Summer is coming up, get your your lace game in order for your kicks!
Hey Pringles, you need to get on this: “How to Make a Better Pringles Can [Video]
(Source: youtube.com)
So I Went To Target
Last week I took some time out to check out the newest Target location at the newly renovated Shoppers World in Brampton and the visit went well. The place looked great, cleaner and brighter than the previous Zellers. As soon as you walked in, it reminds you of walking into a Target in the USA. It’s great to see that consistency.
While walking through a couple things stuck out to me in comparison to Walmart and other stores. First, I found some of the aisles a little smaller than I anticipated for a large footprint store such as Target, but that could just be the location I visited. Secondly, they absolutely love Apple and their accessories. I do not think I’ve seen a collection of accessories like this at any other big box store.
And lastly, I found that they’re pricing machines in their aisles are not pointed out or as obvious as in other stores. They’re just tucked into a corner with no arrow or anything pointing to it. I probably walked by a few of them without even noticing.
Many people who have visited the Canadian Target locations have complained about the pricing and it is not US-like. While it may be a disappointment, what many people do not realize is that between shipping, taxes and tariffs to bring products into Canada, which also is a much smaller population than the USA, it ads to the cost. This is by and far the biggest reason you’ll see price differences between many stores you may shop at in the USA and Canada.
Other than that, the visit went great - staff I found to be very helpful and its going to be nice to have a Walmart competitor. Have you been to Target yet? How was your experience?
Easter Weekend RoadTrip!
Easter Weekend is upon us, and it’s finally a long weekend and the first long weekend of spring 2013 - a time to relax, and unwind for some. I’m going to be heading out on the road for a road trip around Lake Erie. Unless any major changes, we’re going to be visiting some Premium Outlets and a couple cities stateside.
The purpose of this trip is really to pick up some spring/summer gear at (hopefully) some great prices from the Premium Outlets and then do some touristy things while in Detroit and Cleveland.
If you don’t know, or haven’t been to the Premium Outlets before, they’re a great shopping experience with factory stores with some great deals and discounts. Many of the outlets differ in size and have various brand stores including Nike, Coach, Armani - these are just the tip of the iceberg. These outlets however are usually located a couple hours outside larger cities, but from my previous experiences, well worth the drive.
And since it’s a road trip, fun with food is bound to happen. I’ll be taking a look at some of the spots that Guy Fieri has visited on Triple D (Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives) and see if I can’t stop off at a few of them while on my road trip - looking forward to trying some delicious dishes.
Here’s a quick rundown for the areas I’ll be visiting:
- - First stop is Birch Run, MI to visit the Birch Run Outlets
- - Then head off to Detroit
- - From Detroit, head over to Cleveland
- - Visit the Premium Outlets in Grove City
- - Next is Buffalo
- - And finally back home to Toronto
If you have any suggestions on where I should try and visit while on my road trip, I’d love to hear it. Leave your recommendations in the comments, I would love to know where/what you love about the Motor City and the home of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Why I May Never Buy A New Car Again
I’ve purchased at least 5 cars in my lifetime already. Both used, new, financed and leased. After all my experiences, I think I may never buy a new car again, and here’s why:
- Prices - I feel that the inflated price of a new car is just too much to pay vs what you can get for a car of the same model that is at least a couple years old. This might apply to a higher priced vehicle vs a lower priced one, but you could save thousands either way. On top of that, the initial costs of purchasing the car with things such as freight, PDI, air tax, tire tax etc. all these costs go into purchasing a new vehicle - if you were to buy a used car, these costs have all been paid by the original buyer.
- Interest rates on used can be just as good as new - It’s great if you can get a new car at a low interest rate, especially if you’re looking to finance, 1.9% etc, but again, you may get the same rates by looking at a certified used vehicle.
- Warranties - With a new car, sure you might get a few things covered but if you were to buy a certified used car from a dealership they now come with great warranties as well - some even still cover you up to 100k and a few years - maybe not 5 years like a new car, but at least 2 to 3.
- Choice - If you took your budget and compare it to what’s available new vs what’s on Autotrader for example, the choice of vehicle you could be driving next increases 10-fold. You will have to be more patient to find your car vs getting one with all the options you want from the factory, but again, the extra time could help your wallet in the end.
REVIEW: Dollar Shave Club
It’s been a couple months since Dollar Shave Club has been available in Canada and its been a couple of months that I have been using it and I absolutely love it! That’s the short version of my review, but feel free to continue reading if you want to learn more about why I’ll never by $30 razors again.
Since they launched with their awesome video that went viral (watch it here), I’ve been very interested to try Dollar Shave Club. I have been using Gillette Mach 3, Fusion and other razors with more blades than I probably do need to keep my face clean shaven. They’ve all been great, but the cost to replace these razors always felt like it was putting a dent in my pocket. To give you an idea, a 4-pack of Gillette Fusion razors cost on average of $16 and then you’re up to $30 for an 8-pack.
This is where Dollar Shave Club comes in. When they launched in Canada they launched with a few options, 2-blade, 4-blade or the mighty 6-blade razors. I decided on going down the middle with the 4-blade system considering I’ve used a 3-blade and 5-blade system in the past. The sign up process was extremely easy and within a few days from ordering I received my “handle” and 4-cartridges for only $6.50 (see picture below) - yup, that’s it!
So how did it work out? I tried the blades and wanted to give it a fair shot, so that is why I didn’t write a review earlier, but overall the blades are great and because I’m not an every day shaver, I use on cartridge every two weeks. The blade is smooth over your face and doesn’t pull. The one thing I do miss however is on my 5-blade Fusion razor, they had a single blade on the reverse side which could be used for straight-edging.
So how does this work in terms of cost? With the 4-blades I ordered, it is only $6.50/mth but what’s not listed on their website until you sign up is the fact that you can have the blades shipped to you every other month! This is great because I change blades every two weeks, now 4-cartridges last exactly two months, just in time for me to receive my new blades. So do the math, $6.50 x 6months = $39. If I were to continue using my Fusion blades at $16 a pop, I would be looking at $96, a total savings of $57/year. On top of that I don’t have to go out to the store to get them, they’re delivered right to my door step.
So if you’re looking for a shaving alternative to the department store brands, I highly recommend you giving Dollar Shave Club a shot. A ladies, if you’re looking for a little gift for your man, this isn’t a bad idea either.
Click Here To Join!
Can’t wait to see this, in the meantime here’s the teaser trailer for The Hangover Part III
(Source: youtube.com)
Karmin is back with a new cover! You might remember them from their cover of “Look At Me Now”. Check out their cover/remix of “Started from the Bottom” by Drake
(Source: youtube.com)
Working from Home vs. Working at the Office
CEO of Yahoo! Marissa Mayer recently decided that all remote workers at Yahoo! now have to work within the office, and she eliminated the work-from-home option. Reasoning behind this is stated in a memo:
Some of the best decisions and insights come from hallway and cafeteria discussions, meeting new people, and impromptu team meetings,” Jackie Reses, Yahoo’s head of HR, wrote in the memo. “Speed and quality are often sacrificed when we work from home. We need to be one Yahoo!, and that starts with physically being together.”
Now, being an office worker myself, I don’t mind it here at my office because there is not a tight leash and we are able to maintain some sort freedom when things need to get done on a personal level. I’ll also admit, things can move along a bit faster, having everyone in the same room most of the day. However, I do know those that work strictly remotely and at points envy the increased freedom they have, of course as long as the work gets done. In Marissa Mayer’s defense, work-from-home arrangements at other large Silicon Valley companies such as Google (where she originated) or Facebook are not common. Now there has been a bit of push-back on this decision with those saying simply this is very much “old school” and with the technology we have today, this is a step backwards.
Sir Richard Branson this morning posted on his blog firing back at Yahoo! in a post titled “Give people the freedom of where to work”. In the post he simply states the following:
To successfully work with other people, you have to trust each other. A big part of this is trusting people to get their work done wherever they are, without supervision. It is the art of delegation, which has served Virgin and many other companies well over the years.
Working life isn’t 9-5 any more. The world is connected. Companies that do not embrace this are missing a trick.
Maintaining a work/life balance is critically important in this day and age, especially when time can be easily be consumed by work leaving family/friends out in the dark. Personally, I feel between working the office and the freedom I do have at the office, it’s not necessarily a bad thing and can see where Marissa is coming from but what do you think about the decision - is it a step back or is it a good decision?
You probably missed it last night, but here’s Jamie Foxx and his song “Channing Your Tatum” live on Jimmy Kimmel - hilarious!
(Source: youtube.com)
These are my thoughts and my passions, my rants and my raves, my world in all its interesting ways.
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