Exploring Canada’s Eastern Lands*

Canada remains a relatively untouched country for UK travellers, ands somewhere I personally would love to visit. Perhaps it’s because the US is more familiar, or because Canada is so big, but it’s a trip that few some to make. But this should change, for one simple reason: Canada is amazing! From the wonders of the east, to the stunningly flat middle, to the mountains and vibe of the west, it’s a country that has something for everyone. And if you’re worried about the flight time, don’t be: the eastern coast is one of the shortest transatlantic flights available! Below, we take a look at some of the exciting destinations located in the eastern portion of the country.

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Big City Fun

Toronto isn’t really in keeping with the rest of Canada. It’s a big city…that acts and looks like a big city! Indeed, the skyscrapers of the city mean it’s often used as a shooting alternative to New York City. Take a trip there, and you’ll find there’s much to see and do, from theatre shows to art galleries to sports events. Beware, though, the temperatures can get pretty chilly in the winter time (which can last for five months).

French Influenced City

People tend to think that the coolest Canadian city is Vancouver, but those people clearly haven’t been to Montreal. This is where it’s at! This is the city that produced Arcade Fire, and where Kit Harrington (Jon Snow from Games of Thrones) parties during the summer. There’s plenty of attractions, galleries, and museums, but the best way to experience the city is just to wander around and soak up the atmosphere. There are plenty of cafes, craft beer pop-ups, and delicious restaurants to keep you busy, as well as plenty of live music.

The Eastern Coast

The Eastern Coast of Canada is filled with natural beauty gems, small towns, and cities. Book yourself into Delta Hotels Beausejour, and spend some time exploring the area. The region is noted for its delicious seafood, dunes, dramatic cliffs, and wildlife viewings. While you’re there, make sure you check out some live music; this part of Canada has an interesting musical heritage, and it’s uncommon to hear traditional Celtic songs. There’s also St. John’s, which is the oldest city in North America!


The Thousand Islands Region

Love nature, and want to spend as much time as possible in it? Then check out the Thousand Islands region. It’s best in the summer when the region looks at its best and is teeming with events and activities. There are some thirty miles of trails that pass through creeks, woodlands, and nature preserves, so don’t forget your hiking boots!

Natural Beauty

Finally, don’t think that all the grand examples of natural beauty are in the west! They’re not. Eastern Canada is of course home to one of the world’s great sights, Niagara Falls. Pay a visit, go for a walk, and get lost in the captivating beauty of this dramatic spectacle. It’s better in the summer, but impressive whenever you go!

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Trade in and Cash Out*

Two things bought about the writing of this post- firstly discovering loads of old gadgets sat around doing nothing whilst having a tidy up the other day, and secondly I’m on a real money saving/making drive at the moment with the greater goal of car and home ownership, plus a wardrobe to replenish weighing heavily on my mind.

Once upon a time I was actually quite organised when it came to recycling old phones when I got an upgrade. There is serious cash to be made with a little bit of research and not a lot of effort. There are plenty of websites out there which offer easy price comparisons to make sure you’re getting the best deal for your model- I’ve even started to see deposit banks in supermarkets which means you can tie it in with your weekly shop.

I’ve actually just had a quick look and discovered that my soon due for an upgrade iPhone SE could net me upwards of £100 which isn’t to be sniffed at! You don’t need much information to get a quote either, just pop in whether your phone is working, what network you’re on and there’s often a few cosmetic questions too- is the screen cracked? for example.

Trading in your phone is also good for the planet- rather than sitting gathering dust and eventually ending up in a landfill, the company who buy your device will instead re-purpose it, either a refurbished model or by stripping down the parts or even just disposing of it in the correct way.
Unbeknown to myself (and I suspect to many) mobile phones actually contain precious metals such as gold and silver as well as other elements all of which can be recycled and repurposed in their own way.

What’s the best deal you’ve ever got when trading in or recycling an old phone or tablet? I don’t think I’ve broken £100 on anything yet but hopefully my luck is going to change!

Do you find this kind of post interesting? I’d like to share a few more money-saving/making posts in the future but only if people are going to actually join them.

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A Summer Wish List with Quiz Clothing*

Well, I think this might be some kind of record for absence of blogging for me. To say life has been a bit chaotic lately would be a complete understatement, but things are calming down now (I hope) and I’m finally getting some time and space to think about content again.

I’ve done a bit of shopping lately so I may well have some outfit posts on the horizon, but in the mean time, inspired by the current sunny weather and climbing temperatures, today I bring you a wish list from one of my top high street brands and one that has featured on the blog many times in the past- Quiz Clothing.

This wish list comes with the exciting news that Quiz have just expanded in to the USA following a successful expansion in to Spain- this means that more of you lovely lot will be able to shop their great pieces which currently includes a stunning selection of maxi dresses, jump suits, summer dresses and all of the occasion wear you could ever dream of.

Floral maxi dress: £29.99/$69.00 | Striped jumpsuit: £29.99/$69.00 | Tropical print playsuit: £26.99/$59.00 | Limited edition maxi dress: £34.99/$79.00 | Floral dress: £26.99/$59.00 | Striped jumpsuit 2: £29.99/$69.00

Right now it’s clear I’ve got summer, and holiday dressing on the brain. I’m eagerly counting down the days until I fly out to Portugal with Bob and I’ve finally ditched my winter wardrobe in favour of my summer one. It’s shown a serious lack of warm weather clothing actually, I’ve pretty much grown out of everything I own, which means there are probably plenty more wish list posts coming up as I am spending an obscene proportion of any down time I get scouring my online favourites for new pieces.

USA readers, what other UK brands would like to see make it on to your shores? Every one else, what do you think of my picks?

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The April 2018 Degustabox

Grab a brew and get your self comfy as this month’s Degustabox* review is going to be a long one! The April box was absolutely packed full of products, so many that almost out of time to try absolutely everything and still get a post up in a timely manner. There are a few products that I haven’t tried yet due to my allergy to peanuts, I’ve passed them on to people who can test them for me but I’m yet to get full reports back!
One of the products I wasn’t able to try were the TREK protein energy chunks, this saddens me greatly as they look so good! I used to love Nakd and Trek products before my allergy pitched up so I can guarantee I would have loved these, a great energy packed, HEALTHY snack for post work-out or any time at all really. RRP £1.15 each and widely available.
It’s rare you see something truly new appear on the confectionary market these days so these Milkybar Wowsomes evoked a great deal of curiosity. With 30% less sugar than similar products (thanks to some fancy science) these really are a tasty little snack, although I do wish there was a variety without the crispy oat cereal as I love plain old Milkybar! Coming in at under 100 calories each these are perfect for kids and big kids alike. £0.55 per bar and available in two flavours.
I’ve seen these Nick’s Kexbars floating around on social media so I was excited to find one on this month’s Degustabox. It’s a simple idea- a crispy chocolate wafer with vanilla cream and milk chocolate. Totally delicious and some how without any added sugar. Available on Amazon for those itching to try these like I was, I don’t think you’ll regret it.
I’m always looking for new savoury snacks that don’t contain nuts and these Food Doctor ones are now a regular in my line up. Both the Full of Beans Protein Mix and Smokin’ Edamame Mix are super delicious, made from a blend of corn and beans which are high in fibre and contain protein. £1.00 per pack.
I wont’ lie, I totally forgot about trying these smoothie bites from LioBites until now. Made from quickly frozen strawberry and banana which is then dried in to a crunchy chip I’m sure these would be lovely and ideal for little kids, but perhaps not worthy of a £2.35 price tag. I won’t knock it until I’ve tried them though.
Apologies, but another product I am yet to try, but one I am quite keen to, oddly. I never thought I’d be excited about instant mashed potato but Idahoan’s Perfect Mash in roasted garlic flavour sounds strangely delicious and it will be featuring on my dinner menu soon- especially as I’m full of dental woes and infections right now.
Drinks wise, because I am a blogger for Degustabox I received both the alcoholic variety and the soft drink variety. Alcohol wise we have Happy Down Alcoholic PreMix which looks amazing. I haven’t tried this as I can’t drink at the moment (anti-biotics and pain killers, yay!) but I have it chilling ready and waiting as a belated birthday tipple.
On the soft drinks front we have Juicy Fuel Cola which is made from entirely natural ingredients, no added sugar and nothing artificial. With the news this contains one of your five a day I happily gulped down the cherry flavour, but did balk somewhat at the £2.00 price tag.
Haribo Giant Strawbs are Bob’s favourite sweet so these went straight to him and got an immediate 10/10. I have a soft spot for these too, so it’s great they now come in a share size bag! Also suitable for vegetarians so they no longer have to miss out!
Who wasn’t given Lucozade when they were poorly as a child? These is the cure all for everything, best served straight from the fridge.
These products from Mutti are both great store cupboard staples. The passata and finely chopped tomatoes both have a multitude of uses and are both great quality and reasonably priced (£1.40 and £1.00 respectively)
This isn’t how I remember long-life milk! This a2 milk long life semi-skimmed cows’ milk is natually free from the A1 protein found in cows’ milk so it’s more gentle on sensitive tummies and easier to digest. It also tastes pretty good, you’d be hard pushed to tell it apart from fresh. £1.50
Finally we have a selection of nut butters from Mindful Bites (£1.49 each). I love these little single serve pouches, they look so cute! I wasn’t able to try these thanks to my allergy but I’ve passed them on to eager taste testers. If I was able to eat these I’d be slinging them in my work bag with some fruit for a nutrient dense snack. Anyone who takes their nut butter seriously should be checking these out.
For those who don’t yet know, Degustabox* is a monthly food subscription box that gives you the chance to try new and exciting products on the market whilst providing amazing value for money.
On a month by month basis the box costs £12.99 (with a discount for longer subscriptions) but the contents are generally worth far more than this as you can see if you do the maths.
If you’re persuaded to give Degustabox a go (and really, you should) you can claim a brilliant £5.00 off of your first box (making it just £7.99!) by entering the code 6HZJ8 at the checkout. It’s been a pleasure to work with the brand regularly over the last couple of years and it’s without a doubt something that I will continue to purchase long after our partnership ends. I love the monthly surprise and excitement as well as the chance to discover products I’d otherwise pass up on the supermarket shelves.
Let me know if you’ve tried any of these products and what you thought of them.

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Celestial

Happy Monday folks, it’s back to work for me after an incredibly relaxing week off with Bob- for once we timed it just right around the weather and really got to make the best of that glorious sunshine bestowed upon us for a few short days.

Life feels pretty damn good right now- we’ve just booked a holiday for July, I’m happy and fulfilled at work and out of work. I’ve just passed my driving theory test (for the third time, I might add) and I have plans, goals and dreams which actually feel obtainable.

Which is why it frustrates me so much that these outfit photos nearly didn’t happen, and nearly didn’t make it on to the blog. With so much going right at the moment it really gets me down that my body is my enemy and my confidence is at an all time low. Having had an eating disorder since I was 15 I suppose it’s inevitable that these demons will be the last, and the hardest obstacle to overcome, but I feel like I shouldn’t be as fixated as I am right now, nor as governed by stupid rules and rituals. I’ve been dragging my feet at this “almost there” weight for so long. I’m past the half way mark but can’t seem to make myself go that bit further. Oh to have freedom from this brain of mine for just one day.

Rant over,
on to the outfit, and to a dress which has been sat in my wardrobe for the last 6 months since I bought it- it’s taken until now to think up a way to wear it that doesn’t involve dressing up and going out.

Dress: Thunder Egg | Shoes: Converse at ASOS

I’ve featured Thunder Egg on the blog before and they still remain one of my favourite online shopping discoveries. As soon as I saw this velvet, constellation print dress I knew I needed it, and although it’s hung neglected for so long in my wardrobe now I’ve broken the “it’s a going out dress” barrier and started to treat it as the slightly more glamorous older sister of the humble t-shirt dress I think it’s going to get a lot of wear.

I hope everyone has a great start to the week, I’m on the birthday count down now (five days) and my next few weekends are full of fun filled plans and time spent with loved ones- all involving things that a year ago I didn’t think would be possible to do and enjoy.

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