Overwhelmed? Under-supported? Feel like you run out of time to do the things you need to do each and every day? You’re not alone. To preserve your sanity–or at least to minimize the craziness–try tackling one of the tips below every week, or month. (Don’t, after all, get overwhelmed by a list of things to help get organized!)

1. Write it all down

It may seem like a trick as old as time, but making lists is by far the easiest way to keep on top of things. Whether you’ve got a colour-coded day planner or a simple pen and paper, a to-do list can be one of the most powerful tools you have. It doesn’t stop with lists, though! Planning your outfits, your meals, your shopping trips, and more can give you a sense of direction that will put a halt on any procrastination.

READ MORE

Canvas gallery wrap? Metal print? Or a simple enlargement? There is no wrong answer; it all depends on the effect you’re after.

So…was that a summer, or was that a summer? Hopefully, a couple of months from now when, as the song says, you’re out there standing in that cold November rain, you’ll be able to look back fondly on your epic summer. Which is why, wherever you went and whatever you did to make the most of the warm weather, you’ll be glad you remembered to bring your camera along.

Assuming you took full advantage of the long, sunny days and captured a bounty of fun action shots at the beach, the pool, or on the boat—not to mention some gorgeous scenic shots as well—the time has come to ask the question I always ask here on the Photoblog: what are you planning to do with them? Especially since I’m going to further assume that you’ve already posted them all over your social media. Are you just going to let them linger in the cloud forever as they gradually fade from your memory? Because that would be a grave injustice to two things: this glorious, who-knows-if-we’ll-see-another-like-it summer; and your photography skills, because if you’re proud enough of a picture you took that you’d post it on social media, it’s good enough to hang on your wall.

READ MORE

Last year I wrote a blog leading up to Vinyl Record Day about the resurgence of Vinyl. At that time I wrote about vinyl being pushed to the brink of extinction by a superior (that is of course up for debate) technology, the CD. The Cassette, followed by the CD, followed again by the MP3 seemed poised to make vinyl a thing only found at flea markets and yard sales. Then a funny thing happened. Vinyl sales started to increase. Of course, these increases were never going to threaten the digital industry giants but it was an increase none the less.

Since writing that blog last year and not surprisingly, vinyl has further accelerated its growth rate, perhaps even more than some had expected. As reported by Billboard (US), vinyl sales were up 53% over the same period last year in Quarter one. To many, this is simply amazing! To the writer and our Buyers, it’s what we both hoped for and anticipated. Again, borrowed from Billboard (Thanks guys!), vinyl sales have increased 260% since 2009 selling an astounding 9.2 million units. Of that 9.2 million albums sold, some titles recorded sales of over 100,000 units. The Beatles “Abbey Road” and Bon Iver’s “For Emma Forever Ago” were two of those albums. I’d like to mention that both of those are available at your local London Drugs! Billboard’s top 5 titles for 2015 year to date are as follows: (also available at London Drugs).

1. Taylor Swift, 1989 (34,000)
2. Sufjan Stevens, Carrie & Lowell (32,000)
3. Arctic Monkeys, AM (27,000)
4. Alabama Shakes, Sound & Color (26,000)
5. Miles Davis, Kind of Blue (23,000)

Recognizing the trend before it really took off, our Audio/Video buyers here at London Drugs pushed for our stores to be a leader in North American vinyl sales. (Admittedly, they’ve been long time, avid vinyl supporters which most certainly played a part). Starting in 2012 with Pink Floyd’s “The Wall”, we have since grown our total catalogue to over 700 titles! When in your local London Drugs you can browse through approximately 450 titles. If that store doesn’t satisfy your hunger, you can go online and peruse through roughly 250 additional titles. I’d also like to add that we will ship your online vinyl order to you free when you spend $25 or more all throughout this summer!

I can talk about vinyl for hours. Some of my best memories from my early years were playing vinyl with my dad and listening to him talk about tracking down a rare album. It is a unique, organic sound that cannot be replicated, it’s also a physical experience that digital simply cannot replicate, starting with the hunt for a title, the purchase and anticipation of playback, the opening, and the physical playback while simultaneously enjoying the album art and liner notes. If you don’t understand what I mean, stop by your local London Drugs and ask a Service Specialist to spin some vinyl for you. It should all make sense shortly after the needle drops.

Josh Halliday
@LD_StVital

The Secrets She Keeps by Deb Caletti
When Callie McBride finds a woman’s phone number written on a scrap of paper her husband has thrown away, she thinks that her marriage is over. Callie flees to Nevada and her Aunt Nash’s Tamarosa Ranch, where she’s shocked to see that the place of so many happy childhood memories is in disrepair. Worse, Aunt Nash is acting bizarrely – hoarding stacks of old photographs, burying a book in the yard, and railing against Kit Covey, a handsome government park ranger who piques Callie’s interest.
But Aunt Nash may prove to be saner than she seems once Callie pulls back the curtain on Tamarosa’s heydey – the 1940s and ’50s, when high-society and Hollywood women ventured to the ranch for quickie divorces and found a unique sisterhood – and uncovers a secret promise Nash made to her true love. Callie will come to see that no life is ever ordinary. No story of love is either.

READ MORE