This Christmas - Lady Antebellum

From Christina Aguilera to Harry Connick, Jr. to Mary J. Blige, singers have long since been covering Donny Hathaway's 1970 modern holiday hit, but it's Lady Antebellum's version that we're loving the most this Christmas.  

Have a great weekend, ladies, and see you on Monday!

Gals We Admire: Amy Miranda

If there's anyone who can't stand the politics of business, it's Amy Miranda, executive producer and founder of lunch, a creative production network that offers every service imaginable (animation, illustration/fine art, motion design, sound design/composition, technical consulting, hosting, media strategy, you name it, they do it). "They [politics] get in the way of getting real work done, I believe in being honest and approaching things in a direct way," says the no-holds-barred businesswoman.

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Chevrolet Holiday Message Benefits United Way

Here's a nice way to give back during the holiday season — share the Chevrolet Holiday Message via your Twitter or Facebook account and the company will contribute $1 to United Way for each share and retweet, up to a total of $50,000.

“Along with our commitment to customers, our company is dedicated to giving back and supporting the communities in which we live and work,” said Bob McClelland, brand director for Chevrolet in Canada. “We hope Canadians will take a moment to share the spirit of giving with their friends and family while helping United Way.”

So, spread some holiday cheer to your friends and family and support a good cause while you're at it:

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=968764186471353

Make sure to include @ChevroletCanada, the hashtag #ChevyLove, and a link to www.facebook.com/chevroletcanada when you share!

Teaching Kids Money Basics as a Life Skill

Knowledge of money management basics is a necessary life skill - and experts are weighing in, declaring that a consistent curriculum needs to be put in place to teach kids about money from a young age. In Canada’s schools need ‘focused, consistent’ financial education program: experts, Paola Loriggio reports that an investment of time to train the teachers and have effective resources is required to prepare the system for successful, broad-based implementation, a process that may take three to five years. Certainly, students would benefit from having structured, hands-on lessons on dealing with budgets and other practical money topics. But, as money guru Gail Vaz-Oxlade points out, finance education starts at home with the parents — and that means you showing your child by example how to properly manage money, save for the things they want, and not spend beyond their means.

Click here to read the entire post or copy and paste this link into your Web browser:

http://globalnews.ca/news/1726978/canadas-schools-need-focused-consistent-financial-education-program-experts

Adorable Ornaments for Your Christmas Tree

These are the cutest (and most clever) ornaments that we ever did see – darling additions to any Christmas tree!

1. Fisher Price Chatter Telephone Ornament; Fisher Price Pull-a-Tune Xylophone Ornament; Fisher Price Rock-a-Stack Ornament; $10 each (sold separately) at canadiantire.ca  

2. DAVIDsTEA Tea for the Tree Set, $15 at davidstea.com

3. Child To Cherish Snow Print Ornament, $15 at chapters.indigo.ca

4. Starbucks Red Holiday Cup Ornament, $6 at starbucks.ca

5. Hallmark Runway Queen Keepsake Ornament, $19 at Hallmark stores

6. PC Home Life at Home Vintage Owl Ornament, $4 at Loblaws and Real Canadian Superstore

7. philosophy purity made simple 3-in-1 Cleanser for Face and Eyes Ornament, $13 at sephora.ca

8. Dylan's Candy Bar 6-Piece Holiday Ornament Set Filled with Candy, $14 at dylanscandybar.com

9. Forever 21 High Shine Lip Gloss Ornament, $4 at forever21.com

10. Disney Elsa Frozen Shoe Ornament; Disney Frozen Anna Shoe Ornament, $24 each (sold separately) at disneystore.com

Gals We Admire: Shannon Fisher

As the founder and owner of her own web writing and strategy consulting business, Shannon Fisher says she "likes making the web suck less." Her services include digital writing workshops where she trains content teams to write for the web. "I love watching clients move from stuffy, robot speak to a more authentic, conversational voice," says the passionate and feisty content strategist.

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Gals We Admire: Sara Dimerman

Sara Dimerman has combined her two passions – her love of people and her love of writing – into a winning career. The relationship and parenting expert says she loves the balance and diversity of her work because she's able to focus on different things during the week while at the same time knowing that everything she does is intertwined.

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Gals We Admire: Vanessa Mills

From the way Vanessa Mills describes herself, it almost sounds like she was destined to become a makeup artist. At age eight, she declared she wanted to be a makeup artist. Find out more about the talented and driven Mills who made that childhood declaration a reality. 

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Sexy Halloween Costumes

Don't have your Halloween costume picked out yet for next Thursday? Funny talk show host Ellen DeGeneres found some "sexy" suggestions for your consideration. Although these are probably not costumes you want to show up to the office in. 

Ellen's main costume criteria? No matter what you dress up as, make sure you wear something that's very comfortable to dance in. We agree!

Halloween at Work

Do you work at a place where dressing up for Halloween is frowned upon or are you the party popper if you don't don a spooky getup? Social media consultant and speaker Miriam Salpeter addresses this very issue in Should You Dress Up for Halloween at Work? (Aol Jobs, October 21, 2013).  The answer, Salpeter writes, is "it depends on where you work and what you plan to wear." Take heed of her advice before October 31st so you don't wind up looking like the office clown (literally or figuratively).

Click here to read the entire post or copy and paste this link into your Web browser:

http://jobs.aol.com/articles/2013/10/21/halloween-at-work/

Spooky Sweet Treats

Boo! Halloween is just around the corner. Here are five fun tips from Nestlé to ensure you and your friends have a frightful night. 

Decorate. One of the best ways of getting into the scary spirit is by dressing your home with hints of Halloween. Think sculls, cobwebs and even a graveyard.

Tell haunted stories. Telling stories are a great way to bring the family together over some shared scary fun. Make sure to pack your stories with adventure, mystery and thrills for some frightening fun!  

Have a dress-up theme. Whether you make your own costume or buy one from a store, dressing up as your favourite super hero or tv characters is easier than ever and a fun way to get both you and your family in to the Halloween spirit.

Enjoy a scary movie. Set the mood for this spooky season by watching a scary movie; whether it’s a family-friendly flick or a terrifying thriller it’s sure to get everyone in to spooky spirit.

Host a Halloween party. Once you’ve decked out your house, carved the pumpkins and put out your scary treats, it’s time to throw a party and invite the ghouls and goblins of your neighbourhood for a spooky celebration.

Even if you're not throwing a party, you'll want to stock up Nestlé "Crave Yard" Scary chocolate bars. The four chocolate bars are ones that kids and adults alike already know and love, but these limited edition versions have gotten into the dress-up action, too, with spooky-themed packaging and cute names. Be sure get your hands on ScAero, Scaries, Coffin Crisp, and KIT KAT before the Halloween season is over.

$7.69 (box of 8 full-size bars) or $5.99 (pack of 24-treat size bars) at grocery, drug and mass merchandise retailers across Canada

CCG Giveaway Alert!*

Want to make your Halloween a sweet and spooky one? Here's your chance to win one of two Nestlé "Crave Yard" Scary Chocolate Bars Prize Packs!

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Applause - Lady Gaga

The video kinda creeps us out but then again it wouldn't be a Lady Gaga video if it wasn't creepy. Still, we do like the beat of this tune. And we're definitely giving applause for the arrival of the last day of the work week.

Have a great weekend, ladies, and see you on Monday!

Wake Up Sleepy Head

Global National health specialist Dr. Ali Zentner (who has also been featured as one of our Gals We Admire) reports on a new study in the journal SLEEP where researchers found too much or too little sleep is linked to chronic diseases, such as diabetes, coronary heart disease, obesity and anxiety in those aged 45 and over. Watch the clip to get a summary of the findings:

The optimal amount of sleep? Seven to nine hours a day, every day, no more, no less.

Runnin' - Doman & Gooding

This track came out over four years ago and Canadian-British dance music duo Doman & Gooding's debut single samples from Armand Van Helden's even older dance single You Don't Know Me (from 1999), but we still get pumped up every time we hear it on the radio. We're pretty sure it will pump you up for this long weekend, too!

Have a great Thanksgiving weekend, ladies, and see you on Monday!

Gals We Admire: Louise Griew

Makeup artist and beauty writer Louise Griew says she tries to end her workday by 7pm the latest, but it can be hard to shut the computer (and her brain) off. With so many cool and exciting projects on the go, including a newly-launched beauty blog, we can understand why it would be hard for the talented and creative Griew to simply stop thinking about her work.

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Age Spots Be Gone

We're fine with ageing when it comes to gaining more knowledge, skills and experience, but most of us  tend to want to stop the clock when it comes to the physical changes that go with getting older. Dark spots on the face are namely one sign of ageing we could do without. We recently tried the new Garnier Skin Renew Dark Spot Treatment Mask and were impressed with the results. The soft facial tissue mask has been soaked in moisturizing serum along with gentle and radiance-boosting actives, so all we had to do is apply the mask on our face, leave it on for 10 minutes and voila! Dark spots were visibly reduced and our skin looked radiant, smooth, and felt moisturized.  The final verdict? This mask is a great, inexpensive and non-invasive method to treat those pesky spots and keep your skin glowing and healthy-looking. 

$15.97 (6 sachets) at walmart.ca; also available at major pharmacies and mass merchandise retailers

(Click here for a coupon for $3 off)

Royals - Lorde

The 16-year-old New Zealand singer-songwriter calls Etta James one of her most prominent influences. We'd have to agree based on the talented Kiwi's smooth vocals. Enjoy her hit song "Royals" and let the soulful Lorde's voice take you into the weekend.

 Have a great weekend, ladies, and see you on Monday!

Viral Video Secrets

Remember that "Charlie Bit My Finger" YouTube video or the one of the "Surprised Kitty"? And surely, you're one of the 1.7 billion (and counting) who has seen Psy's Gangnam Style music video. 

Ever since the dawning of YouTube, there are certain videos that have a je ne sais quoi about them that makes viewers compelled to share them over and over (and over) again. But why?

Click on the image below to watch an interview with digital journalist Ramona Pringle where she discusses the factors that make an online video go viral. (Tip: if a cat is in the video, it's already halfway there to becoming an internet sensation watched by millions.)

Who's the Boss?

We've all been there at some point — the boss from hell who makes their employees lives so miserable, it's like a sport for them. Hopefully you're not in that situation now, but if you are, here are Eight tips for managing a difficult boss (The Globe and Mail, September 23, 2013) from Beverly Flaxington. The certified professional behavioural analyst, hypnotherapist, and career and business adviser offers tips such as matching your behavioural style to your boss', thinking about their "what’s in it for me?", and accommodating their weaknesses. 

Flaxington says, "the trick is to manage your boss without the boss knowing you’re doing it." Our two cents? Keep it up while keeping your radar open for positions elsewhere. You can only handle a poisonous person for so long before it starts to take your toll.

Click here to read the entire post or copy and paste this link into your Web browser:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/careers/career-advice/life-at-work/tips-to-manage-a-difficult-boss/article14401136/

Pack It Up, Pack It In

We've always been vocal of our love of Skip Hop, maker of fun, whimsical baby and kids' products for the nursery, feeding, bath time, and parents' on-the-go needs. Their ZOO Packs are no exception — these kids' backpacks are made of durable materials and has enough space to hold all of your preschooler's supplies for a busy day at school. A mesh side pocket adjusts to fit a juice box, sippy cup or water bottle and a front pouch is ideal for snacks. Comfy padded straps ensure that little shoulders don't get strained. There are currently 16 zoo characters (ladybug, elephant, giraffe, panda, and more) to choose from, so you're sure to find one that'll be a favourite for your kiddo.

$24.95 at chapters.indigo.ca