Are you a girl? (Or a very aesthetic male?)

Then you’ll eat this right up with a spoon and cherry on top. Until April 11th, if you go to the Bay and spend 26.50 on Clinique products, the you get their uber-generous bonus goodie bag along with it. It’s like one of those bags celebrities get at the Oscars or something, except unlike Jessica Alba I don’t take the bag and use it for firewood. Or compost. I don’t know for a “fact” that she does this, but I like to start rumours about celebs. I have nothing against celebs for the record. Maybe I will soon join their ranks! Muahahaha, then it will be ME taking my freebie bags and randomly setting them on fire for kicks.

Anywho, check out the link to see the picture, it has an eye-shadow kit (your choice of colours), their make-up remover, mascara, lipstick, a mirror, and the little baggie. A 70 dollar value! Well, that’s what they say, maybe that’s just for insurance purposes. For us it’s free, which to me equals priceless.

http://www.thebay.com/beauty/cliniquebonus.aspx

Supplies are limited, so get your butts movin’! As for what to spend the 26.50 on, well, Clinique has tons of cool stuff that is worth it. Get the face wash! Or a sexy red lipstick! Or a perfume! Or tell the Clinique lady to surprise you! They LOVE it when you waste their time. By the way, does anyone REALLY take all the perfume paper samples they give out while you’re trying to walk thru the cosmetics floor? Maybe I’ll take ONE, after that it’s just plain harassment. I know it’s their job, but don’t be cheap and give me an actual sample size. Not just a piece of paper that serves me little purpose. I guess I could light it on fire? I think I have some pyromanic tendencies. Anywho, gotta go, I’m burnt out. Ha!

Peace out

Quickie

Aldo shoes online:

Last Day for Extra 25% OFF all Women’s Clearance Shoes. Plus, Extra 50% OFF selected Sandals.

http://www.aldoshoes.com/frontEndComponents/specificComponents/newsletter/newsletterDisplay.cfm?nID=6741&mID=1825726

Peace out

Two-fers Tuesdays

Don’t forget to check out http://www.maboutiquecorus.com/index.php today, you have til six to score some 2 for 1 gift certificates. There’s the usual “spa experiences”, the usual restaurants like Alpenhaus, Le Oven Bar Pitzro (?), Hooters (!), A Mexican place called Koka Loka, Firegrill, Baton Rouge, Wrap City, Deli Planet and summore.

I explain +/- how it works in my other post: http://bargainbabemtl.wordpress.com/2010/03/29/to-give-or-not-to-give/

I hope I did that right. Happy hunting!

Peace out.

Bargain Wishes…

…of a Happy Easter y’all! Even if you don’t celebrate it in the traditional way, it’s still fun to have a long weekend, eat crappy chocolate eggs, and try to figure out the relationship between Jesus and bunnies. Plus, there are sales aplenty! No, buying discount left-over chocolates is not a good idea. Neither is hiding them somewhere that you’ll forget about. Like in your VCR slot or something. Wow I’m dating myself, I mean Blu-Ray. So I did not have much time to blog, since I was both working and entertaining. On Saturday I visited the posh, pricey and slightly pretentious Atwater market to buy fresh mushrooms, since I attempted to make my own pasta FROM SCRATCH. Turns out, it’s not as easy as it looks. And it looks really hard. I cook every day, and like to try everything once, but a piece of advice that everyone knows but is worth mentioning: never try new stuff for the first time when you have a pack of hungry men coming over for dinner. It takes longer than the recipe calls for, and it doesn’t always turn out. In my case I ended up feeding them slightly raw flour balls with exploding filling. I just made them sign a waiver and gave them lots of alcohol. Your dinner may suck, but ALWAYS make sure to stock enough booze. Men are easy to please in this way.

If you do patronize the Atwater Market you might already know the store “Les Douceurs du Marche”, but if you don’t then you have to check it out. It boasts a very impressive panoply of olive oils, sauces (including those cheesy hot sauces with vulgar names), fresh pastas, ethnic food (such as Mexican, my fave)(wait, can I say “ethnic”? I never know anymore. I saw a recipe book called “Ethnic Vegetarian” so I figured it’s kosher), and everything in between. The prices correspond to the quality, so it’s worth it to splurge on certain things I find, such as good olive oil. The pastas are SO beautiful, they have different shapes and colours. Not ALL shapes, but I guess if you want to give it a shot then make your OWN Mona Lisa or Michael Moore silhouetted carvings. I’d start off simpler, I couldn’t even make a ball.

The cheese shop there, the “Fromagerie Atwater” is also amazing, they usually give free samples to discover their infinite selection of cheeses (obviously). Don’t be one of THOSE people, who go there for lunch, like when I go to Costco and one single person will take 20 dollars worth of the same sample. I know, I know, the big companies can afford it, but then the little old lady who’s preparing the samples has to fill up 10 little cups just to feed one moocher. Just take 1-2 or each, and go to ALL the tables. That way you get ALL the junk food groups! Anywho, the cheese shop also has a HUUUUUGE selection of specialty beers, many from Quebec, that are worth checking out. Every time I go to visit my family in Ontario I bring a trunk load of beer for my Uncle, I’m just classy like that. Actually, it’s because he drinks a special beer, since he’s gluten intolerant, and this brewery “Les Bieres de la Nouvelle-France” makes a special wheat-free beer that he can drink. It’s called “La Messagere”, and they don’t sell it just anywhere. I’ve checked most places in Montreal, and the cheapest ironically is this shop. So next time you pay a visit to Uncle Frank, bring him a case. He’ll love you for it. He might even throw you in his will, leaving you 10,000 worth of empties.

So stop by your local market today, buy fresh and buy local once in a while. Do me a favour and NEVER buy garlic that isn’t local. This is a crime. You can get a little baggie of fresh Quebec garlic for 2 bucks, as opposed to 70 cents worth of worthless import. I’m not against imported stuff, and I don’t want to go into the consequences of its carbon footprint, but many times local REALLY is much higher quality. You either NEVER use garlic or ALWAYS use it, if you use it profusely then don’t skimp. The local stuff won’t even give you bad breath. OK maybe not that last part. So support your economy and buy garlic today! At least buy a stalk and hang it over your door, I hear it keeps moochers at bay. Unless it’s your neighbour coming over and asking for garlic for the 4th time this week. For him I recommend plain mace.

Peace out

Deals Du Jour

Howdy! Here goes it:

Aldo shoes online is offering an extra 30% off on all Clearance Boots and Handbags, for a limited time. There’s some pretty good selection, it’s trickier to get everything in your size. Unless you are fortunate enough to have size 5 or size 9 feet. You have to pay shipping, which is 5 bucks, (free if you spend over 100) but it’s totally worth it if you can’t find what you want in store. Plus, online usually has better deals, and you get a new pair as opposed to the stinky last pair everyone has tried on. Also, when buying in a store, don’t be afraid to ask for a new pair if they’re trying to unload a used one on you. I used to be super shy about this, but then realized it was my right as a customer. Damn right! Just be polite, and see what happens. If you REALLY want them, like then and there, then I guess don’t risk checking out online or another store. If not, then tell them thanks but no thanks. ANYwho, here’s the link:

http://www.aldoshoes.com/frontEndComponents/specificComponents/newsletter/newsletterDisplay.cfm?nID=6702&mID=1825726#

 L’Oreal is giving away free samples, a face scrub I think, they mail it to you. This is actually brilliant, I always ask for samples when they offer them, and many times I’ve ended up purchasing the product. Except for this one time, when Procter and Gamble sent me a “his and her” sampling. R got a razor and shower gel, while I got laundry detergent. I’m not a feminist, but I almost hit the roof! Well I showed them, I never bought their stupid detergent or any other stupid product. Cuz they’re stupid. Humph. Here’s the link:

http://www.lorealparis.ca/_en/_ca/goclean/register.aspx

I got a Dominos coupon code, but to be honest it includes one of their new very un-appealing pasta bread-bowls, which is I think the worst idea ever. I almost feel bad for them, they’ve been pushing it SO hard, but at least I don’t want to pay for bread with more bread and bottled sauce. Seriously? Is this like for people who don’t like pizza?!? (Who are you?) Or for people who order so much pizza they’re sick of pizza? Make the friggin pasta at home, and eat bread on the side. You’ll save yourself money, saturated fats, and your dignity.

This is for a limited sector of the population, or maybe not, what do I know. You have to both A) Have a Scene Card, (the one for Scotiabank and Scotiabank Theatre formerly known as Paramount, whew!) if you don’t have this card, get one, it’s free. I’ll explain later. B) Want to buy the Trilogy of Lord of the Rings on Blu-Ray. C) Have Blu-Ray. I think they’re getting cheaper every day now, like just over 100 bucks.

Maybe a gift for your awkward cousin that never leaves the basement except to go to “conventions”? Or to anyones who watches the Oscars? Or to Peter Jackson in case he doesn’t have one? So it’s 64.99 on sale, plus you get 2000 free SCENE points, which is the equivalent of two movie tickets. Which is what, like 26 bucks? Score! You can also get an IMAX ticket for 1000 points, therefore saving you 15.50. I just checked, they lowered the prices for IMAX, yet raised the prices for cheapie Tuesdays to 6.5o. Oh well! Here’s the link:

http://store.cineplex.com/store/product/product.jsp?catId=&itemId=1131202-4

Also at La Senza, take off 10 bucks for any regular priced bra. EXTRA: I don’t usually shop at Old Navy, since it’s all the way on the top floor of the Eaton Centre, but in case you do tomorrow there’s an extra 25% off your entire purchase. So get a jump-start on those flip-flops and short-shorts! Thanx Kristina and Jackie!

Shop smart Montreal, I love ya!

Peace out

Away for a snowy day

‘Ello mates, hope March is treating you well. March is a beautiful month for several reasons: a) It’s my birthday, b) Spring cometh (depending on those damn ground-hogs who should be fired anyways), c) The Oscars (which I’m boycotting til Billy Crystal comes back), d) Billy Crystal’s birthday, ( I just looked that up, spooky!) and well e) the best bargains on whatever’s left-over from winter. I know our mind doesn’t work in the way where we enjoy shopping for something we can’t use for 8 months, which might also be SO passe by then, but in all seriousness I would rather pay half-off for boots that could easily pass for 2011′s. I mean give me a break, how much can fashion change for boots? I’ll take my chances that they won’t come up with some new technology, where your boots make you walk towards the man of your dreams or something, in which case I STILL wouldn’t need them since I’m marrying mine. I’ll get some new shoes for the wedding though, maybe even full price. OMG!

The one pair that catches my eye every day since I’m forced to walk past them, are these new UGG boots in fluorescent pink. I have never purchased UGG’s in my life, I find they’re too expensive, they never go on sale, there are a MILLION imitations (including good ones), they suck for walking in snow, and well everyone at this point has at least an imitation pair from Aldo or something. ABSOLUTELY nothing wrong with that, I respect them for become so iconic, like blue jeans, and they’re warm and cozy. If you’re only buying them cuz you think it’ll make you cool, along with smoking, than you’re a bit of a loser. Sorry.

So for now I won’t buy the 225 dollar pink UGG boots, but I did get some uber-cool original japanese “Onitsuka Tiger” brand at Bleu Marine & Co. for half off. From 140 down to 70. They have a whole wall of pairs that are half off, the problem is finding your size, but I got an 8 and a half when I usually wear an 8, no biggie. They probably have more, but there’s one in the Eaton Centre, and one in Les Ailes where I went. I don’t normally shop there, due to over-pricement and douche-baggery, but a sale is a sale. Plus, you can find one-in-a-million goodies, as opposed to major chain stores. I’ve made a pact with myself to get out of my comfort zone at least once a week, and go into a store I don’t usually frequent. Exceptions will be made, such as Ardene (I’m no longer 15), Garage (I’m no longer 16), the Gap (it’s no longer 1996), and any store that looks like it’s clothes are disposable. I bought a belt at Forever XXI for two bucks, and surprisingly it fell apart after two days. Crap. Everything in that store is crap. Sure, they have attractive little numbers for all types of occasions, of which I have bought a dime a dozen, but it is so unfulfilling to see your clothes disintegrate before your eyes. Unless that’s the new technique, you no longer undress, your clothes just unravel. To be completely frank, cheap clothes usually always look cheap. Cheap clubby clothes will ALWAYS look cheap, whereas cheap everyday apparel doesn’t matter as much. Generic=generic. Everyone needs a few generic pieces in their wardrobe.

Whatever you wear, just feel confident. Too Dove-commercial like? Too bad, you know what I mean. Wear what you mean. Mean what you say. Say what you wear, like me. No, I’m not consumed by clothing. Yes, I do think the little things in life make a differences, such as clothing. It’s symbolic. It represents. It’s one of our many outlets of originality! Along with our choice of orange juice of with OR without pulp. People take this very seriously. The only thing I take seriously is LOST, which episode just ended, OMG. Oh, and my fiance. I love you pooh!

Peace out

To give, or not to give…

… a gift certificate. Let’s face it, they’re not all that bad. CONS: impersonal, defeats the purpose, generic, lazy efforts, not really “priceless”, cash is better, so and so forth. PROS: CAN be personal, if you kind know what stores a person likes. If my fiance gets me one for laser-tag, (does that still exist?) or Golf-Town or something, then I’ll swipe the card where the sun don’t shine. Too harsh? But get me one for a spa, or Holt Renfrew, and that at least shows he knows I’m a girl. And that I don’t like golf. Plus I’ll KNOW how much he spent of the gift, and didn’t get it on sale, ha ha. Although I would be so proud of my pumpkin if he found something special that was ALSO on sale. When non-house-sharing people and family members give you cards, give them a break. It’s hard to know what people like! Plus, we all love getting cards deep down. We just hate what it represents. Plus, it stimulates the economy, and maybe there will start to be a more fitting representation of people’s ACTUAL tastes on the market as opposed to what people THINK other people want. Why do you think when you go into a book store the biggest section is gimmicky yet oh-so desirable gifts? And those ginormous generic picture books for people to put on their coffee tables? As a joke I keep Gray’s Anatomy for people to flip thru at my place. If you don’t know their reading taste, get them a gift certificate. That way they can get that big hour-glass they always secretly wanted. I say that cuz I actually bought one the other day, with pink sand in it. One if my friends was like, aren’t you Bargain Babe? Why are you buying something full price and so useless? So I says “It’s my birthday (which it was), and I’ll splurge if I want to.” Once I got home, I started justifying it to myself, such as how I would use it for when I cooked stuff that took exactly one hour.

Anywho, this brings me to an awesome Montreal exclusive site, which I heard about long time ago on CKOI. Yes, I also listen to the radio. I read real papers and listen to public radio. My name is Bargain Babe and I like am a nineties-o-holic. It’s concept is simple, they sell gift certificates for restaurants, spas, and other assorted venues, at half price. Why? My guess is it’s good publicity, once they got you there it’s better than not getting you there, etc. The amounts are sometimes steep, especially for the spas, but it’s still 50% off. The last one I got was for WrapCity, a sandwich place I treasure, I paid 50 bucks and got 100 dollars worth. You get 5 certificates worth 20 dollars each, so I guess that means you have to spend all 20 when you go. If you’re two, that’s not a problem. I don’t know if they give change, but I mean just treat your boss and it’s win-win.

How it works: Go to the site, http://www.maboutiquecorus.com/index.php which is in french, but I mean if you live in Montreal you gotta know something. It is not a website about rocket science. THE CATCH: you can only buy them on Tuesdays, between 10 and 6, and supplies are limited. How exciting! You have to pick them up in person, at their office in Place Bonaventure.

They also have an English site, with less and different options for some reason: http://www.shopcorus.com/   

Examples: WrapCity, Strom Nordic Spa, Double Pizza, and my favourite: Hooters. Two hooters for the price of one. Sorry, I had to! Yes! Montreal now has Hooters!

On that uplifting note I bid you adieu, check it out tomorrow. Tomorrow is Tuesday.

Peace out

What’s in MY wallet

Well lots of things, including a Chinese fortune cookie paper that says: “You like Chinese Food.” Hilarious! And spooky. But as you may know this is a theme I’m following where I describe the various plastics in my card-holder. Today I’ll comment on a very recent addition, from yesterday actually, from a very popular establishment that you might have heard of: La Senza. So as a regular human female that lives in Canada, having been bombarded with La Senza stores since a very young age, I have to say that at one point I started to resent the store. Not that they’ve ever done any harm to my persona, but I guess the fact that I had no other option made me claustrophobic. We don’t have Victoria’s Secret here in Montreal, but as you might already know V.S. bought out La Senza (Well the mother ship Limited did) since they were sick of them copying and stealing their styles. The last time I went to a V.S. in the States I had a hard time telling it  apart from a La Senza. Same colours, same styles, same awkward-feeling bf’s/husbands. Seriously, who brings guys into a lingerie store? We’ve all been guilty of this at some point I guess, when you’re walking thru a mall and want to take a peek, but do EVERYONE a favour and send him to Starbucks to wait for you. This is what happens: 1) Girls asking their guys if they like sexy stuff in front of other people, which leads to utter embarrassment or sleaze. Either way everyone else is uncomfortable. 2) Your guy looking at what I am trying to buy. I know we live in an open society and all, but some things are sacred. Women/girls should be able to shop for unmentionables without feeling guilty and/or stalked. Whenever I pick up something, hold it up, and some guy is there “glancing” I feel totally exposed. I’m not saying that all guys forced into lingerie stores are sleazebags, quite the contrary, most of them want to get the hell out of there. I’m just saying that unless the store is totally empty, please just surprise him at home. He’ll like whatever you purchase. Seriously, guys aren’t that picky. If he says that the colour is sooooo last season, then maybe you have a problem. But I can’t help you with THAT.

Yes, my middle name is Tangent, how did you know? Anywho, (my other middle name) back to the actual card. Let me clarify that I find La Senza offers high quality and desirable products, as opposed to other stores in Montreal. No offense, but I find that La Vie en Rose products are of inferior quality and durability. Yes, they can be more mature and lustful, but after a few washes they always fall apart. Keep them for special occasions. La Senza has enough options to please every taste, whether it be 16 year-old, 27 year-old trying to be 16, or their moms. Of course Montreal has many other under-garment choices, such as department stores, American Apparel (too gender-neutral), Jacob (also a wise choice, albeit more expensive) and well basically any clothing store has taken a shot at unmentionables. I’m just saying keep La Senza on the list. And hit the Update button once in a while! I was looking thru my stuff the other and thinking “boring, boring, really boring, seen it, ripped, faded, had it since 1994, wine stain…” you get the idea. So I decided to throw out a bunch of stuff, and buy an equal amount of new stuff. La Senza is famous for its bargain tables, 5 x 25 dollars, 5 x 20, 3 x 30, depending on quality, quantity and popularity. This week they’re offering like four different tables of 5×25, so it caught my attention.

So I got 50 dollars worth (10 pairs), which might seem like a lot but is a calculated investment, and went to the cash. Usually stores with membership cards ask you if you want to join, which turns a lot of people off, but here no one asked me and I knew they had a card. Maybe that’s their trick, to seem exclusive, like they don’t ask just anybody. Well it worked! So I asked the girl and she explained that after 50 dollars of purchase the card cost 5 dollars, and you got 10% off, which basically means it’s free. At sixty purchasing  dollars it costs 4, at 70 it costs 3, etc. Weird system, but whatever floats their boat. So I got the card, accepted at all La Senzas, and got a great coupon booklet. The moral of tha story is, get a new under-wardrobe, and get the card. It’s worth it. Your b-f will appreciate it! Just don’t bring him!

Peace out

So what’s the deal with airplane food?

A classic example of observational humour, made famous by one of the greatest of all times: Jerry Seinfeld. Used and abused by comics around the world, who believe that every time the old adage applies: “it’s funnier cuz it’s true.” Yes, yes it is. Well here’s a random rant, no offense to people this might offend. So what’s the deal with journalists who get the second page in a major newspaper every time, and instead of offering anything useful or insightful, just lazily and cringe-inducingly offer cliche commentary? Yes, I’m talking to you Josh Freed of the Gazette.

I am also one of those dinosaurs who likes to read an actual paper on the weekends whilst sipping on my french press java, so I subscribe to The Gazette weekends only. I got an offer, and only pay like 4 bucks a month. During the week I get my headline fix off the net, but nothing like ink on your fingers and laughing to the occasionally funny Dilbert.

Who the hell said this guy Freed was good? I realize that he probably has a great following, since his appeal is pretty love/hate, and that he’s probably pretty tight with the Gazette mafia. But every time I flip that first page and see his barf-inducing picture where’s he’s posing like a diva, and his sappy excerpt like today’s: “Many websites ask your birthdate, departure date, or due date-but they all have different ways to write it. Some start with the day, others with the month and lately many put the year first, just to confuse you totally.” I kid you not. This is considered clever and thought-provoking? Wow, they must have a pretty low opinion of the general population. I’m not saying if you find this witty that you’re stupid, of course it’s “witty”, it’s just not deserving of the second page of the largest anglo newspaper in Montreal. Put Joe Schwarcz in there, he knows what he’s talking about. He contributes to the general betterment and amusement of society.

I’m not a person that takes things or myself too seriously, this is not me being pretentious and saying that we should only have things that nourish the mind and such. We all want to read stuff that makes us chuckle, or ponder, or distract us from the daily grind. But the only thing Freed’s doing is taking mega trite arguments and making it seem like he’s a genius. What he is is one-dimensional. Would you read my blog Freed if all I did was rant about the same stuff over and over? Wouldja? Well, I just gave you fresh new material for your technology-hating argument for next week. And free publicity! He’ll say something like: “How I miss the good ol day with no ‘edit’ keys, where degrees were required for writing, and you got ink on your fingers.” Wait a minute, did Josh Freed just steal my line? I wish someone Josh Freed him of his misery. Too far? As I said, this is a personal opinion, I respect all views and am open to discussion. Unless you think “Lost” is for losers. Then I’ll lose it.

Peace out.

Can’t get my header outta my head

creepy Chesire cat lunchbox

 

So now that I’m more tech-savvy, and now know what words like “header” mean, (without having to slap someone) I realize that I can change it from time to time. How novel a concept! So I won’t leave this one up for too long, don’t want to creep out the kiddies, but I think everyone recognizes the iconic cat from the Burton’s “Alice”. I was in this hipster store in Fort Lauderdale that had all kinds of cool cat stuff, for cool cats I mean. Here’s the original. In Wonderland, lunchbox eat you! 

Peace out