But, despite my usual reluctance towards New Year’s resolutions, I’ve made a very important one this year: DANCE MORE, WORRY LESS.

Dancing is one of the best stress relievers I’ve found in life, and so over the past few years, I’ve found an awesome way to make dancing a regular part of my routine by being a den mother at Dance Dance Party Party Toronto. No idea what I’m talking about? Read on.

The short(-ish) and sweet summary: Dance Dance Party Party is a women-only freestyle dance session with only three rules: no boys, no booze, and no judgement. There are no instructors, and no dance moves to follow – it’s just an hour and 15 minutes of super fun dancing time! It’s like going out to the club with your friends, but you don’t have to dress up, pay cover, or get hit on by guys when you really just want to dance. And trust me, you don’t have to have ANY dancing talent whatsoever, either! We’re all just there to have fun.

I’m one of the co-organizers of the Toronto chapter (the original DDPP started back in 2006 in NYC), and I LOVE spreading the word about our dance parties. When I’m dancing in the Mad For Dance basement studio at 263 Adelaide St W., there’s really no place I’d rather be.

Want to join in on the fun? We’ll be getting our groove on in January on the 5th and 19th, both from 3:30-5pm at Mad For Dance. Get all the details over at DDPP Toronto.

I started a new job at the beginning of January, and for the past two months I’ve been absolutely loving my new position as Web Content Coordinator for CityLine.ca at Citytv here in Toronto. Every day I get to work on managing and coordinating content for our website and social media accounts (namely Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest), as well as writing original pieces for the site, too. (Oh, and I also get to watch the show being taped every day while I take photos down in the studio – super fun!) This past week, I wrote an article that I’m particularly proud of and excited about because it’s about the obsession I referenced at the beginning of this post…tea!

Yep, I wrote a beginner’s guide to loose leaf tea, all about why you should be drinking loose leaf and what you need to know about all of the different tea families. And best of all, the article also features quotes from David Segal, the co-founder of DAVIDsTEA, whom I interviewed for the piece! I’m a huge DAVIDsTEA junkie, so getting to interview the man behind the tea was an incredible opportunity for me. Here’s an excerpt from the article:

Whether you’re an ardent coffee drinker or you’ve been sipping green tea for years in order to reap the health benefits, you’ve no doubt realized that “tea culture” has invaded North America in recent years, and it’s not all coming in little round bags anymore. While tea has long since been a popular drink in Great Britain and Asia, it’s only in more recent years that Canadians and Americans have truly latched on to the tea craze, helping to make it the second most consumed beverage on the planet, after water. David Segal, co-founder of loose-leaf tea shop DAVIDsTEA, isn’t surprised that North Americans are jumping onto the bandwagon. “It can fit into your lifestyle so easily. You can have it in the morning or in the evening, it can be energizing, relaxing, soothing, or it can engage the senses. [...] It’s such a diverse product,” explains Segal.

But why have loose leaf teas, in particular, become so popular and why should you choose them over the convenient bagged options? In terms of quality, loose leaf tea offers a fuller flavour than a bagged tea – this is namely due to the differing size of the tea leaves between the two forms of tea. While loose leaf tea is made of full or slightly broken leaves, bagged tea is made up of tea fannings, which are small bits and pieces of tea; when tea leaves get smaller, they dry out and their natural taste starts to dwindle. For the same reasons, loose leaf tea holds up better to multiple infusions of the same leaves – just pour some more hot water over the same tea leaves and literally get some more bang for your buck!

Want to read more? It’s all over here on CityLine.ca!

Are you a tea junkie or are you interested in trying out some more teas? Let’s talk tea in the comments – I’m really good at making tasting suggestions!

To briefly sum up some of my reading highlights in 2011, here are the winners in a few categories, with my brief Goodreads reviews attached (and if you want to see everything I read in 2011, you can check out my 2011 Reading Challenge bookshelf on Goodreads – and you can friend me over there, too):

Best New Book (published in 2011): Half-Blood Blues by Esi Edugyan

This book easily and thoroughly swept me up in its magic, transporting me directly into the times and places inhabited by its characters. Despite a few slower sections, the story was incredibly compelling and kept me on my toes right until the very end. The characters were excellently realized and although the period/cultural slang was a bit off-putting in the beginning, it quickly became very natural and definitely helped to immerse me in the story.

Best YA Book: The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie and When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead (tie)

Fascinating YA read for young adults and adults alike. Alexie’s characterization of Junior is flawless and engaging, and the story’s exploration of both race issues and the struggles of growing up is just as messy and compelling as real life. Really great read, and I look forward to reading more of Alexie’s books.

Absolutely fantastic book. A delight to read and incredibly enjoyable to try to unravel its very clever mystery. If you loved Madeleine L’Engle’s A Wrinkle in Time as a kid (I know I did!), you definitely must read this. Its plot is integral to When You Reach Me, but Stead’s book is still extremely charming and clever even if you have no knowledge of its related predecessor. I read a lot of YA, but this is definitely one of the very best books of that genre that I’ve read in a while.

Best Canadian Book: The Incident Report by Martha Baillie

The concept of this novel was brilliant and expertly executed. Don’t for a second think that the storytelling might be limited by the incident report style – quite the opposite, in fact. Baillie’s prose is beautiful and detailed as she intertwines reports from her love life, her past, and actual library interactions. A quick and engaging read that you’ll easily gobble up.

Best Short Story Collection: Once by Rebecca Rosenblum

Such a wonderful debut collection of stories. Rebecca Rosenblum is all at once self-assured and tentative, harsh and tender. A captivating look at human relationships. I’m really looking forward to reading her new collection, The Big Dream.

And because I love stats, here’s a few key stats I pulled out from my 2011 reading list:

Fiction: 44
Non-Fiction: 6

Female Author: 36
Male Author: 14

Canadian Author: 28
Non-Canadian Author: 22

Adult Book: 30
YA/Kids Book: 20

Paperback/Hardcover: 33
E-Book: 17

As for 2012, I still have a goal of reading 50 books (and you can follow my 2012 Reading Challenge on Goodreads, too – I’m still currently on book #1, Come, Thou Tortoise by Jessica Grant), but I’m not sure if I should try to put any other structures around my to-read list. I want to continue reading at least 50% Canadian authors (I was at 56% in 2011), and I enjoyed reading 40% YA/Kids books last year. Looking at my stats, I feel like I should increase my non-fiction reading, but I rarely feel the pull towards non-fiction, like I do towards fiction.

What were some of your favourite reads in 2011? And what are your reading goals for 2012?

This may be a story about superheroes (and comic book fans will definitely love that aspect), but even more it’s a heartbreaking yet heartwarming tale of an outsider who must beat the odds in winning back his true love. Kaufman’s main character Tom is an everyman to the extreme, surrounded by the extraordinary – I mean, his friends are actually superheroes, from the Perfectionist to the Amphibian. Funny, sweet, and oh-so-relatable, Tom lives in a version of Toronto that you have to read to believe. I dare you to find a book that packs a better punch in only 100 pages.

Check out my full recommendation over on the Advent Book Blog…and if you want to buy the book (and I obviously think you should!) go on and buy it from Coach House Books, who just added it to their holiday sale thanks to my Advent Book Blog recommendation. If you buy it through their site before December 31, you’ll get 25% off the list price and it’s free shipping, too!

I’ve been a huge Muppets fan straight since childhood, so needless to say, I’ve been more than a little excited in these past couple of weeks leading up to the release of The Muppets tonight. I’ve been doing some excellent prep work, too:

• I watched the ever-wonderful The Muppet Movie, and the new-to-me yet totally amazing TV special The Muppets at Walt Disney World;
• I listened to awesome Muppet albums, like the recently released cover album, The Green Album and the great collection of classics, The Muppet Show: Music, Mayhem & More! The 25th Anniversary Collection;
• I watched Kermit in interview with Jian Ghomeshi, Kermit in interview with George Stroumboulopoulos, and various Muppets make appearances on Saturday Night Live while Jason Segel hosted (the highlight of which was Really?!? with Seth & Kermit, which I can only find on the NBC site and can’t be viewed in Canada – BOO!);
• I bought both “Gettin’ Miss Piggy With It” and “Warm & Fozzie” from OPI’s The Muppets collection.

And now today, while preparing to do a rather generic “made me smile” post about the Muppets, I came across something that seriously made me smile. In conjunction with the official Muppets site, Disney has created a website for an online video project called The Never-Ending Mahna Mahna Phenomahna. It invites viewers to record their own version of them saying/singing/shouting “Mahna Mahna”, which it then adds to a never-ending loop of people singing “Mahna Mahna” with the original muppets spliced in between. The loop currently includes lots of average folks, and some fun celebrity drop-ins, too, including Jason Segel, Sarah Silverman, Bret McKenzie, Ken Jeong, and more. Oh, and me, it includes me.

I can’t embed it, unfortunately, but click here to see me make a fool of myself singing “Mahna Mahna”. AND, if you want to waste 3 minutes doing something fun, click on the button below my video that says “Join This One” and join my Mahna Mahna chain!

Want something to tell me in the comments other than how dorky my video is? Tell me about your love for the Muppets, your favourite Muppet, or your favourite Muppets song!

Those of you who know me well, likely know that I love postcards. What you might not have realized yet, however, is that I really like to start new blogs. It’s a bit of a strange habit, considering that so many people have trouble keeping up one blog, let alone multiple ones. But as I said to a friend recently, I often think of things in terms of “how can I put this on the internet”, so running several blogs makes sense for me.

But back to the postcards. This love was definitely fostered at a young age as my parents are avid postcard collectors, as well. For as long as I can remember, my parents’ fridge has been covered in postcards sent by family and friends on trips all around the world. So, naturally, I’ve begun to collect postcards on my own fridge, and now that my parents are retired, the majority of the cards I receive actually end up being from them! So since I’m fortunate enough to have a rather solid archive of postcards (and since I like to think about how I can put things on the internet), I recently decided to photograph my postcard collection and post them online, through a new blog I’ve called Picturing Postcards. In addition to posting the photos and a brief bit of information about who sent the postcard and where it’s from, I’m also adding each card to a public Google Map so that we can see where all my postcards have come from. I’ve only posted six cards so far, but the map is already looking really cool, if I may say so myself.

Currently I’m planning to post at least two new postcards a week – I’m hoping that once I finish cataloguing my archives, I’ll still be receiving enough new ones in the mail to maintain that schedule! And if you’re going a trip, why don’t you send me a postcard? Friends, don’t forget to email me and ask for my address!

On the second last day of my trip, my best friend and I spent the afternoon in Canmore, one of the most lovely little towns I’ve ever visited. Every which way you turn you’re surrounded by mountains. It’s truly magical. So while my friend and I were browsing through some cute gift shops, I noticed the most smile-worthy little notebook, pictured below:

It’s hard not to smile when reading a list of so many perfect things. Many of the items on this notebook would be on my happy list, too, but one run of five in a row particularly jumped out at me: ice cream sundaes, a good book, a cup of tea, a bubble bath, blue skies.

So I’m cheating and picking those five things…but still, I ask you: What is the one thing you think of that always makes you smile?

Anyway, about two years ago, I found out about an awesome monthly event in Toronto that would allow me to fulfill my love for dancing in a public, non-judgemental environment. Dance Dance Party Party Toronto has only three rules: no boys, no booze and no judgement. And every time I go, I always have one of the most fun Sunday afternoons ever.

So since I’m one of DDPP’s biggest fangirls, I was obviously ecstatic when I was recently asked to join the ranks of the Toronto organizers and become DDPP Toronto’s newest “den mother”. As a den mother, you’ll see me at almost all of the dance parties (not that I wasn’t almost always there before!), but I’ll also be helping with all the behind-the-scenes work of scheduling the dates, updating the website, making the playlists, and promoting like crazy. Since coming on board, I’ve set us up with a Twitter account, and if you’re into all things fun and dance-y, go follow us @DDPPToronto. You can also join our Facebook group, and follow our blog to keep up-to-date on our latest dance party news. Currently we’re running one dance party a month on a Sunday afternoon, but we’re considering moving to bi-weekly dance parties if we get enough demand!

So if you’re a lady who lives in or near Toronto, why don’t you come out and dance with us this Sunday, October 23? The party runs from 3:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. at Mad For Dance (263 Adelaide St. W.) and admission is $8 at the door. Bring a gal pal with you and I guarantee that you’ll double your fun!

If you have any questions about DDPP, let me know! And if you’re looking for something to tell me in the comments, why not share your favourite guilty pleasure dance song?

As I try to breathe some new life into this blog (First step: redesign! I’m loving my new theme, and I hope you all do, too!), I’ve been trying to open my mind to new things that I might want to write about here and share with the world. One thing I’m always in search of, both online and off, are things that make me smile. I’m the kind of person that can easily let stress and worries get the best of me, so one of the ways I keep that under control is by focusing on finding things that make me smile, no matter how big or how small. To help spread some more happiness out into the world, I thought I’d start a regular blog feature where I can share things that “made me smile”, and I hope that they’ll help add some more smiles to your day, too.

For my inaugural “made me smile” post, I wanted to share my new favourite YouTube video meme, what I’m calling “The Disney Surprise”. Apparently there are tons of videos on YouTube featuring parents surprising their kids with trips to either Walt Disney World or Disneyland. Most of these videos feature the parents telling the kids about the trip at home on the day they’re leaving, in the car on the way to the airport, or, in one of them, as they’re driving through the Walt Disney World gates. The sheer joy on these kids’ faces and their often priceless reactions make me smile so hard, and I want to share my top 3 favourites with you:

1. Lily’s Disneyland Surprise

Lily’s video was the first of these videos that I watched, and it not only made me smile, but it made me cry a bit, too. Lily’s reaction once she figures out her big birthday surprise is incredibly sweet and heartwarming.

2. Best Disney Surprise EVER!!!!!

The girl in this one is cute, but the boy is the BEST. Again, I love how he reacts when he figures it out. Priceless.

3. A Disney World Surprise

“You HAVE to be kidding!” I love this one because the kids pretty much refuse to believe their parents are telling the truth. So cute.

BONUS: Jamin’s Downtown Disney Flashmob Proposal

And this one’s a bonus because it’s just so adorable and sweet and totally made me smile (and cry, I’ll admit it!), even though it’s not part of “The Disney Surprise” meme. A flashmob dance + Disney + a cute proposal = win.

Tell me: What made you smile this week? Share something that made you smile in the comments!

Photo: Cinderella Castle in Technicolor by Peter E. Lee on Flickr

Bonus points for anyone who can find me in the above photo! Photo by Jon Lim.

Ladies Learning Code, “a collective of women working to empower everyone to feel comfortable learning basic, beginner-friendly technical skills in a social, collaborative way” has run two workshops so far in Toronto and I’ve happily attended and loved both. So far I’ve learned about HTML/CSS and JavaScript, and I just love the concept and atmosphere of learning about web development amongst other brilliant and fascinating women. I loved it so much, that I eagerly agreed to chat with the fantastic Bronwyn Kienapple last week for an article she was writing for Torontoist. The article came out this week, and here’s a sneak peek of what I had to say:

Two-time attendee Suzanne Gardner, a writer, editor, and social media marketer by trade, has no background in coding. She pins herself as a typical Ladies Learning Code workshopper: grateful to have a friendly space to test out the world of tech.

“Not that I would be against working with men, but I like that [female-only] aspect of Ladies Learning Code,” said Gardner. “I am a somewhat feminist so I like that it inspires women to enter this industry and educate themselves about web development.”

Clearly I write a bit better than I speak, because I would’ve sounded way less awkward if I had said “I consider myself to be somewhat of a feminist”. Honestly, self. Anyway, go read the rest of the article over at Torontoist. And if you’re in Toronto with nothing to do tonight, why not join me at the Ladies Learning Code Launch Party?