We’re the type of people that like to have a phone at every corner of our house. In principle, this sounds great, but in practice, this never actually happens. To try and solve this, we decided that we needed a multiple cordless phone set. Here are the three different brands that we’ve tried to finally settle on one winner.

Vtech Cordless Phone DS Series DS6211-4

These Vtech phones come with DECT 6.0 Digital Technology for clarity and range, have caller ID display, and display dialing. Vtech’s sales motto is: ”Where Amazing begins”.

Um, NO. “Where the worst products ever begin”.

We’d tried Vtech phones in the past and had problems with them, but when we decided to buy a pack of multiple cordless phones, we gave Vtech another chance, because they have the lowest prices.

At $119, the DS6211-4 series looks nice, the phones are sleek to hold, and have an easy button system. The problem with these phones are their battery life. The phones start off with seemingly long lives, but after only 1 month of usage, they would die within a few hours of not being on the receiver. In our household, this is a huge problem, because there is a phone walker.

What is a phone walker you say? Well a phone walker is a person that walks around everywhere while on the phone, then proceeds to leave said phone wherever the conversation ends. This means that it never ends up back on its receiver.
The Vtech phones proved themselves to be useless. Their battery life worsens very quickly over time. Do not buy these phones, or any Vtech phone for that matter, you will be greatly disappointed.

GE Cordless 5.8Ghz Model 28021EE3

We then upgraded (or so we thought) to this cordless phone set by General Electric. General Electric being a large reputable electronics and appliance manufacturer, we assumed that their cordless phones must be of quality. The phones retailed for around $130 CAD.
 
The GE phones, at 5.8Hz, seemed clear enough to me as far as sound quality. These phones also featured DECT 6.0 technology, had call display, in addition to speakerphone. The phones were a little more cumbersome to hold, in that they could easily slip right out of your hand. There wasn’t much as far as grip was concerned.
 
Aside from the material aspects of these phones, they had one major problem. After just a few months of using them, if you didn’t know what base your phone went on, and placed it on a different base, it would un-sync itself and be unusable until you’d re-program it. This really did not bode well at all with the phone walker. Phones were de-syncing left and right, and I myself never really took initiative to learn how to re-program them every time. So it was up to the phone walker.
 
This meant for some hasty runs up the stairs to our only land-line phone in the office. With no trustworthy cordless phones to be found, this became our only and unacceptable option.

Time to try again.

Panasonic KX-TG4034B digital cordless answering system

The Panasonic digital cordless answering system comes with 4 handsets, 3 small bases, and 1 principal base. These phones have bright call display, and talking call display. In addition to this, these phones have an answering machine that you can listen to from any of the handsets.

After 4 months of owning these phones I can confidently say that we have found no issues. No matter where we are in the house, we can hear who’s calling in a wonderful robotic female voice. We had concerns that we might lose our voice messages should the power go out, but these phones are all equipped with memory capacity which prevents such an occurrence.

The handsets have a non-slip design which is great. The phones have no synching issues, you can dock the phones at any base, and they’ll work fine. The answering machine works very well, and it’s handy to be able to check messages from any phone in the house. This system retails from anywhere between $149.99 and $199.99 CAD.

In a brand war, I really dislike having to declare the most expensive option as being the best, but in this case, both the GE and the Vtech options are completely over-valued at their current low prices. They are not worth it in the slightest. We are finally very happy to have solved the major phone issue in our house. I highly recommend the Panasonic phones.

~Darleya~

Wizard is a three-to-six player card-game that I would describe as a cross between Euchre and Spades, but with an exclusive twist. The game at three players can last around an hour or so (with 15 hands), while one six-player game can go much quicker (at 10 hands), providing everyone is in the game. The deck has 60 cards, including a standard deck with 4 Wizards (high), and 4 Jesters (low).

Every turn, each player must denote the number of tricks they predict to have. The first hand, only 1 card is distributed to each player meaning there is only one trick to be won. The second hand, it is two cards, and so on until the last round, where all cards are dealt. The game is over after the hand in which all cards are dealt. (You can later make silent trick-calling by writing them down as proof, so that no one knows whether their stats are risky or not.)

The difficulty in this game, is the fact that you get penalized for incorrect predictions. Should you go over, you get minus 10 points. If you go under, it’s -10 points; that if you’re only off by one trick! The game gets more and more interesting as you progress, because people will start predicting more tricks than are possible in the round, or less tricks. This means, someone is definitely losing points; but who?

Tricks are won by either the highest card or the highest trump card. At the start of each round, after the hands are dealt, a card is flipped to determine trump. Wizards add extra challenge as they beat all trump cards, and all high cards. Only the first wizard plays will count, so it is pointless to play a wizard after someone else has; unless you have no choice. Jester cards serve as neutral or nil cards, should you not want to win tricks by mistake.

The game is a lot of fun, you’ll end up playing round after round. This game is perfect among groups of close friends, families, or for chillings at cottages. You’ll always have tons of fun, and will keep coming back to this classic 1984 game.

The game can be found at Walmart, online at Amazon, or any game store. (Among other places) It’s also a perfect stocking stuffer.

Enjoy!

~Darleya~

Every few months or so, even when using my favourite shampoo and conditioner, my hair requires an overhaul. What I mean by this is that my hair will eventually start to become seriously damaged both from my dying it, and from my desire to keep it long.

A drink that I really enjoy having every so often is Cranberry Gingerale. I don’t drink a lot of pop, but I really enjoy the combination of these two flavours, they always seem to remind me of the holidays.

Half of the time, I’ll just make some myself with real cranberry juice and gingerale, but, it’s nice to have the pre-made versions as well, since it is much quicker, and handier when you’re serving drinks to many people.

I’ve recently tried two different pre-made cranberry ginger ales and I’ve compared them for you here. President’s Choice Cranberry Gingerale and the classic Canada Dry Cranberry Ginger Ale. Both drinks also come in diet versions, but I’m really not a fan of diet sodas.

PC Cranberry Gingerale

The PC Cranberry Gingerale 2L bottle costs around $99, or less. It can be found at all Loblaw company grocery stores.The first thing I noticed when trying the PC version, was that you can really notice the tartness of the cranberries. I’m left with an aftertaste very similar to one from eating actual dried cranberries. There’s something about this flavour though, it’s a little too tart. I don’t notice enough of the sweetness of ginger ale. It’s still very good, and sells for a bit less than the regular brand name. It doesn’t quite leave me with the right aftertaste though. It’s too mild of a flavour, while being too tart at the same time.

Canada Dry Cranberry Ginger Ale

I’ve been having this drink ever since I was little at my Grandmothers. She always had some around. maybe I’m a little biased to it, but I have both drinks in front of me, and strictly based on taste, this one is sweeter. Not an overpowering sweet, but just the right hint of sugar to tart balance. Canada Dry’s version tastes much more similar to when I mix ginger ale and cranberry juice myself. The 2L bottle sells around $1.99, but often goes on sale. The Canada Dry Cranberry Ginger Ale would work best when mixed with alcohol, simply because it has the stronger taste on its own. You would taste the alcohol a lot less with this one.

Based on my tastebuds, I declare the traditional Canada Dry Cranberry Ginger Ale to be the better drink. Sorry, PC, you just can’t win them all!

~Darleya~

So I was entering the dips section at my local Independent Grocers just hoping to come across my favourite dip. It had been quite some time since I’d been able to find it so I was worried it had been discontinued. Unfortunately, once again, it was nowhere to be found.

I then noticed a very similar-coloured dip, and saw that it was the same main ingredients, so I picked up two.

As soon as I got home, I plopped my grocery bag  and purse on the counter, unloaded my extra fiber pita bread, and tore open this new feta cheese and red pepper dip.

My acute taste buds have confirmed that this was indeed the very same dip as my beloved Tyrokavteri. Phew!

I guess sales (or lack thereof) suggested that some people were taken aback by the “foreign-sounding” title. I certainly did not fall into that category. Tyrokavteri is totally fun to say. Plus, all they had to do was read the sub-title of ingredients. Oh well!

My favourite store-bought dip is now officially called ‘Feta Cheese and Roasted Red Pepper Dip‘, and I am so happy that it is back on the shelves at all President’s Choice Loblaws locations.

The other brands of red pepper feta cheese dips do not even compare to how delicious this dip is. It makes an excellent snack or hors d’oeuvre accompaniment.

Enjoy!

~Darleya~

The website freepeople.com is clothing store which sells very unique and fashionable items from clothing to accessories, to shoes and boots. As their name indicates, the fashion is very hippy-like with a modern twist.

Their website can display prices in either American or Canadian dollars, which is nice when you’re buying from the US and live in Canada. All of their items have detailed descriptions and photos that you can mouse over and zoom in on.

In addition, every item also has reviews by people that have purchased the same item, received it, then describe exactly how it was once they got it. Was it what they expected, did it fit differently, etc etc. It is very helpful and promotes good faith in their merchandise.

The prices on Free People are very reasonable for what you get. You’re paying for originality and quality. Everything that I’ve bought from there has been of utmost quality. I really enjoy shopping on their website because no one else here will have the same clothing. Except maybe now that I’m sharing my secrets.

They also have excellent sales section, and since they have new inventory every week, if you see something that you love, like this beautiful military sweater(pictured), it’ll most likely eventually be on sale. This one isn’t just yet, but I’m keeping my hopes up, or may just add it to my Christmas list.

Go and check it out ladies, you will love the styles.

~Darleya~

Ryvita is a food product company from Dorset England in 1930 that has recently been introduced to North America. They have a wide variety of flavoured whole grain rye crispbread crackers among other goods.
 
These crackers, or crispbreads, are genuinely healthy, crunchy, and tasty. They are high in fibre, Vitamin E and Phosphorus in addition to other benefits depending on the flavour.

As noted above, there are a wide variety of flavours of crispbread, including: Sweet Onion, Cracked Black Pepper, Original, Dark Rye, Sesame, Multigrain, Sunflower Seed & Oats, Pumpkin Seeds & Oats, and Fruit Crunch. They also sell their multi-grain and sesame varieties in snack packs.

You can do so much with these slices of crispbread. There are many recipe ideas on their website, but one of my favourite things to do is to top them with cream cheese and Frank’s Red Hot sauce. Mmmmm. Or even better? Goat’s cheese.

Even if you’re not dieting, I highly recommend these crackers. They are delicious, and so good for you. I haven not tried all the flavours yet, but so far my favourite is the Sunflower Seeds & oats version.

I will continue to try all or most of their flavours. These are perfect for serving as hors d’oeuvres with a fancy topping, or, as an afternoon snack at the office to tie you over until dinner.

Enjoy!

~Darleya~

Portrayal is a board game by Braincog that would fit into the family or party game category. I found this game at Mrs. Tiggy Winkles in Ottawa, but I’m certain it can be found at any game store or online. According to BoardGameGeek, the game is also published as Identik.

This game can be played with as many people as you’d like, which is first off, very good when you have large extended families. It’s always nice to be able to include everyone at a family or social gathering.

This game is a tremendous amount of fun. It is a very simple game, but will provide you with many memorable laughs.

The basic game-play is as follows. Each round, there is a ‘reader’. The reader chooses a diagram card. These diagram cards have a very wide variety of pictures and scenes on them. The reader has to describe the image verbally to the rest of the players. These players do not get to see the image, but must draw according to the reader’s verbal instructions.

There is only 90 seconds for this to take place. Once the time runs out and everyone has drawn what they’ve heard, the reader uncovers a series of criteria questions that are used to grade every one’s drawing to see how they were able to interpret and draw accordingly. The drawings are swapped among players to do the grading. No one grades their own picture.

The reader never sees the criteria questions while they’re describing the pictures, so they don’t know what will end up being important. The reader then scores points according to how many criteria questions were obtained by the players. The players get points for each one they get right, in addition to a bonus question, which is predetermined with a dice roll at the start.

This game is frankly hilarious, people’s drawings look very ridiculous, it’s a challenge to listen and draw at the same time. You’ll find yourself drawing the first things the reader says, but you’re so concentrated on your drawing that you’ll miss what they say next.

It is so much fun, and everyone gets a change to be the reader. I highly recommend this game to anyone, especially if you host family and friends over.  With the holidays coming up, this would be a perfect Christmas present for the family.

Also, for some good adult amusement, since the game is not complicated it can also be played while alcohol is served.

Enjoy!

~Darleya~

The Emergin C Hydra Vitalizer Cream is infused with vitamins and herbal extracts which are supposed to both energize and hydrate your skin.

The reason I bought this cream was because my Vitamin Enriched Defense Cream was a heavier, and more for the winter, so once summer came, I wanted something a bit lighter.

The Emergin C cream is found at the Caryl Baker store among other places, and what I liked about this one is that it can be used as both a night cream and a day cream. I can feel a sort of soothing when I apply this cream. It does wonders for my often tired skin, and is very gentle while having caused no irritation or blemishes.

As far as skin care, it’s a pricier option. It retails for $85.00 but if you’re a member of Caryl Baker, they’ll sell it for $75.00. I am not a member of the Caryl Baker store, but, they still gave me the discount. Their memberships are more for people that get their eyebrows done, and since I do that myself, they realized that a membership was useless to me, and still offered the discount.

As with most expensive skin care, you really don’t need a lot of this product. A little goes a very long way.

Here is the product’s full description: A super energizer for the skin with fabulous antioxidant Alpha-Lipoic Acid, Coenzyme Q10 and Rose Extract. An intense hydrator and skin enhancer infused with herbal extracts and vitamins for advanced skin care. Alpha-Lipoic Acid not only neutralizes free radicals, but also works together with other vitamins in order to increase their potency. Rose Extract soothes and calms skin.

I really like this cream.  I will buy this again once I run out, but may opt for the Emergin C Protocell Bio-Active Apple Stem Cell Combat Cream to fight aging. Hey, it’s better to start fighting wrinkles early!

~Darleya~