During the past month, I have had the opportunity to experience some cool things and events from a few different car companies. First, I had an opportunity to drive the new Cadillac ATS for 3 days. As part of the build up for the Autoshow I was also invited to 2 different car events: The Ford Blue Party and the launch of the new 2014 Corvette C7 Stingray. I don’t typically blog about attending events, but since the Autoshow is currently going on in Toronto I have decided to write a post about some of these cars, and include a giveaway of 2 tickets to the Autoshow. Here is a recap of these experiences:

Cadillac ATS Test Drive

Since I actually got to play around with this car, I decided to do a much more detailed review of the Cadillac ATS. Continue Reading »

One interesting thing about being active on social media, is companies look to reach out to you for all sorts of cool stuff. One of the biggest companies for tracking activity is Klout, and just over a month ago they offered a perk to select individuals to test drive a Cadillac ATS. I jumped at the opportunity for the test drive, and around mid-January I was given 3 days to play around with the car.

The car was delivered to my condo early on a Friday morning. I was quickly given a walk through of some of the features then handed the keys to play around for the next few days. During the time I had an opportunity to take the car all over the place to get a good feel for how the car performed around the city and on the highway. My initial thoughts about the car could be described in just one word: “WOW!”

Cadillac ATS Front View

This car was fully loaded with all the bells and whistles (aka the latest technology). This included popular features such as OnStar, Navigation, a Bose stereo system and also some wicked new features! My favourite of these features included the heads-up display (a projected image onto the windshield to show you how fast you are going), the rear view camera and a blind-spot warning system. Continue Reading »

If you live near Toronto, finding cheap skiing or snowboarding can be difficult. Given our ski and snowboarding seasons that seem to be getting shorter and shorter, your number of options for a day on the slopes is few and far between. This article is definitely late in the season, but you should still be able to get in a few days of cheap skiing or snowboarding in Ontario before the weather gets warm.

Here is a break down of cheap ski hills based on proximity to Toronto, including pricing information and more:

Blue Mountain (Collingwood, Ontario)
Day Lift Ticket: $59 (Prices vary during season)
Night Lift Ticket: $45
Number of Trails: 36
Vertical Drop: 720 feet
Overnight Accommodations: Yes
Distance from Toronto: 160km

Continue Reading »

If you love saving money, you are gonna want to make a trip to Pennsylvania! Home to some of the best outlet shopping in the United States, what makes Pennsylvania really stand out is that they do not charge tax on most clothing items. During the past 6 months I have made 2 different trips to this wonderful state, so I decided to write a blog post showing why this is one of my favourite states to visit.

Before I get started, here is a bit of my history with Pennsylvania. Growing up, my family made regular trips to the outlet shopping town of Grove City to take advantage of Pennsylvania’s tax-free shopping (which applies to most clothing items as well as a few other things). We would usually spend a few days there (to meet duty-free allowance requirements) then come back with massive amounts of new clothing. Considering the price of many things here in Toronto, we managed to save hundreds (if not thousands) by making these trips. There is no greater feeling then buying a t-shirt for $9.99 and getting a penny back from a $10 bill, a lesson I quickly learned from these trips. Since it had been several years since I had made the excursion, I knew it was time to head back!

Trip 1: Philadelphia

During the summer I made my first trip down to Pennsylvania’s largest city, Philadelphia, to see the Budweiser Made in America festival. This was a 2-day outdoor festival that included some of the biggest names in music such as Jay-Z (the event organizer), Skrillex, Calvin Harris, Run DMC and many more! Since Philadelphia is a good 8 hour drive from Toronto, my girlfriend and I decided spend a few extra days to explore the surroundings. Continue Reading »

Prior to last night I had not set foot in a Milestones for over 3 years! Unlike many other restaurants in the very competitive mid-end chain restaurant space, it seemed like they did not do much to adapt to the ever changing climate over the past few years. I can’t even remember anyone telling me they had even been to a Milestones in the last 3 years. Regardless, when I was invited to a chef-tasting menu inspired by their new menu, curiosity got the better of me. After all, it had been far too long since I had enjoyed one of their signature peach bellini’s!

I arrived at the Milestone’s Yonge and Dundas location around 6:30 last night. For those who don’t know, their restaurant is situated high above Dundas Square and is known for it’s incredible patio in the summer time. We were greeted with several hors dourves and an elegant take on their popular bellini that used bubbly instead of slush.

Shortly after we were brought to their beautiful private dining room to try some items inspired by their new menu. We got to hear from their new head chef Jason Rosso as well as the winemakers from Kilikanoon. I was told that Chef Rosso has created his own “swat team” that goes around to different Milestones restaurants to ensure they are up to his standards. Continue Reading »