As I mentioned in my post on henna hair colouring, one of the most difficult things (for me, at least) has been trying to transition from mainstream deodorant to more “green” options. Over the past few months, I’ve tried quite a number of different alternatives and none of them worked for me. It was during this period when I was feeling a tad, er, concerned about body odor that I was offered samples of Lady Speed Stick to review (as well as compensation from Colgate for the time I would spend reviewing them). I dashed off a quick reply, “Yep, send’ em over!”

So, there you have it, my admission: I can’t handle it. I need deodorant!

Come to think of it, my very first deodorant as a young teetn was Lady Speed Stick (back then, I think it was called Mennen). Since then, the company has re-branded and the sticks look, and even smell, different (there’s more than unscented and baby powder out there!). Have you seen the new ad campaign, “Don’t Sweat It. Handle It!”? It cracks me up … I think this one is my favourite, but it’s hard to pick …

Okay, but can these deodorants do the job though? Here are the two sweat tests I put them through.

Sweat Test #1:

• Product name: Lady Speed Stick Power – Gel – Fresh Fusion
• The test: Bike to yoga studio, do hot yoga class, bike home.
• Results: I couldn’t smell an ounce of sweat … and I sweat A LOT in a hot yoga class!
• My verdict: This deodorant does provide long lasting protection and didn’t leave any marks on my black yoga top. But I didn’t like the wet feel of the gel. It dried quickly, but I didn’t like applying it.

Sweat Test #2:

• Product name: Lady Speed Stick Power – Cool Breeze
• The test: Drive downtown in rush hour and then make a presentation to a new client.
• Results: When I went to bed that night, I still smelled like I’d just gotten out of the shower.
• My verdict: I liked this deodorant — it worked, it felt nice when I applied it, left no marks on my shirt, and last but not least, I did not worry about B.O.

Want to try some for yourself? I can help you with that! First of all, there is a Lady Speed Stick gift basket giveaway that you can enter on the SheBlogs Canada website, and secondly, you can click here for a coupon (expires on May 25th).

The post I Can’t Handle It. I Need Deodorant! (Lady Speed Stick Review) appeared first on coffee with Julie.

p.s. Is it just me or are you secretly developing a crush on him too?

The post It’s Friday, Friends. Let’s Shoot for the Stars! appeared first on coffee with Julie.

So far, my “cosmetics quest” (an effort to minimize the number of toxins I willingly apply onto my hair and skin each morning) has been a combination of hits and misses. The two most challenging items I’ve been trying to source to date are deodorant and hair dye.

As you can see in my blog photo, I like to keep my hair red. But not long ago, I liked to keep my hair blonde. And before that … well, you get the picture. I’ve liked changing up my hair colour since I was a teenager. I’ve had pretty much every colour under the sun. Twice. What can I say? I just find my natural hair colour boring and want to add a little oompf to it.

For most women my age, colouring hair becomes a “must do” because they don’t like the look of their grey hair. So it’s a topic worth digging into a bit. The first time I had ever heard of hair dye as a health concern was when one of my book club friends said that research was starting to tie brown hair dye to cancer, so she was going to bite the bullet and go “au naturel.” Personally, I think it’s a great choice — grey hair has a real flair to it, I think.

But for those who insist on “needing” to colour our hair, Gillian Deacon, author of There’s Lead in Your Lipstick has some bad news for us:

“Permanent dyes last the longest and contain the most serious toxins. The semi- and demi-permanent colour rinses often avoid some of the troublesome chemicals, though not all. No matter what, if you’re going to hide your age with hair dye, you’re signing on for a chemical bath.”

However, there is an alternative if you want to go red. Henna can add a red tint to light brown or brown hair and, according to Deacon, the American Cancer Society recommends it as a viable safe alternative to conventional hair dyes.

I decided to try it. I have a very, very bad record of failed home hair colouring attempts, and I had long ago vowed to always go to a salon, so I didn’t take the decision lightly. But the combination of potential health consequences with the cost savings I could get from doing an at-home job were too much to resist. (I bought a brand called “colora” from Terra20).

So here’s the real deal on henna …

Pros:

• The $9 price tag saves me a ton of money (most women can attest that they generally end up forking out around $100 for a salon hair colour job).
• It is all-natural and organic so I don’t have to get nervous like I do at the salon when I can feel the dye stinging my scalp.
• It takes less time to do than a salon appointment does (I always find it hard to schedule the time for hair appointments but this is easier when you’re at home).
• The end result was very good (not mind-blowing, and not exactly like the hair salon, but very good).

Here is a photo of the end result (this is 3 washes later). Like I said, I’m happy with it but next time I will focus more on the roots before an all-over application, leave the colour in longer (I was nervous, so only did 30 minutes instead of the recommended 1 hour), and go for a darker shade (there is a range of shade to pick from). Stella said the shade looked “Brave-ish.”

Cons:

• It’s not an exact science … you mix water with powder and just hope your hair takes to the henna in a way that you like. 
• It’s messy to apply and messy to rinse.
• It’s all-natural, so it smells all natural. Think mud with a touch of grass.

Would I do it again?

• Yes, I’m definitely going to do it again. Would I recommend it to others? Well, I don’t think it’s for everyone — that’s where the pros and cons can help you decide.

My Tips:

• You’ll need plastic gloves, a container, an application brush, and a plastic cap to cover your hair. For this, I used dishwashing gloves that could be rinsed off afterwards and used again, a large yogurt container that I recycled afterwards, a BBQ brush from the dollar store that can be rinsed and used again, and a disposable plastic shower cap from a recent hotel stay. 
• Take Vaseline and dab it around the edge of your hairline to avoid getting henna colour stains on your forehead or around your ears.
• Use the BBQ brush mentioned above to apply the henna mixture really well along your hair part.
• Use an old towel for your shoulders and your hair to avoid accidentally getting henna colour on a good towel.
• If you’re not sure about how deep you want the colour to be, opt for 30 minutes instead of the full hour before you rinse it off.

What are your thoughts on hair dye … does it worry you at all? Are you religious about getting your hair appointments into your schedule? Have you tried henna before and do you have any other tips to share for my next time using it?

The post My Cosmetics Quest, Hair Colouring, and Henna appeared first on coffee with Julie.

2. Start to develop caffeine headache while pretending to be asleep, consider ruining the “surprise.”

3. Surprise breakfast-in-bed arrives! With pancakes made by Stella herself.

4. With it, a sweet little face handing me a handmade card and a flower he has been growing at school.

5. Also, a sweet little face handing me a diamond ring. Oh, actually, I meant at dime-in-a-ring. (Get it? snort!)

6. Eat breakfast in bed while joking around with facebook and twitter friends on my new kewl phone.

7. Finish reading This Cake is for the Party: Stories. Commence napping.

8. Wake up. Go downstairs and make myself a grilled cheese.

9. Call my Mom. Wish her a happy Mother’s Day, have a chat.

10. Colour my hair with henna. (Will post more on this later.)

11. Decide to start reading The Great Gatsby. Fall asleep after only a couple of pages.

12. Wake up. Decide to do a run with Stella because we’re training for the Ottawa Race Weekend. (Okay, I’m training. She’s just skipping along beside me without even breathing heavily.)

13. Come home. Eat yummy dinner of curry and naan bread that Hubby has cooked for us.

14. Hear commotion outside. A neighbour has a visitor with a huge flatbed truck parked on the street, the kids are ecstatic and launch a dance party.

15. Head back inside (it’s cold!).

16. Chat with my Mother-in-Law on the phone and wish her a Happy Mother’s Day.

17. Watch this video and this video over and over again with the kids while we sing along.

19. Hubby puts the kids to bed while I continue to engage in laziness.

19. Watch some TV with Hubby while we eat ice cream cones.

20. Go to bed. Keep reading Great Gatsby, and remarkably, manage to fall asleep without any problems despite having slept for most of the day already.

The post Mother’s Day Play-by-Play (Or alternatively titled: Read, Nap, Repeat.) appeared first on coffee with Julie.

Like all businesses, there are some basic tools or equipment required. For a grass-cutting business, a lawnmower … for a seamstress, a sewing machine … but what does a blogger need?

Business cards. Yes, bloggers use business cards. It surprised me at first too. It’s so old school. But when you’re at an event, not everyone wants to pull out their phone and start inputting your info. Plus, at a big event where you’ve met a ton of people, it’s just impossible to remember everyone. That’s where business cards come in handy. After the event, you can pull them out and touch base with all the interesting people you met.

Here are my new business cards! They’ve just arrived from MOO.com. They’re simple, but I think they’ll do the trick.

The next thing a blogger needs is internet access. ALL THE TIME. Which is where a smart phone comes in. To date, I’ve only had one smart phone. It’s a BlackBerry Bold that I got in 2009 (or maybe 2010?). Anyhow, it’s been very well loved and I can’t see how I can go on living without a smart phone now.

I’ve been holding out for the new BlackBerry Q10 because I am very attached to having a physical keyboard. Yesterday, I picked up this baby. Oh my, I am in loooovvvveee. It’s my new skool tool.

Next on the list? I am in the market and saving up for a new laptop. I bought the one I currently use in 2007, which is like 100 years ago in computer years. It’s getting really geriatric on me. Unlike my phone though, I don’t have my eye on anything particular. I’m not sure what I should get … all I know is that I want something that is lighter and faster than what I have now.

How about you … any new tools or gadgets on your wish list?

P.S. If you’d like to get some business cards. I have a discount code from MOO for 15% off your first order: 2RB2CK. (This is not an affiliate thing. Just a discount code I have for anyone who needs or wants it.)

The post Old School and New Skool: Two New Blogging Tools for Moi! appeared first on coffee with Julie.

My daughter, who is almost 11 years old now, has a mild interest in games. And since this interest is mild, I only feel mildly like a bad mother for not engaging her more in them.

However, my four-year-old son seems to have developed a very strong interest in games. He wants to play and learn new games all the time. In fact, he was feeling so game-deprived, that he added “a game” on his Christmas list this year. Needless to say, I feel obliged to at least play some games with him.

So, in the interest of helping any other parents like myself who would rather pluck their eye lashes out one by one than play a long  family board game, I thought I would share three games which both my son and I find to be fun.

To sum up then, these three games are:

• Easy to learn and teach
• Game length is less than 20 minutes
• Can start to play as young as 3 or 4 years old
• Does not require more than 2 players
• Fun to play!

#1. Go Fish! card game

A classic game with easy rules. Doesn’t take long to play, teaches colours and counting up to the number four. I like the version below created by Imperial Kids because the long, thin shape makes it much easier to hold a number of them in small hands. Plus, the plastic case means that the cards don’t end up getting all buckled and damaged over time. You can pick this up for less than $10 locally in Ottawa at Tag Along Toys or buy it on amazon.ca.

#2:  Pengaloo game

This is a modified version of a traditional memory card game — but much easier for younger children (and their parents!). If you’ve watched the movie Happy Feet with your preschooler, he/she will love the idea of the penguins protecting their eggs. Speaking of penguins …. this game is so beautifully made, with the cute little penguins made from wood. This game can is a fun way to help with memory, colours, and counting skills. This game can also be found locally at Tag Along Toys for $30 or you can pick it up online for $20.

#3.  Hungry Hippos

I’m not gonna lie; I bought this game purely for my own selfish nostalgia.  I loved this game as a kid and simply could not resist getting it for my son. It’s noisy, the balls are easy to lose, and the hippos have to all be removed from the game board in order for everything to fit back in the box again. Plus, it’s not exactly cheap and the only real learning you can incorporate is some counting. But, hey it sure is fun! He likes it as much as I used to. I’ve seen this game at my local Chapters/Indigo stores, or you can get the original Hasbro edition like mine online for $40.

Would I find any of these games in your house? Any more games to add to this list that meet my strict criteria above?

The post Three Fun Games for Pre-Schoolers (and their Parents!) appeared first on coffee with Julie.

Okay. I’m the dragon that you all know from St. George and the dragon. Or you think you know.

First things first, my name is not “the dragon”, its Clive Harmonia. My life’s ambition is to save the wandering albatross, and to find out if knights taste best deep fried or microwaved on “popcorn”. As for the princess, her name is Mud Ash-Felt. I don’t eat princesses because they are gross and high in cholesterol.

Anyways, a while ago, a leprechaun, a phoenix, and a Kangaroo started an environment club. What could I do? I joined.

This is where the story starts. I convinced Mud to join the club. This time I got to host the meeting. I spent all morning tastefully placing my prize Venus fly traps around my cave and hanging my best quilts on the walls. I decided that I should remind everyone that this week we were starting our “save the Eastern wolf” campaign so I logged on to the MacBook pro that I keep at the back of my cave. I punched in the password (ogledebogledy346923?!”<) and clicked enter.

At that point I realised that that St. George guy had hacked into my Twitter account. Great. Last time he did that he told everyone that I recently got engaged to a clown. I wonder what he told everyone this time. Oh. He said to everyone that I think that princesses are yummy and that I want to eat Mud. Who on earth would do that?! If you eat a princess, all the humans will never stop coming to “slay” you with those tooth picks they call swords. And all the jewels they wear get stuck in your teeth.

I hear the ring of a bell. It’s the bell I hung outside of my cave to use as a door bell. When I answered it, it turned out to be Koki the werewolf. She’s always the first to get to the meetings because she reads her sundial upside down.

“H-Hi Clive! Did you make your epic squirrel pie again? Could you give me the recipe?!”

“Yes to both of those questions, Koki.”

“PONE!!!!!!!!”

As Koki settled down into a bean bag, the other members started coming in. A number of comments about my cooking are flung at me.

“These crackers are like so totally awesome, Clive”

“OMMNOMMMUNCHGOBBLEGOBLESLURPGULPCHOMPCHOMPCHOMPCHOMPCHOMPBBURPP!”

“These are the most hideous and ugly cakes I have ever seen! But they’re nice.”

Mud came in last because her castle is in the village, which is pretty far away, and the public transport carriage drivers are on strike.

We all sat in a circle and began discussing new ideas to raise money for the campaign. Koki suggested that we sell squirrel pies to raise money in the village, but I knew that that wouldn’t work because Koki would just eat all the pies before we had our first customer. Minotaur suggested that we make an entertainment show where we popped giant helium balloons in front of an audience, but I don’t know who would PAY to see a couple of creatures pop balloons. Shredder the unicorn said that maybe if a local celebrity joined the campaign, all the villagers would go crazy over it, winning the eastern wolf campaign money and the celebrity fame. We all liked that.

“So do we have any local celebrities?” proposed Blaze the Phoenix.

“I dunno. Let’s make a list, mates.” Chimed David the kangaroo, in his usual Australian slang.

We got out some scrap paper and started brain storming. Unsurprisingly, the only person we could come up with was St. George.

“But he HATES the environment!!!”

“He paid someone 30 pieces of silver to invent a paving machine!!!”

“Yuck Yuck Yuck!!!”

I decided to make the eco pals some tea, because they were starting to sound like actors in a Shakespearian tragedy. I went over to the corner of the cave where I have a stove, a sink, my fridge and my cooking utensils. I picked the biggest pot I had, which was so big, King Henry the Eighth could have laid down in it and felt comfortable. I walked over to the sink, which was actually a spout of water coming out of the wall and filled up the pot. It took a really long time. Meanwhile, I picked out my favourite tea bag brand (Mutton Magic) from the rock shelf where I keep the food for when I’m entertaining guests.

Suddenly everyone in the front of the cave started to shout as if a rampaging hippopotamus herd was charging up the hill. I could make out some shouts.

“YEEEPPPP!!!! WHAT IS THAT MYSTEREOUS FIGURE EMERGEING FROM THE FOG!?!?!?!?!?!?!”

“It’s the Grim Reaper!!!”

“It’s the Boogie Man!!!!”

“AKKKKKK!!!! IT’S BOZO THE CLOWN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

(The sound of someone fainting on the floor) *CRASH BANG CCCRUUUNCCCHHH tinkle tinkle*

I ran into the front room, still holding the pot. It turned out that the mysterious figure was (luckily) not Bozo the clown. It was St. George. He claimed that he was here to “rescue” Mud.

I don’t usually fight knights but this George guy was totally crossing the line. Then something in me snapped. Heck, I’m a dragon, and this is what I’m supposed to do. Fight and eat knights. I was just trying to help the environment, and this knight was tuning it into a gong show.

I prepared to ignite my saliva, and breathe the first tongue of flame that I had since I was a teenager, but I paused when I saw the look of terror on George’s face as he turned to run. I stopped. My flame frenzy instinct shut down.

George tripped over a barrel of ground pepper and fell into the pot. The pepper floated into the air, and my nostrils twitched. I felt a sneeze coming on. Aaaaahhhh, AHHHHH, AHHHHHHHH….. CCCHHHEEWWWWWW!!!!!!!!!!!

The flaming sneeze hit the pot, boiling the water in an instant.

And to make a long story short, I found out that knights taste best boiled in water to make broth.

Stella is my 10-year-old daughter and on Saturdays, I let her rent this space from me because she thinks blogs are cool. It is her hope that her writing will appeal to kids her age as well as to the adults who read here too. (For the intro to Saturdays with Stella, click here.)

The post Saturdays with Stella: The Dragon’s Story, St. George and the Dragon appeared first on coffee with Julie.

Unfortunately, it’s not her insane wealth, nor her bikini-worthy body. (Although fortunately it’s not her bad taste in men or suppliers of hair extensions.)

What I’ve noticed lately is that when it comes to Britney, what people are talking about is this:

That she makes funny faces.

I never thought that much of them. But if you google “Britney Spears + funny faces” (why yes, I do spend my spare time in productive ways … what’s it to ya?), there are more than 28 million results! That is a whole lot of people that think Britney makes amusing faces when she’s on the X-factor panel.

Okay, back to me.

I was on a panel at WordCamp last weekend. I asked my friend Andrea to take a few photos for me on her phone. And low and behold, I don’t have a single normal face in any of them!

I think me and Brit Brit could be good friends. She really should ring me up sometime.

The post I Never Thought I Would Say This: Britney Spears and I Have Something in Common appeared first on coffee with Julie.

#6: When my little brother opens up the bathroom door when I’m using the toilet: I’m trying to go to the washroom like a normal person, and then he barges the door open and announces that he is going to brush his teeth.

#7: When you hear the sound of crinkling cellophane and when you go to see what it is, it turns out to be something gross: once I heard that sound, and (assuming it was chips) went to see if Mom would share with me — it turned out to be a bar of soap.

#8: When you invest in a book that looks good, but then turns out to be a total rip-off: you save up your allowance, plan a trip to the book store, and come out carrying a shiny new copy of some book. Then when you crack it open at bedtime, the whole thing turns out to be a heap full of random gibberish words and incomprehensible Blah Blah.

#9: Strange pieces of art work that no one except the artist understands: “is this supposed to be the Mona Lisa after someone has folded it up and ran it though the washing machine or a very bad origami peace crane?”

#10: When you think that spring is just around the corner, and then there’s a giant snow storm: you are just about to pull out the bikes and start wearing T-shirts when Mother Nature hits you with a killer white out.

Stella is my 10-year-old daughter and on Saturdays, I let her rent this space from me because she thinks blogs are cool. It is her hope that her writing will appeal to kids her age as well as to the adults who read here too. (For the intro to Saturdays with Stella, click here.)

The post Saturdays with Stella: The Not-So-Awesome Things List (Part 2 of 2) appeared first on coffee with Julie.

Marriage equality. It’s Time.

Julie xo

The post It’s Friday, Friends. It’s About Time! appeared first on coffee with Julie.