MrsSunshine on our forums brought up an interesting topic.  She bought a bedding set and the cashier mentioned that it was non-returnable.  On opening the packaging at home, there was an awful smell coming from it, not something that makes you want to snuggle up in your new bedding.

The store in question has offered a refund but should stores be required to allow refunds when the item is not as you expect? Obviously worn underwear would be a no no for me, but what about other items.

While SmartCanucks has an active coupon trading section, I love attending local coupon swaps with other SCers.  Some of them have become very close friends as we bonded over our coupons.

If you attend swaps, how do you arrange your swaps to make it fair for all involved?  We each share our wish-list and participants put together packages for those they have coupons for and then share a ‘Free For All’ package that everyone is free to take what they wish from.  That way our most prized coupons stay safely in our binders.

Shoppers Drug Mart at the Toronto Eaton Centre is moving and is having a Grand Opening this Saturday, July 28, 2012 at 9:30am. It’s moving from it’s current location over to near the Queen Street Subway entrance on the mall’s Lower Level.

Grand Opening goodies:
• Free Gift Card giveaway
• Free Reusable Bag filled with products such as Life Brand, Balea, Nativa, Simply Food and Quo (first 400 customers with any purchase)
• Grand Opening Specials

Thanks Moi!

  A large company was doing a security audit of current passwords and found one that was unusually long. When they asked the employee why the password was “Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Huey, Dewey, Louie, Donald, Sacramento” she explained, “I was told it had to be seven characters and a capital”.

Have a safe commute home. 🙂

***REPOST: Since the long weekend is here!***

During the last weekend of May, conveniently the weekend after May 2-4, The Beer Store is hosting an event where you can donate your empties (or cash) to The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society of Canada! 100% of the proceeds will go to this charity. 🙂 Last year, they raised over $1.2 million dollars!

So I’m posting this to give you ample notice to put their bottles and cans aside for May 26th & 27th. If this is an organisation that is close to your heart, you may consider volunteering as well. Click here for more details on this charity bottle drive!

While out, the night before garbage day, I was this-close to picking up 2 cases of empties that some person put on their curb!!! What stopped me was that there were lights on and I didn’t want to infect my trunk with beer flies.

I don’t know about you but all I want to do in winter is to hibernate, eat hot comfort food and curl up with a good book. And although most of us make the New Year’s resolution to lose weight, it is kind of hard to achieve our goals when the cold, bleak winter practically demands us to eat those comfort foods. But, making small healthy changes to those foods will allow you to enjoy them and still keep your resolutions intact.

On that note, but certainly not to be mistaken with health food (all those potatoes!), here is a Spiced Potato and Ground Beef with Peas (“Aloo Keema” which literally means Potato Ground Beef) with warm and earthy Indian spices.

You’ll need onion, tomato, ginger and garlic.

And don’t forget the potatoes!

The Spices a.k.a the most important part.

Aloo Keema: Spiced Potato and Ground Beef with Peas

1-2tbsp olive oil

1kg or ½ kg lean ground beef

5-6 medium potatoes, cubed

1 medium onion, chopped

1 small tomato, chopped

3-4 minced or grated garlic cloves

1tsp minced or grated ginger

1 tsp salt

½ tsp pepper

1 tsp ground cumin

½ tsp turmeric

¼ tsp red chili powder

½ tsp cumin seeds

½ cup frozen peas

Handful of cilantro, chopped

2-3 green chilies, julienned, seeds removed (optional)

3 scallions, chopped (optional)

• In a large saucepan on medium-high heat, heat the olive oil. Add chopped onions and sauté them. As soon as the onions start to turn golden brown, add the tomato and minced ginger and garlic. Let it cook for a minute.

• Add in the ground beef, breaking any chunks, and cook it through. When the ground beef is brown, add in salt, pepper, ground cumin, turmeric, red chili powder and cumin seeds (if using). You should also taste it at this point to see if it requires more heat or salt and adjust the seasoning according to your preference. Add in the cubed potatoes and mix everything together.

• Lower the heat to medium-low. Add in about half a cup of water, cover the pan with a lid and allow it to cook for 15 minutes or until the potatoes are tender. In the last 5 minutes of cooking, stir in the frozen peas.

• Once the potatoes are cooked, turn the heat off and stir in the cilantro, green chilies (if using) or scallions (if using). Serve with chapati/roti or naan, green chutney, and salad or just enjoy it as is.

5 days till Christmas! Today’s mini giveaway is a $30 Amazon electronic giftcard. One lucky winner will receive the gift card via email from Smart Canucks after confirming the win and answering a skill testing question.

To enter simply tell me what your favourite movie this year was.

(Enter by commenting below on the blog. Please do not email me your entry. Please note I am unable to accept email entries.)

Can’t wait for the contest to end? Click here to check out Amazon.ca

Contest rules:

* One entry per household i.e. you may only leave 1 comment on the blog. If you want to discuss anything or share your thoughts please include it in that 1 comment.
*Age of majority only
*Canada only no purchase is ness to enter, odds of winning are dependant on number of entries received.
*You may only win a max of 2 contests throughout the whole giveaways event to give others a chance to win
*Contest ends December 22nd at 11:59 pm (est) or when comments are locked shortly after and the winner will be announced shortly after potential winner answers a skill testing question.
* You must use a valid email so I can contact you with details on how to claim your prize. Persons who enter with an alias(fake) email will forfeit their prize and a new winner will be drawn.

Are you a business who wants to featured in one of our giveaways? Email me at Sally@ smartcanucks.ca (omit spaces)

*Hint* Keep checking back for more random mini contests…

It’s winter and all you want is comfort food and what better way to get that comfort but from this delicious garlic bread. Eat it alongside a piping hot bowl of chicken noodle soup and hopefully you’ll be all set to brave the crowds on Boxing Day.

So, without further ado, here is the recipe:

Cheesy Herb Garlic Bread

1 loaf of french bread or baguette

5-6 garlic cloves

½ cup softened unsalted butter

3-4 tbsp fresh herbs (basil, cilantro or parsley)

¼ tsp salt

¼ tsp pepper

1 cup shredded cheese

• Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 400.
• Mince or grate the garlic into a fine paste. Mix the garlic with softened butter, herbs, salt and pepper.
• Cut the bread lengthwise in half and spread the butter mixture on both sides. Sandwich the bread back together and wrap the loaf in foil. Place the wrapped loaf onto a baking sheet and bake for 15-20 minutes.
• Remove from the heat and turn the oven to the broil setting.
• Sprinkle both sides of the bread with the shredded cheese. Broil it for 1-2 minutes until the cheese has melted and bread is crisp.

Sunday.  One week ’til Christmas!  Today’s mini giveaway is a $30 Chapters electronic giftcard.  One lucky winner will receive the gift card via email from Smart Canucks after confirming the win and answering a skill testing question.

To enter simply tell me what your favourite book this year was. 

(Enter by commenting below on the blog. Please do not email me your entry. Please note I am unable to accept email entries.)

Can’t wait to see who won? Save yourself $5 off online orders by entering the code OLDEC11 at checkout.

Contest rules:

* One entry per household i.e. you may only leave 1 comment on the blog. If you want to discuss anything or share your thoughts please include it in that 1 comment.
*Age of majority only
*Canada only no purchase is ness to enter, odds of winning are dependant on number of entries received.
*You may only win a max of 2 contests throughout the whole giveaways event to give others a chance to win
*Contest ends December 20th at 11:59 pm (est) or shortly after when comments are locked, contest is officially closed,  and the winner will be announced shortly after potential winner answers a skill testing question.
* You must use a valid email so I can contact you with details on how to claim your prize. Persons who enter with an alias(fake) email will forfeit their prize and a new winner will be drawn.

Are you a business who wants to featured in one of our giveaways? Email me at Sally@ smartcanucks.ca (omit spaces)

*Hint* Keep checking back for more random mini contests…

This dip recipe is delightfully refreshing, simple, and it’s also incredibly healthy, especially when you’re looking for a respite between all those Christmas cookies. It also requires only three ingredients:

Plain yogurt or thick Greek yogurt (Plain yogurt can usually be found on sale for $2 or less).

Fresh cilantro (regularly $1 per bunch) and sea salt (Aurora Sea Salt is on sale at Sobeys for only $0.88).

In a blender or food processor, puree the cilantro. Add the yogurt and sea salt to the emerald green cilantro puree.

Thoroughly mix and serve alongside those Baked Potato Wedges.

Cilantro-Yogurt Dip

1cup cilantro* puree

2-2½ cups plain yogurt

½ tsp sea salt

Puree the cilantro in a blender or food processor and you could also put in a few tablespoons of your yogurt to the puree if it needs some help in breaking down. Take a cup of the puree and mix with the rest of the yogurt and salt. Enjoy the delicious green goodness!

*Note: The cilantro  can be substituted with other herbs of your preference such as mint, basil or parsley.

This weekend, Saturday, December 10th – Sunday, December 11th, the Umbra Warehouse Sale will be taking place at the International Centre! It seems as though this place is gonna be a hub of action with the Parasuco, Fruits & Passions, & The Crocs Sales all taking place in the same building. 🙂

Finally, this popular sale will be held somewhere slightly more accessible than the CNE! And by accessible, I mean there’s plenty of free parking and it’s a hassle-free drive. No need to pay $20 for parking or deal with traffic!

Umbra is also collecting perishable goods for the Daily Bread Food Bank OR if you make a donation of $2 to Jacob’s Ladder, you’ll receive a free gift.

All the info is on the above poster, but if you need more details, click here to visit the International Centre’s website!

This Sunday, December 11th, from 11am – 2pm, Boston Pizza Square One is throwing a Kids Holiday Party! Kids Meals are only $3.99, they can make a craft and bring it home, plus they’ll receive a coupon for a FREE meal during their next visit to BP. This sounds like a great break if you’ll be at the mall anyway, doing your Christmas shopping!

I received this promo email specifically for the Square One location, but you may want to check your local BP to see if they’re doing the same event in the near future. From experience, head office is extremely slow to respond, so I would just call the BP location itself!

Click here to visit BP Square One’s store page! To find a location near you, click onto the link above, in the upper right-hand corner, there’s an orange “Change Location” tab.

This recipe oozes laziness mostly because it is dead simple to make and only uses two ingredients (seriously!).  It’s great for those times when you’re bogged down in work or just not feeling up to spending more time in the kitchen than necessary. More importantly, it costs literally next to nothing!

Pillsbury Pie Crust (purchased for $1 after sale and coupon).

and Smucker’s Raspberry spread (almost $2 after sale and coupon).

So, first things first, let’s unroll the crust (yeah, the menial labour, I know!)

And spread two heaping tablespoons of the raspberry filling, making sure to leave an inch gap on all sides so the filling doesn’t ooze out.

Roll it up into a log shape and cut it into half-inch slices. One crust should yield about 12 pinwheels.

Place it onto a baking sheet lined with parchment and feel free to top with coarse sugar for more texture. I also sprinkled some with shredded coconut, but choose whatever topping floats your boat. Finally, place the tray into a preheated oven (350°F/180°C ) for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.

Et, voila! A dessert that looks and tastes like you spend quite a while making it.

So it’s 1/3 of the way through November … how are those crazy staches growin?!

Movember (formerly known as November) is a Moustache Growing Charity Event held yearly during the month of November to help raise money and awareness for Prostate Cancer.

Click here for the Canadian Movember Site

I already have a few friends who shaved clean this morning to start growing out their staches. If you see men everywhere suddenly popping up with staches, now you know why!

Through the link posted above you can donate, buy merchandise and sign up your own ‘stache. Donate your face and become a “Mo Bro” and walk proud for the month of November knowing you are doing your part to help this cause.

Hey fellow Canadians …

Have you heard that Senator Nicole Eaton in Ottawa is trying to retire the Beaver as our national animal and replace it with the Polar Bear? She says: “The beaver is a has-been. It’s a rat … a big rat, that doesn’t reflect our new values” while “The polar bear, with its strength, courage, resourcefulness and dignity is perfect for the part” according to The Toronto Sun article 

I must admit that a) I don’t care in the slightest which animal they use and b) I chuckled at ‘the big rat’ comment

What are your thoughts?

There is a petition running here with over 6,300 signatures at this time.