I am SO PROUD of my family!

I just found out that my uncle who is a captain for Air Canada volunteered his time off the clock to fly a relief jet down to Port-au-Prince filled with supplies and support workers. On the way back they brought home sick and injured Canadians. His flight was the first non-military aircraft allowed to land.

Here is the email I received from my aunt:

Hey guys Uncle was on the CTV news last night!  Uncle took a volunteer group for Disaster relief to Haiti yesterday.  He flew the Air Canada plane out of Montreal at 6:00 am yesterday with armed police guards, nurses, doctors, medical supplies and a bag of $90,000 in his hand just in case they got into trouble and he needed to buy something.

There was no control tower so I am not sure how he landed but he said he was almost hit by a plane while they were sitting on the ramp.  He was way past the legal time to fly but he waited at the airport until they collected as many sick and injured people as possible to take back with them to Canada.

He arrived in Montreal last night close to midnight, absolutely exhausted!  Before he left (we got the call just the night before) so in the morning we contacted various people in our town who needed to get medical supplies to their contacts in Haiti.  He met a lady who ran to the drug store in town and cleaned them out, wrapped up the supplies and gave him this huge box to take with him on the plane.  When he went through security they didn’t want to let him go so he demanded to see the manager and the manager just waved him through without even looking at the box.  No rules apply when you are in the middle of a disaster!

He had to have armed guards to protect him and the plane because of the unrest and violence in the country.  Air Canada wanted that plane back!!

He told me he saw things he couldn’t even put into words.  He should be arriving home any time now and I can’t wait to hear his stories.

It was so cool seeing him interviewed on the CTV news though!  He looked so professional…not the funny Uncle that we know.  But most importantly he made it home safely!!  I just got a call from Air Canada and they want to debrief with him re: the flight.  They are planning another one and they want him to do it again…you know once is enough.  He’s home safe now and it was exciting and everything but I don’t really want him going back again…

We are glad to have him back. I had no idea that he would be doing this! I scooped some photos that he took while there (below). I don’t think they let him leave the airport (or possibly even the plane) for safety reasons. I never realized how valuable and at risk my uncle could be!

I’m going to email him and see if he has any stories to tell.

If you would like to help the Haitians, these are the two major organizations you can donate to:

DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS / MÉDECINS SANS FRONTIÈRES (MSF) – CANADA

Canadian Red Cross

I just had to share with you the awesomeness that is my feet:

Don't mess with these babies

I went to my favourite spa that happens to be South African this weekend for a charity function. A couple of tickets got you a polish change so I opted for their signature look and let the girl “go wild”!

I think all my pedicures will be this awesome from now on. I’ve got to find those little nailpolishes with the fine tips so I can do this at home!

Next time I’m going with jaguar spots

I have something to confess:

• Fire up your frying pan and start cooking the sausage. Leave some space in the pan for the egg to be added later.
• Meanwhile, whisk your egg, salt & pepper together in a small bowl with a fork (this is the scrambled part!) and pop your english muffin sides into the toaster.
• By the time you get that done, check on the meat–if it looks like it’s almost ready, throw your egg on. I tried using a cookie cutter, small round pan, etc. to make a perfect egg round, but it just didn’t work. So I tilt the skillet towards me and drop the egg goo there. It sort of pools in a crescent shape.
• Once it’s cooked a little bit I just poke & shove the egg around on the skillet with my spatula until it looks like an english muffin-sized blob, and I let it cook.
• Once your muffins are done, butter them, put the cheese on and add your cooked egg & sausage. Top with ketchup and begin salivating!

Not gonna lie, blogging life is pretty sweet right now!

I’m at my parents’ place right now where they’ve been holding onto all the awesome deliveries for me for the past 2 weeks, and boy! What a haul!

Keeping in mind that it’s not like this all the time for me, there has been a flurry of PR activity out there and I am the happy recipient of the PR people’s bounty.

Behold!

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder

The people at Revlon sent me some fantastic false eyelashes to try. I am totally stoked about this. I have never actually tried on false eyelashes, but I was thinking about getting a pair to wear for Halloween with my various costumes (BTW I love love LOVE Halloween and all of October!!)

So yeah, perfect timing! They sent me 5 pairs of their Revlon Fantasy Lengths glue on eyelashes. Some are self-adhesive and some came with a little tube of glue. I CANNOT WAIT to try them out!

Oh… does anyone know if you can re-use false eyelashes, and/or have any application tips for me?

Bronzed is better

Ok, this isn’t exactly related to my blogging abilities, but it still counts as PR!

I won one of 50 L’Oreal Sublime Bronze Bronzing lotions from BeautyEditor.ca! This will be a great way to keep the ghost look away this winter without subjecting myself to cancer in the tanning beds. (I used to tan a tiny bit in the winter, but now that I’ve read that report I think I’ll stick to lotions instead!).

Eco-Conscious shopping

I got a fab new reusable bag from a Canadian designer called MyBag. I picked out a beautiful design and they sent me one to review! I’ll be able to compare it to both the Envirosax and RuMe bags. Yippee!

Stay tuned for a review!

Feed your mind

My dear southern friend Phil Villarreal sent me a special signed copy of his new book Secrets of a Stingy Scoundrel. I’m almost done reading the promo copy of it and am going to do a bang-up review shortly!

It’s so cool when a fellow blogger gets published but still keeps posting like a normal person and not one of those folks who “make it big” and only ever post to welcome new readers and to sell their books (Phil, if you ever do this I will come down to Arizona and smack you myself!) so I am delighted to get my very own signed copy!

Another review to stay tuned for!

Give your skin a drink!

The good people at Vaseline heard my cries for moisture! Moisture! For my poor, dry skin. I’m slowly coming off the Accutane but my skin is still dry and delicate, and now that winter is coming it is doubly important that I stay moisturized.

I received a lovely package of three of Vaseline’s new Sheer Infusion moisturizers to test drive. Again with the perfect timing I am almost out of my regular cream! I am definitely glad that these came when they did. Maybe I’ll give them a shot after my next shower?

So yeah. When it rains, it pours! Getting all these products for free is great since it means I don’t have to pay for them… but I really wish I could figure out how to make money off this darn blog! LOL

To any other PR companies out there: Wanna help me spread the love? I’m always on the lookout for great prizes to give away to my readers! Call me!

Check this out!

My worlds are colliding, man!

It’s a KITTY CAT PIGGY BANK.

My love of cats + money in one!

It’s only 8 bucks on the Animal Rescue Shop, too! I think I may have to get one!

The best part is that for every purchase on this site, food is donated to animals in need. I am totally on board with that. I really like this site, too. Sure, there’s lots of tacky stuff, but for every 2 tacky things there is at least one super cute thing, too.

OOOOHHH! I think I just saw plant pots! Time for me to go!

Yesterday was a pretty cool day for me! It was the culmination of a bunch of neat things and goings-on over the weekend.

Inspired by my weekend, here are some Things I’m Digging:

Secrets of a Stingy Scoundrel: 100 Dirty Little Money-Grubbing Secrets by my bud Phil Villareal. He sent me a copy of this new book to review and I finally got it! I’m so excited to check it out–it’s even got that new book smell!

So far it looks promising… my dad remarked that our family already does a lot of the stuff in the book… I’m still trying to figure out whether that’s good or bad!

A full review is coming soon, but if you want your own copy, please click on the title and get it through Amazon so I can get a teeny tiny commission! Thanks!

Ben & Jerry’s “If I Had A Million Flavours” ice cream. This is a special Canadian recipe inspired by our very own Barenaked Ladies! And it is TO. DIE. FOR.

I am eating it as I type because I can’t bear to part with it. I’ve been looking for this flavour since I saw it in the news somewhere. Best $6 I ever spent on ice cream… it’s got all my fave choco-candies in it and is just the right amount of OMG death by chocolate. I can’t decide whether I like the chocolate covered toffee chips or the peanut butter cups better. I also love the fact that they spelled the word “flavours” properly with a Canadian “u” in there! FTW!

I am in love. Go forth to your dairy case and purchase, my friends! You won’t be disappointed! (though your keyboard might get sticky. Oops)

My new Sunrise alarm clock by BioBrite. I bought this puppy a while ago and had it shipped to my aunt in NJ since they won’t ship to Canada… and I just got it now! I am SO excited!

Actually, that’s a bad thing! I set it up last night and did the sundown sequence to help me get to sleep, but instead I kept peeking at it to see if it really DID mimic the sunset (it did!) instead of going to sleep…. oops.

The idea behind these sunrise clocks is that they mimic the light of a natural sunrise so your body can wake up gently rather than being jarred awake by the hellish BEEP!BEEP!MuthafugginBEEP!!! of your standard alarmclock.

I think its going to take some getting used to, but hopefully it will help me get up easier in the dark & dreary mornings of winter!

There’s a snapshot of some of the things I’m into right now! I’ve got a whole ton more but figured 3 was a good round number

What cool things are YOU digging right now?

***WIN a custom-made silver ring!***

Click here for contest details & to enter! I am accepting submissions until Sunday, September 13, so hurry up!

This was my city last night

We had an incredible, massive storm hit the GTA last night. I knew it was a big one but I didn’t realize just how epic it was until I started hearing the news reports this morning.

It all began around 7pm last night. The sky was dark-a heavy darkness. I have the weather sense so I knew a big storm was coming, but I’m pretty sure even less sensitive people could tell. It was quite ominous.

Luckily I made it home and was able to eat supper before it hit.

I was chatting with a friend online, when suddenly the sound of heavy rain and wind began. I ran to the window to watch the show, and I wasn’t disappointed. Toronto does not get hurricanes or tornadoes or any type of extreme weather, really. But from footage I have seen in the past it looked like some crazy hurricane was outside!

The wind was blowing with intense strength, pushing the torrential rain in all directions and causing it to look white, just like wave crests in the ocean. Lightning was flashing–LOTS of lightning! It was literally non-stop! It was really unusual, but so cool to observe.

There were some people caught out in the rain (this happened all at the drop of a hat) and I could hear them squealing with fright as the storm passed over us; I think they were able to find shelter; I HOPE they did. I love storms and wouldn’t even go out in that one.

This storm… I just watched in awe. This one was different from any regular storm we have had in this area. So fierce, so intense, and over so quickly, but with lasting effects. Below is a video of an actual tornado that touched down in Vaughan, which is just northeast of the city. I couldn’t believe it!

A few minutes into the storm, I assume the numerous lightning bolts hit a tree which fell on a line in our neighbourhood, our power was cut and we were cast into darkness. I didn’t worry too much, Hydro is usually able to get the power on within an hour or so.

But not this time.

This is probably where the storm affected me the most–my power was cut until the morning. I’ve mentioned before how hot my apartment gets (its basically the attic of a big house so it retains heat like no other) and without my paltry AC nor a single fan to move the air, the heat became almost unbearable.

My only source of light was a few scented candles I had kicking around, which quickly produced even more heat. I was not a happy camper.

I tried sitting outside to cool down, but it was way too buggy, so I resigned myself to suffering in the heat. I took a quick cold shower then laid in my bed and just listened to music, then finally tried getting some sleep.

The weird part is that when I woke up this morning, I had a vague memory of the power coming on…but for some reason there was all kinds of crazy happening in my room. I think the heat (combined with my normal sleeping pills) affected me so badly that I was sleepwalking!

Get this: I woke up with a bunch of towels randomly strewn across my bed and room. They were old red towels I had stored away. My regular towels are brown. Where the hell did the red ones come from, and why are they all over the place!?!?!

I also went to sleep at one end of the bed and woke up on another???

And woke up to see my clock (which died when the power went out, it has no batteries) set with the correct time, and my desk fan pointed at me??

What the hell???????

What did I DO last night? I am afraid to go home tonight and find something like my pillow in the oven or my houseplant hanging from the ceiling. I have no recollection of any of the weird shit that happened last night.

I don’t know whether to be scared or amused by this. Right now I’m mostly amused.

But man, I’ve got one hell of a headache. I can’t take many more sleepless nights or I’m going to go stark raving mad. Maybe I’ll run around nekkid, next time?

*Photo & video credits to BlogTO

I love the show Mad Men. I love it because its entertaining and dramatic, and also shows what it was like working in an ad agency in the 60s.

I also love it because not a ton has changed since then!

Men are still paid more (I don’t love this part so much), people are relatively stylish, clients are still tough to work with and we still drink in our office.

So when I found out via FB that you could make a Mad Men-style avatar of yourself, I was totally stoked!

This was so much fun, and I love that my character actually looks like me! When I go out after work to a martini bar, sometimes I actually dress the same way my character does, including the red lipstick and hair! lol

Here’s what I will be using as my avatar from now on:

With a resurgence of interest in retro-styling and all things ’50s, a lot of the lounges and bars are starting to recreate the look, so below is pretty accurate, too!

It’s just so cool.

Have you Mad Men’d yourself yet?

“Gin-cident”: a negative experience with gin; usually as a result of inferior juniper berries used in the production of gin. Or by being a stupid teenager.

I’ve had one, and I’ll bet you’ve had one too.

I’ll admit it; a few weeks ago, I did not have a very good opinion of gin. I thought it tasted a lot like pinecones and made me want to yak. I was the victim of a gincident. So when I opened up my inbox to find an invitation to an exclusive Bombay Sapphire Gin event from their PR agency, I was a little skeptical.

However I like to think that I have an open mind, so I accepted the invitation in the hopes that I had matured enough to appreciate the unique flavour of this spirit. I love exploring alcohol and had done a tasting and review of Ketel One Vodka in the months previous; I was ready for another round. (Note to PR companies: Send me stuff or invite me out! You won’t be disappointed!)

The venue was the very well-appointed childhood home of Ted Rogers Sr., inventor of the Rogers Batteryless and founder of the Toronto radio station CFRB. We were treated to a variety of gin-based cocktails and tasty hors d’oeuvres by some friendly waitstaff as we mingled in the kitchen and backyard.

I brought my new friend Eve with me to this event, in an effort to bond with her over copious amounts of booze and also to introduce her to that glamourous ad world/blogger lifestyle I like to brag about so much (needless to say she was suitably impressed! hehe).

Once for a change I didn’t know anyone at this event, so I was able to start fresh and maintain my blogger anonymity! Errr… rather just keep my work life a social life separate, I suppose. Eve and I mostly stuck together that evening, but I made friends with the British mixologist and brand ambassador Merlin Griffiths, whom I had previously arranged via Twitter to do a cocktail demonstration with that evening. (That’s right! Ginger gettin’ up there and all famous in the house!)

Long story short, I sampled most of the cocktails on offer, which included my namesake, my favourite of the night, and the always-classy:

• Sapphire Ginger-Mint
• Sapphire (Tom) Collins
• Gin Martini

About an hour into the event we were ushered into the totally dope kitchen area for some cocktail-creation demonstrations, as well as some tips and tricks from a professional caterer on how to entertain at home.

First on the menu: Ginger & Merlin demonstrating the art of the Sapphire Collins! Yes my friends, I got up there like the attention whore I am and showed the world how to do it right, with Merlin guiding me along. I even squeezed the lemon myself! (The photo is Merlin showing us the right and wrong way of making a gin martini)

Ginger presents:

Ha! You thought you’d actually see me, eh? Maybe in the future, but not this time, my friends! however that is a great little instructional video I will be using to jog my memory for all the BBQ’s I’m going to host this summer…

Anyway, the night went along swimmingly with the help of some more Sapphire Collins’ and the good company of my fellow Toronto bloggers. We learned how to make a bunch of drinks that night, as well as a few cool centrepieces and quick meals for dinner parties. Below you’ll see a half-eaten (so classy, I know) charcuterie plate and a delicious Sapphire Collins.

I think by this point you’ve realized that I have started to actually enjoy gin–when applied properly, of course! I’m really glad I got out to this event; not only did I have a great time with Eve, I also learned a lot about gin and met some of the local Toronto bloggers! Bombay Sapphire gin is definitely on my list for booze-I-need-to-purchase, especially now that I know how to use it. And because it has cool “botanicals” in it (top photo). I like herb-y things!

I was a bit of the odd-man-out however, as I did not possess any business cards! Anyone wanna hook me up with some of those free ones uPrinting.com has been giving away? If I keep going to more of these events I might as well advertise my site, right? It’s a bit weird mingling In Real Life though, I’ve got to admit! I’m not sure how I feel about people who have actually met me reading this blog… none of my friends or family know where it is or what I write about!

Speaking of other bloggers, I would like to thank Andrew Louis of Hyfen.net and Raymi of Raymitheminx.com for use of their photos! I meant to bring my camera but forgot at the last minute!

As an end to the night and an end to this post, Eve and I stayed and socialized with ppl until the bitter end, they were practically kicking us out, but it wasn’t even 9pm yet! We scored some killer loot bags and a couple of cab chits on our way out, so I chilled at Eve’s place a bit before heading home. I still haven’t broken out my mad cocktail-making skillz yet, but rest assured they will be well-used in the coming summer months!

Here’s a peek of what we got that will leave you salivating:

If you wanna learn some stuff about Bombay Sapphire Gin or how to make some great gin cocktails, here are some resources for you:

• Bombay Sapphire Website
• Bombay Sapphire YouTube vids
• Bombay Sapphire FaceBook page

Drink responsibly, dammit!