Avoid the Holiday Stress this year!

The holidays are already stressful enough with family, out of town guests, entertaining, cleaning up not to mention all end of year deadlines at the office.

If you dread Christmas shopping you can now breathe a little easier as we're here to rescue you from the anxieties of crowds, too many choices and too little time. Let us fight the crowds, search for parking and stand in the never-ending line-ups.

If you are time crunched and looking for ways to minimize the stress and hassles of the holidays without minimizing the holidays itself, we are here to help! If you are unable to deck your own halls due to time constraints let us chop the tree, trim the banisters and mantles and get your home holiday ready. Now is the time to book our services as our Elves are in high demand Blitzing around the city.

• Christmas Shopping
• Gift Wrapping
• Stocking stuffers
• Christmas Home Décor
• Office Christmas Décor
• Grocery Shopping
• LCBO
• Gift Baskets
• Christmas Baking
• Catering
• Rentals
• Staffing
• Floral Arrangements
• Travel and Hotel bookings
• Cleaning Services 

Time is precious. Spend it doing and enjoy doing what you love. Leave the rest to us!

Remember: Even Santa has helpers. Let us be our very own secret elf!

Wine for under $10 a bottle

With the holidays fast approaching, we at Balance InStyle are always looking for ways to save you time and money.

We came across this article written by rod@rodphillipsonwine.com and thought it worthy of a share. 

He showcases 4 bottles of wine, 2 white and 2 red, all under $10.00 and available at the LCBO.
If you are thinking what I am thinking - decent wine for under $10? and I don't need to drive across the border to buy it? really? 

I'm Italian so it’s no coincidence that these four are Italian, as Italy offers some of the best buys in inexpensive wines. 
If you aren't convinced just yet, there is still time to try them yourself before you bring to share with guest, but for $7.45 a bottle why not?

Citra Trebbiano d’Abruzzo 2013

This is an attractive, dry white you can drink on its own or pair with lighter poultry and white fish, or with a creamy dish like fettuccine Alfredo. Look for solid, reasonably complex flavours from start to finish, and a supporting seam of refreshing acidity. 12-per-cent alcohol; $7.45 (522144) or $12.95/1500mL (79046)

Barone Montalto Pinot Grigio 2013

This popular pinot grigio from Sicily delivers value, vintage to vintage. The flavours are quite vibrant and fresh, and the acidity is fresh and clean. With good body, it’s a white that’s easy to pair with roast or grilled chicken, seafood and white fish. 12-per-cent alcohol; $8.95 (73148)

Citra Montepulciano d’Abruzzo 2013

This lovely red is very good value. The nicely layered flavours hold true right through the palate, and the acidity gives the wine a tangy, refreshing texture. It’s dry and medium bodied, and an excellent choice for hearty Italian dishes. 13-per-cent alcohol; $7.45 (446633) or $12.95/1500 mL (78840)

Luccarelli Negroamaro 2012

From the region of Puglia, in the heel of the Italian boot, this is a quite concentrated and full-flavoured dry red. The flavour are consistent and they’re supported by well-balanced acidity. Drink it with full-flavoured Italian food and many red meat dishes. 13-per-cent alcohol; $9.95 (380972)

Cheers!

Holiday Entertaining

To some degree, we all find party-planning or entertaining a little stressful - even the pros so fret not. With the holidays just around the corner we thought we would share some  of our favourite tips for  stress-free entertaining.

The first thing to do is to decide what type of party you want to throw. Whether it's an ugly sweater party, a pot luck or an office party, the key to a successful event is knowing your desired outcome and planning ahead.

What's hot this year? Cookie Exchanges, The Ugly Sweater Parties are still going strong, Gift Wrapping & Stocking Stuffing parties and of course our favourite Mingle & Jingles. What's out - The Secret Santa or under $10 Chinese Gift Exchanges.

Now that you have your theme - choose your invite. There are so many avenues for sending invites these days. We like Celebrations as they offer a variety of both free and designer styles that you can customize and track your RSVP's with. There are plenty of options out there to suit your style and budget. Remember: Your invite sets the tone for your event. Start the event off on the right foot with an invitation that truly invites your guests.

Helping Hand

This depends on your budget, and there are many options available to you depending on where you want to spend your time and your money. 

One thing that we find invaluable is rather than rushing out to buy expensive new china, glasses and silverware for a holiday get-together, consider renting it. – Less clean up. Just put them back in their crate dirty and put them by the front door for pick up.

Food - If you have it in your budget you can hire a caterer to prepare and serve and take a major load of the stress off your shoulders. Some caterers offer a drop off or pick up service as well, then all you need to worry about is warming up and serving.

If you really want to make all the food yourself maybe consider hiring a bartender or a server to help. This way you can task them to keep the drinks flowing and the dirty dishes disappearing and you can have a little extra time to focus on your guests in-between trips to the kitchen.

While we are on the topic of food, it is always great to carefully consider your menu selection well in advance. Is anyone a vegetarian? Do they have food allergies? Are they on a restrictive diet? Asking ahead will prevent you from serving something your guests actually cannot eat. They will really appreciate that you cared enough to do your homework.

Drinks - A signature drink is always a welcomed thing at a holiday party. It also keeps the cost of alcohol down and eases your to-do list should you be trying to do it all yourself. One of our favourites of the season is Sparkling Wine. As seen in Food & Drink Magazine on page 266 is fruit infused sugar cubes. 

Recipe:

Give your favourite bubbly a boost with jewel like flavours such as cranberry, pomegranate and apricot.

Working in batches, soak cubes in a bowl of fruit concentrate or puree until completely saturated. Remove with a fork, and place on a wire rack (don't let them touch); let dry overnight. Present cubes at a champagne bar, or serve them in passed drinks. The sweet, tangy taste will keep guests sipping long after the toasts.

Calculate Quantities 

Most guests will consume two drinks the first hour of your event and one drink during each following hour. That's provided that there are not driving. When planning an event where you are serving wine, beer and mixed drinks, the general rule of thumb is:

• 50% will drink Wine
• 30% will drink Beer
• 20% will drink Mixed Drinks 

Ice - Generally is one pound per guest, more if you are cooling wines/bubbly.

Mood & Lighting - Candles, Candles and More Candles.  

Tea Lights are cheap and can fit into a variety of "containers" to add atmosphere. You can get a bag of 100 from IKEA for $3.99 Candles are like magic. Nothing makes your house feel more festive and special. I use candles in the kitchen and powder room, hurricanes on the mantle and coffee table, and tall, elegant tapers on the dining table. Keep the overhead lights to a minimum. Bonus: EVERYONE looks better by candlelit.

Music

Music is key and sets the tone when you open the door and it carries you through the evening. Don't worry, you don't need to go and create playlists on top of everything else you need to do, as there are so many great free apps out there to set the mood. Check out Spotify or Songza for their latest holiday playlists. 

Have fun and remember,  good party  happens when guests feel like they're privileged to be invited. Spoil them, indulge them and they'll always want another invite.

Should you need any recommendations for great caterers, florists, rental or linen companies we would love to share our little black book with you. Just get in touch! By email info@balanceinstyle.com or by phone 613-440-4446.

Happy Planning!

Concierge services are on the rise in the workplace

Let's face it; work and life bleed into each other on a constant basis.

Parents travel for business, have doctors appointments, get sick, children have PD days (every month), March Breaks, Christmas Holiday, the car needs to go in for maintenance, winter tires, the dog needs to go to the vet, life happens. 

Has this ever happened to you? You arrive to work only to receive a phone call from your son or daughter at school saying he or she left an important assignment at home that morning and needs it right away. Then your boss stops by and asks whether you would mind taking over an upcoming fund-raising drive. And last night, your washing machine quit working, and you need to arrange for a repairperson to fix it as soon as possible.

Finding the time to run errands, have a home appliance repaired, take the car in for an oil change, or make vacation arrangements, much less do the grocery shopping and laundry or taking on an additional project at work, can be hard when you work full time. Employers realize that balancing work and personal life is challenging for their employees. Many employers today are looking for creative ways to make the work environment desirable to a diverse workforce.

Lisa Earle McLeod states quite eloquently in her article on HuffingtonPost.com “The reality is: If you want a meaningful career and a meaningful personal life, they’re going to bleed into each other. Constantly.” The only way to handle this is to accept that our work and life needs to blend, and it’s up to us to make it happen as smoothly as possible. “You don’t get a work life and a home life. You get one life. Don’t waste it trying to achieve balance.”  

In an effort to improve productivity and work-life-balance, some companies are turning to personal concierge services. The idea is to allow employees access to someone who in one phone call can plan their trips — both for work and leisure; find them a plumber, plan them a dinner party, take their car for an oil or winter tire etc... Concierge companies as opposed to call centres or VA's are local, on the ground in your city, and know how to make things happen on a moments notice.

Typically, the word “concierge” has a luxurious ring to it, but personal concierge services are not used only by 1% looking to charter private jets. Concierge services used to be associated with high-end hotels or celebrities, but the new concierge is more about saving time. 

Few would argue that time is one of the most precious commodities we seem to be losing. Making a living consumes the bulk of our days, leaving less time to enjoy the fruits of our labor. This complicates life, causing stress and lowering the quality of life.

These time constraints carry over into other areas of our lives, particularly our personal time for leisure and family. Extended hours are common in most professions, reducing personal time to pursue activities that enrich our lives. 

Studies have shown that concierge services render invaluable benefits to the employers as well as the employees. It provides corporations a variety of professional and personal assistance options that can be made accessible to employees through their employee assistance program or human resource division. These stress-reducing services have been proven to:

1.     Help employees achieve optimum productivity;

2.     Increase efficiency and reduce absenteeism;

3.     Upgrade benefit packages for attracting new employees, while complementing compensation packages;

4.     Provide fresh, affordable ways to enhance employee loyalty.

By offering a menu of services valuable to employees, concierges services can alleviate personal stressors that make working 40+ hours a week physically and mentally exhausting. Employees like not having to use PTO (personal time off) that can be applied towards their vacation. Concierge services, consequently, add value to the corporation, thereby improving employee retention and recruitment!

If you want to differentiate your organization by incorporating concierge services into your wellness program, or recognize your people with the “gift of time” gift certificate visit our website or call us @ 613-440-4446 to see how we can set you apart from your competition!  

With Christmas season almost upon us Gift Certificates are always a great alternative to gifting. Everyone uses their time differently and everyone is has the same problem of not enough time. Imagine the impact you would make in that employee, client, or colleagues life that shared with your some of their recent challenges.  

Stress Free Dinner Right To Your Inbox

Since we at Balance InStyle are all about saving you time we thought we would introduce you to a company that just might change the way you make dinner.

Do you cook for your family every night? Do you panic when it comes time for dinner? Do you ask your family at breakfast what they want for dinner only to be met with "I dunno" Don't they realize you have to take stuff out of the freezer and great meals don't just make themselves? 

The above is a typical conversation in our household. I'm all about variety and trying new things in the kitchen. I love to cook and bake but found that I was always making the same things. I wanted to shake things up!

We've recently discovered Cooksmarts. Hello sanity saver! For just $6/mth GONE are the days of staring into the fridge with panic and stressing about what to feed the family every night. Cooksmarts tells you exactly what you're having and whipping up easy, delicious, crowd pleasing healthy meals all in about 30 minutes, every weeknight. Here’s how it works:

1. Each week, you are e-mailed your meal plan.  (And not just a main dish…this plan includes what to serve on the side as well)
2. All the recipes for each meal are included – along with free videos demonstrating some of the cooking techniques, tips and tricks etc ...
3. The meals are healthy…made with REAL ingredients and (here’s the best part ) each meal only takes about 30 or so minutes to make!
4. All meals are customizable…each one allows you to choose the Original version, Paleo Version, Vegetarian or Gluten-Free. 
5. Cooksmarts give you access to their archives to add extra meals to your week or switch out the ones you don’t think will be a home-run with your family.
6. Once you’ve chosen which meals and versions you want for the week – a printable shopping list is created so you know what to buy for the week. No more spending hours at the grocery stores making up recipes in your head and wasting food.

Julia Child says it best, "No one is born an amazing cook. One learns by doing it." This program really makes it easy to awaken your inner Julia Child or Wolf Gang Puck and get out of your dinner ruts and get excited about cooking again. 

We all know that our diet is a major influence on our health. Our food choices determine whether or not we are getting adequate amounts of the nutrients our bodies need to function properly. According to research, it seems that eating home cooked meals may lead to better health outcomes than eating out frequently. Cooksmarts makes it easy to cook smart and eat healthy everyday of the week. If you want to try them out for yourself use this link to save $5 and let us know what you think!

Happy Cooking!

Outsourcing your personal life.

Anyone who is in business is familiar with the benefits of outsourcing.  Tim Ferris's best selling book “The 4 Hour Work Week” brought to entrepreneurs attention the value of outsourcing and made it down right appealing. The practice of outsourcing has allowed companies to increase their profits and concentrate on what they are really good at.  If the most successful entrepreneurs and the biggest companies in the world are doing it, why aren’t more people doing it personally?

First let's cover what outsourcing is and how you can benefit from doing this in your personal life. In essence, outsourcing generally means delegating a list of tasks, or to-do's things that are crowding your everyday life and are preventing you from being proactive. So instead of outsourcing accounting and web design like larger companies, you are outsourcing some of your personal everyday tasks.

How to decide what to outsource?

1. Ones that take a lot of your time

2. Ones that you loath doing.

Take a moment and ask yourself: Once all your must-do's are taken care of, do you have time left over for the want to's and love to's? Chances are there are not enough hours in your day/week for everything else you would like to get done and this is a major creator of stress in life. This is where outsourcing comes into play.

Perhaps you're starting to see the value in this outsourcing thing, but the question remains WHO can you outsource to? There are many services available to you depending on your needs, where you live and whether you want virtual or high touch service. Balance InStyle services all of Ottawa and Gatineau and we have a satellite offices in both Naples and Clearwater Florida.  If you take a moment and think about all the things that you try to squeeze into a typical week, you will feel instant relief to know that there is a company that can manage it all for you and all you have to do is make one call. 

Balance InStyle has been in business for 7 years, is a legitimate and incorporated company. Fully insured with all applicable licenses and is bondable. Please do your own due diligence when you are engaging in such services. There are unfortunately alot of scams out there on Kijiji and Craigslist advertising at lesser rates but that are not operating legitimately. Given the nature of the service offerings one can request it is always a good idea to hire someone with a reputable business where you can read reviews and ask for references.

Here are a couple of ways outsourcing can make your life easier:

• Day to Day Errands & Grocery Shopping
• Total Home Management
• Wait Services - We wait while you work
• Administrative Tasks
• Time Consuming Research
• Back to School Shopping
• Home Staging & Decor
• Home Downsizing - Organizational & Charity drop offs
• Image Consultation & Personal Shopping
• Gift Buying, Wrapping
• Home Watch Services
• Home Renovations
• Wedding/Event & Party Planning Services
• Relocation Services
• Assistance with aging/sick family members
• Funeral Services; End of Life Planning
• Celebration of Life or Memorial Services
• Estate Planning &  Cataloguing of Personal Assets and Property Content.
• Research & Planning Services
• Secret Shopping
• Travel Planning & Scheduling

Is personal outsourcing for you? Make a list of your most time consuming tasks and ask yourself "Do I really need to do this myself" "Do I enjoy this"? If the answer is no, then maybe you would like to take advantage of the fine art of personal outsourcing. We'd love to hear from you. info@balanceinstyle.com

We also share some great tips and ideas on our Facebook page, we'd love to have you join our InStyle community so you can get Balanced...InStyle.