Posts Tagged ‘valentine’s day’

I never really did.

My husband always said that love should be shown every day, not once a year when consumerism is at its finest.

I wholeheartedly agreed.

Then we had kids.

As the kids grew up, they started noticing heart-shaped chocolate boxes, long-stemmed roses, fluffy pink stuffed animals and greeting cards proclaiming “true love” all around them... but never in our home. So, they started asking why we don’t celebrate our love on this day, the most love-filled day of the year.

Oh boy. Here we go.

How do you tell your kids that not buying into all this Valentine's Day hoopla doesn't necessarily mean that you love each other any less?

How do you tell them that you believe businesses are using our very real feelings as another sneaky way of getting us to reach for our wallets?

How do you tell them your thoughts and yet not dampen their excitement of being able to show you their love?

I don’t know about you, but I didn’t have the heart.

Love is sharing your strawberries with your friends.

I didn’t want to be labelled the Valentine's Day "Scrooge."

Although I don’t go for all the consumerism, I do love my family a whole lot. So, I pack heart-shaped sandwiches along with little love notes into their lunch bags. When they come home after school, we bake pink cupcakes with red sprinkles on top. We even purchase some Valentine's Day cards for their classmates.

We still express our love often, but now we just add a little extra oomph on this extra special day of love.

Do you celebrate Valentine’s Day?

Our second annual Canadian Living Sex Survey just closed and this year the results are sexy… and shocking.

The 2012 Sex Survey results are in!

Here are the three sauciest secrets revealed:

1. You really have a thing for actors named Ryan
Last year, respondents chose Ryan Reynolds as the sexiest Canadian man. He won again this year, by a mere 1 per cent over fellow actor Ryan Gosling. Combined, the two Ryans took 53 per cent of all votes cast, easily beating the other contenders.

2. You think a sexual partner's sexiest trait is… their sense of humour
Oh, come on. In fact, a partner's hot body or good looks didn't even make it into the top three. We've all heard that love is blind, but is sex appeal blind, too? Seems counter-intuitive to me.

(In case you were wondering, the top three sexiest traits are: Sense of humour, raw sex appeal and intellect.)

3. Sexting is on the rise
Be sure to put a lock on your smartphone! This year 36 per cent said they'd sent a saucy picture or video of themselves to another -- a rise of 6 per cent over last year's results.

For all the sexy stats, you can visit us at canadianliving.com/sexsurvey.

A decadent giveaway -- just in time for Valentine's Day
Looking ahead to Valentine's, the Body Shop has sent over goodies from their new Chocomania line - including their famous body butter, body scrub, shower cream, soap and body lotion. Believe me when I say they smell divine.

This Chocomania gift set smells good enough to eat. Photo credit: The Body Shop

For your chance to win, leave a comment below and let me know what you look forward to most about Valentine's Day. Is it spending time with your main squeeze, getting a cute card from your kids, or indulging in a chocolate treat or two?

I'll announce two winners here next Wed., Feb. 15, 2012.

Like many folks, my New Year's resolution this year is to be healthier and lose weight. Luckily, I have two fab resolution boosters to help me along:

1. Sexy Boot Camp
This is totally unlike other Boot Camp programs, which can be all long, boring, sweaty workouts and no fun.

Canadian Living's free, online six-week Sexy Boot Camp program mixes quick and easy workout videos and nutrition tips with ways to help you look and feel your best by brushing up on your self-esteem, beauty and fashion sense, and your relationship.

I'm loving it. I'm losing weight, I'm having fun, I'm connecting with other Sexy Boot Campers on Facebook and Twitter and I'm primed to look my best in time for Valentine's Day. Plus my husband is benefiting as much as I am!

2. Live Right Now
Unless you've spent the past week under a rock, you've undoubtedly heard about CBC's all-encompassing Live Right Now campaign. It's got an increasingly rocking website (if you were on it earlier this week, check back now - a lot of the little bugs have been resolved, making it even better).

Plus, part of Live Right Now is the new show 'Village on a Diet,' which airs every Monday at 9 p.m. EST on CBC TV. This great, gimmick-free show isn't your standard, cheesy reality show fare (although I do love me some cheese-ball reality shows).

This is more like a documentary-style study of a town in need of health help, and the lessons they're learning are things I can apply to my life, too. Beyond the healthy living inspiration, there's a large dose of gripping drama and emotional personal stories that have me hooked already. Can wait for next week's episode.

How 'bout you? Are still working on your New Year's resolutions? What is helping you achieve them? Have you signed up for Sexy Boot Camp yet? And are you watching 'Village on a Diet'?

Mmmmm ....

Valentine's Day is one of my favourite days. No, it's not because of the sap and mush (ugh!), but because for about a week surrounding Valentine's Day, it's OK to eat chocolate for breakfast, lunch and dinner (well, maybe just lunch and dinner). With delicious chocolate goodness abound this time of year, it's important to remember to consume with a conscience. Look for chocolate with packaging that states your goodies are Fair Trade Certified, which means that cocoa farmers receive fair prices for their goods. Also, keep your eye out for the words Certified Organic, meaning the cocoa was grown without using pesticides and fertilizers.

Rainforest Alliance Certified is another term to look for on chocolate products, meaning the cocoa plants used were grown in the shade, allowing for wildlife habitat to remain protected and preserved.

Brands like Green & Black's, Cocoa Camino and Organic Fair will do the trick.

Oh, and when you're buying your sweetheart flowers, make sure they're grown locally and organically (ask your florist for a locally-grown boquet, or look for the words "grown in Ontario" - or whatever your province - on the package). Or, visit your local farmer's market where flowers are sure to have come from local farms.

What type of chocolate do you buy?

Want to look hot this Valentine's Day? Here are some amazing expert tips and tricks.

Valentine's Day: I could take it or leave it, but pass me the chocolate!

Well, Valentine's Day is here and love is in the air - or in the window of your local drug store. Let's face it, you either love the day, or hate it. But chances are, you reap the benefits of the mass amount of in-your-face chocolate and candy. Personally, my favourite day is February 15, when I head to a store and clear out the 50 per cent off bin – it's filled with Valentines Day themed chocolate. Though I'm usually woozy with delight at the thought of eating chocolate, I try to keep in mind that what we buy affects the environment.

When buying chocolate, I try to ensure that the package states that my bar is Fair Trade Certified, which means that cocoa farmers receive fair prices for their goods. I also look out for the words Certified Organic, meaning the cocoa I'm about to consume was grown without using pesticides and fertilizers.

I read in National Geographic's Green Guide that we should also be looking for the words "Rainforest Alliance Certified" on our chocolate products, meaning that the cocoa plants were grown in a shade, which allows for wildlife habitat to remain protected and preserved.

Some reputable chocolate brands:

Green & Black's - is apparently the world's first organic brand. They are also proponents of ethical trading.

Cocoa Camino - great (a.k.a. delicious!) Fair Trade Certified and organic certified chocolate products.

Organic Fair - It pretty much says it all in the title.

I also recently read about LPK's Culinary Groove, a green, organic organic and fair trade pastry and chocolate shop in Toronto.

Need more ideas for ways to go green this Valentine's Day?

• Find out why you should buy organic roses

• Shopping with a conscience

Do you enjoy Valentine's Day? How do you celebrate it? Will you go green this V-day?