I live close to a Real Canadian Superstore and I am ever so grateful. I love being able to buy Joe Fresh, PC products for my house, and buy groceries ALL at the same time. (probably in that order too). Infact, I always seem to enter the store on the RIGHT so I can make the important purchases first.

Infact, they  recently renovated the Superstore at Dufferin/Steeles and I think the new layout, lighting, shelving units etc. makes a huge difference.

While strolling thru the aisles last week, I noticed an (electronic) ORANGE JUICE MACHINE for $7.99.  I figured that at that price, why shouldn’t I own one?

Then I went to the produce department to get oranges. I noticed they had a bag of oranges that would be suitable for orange juice AND

there was a bag next to them called PINK NAVEL ORANGES. . So I scooped up TWO big bags of oranges.

When I got home, I took out my lovely new juice maker and bingo – in no time at all, there was a cup of orange juice. It cleaned easily and

I couldnt stop thinking “why have I not ever owned this machine before?”. Silly Me.

I also sliced up a pink navel orange. WOW…the color was gorgeous (pink with orange undertones) and it certainly had a distinct sweet flavor to them.

You would notice the difference between the two oranges instantly.

Lesson Learned: a) invest in an orange juice maker. It’s worth it. b) try the pink navel oranges. You will love them.

Happy Grocery Shopping!!

The other day I  received an invitation to go to the opening of Briscola Trattoria and I was delighted to accept. I  knew that Charles Khabouth, who is the founder and CEO of  the hospitality empire INK and  and Toufik Sarwa, the owner of Amber in Yorkville, would collaborate and develop, yet another successful venture.

I was not disappointed. The space is cozy and very inviting. I liked the whole layout….the intimate booths, the communal wood tables, and the interesting light fixtures too. (I noticed..LOL).

As for the food: I’m in love with the deep fried olives.

Not only did I enjoy all the appetizers, I enjoyed a few glasses of wine..(which means that I maxed out at two) and chatted with the lovely @geekigirl @christinallison @racboutique and @theFlist.

Always fun to meet new and old twitter friends at events. Plus it’s great to be able to support new restaurants too.

I really hope you get a chance to visit Briscola Trattoria soon.  They are located at 501 College Street and open 6 days a week. For further info please click here: Briscola

I had been running without a watch for 5 years. All that changed last summer, when I found out that the Garmin Forerunner 405 was at Costco.

So I bought it. I though it was about time (no pun intended) that I owned a watch.

I was SO excited!! Finally I could track my distance on my rides AND on my runs, my heart rate and all sorts of fun data.

WRONG.

I could not figure out how to use it. Period. I sat with the manual..with the watch…with YouTube videos and had NO LUCK.

My ironman buddy tried to teach me. NOPE…could not get the hang out of it. I was kinda of pissed, as this watch was not cheap.

Finally last week, while attending a social media party called #whatthehashtag, I met @RobTyrie and I noticed he was wearing the

watch that I had not been able to use since JULY 2010. I told him about my fustration. Rob mentioned that it took him HOURS to figure out the manual.

(I believe him. I really do.) Standing beside Rob was was @aprildunford

who said that it was THE WORST MANUAL EVER and they fired the whole time who wrote the manual.. I asked Rob if he could teach both of us how to use it. He gladly accepted the challenge.

We met on Sunday at The Mad Bean for a coffee and I showed up with the manuals and the watch. Sadly April couldnt join us. He patiently taught me how to use it and it took hours!! (I’m not joking).

I wrote notes…the whole nine yards.

Has anyone else had this type of experience with a product? Does anyone else own a Garmin?

Do rant. I just did and it feels great. LOL

I was so in love with my Pomegranate Tool that I decided to pick up the phone one day to call the owner of Shoham in Israel. FYI – Shoham is the brains behind this clever device.

We immediately hit it off. We talked about Loblaws, Costco, Mangoes, Pomegranates, his travels to Toronto, my last trip to Israel etc.

He knew that I had blogged about the Pomegranate Tool and offered to send me TEN more. I knew immediately that I would be using them for a contest.

The box arrived this week and I was thrilled. (little things make me happy, did you know that?).

I wanted to celebrate with a contest when  MOMWHORUNS turns 6 months old…but I simply can’t wait.

Here’s the contest rules:

-the contest will run from Sunday Feb 13th  and will close on Sunday Feb 27th at 5 p.m. At that time I will use random.org to help me select TWO lucky winners.

If you win, I will contact you via email and you will have 7 days to reply. If I don’t hear from you another winner will be selected. Fair?

-only residents of Ontario can participate in this contest. (sorry).

-how do you win?  leave a comment by answering the following question: do you ever make anything with a pomegranate or do you just eat the seeds?

How simple is that? It would be nice if you would subscribe to momwhoruns but I won’t make it mandatory. But it would be really really nice to have a few more subscribers. (hint hint).

Wishing everyone the best of luck.

p.s I will be giving out the remainding pomegranate tools at future events!!

Recently I noticed that my running shoes were looking a little worn. OK…a lot worn.

So I went to the Running Room to get a new pair. Naturally I missed out on the Groupon for the Running Room, but that’s another blog post.

Every time I buy running shoes, I tell the clerk to “please bring me three pairs of size 8 running shoe to try on. I don’t need to know the brand or the price. I really just want to find  a good FIT“.

So she brought me out three pairs. Here’s what I thought of each running shoe.

Pair number 1: firm all around the foot, lots of padding, and a good fit

Pair number 2: very wide, nice padding and a good fit

Pair number 3: totally weird feeling. It felt  like my foot was on an incline.

I walked around a bit and then took out my (beloved) visa to buy the winning pair.

What did I buy? The Saucony 8. My old pair were the Saucony 5.

What on earth took me THREE YEARS to buy a pair of running shoes when Im at the gym USING them 5 times a week.?

Can’t wait to use them. Do you think I will run faster? HA. Time will tell.

I grew up in a family that loved apples. I grew up eating McIntosh, Granny Smith, Empire, Cortland and even Russet apples.

My love for apples continues…it’s a quick healthy snack and apples can be turned into healthy desserts too. (keep reading)

Recently I became aware that the McIntosh Apple is celebrating it’s 200th anniversary in style!!

The Ontario Apple Growers will be hosting the  Winter Apple Ball! This event  is going to take place on Monday Feb 21 from 11 – 2 at the Westin Harbour Castle in the Metropolitan Ballroom.

For further info click on the link. All the info about this fabulous event will be there.

In honour of the McIntosh Apples’ birthday, I decided to make baked apples for dessert tonite.

I think my family is kinda tired of yoghurt and blueberies with sprinkled granola.

Here’s how simple the recipe is:

INGREDIENTS:

Apples (I used McIntosh but I’m sure this would work with other varieties. Infact other varieties might work better)

butter or margarine (a few tablespoons)

cup brown sugar (a few tablespoons)

cinnamon

pecans and walnuts (optional)

(sorry I didn’t measure…I grew up in a kitchen that didn’t measure anything. My mom is awesome though).

RECIPE:

1. Core apples (simple..well kinda. LOL) I have a apple corer to assist with this step.

2. Mix the butter, brown sugar and cinnamon (nuts are optional)

3. Stuff the apples with the mixture.

4. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 40 minutes

VOILA…a dessert that barely took 5 minutes of preparation, required barely any ingredients and is YUMMY.

If you notice in the photos, there’s little bits of orange sticking out. A few years ago, I brought back from Israel, dried orange peel from an incredible store called Eden Teva. I’ve been storing it in my freezer and every once in a while I add it to a few dishes that I make for color and flavor.

Happy 200th Anniversary to the McIntosh Apple!!

I met some cousins at  Starbucks in the summer  and as she paid for the coffee, I noticed she had a STARBUCKS GOLD CARD. I immediately asked  “whats that?” She replied “I received it last year in the mail”. Then I fired away some questions: what does she receive for owning a gold card?  how was she selected? can I take a photo of her with her card? etc etc.

She answered that she has been buying Starbucks cards for along time and that “someone” must be tracking her loyalty and how much money she is spending.

I really thought the GOLD CARD was cool. I mean, seriously…. how many people have you met with a Starbucks Gold Card.

I should mention, that my dear cousin lives part time in Florida and that this program does not exist in Canada yet. Last time I spoke to the publicists for Starbucks in Canada they told me that there was  a small pilot-test being held out West.

Let’s cross our fingers that GOLD CARDS will make their way to major cities throughout Canada.

Me-likey-gold-cards.

The last time I had a GOLD CARD was in 1980 for  a club called Tobascos in Hull. For those who are reading this in Ottawa, I am POSITIVE that this is bringing back memories!!

News Flash:  I am going to be in the Toronto Star on Wed. Feb. 2nd, and I’m so excited about it that I’m blogging about it before the paper arrives!!

Here’s how it happend:

10:00 a.m. I receive a text from @savvari asking me if I am working from home due to the snow and to email her contact at the Toronto Star if I’m interested in being interviewed.

10:14 a.m. I send an email to her contact explaining that I’m a food sales rep who drives thru the GTA to visit accounts. I also write “clearly won’t be on the roads tomorrow” and leave  my name and phone number

10:17 a.m. My phone rings and it’s Francine Kopun from the Toronto Star!. She asks me a few questions and even though we have never met ,we get along famously over the phone. She also asks me if I would be interested in being photographed for the article. I reply “no problem” (as I said this I realize that I have no make up on and my hair is in a pony tail).

I then visit some accounts and while I’m at Shoppers Drug Mart on Dufferin, I ask beg the clerk at the make up counter,  if she would kindly put some make up on. Thankfully she agrees!! (phewww).

12:51 p.m I received a phone call from Rene Johnston, who is a photo journalist at the Toronto Star. We agree to meet at Leslie/Eglinton as he wants to take some shots of me in Sunnybrook park

1:30 p.m. Rene and I meet at the designated location.  He is so charming that I immediately forget that I am about to be photographed for a major newspaper.

He takes photos of me inside the car, outside the car, while I’m driving, while I’m parking etc. While he is busy clicking away he says “sex and chocolate” and of course I immediatlely smile and laugh. He’s a true professional.

2: 31 p.m. I send an email to Francine to tell her that Rene was awesome and that both of them make my day brighter!!

2:32 p.m. I send an email to @savvari (Sandy) thanking her for putting me in contact with Francine.

3:20 p.m. I received an email from Francine with the copy she has written for the article. (you will have to read the Toronto Star…I’m so mean, eh?)

I’m now blogging about this at 10:00 p.m .and there is STILL no snow on the ground.  But I know it’s on the way….right?

Once again, many thanks to Sandy, Francine and Rene (and twitter too)!!

Lately I’ve been shopping a lot on Ebay. I’m not quite sure what took me so long to get introduced to Ebay but I’m so glad we are now friends!!

In the last month I have purchased: a charger, an iPad screen saver, a Belkin arm band for my iphone and just last week I won the auction for a Canon Rebel EOS. Hooray!!

Oh yeah..I bought this chair too. I was tired of blogging in bed and I didn’t want to blog at a desk either. Here’s the story how the chair was purchased. I was trying to kill time while waiting for @HeatherLochner to meet me for lunch and Structube was right next door. So I wandered in…saw the chair and pulled out my visa. (I’m decisive, can you tell?)

Lunch was a little more expensive than I planned. However I am happy. Really happy.

I’m kinda sad that I cant’t afford the new Michael Kors bag but hey…I’ve got my chair and my new camera. Happiness.

I went to the Interior Design show on Thursday nite and walked thru aisles and aisles of beautiful furniture, textiles, art, carpets, kitchens and more. Everything was stunning. I truly didn’t know where to look first!!

It was also the first time I brought my new camera with me to an event!! I am now the proud owner of a Canon EOS Rebel. So allow me to share with you a few pictures.

Don’t you just love how the designer made sure  you had easy access to your favorite wines!!

I’m also in love with this fireplace.

The Jenn-Air booth featured some pretty fancy ovens and I have to say, I fell in love with Boiled Bronze!! I’m predicting that OPI is going to name a nail polish this color too.

Came across this display of tulips and thought “I WANT THIS”.

Last but not least, I stumbled across this wallpaper by RollOut and was impressed with their unique designs. How cool.

This show is awesome . Period.