July 2012 - Frugalbits

Use Meal Train To Take Food To Sick Friends

July 27, 2012/5 Comments/in FOOD, Food & Drink, View All Food Stories /by Editor

Popping by with a casserole for someone who is ill or in distress is a time-honoured tradition. Now, the free website mealTrain.com takes the guesswork out of when and what to bring.

ON THE DOWNLOAD | A dear cousin who lives several hours away recently had major surgery. When I offered to come cook for her and her husband while she convalesced, she said she would welcome a visit but that meal prep had been generously wiped off her plate. “I’ve got a meal train coming,” she explained. Read more

Flower arrangement by Brendan Power-Martin Tessler

Decorate The Table For Summer Dinner Parties

July 25, 2012/2 Comments/in D.I.Y., DECOR & DESIGN, DIY, HOME, HOW-TO KNOW-HOW, View All DIY Stories, View All Home Stories, View All How-To Stories /by Editor

Fresh ideas from the garden set the table—and the scene for summer entertaining.

If you are planning a summer dinner party and want to decorate the table in a way that’s fresh and easy, here’s a spin on the current penchant for using formal table arrangements made of single flower variety in a single colour packed tightly into a vase. Read more

Products We Love From Local Molo Design

July 23, 2012/0 Comments/in CANADIAN CONTENT, Culture & Leisure, DECOR & DESIGN, HOME, View All Home Stories /by Editor

The latest architectural offering from molo, Canada’s magicians of light (both natural and manufactured)—plus four of our favourite molo products.

PRICELESS | This little story has nothing to do with our ongoing conversation about saving money, time or energy, but it is about celebrating hometown design heroes—molo’s Stephanie Forsythe and Todd MacAllen—and visually devouring their latest creation, an activity that’s absolutely free. Read more

Where To Have Your Own Silhouette Cut

July 20, 2012/0 Comments/in Culture & Leisure /by Editor

Renowned silhouette artist Karl “Scissorhands” Johnson will be in West Vancouver this Sunday to preserve your profile for posterity.

MONEY WELL SPENT | Do you think that the up-tick of interest in scissor-cut silhouette portraits is a reaction to the fact that camera phone mug shots are ubiquitous and—Instagram aside—so ordinary? Probably not, but handmade silhouette portraits do feel like a fresh and charming alternative to digital. They also feel nostalgic in the way print film photographs and handwritten letters do—only cooler. Read more

Make These Driftwood Tealight Candlesticks

July 16, 2012/0 Comments/in D.I.Y., DECOR & DESIGN, DIY, HOME, HOW-TO KNOW-HOW, View All DIY Stories, View All Home Stories, View All How-To Stories /by Editor

With the proper size drill bit, you can turn pieces of driftwood and tealights into elemental candlesticks.

THE CREATIVE SOLUTION | When you think of craft projects involving driftwood, does your mind meander back to the mid-1970s and wall hangings made of macramé and driftwood? Where 70s-style craft projects tended to be hippie-like and folksy, the current spin is toward Zen-like minimalism. Materials are organic and weathered, but shapes are defined and graphic, together evoking a calm, spiritual quality. In a word: elemental. These candleholders are my nod to the return of organic. Read more

Entertain “Kinfolk” Style This Summer

July 13, 2012/2 Comments/in Culture & Leisure, Entertaining, FOOD, View All Food Stories /by Editor

Instead of booking a last-minute summer trip, take a page from Kinfolk magazine —and make the most of staying home.

SUMMER FARE | If you use the school calendar—June through August—as a way to measure summer days and have yet to find the time to get away or relax absolutely, you have six weeks remaining to do something fun and seasonal. But these six weeks will slip away on you like the last six did if you don’t make kicking back a priority. Read more

The Perfect Planter Box For Wee Gardeners

July 10, 2012/0 Comments/in GARDEN, Gardening How-To, Home & Garden, View All Garden Stories /by Editor

On sale right now at Pottery Barn Kids, this planter is perfect for wee gardeners or patio gardens.

SUPER VALUE | If you want your kids to fall in love with gardening, it’s a good idea to get them digging early. To very young children, popping their first seeds in soil, watching them come up and then harvesting the fruits of their labour is powerful magic.

When I was in Pottery Barn Kids a few weeks ago, I spotted the rectangular galvanized planter shown in the photo above (on the left) and thought finally a decent-size soil receptacle raised to just the right height so little people can easily tend and keep an eye on seeds they’ve sowed (it’s also the perfect size for adults wanting to grow herbs or a small crop of salad vegetables). Read more

Where To Find Asian Blue & White Dishes

July 9, 2012/0 Comments/in DECOR & DESIGN, HOME, Home & Garden, View All Home Stories /by Editor

Gorgeous, everyday blue and white dinnerware from around the Pacific Rim is inexpensive and plentiful. Here’s where to find it right now.

CHEAP & PERFECT | Sam Carter introduced me to the joy of collecting inexpensive Asian blue and white dishes. Carter, who is now professor emeritus at Emily Carr University of Art and Design in Vancouver and currently working on a variety of innovative international projects—including facilitating internships for Emily Carr students in China, Malaysia, Vietnam, Philippines, Japan and Korea—has, for the longest time, picked up antique and contemporary blue and white dishes wherever he touches down. Read more

Chew On These Three Sugarless Gum Brands

July 6, 2012/10 Comments/in Fitness & Health, HEALTH, Nutrition, View All Health Stories /by Editor

Some sugarless chewing gum is not like the others: these three brands are actually good for your teeth.

BUY RIGHT | A chewer from way back, I could tell you I gobble gum because it stimulates the production of saliva which has been scientifically proven to help neutralize acid erosion on tooth enamel—but really it’s because I’m a fresh breath fanatic and mints and sprays leave me with a dry mouth. Read more

The Write Stuff: Notebooks From Daiso

July 4, 2012/0 Comments/in CANADIAN CONTENT, Goods & Services, HOME, Organizing, View All Home Stories /by Editor

If it’s a proper notebook you need, there is no better—or less expensive—place to buy one than at Daiso, our favourite $2 store.

CHEAP & PERFECT | Say what you will about the note-taking capabilities of a laptop, smartphone or tablet, sometimes it’s more satisfying—and quicker—to write stuff on actual paper. For me, jotting works best on notebooks that are both attractive and quirky, and the best selection of these kinds of notebooks I know of is at Daiso, my favourite dollar-style store. Read more