Bosa Food Products - C. Phaisalakani

Could Bosa Foods Be Our Italian Costco?

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Could Bosa Foods be the “Italian Costco?” In some ways it certainly is.

Bosa Food Products - C. PhaisalakaniSHOPPING AROUND | In 1960, when my grandmother lived two blocks up from the original Bosa Foods on Victoria Drive, I remember being a curious five-year-old suburban kid standing in the store, totally in awe, wishing I had easy access to so many noodles back in Burnaby.

Bosa has been selling an unrivalled selection of imported Italian specialties since 1957, and in 2006 finally opened a spacious second store off Boundary Road near 1st Avenue. Called the “Italian Costco” by some, the new store has a very un-Costco-like Tuscan bell tower, but the description does fit the generous supply and variety of free samples—cheeses, biscotti, mini cannolis, pizza and breads—offered. Read more

Nu Food Cart Souvlaki

Carmen Ruiz y Laza Shares Her Vancouver

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Media relations maven and woman about town Carmen Ruiz y Laza shares her sources for looking good and living well without breaking the bank.

Nu Food Cart SouvlakiA hyper-connected media relations specialist with clients who have ranged from Cartier and Hermès to the Vancouver Opera and United Way, Carmen Ruiz y Laza knows what’s what and who’s who in Vancouver. As a producer of high-profile events like the Fashionista’s Ball (see our story here), she always needs to be well-turned out. Originally from Spain, Carmen follows the old European tradition of wearing timeless classics. She invests in a few really good quality items in neutral colours and wears them for years. Here are her five cheap, free or worth-it things to do, see or buy in Vancouver. Read more

Phoning Using The Computer

Get A Free Phone Line With A Dedicated ###

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With this free service, you can use a dedicated number to make and receive long-distance calls from your computer—and have incoming calls rerouted to your landline or cell. Sweeet!

Phoning Using The ComputerWASTE NOT | Living Rich by Spending Smart author Gregory Karp says telecom- munications, along with food and insurance, are three of the biggest recurring expenses in every adult’s life, so to achieve “financial fitness” you should avoid waste in these areas first.

In an effort to staunch the telecommunications hemorrhaging that goes on in our house, I signed up for Google Voice (CLICK HERE for our story), a software program that allows those with a Gmail account to make free long-distance calls (through 2011, anyway) all over North America via computer. I’ve used “GV” to make free calls to the U.S. but found the sound quality so hit and miss (I’m told it’s Beta software) that it prompted me to try another free software for calls in Canada. This one has provided me with consistently clear reception—plus some bells and whistles. Read more

PS Maskros pendant lamps

These 3 Paper Pendant Lights Are Must Haves

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Nothing makes a unlit corner or a dining room come alive quicker and with more personality than a show-stopping pendant lamp (or three). These inexpensive paper versions are more than up to the task.

PS Maskros pendant lampsCHIC + CHEAP | It is not a stretch to attribute our current fascination with exotic pendant lighting to the return of the chandelier. After years of living with residential lighting programs dominated by invisible pot lights or tech-looking track, the glittery old-as-Methuselah chandelier showed up a decade ago to re-bedazzle the design world—and rekindle our interest in ceiling-hung light fixtures of all sorts, including these delicious ones made of paper, priced from $5 to $99. Read more

CP Company Spring/Summer-2011

3 Sample Sales You Need To Know About Now

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3 high-quality warehouse and sample sales you need to know about right now.

CP Company Spring/Summer-2011Whether he’s a hipster, a dude or a dandy, this weekend our hearts belong to daddy, with steals on duds for the fashion-conscious men in our lives. Plus beautiful merchandise for women too, including top-brand swimwear. These sample sales are definitely three to go see. —Melissa Lawson

(SHARE this information with a friend at the bottom of the post; SUBMIT your deep discount fashion sale for our biweekly listing by leaving a note in the comments.) Read more

Skunk

Skunk Got The Pooch? Here’s What To Do

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It’s that time of year, when spray-happy juvenile skunks wreak havoc on pooches everywhere. Here’s our popular recipe to get rid of the stink.

SkunkBE PREPARED | Sometimes it’s impossible to determine the genesis of an urban myth, but there is good reason to believe that David Cassidy and the rest of the Partridge Family clan either started or fanned the flame of fallacy by suggesting tomato juice removes skunk scent from dogs. The truth is it doesn’t, though it might temporarily mask the odour. In a now famous 1970 television episode, the family dog, Simone, and all the kids wound up bathing in gallons of the red stuff after a run-in with a certain Pepe Le Pew. Eeeew.

With skunk season now in full force and the air filled with the scent so familiar to Metro Vancouverites, Frugalbits decided to put together what we call a (pre)-Catastrophe Kit. The ingredients are small (and inexpensive) and the instructions are few, but preparing a deskunking kit in advance will save you time and stress should an altercation ensue. Read more

Sarong

The Sarong Is An All Around Perfect Wrap

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Stylish and reasonably priced, the breezy sarong is the Swiss Army knife of summer fashion.

SarongCHIC & EASY | A sarong—the Malay word for covering—is a large rectangle of airy fabric common in warm climates as the cornerstone of a wardrobe to keep you cool yet covered up. These versatile pieces of cloth can be worn as skirts, dresses, tops and scarves. Read more

In A Small Kitchen cookbook

Great Gifts For Grads & Starting-Out Cooks

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These two how-to recipe books make thoughtful gifts for grads or other young starting-out cooks.

In A Small Kitchen cookbookCOOK THESE BOOKS | Given the frenetic lifestyle of working parents who spend every spare moment shuttling multiple kids to extra- curricular activities and almost no time sitting down with them for dinner, it’s no wonder young adults have gotten into the habit of grabbing snacks on the fly, relying on prepared meals (even good-quality ones) and watching pros whip up real food on the cooking channel rather than attempting to do it themselves.

In an effort to reverse this state of affairs and encourage twentysomethings to discover the joy of cooking, we recommend the following cookbooks, which make perfect starting-out gifts. Read more

Vista d'Oro jam

Celebrities Pick Foods They Use In a Pinch

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Vancouver’s top chefs, cooking instructors and food writers weigh in on the tinned, packaged and frozen products they reach for in a pinch.

Vista d'Oro jamSAVE TIME | Much as we might like to make every dish we eat from scratch, we don’t always have the time to do it. Even top food professionals cheat with premade products on occasion, which is why we asked three top foodies—critics, writers, chefs and instructors—to reveal the tinned, packaged or frozen ingredients they reach for  in a pinch. Read more

Great Teeth, Beautiful Smiles

Forget Mexico: Get Dental Work Done Here

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Mexico isn’t the only place where dental work costs less. Here’s where to get high-quality, lower-priced work done locally.

Great Teeth, Beautiful SmilesSPENDING SMARTER | With the high cost of specialty dental work in North America, it’s no wonder Canadians, especially those without dental insurance, flock to Mexico when they need multiple crowns or bridges. Whole communities like Los Algodones, which is minutes over the Arizona border and boasts 350 dentists, have grown up all along the U.S.-Mexico divide to churn out crowns priced as low as $150 to $350 (in Vancouver a metal-ceramic crown costs on average between $900 and $1,000). Read more