Buy Canadian First - Your destination for good shopping

Each season offers pet owners new challenges, but nothing like the challenges that Spring brings! For better or worse, our pets will be spending a lot more time outside in the coming months! So let's take good care of them.

 

Are you the lucky duck responsible for giving a baby shower in the near future? In light of the fact that Canadian babies are responsible for 4 million disposable diapers in the landfill each day, why not consider throwing a great green Canadian baby shower? Don't forget that a great way to go green is to buy locally! 

We hope that this guide will help you to do just that!

1. Invitations

Start off green with the baby shower invitations! ecojot is an eco-friendly stationery brand based in Scarborough, Ontario and created in 2007 by designer Carolyn Gavin, her brother Mark Gavin and family. The paper content used in all their products, including the great EcoCards shown below, is 100% post-consumer recycled and all products are designed and printed in Canada. Or consider printing these free invitations from Canadian Living onto recycled paper.

2. Wrapping

Hey, why not pull out those brown paper lunch bags to wrap baby gifts in! You can stamp on them with a potato and poster paints. What about wrapping a gift in a baby blanket or (clean) cloth diaper?  Also consider putting gifts in a reusable, recycled shopping tote such as these great Gourmet Market Totes from Eco-Handbags.

3. Decor

What could be greener than fresh flowers, or better yet, potted plants that can be replanted in the garden or left as is to brighten a mom-to-be's kitchen? Bunting, also called pennants or flag garlands, are the hottest trend right now in party decor. They are easy to make by cutting triangles out of wrapping paper or feltand attaching them to a long string or ribbon. Here's a great & easy tutorial. Save them for other parties!

4. Food

Fresh and local food is de rigeur at a green baby shower! Try triangles of Canadian cheddar cheese grilled with thin slices of Red Prince apple on toast together with a crisp spinach salad. Or how do fruit or vegetable kebabs sound, with a variety of yummy dipping sauces on the side?

5. Location

If possible, why not try for a party outside? Backyard BBQS are great fun and you can often find BBQs to use in local parks, if you don't have one yourself.

6. Gifts

There are so many great green Canadian baby gifts out there, that we have put them in their own section.

What are your great green baby shower ideas?

Images courtesy of Buy Canadian First members Ecojot, Eco-Hanbags, and Peak of the Market, as well as Gwenny Penny

Today we're spotlighting Buy Canadian First member, Heiko, who understands Canadian skin and believes that the beauty and freshness of nature are the result of a perfect balance of elements.

Heiko, which means balance in Japanese, makes use of this knowledge from nature to create their line of Canadian-made products, offering an effective and 100% natural solution to finding and keeping your skin's perfect balance. Heiko is nature's wisdom right at our fingertips and just what my skin needs after a long, hard Canadian Winter!

Did you know that Heiko is the first beauty care company in North America to offer a complete range of skin care products that are inspired entirely by homeopathy? Homeopathy is an alternative medicine, favoured by the British royal family, among others. Homeopathic biochemist Shirley Duplessis started Heiko in her Quebec clinic, where she made creams for her patients.

It was the homeopathy that really caught registered nutritionist, Linda Miner's, eye. She is excited about Heiko's sunscreen and skincare. As someone who suffers from allergies, the purity of Heiko's natural ingredients made a difference to Linda's wellbeing. I found out from her that Heiko's sunscreen actually scored a rating of 1 on the Environmental Working Group's list of best sunscreens! (That's awesome!).
 

Whatever the season, it's safe to say that Heiko has a product that will replenish and protect your skin!

Do you use sunscreen in the Summer, all year round or never?

:: images courtesy of Buy Canadian First member, Heiko

This weekend I saw my first Canadian movie of the year. And, delightfully, it was in a theatre. The High Cost of Living is a drama set in Montreal, and stars Zach Braff (yep, that American guy from Scrubs) and Isabelle Blais. It's Deborah Chow's first full-length film, and it won Best Canadian First Feature at the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival, where it debuted.

Braff plays aggressively against type as a scruffy American with an expired visa, dealing drugs from his dingy apartment in Montreal's Chinatown. Braff and Blais's characters are involved in a car crash that spins their lives off in new, unexpected directions.

Here's the trailer:

The High Cost of Living is seriously dark, in a tradition of bleak Canadian movies like The Sweet Hereafter and Crash (the one with the autophilia and without Brendan Fraser). Men With Brooms, it is not. It's also a bit dull-not enough happens to satisfactorily fill the film's 93 minutes.

In looking at film and television (and theatre and radio, I suppose) this year, I'm principally interested in how Canadian a movie or show is. I'll provide a bulleted list of Canadian elements, and then rate its overall Canadianess out of five. Five poutines, that is.

How Canadian was this movie?

The High Cost of Living was this Canadian:

• Though the city is never explicitly named, it's set in Montreal.
• Roughly half the dialogue is in English, and half is in French.
• People use Canadian money.
• It snows.
• The film subtly criticizes the Canadian medical system.
• An American discusses the differences between Canada and the US.
• An American star slumming it in a recognizably Canadian film, reinforcing our inferiority-complex about homegrown films.

For these and other reasons, I'm giving The High Cost of Living three out of five poutines.

Read comments here.

Blog post re-printed with kind permission from  Darren Barefoot - 1Y1C.

The egg is a symbol of birth, the renewal of the earth and the awakening Spring after Winter's deep slumber. Evidence of decorated eggs can be seen as far back as Paleolithic  and Neolithc times. As Eastern Europeans converted to Christianity, their egg decorating traditions, rich in history and symbolism , were carried forward, but with the symbols that once represented the rebirth of the seasons transferred over to represent the rebirth of man. The wax relief method of decorating eggs can be seen throughout seveal eastern European nations, including the Lithuanians, the Polish, the Serbians and the Romanians ... but none are so well known as the Ukrainians and their Pysanka. 

 The pysanka was more than just an egg. To some it held the fate of the world.

"The Hutsuls--Ukrainians who live in the Carpathian Mountains of western Ukraine--believe that the fate of the world depends upon the pysanka. As long as the egg decorating custom continues, the world will exist. If, for any reason, this custom is abandoned, evil--in the shape of a horrible serpent who is forever chained to a cliff-- will overrun the world. Each year the serpent sends out his minions to see how many pysanky have been created. If the number is low the serpent's chains are loosened and he is free to wander the earth causing havoc and destruction. If, on the other hand, the number of pysanky has increased, the chains are tightened and good triumphs over evil for yet another year." -wikipedia

Pysanky were believed to hold powerful magic. It was feared that if a witch was to get a hold of one, she could use the shell to gather dew, which would then be used to dry up milk cows. She could also poke people with the shell and sicken them. No one was allowed to trample on a pysanka as it was believed that God would punish anyone who did with a variety of illnesses. It was common for girls to give their pysanky decorated with heart motifs to their beloved but if the egg held no design on the top or the bottom , he was in danger of balding early.

So how hard it is to create a pysanka? I am a crafter and I know the years it takes to hone your skills and create wondrous works. So, to truly make a work of art with the wax relief method, or to simply make  a  straight line from the top of the egg, all the way around that meets with the beginning of that line again, is a triumph. It takes years to create the wonders that you see but everyone starts somewhere and it is not expensive to buy a kit and try to just have fun !

Frankly, I tried to create something adorable to share but I am soooo out of practice I couldn't bear to do it.  That doesn't mean that you couldn't peek at a few examples  that I did years ago .

How are you decorating your Easter eggs this year? 

Happy Easter, Canada.

Photo credits: Flickr creative commons; Kevin Saff  and PugnoM 

Last week I wrote about receiving some of the lush products made by Earth to Body, containing either emu oil or argan oil . I did some research and discovered that one of the alleged benefits of using emu oil is the potential for relief from arthritic pain. This past year, arthritis finally caught up with Mom, mainly in her left hand and in her legs. She is also experiencing a dry and itchy scalp, exacerbated by Winter conditions. So, I have given Mom the emu oil products to try on her joints and skin and then report back to you about. Mom, 94 years young this July,  will be our "field reporter"!

                     Earth to Body Argan Moisturizer

I have started using the argan oil products on my own Winter-distressed skin and on my wrist tattoo! (It sucks to have people ask what my tattoo is a picture of because of dry skin!). Both argan and emu oils are also supposed to be really good at reducing and fading the appearance of stretch marks and scar tissue, like tattoos or C-sections! The lip balms are great for fast touch-ups of trouble spots, believe it or not! They are in a really convenient format and they feel amazing! Read my review here.

                    Earth to Body Baby Package

If you're a new mom, you will love the Earth to Baby Organics Package, which includes the basic  necessities for both your baby and you! You get a gentle cleansing soap, a calming spray, absorbable and loving massage oil and a soothing, protecting diaper area salve. Each item is 100% natural, with no artificial preservatives (parabens), alcohol, toxins, fragrances or dyes. Healthy nutrients for baby's skin is Earth to Body's utmost priority and also multi-purpose usage is also a big factor!

                              Rose Lavender Spray

I have a sample of the spray, which is a gentle, cleansing organic hydrosol using lavendar and rose. It is a perfect diaper area spray to replace chemical baby wipes, leaving baby feeling clean, calm and comfortable and it is also ideal as a linen spray and room freshener! I use it on my face when I need perking up and I also spray it in our car and on the dogs' beds and coats, which makes me a good pet mom! Talk about an "all-purpose" product! Read my review here.

What's in the products that you use on your babies?

:: images courtesy Buy Canadian First member, Earth To Body.

Every April 22nd, Canadians join over 1 billion people in over 175 countries, to celebrate Earth Day. This year marks the 41st anniversary of Earth Day - honouring the planet and all living things that inhabit it. It was in 1990 that Canada first joined in the Earth Day celebrations which have grown into Earth Week and even Earth Month celebrations!

As a Mom of twin, 3 year old boys, this year I'm wondering how I can start promoting the idea of Earth Day at home. With the boys not attending school until the Fall, we don't have the school projects or colouring sheets that will be coming home to discuss, so I'm looking into what's going on in my community and what we can do at home.

One thing we already do at home is recycle - the boys love throwing the cans and bottles into the bins outside. But what we don't talk about is why we recycle or where it goes.

I found some fantastic Canadian made products on BuyCanadianFirst.ca that are made from recycled material, like this:

                                  Pencil Case

A pencil case made from recycled rubber.

               Recycled Plastic Bottles Lunch Bag

Both are perfect for school for the boys this coming fall. Something that they would really love to get their hands on is:

It would be great to explain to the boys that by separating and recycling our cans, bottles, glass and paper, we can reuse these items to create fantastic new products.

Another thing we started getting into last year and will focus more on this year is gardening - planting our own seeds and growing our own fruit and vegetables in our own backyard. Last year the boys LOVED digging in the garden, watering everything (until we practically had a pool out there..haha) and running outside everyday to check the growing strawberries, cucumbers, tomatoes and pumpkins we had.

I know there are clean-ups happening at the park and a festival happening in nearby London, Ontario, with tree planting, bird box building and more. I'll also be looking into events happening in our area. Check out the Earth Day Canada website to find events happening in your area.

How do you plan on bringing the celebration of Earth Day home?

by Stacey Kazmir

Images courtesy of Buy Canadian First members Eco-Handbags, Recycled.ca, Sprig Toys

Spring is my favourite time of the year,and after being cooped up all Winter, I am impatiently ready to give Spring a boost! It's still chilly and unpredictable here  in Southern Ontario, so I'm bringing Spring inside! Here are 5 foolproof ways to do just that!  

                Attitude Window and Mirror cleaner

1. Open a window! Then wash it!

Dang! The Spring Sun streaming in the windows is awesome but man, is that glass dirty! Nothing says "hello Spring" like the squeak of a newspaper on wet glass.  ATTITUDE® products are pushing the envelope for eco-responsibility by becoming the world’s first and only line of household products that are both eco-certified and carbon neutral. And made in Canada, of course!

                         Ottawa Tulip Festival

2. Buy tulips and daffodils at the supermarket!

There are a few mystery tulips and daffs in our little front yard, planted by squirrels. They aren't up yet, but our No Frills store sells a gorgeous little bunch of them for $4.00! Bulb plants like tulips and daffodils are so Springy and I am really happy that I can 'pick them' every week, either in the front yard or at the grocery store! Since April is Daffodil Month you shouldn't have any trouble finding some to purchase.

                         You Grow Girl! Chapters.Indigo.ca

3. Start some seeds!

You Grow Girl™ was launched by Canadian  Gayla Trail in February 2000 and has grown into a thriving online community that "speaks to a new kind of gardener, seeking to redefine the modern world relationship to plants. This contemporary, laid-back approach to organic gardening places equal importance on environmentalism, style, affordability, art, and humour." I have owned the book for years and love that it is about urban gardening, the kind that I do! Gayla's advice on seed starting and her list of helpful links is excellent.

                              Forced  Pussywillow

4. Force some flowers!

Did you know that you can force flowers to bloom? It sounds mean, but they don't seem to mind it! If you are too softhearted to force things, you can buy branches that are already blooming at your local greenhouses, garden shows and Chinese food grocery stores. Forsythia, pussy willows, lilac, serviceberry, indeed, any flowering branch will do the trick! Here is a simple how-to . Let me know if you try it! I have an eye on my lilac tree!

5. Make a Spring wreath!

Wreaths aren't just for Christmas, you know! I make one for each season. This super easy tutorial will show you how to make a gorgeous Spring wreath, using the pussywillow branches that you forced!

How do you bring Spring in at your house?

:: Pussywillow image courtesy of Steven Depolo, Wikimedia; Tulips,  Paul Shannon, Wikimedia, Pussywillow Wreath, PejNolen, Flickr. All other images courtesy of Buy Canadian First members Chapters.Indigo, Attitude and Lee Valley.

It's raining, it's pouring and I want to go shopping.

The Winter meant that I was draped in warm sweaters and layers for many months, but now that the weather is finally showing signs of Spring, I'm ready to search for soft colours, lighter fabrics and a new, fresh style.

But first, we have to survive the many days of rain that come in April.  While it's making our grass greener and preparing our gardens for beautiful May flowers, the rain also poses a challenge for pretty shoes and outwear.

I have a real love for the trench coat.  Of all the rain gear that is out there, the simple, belted trench is a personal favourite.  It can be dressed up, or worn with a pair of jeans just as easily.  I currently have a blue trench and a green one; the bright colours are fun. Although, it's hard to beat a traditional black or camel/beige trench coat. 

My feet are begging for an open toe shoe or light foot wear.  Gone are the days of heavy Winter boots.  But I can't wear my beautiful high heels, or even low and comfortable shoes, in the rain and puddles.  Yet, after all of these years, I still don't own a pair of rain boots. 

The days of unfashionably bright, yellow rain boots are gone.  There are now some really lovely options that are fun to wear, look great and will keep your feet dry.

I like these from Rallye:

But these have great personality:

Beyond these, it's hard to beat an umbrella as an accessory.  Mine is black and plain but something more bright and fun would be wonderful! 

What do you wear out on a rain day?  What's your favourite rain gear?

::images courtesy Buy Canadian First members.

Last week, our publisher, Isabelle, sent me some Canadian-made natural, hand crafted skin products from Earth to Body to use and review. You can find my reviews under the specific products on the Earth to Body member pages. In honour of Earth Day on the 22nd, I will be posting the reviews all through April as I try everything from hair rinse, lip balm and face cream to hand and nail lotions and foot cream!

                                     Argan Moisturizer

Earth to Body is a family oriented business located on the shores of Lac St. Louis, on Montreal's West Island, in Quebec. I like the look of these products, I can tell you that! The packaging is streamlined and convenient and, best of all, doesn't scream "Old Lady Cream". It does say "Skin Nutrition" loud and clear, though, and looks very modern and clean. 
 

                         Martha and John Shannon

Now, imagine my surprise and delight to unexpectedly discover Earth to Body at our local home and garden show this past weekend! I was actually applying their argan lip balm as their large booth came into view. Meeting Martha and John Shannon, the dynamic couple who started Earth to Body, was such a treat! Having met them makes using their products even more meaningful. They are both passionate about what they make and sell and contagious in their enthusiasm for natural skin care.

John told me all about how Earth to Body is the latest thing in Chicago right now and how all the blogs are buzzing about them there. Martha, (whose skin, by the way, absolutely glows!) excitedly described a new oil that she has introduced to their line, called Tamanu. She also told me about their latest customer service innovation, which is a referral system that will earn you points towards more of their products.

 
                             Revitalizing eye oil

You can check out where Martha and John will be this year and perhaps be fortunate to have the opportunity to meet them and experience their skin nourishing wares. They pull their home behind them as they travel across Canada, setting up their booth at craft fairs and shows, nation wide!
In the meantime, explore their website .  It is very easy to navigate and has lots of valuable information. You can even shop there!

Do you have a skin regime or do you just hope for the best?

:: images courtesy Buy Canadian First member, Earth to Body.

Now we are getting serious.

Finding Canadian-made household goods has been a challenge, but switching toothpaste and deodorant is, by any standard, pretty much a foamy latte problem. The subsequent months-clothing and investments-have proved interesting distractions more than anything. There's plenty more to learn in all three categories. However, April is where, to reference a famous American movie, the speeder bike hits the redwood tree.

I love going to the movies. Attending a weekday matinee by myself is one of the sweetest joys of my self-employed life. And I go to a lot of movies. In 2006, I saw 61 films in the cinema.

How many of those were Canadian? None, I'm afraid.

That's not because I hate Canadian movies. There simply aren't that many to see in the cinema. At any time in Vancouver, there are zero to one Canadian movies showing in the theatres. Those that are shown are often "good for me"-they're the granola of movies. I don't mind these movies, but it's always an extra effort to go to them.

So, switching to only movies from the Great White North is going to be a sacrifice.

Everything Night in Canada

I don't actually watch that much television. I'm an ardent Canucks fan, so I see most of their games. I also watch the occasional English soccer game.

After that, though, I download nearly all of my TV. Those shows are either middle-brow dramas like "Dexter" or "True Blood", or middle-brow comedies like "Community" or "30 Rock".

Am I loyal to any Canadian television dramas or comedies? Nope. Is that because most Canadian television can't compare to the best American shows? I'm afraid so.

The saving grace, at least for a few months, is hockey.

What's Canadian?

In discussing this month, people have been interested in  talking about the rules. How will I identify Canadian movies and television? Does Battlestar Galactica qualify because it was shot in Vancouver with a bunch of Canadian actors? Is Juno Canadian because it's directed by and stars Canadians?

Others bring up the Canadian Content question. Will I just refer to the CRTC's list of approved programs? I looked into the qualifications for CanCon Television (the CRTC doesn't oversee movies), and the requirements are pretty byzantine. Here's the summary provided on their site:

• The producer must be Canadian and is responsible for monitoring and making decisions pertaining to the program
• The production earns a minimum number of points based on the key creative functions that are performed by Canadians
• A minimum percentage of program expenses is paid for services provided by Canadians or Canadian companies

I could go the CanCon route, but there's actually a simpler criteria. It's like that old maxim about pornography: we know it when we see it. Danger Bay? Canadian. Battlestar Galactica. Not so much. One Week? Canuck. Juno? Nice try.

That approach may seem overly simple, but I think it'll work just fine. What do you think? Do I need a more sophisticated approach than "Canadians can spot a Canadian production a mile away".

Read comments here.

Blog post re-printed with kind permission from  Darren Barefoot - 1Y1C.

Christmas is usually a gathering in my home. A week spent cleaning and scrubbing, trimming and decorating, then the shopping and the cooking. Sometimes it all seems like too much. Yet, in the end, it comes together and everyone has a lovely time. So when Easter rolls around I am usually anxiously awaiting a phone call from my mom letting me know where we will be brunching. A respite from cooking and cleaning is a welcome treat. With restaurant brunches starting at $20.00 a person, though, you are paying for the convenience but you lose the opportunity to have a ham sandwich the next day. You also give up the ease of relaxing in your own space rather than having to leave before the next seating. Perhaps it's time I start hosting the Easter brunch as well and we can make a day of it.

Why Ham?

Among Easter foods the most significant is the Easter lamb, which is in many places the main dish of the Easter Sunday meal. Corresponding to the Passover lamb and to Christ, the Lamb of God, this dish has become a central symbol of Easter. Also popular among European and Americans on Easter is ham, because the pig was considered a symbol of luck in pre-Christian Europe. Encyclopedia of Religion, Mircea Eliade editor in chief [MacMillan:New York] 1987,

And ohhh, the ham recipes that we can choose from, such as Glazed Ham with Orange Cranberry Sauce , Apricot-Glazed Spiral Ham  and Smoked Ham with Molasses and Rum Glaze. Imagine shaving the ham for dinner and especially late night sandwich snacks with a set of Grohmann knives, yummm! 

Hot cross bun, a round bun made from a rich yeast dough containing flour, milk, sugar, butter, eggs, currants, and spices, such as cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and cloves. In England, hot cross buns are traditionally eaten on Good Friday; they are marked on top with a cross, wither cut in the dough or composed of strips of pastry. The mark is of ancient origin, connected with religious offerings of bread, which replaced earlier, less civilized offerings of blood. The Egyptians offered small round cakes, marked with a representation of the horns of an ox, to the goddess of the moon. The Greeks and Romans had similar practices and the Saxons ate buns marked with a cross in honor of the goddess of light, Eostre, whose name was transferred to Easter. According to superstition, hot cross buns and loaves baked on Good Friday never went mouldy, and were sometimes kept as charms from one year to the next. Like Chelsea buns, hot cross buns were sold in great quantities by the Chelsea Bun House; in the 18th century large numbers of people flocked to Chelsea during the Easter period expressly to visit this establishment. Oxford Companion to Food, Alan Davidson [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 1999 (p. 114)

 

Canada Blooms is the largest flower and garden festival in the country. It is held for five days every Spring at the Direct Energy Centre, Exhibition Place, in Toronto, Ontario. With six acres of gardens featured in full bloom, the venue offers more than 100,000 sq. feet of shopping, 200 plus hours of seminars, workshops and demonstrations by various experts, as well as a children's area.

We started a garden in our backyard last year and I didn't have much garden experience. This led me to just picking out what I thought was pretty at the garden centre or from cute pictures on the envelopes of seeds. What I ended up with was a mish-mash of a garden that didn't grow well, was growing at different times, with too tall plants in the front and too short ones in the back. I found out that what you need to make a beautiful garden is a theme that brings a flow to your garden in colour, growing pattern and blooming period.

This year's theme at Canada Blooms was "Rhythms". One of Canada Blooms' special features was the "JUNO Rocks!" gardens, created to honour the 40th anniversary of the JUNO Awards. Five selected JUNO Award nominees and winners collaborated with garden builders from Canada Blooms to make gardens that reflected each artist’s particular style and genre and their interpretation of the Rhythms theme.

  "Earth Tones" was another theme that everyone was talking about and was created by Parklane Ltd., last year's feature garden winner. Described as a tribute to Earth’s rhythmic beat, “Earth Tones” responds to the ambience of the native landscape. The Earth Tones theme consisted of a pine needle path on the floor, concrete and wood fibre cinderblocks and prefab wooden deck panels.

So, pick a theme and then check out the gardening tools and supplies available from Canadian Manufacturers. They have everything you need to get started in the backyard to create a beautiful garden space. This year I will plan a theme first and stick with it to blend colours, choose plant sizes and keep in mind the blooming period for the perfect garden.

What theme are you planning to use in your garden this year?

Images courtesy of Buy Canadian First members, Plawicki Seeds, Trail Blazer & Lee Valley Compost

by Stacey Kazmir