December 2008
You are currently browsing the articles from Review and Things written in the month of December 2008.
We were in Cochrane this past weekend and decided to brave the snow and stay for lunch.
After looking into a noisy neighbourhood bar and grill (we had a 4 month baby with us), we decided to go across the street to Salt & Pepper instead.
Since it was a snowy day, parking right in front was not a problem, however I am sure in the summer, there may be some issues of where to park.
The restaurant itself was empty, we were the only customers, but mind you it was a sunday afternoon in the middle of the holidays. We were greeted by a very friendly waiter with a lovely hispanic accent. We were promptly seated and given menu’s. The menu looked good, and we ordered some appetizers and coffee.
The ambience was very nice, it was an older house that was converted into a restaurant. The temperature was perfect and there was ample room for us three adults and an infant. Infact, at one point I breast fed my child, and that was quite convenient in terms of space and privacy as well.
The food was quick to arrive, and very very delicious. The coffee was fresh, and even had a hint of cinnamon (which when asked the wiated explained, that they brew a stick of cinnamon in their coffee pot). We ordered dessert with 3 spoons, very delicious. The price was very reasonable, and extremely affordable, especially given the good quality of food and excellent service.
I am glad to know that there are two of these restaurants in Calgary, I look forward to visiting them on my next dinner outing. In the meantime, if you are in Cochrane, I recommend you go visit Salt and Pepper on 114 3rd Ave W.
Written by Smriti on December 31st, 2008 with no comments.
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I recently recieved a box of Huggies diapers as a gift for my new baby. It is a 228 diaper box of size 1-2.
It clearly stated on the box that these diapers should fit a child upto 15 lb. My baby is 12lb, and on the smaller side.
I have only used 4-5 diapers from this huge box, and each time have found the diapers to be too small, they are difficult to put on my baby, too snug on her and feel small. The worse part is, they leak. Everytime she poops, it comes out the top at the back of the diaper, soiling all her clothes and bedding. I used a diaper from a differnt brand, and a no-name brand, made for babies upto 15 or 17lb, and these diapers both held her poop in.
I am wondering if Huggies is aware of the confusing message they are giving new moms. In any case, my recommendation is that if you are buying huggies diapers, buy larger sizes than printed on the box.
Written by Smriti on December 30th, 2008 with 2 comments.
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This Wal Mart store, should change their logo of a smiling face, to a scowling/angry one.
Today I found myself in the returns line at this particular Wal-mart. Someone bought us a box of diapers for my baby, but they were the wrong size. They said they had purchased them at Wal-mart, so we decided to exchange them for a box of the right size of diapers.
The customer service representative tried to scan the item, but couldnt, so she informed us that this must come from a different Wal-Mart in Calgary and that they couldnt exchange this prduct and we would have to go back to the Wal-mart this item was purchased to return/exchange it. I thought this was not right so asked to speak to the manager. The wall in the back said the manager today was a guy, but instead a youngish, very sour looking woman showed up. She didn’t greet us, or respond to our greeting, she simply tried to scan the item, and repeated what the clerk had told me, only this time claimed that this must be a Zeller’s or superstore product. When I aksed her about what the other clerk had said, that this product was from another wal-mart but they couldnt take it back here, she denied it, and started to fight aggressively with us about not having a reciept and bringing products from another store. My dad and I left, I woudl go to another store to buy diapers for my baby.
We had no idea Wal-mart hired such hostile aggressors to be managers. I know that I am one person and my voice is not loud enough to raise anything against this corporate giant. I dont even ask for kindness, simply that they uphold Sam Walton’s age old moto, that the customer is satisifed, or at least treated with dignity. Poor Sam, he would roll in his grave if he ever found out about the rudeness and hate spewed at customers in a store that bears his name.
Written by Smriti on December 29th, 2008 with no comments.
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We bought this robot vacuum cleaner about 2 years ago. There are many features about it that I instantly liked. Firstly, it comes with a docking station, so once the battery starts to get low while the robot is cleaning, it finds its docking station and goes back for a re-charge. One battery charge usually meant the robot would run about 1.5 hours before needing a re-charge, so I could clean the entire upstairs, or downstairs in one go. Cleaning this bagless wonder is easy, pull out the filter slide and dust it away. Although some amount of dust accumulates in the tiny cracks which would have to be sucked out by a bigger more powerful vacuum (hmmm..).
Then the problems started, the battery started to get de-charged after about 10 minutes of cleaning. I learnt later that keeping this Roomba docked, and charging all the time keeps the battery draining, and eventually the battery dies. Why make a model which is designed to be stored so that the battery continues to drain. Needless to say, I had to buy a new battery (not cheap, abo 89$ US). This new battery, bought online from Robotshop.com, charges ok, but takes about 10 hours to fully charge, and then only runs for a cleaning of about 30 min. Now I know machines wear and tear and eventually lose performance, but I must say I am very disappointed with this loss in function. I think in the future I will stick with conventional vacuum cleaners and leave these futuristic gadgets until they make them better.
I wouldn’t recommend you buy one of these, unless you get is super cheap.
Written by Smriti on December 24th, 2008 with no comments.
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I loved this movie.
Its a simple story about a rat named Remy who loves to cook. Remy hated to steal and is envious of humans because they can create and make things, while his fellow rat friends and family prefer to steal any garbage they find. Needless to say Remy is misunderstood and shunned by his family, with the exception of his simple minded brother Emile.
Well, as it turns out Remy finds himself in Paris, and right at the restaurant of his role model, chef Gusteau. Here Remy, together with Alfredo Linguini, a human plonguer start to create culinary magic.
Maybe its the food theme, or its setting in Paris, or simple messages through the movie such as “anyone can cook”, or “if you keep looking back, you will fail to notice the gifts ahead”, this movie touched my heart. I would recommend you watch it with your kids, it has very little to no adult themes.
Written by Smriti on December 24th, 2008 with no comments.
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I wanted to use a non-toxic, oven bake, no mess product to make clay molds of my baby’s hands and feet. This product, which I purchased at Michael’s proved to be everything I wanted and more.
It came with just the right amount of clay, a rolling pin, a tool to etch and scratch the clay, a nice looking metal frame, clear plastic (with a scratch proof, peel-off cover) to put over the picture frame, a photo mat, and extremely easy to follow instructions.
The clay molded quite well, and I got good imprints of my baby’s hands and feet. I was especially impressed by how parts of the packaging coudl be used to build the frame. i am always very annoyed at wasteful packaging provided my companies. Sculpey, sure thought of the environment when they made this product.
The imprints baked well, and i was able to paint in one etched section after the baking. All in all, I will have this product for a long time, and it has proved to be a true keepsake.
I highly recommend this to all new mom’s and pet owners.
Written by Smriti on December 24th, 2008 with no comments.
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People like me like Bamboo products they are nice and soft and better to the enviroment to.
So when I found out that there where Bamboo boxersshorts on sale in Calgary I got myself a couple of pairs.
The undewear is from the brand Wanted and they come in different colors. The are soft like you expect and the first impression is that they look great.
Quality of the shorts is pretty good but there is one mayor flaw with them and i have the same problem with all of the once i bought in all colors. The elastic twists and turns and that make the underwear after a couple of washes really uncomfortable to wear.
My advice don not go for the Bamboo underwear from Wanted look for a better brand.
Written by George on December 22nd, 2008 with no comments.
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Lunch yesterday was A&W and because I was at the southcentre mall it was kinda logical that I would eat there.
Southcentre offers 2 A&W restaurants one in the food court and one on the ground floor next to one of the entrances. This review is about the one on ground floor.
Ordering at A&W went fast the girl had problems with my coupon but eventually it all worked out and now i just had to wait for my food. The girl forgot to ask me if i would eat there so she put everything in a bag.
I ordered the 3 Chubby Chicken Strips combo meal and I expected the breaded chicken strips to be crispy but that did not happen the chicken tasted good but no crispness what so ever it made me wonder if the chicken was lying around to long.
The rest of the meal was made well and so i still got a meal i wanted although some crispness would have bin nice.
The nice thing about this A&W is that it offers seating so now you do not have to sit in the food court but just in the nice A&W ambiance.
Written by George on December 6th, 2008 with no comments.
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