ChicAdvisor Shop Crawl Part Deux

ChickAdvisor is having another exclusive Queen Street Shop Crawl on November 2 for ChickAdvisor members and friends.

I’m thrilled Bargainista has been asked to participate as a blog partner. Thanks, Ali!

I’m ecstatic this real life social shopping event is taking hold. It’s just like After a Fashion but on Queen Street instead of Second Life. It’s always more fun shopping with friends, especially when shopping is followed by an after-party. Once again, the gals will end the evening at Milestones.

The ChickAdvisor team has a great evening planned with discounts off at several stores, goody bags and even an after party where you can win great prizes. More details to follow.

I’ll be there, hope to see you there too! Still not sold, read about the first Queen Street Shop Crawl, you won’t want to miss this one.

Did you go the first Queen Street Shop Crawl? If so, what did you think. Will you go again? Leave a comment.

What?
ChickAdvisor Queen Street Shop Crawl Part Deux
• Free products and samples;

• Exclusive discounts from the participating popular Queen Street boutiques on either all regular-priced merchandise only (details)

• Free food and drinks at Milestones After Party (e.g. appetizers, sangria, mojitos, lemonade, etc.)

• Enter to win prizes from event sponsors

Where?
Queen Street West, Toronto
(Shop Crawl map to be added as soon as it’s available)

When?
Friday, Nov. 2: 6 p.m.-9 p.m.

How much?
Tickets in advance: members $20 (join ChickAdvisor, log in and get the member price) or non-members $25
Buy now!

Technorati tags: Ali de Bold, ChickAdvisor, Queen Street, Shop Crawl

Special invitation for Bargainista readers: ChickAdvisor Shop Crawl

If you’ve been following the blog lately, you’ll know I’ve had the pleasure of meeting the lovely Ali de Bold, co-founder of ChickAdvisor.

And here’s some good news...
ChickAdvisor is having an exclusive Queen Street Shop Crawl on August 9 for ChickAlert members.

As a special offer for Bargainista readers, Ali has invited you to the Queen Street Shop Crawl too!

I’m so excited to see someone organizing a real life social shopping event. How cool is that? It’s just like After a Fashion but on Queen Street instead of Second Life.

The ChickAdvisor team has a great evening planned with 20% off at several stores, goody bags and even an after party where you can win great prizes.

And that’s not all: I have an extra ticket! Interested? Just e-mail me by August 6, 2007, explaining why you’d like to be a Bargainista reporter for a day. You may score a ticket and get to cover the event for Bargainista.

What?
ChickAdvisor Queen Street Shop Crawl
• Free full sized product from Kiehl’s (value of $20.50) plus a free consultation and additional free samples;

• Exclusive discounts of 20% off from the participating popular Queen Street boutiques on either all regular-priced merchandise only (details)

• Free food and drinks at Milestones After Party (e.g. appetizers, sangria, mojitos, lemonade, etc.)

• Enter to win over $500 of prizes from event sponsors

Where?
Queen Street West, Toronto
See Shop Crawl map

When?
Thursday, Aug. 9: 6 p.m.-9 p.m.

How much?
Tickets in advance: 1 for $20 or 2 for $35
Contact Bargainista about being a reporter for a day and go for FREE!

Technorati tags: Ali de Bold, ChickAdvisor, Queen Street, Shop Crawl

Queen Street Shop Crawl - the recap

Note: This guest post is by Kathryn Lagden who scored my event ticket to ChickAdvisor’s Queen Street Shop Crawl. Looks like she had a great time. If you have a chance, next time you’re on Queen West check out some of stores.

I’d by lying if I didn’t admit a little trepidation as I set out to start the Queen Street Shop Crawl last Thursday. Shopping? Me? I do buy clothes, bags, shoes, and many other accoutrements that keep my friends from shooting secret footage and publicly displaying my fashion idiocy on reality TV. But I view the actual shopping as one of life’s tedious chores more than a pleasurable outing.

So why did I apply to be the Bargainista reporter for the inaugural ChickAdvisor crawl? Well I’m always up for something new and who can resist discounts and freebies!

So with notebook in hand, and $100 burning a hole in my pocket, I headed down to the meeting point, Five on Spadina. I had set myself one rule for the event – I must try on at least one thing in every store. A daunting thought but I had to get the full shopping experience (and enough material to write this blog post!)

Five on Spadina was a bit dubious looking from the outside. Very much a discount warehouse with racks of clothes, a makeshift change room, and dim lighting. But once inside it was a treasure trove of brand labels neatly organized on racks with plenty of wiggle room in between. The clothes seemed to fall into either the office or club wear genre. Seeing as I work from home and prefer martinis and jazz to red bull and hip-hop, nothing really caught my eye. Remembering my promise I did try on a fairly basic cotton tee. Not so much.

Second store was Fraiche. At the end of the night I discovered just what a popular store this was when many of the crawl participants showed off their Fraiche dress in the grand prize fashion show. I opted for a green and orange skirt as I liked the print and at 20% off of $32 I really couldn’t lose.

Kiehl’s was the third stop and definite winner of best customer service. Upon arriving I was welcomed with bottled water and jellybeans. Only after I was entered into the draw and handed my freebie - a full size shower wash - was I asked if I needed any help with their products. I’ve been looking for a new moisturizer and have never really understood the point of toner so I took the plunge. A young sales associate with flawlessly smooth skin spent 20 minutes rubbing various lotions into my hands and asking how they felt. To be honest they all felt the same but the anti-aging option was twice as expensive. I can’t afford to stop aging but at least my wrinkles will be finely toned.

Crossing back over the street I entered Fashion Crimes. The frills, lace, beads, stuff, stuff, and more stuff were sensory overload but they did have a dress for every occasion. I don’t attend many black tie soirees so in the end I opted for trying on outrageously large sunglasses.

At first glance RK looks like one of those minimalist stores with very few racks of clothes and everything in black and white. Thankfully I was proven wrong and ended up with a funky little “tank top on top of a tank top” number that I’ll pair with a pair of pyjamas shorts for my office.

Last stop – Kazuo. Not a lot of breathing space and a line-up for the changing rooms made this store tricky to manoeuvre. The men’s side wasn’t as busy so I selected a stylish golf shirt for my hubby. At $25 minus 20% I really couldn’t go wrong and knew I’d get full ‘good wife’ marks when I got home! (Their 50%-off sale lasts until the fall stock arrives…definitely worth checking out)

As the shops closed we all gathered at Milestone’s for drinks, appys, and chatter. Loot bags added a lot of fun as we all routed through the really good stuff we’ll actually use. The evening ended with a fashion show of outfits purchased that night for under $100. Dresses from Fraiche were the clear winner.

Thanks ChickAdvisor for a great night! And thanks Bargainista for giving up your ticket! You just might have changed my mind about shopping...

More Shop Crawl pics

Technorati tags: ChickAdvisor, Kathryn Lagden

My Shop Crawl haul

Have you ever been to a ChickAdvisor Shop Crawl? Maybe you’ve thought about it but weren’t quite sure about spending $25* to save money and party with a bunch of other women (well, mostly women) who love shopping too.

Last Thursday, I attended the ChickAdvisor Recessionista Shop Crawl. The weather was a perfect ’cause the rain stayed away. My plan was to see how much swag I could walk away with without dropping a penny. Well, things didn’t quite go as planned. The deals were hard to resist and I spent some of my hard-earned cash. At least it wasn’t all on me. With an extra 25% off regular and sale items at Banana Republic, I bought Mr. B a Father’s Day gift too.

Anyway, I thought you’d like to know what I got for free, so I’ve included a photo. As you can see, I came away with a lot of goodies, including a $100 gift certificate towards an overnight stay at the Park Hyatt (another gift for Mr. B), a $25 gift certificate for Stillwater spa, 10% off at Roots online store and lots of beauty products from Maybelline – the event sponsor. All shoppers who completed the crawl got a swag bag with a bunch of stuff from the sponsor, a martini ticket and a lot of surprises on the way. Plus there were games and prizes at the FLOW after party.

Over the next little while, I’ll be coming up with a contest or two so I can share some of this swag with some of you.

This post wouldn’t be complete without a shout-out to Ali, Alex and the rest of the ChickAdvisor team for making the night a success, and especially to Sumaya – we finally met in person and she’s a sweetie.

What did you think of the Shop Crawl? Would you go again? What would you suggest to make it even better?

*Full disclosure: as a media friend, I received a complimentary ticket.

ChickAdvisor Shop Crawl: real life social shopping

So far, my tales of social shopping have been limited to After a Fashion outings in Second Life. Thanks to The ChickAdvisor Shop Crawl, I was recently initiated into real life social shopping.

Jenny and I started right at 6 p.m. sharp. First stop, CHANGE, the Scandinavian lingerie chain’s first Canadian location. With CBC’s new Fortune Hunters cameraman following us around for an upcoming episode, it was a bit awkward shopping for undies.

Carole, the assistant manager did her best to put us at ease. In fact, this was the only location where customer service was queen (pardon the pun). We also got $25 gift certificates valid through January. Of course, we both used ours that night. It was the only time I parted with my money. CHANGE is one store I’ll visit again. ; )

I was pumped about C-Squared where we were offered a 20% discount. Jenny scored a sweet pair of chocolate brown Camper pumps.

We made it to the other the other stores on the crawl list as well: Scarpino, Kazuo (reasonable prices, I tried a great coat but it was too big), Fraiche (I’ll be back) and Fashion Crimes. All of them offered 20%-25% off for shop crawlers.

I was disappointed we saved Fashion Crimes for last. The staff refused to stay open past 8 p.m. (the crawl went on until 9) so I didn’t get past their enticing windows. Sucks, huh? Boy, did they pass up an opportunity for new business and leave a bitter taste in many shoppers’ mouths. How unfortunate. Jen and I were hoping to do some shopping there along with my TFBB friends.

The evening ended with a trip to Milestones for bellinis and yummy pizza fresh out of the oven, swag bags (I’ll be discussing mine in an upcoming post), prize draws and a fashion show put on by shoppers wanting to win their outfits.

Social shopping is a phenomenon that’s gaining steam. Groups of people shop together in order to get better prices. As for retailers, it’s a great way to garner publicity for your business, introduce new customers to your store and compete in a competitive marketplace where consumers are becoming more cost-conscious everyday.

Tags: After a Fashion, Ali de Bold, Camper, CHANGE, ChickAdvisor, Fashion Crimes, Fortune Hunters, Fraiche, Kazuo, Milestones, Queen Street, Scarpino, Shop Crawl, TFBB

ChickAdvisor Shop Crawl heads to Little Italy

UPDATE: ChickAdvisor has changed the date to October 16.

ChickAdvisor is having another exclusive Shop Crawl with a twist... this time around it’s further in Little Italy on October 16 for ChickAdvisor members and friends.

The ChickAdvisor team has a great evening planned with discounts off at several stores, goody bags and even an after party where you can win great prizes. More details to follow.

Check out the new and improved ChickAdvisor if you haven’t seen it already.

Did you go any other ChickAdvisor Shop Crawls? If so, what did you think. Will you go again? Leave a comment.

What?
ChickAdvisor Shop Crawl #4: Little Italy
• Free products and samples;
• Exclusive discounts from the participating popular College Street boutiques on either all regular-priced merchandise only
• After ]arty at Vecchio Frak with free food and drinks
• Enter to win prizes from event sponsors

Where?
Little Italy, Toronto including:
• Girl Friday - 20% off
• American Apparel - 10% off plus $5 gift card if you spend $100 or more
• Balisi - 20% off
• Lilliput Hats - 20% off
• Red Pegasus - 25% off
• Ziggy’ at Home - discount TBA

When?
Thursday, Oct. 16: 6 p.m.-11 p.m.

How much?
Tickets $25 in advance
Buy now!

ChickAdvisor Recessionista ShopCrawl

ChickAdvisor is having another exclusive Shop Crawl with a twist... this time around it’s moving uptown to Yorkville.

The ChickAdvisor team has a great evening planned with discounts of up to 25% off at several stores, goody bags and even an after party where you can win great prizes. More details to follow.

Did you go any other ChickAdvisor Shop Crawls? If so, what did you think. Will you go again? Leave a comment.

What?
ChickAdvisor Recessionista Shop Crawl: Bloor/Yorkville
• Guided shopping with a group, or shop at your own pace
• Discounts of up to 25% off at participating boutiques
• Over $100 worth of free swag (each)
• A private after party with a cocktail and snacks at Flow restaurant after the shopping
• A chance to win some awesome prizes including a fashion walk-off for the best outfit purchased that night
• Complimentary makeovers from our expert, Joy David-Tilberg will be available

Where?
Bloor/Yorkville (Toronto) shops including:
• The Body Shop - In addition to providing discounts in store, The Body Shop is giving each of you two full sized products from their Moroccan Rose line.
• Roots and Diesel - 25% off regular priced items and 10% off sale items
• The Stillwater Spa Boutique - 20% off all products they carry in the boutique & each of you will get a $25 gift certificate towards services in the Spa! Brands carried in the boutique include Dermalogica, Kerastase, Babor, Jane Iredale, Pharmacopi and more.
• Over the Rainbow and eleven Boutique - 20% off
• Nine West - No tax on all purchases; get a free Nine West tote worth $25 just for visiting in store
• Calvin Klein Underwear - 25% off regular priced jewelry, watches, sunglasses and hosiery and an additional 25% off sale items
• Banana Republic and The Gap - 25% off regular merchandise
• Capezio - 20% off all regular priced merchandise

When?
Thursday, June 18: 6 p.m.-9 p.m.
plus admission to the after-party at Flow

How much?
Tickets $25 in advance
Buy now!

The ChickAdvisor Shopcrawl moves west

ChickAdvisor is having another exclusive Queen Street Shop Crawl with a twist... this time around it’s further west on May 29 for ChickAdvisor members and friends.

I’m thrilled Bargainista has been asked to participate once again as a blog partner. Thanks, Ali!

Last weekend, I shopped the same Queen St. W. strip between Bathurst and Trinity Bellwoods Park. I didn’t get to most of these boutiques but I did get to Girl Friday. For 25% off, I’m hoping they have the Shannon Dress in my size. It’s an incredible strapless dress and I’d love one in black or cherry red.

The ChickAdvisor team has a great evening planned with discounts off at several stores, goody bags and even an after party where you can win great prizes. More details to follow.

I’ll be there, hope to see you there too! 

Did you go either of the other Queen Street Shop Crawls? If so, what did you think. Will you go again? Leave a comment.

What?
ChickAdvisor Queen Street Shop Crawl Part 3: West-Queen-West
• Free products and samples;
• Exclusive discounts from the participating popular Queen Street boutiques on either all regular-priced merchandise only
• Free food and drinks at the after party
• Enter to win prizes from event sponsors

Where?
West Queen Street West, Toronto including:
• Girl Friday
• Moda
• Body Blue
• Pho Pa
• Coal
• Charlie
• Brazen Hussy
• Balisi

When?
Thursday, May 29: 6 p.m.-9 p.m.

How much?
Tickets in advance: members $20 (join ChickAdvisor, log in and get the member price) or non-members $25
Buy now!

Four questions for Ali de Bold from ChickAdvisor

I recently had the pleasure of emceeing Third Tuesday Toronto with guests Ali and Alex de Bold from ChickAdvisor. Donna Papacosta from Trafcom News also interviewed Ali and Alex for the first Third Tuesday Toronto podcast.

I still had a few questions, particularly about social shopping, so I interviewed Ali this weekend. I thought you might be interested in her answers too...

Why did you decide to start the Queen St. Shop Crawl?

Our members were asking for the longest time to get together. We wanted to create an event that would be a lot of fun and get the word out. At first I was thinking of booking out a nail bar and having drinks, snacks and manicures but we realized there was no way to accommodate a large group of people.

I started thinking about the things I love to do with my friends and of course shopping came to mind. I got the idea one night last spring (2007) as I was tossing and turning not able to sleep. (I suffer from insomnia quite a bit and have had many of my best ideas when I can’t sleep.) I immediately worked out how I would do it, and in August 2007 we had our first Shop Crawl.

Are you planning Shop Crawls in other locations besides Queen West?

Definitely. We did the strip between Spadina and John twice because there are so many independent boutiques and it is an easy walk, but we plan to hit up other areas of the city for future crawls, and eventually expand the idea to other major cities in North America.

Have you ever considered negotiating volume discounts for products or services like a hot new gadget or purse for ChickAdvisor members?

Yes. That is actually part of our original business plan. ;)

What advice do you have for PR or marketing professionals wanting to pitch you?

We are very careful to ensure that anything advertised on ChickAdvisor is appropriate and useful for our members, and that it delivers value for the advertiser. We are also flexible and have on a number of occasions worked out custom strategies/campaigns.

As a social network/platform, we have many ways to work with large national brands (we’ve worked with Maybelline New York, TravelZoo, Herbal Essences, etc.), as well as local businesses and smaller companies.

We have the ability to incorporate brands in our video series, “Where’d You Get That?” and Product Review Club (companies provide product, members review it).

There are opportunities for:
• email newsletter sponsorship
• category level sponsorship (Beauty, Shopping, Wellness, Deals, Restaurants); and,
• we also have a business service we just launched www.chickadvisor.biz, where local businesses can create profiles on ChickAdvisor similar to other business directories, for $300/year.

If you have something you’d like to promote, email us. If we believe it will be of value to our members, we’ll work something out.

CHANGE gets into social shopping

The first time I wrote about CHANGE was during ChickAdvisor’s Queen St. Shop Crawl. CHANGE caught on quickly. With Valentine’s Day around the corner, they’re offering a $100 gift card for anyone organizing a Girls-Night-Out Valentine’s Day Prep-Party.

Want to get your gal pals together at another time? You can book a private party at CHANGE for any occasion.

I just love shopping with a group of friends, don’t you? Interested in a party for Bargainista readers at CHANGE? Leave a comment.

What?
• Girls-Night-Out Valentine’s Day Prep-Parties
• Book a night of private gal pal shopping at CHANGE lingerie boutique.
• CHANGE professionally-trained staff will be available during the party to provide expert bra fittings and share lingerie trends for 2008.
• Get practical advice on the dos & don’ts of bra shopping.
• In addition to the ultimate in personalized service, parties feature scrumptious cupcakes and sparkling champagne.
• Party organizers will receive a $100 gift card

When?
Any time. Private parties are available year round for a twist on bachelorette or birthday parties – or just as a fun excuse to get the girls together.

Where?
CHANGE
315 Queen St. W (see map)
Toronto

How?
Want one before Valentine’s Day?
Call Lisa Bernstein (store manager)
416 977-7667 for more details.

Revealing my beauty secrets tag challenge

My friend Kim Vallée of At Home with Kim Vallée tagged me. When I first learned about it, I wasn’t too thrilled because I’ve done the tag meme thing enough times but this was different. This one is about sharing beauty secrets. What fun. How could I resist?

Make-up and I go way back. My earliest memories was playing with fake-up when I was young as 4. I think the brand was called Little Lady and there was no better gift anyone could give me. Of course I could apply it to my heart’s content but nothing would appear on my face. To this day I remember the taste and smell of the lipstick.

Although I consider myself a low-maintenance woman, I have been wearing make-up since I was about 12. The only thing that’s changed over the years is that I apply more while it keeps looking like less and less. I’m all about the natural look.

Recently, I had the most incredible facial at Cozy Nails. I realized once every couple of years is NOT enough. I’m making a point of getting them every season from now on.

My Foundation: All from Bobbi Brown
Foundation stick in Warm Sand 2.5 is a necessity. Occasionally, I use the creamy concealer kit in Warm Ivory and corrector in Light Bisque.

My Mascara: Lancôme Définicils, waterproof black. I wear contacts so waterproof is a must. I also wear CILS Booster XL mascara base – for longer wear, longer lashes and less smudging.

My Blush: Bobbi Brown Pot Rouge for Cheeks and Lips in Blushed Rose.

My Eye Shadow: Bobbi Brown Neutral Eye Shadow Palette and award-winning long-wear cream shadow in Bone.

My Day Cream: Lancôme. I just switched to Primordial Skin Recharge. I always make sure my moisturizer contains SPF. This one has SPF 15.

My Lipstick: M•A•C Viva Glam V - all revenue goes to M•A•C AIDS fund. I wear lip balm every night before I go to bed. Currently, I’m using Daily Lip Care (purple tube, vanilla scent) by Polysporin that I received in my swag bag as a media sponsor of the last ChickAdvisor Queen Street Shop Crawl.

My Beauty Product Brand: Bobbi Brown fills more of my make-up bag than any other brand.

My Essential Beauty Product: Cetaphil. I swear by this stuff. It’s the best eye make-up remover I’ve ever tried. It's gentle, effective, non-stinging, and an excellent facial cleanser as well.

My Favorite Makeup Product: Not sure I have a favourite. I wouldn’t want to do without any of the above.

My Perfume: I use Gautier Le Lait body lotion everyday. I don’t wear perfume; it makes me sneeze.

My Nails: Manicures are my guilty pleasure. My salon uses Essie and OPI products. I flip between the two depending on the colour I feel like wearing.

My Feet: Vichy foot care products with podexine, specifically Cracked Heel Repairer and Reconditioning Care for Dry Feet, everyday.

My Hands: I just discovered an awesome hand repair cream from La Roche-Posay. It’s rich and creamy without being greasy and it’s probably the only one I’ve tried that’s non-irritating.

Three Products to bring on a deserted island: Dove unscented moisturizing soap, Cetaphil moisturizer, lip moisturizer w/SPF and lots of sunscreen.

Women I admire for their beauty: I admire women who are confident in their own skin and embrace aging gracefully without the help of restylane fills and botox.

Woman with the Best Sense of Style: Audrey Hepburn

My Ultimate Dream (but I do not believe in selling my soul to the devil for it): No clue.

How Do I Define Womanhood: Grace with a sense of style – according to Kim, I can’t top that one either.

My Favorite Fashion Publication: In Style

I am tagging four women and one man with style:

Two of the the TFBB gals...
Henna of Canadian Beauty
Anita of iwant igot

My mani-pedi buddies...
Michelle of Mish’s Playground
Kathryn of That Kathryn Girl

And, the new guy on the blogroll...
Tris of Manscaping 101

The Bargainista team is growing again...

One of the most rewarding things about having a blog is you! You make Bargainista the community that it is today.

When I first started blogging, three years ago this month, I wondered if anyone would care what I had to say. Then some friends started reading Bargainista and leaving comments. It was the motivation I needed to keep going. Soon people I hadn’t met in real life started leaving comments, subscribing to the feed or the email updates. The community started to grow.

Now almost 700 posts and three years later, we’ve had several guest blog posts and a regular column – baby bargainista – written primarily by Jenny and Rebecca, who have been doing an awesome job.

One community member in particular made herself known to me. She first came on my radar when she started leaving comments and won a giveaway soon after. We started emailing a bit and her warm, enthusiastic personality came through.

Contrary to what many people think about bloggers and their communities, many of us do meet in real life. Last June at the ChickAdvisor Recessionista Shop Crawl, we met in person. Sumaya was as sweet in real life as she was online. We introduced ourselves to each other and she gave me a warm hug.

Fast forward to a few weeks ago. I was spending more time responding to emails from companies or people representing their clients than I was actually researching and writing new posts. From speaking with some of you in person, I knew many of you were wondering what happened to the volume and type of posts you used to read here. Ideas of enhancements were swirling in my head but with a full-time job and family, there was only so much time I could spend on the blog. Something had to change.

Perhaps a virtual assistant would be the answer. Only problem was, how could I justify paying an assistant when I’m not earning money from Bargainista? Even if I decided to try incorporating advertising or sponsorship to try and pay for a virtual assistant, it would take time – time that I didn’t have.

Fortunately, about a week later, Sumaya emailed me and told me she was pursuing a career in public relations – I had no idea – and she asked if I would introduce her to the principals of her favourite PR agency. I did. And then the wheels started turning.

Wouldn’t it make the most sense to create a position for a member of the community? Would she be interested in working together to create an internship/editorial assistant role whereby in exchange, she’d receive mentoring from me and the occasional product sent Bargainista’s way? So I asked her and she said “yes”!

I’m thrilled that Sumaya has agreed to join the team. Already she has done a great job of organizing Bargainista’s inbox. She’ll be helping me respond to some of the email requests I receive, post local event notices and perhaps some product reviews as a guest blogger.

Please help me welcome Sumaya to the team and stay tuned for my interview with her in an upcoming post.

Fit-in 15 – we’re all winners!

Thanks everyone who participated in the Fit-in 15 challenge yesterday. Bargainista readers really stepped up their game and in a friendly “add an extra 15 minutes of activity to your day smack down” against Parent Club, we came a head by a nose (9 Bargainista readers compared to 8 at Parent Club) and get to display the trophy here. Yay! Congrats to all Parent Club participants as well.

Daniele Rossi will be getting a 4GB iPod Shuffle and iTunes gift card courtesy of Canadian Chiropractic Association’s Fit-in 15 program.
Here’s his comment:

“Did a power walk as a warm up before my workout in the gym today. Set it for 15 minutes and found it was the best warm up I've ever done!”

I just happen to have another prize pack lying around so, Tanya McGinnity who took a 30-minute power walk with her sweet little pug, will receive one too. Congrats to both of you!

As for the random draw, I invited Caroline Fernandez from Parent Club to do the honours. She had a little help from a sweet tool called Random Interger Generator. Thanks Caroline!

Oh ya, and I guess you’re all wondering how I’ve been managing my Fit-in 15 for the past week. Well, here’s the rundown:

June 17 – I took a brisk lunchtime walk, then after work headed over to the Toronto Girl Geekl Dinner in a brisk walking mode only to learn I was early. I headed home and did some more brisk walking too.

June 18 – I attended the ChickAdvisor Recessionista Shop Crawl, skipped two subway stops after work and walked to the starting point plus another two hours of shopping on foot.

June 19, 20, 21 – Getting around in Kingston on foot during the three days of Podcasters Across Borders counts, right? ;-)

June 22 – 15 minute brisk walk at lunch for the Bargainista – Parent Club Smack Down and another brisk evening walk.

June 23 – 15-minute brisk lunch time walk (and I’m sure there will be much more this evening).

I’m certainly making an effort to add at least an extra 15 minutes of activity into my day. The bike is coming out this weekend too. You’ve all inspired me.

When it comes to daily physical activity, what inspires you?

Disclosure: Canadian Chiropractic Association is a client of Fleishman-Hillard, a sister company to iStudio and I've been working on this project.

Weekly Wish: your help in the 1% Army Canadian Blogging Tournament

Okay, so you’re probably thinking what??? What the heck is she talking about now? Once again, Sean Moffitt aka Buzz Canuck has organized a friendly competition: The 1% Army Canadian Blogging Tournament for 128 bloggers covering a wide range of topics (e.g. marketing, communication, customer experience and social media.)

I kinda got into this whole thing by accident. I signed up as one of the Canadian blogs with related content since I cover some of the things on the list, particularly customer experience. I didn’t realize I was entering a competition of some of the best bloggers in the country, many of whom have inspired me!

So far, just by participating in the 1% army, I’ve met two other amazing bloggers and it’s only the beginning. But to stay in the game, I need your help. There are several rounds. The competition is steep.

For starters, Bargainista is in category C: Marketing, Communications and Research. I’ve been pitted against three impressive guys who’ve been at this much longer. Round 1 entries are due by September 8. I need to submit three blog posts written in 2007, including one written since August 11.

Entries are evaluated by an expert panel of 12 judges based on 5 criteria:
• overall impact (20%)
• clarity of thought (20%)
• did it make me want to think/act differently (20%)
• did it want me to comment/participate (20%)
• originality (20%)

Since Bargainista has always been about YOU, the community, this is a team effort. You inspire me to write each and every word. And you guessed it… This week my wish is for your help in selecting the three posts for Round 1. YOU be the judge!

Here’s my take of the Bargainista Top 10 list in order of appearance:
• Starbucks - the epilogue
• Why I use Twitter and why you should too!
• Are you Coach worthy?
• After a Fashion, second excursion: the metamorphosis
• Weekly Wish: shoes from Holts
• Apples, lemon and honey: my iMac story
• TaB energy falls flat
• Special invitation for Bargainista readers: ChickAdvisor Shop Crawl
• The Line Painter and online book offers
• Online shopping: Neiman Marcus gets it

Choose the three you feel have best met the criteria. You may even want to add a brief note as to why. Or suggest another post altogether. The choice is yours. Only one catch, please let me know by September 5. You can leave a comment or e-mail me.

In return, I will do my best to involve you every step of the way. I’ve already made friends with Saul Colt (The Smartest Man in the World) and Kim Vallee (At Home with Kim Vallee), two wonderful bloggers you may want to add to your list of must-reads. More than anything, if together we can learn about other interesting blogs and meet other inspiring bloggers, we will all be winners.

Technorati tags: blogs, buzz canuck, Canada’s 1% Army, Kim Vallee, Sean Moffitt, Saul Colt, tournaments

We picked a winner!

Congratulations to Kathryn Lagden, winner of a ticket to ChickAdvisor’s Queen Street Shop Crawl. Her enthusiasm and sense of humour won the judges over.

Judges chose the winning entry based on two criteria:
1) compelling case for why she should be a Bargainista reporter for a day; and,
2) most engaging writing style

Special shout out to judges Kate Trgovac and Bryan Person. Entries were sent to them without any personal identifying info so they didn’t know whose entries they were judging until after Kathryn was chosen.

Thanks to everyone who participated.

You can read Kathryn’s event coverage this weekend on Bargainista.

Technorati tags: Bryan Person, ChickAdvisor, Kate Trgovac, Kathryn Lagden

What NOT to buy for your new baby

In this week’s baby bargainista column, Jenny explains why you won’t need to shop for baby clothes before you welcome your new baby into the world.

If there’s one thing you DON’T need to worry about buying before baby is born, it’s baby clothes.

I know, it seems counter-intuitive – what will poor baby wear? – but trust me on this. Save your money, at least until after baby arrives. Here’s why.

1. You’re likely to receive innumerable gifts of baby clothes after the birth even if you don’t have a baby shower. In my experience, it’s the number-one go-to gift from friends and family – especially hand-me-downs from anyone who’s already had their brood and has been hanging on to bins of good-condition newborn baby clothes in the hope of finding them a good home. (At this age babies grow out of their clothes quickly, and nothing gets worn out until baby starts to actually crawl.)

2. In the early weeks it’s easier to keep baby swaddled in a blanket or two rather than buttoned into a sleeper or onesie. This allows for faster unwrapping for that essential skin-to-skin bonding that helps your milk come in faster, and kick-starts baby’s nursing instincts (by the way, the same holds true for bottle feeding – baby feeds more effectively when skin-to-skin). It also allows for faster diaper changes – and there will be plenty of those, believe me!

3. Until your baby is born, you can’t know what size he or she will be. Don’t put too much faith in the tags that give age ranges or lbs – those are just a guideline. There are major variations between brands, and every baby is different. The photos above are of three sleepers, from three different brands (George, Snugabye, and Joe Fresh), all helpfully labeled 0-3 months – and as you can see, they vary greatly in length. If your little one turns out to be on the smaller side at first (as our most recent arrival was), you might find her swimming in onesies that are far too big despite being “right” for her age; or if your baby is longer (i.e. taller) than average (as our first-born was and still is), you might find that 0-3 month sleepers don’t offer enough room for her legs.

So when you pack for the trip to the hospital, bring just a few sleepers of various sizes and brands so you can pick the best-fitting one for the trip home; and when well-wishers ask if there’s anything baby needs, give them the specifics on weight and height to help them shop. At worst, you can always send the father or a grandparent on a quick trip to the nearest Real Canadian Superstore for some Joe Fresh sleepers or onesies. And you won’t end up with pangs of regret as you pack away or give away, unworn, the perfectly good baby clothes that never quite fit.