Made in Canada: Aaron MacWilliam

There's a lot to say about freelance graphic design artist Aaron MacWilliam who specializes in motion graphics, illustration and design. I know most of you are dying to ask this Ottawa native some tough q's so I took one for the team and got five of his answers on paper.

What song best describes your work ethic?

A toss up between 'Sandstorm' by Darude and 'Wastin' my Time' by Eagles of Death Metal. Depends on the day.

Side note: Miley Cyrus was a close third with her hit 'The Climb'

Who is your favourite graphic designer and what would you serve them if they came over for dinner?

My favourite designer right now is GMUNK. If he were to come over for dinner I'd probably order in as the only vegan meal I can make is microwaved corn.

May I suggest creeping GMUNK's pinterest to find vegan recipes. 

Would you rather be cliche or redundant?

Neither. I'd rather be chopping wood.

Pretty sure this is code for something, but I've never been able to figure it out.

People often say their 'creative juices' are flowing. If yours were an alcoholic beverage, what would be in it?

Whiskey and Chocolate milk. 

Disgusting.

Lastly, I asked Aaron to design his version of the Canadian Flag and this is what he came up with. So damn polite.

Some quick facts about Aaron:
Before getting into graphic design, Aaron graduated from a tool and die program and worked as a machinist.
He's 6'7 but has never played on a basketball team.
His favourite letter is 'S'.
Aaron is deathly afraid of toasters and having his toenails painted in his sleep.

You can check out more of Aaron's work at www.macwilliamdesign.com.



Stay cozy,

Alyssa

The Dog I Didn't Want

Let's get one thing straight. I'm a cat person. Little balls of affectionate fur that clean themselves and shit in a box. Best pet ever! So when my boyfriend came to me saying that we needed to get a dog, I immediately went through all the reasons why this was a bad idea. We live in a condo, I don't want to pick up poo, I've been bitten by a dog,  puked on by a dog, they're expensive, and just, no. We literally fought whenever the subject arose and I referred to it as my 'one thing I will not compromise'.

We can all guess what happened next. My lovely and stubborn boyfriend got his way and we brought home an adorable, constant bladder emptying, little pup. At least I got to name him, and Bronson seemed to suit his hard-headed (literally, too) personality. I truly hated owning a dog though. For so many years I had convinced myself I would never get one and now here I was, chasing after it with carpet cleaner and paper towels. Not how I envisioned my evenings after work. I remained skeptical even though friends and family told me it would get easier the older Bronson got.

After reluctantly settling in to a new routine, we brought Bronson to the vet for his first check up with us. Which, I'll admit was kind of exciting as she weighed him and told us how cute he was. I was beginning to feel...proud? The next feeling I had can only be described as if I was frolicking in a field of daisies and then Chris Neil comes out of nowhere and checks me into one of those electric fences they had at Jurassic Park. What?

This is where we find out that Bronson was born with a severe heart murmur and without surgery, will likely die of heart failure way before his time. I cried all the way home. What do we do? How do we get the money to pay for the surgery? Am I actually feeling some love for this cinder block who chewed through my winter boots and then allowed me to pick it back up when he poo'd pieces of it out two days later?

It was a complete blow to our normal life, which hadn't been that normal lately. When I stopped crying, I started thinking. We could have a garage sale and raise some money. We could get prizes and have a raffle. We could tighten up our budget and save all our spare change. Friends, family and complete strangers donated their time, effort and money to make those things happen and before long, we had raised and saved almost four thousand dollars. Bronson got his surgery and has had an amazing recovery. You wouldn't even know he had a problem.

Bronson playing almost a year after his heart surgery.

It goes without saying that it was probably the most humbling experience I've been through. And when it was all over, I felt such a strong sense of community, compassion, and encouragement. I found myself in the 'dog lover' category (which is a fantastic group of people btw) I truly loved Bronson now. It took a crisis, all of my friends and family, my community, and my boyfriend to have this change of heart and I wouldn't have done a damn thing differently.

Something I fought so hard against, and then had to accept very quickly in order to fight for, made me see certain obstacles in life differently, more attainable and less scary. I still have to pick up poo, get up early to take Bronson out, and occasionally rip my shoes out of his mouth, but he's just so friggin' cute that I actually don't mind...and every girl needs an excuse to go shopping anyway ;)


Stay cozy,
Alyssa

Only got 20 dollars in my pocket...4 ways that help make and save you money

I'm a money hoarder. A cheapskate. I make my lunch every evening to take to work. I buy clothes at Giant Tiger. Yes, sometimes I even clip coupons.

I commend my parents for teaching me the value of a dollar at a young age. I had to do chores to get an allowance. I was told 'no' on a regular basis to things I wanted and when I turned 15, my dad drove me around Ottawa with a folder of resumes while I hopped out and tried to land my first real job. At the time, it seemed like the end of the world. While friends were sleeping in on Saturday mornings, I was at work for 8am getting ready for a long day of packaging raw meat and weighing out bacon. Glamorous. But at this tender age of 15, I gained a sense of pride about earning my own paycheck, a growing passion for staying on budget and of course, I learned every meat joke under the sun.

Being frugal and saving money is a really big part of who I am. Now don't get me wrong, I do spend money on things other than 'needs', I tip my servers (I'm not an asshole), and I can enjoy a nice evening out with friends or a new pair of shoes like any other girl. Recently moving out has put a strain on my money hoarding so I've had to dig up ways to satisfy that fiscal craving.

I've compiled a list of ways to save some cash and make a little money. None of them will make you a millionaire but it's a way less destructive habit than eating peanut butter out of the jar.

1. Airmiles. It's an obvious one. I have an Airmiles credit card and usually redeem my points for movie night vouchers (two passes, two drinks, and a popcorn) ie: Free date night. You can also sign up for their Airmiles Surveys which they send by email a couple times a week, earning you even more points for every one completed.

2. This awesome website called Women Freebies which gets updated several times a day with coupons, free samples, and travel contests. The best part? It's all Canadian. I recently won a free gift card just by tweeting them online.

3. Another awesome website called Opinion Outpost Here, you create a profile then they e-mail you online surveys and pay you for your thoughts. A friend told me about it a few years ago and it really works. You can redeem your points for Paypal credit, Amazon credit, Online games, or donate it to charity.

4. Viber. This is a FREE app for you Iphone users. It's probably one of my favourite apps in the whole world. It lets you talk and text for free with anyone else who has downloaded it. I'm able to chat with friends on the other side of the world for free which would normally cost a pretty penny. Wait, no more pennies. Did you know it was actually costing 1.6 pennies to make a penny? That's why they're phasing out.

Feel free to share your skrill saving tips or ask any questions about the sites I mentioned :)