Happy Halloween!

I hope every has a happy, fun and safe Halloween!

iPad Mini Holiday Event - Bloggers Wanted!

iPad Mini Holiday Event

Hosted by Mom to Bed by 8

Prizes: iPad Mini

Event dates: 11/21 - 12/5

Free Blog Event! Sign-up here, BLOGGERS WANTED

Canucks Alex Burrows Autograph Signing (Nov 5/12)

Vancouver Canucks Alex Burrows will be at RW&Co at Pacific Centre in Vancouver on November 5th from 5 to 7pm for an autograph signing. As well, the will be a 25% off sale going on. Make sure to go early to line up if you want to meet this popular Vancouver Canuck!

Have A Keurig Holiday Event - Bloggers Wanted!

Have A Keurig Holiday Event

Hosted by Mom Powered Media and Iowa Mom

Prizes: Keurig Platinum Series Quiet Brewer + K-Cups {4 prize packages = 1 a week}

Event dates: 11/2-11/9 and 11/9-11/16 and 11/16-11/23 and 11/23-11/30

Free Blog Event! Sign-up here, BLOGGERS WANTED

Tomokazu - AYCE Japanese

Tomokazu is one of my favorite All-You-Can-Eat Japanese restaurants in Vancouver. Located on West Broadway, Tomokazu offers a regular AYCE dinner menu, and a slightly more pricier one (that has more seafood). There is a wide selection of food of sashimi, sushi, teriyaki, BBQ, tempura and more, so there is something for everyone. The food comes quite quickly. One of the annoying things is the server will edit the number of items you order when it is entered into the terminal, so you  never actually get what you order. Tomokazu used to have really good food but I think the food taste and quality has gone downhill a bit. It's still my go-to place for AYCE Japanese though, for the food selection and price.

Spinach goma-ae.

Edamame.

Korean salmon sashimi - my favorite dish, but the order always get cut down!

Salmon sashimi.

Nigiri sushi, tuna and salmon sashimi.

Chicken udon.

Beef udon.

Shishamo karrage.

BBQ chicken wings.

Prawn and vegetable tempura.

Beef short ribs.

Salmon kama.

Dynamite roll.

Gyoza.

Mango pudding - one of my favorite desserts!

Free Krispy Kreme Donut on Halloween

Krispy Kreme is celebrating Halloween by offering a free Halloween or Pumpkin Spice Doughnut when you show up in your favorite Halloween costume! Get into the Halloween spirit and get a free treat! This offer is valid at any participating Krispy Kreme locations.

Free Heart-Shaped Toast Cutter

Nutella is once again offering a heart-shaped toast or cookie cutter, to help make breakfast fun! You can purchase specially marked jars of Nutella to receive a code or use code L110LT when you fill out the form on the Nutella Facebook page.

Choose Your U Giveaway Event - Bloggers Wanted!

Choice Your U Event

Hosted by Mom Powered Media and Iowa Mom

Prizes: Wii U Console {2 units = 1 a month}

Event dates: 11/2-11/30 & 12/2-12/30

Free Blog Event! Sign-up here, BLOGGERS WANTED

That Barista Thing 2012 - Latte Art Competition

I went downtown to check out the Latte Art competition last week, though I was only able to catch the last bit of the etching competition, as I arrived late. Library Square was packed with many activities that included tea tasting, button making, caricature drawings, matcha tea demonstrations and more, on top of the competition. It was a fun event to go to and I'm going to try to go next year - the latte art is very impressive!

Caricature drawings

Paint your own coffee mug.

Button making.

Matcha tea demonstration.

The entries for the etching competition.

The winners!

This moon and sun was a combination of free pour and etching, as was just a demonstration. It was not included in the competition.

Another display latte art featuring Totoro!

Free Mini Candle from Bath & Body Works

Bath & Body Works are offering their Facebook fans a free mini candle of their choice. Just redeem your coupon on line, and then either print it out or show the coupon from you phone to redeem in store. This offer is only good until October 28th!

$2 Stayfree Pads Coupon

There is currently a $2 off Stayfree Pads coupon that you can print out. These pads often go on sale for $1.99 at many drugstores, so keep an eye out for sales and stock up!

Mason Raymond Autograph Session (Oct 27)

Attention Canucks fans! Mason Raymond will be signing autographs this Saturday October 27th at noon at the Mark's Work Warehouse on 1885 West 4th Ave in Vancouver. Make sure to head there early as there usually are long lines!

Vancouver Travel Expo (Oct 27/12)

The Travel Expo is back in Vancouver this Saturday, October 27th! Held at the Vancouver Convention Centre downtown, there will be many travel vendors, with presentations on travel destinations, as well as tons of prize giveaways (many are trips!). Admission is free, and this is the perfect opportunity to plan out your next vacation, as there are often show deals! The Expo will be open from 10am to 6pm. Check out the Travel Expo site for more details.

Free Bestselling Book from Penguin Canada

If you are a subscriber of Penguin Canada's newsletter, then you are eligible to receive a free bestselling book if you complete this short and simple survey. The offer is only open to Canadian residents. One book per household, while quantities last. The offer ends on Friday, October 26th.

You can choose from the following books:

Rules of Civility by Amor Towles

A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness

Buried Prey by John Sandford

The Forest Laird by Jack Whyte

Beggar's Feast by Randy Boyagoda

The History of Canada Series - The Last Act: Pierre Trudeau by Ron Graham

The Witch of Babylon by D.J. McIntosh

Tiger Hills by Sarita Mandanna

Dust City by Robert Paul Weston

The Disappeared by Kim Echlin

Free Small Coffee @ McDonalds (Oct 29-Nov 4)

McDonald's will once again be offering a small regular coffee for free from October 29th to November 4th! Nothing beats a free cup of joe in the morning or after work! Please keep in mind that some McDonald's locations will be very busy in the mornings as customers take advantage of this great deal!

Please vote for my friend's mobile game, iBeg!

My friend is currently working on a mobile game for Android and iOS and their team has put the game up on KickAssist to try and get funding to help with the development of the game. Please spare a second and vote for iBeg here - you can vote daily.

As well, you can also make a donation yourself and get yourself some cool rewards. Learn more about iBeg here!

Free Disney's Tigger Short Video Download

Disney's Tigger Movie is now out in a special Bounce-a-rrrific Special Edition! Print out this coupon to save $5 when you purchase the blu-ray combo pack. As well, you can download a Tigger short video from Disney. You must have a Disney Movies Rewards account and enter code "Tigger".

New York Fries Poutine

Don't these make you drool?

Braised Beef Poutine

Pulled Pork Poutine

Edible Canada at the Market

I dined at Edible Canada for the first time to celebrate a friend's birthday. They have a special October Fall Feast menu on for $30 at the moment, which includes two starters, a main and a dessert. I have heard the food here was good, so I was excited to try it! I went for the butternut squash soup, which was very nice and warm, perfect so such cold weather. The other starter I chose was the risotto - I found it too rich and creamy, and chees-y too (which I'm not a fan of). I also found it a tad too salty. For the main, I opted for the ling cod. It wasn't quite what I was expecting, sitting in that much broth. I didn't really see the mushroom crust, and though the fish itself was a little bland, the broth was salty so they did go together. I chose the spiced ginger cake for dessert. It was good, but I wish it were warmer to give it that "fresh out of the oven" taste. All in all a decent dining experience here, with a variety of dishes.

Edible Canada is located in Granville Island.

Hazelmere butternut squash & apple soup - chorizo, maple creme fraiche, croutons. I couldn't taste the apple, but the soup was very creamy.

Vij's curry crusted wild albacore tuna with fingerling potatos, corn, kale, cherry tomatoes and sherry mustard vinaigrette.

Fall squash risotto with Okanagan apples, pancetta crisp, mustard cream and sage. This dish was very rich and heavy, tasted a bit cheesy. The apples were diced and sprinkled on top, which was really nice.

Roasted ling cod with mushroom crust, bok choy, pea leaf, wild mushrooms and lemongrass broth.

Rosemary braised peach country lamb shoulder - roasted nectarines, fingerling potatoes, vegetables and rectarine reduction. Others who had this dish said the lamb was very salty.

Spiked ginger cake with seasonal fruit and spiced caramel sauce.

Granville Island Tea Company chai brulee.

$100 Apple Gift Card with Thrive Chequing Account

When you sign up for a THRiVE chequing account with ING Direct banking, with a $100 minimum deposit, you'll be entered to win 1 of 10 $5,000 Apple gift cards! If you already have a THRiVE account, switch your payroll to your chequing account and you'll receive a $100 Apple gift card! ING offers free banking, and no fees.

For more details, check out the ING Direct site.

Free 2013 Calendar from Telus

We're close to the end of the year now, so that means it's time to look for calendar's for 2013. Luckily, Telus is once again offering a free calendar that features their adorable animal cast that are in Telus ads! Order yours here, while quantities last!

Tap & Barrel Officially Opens

The newest addition to Olympic Village, Tap and Barrel, had their official grand opening celebration last week. Open for business for several months already, Tap and Barrel serves local craft beer and premium wines on tap, along with some delicious food. Owner Daniel Frankel celebrated by having a special VIP tweet-up for Twitter followers prior to the 8pm public opening. Everyone was treated to two drink tickets to sample the wines and beers on tap, and there were small appetizers for everyone to try. Dawn Chubai from Breakfast Television stopped by to MC, as well as Deputy mayor Raymond Louie giving a few words about the opening of Tap and Barrel in the Olympic Village community.

There is a spacious patio on two levels.

Dawn Chubai of Breakfast Television announces the grand opening celebrations.

Owner Daniel Frankel welcoming everyone and doing a ribbon cutting.

Sweet fennel sausage handcrafted pizza - peppers, roasted tomato sauce, provolone.

Local wild mushrooms handcrafted pizza - smoked mozzarella, fresh baby arugula, truffle oil.

Steak bite with a sweet cherry tomato and potato wedge.

PB&J burger - chipotle peanut butter, bacon jelly, angus beef with pulled pork. Peanut butter in a burger seems to be the new thing at restaurants!

Pumpkin ale.

We decided to stay for dinner after the special VIP party, and ordered a few dishes to share.

1lb drunken mussels - salt spring island mussels and wood stone artisanal flatbread. While very good, the mussels tasted a tad to much like the sea, and may not have been as fresh as I would have liked.

Infamous sticky yam fries - an intriguing combination of yam fries (sweet) and melted marshmallow (sweeter). The end result was a very dessert like dish, but one worth trying at least once.

Sweet fennel sausage handcrafted pizza - I enjoyed the sample of this so much I decided to go with the full version. The crust was not as thin and crispy as I thought it would be, but it was still delicious.

To take a look at Tap and Barrel's menu or make reservations, check out their website here.