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Canadian Pride for Pride Week! #TGCBB

canpride

Follow my blog with Bloglovin Late last night, I pulled together a last minute giveaway to join in with The Great Canadian Blog Bash's celebration of Canadian companies, products, and services. Today, I'm just sharing my Canadian pride. I don't think it's any coincidence that Toronto, Canada is host to one of the world's largest Pride Week festivals during the same week that we also celebrate Canada Day. I'm proud of Canada's diversity. I'm … [Read more...]

Proudly Canadian Giveaway! ($485 total value *now closed*) #TGCBB

shellstar logo

Over the past couple of months, I've really been enjoying the opportunity to meet more and more Canadian bloggers. In doing so, I was introduced to a tradition that started three years ago called The Great Canadian Blog Bash. Started up by three Canadian bloggers, the idea is to showcase Canadian pride via a blog post (which I will do shortly) as well as to showcase Canadian products and services via an all-Canadian giveaway (this post!). The … [Read more...]

A Pokemon Birthday Party Was Had

pikachu pokemon cupcakes

Pokemons infiltrated our household in 2008. A very cute, and slightly older boy introduced them to Stella when she was five years old and she was hooked. Line and sinker, people! From Pokemon pinatas to complete Pokemon bedroom decor, apparently some people just do not tire of these creatures. And now, just when we thought they were slowing fading away, they have returned back into the house -- all over the house! -- in full force. It seems … [Read more...]

Birthday Anticipation

Birthday Anticipation

  Birthday anticipation ... can you remember that feeling? That the days could not come fast enough until you'd wake up and it would be your birthday. YOUR birthday. A special day all for you. You would be one year older on that important ladder of years. 3, 4, 5 ... oh, and then to hit the double digit of 10! Or even more exciting perhaps was to hit 13 and be, officially, a teenager. Now, another year is just another year. They are … [Read more...]

Easy Summer Salad: Broccoli Coleslaw and Ramen Noodles

broccoli coleslaw salad

When I shared the recipe for the Orzo salad, I promised I would also share this easy summer salad with you as well. This one was actually even easier and quicker to make. 10 minutes, I swear. I definitely wouldn't count ramen noodles in the "healthy basket" but they add great crunch to the salad and heh, it's full of broccoli, so how bad can you go wrong? … [Read more...]

Summer Weddings, Past & Present (+ Giveaway for a Samsung Galaxy Note 8! *now closed*)

down the aisle

Hubby and I promised our lives to each other under a couple of century-old gum trees on one of the hottest of summer days in Australia. It was a day and a night that I will never forget, and will always be grateful for because we simply could not have done it without all of the help of our parents on both sides of the family. We were young and broke, and short on time. But so many family and friends pitched in with the planning and it somehow … [Read more...]

Saturdays with Stella: Tales from the Tail

Gah! I was away in the woods with no cellphone access this weekend and this post was scheduled to publish on Saturday am. No idea what I did wrong but here it is now ... Stella and I have decided we should rename "Saturdays with Stella" to "Highly Sporadic Saturdays with Stella." It does not surprise or disappoint me that she no longer wants to write something each week. It had been her idea in the first place. But she's busy. She's got … [Read more...]

Easy Summer Salad: Orzo with Baby Spinach, Feta & Pinenuts

orzo pasta salad

So, listen, it's been almost a full year since I shared the Cold Quinoa Salad recipe with you. Since then, I have circulated this one salad in my repertoire so many times in the last year that even I'm sick of it! On Tuesday of this week, Hubby and I had my parents over for a belated Mother's Day and early Father's Day celebration and I decided to try out not one but two (!) new salad recipes. To everyone's mighty surprise, they both turned … [Read more...]

Awesome Ottawa Giveaway Alert: A Week’s Summer Camp at Little Ray’s Reptile Zoo! (*now closed*)

A fellow Ottawa blogger kindly invited Coffee with Julie readers to take part in an awesome giveaway! Or at least I think it's crazy awesome because my kids are crazy about Little Ray's Reptile Zoo. They've met the Little Ray's crew at their school and even at friends' birthday parties and the excitement never seems to fade. I personally have a tender heart when it comes to Little Ray's because of they are a rescue organization. Sandy from … [Read more...]

38 “Must Read” Books, as suggested by @coffeewithjulie Readers

book stack

In response to my post "3 Books that Changed My Life," I received so many fantastic suggestions for "must read" books that I don't want to forget them. They came in via Facebook, Twitter, and in the Comments section of the blog. In no particular order, I am listing them here for handy reference. 1.  The Bell Jar by Sylvia Path - suggested by @ReadyDressedGo 2. The Philosophy of Andy Warhol by Andy Warhol - suggested by @ReadyDressedGo 3. … [Read more...]

3 Books that Changed My Life

real simple magazine, June 2013

Last week, I treated myself to two magazines (oh, how I still love my printed magazines!). One of these was Real Simple. In it, there was an article "50 books that will change your life." It had been mentioned on the cover, and was one of the reasons I chose this magazine over the many other beckoning covers. Once I got home, I flipped right to that article. I felt oddly disappointed. As an avid reader, I had expected that many of my favourite … [Read more...]

When Your Daughter Wants to Play Football

Full range of mouth guards

As part of a social shopper insights study, I was compensated to write this post. Yes, that means I got paid to go shopping. It's tough work if you can get it, but I'm definitely grateful for the opportunity to pick up some outdoor sports gear for my family. Thanks Collective Bias!  My daughter is a book worm. My daughter is the smallest kid in her class. And my daughter wants to play football. Hubby and I aren't sure where the interest in … [Read more...]