Category: Lifestyle

  • Samsung Portable SSD T7 Shield – Hands On

    Samsung Portable SSD T7 Shield – Hands On

    Portable SSD T7 Shield – One of the most compact, durable, rugged yet aesthetically pleasing solid state drives I’ve had the pleasure of owning! Coming in at 1TB or 2TB versions, with high transfer speeds and a variety of colours. I have recently replaced my older clunky portable hard drives with these powerful little guys. Portable SSD T7 Shield just makes sense!

    Out of the the box, the Portable SSD T7 Shield comes with the unit itself as well as a USB-C to USB-C as well as USB to USB-C cable for compatibility across most devices.

    The rubber outer shell is durable, being dust, water, and shock resistant. Having used it for the past few months this unit has been through the ringer. It has fallen on rocks, embedded in beach sand and exposed to rain and it’s still alive and still kicking without any drop in performance whatsoever. It doesn’t take up a lot of space in my bag when i’m traveling and thanks to the high transfer speeds of up to 1,050Mbps utilizing the USB 3.2 I find myself working directly off the drive to keep my resources free on my computer to edit and build out my projects. I feel like i’m always on the look out for more compact yet still powerful options for storage especially to accompany me on my travels and highly recommend the Portable SSD T7 Shield for people who travel or tend to have a lot of shoots in the field that work off their laptop or on location. Even for those that want something more compact while still providing great performance the Portable SSD T7 Shield is a fantastic option!

  • Day trips with #MDVP feat. Volvo XC90

    Day trips with #MDVP feat. Volvo XC90

    The MDVP crew had the pleasure to taking out the 2020 Volvo XC90 on a day trip to pick up a tree as well as take it out on some rural snowy roads to visit the Kortright centre for conservation.

    First off, the sleek Scandinavian design caught my eye right off the bat. We got a white XC90 with the tan trim interior which went perfectly together. Seamless lines, well stitched and the panelling (which i’m not always a fan off) really comes together.

    Handling wise it was on point from what Peter told me (as I personally didn’t have the opportunity to test it out). This model, pushing 390 horses really showed during launch as well any time we had to overtake any vehicle on the highway. From a passenger perspective, it was a great ride from start to finish. The seats were perfectly built for comfort, even during a long drive. Having rear passenger temperature controls is also a must have I think in any vehicle.

    I was really impressed with the safety features, everything from lane keeping, to 360 cam, and all the alerts anytime we had another vehicle in our blind spot or we happened to touch a lane line. It comes with a plethora of standard safety features which I could spend all day talking about, you can find all of them HERE if you are so inclined to see them all.

    We originally had planned to go to Niagara only to realize upon arrival that there was no snow there….so we had to turn around and head north about 3 hours to the Kortright Centre For Conservation. A great little area with trails and activities for the entire family. From there we headed to a Christams Tree farm not far away to pick up a tree for Vic and Peter. Thanks to the installed roof racks on the Volvo XC90, mounting that bad boy with some rope was a breeze! We could have probably put 3 or 4 up there just for good measure! All in all minus a few hiccups it was great time exploring some of what Ontario has to offer other than just the same old Toronto Scenery.

  • How I Keep Healthy During My Travels

    How I Keep Healthy During My Travels

    Travelling as often as I do, it’s easy to start feeling under the weather. Feeling tired from all the walking around and exploring. Spending extended time in airports and airplanes. keeping my immune system strong is super important to me.  My secret is supplementing my vitamin D intake. Simple as that!

    for most people you ask they will tell you that “I don’t need to supplement Vitamin D, I get all I need from the sun”. The truth is if you are covering up and wearing sunscreen to protect yourself from cancer causing UV rays you are also blocking your bodies ability to make vitamin D from the sun. On top of that there are only a few food sources that contain this nutrient-making it especially important that you obtain enough vitamin D by taking a daily supplement. My supplement of choice is Jamieson Vitamin D3 Tablets, they are inexpensive and are available at most pharmacies as well as grocery and health food stores. So what do these Vitamin D3 supplements do for you?

    • Helps support a healthy immune system and bone health
    • Helps the absorption of calcium and phosphorus
    • Helps maintain overall health
    • D3 is the same vitamin D produced by our bodies whereas D2 is derived from mushrooms

    I have been paying more attention to my supplements and overall health. Especially since I’m now in my mid 30’s (Although I wish I had started paying attention a bit sooner). Not so fun fact: 1 in 3 Canadians in Winter, and 1 in 4 in the Summer are vitamin D deficient and are not getting optimal levels of vitamin D! Crazy right?! The biggest reasons why Vitamin D is so important is the tremendous support it provides to both bone health and immune function.

    As you all know I LOVE TO TRAVEL, and I just can’t afford to get sick. There is nothing I hate more than getting sick while I’m away trying to do what I love. Although I generally take the Jamieson Vitamin D3 Tablets, Sometimes you want something a bit more portable that you can just throw into your bag. I normally carry Jamieson Vitamin D Spray  in my camera bag.

    So you don’t like taking tablet supplements. I get it, everyone is different in how they like to consume their vitamins. Luckily Jamieson offers a few options in order to ensure that you are getting that wonderful “Sunshine Vitamin”.

    Jamieson Vitamin D Gummies

    • Delicious and all-natural orange, strawberry and lemon flavours
    • Helps in the maintenance and development of bones and teeth
    • Helps the absorption of calcium and phosphorus
    • Helps maintain and support your immune system and overall health
    • No salt (NaCL), gluten, lactose, aspartame, artificial colours or flavours

    Jamieson Vitamin D3 Chewables

    • Supports a healthy immune system and bone health
    • Helps in the absorption and use of calcium
    • No artificial flavours or colours
    • Fun and delicious chewable tablet for those who prefer not to swallow pills

    So for all you wonderfully beautiful people who think you’re getting all the vitamin D you need just by spending time outdoors in the sun. Think again and take your health to the next level. Your body will definitely thank you! Spend more time enjoying your travels and less time getting sick. If you’re looking for more information surrounding vitamin D and how to efficiently supplement head over to Jamieson Vitamins website and find out how to get the most out of the sunshine vitamin!

  • Celebrating Everyday Wins With Eatable Popcorn

    Celebrating Everyday Wins With Eatable Popcorn

    I don’t know about you but having the perfect snacks handy when I need them is an absolute MUST! whether I’m hosting people or just having a quiet movie night in with the missus, there is nothing better than reaching for something delicious to enjoy time spent together with friends and family.

    Eatable reached out to let Mel and I try some of their gourmet popcorn flavours with mix the fun of popcorn with the party of drinks. I wasn’t sure how to feel about it at first, I mean scotch whiskey infused caramel popcorn does sound pretty damn good though. we received their connoisseur’s flight which included scotch whiskey caramel, champagne white chocolate, and merlot PB&J. I will say that personally being a scotch guy, I was instantly drawn to the scotch whiskey caramel bag and it didn’t disappoint.

    All of their products are

    • 100% all-natural ingredients
    • No artificial colours, flavours, or preservatives
    • Non-GMO corn kernels
    • Made without gluten
    • Vegetarian

    Eatable is also a local brand which I love because it is so important to help support the community and those around us creating amazing things. Charlene and Vince spent over 2 years trying to find a health conscious flavourful snack before coming up with their Whiskey on the Pops flavour. Also taking 2nd place in 2017 in a pitch competition in Boston. I’m excited to see what other alcohol-infused flavours they roll out in the future!

    For those of you looking to try some yourself, you can save 15% on your order by use promo code “INSPIRED15” or by following the link below:

    https://eatable.com/discount/INSPIRED15

     

  • Living it up in my Structube Bedroom

    Living it up in my Structube Bedroom

    With winter in full swing, I generally don’t feel motivated to go outside…..ever! One of the things Mel and I are fond of is the ULTRA rare lazy Sunday in bed where we sleep in, maybe have breakfast in bed. and watch a couple of movies and just vege out after a long week of events, meetings, and content production.

    That being said, having a comfortable bedroom to spend time in when we can is super important to us. Naturally, being big fans of the pieces we picked out for both our living room and dining room we went back to Structube to pick out our bedroom set. Sticking with the wood motifs we have going on in the house already only seemed logical. For the bed, we went with the Clarence frame pairing it with matching VINCI gold and marble side tables. We did get a painting to put above the bed however we weren’t thinking and it ended up being a touch too big to place there, so we ended up repurposing it for our kitchen/dining area which did end up working well in the end. I do enjoy the nook we have in our room, it lets in so much light especially in the morning and early afternoon. So I lobbied Mel to get a chair to keep there, where I can just sit and read a book from time to time! We landed on the KANJI chair and it was the one right from the moment I saw it. If you have the space to put a chair in your room, it just brings another reason to stay in your room haha.

    Being that we did purchase a very old house, storage is a huge issue for us. With closets being very narrow and deep, it’s hard to keep all our clothes as well as any other things we need to store. To mitigate a bit of that, we decided to get the Clarence 3 Drawer Chest for my day to day clothes that don’t require hanging. It saves me a bunch of space in my closets which I can use for other things, and the best part is that it matches with the Clarence bedframe we got. Next up, what room would be complete without a mirror of some sort? We picked up the Daniel Mirror that tends to move around the room quite often, especially when we are shooting.

    Now the thing with rooms is that once you have all your staples in there it’s time to accessorize and add a few extra touches to bring it all home. First off were our side table lamps, there is nothing worse than being in bed and having to get back up to turn off a light. Enter the THELMA table lamp, Mel has been obsessed with marble motifs for what feels like forever so we go one for each nightstand. If you have been following along with most of the decor in our house, it’s all very white! We picked up a faux Fiddle Leaf plant to bring a little pop of colour to the room which was very welcome. Oh and I almost forgot! Our dope light fixture, the Cassiopeia pendant actually has become the centrepiece the moment you walk in! Well, in any case, I just wanted to show you all how our space has transformed in the one and a half years we’ve been working on it. what do you think? I think the last piece for our room is finding another above the bed painting (that fits -_-) to just finish it all up.

     

    WHAT IS YOUR DREAM BEDROOM? WHAT ARE YOU FAVOURITE TONES, MOTIFS, AND STYLES?

  • Staying Home For The Holidays with MDVP18

    Staying Home For The Holidays with MDVP18

    Although going away for the holidays can be great, staying at home and enjoying the company of friends and family can be just as fun if not more. We spend all year working and getting our hustle on, that at times we just don’t have (or make time) for those around us. This year we did both, we got away AND we took some time to just hang out and enjoy each others company. We spent an entire day hanging out and enjoying the Canadian Tire House, where they had the entire house decked out for the holidays. Each room was outfitted with a different theme as well as a secret Christmas room which was pretty dope!

    Anytime I’m home (or away for that matter), the first thing I do every morning after I wake up is brush my teeth and give my mug a nice wash to start the day off right and wake myself up. For those that have been following me will know that (like most guys) I don’t don’t have a crazy regimen when it comes to skincare but I do tend to stick with the same brands.

     

    I have been using Kiehls products for a few years now, and I’m pretty happy with everything I’ve used. The first I’ve been on is the Kiehl’s Clearly Corrective Brightening & Exfoliating Daily Cleanser it’s exactly what I need first thing in the morning! Second is the Kiehl’s Clearly Corrective Clarity-Activating Toner. As much as I hate to say it, I’m getting older and every little bit helps.

    Since we did a stay for the holidays, anytime I’m at home you can generally catch me wearing comfy clothes. Generally, you can catch me in my Gap PJ’s lounging around the house or even when I’m working from home! Super comfy and I highly recommend for anyone looking for some nice PJ’s going into the holidays. You can shop our PJ sets here.

     

    Sadly though I do have to leave my house from time to time and getting into the festive season I did pick up a not so ugly Christmas sweater. I”m always looking for interesting pieces to add to my wardrobe and I’m pretty happy with this Striped sweater I found from the Gap.

    I think that regardless if you stay or go away for the holidays, at the end of the day just be sure to appreciate those important people around you and don’t forget to let them know that! Happy holidays yall!