Christmas treats with The British Hamper Company

Christmas is just around the corner – yes, where did 2019 go? – which means it’s that time of year to overindulge in treats and goodies. We started things early this year, as we were spoiled in late-November with the Christmas Treats Hamper from The British Hamper Company. Opening our Christmas Treats Hamper November is a notoriously gloomy month, so I made the notoriously impatient … Continue reading Christmas treats with The British Hamper Company

Emma and StewartDecember 3, 2019Leave a comment

Expat Life

The Little Care Package Review and Promo Code

A subscription box for Brits in Canada and the USA Nothing beats the excitement when an email pops into my inbox to say we have a package delivery. It’s even more exciting when that package is a parcel of British goodies from new company The Little Care Package. Unfortunately, the box arrived after dark which meant filming and photographing it was apparently out of the … Continue reading The Little Care Package Review and Promo Code

Emma and StewartFebruary 7, 2017Leave a comment

Expat Life, Toronto, Winter

The Changing Seasons of Toronto

When we lived in Cambridge, I remember coming across a piece of artwork on a market stall that always stuck with me. It consisted of four photos, all taken from the same point and at the same angle, along a beautiful tree-lined path that crosses Jesus Green. Each of the four photos was taken in a different season, and I loved not only the contrast … Continue reading The Changing Seasons of Toronto

Emma and StewartSeptember 11, 2016September 11, 20164 Comments

Expat Life, Working Holiday

Looking back on 18 months in Canada

Highlights of our Canadian Working Holiday This week another milestone was reached as we celebrated 18 months in Canada. As always the time has flown by and we wanted to take this opportunity to reflect on some of the best things we’ve done in the last 12 months. So here we go, in no particular order, 6 of our favourite things from this year: 1. Showing … Continue reading Looking back on 18 months in Canada

Emma and StewartMarch 27, 2016April 2, 20169 Comments

Expat Life, Getting started, Working Holiday

Accessing health care in Ontario

Our guide to getting an Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP) card So you’ve arrived in Canada, and are living in Ontario on your IEC working holiday visa. Hopefully you’ve come with some travel insurance that’ll cover you in case of any immediate medical emergencies (you shouldn’t have got handed your visa at the border without the insurance!). But what about those non-emergency medical things, which … Continue reading Accessing health care in Ontario

Emma and StewartFebruary 10, 2016March 26, 20161 Comment

Expat Life, IEC visa, Niagara Region, Ontario, Working Holiday

Our experience flagpoling at Niagara Falls

Activating our second IEC work permits at Rainbow Bridge, Niagara Falls An IEC working holiday visa can only be activated at a Port of Entry to Canada. This means that if you’re already in Canada you have to leave the country and come back in again. In 2014 we chose to do this by taking a trip to Seattle. This time we decided to go for the … Continue reading Our experience flagpoling at Niagara Falls

Emma and StewartJanuary 31, 2016March 26, 201614 Comments

Expat Life, Toronto

Our experience of cat fostering

Looking after kitties for Toronto Cat Rescue – one year on* *probably don’t read this if you have no interest in cats It’s been just over a year since we took in our first foster cat, Maggie, and it’s crazy to think that since then we have helped 13 cats find their ‘furever’ homes. Over the past 12 months we’ve put up with horrible smells, been woken … Continue reading Our experience of cat fostering

Emma and StewartJanuary 13, 2016January 9, 20163 Comments

Expat Life, Toronto

The Flying Chocolate Company

Something very exciting happened last week. This box turned up: The box in question is the economy chocolate box from The Flying Chocolate Company and it rather appropriately arrived on our first Canadian anniversary last week! Launched at the beginning of September, The Flying Chocolate Company specialises in, you guessed it, flying good old British chocolate to deprived expats around the world. I stumbled across them on twitter … Continue reading The Flying Chocolate Company

Emma and StewartSeptember 30, 2015March 21, 20163 Comments

Expat Life

What makes expats grumpy?

That time we got featured in The Telegraph When Rossi Thompson got in touch with us via Twitter (follow us here) to ask if we’d like to be interviewed for an article she was writing for The Telegraph we were pretty excited. When we discovered it was about what makes us grumpy as expats we weren’t sure we could help after all. Lack of decent chocolate was the only … Continue reading What makes expats grumpy?

Emma and StewartJuly 10, 2015March 26, 201612 Comments

Events, Expat Life, Toronto

Happy Canada Day!

Today marks Canada’s 148th birthday and our very first Canada Day! Not sure how to celebrate, we consulted our colleagues, who recommended a Canada Day Eve trip to the Toronto Islands to watch the fireworks with the city skyline as a backdrop. So this was exactly what we planned to do but unfortunately the weather had other ideas. After much debate if it was even worth going … Continue reading Happy Canada Day!

Emma and StewartJuly 1, 2015March 25, 2016Leave a comment