Boots

I'm not sure if I'm being nostalgic lately or whether everything old is new again. Maybe nostalgic as I joined a born in the 60's group on Facebook and the things I've been reminded about there! Remember, Gee Your Hair Smells Terrific Shampoo? But I digress.

I recently heard that Shoppers Drug Mart as well as a couple of US pharmacies(CVS and Target) were bringing in Boots products from the UK, I remembered that Boots used to be here in Canada with its own chain of pharmacies. I'm not sure when they were sold but I believe they were bought out by PharmaPlus.

Here's some history I found on where else, Wikipedia, about Boots:

Boots was founded in Nottingham, England by John Boot in 1849 and transformed into a national chain by his son Jesse. Its current logo is based on a design made by one of Jesse's signwriters in the 1870s. The chain was established during that time, and for the first time they became official dispensing chemist, stocking prescription medicines. By the onset of the First World War there were over five hundred Boots shops. In 1920, Jesse Boot sold the company to an American called Louis Liggett who owned a company called Dug Incorporated. However, deteriorating economic circumstances in North America saw Boots sold back into British hands in 1933 with the son of the founder, John Boot who inherited the title Lord Trent from his father, at the head of the company ('Interwar retail internationalization: Boots under American ownership', International Review of Retail, Distribution and Consumer Research, 7(2), 1997). In 1968 it acquired the 622- strong Timothy Whites and Taylors Ltd chain. Boots now has almost one thousand five hundred stores including some stores overseas

They will be supplying Shoppers with their Botanics skin and hair care products as well as No.7 make up products. I'll have to try a couple out!

Busy Weekend!

Another busy weekend! What did I do when I only had two day weekends instead of three!

Anyway, scrapbooked all day Saturday in Stratford with Joan. Got a few layouts done that I will post later this week! This crop was organized through Go Scrapping and as usual was excellent. Took a few pics that are attached below.

Then me and my family had our own clean sweep episode today and cleaned out a lot of stuff from the basement! It will be sold at next week's Heidelberg town garage sale! We have friends who live there and said that like last year we can bring some of our stuff up to sell. Whatever doesn't sell is then going straight to Goodwill! We even got everything priced today too! And I've thought of a couple of more things to clean out before next weekend! And you know, I should have taken pictures while we were in the middle of the clean out but didn't think about that till just now. I'll get some pics of next weekend's garage sale though!

Its a Good Thing......almost!

I was in Michaels tonight and they have the Martha Stewart paper craft line! It is gorgeous! Stickers, paper, embellishments, wrap, ribbon,stamps,punches, scissors, adhesive and storage(and more). The colours are typical Martha with one of my favourites being the ribbon storage boxes in a light blue and brown, the perfect colour for my scrap room! But they won't let you use the 40% off coupon on any Martha products! How sad is that! I'm going to hold out for a sale!

Solid Gold

While watching Dancing With The Stars, I got thinking about a dancing show I used to watch in the early 80's called Solid Gold featuring the Solid Gold Dancers. It was a weekly top 10 hit countdown show and while it was hosted by a few different people, I remember Dionne Warwick and Marilyn McCoo. Come on fess up, I know that many others of you remember Solid Gold too. Drop me a comment to let me know.

Click here for more Solid Gold trivia.

The 'Loo'!

The other day at lunch we had a discussion of the different names used for a washroom. Names like bathroom, restroom, the loo, the john, lavatory, latrine,water closet etc. We debated a bit on why there were so many names and since inquiring minds want to know, I found the following explanation on wikipedia(who knew that wikipedia would have such information!).

Usually the term "washroom" is used to denote a public, commercial, or industrial personal hygiene facility designed for high throughput, whereas a similar term "bathroom" is used to denote a smaller, often residential facility for lesser throughput (i.e., often for only one person at a time to use). The word originated in the United States and is currently the preferred term in Canada; in American English, "bathroom" or "restroom" are now more common. In Britain, Australia, Hong Kong (as toilets) and New Zealand, the terms in use are "public toilets" and (more informally) "public loos". In the rest of the world (usually Africa, Middle East, and Southeast Asia) the term "Comfort room" is used. Furthermore many European washroom doors are simply marked "WC", for water closet, which may be confusing for non-Europeans. One reason some Americans prefer "restroom" over "bathroom" is that restrooms do not have bathtubs. By contrast, speakers of British English commonly have trouble with the word restroom, on the basis that only the hygienically confused would actually take a rest in such a place. Therefore, the term "washroom" is the most preferable, because, although the room may not always have a bath (full-body wash), only the hygienically confused could imagine a personal hygiene room that did not contain at least one handwash station.

I tend to agree with the speakers of British English.

Winery Tour

This weekend we went on a Winery Tour for Kathryn's birthday. It was a surprise for her and a limo was rented to take us down to Niagara to see the Wineries then to the Falls for dinner and home. The stretch limo was the perfect size for the eight of us and the wine was liberally poured! We managed to hit four wineries and taste some wonderful wine! It was a great day and the weather cooperated beautifully. It would be fun to go back and get some pictures when the grapes on the vines!

Pinup!

You are Betty Grable

The ulitmate girl next door You're the perfect girl for most guys Pretty yet approachable. Beautiful yet real.

What Famous Pinup Are You?

Warmth and Sunshine!

Happy Sunny weekend!! Two days in a row of sun and over 20 degree weather! I think spring may be here to stay!

I've always wanted to be mysterious!

Your Eyes Should Be Violet

Your eyes reflect: Mystery and allure What's hidden behind your eyes: A quiet passion

What Color Should Your Eyes Be?

Things I've done

1/Smoked a cigarette. Yep, it tasted terrible.
2/Drank so much you threw up. Yep, that tasted terrible too!
3/Had feelings for someone who didn't have them back. Yep
4/Gone on a blind date. Yep
5/Skipped school. Yep, with the whole french class!
6/Seen someone die. No!
7/Been to Canada. Yep a few times!
8/Been to Florida. Yep a few times!
9/Been to Mexico. Yep a few times!
10/Been on a plane. Yep a few times!
11/Been on the opposite side of the country. (east and west coasts) Yes(got tired of yep!)
12/Gone to Washington. No but I want to.
13/Swam in the ocean. Yep a few times!
14/Felt like dying. Yes, when I had pneumonia
15/Cried yourself to sleep.Yep a few times!
16/Played cops and robbers. Yes.
17/Recently colored with crayons. Yes
18/Sang karaoke. Yes and then I was begged to stop!
19/Paid for a meal with only coins. Oh yea!
20/Done something you told yourself you wouldn't. Yep a few times!
21/Made prank phone calls. Who me?
22/Laughed until some kind of beverage came out of your nose. Who me?
23/Caught a snowflake on your tongue. Yes
24/Danced in the rain. Yes
25/Written a letter to Santa Claus. Yes
26/Been kissed under the mistletoe. Yep a few times!
27/Watched the sun rise with someone you care about.Yep a few times!
28/Blown bubbles. Yep a few times!
29/Made a bonfire on the beach. Yes
30/Crashed a party. No
31/Gone roller-skating. Yep a few times!
32/Gone Ice-skating. Yep a few times!(not that living in Canada has anything to do with that!)

A Couple of New Favourite Products!

I recently went to HeartStrings in Cambridge. Its a great gift/home decor shop in Cambridge and I picked up two products that I really love.

The first is Lull Dry. You just put it in the dryer with your clothes and the scent of lavender infuses the clothes as they dry. One sachet(filled with dried lavender) lasts for about 20 loads!

The second is Almond Silk Soap. Its made by a local supplier and smells wonderful! I have sensitive skin but have had no reaction to this soap. Its suds up wonderfully and, because of the almond, is a natural exfoliant.

I'm planning a shopping day in May with my Mom, Grandma and Sister and this store will definitely be one of the stops.

Follow this link for more details on the store.

Cheesecake!

You Are a Chocolate Mocha and Orange Cheesecake

Enthusiastic and intense, there's so much you love in the world... it's hard to do it all. You are good at getting things to mix - friends, flavors, hobbies. You're the master of fusion!

What Kind of Cheesecake Are You?

Still Waiting

A lone easter egg still waiting to be found!

Stars on Ice

Kathryn and I went to Stars on Ice this past Tuesday and had seats on the floor. Talk about an excellent view!

The Stars on Ice cast is made up of lots of Canadian Skating Stars including my favourite Kurt Browning who skated an awesome routine to If I Only Had a Brain from the Wizard of Oz. Patrice Lauzon and Marie France Dubreuil also skated beautifully to several songs and of course Jamie Sale and David Pelletier did not disappoint. And neither did Brian Orser who in this, his farewell tour, skated to Neil Diamond.

And there were a couple of surprise skaters, 2007 World Pairs Champions Xue Shen Hongbo Zhao of China and 2007 World Ladies Champion Miki Ando of Japan. They skated with speed and strength.

Surprisingly the Aud was not sold out. Has there been a decline in interst in skating? There sure aren't the number of professional competitions that there used to be.

The Beatles Abbey Road

Steve, I and the girls went to see The Jeans and Classics Band present the Beatles Abbey Road last night. It was an awesome show that showed not only the diversity of Beatles music but also that of our talented Canadian singers and musicians.
They received a great write up in today's Record, here's the link.

Thinking of Springtime in Paris!

You Belong in Paris

Stylish and expressive, you were meant for Paris. The art, the fashion, the wine! Whether you're enjoying the cafe life or a beautiful park... You'll love living in the most chic place on earth.

What City Do You Belong In?

My Vampire Name!

Your Vampire Name Is...

Guinevere of Pain

What's Your Vampire Name?

Brayden's Birthday and Easter Dinner

After the hunt, we also celebrated Brayden's birthday today! We had a wonderful dinner and Brayden got some fun gifts including a new bathing suit and shirts, Diddy Kong Racing and a new bike!

Annual Outdoor Easter Egg Hunt

We held our annual easter egg hunt in the snow today! My Mom started this tradition approximately 10 years ago and we think this may be the first time there has ever been snow on the ground. For the first time, it was also at my sister's as my Mom was just returning from vacation. The kids had fun finding all the new hiding spots!

Easter Creations!

Just a couple of things I made for Easter, a card and some purses! The purses are made from one 12 by 12 piece of paper and are very easy. Instructions are from A Cherry on Top.
Just use this link:
http://www.acherryontop.com/article?a=661

For the purses, I used paper from Paper Salon. I love their line of paper!

These are the Daves I know

I heard this on Dave FM the other day and thought it was funny! Made me think of all the Daves I know, none of which are mentioned in this song.
Here's the link:

Look!

The roses Steve brought me last week are really lasting!!!

An Easter Tradition, Coloured Eggs!

Brittany and I coloured these eggs today!

Academically Speaking

Its been a good week for my daughters!

Brittany brought home her report card and she received 7 A's! She is pretty pumped!!

Then Brianne attended the honour roll breakfast at her high school on Thursday and received a plaque for having the top Grade 10 Scholastic average!!

Yep, I'm a very proud Mom!

Random Conversations with my Daughters

The other night at scrapbooking we were exchanging stories about things we've said to our children that will lead them to requiring therapy in their adult life.

You know things like:

If you don't stop that right now I'm going to beat you to a pulp......4 year old daughter's response, "but I don't want to be a pulp Mommy."

Or when your six year old daughter says to you "where are we going Mommy?" and you say "I'm going to drop you off and see if you can find your home", to which your daughter responds, in all seriousness, "I don't think I can find my way home from here Mommy."

And then there's other conversations that just kind of stop.

At scrapbooking, one of the ladies said that in their home they don't speak "Whinese". I thought that was pretty good so told my 15 year old daughter who responded with a flat "That's lame."

Then I asked my 11 year old daughter to come help fold clean underwear. She responded with "Ewwww....."
So I said "what, they're clean!"
She says, "no one folds underwear"
To which I responded, " who have you talked to about folding underwear?"
"Well no one"

Wildcraft

Last night, we went with friends, Kathryn and Dave, to a newly opened restaurant in Waterloo called Wildcraft. It is owned by the same people who run Charcoal Steakhouse, Del Dente and Martini's so given our experiences at these restaurants we did expect that Wildcraft would be good. And it was!

It is in a new building with extremely high ceilings showing the duct work and a two story glass walled wine room as you enter. The decor has an uptown boutique hotel feel. I should have brought my camera for some pictures(next time!).

I had an Asian salad, that was fresh and not overwhelmed by dressing followed by beef n blue,a bacon wrapped tenderloin topped by blue cheese served on mashed potatoes with sauteed broccolini. While I did ask for my tenderloin medium well, I think it came out medium rare, which was actually OK. I know chefs do not like to overcook beef so I gave the rarest pieces to Steve. He had short rib quesadillas and one of the specials, trout. He did comment that he doesn't like trout unless it is cooked well(sometimes it tends to be overcooked) and this was cooked properly! For dessert we shared the platter for two that included a small creme brulee, flourless chocolate torte and twice baked white chocolate cheese cake. By far our favourites were the cheesecake and the creme brulee although the creme brulee had a bit too much sugar on top that was carmelized for just a bit too long. I also had a passable cosmopolitan, a good Gerwertzaminer, and a yummy B52 coffee.

Kathryn and Dave also enjoyed their dinners, Boston Bibb salad, Turkey BLT soup(yep, turkey, bacon and tomatoes!), shrimp stir fry with a unique presentation and fillet of salmon. They had creme brulee for dessert that was served in large teacups and as a result was a larger portion that some other restaurants may serve. Kathryn also quite enjoyed her dessert coffee, I forget the name(was it Raspberry Truffle?), but is was coffee, raspberry liqueur and chocolate liqueur and it was gone in a flash!

Before we went the restaurant, I looked for the menu online which I did find with the following link:
http://www.charcoalsteakhouse.ca/wcgallery.html

I also found a blog, SapphireMartini, that reviews restaurants in the area and is actually quite interesting. I've added to my list of blogs on the left.

Spring Flowers.....

.....are one of my favourite things!