OneStory.com – A fresh approach to storytell...

What’s your story?  Whose story would you love to capture? I sometimes refer to writing as storytelling.  We all have stories, don’t we?  How we came to be who we are today, the paths we have chosen, the decisions we made along the way.  When I meet someone new, and feel a connection to them, I always want to know their stories. I’m curious, and I like knowing how people think. I want to know what they...

The Sobeys West Tastes of the World Contest

So I’m thinking about Italy…mind wandering, daydreaming, armchair travel – call it what you want, I’m lost in it. More specifically, I’m thinking about the food I would love to enjoy in Italy. Honestly, I would pretty much go anywhere with anyone to eat something interesting or amazing (street meat or lobster mashed potatoes at midnight in NYC, I’m looking at you), but really swoon-worthy...

What I want on my plate in spring…

Anyone else feel like they are craving different foods as the weather warms? I absolutely am. Early in the winter I crave big plates of warmth, lots of comfort foods, and rich flavours. I tolerate heavier foods in November and December as I get used to the cold weather and look forward to holidays. But as spring tempts me, and a more active lifestyle beckons, I need lighter food! Which means more vegetables, more greens...

Waiting for Easter…with Kinder Canada

Easter brings much excitement to our house as our kids start asking how many days until the Easter bunny will visit.  Suddenly they start remembering details from the years before, and they start getting wiggly about it.  And each day we discuss the details as they remember all we like to do at this time of year. Around these parts, the Easter bunny visits while the kids are fast asleep, filling baskets with treats and...

KINDER Canada, Hot Wheels and Barbie team up

There’s been a new excitement buzzing around our kitchen table lately.  My kids have discovered the latest in KINDER® SURPRISE® fun – eggs that hold surprises from Barbie and Hot Wheels!  Let’s just say they jumped out of their chairs to choose their eggs the day I opened the package. It’s been great fun seeing the new selection of toys, and they’re having fun playing with their new...

Giving (and giving back) with Fisher-Price

One of my favourite partnerships this year has been the opportunity to work with Fisher-Price. Yes, the company behind the same toys we all played with as kids are still a leading name in children’s toys today.  I love that I have such long ago memories of their toys, and that I have bought them over the years as baby gifts and for my own children – and today, that they are still coming out with toys that get my...

2012 Giving Guide – Kids and Kinder Canada

I’m wrapping up four weeks of giving posts (did you catch my 2012 Ultimate Giving Guide, along with part two, and part three this year?)  This week I want to talk about all the ways we can encourage our children to help and give at this time of year. We often take the youngest in our families for granted when it comes to charitable giving, but impressions are made early on in our children’s lives.  They take...

Making a list, checking it twice with Fisher-Price

Do you write a Christmas list?  I always do.  Oh, come on, if you’ve met me, you’ll know I make lists for all kinds of things, so of course during the holidays I keep lists going.  Things to do, things to buy for what we need at home, and most importantly, a Christmas list. If your Christmas list looks like mine, there are kids’ names right at the top, and they take centre stage.  I love to buy for my...

Introducing the 2013 Kinder Surprise toy collectio...

There’s some excitement around the house lately – happy to announce that I am once again partnering with Kinder Canada to share the fun we have with these treats in our home. What do Kinder eggs mean in your house?  Mine represent a few precious moments of quiet and togetherness after dinner.  Time to breathe, tidy up, set the kitchen to rights (or finish my own dinner…let’s face it, sometimes they...

Shop, save and celebrate with Fisher-Price!

If you’d have asked me last week, I’d have said I’m not ready to talk about holiday shopping of ANY kind.  It’s just how I’m wired.  But I am sitting under about a foot of snow, with a few more flakes to fall and suddenly it’s very easy to believe we are well into November. But the reality is, I’m shopping all through the fall, and often I’m choosing a few items and mentally...