities:  3 Subarus in the driveway, 4 dogs, 2 cats, 1 baby, 1 turkey, 12 grownups, 5 veggie dishes, 4 pies, and 1 pot of tea.  Infinity smiles and 0 mishaps.

International friends, do you have a similar harvest-time holiday?  I love this time of year and I love holidays, so they are all fine by me.  In fact, maybe it would be nice for us to start celebrating a few more.  I’m all for celebrations.

Today I’m thankful for a wonderful, supportive, and loving family as well as amazing friends and loved ones who make everything worthwhile.

Happy Monday, Thanksgiving Day, Columbus Day, Harvest-time, October 10, or whatever suits you best! :)

PS – Did you know that October 10 is the birth date of:

Brett Favre, Mario Lopez, Dale Earnhardt Jr, Chris Pronger, and Winston Churchill?

It’s also the date of death for:

Christopher Reeve and Orson Welles, to name a few.

Wikipedia is an incredible thing.  Come to think of it, I’m also pretty thankful for the ease of information gathering these days.

FOOD-RELATED FRIDAY - THANKSGIVING

Hilarious, no?

I am so excited to kick off the first ever Food-related Friday with a post about .. you guessed it … Thanksgiving!

MMMmmmmm…

I haven’t been in Canada for the past few years during Canadian Thanksgiving, so you can imagine my excitement this year.  On Sunday night I will be participating in a wondrous Thanksgiving feast at Tom’s parent’s house.  I cannot wait.  I love food.  I love pie.  I love Turkey holidays.  I love pie… pumpkin pie.  Did I mention that I love pie?

I can never choose a favorite part of Thanksgiving dinner.  I love eating until I’m uncomfortable really full, turkey, wine, stuffing, rolls, pie, and spending quality time with family and friends.

What’s your favorite part?  If I had to choose, I think I’d end up picking stuffing .. nooooo .. pie.  No, stuffing. No, pie.  Stuffing.  Pie.  Stuffing.

I have a lot to be thankful for and I will definitely take a few moments to think about it this weekend.  Happy Thanksgiving to all!

Gobble.

A NEW LOOK FOR THE PAPERCLIP

Check out the new look!  Did you even notice?  I’m so-so on it at the moment, but I’m all for change these days.  They seem to have all of these new fancy layouts/backgrounds so I thought I’d try it out.  Maybe I’ll switch it up every so often to keep things interesting.  What do you think? Let me know.

I’ve been thinking a lot about the poor neglected paperclip blog these days.  I concluded that thus far, I have failed the project.  That being said, I do have a few ideas on how to spice things up a little.  Please tell me what you think.  If you hate it .. say so!

Here’s the plan: a weekly schedule. 

Okay, after typing that out, I realize how lame it sounds.  Fear not.  It will be cool ... I think.

In an attempt to add a little consistency, keep me on my toes, keep us all entertained, and most importantly to be a tiny bit more like the coolest person on the net (that may be an overstatement, but along with many of my friends; I’m obsessed), Jo, I will try to follow a weekly format for a little while.

I propose that each day of the (work) week have a theme.  I tried to think of things that I (and most of my nearest and dearest) love to chat about.  This way you’ll know what to expect, I’ll have a little bit of direction, and we can all settle into a comfy little routine.

Here’s what I have in mind so far:

MONDAY MUSINGS

Mondays will be for randomness and serious cases of the Mondays.  I’m thinking.. mostly trivial, and usually haphazard posts inspired by my lack of focus, and (hopefully) suggestions from you.  Maybe a little chat about what we all did over the weekend, maybe there’s a really funny picture that needs sharing, maybe I bought a new book and feel the need to share, or maybe I just really want to talk about how effing cold it’s becoming outside.  Who knows .. maybe I’ll even have something of substance to say once in awhile.

TRADING TUESDAYS

I’ll keep y’all up-to-date on what’s happening on the trading front.  Despite popular belief, I do plan to keep the project going and one happy day, I will trade the baking supplies.

WISHFUL WEDNESDAYS

Let’s get over hump day by talking about things we don’t/can’t have.  Sigh.  What do you wish for?  Where do you wish you could go?  I for example, wish that I didn’t need to wear a hat outside today and that I could throw on my flip-flops once again.  Sigh again.

??? THURSDAY ???

People!  I am at a total loss.  Help me out here.  I can’t think of any good Thursday ideas.  When I look through my dictionary for “th” words, these are the ones that pop out at me:  therapeutic, thermal, thicket, thrice, thrift, and thyme.  I know, not exactly blog post material.  Please help me!

FOOD-RELATED FRIDAYS

I love food.  That’s about it.  Let’s share about recipes, kitchen gadgets, mature dinner parties, and not-so-mature dinner parties.

I’ve decided to leave out Saturday and Sunday because I know that you are all incredible little social butterflies and will have way too many things on the go to check in.  I also like to reserve Sundays for personal list making and tea drinking.

The main point of this whole facelift is to get a bit more traffic going through thelittleredpaperclip and to remind everyone that I am still open for trading.  Maybe the more you check in, the more you will start to realize that you really do need a new cupcake recipe book and have something amazing to trade for it!

Please let me know what you think.  Please trade with me.

Comment here, hit me on FB, or send an email my way at unalounder@gmail.com

THINGS I LOVE ABOUT WHERE I’M FROM: HOME

Better late than never, right?  I totally forgot that I failed to post the last (and most important) reason that I love where I’m from.  Bad Una!

Simply put, I love where I’m from because it’s my home.  It’s where my amazing family is, where my lovely friends are (well, for the most part anyway – a lot of them seem to be up and leaving to be grownups out west), and where I always feel like I belong.  I love going back to Dartmouth because it always makes me smile.  

This is my home .. I love it!

This is my dad (affectionately known as Bean) doin' his thang on the Q'

Couldn't ask for better weather, food, or friends

This is my mom partaking in one of my most favorite past times .. lounging