It’s safe to say that the summer season has (finally) hit Toronto. And you know what that means: It’s time for BBQs, patios, and a lot of outdoor fun with friends and family. When Indigo asked me to try out the new, super-quick Visa Checkout, on their online store, I decided to select a few items for their new Great Canadian Summer collection, that would also reflect what my great Canadian summer will really be like. To me summer is all about cooking, grilling, spending time in my garden (or at my cottage) and hosting tons of my loved ones. What’s better than eating, drinking, and laughing all together when the weather is warm and beautiful? As many of you already know, I’ve got a bit of an obsession with collecting cookbooks. The first thing I thought of when I was browsing Indigo‘s online shop was that I needed to pick up a copy of Saveur’s New Classics cookbook, and Make It Ahead by Ina Garten.
It might sound weird, but cooking and flipping through cookbooks is what I do to relax. I love kicking up my feet with a few of my favourite cookbooks next to me and looking through them one by one to get inspired. I often even start jotting down notes and menu ideas for future gatherings, even if they’re months ahead. As Ina will tell you in her new book, it pays to be organized when you’re hosting a big dinner party! Not only do I love creating a special menu because I find it fun, but it also helps me coordinate more easily when dealing with my hectic schedule.
The other thing I tend to collect a lot of (ok, well there are many things) are blankets. And anything with stripes! It was pretty much love at first sight when I spotted this great summery nautical throw in Indigo’s Home section of the Canadian Collection. Since most of my blankets are wool for that great Canadian winter of ours, I thought it would be perfect to have a nice light blanket on hand for snuggling in the garden once the sun goes down.
Since we are so lucky to enjoy an abundance of fresh local fruits and vegetables throughout the summer, having a good wooden salad bowl is essential. I love that this version is painted white on the outside, with a matching pair of white-tipped salad servers. Bonus: it’s a great piece to bring with you for pot lucks, and it won’t be easy to mix up with any other wooden bowls that might show up!
Naturally with all of that finger-licking good BBQ going on, things are going to get messy. Not only can having a nice set of napkins take your place setting to the next level, but it will help reduce waste, unlike when using convenient (but bad for the environment) paper napkins. Since I’m often drawn to a good buffalo check, I couldn’t help but click ‘Add to Cart’ when I spotted these navy and white versions by Indigo.
At this point you can probably tell that I really play up the ‘cottage’ aspect of my little Victorian cottage home in the city. But what can I say? I love bit of a country feel to my living space! And yes, even I couldn’t resist picking up one of those adorable Canoe-print tea towels for my kitchen.
As an avid online shopper, I was genuinely impressed with how quick and easy it was to use Visa Checkout on Indigo’s site. If you shop online often, you can probably relate to finding the few final steps of having to punch in your credit card info a little tedious and annoying. The difference is that once your Visa Checkout account is set up, your checkout time speeds up immensely. It’s basically click click and BOOM! Your package arrives at your door. No really, Indigo had my order to me by the next morning.
Here’s how to get started:
Canadians can sign up to breeze through online checkout at http://checkout.visa.com.
o Step One: Create a username and password.
o Step Two: Enter your payment and shipping information. (You only have to do this once)
o Step Three: Look for the Visa Checkout button when you’re shopping online, enter your username and password, and go!
FYI, Visa Checkout can be used across all devices and it is a secure way to shop and the Zero Liability for consumers in case of fraud. For a full list of stores where you can use your Visa Checkout account please visit: https://checkout.visa.com/shopping.
So what are you waiting for? Head to Indigo’s website to spruce up your Canadian summer, and get an extra 20% off when you use Visa Checkout until May 31st! AND IT GETS BETTER!! Right now you can enter to WIN a $100 Visa gift card to help you get started with your summer shopping. Here’s how to ENTER:
FOLLOW @GracieCarroll on Twitter and Instagram
TWEET “I want to #WIN a $100 #Visa gift card from @GracieCarroll to use the new #VisaCheckout for the first time ! http://graciecarroll.com/?p=11982”
COMMENT on this post once complete leaving a relevant email address (in private) so I can contact you if you win!
Contest open to Canadian residents over 18-years-old only. Winner will be selected on June 1st 2015.
Happy Summer Everyone and Good Luck!
xo
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