Love Phineas and Ferb?  Or are you uninitiated in the awesomeness that is summer vacation with the dynamic duo and their merry band of misfits?  No worries, I have you covered either way. Available June 5^th on Disney DVD, PHINEAS AND FERB: THE PERRY FILES DVD with Digital Copy and Perry Activity Pack is jam-packed with enough fun to keep Mom and the kids happy all summer long.

While Phineas and Ferb do it all to make every day the best day ever, evil lurks just around the corner! But there is hope for the unsuspecting citizens of Danville. Now, for the very first time, crack open the top-secret archives of O.W.C.A. (Organization Without a Cool Acronym) to expose… THE PERRY FILES!

Join Perry the Platypus–a.k.a. Agent P.–on his most exciting adventures as he thwarts his nemesis, Dr. Doofenshmirtz, at every turn. With groovy gadgets, mad skills and his trademark brown fedora, this semi-aquatic, egg-layin’ mammal of action is unstoppable! Experience the hilarious havoc as he defends the Tristate Area against Doof’s “inators,” battles rogue agent “Dennis the Bunny,” and much more. When it comes to secret agents, Perry’s not only the real deal, he’s real teal!

Bonus features “Nerves of Teal” and “Platypus Tour” test your spy-bilities and give you a behind the scenes look at the traveling Phineas and Ferb exhibit that toured North America.

Three of my lucky Canadian readers (excluding Quebec) will have the chance to check out this DVD for themselves!  Just tell me your favourite Phineas and Ferb song or character.  Giveaway will run until Friday, June 8^th.  Please read my giveaway rules before entering.

For one bonus entry share this giveaway on your favourite social media channel. (Facebook, G+, Twitter…)

No one can say we don’t know how to have fun.

Since my birthday is sandwiched between Hubby and my oldest Daughter I decided to make my birthday cupcakes 2 weeks early using a gluten-free Betty Crocker cake mix I had saved. The only problem, no gluten-free icing.  I searched around the net for a few ideas and stumbled upon a post in a celiac forum that had a few ideas.  I ran with one that included peanut butter as the base and modified it to work with my Peanut butter cups craving by adding in a bit of cocoa!  Oh my it’s rich, creamy and easy. I used water for my attempt, but I suggest milk for a creamier texture.

What you will need:

1/4 cup peanut butter
1/2 -3/4 pound of icing sugar
2 tbsp shortening
2-3 tbsp milk or water
1 tbsp Cocoa

In bowl mix together peanut butter and shortening.  Add in 1/2 lb icing sugar and cocoa. Mix well adding in milk/water a tablespoon at a time.  If icing is too thick add more, if it’s too thin add in more icing sugar. Will cover a dozen cupcakes. Refrigerate any extras and use up within a few days.

By the time my oldest daughter’s birthday rolled around, not only was I fresh out of ideas for her cake, but my arthritis had done a number on my hands.  I knew she wanted an animal themed cake, but I also knew that my ability spend hours decorating a cake like the one I did last year was going to be out.  My hands ached at the thought. Poor equipment made it that much more distasteful since I still haven’t found a replacement for my cake decorating syringe.  So, I ended up doing the next best thing, using a Betty Crocker Cake mix and icing and topping it with Littlest Pets Shops to save the day. Miss G was thrilled with her cake and Mama’s hands were happy.  Sometimes taking the easy way out works.

Do you have a favourite way to decorate cakes?

Disclosure: I am part of the Life Made Delicious Blogger program and I receive special perks as part of my affiliation with this group. The opinions on this blog are my own.”

Blown Away : A year through the lens of The Tornado Hunter takes us on a visual journey through “The drama, beauty, terror and aftermath of Tornado Alley”.  See the action, and the destruction through the lens of The Tornado Hunter Greg Johnson as he spends a season documenting the life of a storm chaser in this full color 12 x 17 book.

One man’s journey into and through one of the most horrific and awe-inspiring storm season on record. Join Canada’s Tornado Hunter, Greg Johnson, on this deeply personal journey and you too will be Blown Away.

This book is a great gift idea for the hard to shop for Dad on your list. Filled with stunning images, a compelling story line and interesting factoids, even the Dad who doesn’t do books will find something to love in Blown Away. Included in this 168 page book is over 200 photographs from across 12 American states and 2 Canadian provinces (Saskatchewan and Manitoba).  See the absolute destruction the F5 tornado wreaked on Joplin, MI MAy 22, 2011, and the nightmare and heartache of documenting the destruction the day after.

One of many interesting factoids. Have Dad read it with the kids and get a lesson in weather!

There are only good things I can say about this fantastic book.  If the Dad in your life is a fan of photography, science, trivia or storm chasing he will love this book.  Heck even if he isn’t he’ll love this book.  Set it out on the coffee table and flip through it or read it cover to cover, either way you will pick it up again and again.

Find Greg “The Tornado Hunter” Live streaming his chases on his website, on twitter and on Facebook.  Blown Away is available across Canada at Walmart locations as well as Relay stores in airports nationwide.  The book can also be purchased at Chapters/Indigo online (best deal).

As my gift to you this Father’s Day I have a copy of Blown Away : A year through the lens of The Tornado Hunter to give away to one of my readers.  To be entered to win head over to http://tornadohunter.ca/ and tell me something you learned.  Please read my giveaway rules before entering.  Giveaway is open to my Canadian readers and will end Midnight on Father’s Day June 17, 2012.

For bonus entries:

Share this giveaway on your favorite social media site (once only)
Follow Greg Johnson on Facebook
Follow @canadogreg on Twitter

Good luck!

I want to be there! How awesome.

*Disclosure I was provided with a sample to facilitate this review.  All opinions expressed are my own.

I couldn’t have said it better. These are the faces that are helped when you give to the Montreal Children’s Hospital and the Children’s Miracle Network .  Beautiful children and families who are going though what no family should suffer, the illness or injury of a child. The Children’s Miracle Network makes those times easier to bear.

17 million Children

170 hospitals across North America

4 Billion raised since 1983

All money donated to your local hospital, stays at that hospital and goes where it is needed most – be it rehabilitation, oncology or child life services.

Join me in raising $1000 for Montreal Children’s Hospital. Give what you can: $1 or $100 every dollar helps the children.

I am participating in the #MiracleMoms campaign and I receive special perks as part of my affiliation with this group. The opinions on this blog are my own.

I was sent the SOG6012 La Luna to check out and am in love.  Retailing for $99.99 this bag has plenty of room for all the necessities and is laid out in such a way that everything you need is at your finger tips.  The La Luna has two roomy exterior pockets, one zip and a larger magnetic closure pocket on the front.  Inside the bag you will find another zip pocket as well as two pockets that are open for easy access. The stitching and detail throughout the bag is superb and all the hardware functions well and looks great.

Watch a short video walk through of the bags features.

Sac O Grande bags have been featured in several Canadian fashion and industry magazines such as Lou Lou and Chatelaine.   With three different lines they have a bag to suit a variety of needs.  The Emma handbags are for the frugal fashionista, with a maximum ticket price of $59.99. The Beau Baby line is for the Mom who wants a diaper bag that is functional and good-looking.  No rubber duckies here. The Sac O Grande bags are for a more discerning bag lover.  With a hot pink interior, adjustable straps and unique styling, these bags make a statement.  As their tagline states…finally feed your handbag habit.  Also available from Sac O Grande – handy clutches and costume jewelry (I just love the rings).

Sac O Grande bags are available in select retail outlets as well as online via their website, Sears, Best Buy and The Shopping channel to name a few.  You can also find them on Facebook and Twitter.

Sac  O Grande wants to help celebrate my Birthday by giving one TWO! of my readers (one in Canada and one in the USA) the gift of style!   To enter to win the Sac O Grande ‘s CHAIN CHICK handbag in Red, Silver or Black (depending on availability) visit their site and let me know what your favourite bag is. The giveaway will run until June 15, 2012.  Please read my giveaway rules before entering. For one bonus entry share this giveaway on your favourite social media site.

Good luck!

When I was young my Mother made all of my birthday cakes. She used to bake them and decorate them all by herself and we used to love it.

I remember once my sister and I ran into the kitchen and saw her cake and went “Wow, Mom!!! That looks so sick!!” (remember that slang word?) We thought it was so awesome! And she got so insulted because she thought we meant the cake actually looked “sick”. At least until we explained to her that the word “sick” meant spectacular/good/awesome.

So let’s fast forward to the present day. What would be a sick decoration that doesn’t take forever to do? Gumpaste balloons, that’s what! So here’s some tips on how to make easy, whimsical gumpaste balloons that will definitely get a “sick” reaction from your kids…..or whatever the slang is today …..

So just a few tips to begin with:

1) You can either purchase gumpaste (at a cakes supplies store or a craft store that sells cake supplies) or make it.

2) To colour gumpaste, you need to use gel or paste food colouring, NOT that liquid grocery store colouring. Why? Because gumpaste is sugar-based and sugar and liquid tends to not go so well….unless it’s limeade or something.

3) Wash your hands between using colours if you don’t want your lovely little yellow balloons to be smeared with blue or green or red or anything other than yellow.

4) Do your gumpaste work at least a day in advance. This will allow it to dry and harden appropriately so that you can apply it to your cake much more easily.

5) If you’re not artistic, don’t worry, just keep a photo of a balloon in front of you and go from there (and remember balloons can be all types of shapes – it doesn’t have to be perfectly round)

6) HAVE FUN with it – if you don’t have fun, then what’s the point? You don’t want to be a sourpuss bringing out the cake when it’s time to blow out the candles right?!

7) Make it a family event, get the birthday boy or girl to help you colour gumpaste or form the balloons themselves!

For any cake decorations, always have at least an inkling of a plan. Trust me, it’ll save you unnecessary stress (and possibly unnecessary money) in the end!

9) Don’t make your balloons too big or it will be too heavy on the floral wire and will end up looking like….well…this:

10) When you’re not using the gumpaste, make sure to keep it in the Ziploc bags or it will dry out and harden and you won’t be able to work with it.

11) From a design point of view, if you’re making a group of balloons, it’s better to stick with odd numbers (three, five or seven balloons in a bunch for example) as it tends to be more aesthetically pleasing than an even number. Yes ignore the fact that in my photo I have an even number.

Okay, so how do you make gumpaste balloons?

You will need the following supplies to do these my way (there are always other ways but this is the way I know).

- floral wire (size depends on your balloons, but I used a size 22 gauge …you can use as thick as 18 I think)

- scissors

- gumpaste

- gel or paste food colouring

- small bowl of water

- small paintbrush (size 00, 0 or 1)

- toothpicks

- Ziploc/sandwich bags that seal

- styrofoam block

Figure out how many balloons you want to make. Take out approximately that much gumpaste and split into the number of colours you are using.

Knead and massage the gumpaste until it is the texture of chewing gum. When you pull it apart, it should stretch considerably before breaking. This is when you know your gumpaste is ready to use.

Place all except one colour into the Ziploc and seal to keep it moist (trust me you’ll thank me for this…)

To colour your gumpaste, dip your toothpick into the colour and wipe the toothpick on your gumpaste. Fold, press and stretch the gumpaste and colour in your hands until the colour is evenly distributed throughout the gumpaste. Add the colour sparingly because it is easy to put in but you cannot remove colour once it is kneaded in. Also, if you want really deep colours, you may want to buy a pre-coloured gumpaste because it takes a lot more colour than you would imagine to get a deep red for example. Put this away into the Ziploc bag and finish colouring the rest of your gumpaste similarly. MAKE SURE TO WASH YOUR HANDS BETWEEN COLOURS or you will have a few multi-coloured balloons hanging around.

Cut your floral wire into 4″ or 5″ lengths. Bend the tops of each of these lengths into a little hook.

Remove some of the coloured gumpaste and pinch a small piece off. This piece will be the little “tail” of the balloon – you know, the little sticky-outey part that you knot? Put that back into the Ziploc for later.

Shape your balloon like you would with plasticine or play-doh. Remember a balloon is not perfectly round (if you’re doing a round one), and try to keep any cracks at the bottom where the “string” will be. Also remember that there are many different styles of balloons so feel free to have fun! And if you’re planning on doing a balloon dog or something…well…good luck, let me know how that goes KISS remember? Keep It Simple Silly!

Take one of the floral wire hooks and wet the hook. Shake it off so that there is not too much water on it and stick it into the bottom of the balloon until it is about halfway into the balloon. Twist it 90 degrees and then pull down slightly so that it hooks into the gumpaste. Then, pinch and crimp the bottom of the balloon around the floral wire so that it keeps the wire in place. Stick this into your styrofoam so that it hardens. Continue the process with the rest of the gumpaste balloons, not forgetting to keep a little bit of the coloured gumpaste for the balloon knot-sticky-outey-thingee.

When you’re done, take a small ball of coloured gumpaste and roll into a tiny ball with your fingers. Squish it so that it is a little gumpaste disk. With a damp paintbrush, brush the bottom of one of the balloons of the same colour (where the wire enters the gumpaste) and thread the disk up the wire until it sticks to the bottom of the balloon.

Hold the balloon in place and press your fingernail up GENTLY to flatten the balloon knot.

If you are feeling really adventurous, take a toothpick and maneuver the knot to make it look wavy…..but be careful – this may just make it fall off – so depending on how much of a perfectionist you are, you may or may not want to do this. Finish the rest of your balloons.

To place them on the cake, you simply just stick the floral wire into the cake….or if you wish you can wrap floral tape around the different floral wires to create pre-done bunches to place into the cake…..Another trick is to stick a straw into the cake where you want to put the balloons and then insert the wires into the straw….it helps keep it in place as well.

And there you go, don’t rush it, relax and enjoy it! And then enjoy the smiles and oohs and aahs when you present your cake! Good luck and please feel free to ask any questions

Oh, and just for a little extra…..here’s me and my bunch of balloons….

Based on the popular Stephanie Plum books by Janet Evanovich, One for the Money is an entertaining movie that delves into the life of Stephanie Plum. Played by Katherine Heigl, Plum’s life has taken a sudden turn for the worst.  In a desperate attempt to reclaim her life post divorce Stephanie takes a job working at her sleazy cousin’s bail bond office. .

ONE FOR THE MONEY stars Katherine Heigl, Jason O’Mara and Debbie Reynolds and follows Stephanie Plum who is a proud girl from New Jersey down on her luck.  Unable to find work, her sleazy cousin offers her a position as a Bail Bondman recovery agent which she accepts.  Her target is a Joe Morelli, a former vice cop and murder suspect, and happens to be the same guy who seduced and dumped her back in high school.

One for the Money is a great girls night in movie.  Pick up a bottle of wine, whip up a big plate of nachos and sit back and enjoy.  This movie has moments that will make you laugh and moments that will leave you gasping in shock.  The film plays on the stereotypical Jersey girl moments, but it was the hookers that made the film!  Sherri Shepherd really stole the show! It was a thoroughly enjoyable chick flick and I am happy to add it to my library.

Bonus features include an 11-minute making-of featurette, a 10-minute look at some real-life “bond girls,” a gag reel, and one deleted scene.  Pick up a copy at  your favourite retailer and plan a girls night in!

eOne entertainment wants you to check out One for the Money for yourself and has offered to send one of my Canadian readers a copy to enjoy.  To be entered to win just tell me your favourite girls night out or chick flick.  I have a need to see more.  Since marrying Hubby my chick flick fun has been nonexistent.  Please read my giveaway rules before entering. For one bonus entry share this giveaway on your favourite social media site.  I will choose a winner June 1, 2012.

The Classic Battleship Movie Edition Game is great for adults and kids 7 and up and retails for around $24.99.  This updated version of the classic game brings the fun of the movie to your family game nights. Battle it out as the alien forces or the navy and use new “special opps” cards that add a whole new demention to the game.  Use them to fire out complete columns of coordinates, fire as many shots as you have ships, or force your opponent to reveal his un-hit coordinates.  The classic “hit or miss” game comes in 2 fold-able hard cases that are perfect for taking on the road.  My only suggestion is pull out the storage tray before placing your ships, because otherwise it won’t open.  We love this game!

There isn’t anything better than pulling out a KRE-O building set on a rainy day and settling in together to get it all set up.  Last week we had plenty of rain and the KRE-O Battleship Alien Strike set and the U.S.S Missouri set kept the kids busy the whole afternoon.  After they were all set up the kids headed upstairs to battle it out.  The Aliens didn’t fare so well.  The Battleship KRE-O sets range from $9.99 and up and are geared towards children ages 6 and up.  Because of the level of difficulty with some of the larger sets I do recommend making it a family affair.  My 9 and 10-year-old children have no problems with them though.

Pick up Battleship games and KRE-O sets at your favourite retailer.   Have you seen the movie yet?

*Disclosure – I was sent a selection of products to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own.