a peek inside the fishbowl

I don’t get down to the Rideau Centre as much as I would like, so when I was there last weekend I went on a little walkabout. It’s amazing how much this mall has changed over the past handful of years, isn’t it? And did you know there’s an Anthropologie and a Simons coming? Ack. I sense my credit card melting already. :/

While I was there I decided to check out the pedestrian overpass that connects the Rideau side to the Hudson’s Bay side to see if I could catch a good view of any sinkhole repair action. As it turned out, I was not the only one who had this idea:

This was the scene on the sinkhole side of Rideau Street:

… and this was the view on the other side:

I have to admit, if there was a free easy chair I probably would have stayed a bit longer…

I have been eyeing S’well water bottles since the first time I spotted them at terra20 many moons ago. Not only are the designs really attractive, but I was intrigued by the S’well promise that this water bottle is a very HARD WORKING water bottle. Apparently it keeps beverages hot for 12 hours and cold for 24 hours. So I picked one up at the grand opening of the Rideau terra20 this past weekend and immediately put it to the test. We were in the middle of a mini-heat wave, so you couldn’t ask for a better time for a test run.

Around 12:30 on Sunday I put a dozen ice cubes into my new water bottle and filled it with cold water. I screwed on the lid, and chucked it in my purse, and off we went to spend the day at my in-laws, poolside, in the scorching hot sun. Six hours later there was STILL ICE INSIDE.

The S’well secret (well, it’s not much of a secret) is that it’s made of double-walled, insulated stainless steel. The test run was a success! I am looking forward to using this baby for many years to come.

p.s. want one of your own? Enter my terra20 giveaway while there’s still time!

terra20 is a Fishbowl patron but my opinions and love of sustainably-made and planet-friendly products are my own!

I have some good news for fans of terra20 AND for the folks who may not have had the time to discover them yet. They just opened a brand new location at the Rideau Centre, right across from the Apple store. I was at the official grand opening on Saturday. (In fact, I wasn’t the only one who was excited about terra20’s arrival, there was a line up to get in before the store even opened.)

Here’s terra20 co-founder, Bill Stewart, who was there to unlock the store and meet customers on the big day:

We got to chatting, as we always do, and talked about how shoppers are becoming more aware of harmful ingredients that are hiding in personal care, beauty and cleaning products. Since terra20 opened their Pinecrest location (and Wellington West) they’ve been working hard to become a trusted source of healthy and sustainable products. At terra20, every product is chosen with care to make sure it lives up to their standards. For example, check out their ‘Baseline Banned’ list: 15 harmful ingredients that you’ll never see on the shelves at terra20.

As for the Rideau store, it’s a tidy collection of the products we trust and love, as well as a few surprises:

One of my favourite things about terra20 is that it’s ALSO a great place to pick up products that are made right here in Ottawa. Purple Urchin is just one Ottawa company that has products on the shelves at terra20 (well, in-store and online)!

TODAY we’re giving away this Purple Urchin Grapefruit hand, bar soap and lip balm along with a $50 gift card. (Which you can spend on anything, including more great stuff from Purple Urchin.)

Would you like to win? Please read the following fine print before entering:

• In order for your entry to qualify, have a look at the terra20 website and comment below. Tell me, what would you buy if you won? I’d love to hear if you have a favourite product. Or maybe there’s one you’ve wanted to try out?
• One entry per email address please!
• If you can’t post your comment for whatever reason you can email it to me for posting at andrea at quietfish dot com. Please note, I cannot be responsible if your entry is misdirected or gets stuck in my Spam folder.
• This giveaway is void where prohibited by law.
• I will draw one name using Random.org at noon EST on June 27, 2016. I’ll contact the winner via email, who can pick up the prize at one of the terra20 locations : Pinecrest, Wellington West, or Rideau. The name of the winner will be posted here as well. So please check back!
• Did you know that terra20 is on Twitter and Facebook? Following terra20 on social media is not a requirement of this giveaway but it’s a great way of keeping up with great deals and special events.

Over to you. Good luck!