Special Black Friday Offer from Amy Montgomery

Had to share this amazing offer from the most amazing & gifted children's photographer I know. A great time to take advantage of a special deal throughout the Black Friday & Cyber Monday weekend ~ Enjoy! Visit Amy's website for her spectacular portfolio and contact info.

Serious Kate Spade Sale! Up to 70% off!

Loving my friend Vanessa for giving me the timely scoop on this one, along with the totally secret website link.  Click if you love Kate Spade and feel like getting up to 70% off her gorgeous goods!  Valid for 3 days but obviously quantities are limited so what the bleep are you waiting for girl? If only there were some way to telepathically let my husband know to a) go to this website and b) buy me this absolutely stunning and perfect-for-me emerald green handbag for Christmas or my birthday. It is literally screaming my name.

Reg price:   $428      

Sale price:   $159

I mean, seriously. How can this not end up in my closet?

C'mon telepathy...WORK!

FYI, Shipping to Canada? Only $10!!! (plus duty, but who cares).

Black Friday Canada: Deals and Sales 2013

Thought I'd share a few highlights with you for what type of Black Friday sales you can expect on November 29th this year, both locally and across Canada:

Old Navy is going to be giving away $1 MILLION DOLLARS to one lucky shopper in Canada who lines up on the 29th. The deets: be one of the 1st 500 people in line at each store for a chance to win. Of course, once inside, you can expect "the biggest sale of the year" (their words), and please note that not all stores may open at exactly the same time, but most will open at 7 a.m.  Get your coffee (but skip the large if you don't want to have to pee while you're in line).

Apple will be having another "One-Day Shopping Event" on November 29th, but as usual, no details are being leaked about what types of deals to expect.  Some year's it is 10% off across the board, sometimes it is a discount on a few popular items, so we'll have to wait and see at 12:01 a.m. on the 29th. Shop online or head to your local store if you love crowds and lining up with techie geeks.

If you love stylish cases for your phone - iPhone, berry, Android - score 40% off all day November 29th at Case-Mate. You won't find a cooler selection of quality cases anywhere, trust me. I have two, so I know they last. 

November 29th only, Keora Aveda Salon & Spa in downtown Burlington will be offering 20% off all Aveda products (except for pre-packaged Christmas sets), including tools like blowdryers and flat irons. I highly recommend their Blue Malva shampoo if you have blonde hair and like to minimize that brassy yellow tint that can sometimes creep in. All their shampoos, conditioners and products are amazing though.  They open at 9 a.m.

Pearl Street Fine Shoes in Burlington will be offering an insane discount of 50-75% off EVERYTHING IN THE STORE for November 29th only!  I re-read my email from them four times just to be sure I saw the words correctly. If you love shoes, you gotta go! Brands like Guess, Ivanka Trump and Steve Madden at such amazing prices? Count me in.

If you love being surrounded by crazy people, head to Mapleview Mall in Burlington where doors open for Black Friday at 7 a.m., as does Square One in Mississauga, Sherway Gardens in Etobicoke, and Yorkdale Mall in Toronto. The first 100 shoppers through the Scotiabank/David's Tea entrance at Yorkdale will get a free $50 Yorkdale gift card. For this reason, I highly recommend you do NOT go to that entrance, as your life and well-being are not worth $50, trust me. Besides, placeholder wristbands will actually be given out to the first 100 there starting at 5 a.m., so really, it's 5 a.m., not 7 a.m., right? Toronto Eaton Centre opens at 6 a.m.

Most malls aren't posting retailer's deals until tomorrow, but Square One has some early info such as:

Town Shoes will offer no tax (the equivalent) for November 29th.

Loft, Eddie Bauer and Tommy Hilfiger will offer 40% off your entire purchase.

Guess will offer 30% off your entire purchase.

HUGE savings abound at Walmart, Target, and ToysRUs too, both online and in stores!

Holt Renfrew stores will open early and stay open later on November 29th, and offer up to 40% off select designer goods. Also - opening early again on Thursday the 28th only - from 7am-10am, get 40% off Links of London sterling silver friendship bracelets and cuff links, and 50% off Holts' fabulously soft cashmere sweaters! In Quebec City and Montreal the times will be 8am-11am.

As I find out more deals, I'll post them here so check back on the 28th and 29th for more info!

Boa on Lakeshore Rd. in Oakville will offer 30% off the ENTIRE store on November 29th. They have the cutest dresses, tops, sweaters, leggings and accessories so this is a great place to visit for holiday gifting and cocktail party outfits!  Mainstream in Oakville will also offer 30% off their entire store, and Never Grow Up, Oakville's newest baby/kids' boutique, will offer 25% off everything! Wow!

Don't forget, you can avoid the madness altogether and shop locally on November 30th in downtown Burlington, Oakville, Beaches and Brampton as the Shop the Neighborhood campaign brings you great sales and events in your own 'hood.

Joelle's in Burlington will offer select items throughout the store at 25-50% off for one day only on November 30th.

The Feathered Bed in Burlington will offer special gift bags with purchase ~ each one containing a different and special 'mystery' percentage-off coupon for your purchase - valid November 29th through December 1st as they celebrate their Open House weekend!

Enjoy the mayhem and the deals! Be kind to your fellow shoppers and to all the hardworking staff you encounter. Make the season merry for everyone :)

L'amore di fare ~ by Centro Garden in Burlington

Perfect timing for the expansion of Centro Garden in Burlington - right before the holidays! Welcome to their newly expanded space, thoughtfully named L'amore di fare (for the love of doing).

There's nothing like it in all of Burlington, and maybe nothing like it in the whole province, actually. It feels very West Coast to me. I wouldn't be surprised to see it in downtown Vancouver next to a hip coffee shop that only the real locals know about yet.

Carefully curated by owner Jason Pepetone and his stylish team, you'll be wowed by both the diversity and the uniqueness of every beautiful item in this uber chic boutique.

Need a gorgeous giant octopus crafted out of wood? No problem. They're in the front window.

Need artisinal holiday cards? You'll find them merchandised on Jason's handmade wooden Christmas tree right in the middle of the shop.

Sculpted wooden side tables?  Absolutely.

Trendy accoutrements for your home bar? Sure thing. This is actually a great place to find gifts for the hip and hard-to-please men on your Christmas list.

Perhaps you love gorgeous wooden cutting boards to present your delicious charcuterie on at Christmas (is that just me?).  You'll find a whole wall of them here.

Next time you're in Downtown Burlington, make it a point of stopping by. With free parking in the back year-round, and free street parking out front all through the month of December, why not?

L'amore di fare ~ by Centro Garden. 433 Brant Street, Burlington, Ontario. Enter through Centro Garden right next door.

How To Make a Christmas Planter

My 2013 DIY Holiday Planter

I'm not gonna lie to you. Making a Christmas Planter is NOT particularly easy.

There's a really fine line between looking like a festive holiday planter and looking like garbage. Seriously. 

The good news is, that line is very easily blurred if you follow a few key tips:

1. Fill your planter almost full with fresh dirt and pack it pretty tight. You'll be sticking a lot of branches into the urn, and you need a lot of dirt to hold them steady. They're going to get rained on, and snowed on, with wind blowing them around too. Dirt is your friend here, so go get some.

2. Start with at least 2 different kinds of greenery. In this planter I made (see left), I used several. The first layer, fanned out closest to the edge of the urn, is from a short-needled pine tree. The second layer is shorter and softer cedar boughs from the ugly hedges all around my house. At least they're good for something (other than spider-condos).

Magnolia leaves, birch branches & pine cones in a
wide rectangular planter: simple, clean perfection!

3. Make sure your center layer has height. My third layer is boxwood - perfect for height. The reason you need the third and center layer to have height and firmness is so your planter doesn't look fat and flat, and so snow won't accumulate in a pile in the middle. Boxwood is great for that, but anything with heft will work. Your "height" layer doesn't even have to be greenery, as it can be thick branches of birch or other decorative twigs. I love magnolia for this purpose too. They're sturdy and add some great dimension to a planter.

4. Add some bling. Whether it's sprigs of red berries, tall sparkly sticks, ornamental balls or sturdy ribbon, you can't go wrong with adding in a few additional elements that really say HOLIDAY. As you can see from mine, I have some tall gold sticks, some crazy green orbs that sparkle, a few pinecones, a silver ball and some thick green ribbon tied into the hardest 4-looped bow I have ever had to create. I clearly need more bow-making practice.

At the end of the day, don't sweat it too much. For most of the winter it will be covered in a lovely dusting of snow and look beautiful as can be, I promise!

Half Price Christmas Ornaments and Trees on Sale at Target

Just had to share, since I challenge you - no, I DARE you, to find a better deal than a $25 pre-lit tree. 

I bought this medium sized tree yesterday (it's almost 6 ft tall) so that I could rile up my husband and round out the ridiculousness this year by having three Christmas trees.  A real tree (not till December though, I'm not completely insane), along with my daughter's pinkalicious tree, and now this blue-themed tree for my son.  C'mon - my daughter can't have her own tree and then my son doesn't get one right? That's just cruel. 

No, I didn't pick "blue" to be all gender-stereotypey so calm down. I just picked it because I had a stockpile of blue ornaments in my basement and they were begging to come out and play this year. 

Half price ornaments and trees on sale now at Target until November 28th. 

If you're in the mood for the crème de la crème of ornaments and decor, check back tomorrow after I pop by Centro Garden's new (next-door) store L'amore di Fare.  I can't wait!

2013 Burlington Santa Claus Parade Route and Times

It's parade time again!  The Burlington Santa Claus Parade is coming up this Sunday, December 1st from 2:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.  

If you want me to be technically correct, I'll call it the Christmas Parade, as it has been officially named, but I'm not sure why we call it that.  Is there any child on that parade route who isn't there specifically for Santa?  I mean, give the guy his due.  He owns that show.

Let's start by thanking Mother Nature for blessing us with drastically frigid temperatures just in time for this event. It's really helpful since I so enjoy standing still on a street corner in subzero temps. Totally my ideal day.  At least it is starting to feel a little Christmasy as a result. Last year's snow-less "green" Christmas really bummed me out.

Are you now going to ask "Hey Victoria, what is the Burlington Santa Claus Parade Route this year? " Well, it's basically the same as every year so stop asking :)  It starts at the Burlington Mall (Guelph Line and Prospect Street), heads south on Guelph Line, goes west on New Street (fyi: New St. turns into James St. at Martha St., and no, I don't know why), goes all the way to Brant Street, then heads north on Brant Street.

You can stand or sit anywhere along that route you like (well, not ON the road, but that's obvious, right?)  

I recommend you bring the following:

1. A thermos of hot chocolate, coffee, or a mixture thereof
2. Your warmest boots, coat, hat and mitts
3. A snack for the kids
4. Your camera/phone

Recommended FREE parking:

1. At the Burlington Mall parking lot
2. Side streets all along the route (but be sure they are accessible from non-parade-route streets or you'll be trapped afterwards while cleanup is done
3. Downtown Burlington!  Yes, you heard me right.  Didn't you hear yet?...

PARKING IN DOWNTOWN BURLINGTON IS FREE ALL THROUGH DECEMBER!  

That's right - you can take a FREE P anywhere you like downtown this holiday season.  So awesome.

It is Cheaper to Shop in the U.S. for Black Friday?

Are you thinking about shopping in the U.S. for Black Friday? I bet you're wondering if you could get your Christmas shopping done a little cheaper, right? You're not alone. Canadians have been making annual treks to the States to score extra savings for decades. But is it worth it anymore?

First of all, let's answer the question: When IS Black Friday this year? Later than usual actually, with the big day falling on November 29th, 2013 (less than a month before Christmas!) Black Friday typically involves brick-and-mortar locations, asking shoppers to come and experience the big deals in person. Cyber Monday, the day online retailers offer some of their lowest prices of the year too, falls on December 2nd.  

With Cyber Monday being offered to Canadian shoppers by both Canadian and U.S. retailers, do you even need to leave home to enjoy these savings? Do you need to spend the time driving across the border and back and waiting in hour-long lineups over the Niagara River? Do you need to waste the gas money? Do you need to deal with crowds that have a history of injuring their fellow shoppers? Do you need to deal with the nervousness of what you're going to tell the border security guard you did (or didn't) buy? The short answer is: no.

Tech Toy Gifts at The Bay, Toronto Eaton Centre

Canadian retailers have finally caught up with the times and are getting in on the action. On Black Friday this year, many malls will open earlier than usual to kick off their own version of Black Friday, even though the day is not a national holiday here, like it is in the States. Last year a handful of malls experimented with this idea, and saw a 22% jump in traffic through their doors. Well duh. If you're an early riser, head to Toronto's Eaton Centre and you can start the insanity at 6 a.m. Ouch. I'm glad I don't work in retail anymore. And if that mall is opening at 6 a.m., that means the Starbucks there will be open even earlier. Do me a favour if you do shop in person on Black Friday? Take a deep breath when you're waiting in lineups, don't wear a heavy coat that will end up annoying you to carry (or sweat in), and be nice to the staff at the shops, ok? It's not easy dealing with you rabid shopping maniacs so early in the morning :)

Most U.S. retailers also ship to Canada now (sooooo long overdue) and offer great shipping rates (like $9.99 by J.Crew, or free shipping at Gap/Old Navy/Banana Republic when you spend over $50). You can take advantage of amazing deals from Amazon.com (or .ca), Walmart.ca, and Best Buy/Future Shop, especially when you're in the market for digital electronics and TVs.  

Kate Spade Gift Shop at The Bay, Toronto Eaton Centre

To get a jump start on the deal-lovers, stores like The Bay, Holt Renfrew and Sears have already kicked off flash sales and holiday bargains early, offering big savings since the beginning of November.

If you're headed to the mall, expect to see savings like this on Black Friday:

~ Mendocino is offering up to 60% off plus a 20% off incentive card towards a future purchase.

~ Forever 21 will have special 'yellow tag' deals all day on November 29th.

~ Aldo will offer an extra 30% off sale shoes & boots plus 20% off select regular priced items.

For more highlights of deals and steals you can expect, visit my #BlackFridayCA blog post here.

If you enjoy the comfort of your own home, hop online on November 29th (my recommendation is to do it at 12:01 a.m. for those retailers whose systems have markdowns that go into effect at that time, as many do) and visit any of your favourite online retailers.

If you, like myself, want to support your local boutiques and business-owners, then SHOP LOCAL! Those shops and entrepreneurs make up the very fabric of your community, and they don't have the million-dollar marketing budgets of big box stores and national chains to catch your Black Friday attention. They do, however, have amazing and unique product assortments, they know the local tastes and trends far better than a giant company ever possibly could, and they are also getting on board with some great prices and cool events on Black Friday weekend too. You'll have to wait an extra day though - the Shop the Neighborhood campaign is happening on Saturday November 30th. Cities and neighborhoods involved include downtown Burlington, Oakville, the Danforth, the Beach, Bloor West Village and Brampton. 

Grab the "ShopWise" app on your mobile phone and you'll catch a few of the deals offered as part of the "Shop the Neighborhood" campaign (along with other deals happening at any given time) in whatever city you choose. For example, at Tamp Coffee in Burlington, you'll get a free cookie when you buy any beverage on November 30th. And trust me, I've had their cookies - delicious!    

Whatever you're doing between Black Friday and Cyber Monday, be sure to remember what's really important in life: things like friends & family. It's really not about how much you save or what you spend. It's about how you spend your TIME!

Top Christmas Tree Decorating Trends for 2013

Are you ready?  

CHRISTMAS IS COMING!

And there's nothing I love more than decorating my home for the holidays!

If you're up for trying something new this year, you can spend hours on Pinterest to get ideas OR...spend just 2 minutes checking out my video on Top 2013 Christmas Tree Decorating Trends and get ready for colour schemes and decorations that will totally freshen the look of the holidays in your house!  My personal fave?  "Gnomey Styles". You'll love it.

I'll even tell you where you can buy all these gorgeous decorations too.  Happy Holidays!

Find more photos and ideas on my Christmas Tree Decorating Ideas Pinterest board and browse at your leisure.

All decorations shown can be found at The Bay, and some of my favourite shops & boutiques in Burlington Ontario: Centro Garden, Terra,  Holland Park Garden, and In House Etc...

Misteltoe Mart at Port Nelson United Church in Burlington

Incase you're in the holiday mood already, head over to Port Nelson United Church's holiday bazaar, aptly named Mistletoe Mart for some delicious baked goods, artisan treasures, book sale and more!

It takes place today, November 9th, from 9am to 3pm.

Port Nelson United Chuch is located at the corner of Rossmore and Spruce, just east of Guelph Line and south of New Street, in Burlington, Ontario.

Great for shoppers of all ages!  You'll find things like hand-knit sweaters, mitts and scarves, along with lemon squares and delicious brownies, jewellery, Christmas decorations and more.

Don't worry about parking as there are tons of free spaces in the parking lot of the church, all along the sidestreets surrounding the church, and at the tennis club across the street.

Top 10 Movies of the 80's Summarized in One Sentence

80's Movies are the Best. There's no denying it. The era that brought us classics from John Hughes like Ferris Bueller's Day Off and Sixteen Candles can't even be compared to the sequel and prequel-driven soulless 3-D spectacles that Hollywood keeps churning out lately.

While you can debate what movies are truly the "Top 10", based on box office receipts or critical acclaim, I prefer to use my very own highly scientific method which basically boils down to choosing the ones I have personally watched (and rewatched) the most times. I think that is the most honest (and highly subjective) measurement of how great a movie is, don't you?

There's a whole generation of people walking around today (some with inexplicably baggy jeans, some with equally inexplicably fuzzy boots) who may not know how great and timeless these movies really are. I know no one has the time or attention span (thanks twitter) for full plot summaries anymore, so, for the benefit of present and future generations, I present to you the Coles-notes version of what these amazing movies are all about.

MY Top 10 Movies of the 80's Summarized in One Sentence

1. Sixteen Candles: Be nice to the nerds in high school because you never know when they'll be in a position to help you.

2. Ferris Bueller's Day Off: Youth is fleeting so be sure to take time to smell the roses/drive fast cars/sneak into restaurants/join a parade every once in a while.

3. The Breakfast Club: No matter how different you look on the outside, when you take the time to actually get to know someone, you'll always find you have something in common.

4. Stand By Me: The adventures you take with your childhood friends will be the most memorable and influential of your life.

5. When Harry Met Sally: Men and women can't be friends.


6. Back to the Future: Libyan terrorists will find you and shoot you if you make them a fake bomb and steal their plutonium so always, always wear a bullet proof vest.

7. The Goonies: The underdog who believes in pirates always wins against preppy capitalist meanies.

8. Top Gun: There is nothing sexier than shirtless men in tight jeans playing volleyball on a hot day.

9. Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back: It's a good idea to check your birth certificate because you might not know who your real father is.

10. Raiders of the Lost Ark: Don't mess with God or you'll get your face melted off.