Ways to battle winter weight gain

For many, seasonal weight can be a problem that rears its ugly head at this time of year.  It’s no use beating yourself up now for having starting a carb binge in November that just never stopped. Instead, commit to making one or two small but healthy changes to your diet before Spring has sprung. Start with breakfast. Try switching out that high-fat bagel for a cup of oatmeal sprinkled with flax (grind it first to make it digestable) and a few dried cranberries.

Pressed for time? That’s no excuse — start the day with a healthy smoothie. For that, the busy 20-somethings in my household like the Hamilton Beach Single Serve Blender. The 14-ounce plastic jar has a lid, so it can double as a convenient travel mug. Stainless steel blades and 175 watts of power do a great job on soft fruits. Nice to know too, that it has a five-year warranty, which I believe is among the best in the business.

How easy it to whip up a healthy breakfast? Pop in 1/2 cup cranberry or orange juice, ¾ cup of vanilla yogurt and 1/2 banana, give it a whirl and enjoy. For a healthy dinner, try whole wheat quesadillas, jammy-packed with roasted peppers, eggplant, tomatoes, grilled mushroom or whatever other veg takes your fancy. Add a slice of lean meat or ricotta cheese to boost protein. Just so happens, Hamilton Beach has an app for that too — its quesadilla grill makes six wedges out of a  9½ inch circle. Nonstick surfaces are easy to clean, and it’s quick to heat up. Best of all, this item comes in a  cheery red, and the blenders come in a rainbow of happy shades, giving you one more way to let spring colours bloom while we’re still in winter’s icy grip.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Get a head start on Spring

There’s no cure for winter — except the passing of time — as those of us waiting out these last few dismal weeks can attest. But there are ways to bring Spring into the home a little earlier, and to make waiting for it a little less painful.

Think about spring and what’s one of the first things that comes to mind? Colour, of course ­— blue skies, green grass and riots of brightly coloured flowers. Those hues can bloom indoors long before the first daffodil has shown its face. For affordable, high-style décor and accessories, you can probably do no better than to look in the nearest Bouclair. There are few Canadian retailers who are better at doing budget-friendly, stylish accessories and décor pieces in great colours.

Take a look at the pretty pink and ruffled pillow from the Goteo collection, in which a 13- by 20-inch rectangular cushion sells for $25. Or bask in the sunny tones of cheery yellow storage baskets and glossy candle holders — each less than $10. Super shiny candles and tea-light holders come in crocus colours. Go now for some late winter colour therapy.

Make plans to head back to the store in April, though, when a new collection of bedding, outdoor accessories and pillows in Ikat-inspired prints and bold stripes will be in stores, along with a new line of wallpapers (a first for the Quebec-based retailer). 

 

 

 

 

Hate the dull mornings and lack of sunlight during winter? Try using a Philips Wake-Up Light; an alarm/radio that mimics sunrise by gradually increasing light over a 30-minute wake-up period. In addition to the light, the clock also has a FM radio alarm, and three alarm sounds; singing birds, birds in the forest and a tranquil Zen garden. A sunset feature allows the user to fall asleep to gently dimming light. The Wake Up Light sells for about $170.  I discovered another use — as a fan of watching movies at home, I like to have the lights out to recreate the theatrical experience. On dim setting, the Wake-Up Light provides the perfect amount of illumination.

 

Philips also makes the goLITE BLU, a portable light therapy device that the company says is clinically proven to increase energy and help with Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), known colloquially as the winter blues. It provides the same spectrum of blue light that you’re bathed in during sunny days and which is supposed to help maintain an optimal level of melatonin, a hormone believed to regulate the sleep-wake rhythm.

 

The goLITE BLU has four blue LEDs that can be adjusted to one of four brightness settings. Product literature suggests it will last some 50 years even if the product is used 30 minutes a day (the typical recommended time) throughout the year. There’s a light timer and alarm, so users can time their exposure to the light.  It comes with a rechargeable battery and travel case. Prices start at about $150. Go to www.philips.ca for a list of retailers.

 Keep in mind that when it comes to mental health, it’s unwise to self-diagnose. If you think what you experience is more than just a simple case of the winter blahs, you should talk to a doctor. In the meantime, go to the website of the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health  for an excellent information video about SAD.

Another reason to visit First Canadian Place

How much fun did I have presenting a seminar at First Canadian Place with well-known Canadian Living editor Karen Kirk? A ton! Karen invited me to share the stage for the latest presentation she did at FCP, part of their Arts and Events lunch and learn program 

What a fantastic idea this is.  It must be one of the city’s best kept secrets.Throughout the year, FCP has a stellar line up of lifestyle experts, artists, financial planners and taste and trend-setters offer lunch-time seminars in its lovely Gallery.  And they’re free — although you do have to register.

I have to say the 400-plus folks who packed the two seminars we did were among the best crowds I’ve ever had – engaged, interested and curious.  Plus, they loved the fact that we had some fun give-aways and prizes at the end of the seminar.  

Prior to the seminar, I toured FCP, and I’ll be doing an upcoming blog on a few of the lovely little shops I found – new faves. If I’m lucky, Karen will ask me to do another one of these lunch-time  — I’ll keep you posted.

Want to read all about it? Check out the entry on Karen’s blog —  a must-read, btw, if you want to stay abreast of all thing design and decor related. Follow her on Twitter @KKMe123

This is what I think

This has nothing to do with home décor. So sue me.

This is to do with the #BellLetsTalk twitter/text campaign to raise awareness of mental health, and a response to it being characterized in some quarters as a cheap, cynical move by a megalomaniacal corporation to grab the nation’s attention for the day with some shallow, self-serving and ultimately meaningless gesture. No dear, I feel like saying, that’s the House of Commons you’re thinking of.

Anyone not already convinced that we need to pay attention to mental health should ask three friends if their families have experienced mental illness. I can almost guarantee all will have been touched.

Read a paper, even occasionally, and you’ll be forced to consider how we treat the mentally ill in the criminal justice system. Of course Ashley Smith comes to mind. What were we thinking?

Listen to radio, and you may also happen across a scientist talking about the chemical basis of behavior and how it might relate to issues of culpability and cognitive development. Or a dad talking about the PTSD his soldier son brought back from Afghanistan. You will be thinking hard, by this point. Very complex, and very far-reaching. And all that’s before you get to sports pages.

Let me be clear. I despise most of the corporations I deal with, finding them un-navigable and inscrutable. My call is important to you, my big fat butt, it is. And I too, not so secretly, avoid pink ribbons, mostly because I think the world has enough plastic shit already, especially in grotesque shades of pink.

And yes, Twitter is mostly stupid. Yes it is, and you know it. All too often, it’s a roiling cesspool of vitriol, childishness and ignorance. But you have to admit it’s also good for spreading a message quickly, no?  

I also get that people criticize Bell as a media behemoth. But if you want to have a conversation about media concentration, let’s get together over wine. I’ll explain why this is a poor example to pick to illustrate its dangers. In fact, I’ll convince you that it’s an example of corporate good. Here’s why:

I grew up on the proverbial quiet street in the then-rural King City. I was, btw, by all accounts a lovely and brilliant child. (I find it hard to believe you have two sources for that – editor)

Everyone knew everyone. But not one of all those families ever breathed a word about mental illness.

Had they done so, the response would have surely ended in a joke about “Sixth Floor, Whitby-Cuckoo” a reference to the regional psych unit.  But it could also have made me realize that it was not just my family in which this weird uncomfortable thing lived. That would have made life easier. In fact, how different all round things might have been if anyone had talked about it.

Fifty years later, I know that at least six people on that street grappled with their mental health. In some cases, it went across generations, and in some it ended in suicide.

We did not talk about these things. Not among ourselves. Not even to ourselves. Although later in life, I became very comfortable with what we call #MySlavicMelancholia — also the title of my new novel — in case anyone from the Harlequin Div. is reading. (Enough with the shameless promotion – editor.)

So it’s a good thing to spend the day talking about mental health. Even if starts with stupid little messages. Whether or not Bell sponsors it. (Although if they want to see my support as tactic, and reward me with a fat freelance gig or two with the Globe, je suis tres available.)

Frankly, I had not really even thought about Bell until I heard people harping on it. My opinion of them hasn’t changed (see inscrutable above). And of course there’s something in it for them. But I wasn’t thinking about that.   

I was thinking about how many kids on that street suffered from some form of mental illness. I was remembering the red-haired boy – one of my first ever neighbours, my brother Michael’s best friend*, and the fellow who walked me to my first school dance. A funny guy, and a genius with food. A good friend to my brother. Also, a good fixer of cars and builder of forts. Died too young. #BellLetsTalk

 *Several good stories about Michael and said friend getting into trouble. Remind me sometime.

 

Ahh, the good old days

You call this a storm? Why, when I was a kid, it could be three times as bad as this, and we’d still walk to school. There was no such thing as a “snow day” – a few feet of snow and ice simply made crossing town more of an adventure. Even on a fine day, Doris M. Patton was a good 20-minute walk. Which leads me to my next point — kids today don’t walk enough. Harrumpphh.

Of course, my mom probably though my generation was soft and had it easy (we did – in those days, you could get a decent, well-paid job with a high-school graduation diploma and some gumption).

Mother Dearest (born 1922) grew up in Manchester, England without the benefit of electric refrigeration which is, apparently, the topic of this entry.

Not so very, very long ago, food was kept cooled in ice boxes: literally metal or wooden (bar-fridge size) boxes  chilled by ice that had been harvested — in this part of the world — from Lake Simcoe, Lake Wilcox and smaller bodies of water, such as Grenadier Pond in High Park. A fellow in a truck would come around to your home and sell you fresh ice. Cute, right?

If you’re a history nerd, you’ll enjoy looking at pics of one such company — the Grenadier Ice and Coal Company circa 1915  on Toronto Reference Library’s most excellent virtual archive  (Who knew there was such a thing?)

Blocks themselves were stored in big wooden structures, called — appropriately enough — ice houses. A Lake Simcoe ice house was beautifully transformed into a living/gallery space by Charlie Pachter. (Whom I interviewed with Margaret Atwood in the eighties, btw. I think he was opening Gracie’s Restaurant. One of the highlights of this ink-stained wretch’s career, for the record, even though I think we mostly talked about me.)

Later ice was manufactured and chemical coolants in a new gen of electric fridges turned ice boxes into antiques (which you can find at flea markets, vintage stores and such online sites as Kijiji.)

For my adoring fans in York Region (all four of them)

If you’re reading this now, it may be because you  were watching Daytime Rogers York on Thursday morning  and are now looking for sources for stuff I showed. Alors, here they are, with a couple of pics to jog your memory. If you’re not reading this for that purpose, take a look anyway. Pretty things to look at during this grey, grey February will be good for you.  Speaking of pretty things, it was a pleasure to see the lovely and talented Jacqueline B back in her element with Mr. Moore. And don't worry, faithful readers, I'll soon figure out WHY ALL MY PICTURES ARE SO BIG (#IHateTechnology™) and how to fix it. That's a promise.

 

Urban Barn's Monogolian Sheep/microsuede pillow

 

RUGS/PILLOWS

Lovely LightCharms

 

TEAS

CANDLE

MONGOLIAN WOOL PILLOW/THROW

CHANDELIER DROPS

COUNTER-TOP

CHOCOLATE 

And pssst. Check out the inexpensive but lovely DIY candle project I did for my column in  Reno and Decor

Fancy pants tea from Sloane

 

Very pretty pictures

Photographers Angela Read and Michael La Fond are the focus (get it?) of this week’s Hot Home Products column in the Toronto Star. The couple has just launched a website that sells gallery-wrapped canvases of their pictures. Here are a few below, from places flung as far away as Georgian Bay and Italy, where the duo (who are also partners in life) love to visit. Scroll down to the bottom of this entry for a few of their tips on how to hang photographic art. Keep an eye on this space, as I'll be featuring more photographers over the next few weeks.   

Michael La Fond

                                                                                                                                                            

Michael La Fond

Angela Read

 

Michael La Fond

 

TIPS FOR HANGING PHOTGRAPHIC ART

When hanging multiple prints, Michael likes odd numbers of grouping.  

Angela suggests grouping pics by theme or subject.

The two agree that size does matter — a large expanse of wall can handle a single large print, while a hallway in a pint-sized condo might do better with three small prints hung in a  row