Black Friday Starting Today - Beat the Crowds (Chapters/Indigo: Christmas decor, Stocking Stuffers, Hostess gifts and more)

My intention is to try to beat tomorrow's crowds by taking advantage of Black Friday deals today.  I am sure everyone is slowly finding out that most stores are starting their sales today so I am not sure if my plan will work, but I will try!  If not, I will focus my shopping online - with a nice hot coco perhaps.

Check out these deals at Chapters/Indigo. Click here for a full list.

They claim this is their best Black Friday sale ever and I believe it because the deals seems pretty good. I still have some Christmas Décor I would like to purchase so I am excited to see that all their Holiday décor is 40% starting today.  Their 25% off toy sale starts tomorrow.

Via Indigo

 Perfect hostess gift.

Via Indigo

Best place for cute and fun Stocking Stuffers (and small gift exchange items)

Via Indigo

Gag Gift - Stocking Stuffer

I had so much fun today looking through a bunch of Propaganda mugs (click here to see).  They made me laugh and I couldn't help but purchase this one.

Mr. P Lick - Via Propaganda

At first I thought it was dirty but then my cousin pointed out that it's a fake stain.  I laughed so much!  My husband had the same grossed out reaction when he saw it and then realized what it was and laughed as well. I can't wait to use it in the morning and start my day laughing at how silly it is (the little things that make our day!).

Propaganda is a Danish company.  They have a large collection of silly mugs and other fun items.  Click here for their website.

I found some of their mugs on Amazon.com and Kookik.com.

Mr. P Kiss - Via Amazon.com

Mr. P Thai Massage - Via Amazon.com

Guess What - Via Kookik.com

Mr. P Valentine - Via Kookik.com

Mr. P Boomerang - Via Kookik.com

These make a great gift that will put a smile on anyone's face every morning! Great way to start the day.

West Elm is in town!

I had to share a little secret I discovered late last summer...West Elm is now in Montreal! I call it my secret because it does not seem that many people are aware that they opened their first store in the province this year.

Montreal store via West Elm

I went by a while back and I am crazy for their collection...Some of their larger furniture pieces are a little too traditional for me but I love their mix of modern, clean & sleek accessories with their twist of ethnic & organic pieces. There is so much to fall in love with!

I thought I would post my top 5 West Elm gifts for the holidays as well as my top 5 favourite West Elm pieces for the home on my wish list this year!


TOP 5 GIFTS

GIFT FOR HER: Mosaic triangles jewelry box via West Elm

GIFT FOR HIM: Moscow mule copper mug via West Elm

HOSTESS GIFT: Diffuser via West Elm

GIFT FOR THE JET SETTER: Travel Kit via West Elm

HOUSE WARMING GIFT: Modernist bowls via West Elm

MY TOP 5 FAVOURITE PIECES:

Chevron tile wall mirror via West Elm

Onyx flatware via West Elm

Various gallery frames via West Elm

Carved wood coffee table via West Elm

Souk wool rug via West Elm

You should definitely drop by and have a look! The staff is super friendly and the vybe is so laid back!

Home Sense - Storage Boxes as Gift Boxes

As you know, I LOVE Home Sense.  I love the variety, especially when I shop for my home.  I used to hesitate, however, when buying gifts from there because almost nothing comes with a box.  If I did buy a gift it would never include anything breakable.  I used a basket from Home Sense to put all the items in.  The package looked great all wrapped up in cellophane and tied with a nice bow.

But recently, I'm all about the boxes.  It seems like lately Home Sense is carrying more storage boxes and I've started to use them when giving a gift that is breakable.

The other day I had two house warming visits and placed the items in a storage box and made it into a gift box.

The bonus is that the box is also part of the gift as it can be used for storage purposes. I chose the colours of the boxes to suit the colours of the home I was visiting.

Since I am talking about Home Sense, I thought I would share that they have a Holiday site.  Click here to check out great ideas for gifts, decor, gift wrapping and much more.

A Hostess Gift Perfect for a Fall Gathering

My perfect evening on a cold fall night usually includes some wine and cheese.  So if I'm hosting there would definitely be not only cheese, but baked warm cheese, preferably Brie.

The most common gift a hostess gets in my circle of friends and family is a bottle of wine.  Some bring the bottle of wine with a dessert and most hostesses end up with way too many desserts!  In my household, it's not a good thing because I'm usually the one who ends up eating those desserts.  So here is an alternative.

Last week I was at Think Kitchen, a nice houseware and kitchenware store in my area and I saw these great Brie baking dishes by Gourmet du Village.

Via Gourmet du Village

Via Gourmet du Village

Via Gourmet du Village

Via Gourmet du Village

Via Gourmet du Village

These make wonderful fall gathering hostess gifts, accompanied or not, with a bottle of wine.  I love Brie, and I love baked Brie especially as a fall/winter appetizer and I would love to receive any of the above dishes. They come in such a nice variety of colour, in different sizes, and are very reasonably priced.

 An option to consider for your next dinner outing at a friend's house!

Honest Products - Jessica Alba

To be honest (no pun intended) I had never been a person who worries about ingredients in a product. When it came to food I generally ate a balanced diet (and still do) and when it came to the products I use I tried to be as diligent as I could be about not purchasing products that are unhealthy or toxic.  This is mostly because I've always found it difficult to follow what is good for you and what is bad, one day milk is bad the other milk is good, one day the trend is flax seed, the next it is Greek yogurt.  Have you ever read Woman's World magazine or watched Dr. Oz? If so, do you find it hard to keep up with the different nutritional and health recommendations?  I certainly do.  That being said, after becoming a mother, I've tried to make more of an effort to lead a "non-toxic life", although I still find it challenging.

After a recent conversation with my husband and some friends about certain studies saying most sunscreen have toxic products in them I remembered an interview I saw on Ellen with Jessica Alba in which she spoke of her "Honest" products which are supposed to be natural, non-toxic, etc.  I went on her site and was surprised to see the variety of products.  The reviews are great, so we placed an order.  Unfortunately, they don't ship to Canada so we placed a large order to test many of products.   We received the packages yesterday and are looking forward to start using them.  Here are some of the products we purchased.  I will let you know as I use them what I think of each:

Shampoo & Body Wash

Via The Honest Co.

Sunscreen

Via The Honest Co.

Bubble Bath

Via The Honest Co.

 Bug Spray

Via The Honest Co.

Dish Soap

Via The Honest Co.

Dishwasher Pods

Via The Honest Co.

Bathroom Cleaner

Via The Honest Co.

Toilet Cleaner

Via The Honest Co.

Honest even offers some gift ideas:

Housewarming collection

Via The Honest Co.

New Baby Arrival Collection

Via The Honest Co.

Pampering Collection

Via The Honest Co.

Happy Belated Canada Day - A Gift for the Hostess

Happy Belated Birthday Canada! or as my son would say "Happy to you"

We had such a lovely day on Canada Day.  I just love how Canada's capital is filled with people on July 1st.  It is the only day we see so much activity in town and so much patriotism.  My favourite part - the flyby by Canada's Snowbirds.  Absolutely amazing!!

Via Forces

In the afternoon we attended an annual BBQ at a friend's house and I put together a hostess gift suitable for a BBQ with a Canada Day colour theme.  Thanks to Winners I got these items last minute and was able to put a nice package together.

Every hostess should have a beverage dispenser.  So fun, especially for outdoor gatherings.  So I got the hostess this beverage dispenser from Winners.

Amazon

I also got her this beverage.  The flavour sounded good (pomegranate blueberry lemonade) and I really liked the bottle as perhaps something that could be used after the beverage is done.  Plus it was red and perfect for the Canada Day theme.

Via Euro Bubblies

I stuffed the dispenser with red mesh and slid the bottle into it so that it holds.  I held the dispenser's lid with tape at its opening and secured with the bottle and then wrapped it all with cellophane.  It looked great.  I took an extra bottle of the beverage with me to the BBQ as one would be done fairly quickly.

Here is how it looked (not the greatest picture, I know...but my son misplaced by USB key that connects the camera to the computer so this is the only picture I have that I can upload for now).

Hostess Gift - Fruits & Passion - Big Sale

Scents fascinate me.  I can't believe how certain ones bring back memories.  They really have a way of transporting me in time for a short moment.  This is how I feel about the Cucina Coriander and Olive Tree Fruits and Passion kitchen products.  For some reason the scent each and every time I wash my hands, wash the dishes or use the cream, gives me a flash back of times I spent in my grandmother's kitchen.  I just love it!  These were good times and I love to relive them.

I received my first set of dish soap and hand soap as a hostess gift a few years back (thanks Anna!).  I have been addicted since and have bought them for others.  These products are now on sale so I am definitely going to stock up for myself and can think of a few upcoming hostess gifts I will purchase for.  A hostess can never have enough dish soap, hand soap or hand cream.

Via Fruits & Passion

Via Fruits & Passion

Via Fruits & Passion

Via Fruits & Passion

Via Fruits & Passion