Tricia's Musings

Random Thoughts about life in general, living in the big city of Toronto



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Get discount gift cards at CityDeals and save money

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I’m not a huge shopper, nor am I a penny pincher. However, when I shop I enjoy finding deals and knowing that I’ve saved money. The more money saved the better of course!

I’m sure that many of you also enjoy saving money when you shop at national retailers, eat out at restaurants, buy movie tickets or when you are traveling and need to stay in a hotel.

Luckily for all of us who enjoy a good deal there’s the CityDeals.com website where you can Save 10-50% on your favorite Gift Cards!. That’s right, you can purchase a gift card for your favorite local retail store, restaurant, hotel or even movie theater at a discount.

Say J. Crew is one of you favorite stores – well I found a gift card for J. Crew that’s worth $50, but you’d only pay $45 for the card – a 10% savings. That’s just one example of the type of gift card savings you can find at CityDeals.com. Of course, once you have your selected gift card you can always go to the store and if you’re a savvy shopper you could use it on items that are on sale and save even more money.

Visit the CityDeals.com website to browse by type of item, brand names or check to see what deals are being offered within your area. Another good thing to note is that there are no membership fees when you use CityDeals to find discounted gift cards.





Were you a bridezilla?

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Have you been watching any of the wedding related shows on TV lately? You know ones like Bridezilla? LOL I’ve only glanced at the shows as I’ve been searching for better forms of entertainment of perhaps even a show I could learn something from but the segments I have seen are kind of funny.

I can’t remember the exact details and probably wouldn’t get it right anyway since I didn’t see the whole show, but one particular segment I saw revolved around a bridal speech and the very odd things that the father of the bride and the Masters of Ceremonies, or maybe it was the best man, wanted to say during the reception dinner speeches about the new bride and groom. It had something to do with some very embarrassing things the couple did when they first got together. Naturally when the bride heard about this she went ballistic!

I don’t believe I was a bridezilla. I was a very tired bride. When Chris and I finally decided to get married we went and talked to our priest and he only had two decent dates left that year! My parents were older, and are now passed on, so I didn’t want to wait until the next year to get married just in case something happened to one of them. So we booked our wedding date for October 22nd in July of that same year. Like around this time in July.

That doesn’t leave much time to plan a wedding and reception for approximately 200 people! I pretty much did all the planning on my own and at the same time was working in a new nursing job that I’d started that June. Chris helped where he could of course, but it’s the women that generally plan all the little details that pull things together.

My closest bridezilla moment probably happened shortly after the wedding. We’d gone to have our photos taken in a lovely park and by the time we got to the reception hall all of our guests were already inside and snacking on the hor d oeuvres. They were supposed to have been in an upstairs hall waiting for our arrival and then we’d do the reception line and so on.

I was absolutely starving so I was looking forward to a few moments of privacy and the ability to eat a few of the delicious snacks without all eyes on me. So needless to say I was extremely disappointed to see everyone already in the hall when we arrived.

It turned out that the people who were supposed to taking care of the upstairs hall couldn’t make it because of an illness or death in the family. So that’s why my guests were in the wrong place.

Oh well, something always goes wrong at a wedding doesn’t it. What happened at yours?

Why do we have more money living in a house than an apartment?

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It’s amazing how much different our life is since we got our house six years ago. We’d been living in a small apartment, paying fairly low rent given the area – and we didn’t really have the same kind of bills that we have now that we have a house, but it always seemed like we were struggling to get by.

When we living in the apartment we were both paying off student loans, had a car payment, paid for cable, internet, car insurance, and telephone and paid our rent (only $725 which is cheap for a nice apartment in a good area of Toronto). We both had full time jobs that paid decently too.

I really have no idea how we got by without having applied for a student loan consolidation. We would have saved a lot of money on interest and our monthly payments probably would have been lower too.

Still we pushed on. The student loans were our biggest bills other than rent back then. I am glad that we don’t have student loans to pay off anymore. I’ve thought of going back to school but it’s the loans that scare me! If I ever do back to school you can bet your boots I’ll be consolidating the loans next time.

I think getting a house gave us more of a sense of responsibility. We used to buy what we wanted when we wanted. Now we think about it for quite a while. We still buy what we want but by the time we’ve put all that thought into it we’ve often saved the money to pay for that item outright.

I know our living expenses are higher in the house – mortgage, property tax, water bill, telephone, cable, cell phone, internet, electricity, oil for the oil furnace, insurance – no car or student loans anymore though, and yet we still seem to have extra money and I’m not even working these days.

Sure I make some pretty good money via the internet, but Chris makes less than he did when we lived in the apartment so income kind of evens out. As I said it must be just that we are more responsible with our money these days.

Unique handcrafted Eco-Handbags

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ecofriendly.jpg

Do you recycle? I’ve just been exploring the website of a company that recycles in a very creative way.

Eco-Handbags.ca is Canadian company, based in Montreal, Quebec and it’s been a well received online presence since it’s beginnings in December of 2006. This online retail store sells one of a kind chic, unique and eco-fashionable handbags.

These handbags are made out of recycled and eco-friendly materials such as candy wrappers, chopsticks, 35 mm slides, movie billboards, sails, soda pop tops, bicycle inner tubes and truck tire inner tubes, record albums and cds, magazines as well as natural materials such as hemp, natural plants, denim, recycled canvas, organic cotton and many more interesting materials.

I must tell you right from the start that I absolutely adore most of the handbags. I’ve spent quite a while exploring the site and I’m impressed by the lovely and utterly creative bags that Eco-Handbags many talented designers have created.

This company believes that if everyone did their part for their environment, even something as simple as purchasing a fashionable unique handbag that’s been made out of recycled materials, that the world would be a better place. If you’ve been reading my home and gardening blog over the last week or two you know that I try to live a fairly green lifestyle so I’m quite happy to be introducing you to this wonderful company.

Visit the Eco-Handbag.ca website and you’ll find not only handbags, but also coin pouches, clutch bags, totes, purses, men’s shaving kit bag, wine bags, yoga mat bags, cosmetic bags, gym bags and just about any other type of bag that you might desire.

Enough of me telling you what you can find on the site – let me show you!

trucktirebag.jpg Just take a look at this beautiful mini evening handbag that’s been made from recycled truck inner tubes. The inner tubes used to create this bag have been collected from tire centers then cleaned in an environmentally friendly solution for three days.

The patterns on the rubber are unique to each hand bag.

Fine leather and non leather is used for the trim, Swarovski Crystals adorn the outside of the bag, and the inside is lit with an automatic light system that illuminates the interior of the bag when it’s opened.

candywrapbotero-kiwi.jpg This Botero- Kiwi handbag is made from candy wrappers. Isn’t it beautiful? I think this is my favorite design. I may end up buying this one myself.

This bag was inspired by Columbian Artist Fernando Botero.

The candy wrappers are constructed in a way that creates the attractive bubbly shape. This bag also features a zipper closure, and shiny metal handles.

art005-40.jpg This last bag, an open tote, is
made from recycled art banners. Don’t you love banner that was used for this bag?

This bag would be idea for day to day activities and because you might use it every day it’s been made with materials that can cope with seasonal changes. The banner is made of PVC, it’s trimmed in black, has a black promo lining and has an interior open pocket and cell phone pocket to help you stay organized.

You’ll notice that when you visit the site and start browsing through the various bags that the designer who made the bag is listed. Clicking on the link will take you to the artists profile page and you’ll be able to see all of their creations on that one page. Eco-Handbags.ca does this specifically to highlight and support their artisans.

All prices on the site are in Canadian funds. At this time the Canadian dollar is within a few cents of the US dollar so if you are a US citizen the price in US dollars will be very close to the one displayed on the site. I found the prices of the bags to be very reasonable. Each bag is unique, is a way for you to make a difference in the environment and is a quality handcrafted item.

Shipping throughout Canada and the US is free of charge. Purchases will be sent via the Canadian Postal Service using the Expedited, small packet air or ground service depending upon which country the parcel is being shipped. International orders should contact Eco-Handbags.ca to discuss shipping rates.

I really like this company and not just because it’s as Canadian as I am. They are really all about protecting and saving the earth. Eco-Handbags.ca is a member of 1% for the Planet. This is an alliance of small businesses that pay a voluntary earth tax and donate 1% of their sales to non-profit, non-governmental environmental organizations.

Visit Eco-Handbags.ca and take a look at their lovely handbags. I’ll bet that you’ll love them. Check out their eco-blog and eco-links while you are there too.

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