Instead Softcups is supposed to offer 12-hour femine protection. It also claims to be a proven alternative to pads and tampons. One size is also supposed fit most women. I found that Instead Softcups did not fit me properly. I inserted it according to the instructions on the box but still had leaks. Thank goodness I had the forethought to still wear a pad! Not only was it hard to inst...

What's all of the craze with BKT (known as Brazilian Keratin Treatments)? Well I HAD to try it for myself and I was really impressed with the results! Brazilian Keratin Treatments are products that use a form of protein called keratin to repair the cuticle. Formalin is used to help bind the keratin to the cuticle. It works to smooth the cuticles of curly, frizzy hair and is temporary, usual...

Prepaid credit cards are a new concept in Canada. Until recently you could only get a prepaid credit card at Bank of Montreal (if you wanted a MasterCard) or Royal Bank (if you wanted a VIsa). Now, stores like Shoppers Drug Mart sell prepaid MasterCard Gift Cards. Vanilla MasterCard is the company that issues the prepaid MasterCards for Shoppers Drug Mart. Why buy prepaid credit cards? Prepaid ...

Rogers Yahoo! Online Protection  is available for free for all Rogers Hi-Speed Internet connection users. It offers the following computer security features: Anti-SpywareNorton AntiVirusNorton Personal FirewallPop-up BlockerParental ControlsRogers Yahoo! Mail Protection The cool thing about this is that Norton AntiVirus is also free! With Norton you get live online detection of comput...

The First Years Deluxe Natural Comfort Double Electric/Battery breast pump is the only pump you will need. With all of the news reports out there regarding harmful chemicals used in the making of plastic bottles and baby formula, breastfeeding was the logical choice for the health of my son and this breast pump helps keep up my milk supply. It comes with 2 milk storage bags, a reusable cold pac...

This past weekend my husband and were attending a friend's wedding and he didn't have a nice shirt to wear. We went to Banana Republic and purchased a shirt to wear with his suit. My husband looked sharp in his crisp white non-iron shirt from Banana Republic. The shirt is a 'classic fit' in Large which has a neck measurement of 16-16 1/2 inches. It has a front pocket on the left...

Since Bank of Montreal (BMO) offered online banking to its customers some umpteen years ago, I could count on one hand how many times I've set foot into one of their branches to see a teller. If my computer could dispense cold, hard cash like an ATM, I'd never go to a branch to use the drive thru ATM again! Some of the services offered online include bill payment, view bills online with...

Disney always has great, unique items for Christmas. Being the frugal shopper that I am, I always wait for the after-Christmas clearance sales to purchase new items for the Christmas holidays the following year. Shoppers Drug Mart also sells Christmas ornaments and other items. It was while in a Shoppers Drug Mart filling a prescription in early January that I noticed they had some Disney Chris...

When I signed up for satellite TV service over 5 years ago the company was known as Start Choice. This year they got bought out by Shaw Direct and became 100% digital. I have had excellent service with Start Choice and so far so good with Shaw Direct. I purchased the digital and extra value packs that gives me time shifting for all of the Canadian TV Networks and some US Networks as well. I get...

After having my son last year my husband and I decided that I'd take some form of contraceptive until we were ready to have another child. I've taken birth control pills before like Triphasil or Alesse but they made me feel nauseous  and irritated all day. Sometimes my throat would feel weird like I hadn't swallowed the pill and it dissolved in my throat!  So, I explored m...

My son kept on seeing these commercials for the icoaster over Christmas last year. I refused to pay $79.99 for the set; which was the price I saw it in Walmart for. While in Costco buying finger foods, I spotted the iCoaster end-of-aisle display and it was on sale to boot! The iCoaster is a building set. Using towers of varying heights and tracks, you build a roller coaster that you can roll a ...

I searched high and low to find a bottle warmer that was safe to use to re-heat breastmilk. I am returning to work soon after a year of maternity leave (isn't Canada GREAT!) and want to continue to pump & breastfeed until my son is completely on solids. You'd think that a lot of bottle warmers would be able to heat breastmilk but believe me, not a lot do. This until I found the Quic...

What to feed a picky, cranky toddler that doesn't seem to want to eat anything? That is the dilema that I am now facing with my two year old. He loves to drink and would rather drink all day than eat solid food. So, rather than letting his food choices dictate his daily nutrition, I've decided to supplement his diet with Enfagrow Toddler. It is for toddlers from 1 - 3 years old. It is h...

I was able to get a personal loan from Citi Financial to pay off some credit cards and my university tuition. The Citi Financial agent made it very easy to apply and explained, in detail each aspect of the application. They also had easy repayment options so I could pay off the loan early and without penalty. I needed collateral for the loan so I put my car up. The term of the loan was 48 month...

My very first bank account was with Bank of Nova Scotia some 15 years ago and believe it or not, I still have that account open. I use this account solely for repaying my student loans so it isn't my regular chequing account. I was glad when they offered internet banking services as it would mean that I no longer had to go in to a branch to do my banking. The icing on the cake was when they...

Well, it seems like ever since September started, the temperatures in Toronto have been steadily declining. I'm a warm-blooded person by nature so I'll do anything to keep warm. Every fall/winter since we've moved to this house, I've thanked God that we paid for the gas fireplace upgrade! Our fireplace came with our home as an upgrade. It was installed by the builder so we didn&...

I love boots so when I saw these boots at the ALDO Outlet, I just had to have them! It didn't hurt that they were on sale, marked down from $150 to $59.99 either. They had one left, and it was in my size. These boots are made of soft black leather and has a bit of shine to it (but NOT like patent leather). The toe of the boots is the rounded toe style that was popular last fall. The heel of...

While shopping one day we came across this novelty photo studio called Magenta Studio Photo in Vaughn Mills Mall (that HUGE outlet mall north on the 400 near Canada’s Wonderland). They are a hip new photo studio and they can take all sorts of novelty pictures like kid as angel, butterflies, drummer, in bowls of flowers, with sunflowers, etc. I spent over an hour looking at their portfolio...

I was 24 when I purchased my first home and the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) required me to purchase life insurance to cover the value of the home before they would advance me my mortgage. I decided to go with the cheapest life insurance policy available - Preferred Term 10. I was covered for $250,000. I could've gotten more covereage but elected not to due to the fact that we didn't want...

January of last year was our 1st on site trip to Disney World in Florida, staying at the Port Orleans Riverside hotel. Since flying there for a family of five is pretty expensive, my husband and I decided to drive to Orlando from Toronto. We wanted to free up some space in the trunk of our Chevy Trailblazer so that we could take turns laying down for a snooze. We decided we'd need extra sto...