How To Keep Your Home Secure

According to Steve Kolobaric at Weiser, one of Canada’s most trusted lockset manufacturers, there are several security tips that everyone should be aware of this season as they take in the springtime temperatures.

Weiser recommends homeowners and renters follow these tips to ensure their properties are safe and secure as everyone breaks out of winter hibernation.

Spring cleaning - If you’re tossing out boxes or packaging from items that you bought throughout the year, be sure to properly cut, stack and tie the cardboard together when you put it by the curb for recycling. Plopping the boxes for your 72” TV, Playstation and MacBook out in front of your house gives would-be burglars some tips on what they can find inside. 

Check for damage - Take some time to inspect your house and property once the snow and ice has melted. Check your windows and make sure they still lock properly, replace any burned out outdoor light bulbs and see if any fences or gates need to be fixed. 

Upgrade your locks - If you haven’t changed your front or back door locksets in years, spring is the ideal time to make the change. If you recently purchased your home, you have no idea who may have a key. Conversely, if you’ve been living there for years you may not remember who you gave a key to years ago. Take this chance to upgrade your security to a Weiser Kevo, which allows your smartphone to act as your key or consider a SmartCode 10 Touch, which has advanced touchscreen technology that eliminates the need for a key.

Spring break – Ask a neighbour to check on your property while you’re gone if you plan on going away this spring. Simply collecting your mail, sweeping (or shoveling) your walkway and even occasionally parking a car in your driveway will make it look like someone is home. Potential burglars like to target unoccupied homes.

Lock up – Spring and summer means more time spent outside but don’t forget to lock your front door when you’re not in the house. If you plan on working in the backyard or just popping over to visit a neighbour, lock your door. Most break-ins occur through an unlocked door! If you’re airing your house out during a spring-cleaning session, be sure to lock your windows when you close them, especially any on the main floor. 

What's In Your Rug - Spring Cleaning Edition

Ahdoot Oriental Rugs has created an infographic showing what could be lurking in your rug after these past winter months titled, “What’s In Your Rug: Spring Cleaning Edition.

Accept Me - Philanthropic fashion and accessories brand

Accept Me, a brand new philanthropic fashion and accessories brand that supports breaking the barriers of social marginalization through awareness and education. Accept Me has just launched their clothing and accessories line in the United States and Canada.

 Offering selections in men's, women's and children's apparel, Accept Me donates a portion of all proceeds to Bullying Ends Here and the Boys ClubNetwork. Accept Me has also donated clothing to Syrian refugees who entered Vancouver this past month.

KIM RADONS - FOUNDER & CEO OF ACCEPT ME

Kim Radons is the Founder and Creative Director of Accept Me™, a philanthropic clothing line that aims to break down social barriers and shift mindsets one t-shirt at a time. 

A humanitarian with an eye for design, Kim creates beautiful clothing and accessories to support important social causes. Since founding Accept Me in 2014, Kim's commitment to fostering positive growth in the lives of at risk youth has driven the brand's development. Kim's passion for helping others has grown the fashion label into an international name, with the designs hand selected for the coveted 2016 Grammy® Gift Bags.

An advocate for those less fortunate, Kim has been actively involved with The Boys Club Network for over three years, and more recently supportedBullying Ends Here. In 2016 Kim had the honour of presenting her acceptance fashions to Syrian Refugees entering Vancouver.

Kim loves climbing big mountains - both literally and figuratively. She's climbed Machu Picchu and kissed the ground of base camp Everest. With Mt. Kilimanjaro on the horizon, she doesn't back down from a challenge. Kim's ongoing commitment to humanitarian work abroad has enabled her to see the beauty in people everywhere, regardless of who they are or what they believe. 

10 things you must see and do at the country’s largest flower festival

Get Inspired at Canada Blooms

 Up your game in the garden at Canada’s biggest and best celebration of flowers and gardening, opening for its 20^th season today at the Enercare Centre at Exhibition Place in Toronto.

With unique events, beautiful exhibits and a series of seminars covering everything from raised bed gardens to useful critters you want living among your plants spread over 10 days heading into spring, Canada Blooms is the country’s preeminent festival of horticulture.

“The inspiration from the gardens and exhibits at Canada Blooms is unparalleled,” says Terry Caddo, General Manager of Canada Blooms. “It may have been a mild winter by recent standards, but it was winter nonetheless and Canadians are itching to get back outdoors and enjoy their vibrant gardens.”

To get the most out of your visit to Canada Blooms, Terry suggests the following 10 “must-see” installations at this year’s show.

1.      Toronto Flower Show. Hosted by the Toronto Flower Club, the Flower Show brings together the finest amateur floral and horticultural designs.

2.     Feature Gardens. More than 25 renowned garden architects and builders are putting together unique designs that will inspire home gardeners with their innovation and ingenuity.

3.     Bayview Flowers Floral Alley. In keeping with this year’s Let’s Party theme, Bayview Flowers Floral Alley will feature six unique gardens all representing a significant milestone in life.

4.     Alice in Wonderland Wine Garden presented by Canadian Gardening Magazine. Double the size of last year’s wine retreat and drawing inspiration from the timeless Lewis Carroll story, the Alice in Wonderland Wine Garden is the spot to kick back and relax amid the flowers and plants.

5.     The Garden Marketplace. Up to 50 exhibitors offering accessories and tools that will help you build a better garden.

6.     Plant and Product Showcase.Back by popular demand, the Plant and Product Showcase is one of the highlights of Canada Blooms. The Showcase features equipment, innovative products and a number of plants, including the new plant varieties for the 2016 season.

7.     Small space gardening. Brampton Brick brings six ideas for landscaping small spaces like those found in front of a townhouse.

8.     Canada Blooms Rain Garden. Conservation and re-use are key to achieving an environmentally sustainable society, and the Canada Blooms Rain Garden at Canada Blooms is loaded with ideas for better using and re-using rain water in your yard.

9.     World of Mulch. Create better and more sustainable gardens with compost-based soils covered with natural bark mulch. Presented by Gro-Bark, Ontario’s leading producer of mulch.

10.   Garden education. Don’t just attend Canada Blooms to view the eye-catching gardens; gain a little knowledge while you are there, with more than 200 seminars on three stages spread across 10 days.

Co-located with the National Home Show, Canada Blooms takes place March 11^th to 20^th, 2016, at the Enercare Centre at Exhibition Place in Toronto. For more information or for tickets, please visitcanadablooms.com. Follow Canada Blooms on Twitter@CanadaBlooms and Like it on Facebook.

About Canada Blooms

Canada Blooms is an annual world-class festival that connects people to the joys and benefits of nature through experiences with gardens and flowers by promoting, educating, inspiring and celebrating all aspects of horticulture. A not-for-profit organization that gives back to the community throughout the year by funding community garden projects around Ontario, Canada Blooms is also dedicated to providing the community with horticulture expertise, education and resources on an ongoing basis.

Now in its 20^th year, Canada Blooms was founded by Landscape Ontario and The Garden Club of Toronto. Each year it is supported by a committed group of partners, sponsors and volunteers. Canada Blooms has been named One of Ontario's Top 100 Events by Festivals and Events Ontario and One of North America's Top 100 Events by the American Bus Association.

Healthy Easter Shakes To Get You Hopping!

Nutrition for Every Life

Whatever your nutrition, health, or performance goals, there’s a Vega product made for you.

 

As Easter approaches you can bet that there is processed foods and chocolate all over the menu, not exactly helpful with the whole clean living goal. So to combat the unhealthy options that are sure to come your way I have scoured the internet for some awesome Easter shakes that can include Vega Protein & Greens Powder to keep you on track, while also making your taste buds do a little happy dance.

 

First up we have this fantastic Spring Swirl shake brought to you by Healthy Happy Life. 

Next up we have a Creamy Chocolate Breakfast Shake created by The Minimalist Baker.

And here we have a delicious Chocolate Peanut Butter Smoothie found on Myrecipes.com.

And last but certainly not least we have this Chocolate Blueberry Smoothie found on Greatist.com.

All you have to do is add a delicious scoop of Vega Protein & Greens Powder and you can make any recipe as pumped up as you are!

How Do You Explain Loss Of A Sibling?

According to a recent Save the Children report, one million newborns around the world die each year on their first day of life. In regards to this statistic, millions of families have experienced the pain of losing their child and sometimes are in the middle of explaining to their other children what happened to their younger sibling.

Kay Moorby, an emerging author and mother, decided to write “ The Little Star” after a family friend had lost their child. In “The Little Star,” families will follow the life of the “Stars” who live under the sea and have a very sick little star.
Along with the beautiful illustrations, Moorby offers discussion questions and advice throughout the book that all families can benefit from.

The Star family is overjoyed when their newest Little Star is born. Everyone in the rock pool celebrates, but their excitement is soon taken away when the Little Star becomes very ill and dies. How will the Star family cope with this tragic loss? How will the other animals in the rock pool deal with the news and support the family? Will the rock pool ever be the same again?

The Little Star tells the true story of the Mortimer family and how they coped with the death of their precious baby boy, Charlie, and supported their two boys, Harry and Adam. It includes their brave decision to bring baby Leo into the world. It aims to support families who have been through a similar experience and provides information and discussion questions to help children deal with the death of a baby.

This title was brought to your attention by The Bohlsen Group, a leader in advertising & marketing. 

The Big Short

“Brilliant.”

— A.O. Scott, New York Times

“Fascinating and funny.  It’s a triumph.”

— Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

NOMINATED FOR FIVE ACADEMY AWARDS^®

INCLUDING BEST PICTURE, BEST DIRECTOR AND BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

CHRISTIAN BALE, STEVE CARELL, RYAN GOSLING AND BRAD PITT STAR IN THE UNBELIEVABLE TRUE STORY

 THE

BIG

SHORT

Based on the Best-Selling Book from the Author of The Blind Side and Moneyball, 
Critically Acclaimed Hit Debuts on Blu-ray^™ Combo Pack March 15, 2016

            HOLLYWOOD, Calif.  – “One of the most absorbing and entertaining films of the year” (Mara Reinstein, Us Weekly), director Adam McKay’s “witty, smart, sharp and funny” (Scott Mantz, “Access Hollywood”) masterpiece THE BIG SHORT arrives on Blu-ray Combo Pack, DVD and On Demand March 15, 2016 from Paramount Home Media Distribution. 

            Nominated for five Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor (Christian Bale), Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Editing, 
THE BIG SHORT also was named one of the top 10 films of the year by The Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Entertainment Weekly,Us Weekly, the American Film Institute and many more.

           

            Based on the best-selling book by Michael Lewis, THE BIG SHORT details the true story of four outsiders who risked everything to take on the big banks during the greatest financial fraud in U.S. history.  Christian Bale, Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling and Brad Pitt deliver career-best performances in “the most wildly entertaining must-see movie of the year” 
(Toni Gonzales, Fox-TV).

            THE BIG SHORT Blu-ray Combo Pack with Digital HD is packed with over an hour of bonus content. Go behind the scenes with Ryan Gosling, Steve Carell and Christian Bale as they talk about their characters and the real people in this unbelievable true story, then discover the facts behind the gripping events as author Michael Lewis and the filmmakers discuss how the most incredible heist of the century was pulled off.  Plus, catch five deleted scenes that were not shown in theaters and hear director Adam McKay reveal the challenges he faced in bringing the book to the screen.   

THE BIG SHORT Blu-ray Combo Pack

THE BIG SHORT Blu-ray is presented in 1080p high definition with English DTS:X, French 5.1 Dolby Digital, Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital, Portuguese 5.1 Dolby Digital and English Audio Description and English, English SDH, French, Spanish and Portuguese subtitles.  The DVD in the combo pack is presented in widescreen enhanced for 16:9 TVs with English 5.1 Dolby Digital, French 5.1 Dolby Digital, Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital and English Audio Description and English, French, Spanish and Portuguese subtitles.  The combo pack includes access to a Digital HD copy of the film as well as the following:

Blu-ray

·         Feature film in high definition

·         In the Tranches: Casting

·         The Big Leap: Adam McKay

·         Unlikely Heroes: The Characters of The Big Short

·         The House of Cards: The Rise of the Fall

·         Getting Real: Recreating an Era

·         Deleted Scenes

DVD

·         Feature film in standard definition

            The Blu-ray Combo Pack available for purchase includes a Digital HD Version of the film that can be accessed through UltraViolet™, a way to collect, access and enjoy movies.  With UltraViolet, consumers can add movies to their digital collection in the cloud, and then stream or download them—reliably and securely—to a variety of devices.   

 THE BIG SHORT Single-Disc DVD

The single-disc DVD is presented in widescreen enhanced for 16:9 TVs with English 5.1 Dolby Digital, French 5.1 Dolby Digital, Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital and English Audio Description and English, French, Spanish and Portuguese subtitles.  The disc includes the feature film in standard definition.

http://www.TheBigShortMovie.com/

Amazon: http://j.mp/BuyTheBigShort

iTunes: http://j.mp/TheBigShortWebsite

Paramount Pictures and Regency Enterprises present a Plan B Entertainment production of an Adam McKay film: “The Big Short.”  Starring Christian Bale, Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling and Brad Pitt.  Produced by Brad Pitt, p.g.a., Dede Gardner, p.g.a., Jeremy Kleiner, p.g.a. and Arnon Milchan.  Based upon the book by Michael Lewis.  Screenplay by Charles Randolph and Adam McKay.  Directed by Adam McKay.

About Paramount Home Media Distribution

Paramount Home Media Distribution (PHMD) is part of Paramount Pictures Corporation (PPC), a global producer and distributor of filmed entertainment.  PPC is a unit of Viacom (NASDAQ: VIAB, VIA), home to premier media brands that create television programs, motion pictures, consumer products, and digital content for audiences in 180 countries and territories.  The PHMD division oversees PPC’s home entertainment and transactional digital distribution activities worldwide. The division is responsible for the sales, marketing and distribution of home entertainment content on behalf of Paramount Pictures, Paramount Animation, Paramount Vantage, Paramount Classics, MTV, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central and CBS and applicable licensing and servicing of certain DreamWorks Animation titles.  PHMD additionally manages global licensing of studio content and transactional distribution across worldwide digital distribution platforms including online, mobile and portable devices and emerging technolotechnologies.

THE BIG SHORT

Street Date:              March 15, 2016 (Blu-ray, DVD, and On Demand)

SRP:                            $39.99 U.S. (Blu-ray Combo Pack)

                                    $29.99 U.S. (DVD)

U.S. Rating:                R for pervasive language and some sexuality/nudity

Canadian Rating:       14A for nudity and coarse language

Adorable Healthy Tofu Easter Treats

With Easter right around the corner, we wanted to share a fun foodie DIY craft alternative to Easter eggs, called charaben (aka character bento box). You and the kiddos can create a bunny bento and/or baby chick recipes using House Foods organic tofu (yes, tofu!) that puts a tasty and healthy twist on the typical “meaty” meals families eat during Easter Sunday – AND it’s something kids will enjoy doing J. 

Chef Mayumi Johnston, creator of Character Bento’s and owner of Taste of Japan blog, has teamed up with House Foods to develop this adorable bunny and baby chick recipes for mom and kids to create at home! I’m happy to share the step-by-step recipe guide along with images and samples of the organic tofu if you’d like to test it out yourself.   

Delivering smiles and happiness to generations of health-conscious families is House Foods’ number one priority, which is why we’d love to bring character bento to your kitchen table this Easter! House Foods tofu is made from 100% U.S grown, non-GMO soybeans and has many nutritional benefits including low in saturated fat, cholesterol-free and is a good source of calcium. Tofu also is a high-quality complete protein that contains all 9 essential amino acids.

Tofu Charaben Bunny- Makes 2 Charaben Bento’s

Ingredients:
300g cooked white rice, separated

For the bunny:
½ pkg House Foods Premium or Organic Tofu Firm or Extra Firm, drained and pressed dry well
½ pkg ground chicken breast
5 small mushrooms
½  Tbsp Potato starch
1/8 tsp soy sauce
salt to taste
Nori seaweed, cut into small circles
Small radish, cut into 1/8th in size
Ketchup 

*For vegan, omit ground chicken breast and use the whole package of tofu instead

For the scrambled tofu:
½ pkg House Foods Premium or Organic Tofu Firm or Extra Firm, drained and pressed dry well
1/8 – ¼ tsp Curry powder (optional)
1/8 tsp soy sauce
salt to taste

Garnish:
Choice of Spring vegetables

Tool:
Dry seaweed cutter

Directions to create bunny:
In a large bowl crumble tofu and add in the ground chicken breast, potato starch, soy sauce, and salt.  Mix well 

by hands and form small round balls. 
Remove stems from mushrooms and stuff mushrooms with the tofu balls.  Steam for about 10 minutes or until 

softened and cooked through.  You need 1 tofu mushroom for 1 bunny. You can save the rest and freeze for later.

Directions for Scrambled Tofu Curry
Crumble the tofu into a large non-stick pan over medium-high heat. Add the curry powder (if using) and soy 

sauce and stir.  Cook until liquid has evaporated and tofu is completely crumbled.

To assemble the Charaben Bunny Bento:
Add the rice to a bento box. Top with the scrambled tofu.  Place the bunny face inside the bento box where 

you’d like to create the bunny.  Place two slices of radish above the bunny’s face.  This will be its ears. Garnish 

with your choice of spring vegetables.  Apply the small pieces of nori to the stuffed mushroom for the bunny’s 

eyes and nose with tweezers.  Color its cheeks with a small dab of ketchup and set aside.  Repeat to make 

second bento.