A Lot About Nothing

That’s right, Coach Canada is at it again. But this time they’ve joined forces with Megabus, new double-deckers that offer a more comfortable ride. Tickets are now on sale (online only) for as low as $1!

Now I don’t know if it was a press release error, but when I read Metro newspaper this morning they said that the seat sale for the $1 tickets will start on August 19th. I decided to check out the coachcanada.com website today myself and lo and behold $1 tickets were released up to November 24th! Had I checked a little earlier I might have scooped up some of those high demand weekend tickets for less that it would cost me to buy a happy meal. But I did manage to secure some super-cheap seats for the upcoming months (makes my LDR a lot easier!).

The majority (if not all) of the $1 tickets for weekend departures/returns are pretty much sold out. But I just seen a bunch for mid-week travel on sale for $1. Once the 10,000 $1 seats are sold out, you’ll still be able to find decent prices on Toronto to Montreal travel, between $10 and $60. Don’t fret about not getting a deal, try to make your travel plans as flexible as possible (I myself will have to endure some 3am arrival times, but it’s worth my loonie!).

$16 million dollars has been invested by Coach Canada for the 15 new Megabus buses that will depart/arrive at the following cities: Whitby, Mississauga, Toronto, Scarborough, Kingston, Kirkland and Montreal, at up to 8 daily departure times.

The 81-passenger, 3.99 metres (13.1 feet) high, two-level coaches have front and rear staircases and offer free Wi-Fi, power outlets and DVD video capabilities, as well as a panoramic view, two folding card tables, comfortable reclining seats, restroom, safety belts and mobility impaired accessibility.

I’ve taken Coach Canada buses before, but have never been on a Megabus. Head over on to coachcanada.com and book your dollar tickets before they’re all sold out! Good luck on finding the good ones!

Okay, perhaps I’m not that precise, but I did fix a clock today! I’m so proud of myself. Today was the Kitchen Stuff Plus Outlet on Orfus Road had one of their summer sidewalk sales. I got up bright and early (well at least for me) at 9am, but by the time I got there around 10:30 the place was swarmed with frantic customers eager to find a good deal.

I managed to score a stainless steel wall clock and a Chef’n salt grinder for $5; a large collapsible storage box, two awesome non-skid mixing bowls with lids, a white/stainless steel toothbrush holder, an OXO soap squirting dish sponge for $10; a pig-shaped scrubby holder with a scrubby for $2; and a slim sliding fine grater and a stainless steel kitchen utensil holder together for $5. Not a bad deal if I do say so myself. Especially considering that those utensil holders are usually $10-20, and the OXO kitchen gadgets run between $5-20 each.

Of course when I got home I realized that there was a piece missing from the grater: the little thingie that mandolin slicers usually have to push down the food. No biggie, I still got an cool grater that comes with a storage container. The worst was realizing that the wall clock I purchased didn’t work. When I put the battery in the second had was moving, but on the same second and not revolving around the clock! I’m thinking great… now what I’m I going to do with two broken clocks (including the one I had before to replace this one with). So I mustered up the courage and patience and took the whole thing apart.  I mean it worked when I bought my travel mug from the last Kitchen Stuff Plus sidewalk sale (the screw in the lid just needed to be tightened in order to get the open/close mechanism to work), so I thought why not?

Now I had no idea what I was doing. Sure I broke a couple of the plastic latches when I was trying to figure out how to get the darn clock open so I can take a look at the gears, but that’s what tape’s for! After pulling out the gears, resetting them, looking at the power source, five times, I gave up. I figured I’d put a battery in and check to see if by some great force that it would start working properly… and it did! It’s now hanging on my living room wall tick-tocking away.

Ironically, when I put batteries back into my old clock which stopped working, it started working again…

I loooove kitchen gadgets.  That’s why I make it a mission to visit Kitchen Stuff Plus’ sidewalk sales at least once a year.  If you’re looking for new dinnerware, glassware, bathroom accessories, kitchen utensils, candles, photo frames, or any other houseware, make sure to stop by the Orfus Rd. outlet location of Kitchen Stuff Plus.  You’re guaranteed to get a great deal on something (even if you don’t need it ).  The sale starts today at 10am and finishes at 3pm.  Here’s the link with more info.

I knew activating my credit card was going to get me into trouble. I ended up spending $150 at Athletes World today in downtown Toronto. To some people it may not seem like much, especially since most athletic shoes are around that price range. I got 8 articles of clothing for that price and I’m glad that I stopped by the shopping mall on the way home from work.

The Athletes World location in Eaton Centre is having a 50% off the lowest ticketed price promotion, due to a lease expiry. If you’re going to head down there for bargains, make sure you go to the location at the Queen subway stop (near the food court with the Druxy’s, Harvey’s and KFC), because the other Athletes World location on the north end of the mall isn’t having the same sale.

As for my purchases, I picked up two pairs of New Balance shoes (one for me and one for my sis). The regular price of these shoes were $139.99 each… They were marked for $79.99 and I got them for $39.99 after the discount! Also picked up a nice pair of green Adidas cuffed cargo pants (reg. price was $69.99) for $20, which was actually cheaper than the lowest ticketed price of $49.99 after the 50% off. I got some cool gold-stripe Reebok sweat pants for $20 (reg. $54.99), three sport tanks and a T-shirt for $5 each (reg. 14.99), and a small bottle of sport cleaner for $4 to keep my shoes and gym bag fresh-looking! According to my receipt I saved a whopping $335!

I also picked up a pair of sandals, but when I got home I noticed that they weren’t in the bag. I would’ve been pissed had I not looked at the receipt–the cashier forgot to add it to my purchase. I don’t blame her though… the place was a mess and crowded with people (the line-up at the cash wasn’t bad though). But the counters near the cash were full of merchandise, so it could’ve easily got misplaced. I guess that’s the good thing about having big feet sometimes: not a lot of people wear your size. I’ll probably head back there tomorrow, since there was quite a few number of those particular sandals left. I might also pick up a hoodie.

Note that all purchases are final sale, so no exchanges or refunds. Great deals if you look for them, but try to get there early to avoid the mess and the crowds. I heard that locations in Scarborough Town Centre and Markville might be having similar sales, so call your local to verify.

It’s a darn good thing I decided to make a stop at Fairview Mall last night. As I was on my way to Athletes World to look for some new cross-trainers, I stopped when I noticed some huge 2 for $10 sale signs in the Costa Blanca window. Of course I had to go in, since I didn’t spend any money on clothing on Boxing Day here in Canada. I’m sure glad I did!

They had a decent selection of items, especially the dress pants (nice pinstriped ones) which were about $39.95 regular price. I picked up a bunch for me and my sister for $5 each. They also had dressy tops (reg. price $24.95-$34.95), sweaters, and skirts that were all discounted to $5 each (if you buy 2 for $10).

Costa Blanca had some nice waist skirts and shoes for $10 each, and some jewelry 3 for $10. Still had some regular priced apparel as well. The cashier said that they have a lot more stock to get rid of, and the sale has been going on for just over a week now.

I got about 5 dress pants, a skirt and 4 tops (including a hot, black corset-type one) for $50! There was a decent selection of sizes available… I mainly saw sizes 4-10 in pants and a variety of S-XL for the tops. The store is located on the lower level near Sears. So if you’re in the Toronto area and need to refill your closet, hurry!