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Nothing beats farm fresh produce. The rich flavours, divine aromas of fresh produce, and the pleasing process of farm to table.
This summer we’ve been making a big effort to support the local farmers. We stop by the farm stand a few times a week, and peruse their offerings before picking up a few of our favourites.
This summer the peaches have been insanely good! So incredibly juicy and rich and perfect! The onions are also a hit, and we’re getting pumped for the pears which should be available any day now.
If you get a chance, buy farm fresh produce. In Ontatrio, if each household spent $10 of their grocery bill on Ontario farm fresh produce each week, it would add up to a 2.4 billion dollar annual influx into our provincial economy. Good for you, good for farmers…..good for everyone!
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As I mentioned earlier in the year, my husband and I bought a house in Niagara on the Lake. As entrepreneurs we have some flexibility with our work schedules, so we took that as a sign to start living the life we always wanted and live part time in the city, part time in the country. Splitting life between Niagara on the Lake, and downtown Toronto has proven to be quite exciting! When we mention that we live in the city… and the country it’s surprising how many people say “Oh, I’ve always wanted to do that!”. I thought we were the only ones crazy enough to have that dream. As it turns out, there’s a lot of people out there that love the excitement of downtown living, but crave the tranquility of a quieter pace of life…at least a few days a week.
One thing that happens when we tell people about our living situation is that people always have lots of questions…from finances, to lawn moving, so here it is…
The Good, The Bad and the Ugly.
The Good
- the peaceful feeling of waking up with clean air, blue skies and chirping birds
- having a totally new way of living…together
- regular visitors from the city who are excited to see what you’re up to
- the space! our house is 3500 square feet, that’s a big improvement from our condo that is 800 square feet
- having loads of new places to discover, including tons of new wineries that we’ve never visited
- getting loads more exercise from walking around the property and doing yardwork
- finally having a use for all my “country” knowledge acquired from growing up on a sheep farm
- having a barn cat. it came with the house, but has become a good companion for us
The Bad
- our lawn is 2 acres…and takes 5 hours to mow!
- the totally out of control gardens – weeds, weeds and more weeds!
- after living in condos for years, not knowing how to fix any “house” stuff, or where even to start (our eaves trough was ripped off our house 2 months ago in a violent wind storm…we still haven’t fixed it)
- the hot water tank isn’t very big….so after one bath we’re back to cold water
- scheduling meetings only on days you plan on being in the city can be tricky
- it’s very expensive having a condo downtown and a house in the country…but worth it!
The Ugly
- the endless Spring, coupled with a broken lawn mower, means the grass did not get mowed for several weeks and was almost 2 feet tall in some places
- TICKS! long wet grass is the perfect breeding ground for ticks, which are now everywhere in the tall grass. Ticks are little annoying bugs that bury their head in your skin, suck your blood, and carry lots of diseases…including Lyme Disease!
- Having my pregnant friend get stuck in our driveway in a snow storm. There’s no faster way to feel like sh*t than trapping a pregnant woman in your cold house when you know all she wants to do is get back to her own bed
- Holy Moses is Propane Freaking Expensive! Having lived in a condo for years, we’re used to turning up the heat, turning down the heat and leaving doors and windows open without a thought. Within the first 2 weeks of owning our house we got a propane bill for $1,200! From then on, we kept the heat low, lit fires, and lived like Scrooges!
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Recently one of the most fantastic (smart, beautiful, giving) woman I know asked me to help promote an event that is near and dear to her. Being a site that helps woman get what they want out of life we jumped at the chance to help raise awareness for something that could make a big differene in other women’s lives.
The Assaulted Women’s Helpline is a great charity that is always looking to raise awareness, and this year to mark the 100th Anniversary of International Women’s Day on March 8th, they are launching a cool online love-in celebration-of-friends extravaganza.
It’s called “Who Would You Call?” and the idea is to celebrate and pay tribute to the awesome, awesome friend or friends in our life that we can call no matter what at 4am (in contrast for 49,000+ woman in Ontario each year who aren’t so lucky, it’s the Helpline that is there to listen 24/7). The Assaulted Women’s Helpline is inviting people to write a story or letter or blog post or video or haiku or whatever to honour an amazing friend.
The campaign runs from March 8th – April 15th, and your support in any way that you can give it are very much appreciated.
Here are the details …
site url = http://www.whowouldyoucall.ca
youtube video about it = http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=FBXDKsTI-3c
Twitter hashtag = #whowouldyoucall
Assaulted Women’s Helpline Twitter: @AWHL
AWHL is a charity so they are also inviting people who make tributes to consider a donation of any amount in honour of their friend and then they mail a sweet card to your friend. They’ll be thrilled to receive donations (and it’s a charity that reallllly needs the help and uses its funds so so wisely) but it isn’t required to participate. The main goal is to get people talking and thinking – by celebrating your uber-fantastic friends and recognizing that we’re pretty lucky to have friends like that to celebrate – not everyone is in the same boat and thank goodness AWHL exists.
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There’s a new TV show coming to E!, the Entertainment network, which promises to be as disturbing and ridiculous as it sounds – Bridoplasty. The show promises to award women on the show plastic surgery for winning weekly challenges in order to look “perfect” for their wedding.
The craziest part? The girls future husbands will not know what they look like until they say “I do”. How scary is that?
Stop the insanity!!!!! Where are the fun loving, feel good, make a positive, lasting impression kind of shows???
Isn’t it enough that we’re in a terrible economy that is limping to the slowest ever recovery? But to add to it, there are a gazillion shows on tv that show the lowest of the low, people gripped with insecurities, and other shows that aspire to show people in shocking, and humiliating situations.
Like we said before, thank goodness for this
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If you’re like most women, you naturally want to please people, and hve a hard time saying “no”.
This monh, we’re going to say “no” more, and we hope you join us.
1. Say no to anything that will not benefit you, your business and achieving your goals.
2. Commit to `no more’ procrastinating. Quit dilly dallying around – it’s time to take action.
That’s right, focus on what works for you, and focus on your goals. You don’t have to please people as much as you think, in fact you’ll be doing everyone a big favour if you focus on the things that work for you. You will achieve more, be more focused, feel great about yourself and when it works for you you’ll be in a better position to do things like help out others, but only if it works for you!
Enjoy saying “no” more this month!
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If you are looking for a quick and dirty – and incredibly easy to follow – diet and exercise plan we have just the thing for you!
It’s easy to follow, relatively painless, and works for every woman, no matter how busy her schedule is!
The plan is simple – start every week day with 20 minutes on the treadmill. Walk for 2 minutes, and then speed it up for 18 minutes of jogging. If you have more energy push yourself for a harder run, or if you are feeling slugglish set your treadmill to a slower pace – as long as you’re running!
If you don’t have a treadmill it’s no problem – jump rope, take a bike ride, or go for a swim. The important thing is that you’re jumpstarting your day – and your metabolism – with 20 minutes of exercise every week day.
After your morning exercise eat a light and fibre filled breakfast. Our fave is 1% milk with a small handful of old style muslix. The milk fills us up, and the muslix gives us protein and all sorts of great vitamins. You can also try no fat cottage cheese and an apple, or plain oatmeal with a spoonful of honey and a few berries.
Come lunch time you’ll notice a big difference. Since you already exercised and started your day with a healthy breakfast you’ll be much more motivated to keep yourself healthy – and you don’t want to waste your efforts from the morning by eating crap now – so staying to a healthy plan all day just comes naturally!
Try it out – run for 20 minutes every morning, followed by a light and healthy breakfast – you’ll be amazed what it does for your body, mind and waistline and you should start to see a difference after just one week
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That’s right, there’s ONLY 2 MORE DAYS TO WIN 1 OF 10 PAIRS OF TICKETS TO THE NATIONAL HEALTH SHOW on October 23rd and 24th at the Direct Energy Centre In Toronto!
HOW TO WIN!
Go to the Cashmere Clutch Facebook page and post on our wall why you want to win a pair of tickets to the National Health Show.
All the industry experts will be available to you under one roof in an exciting 2-day event, become inspired to look good and feel great at any age. Hundreds of exhibitors are on hand to give advice, offer services and products on healthy living at Canada’s National Health Show!
We’ll pull the winners on Friday at noon, so better post on the Cashmere Clutch Facebook page now so you don’t miss out!
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WIN 1 OF 10 PAIRS OF TICKETS TO THE NATIONAL HEALTH SHOW on October 23rd and 24th at the Direct Energy Centre In Toronto!
HOW TO WIN!
Go to the Cashmere Clutch Facebook page and post on our wall why you want to win a pair of tickets to the National Health Show.
Canada’s National Health Show is the largest consumer show dedicated to promoting healthy lifestyles for Canadians. Quickly becoming the must-see event of the year, this show encompasses everything about health, beauty, fitness, healthy eating and well-being for the MIND, BODY and SOUL!
All the industry experts will be available to you under one roof in an exciting 2-day event, become inspired to look good and feel great at any age. Hundreds exhibitors to give advice, offer services and products on healthy living at Canada’s National Health Show!
TOP 10 REASONS PEOPLE LOVE THE NATIONAL HEALTH SHOW:
•Pick up secret tips and healthy tricks – ask the experts
•Beauty advice and FREE samples
•Try the latest exercise craze
•Marvel at the new technology and equipment
•Experience a relaxing express spa treatment
•Weight loss advice and diet tips
•Learn from the “sExperts” on how to spice up your sex life
•Rebalance your mind with the well – being and holistic experts
•Relax and take – in the vast knowledge of gifted motivational speakers and talented special guests
•It’s fun! Come alone and meet new people or bring the entire family out!
WINNING IS EASY! Just write on the Cashmere Clutch Facebook page wall why you want a pair of tickets to the National Health Show & 10 lucky winners will be selected!
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You work hard at work so you can be rewarded with a big salary, but what about in your personal life? If you are like most women you often make food you reward, or in some cases your relief! You packed up all your summer clothes and tidied up your house so you reward yourself with a big glass of Cabernet, or your favourite chocolates. You worked, hard, so you deserve it….right? Before you know it you are rewarding everything you do, and you’ve gained 5 pounds!
Learning how to reward yourself so that you feel satisfied, but don’t overdo it, is hard. Here are some tips to help you curb your bad habits, so rewards end up making you feel good and pampered.
Know what you’re rewarding
Before you establish your perk system, you have to decide what behaviour you’re reinforcing. Just as you want to be specific when setting goals, you want to be detailed in how you’ll congratulate yourself for meeting them. Are you going to treat yourself when you’ve eaten healthy for a few days or when you’ve dropped 5 pounds? Choose bigger payoffs for more challenging accomplishments such as losing 40 pounds, dropping 10 percent of your body fat, or lowering your cholesterol by 20 points. Have smaller, stick-with-it bonuses in mind for days when you need just a little pick-me-up to keep going.
Write down rewards on the calendar
We’ve encouraged you all along to log your goals as well as what you’re eating and doing for exercise. Now look at your calendar and set “treat” days ahead of time. Then keep a list of perks you’ll dole out as you meet your goals or make it through tough tests of your newfound resolve.
Know your motivators
Choose things you’re excited to work for, like a massage or pedicure, a night out with friends, or new clothes. One caveat: Never use food as a reward. It can give a bad habit -emotional eating- traction and thwart your progress.
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Congratulations to the following fabulous ladies who won the Simon and Schuster Canada book The Way We’re Working Isn’t Working!
There were oodles of emails asking to win the prize, but the first five ladies were the winners:
Dorothy McClure
Stephanie Woods
Rachel Robichaud
Pauline McGarrigle
Serena Miller
To claim your prize email info@cashmereclutch.com with your mailing address.
