As-is items from IKEA carry the possibility of problems. Here are some questions to ask before you buy.
BUYER BEWARE | For years, although I popped into IKEA’s as-is section every time I visited the store, all I’d ever bought was a $10 lamp. Then recently I came across a Karlstad corner sofa in Isunda grey (like the one pictured above), usually $1,199, for $899. I had been thinking about buying a sectional for some time but never did anything about it. Now here was the very one I’d been eyeing for $300 off.
I asked why it was as-is and was told it was a return. Nothing seemed amiss: no snags, tears, stains, dents or sags. The Richmond IKEA has furnished its returns waiting area with Karlstad sofas in the same slipcover and they seem to be holding up well, plus a friend of mine has bought two as-is sofas from IKEA with no problems. And there it was, assembled and ready to go. I bought it.
Here are the questions I wish I had asked. Read more
Wool Power: Merino Tops At A Killer Price
/4 Comments/in Classics & Trends, Fashion & Beauty, View All Fashion Stories /by EditorI came for the goat but went home with the sheep: high-quality merino wool sweaters at a bargain basement price.
BIG DEAL | On the hunt for inexpensive cashmere, I trekked out to Costco last month to see whether their most recent shipment of Kirkland brand cashmere sweaters included the V-neck version in navy I’d been pining for. Sadly, it didn’t, and I was resigned to returning home without new apparel when I spotted a display table piled high with shockingly inexpensive V-neck sweaters in 100 percent merino wool. Read more
Make Fruit Filled Pie In Under Five Minutes
/4 Comments/in Easy + Quick = Delicious, FOOD, Food & Drink, View All Food Stories /by EditorThanksgiving dinner is not complete without pie. Time to pull out the butter puff pastry and whip up a quickie handcrafted plum tart. (RECIPE)
QUICK & DELISH | Though no one seems to know exactly where the American phrase “easy as pie” originated, it appears to have nothing to do with actually making pie—unless you’re making a rustic pie like the one pictured here, which, with minimal practice, really can be oven ready in minutes. Read more
Make Bedazzling Window Screen Wrap
/1 Comment/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 EditorKnock your present out of the park with pedestrian materials from ye olde hardware store.
CREATIVE SOLUTION | If you’re looking for an easy, dramatic and glamorous way to wrap a very special gift, nothing has the power to bedazzle like ordinary window screen and wire. Read more
Big Life Canada Wants To Save Elephant Lives
/0 Comments/in Culture & Leisure, HOW-TO KNOW-HOW, View All How-To Stories /by EditorElephants’ existence in the wild is threatened as never before. Here’s what Big Life Canada is doing about it.
DO GOOD | “A world without elephants—how could that be?” my friend Jean asked when I mentioned the subject recently. “I thought they had poaching under control in Africa.”
Not really. Read more
Questions To Ask When Buying IKEA As-Is
/3 Comments/in HOME, Home & Garden, View All Home Stories /by EditorAs-is items from IKEA carry the possibility of problems. Here are some questions to ask before you buy.
BUYER BEWARE | For years, although I popped into IKEA’s as-is section every time I visited the store, all I’d ever bought was a $10 lamp. Then recently I came across a Karlstad corner sofa in Isunda grey (like the one pictured above), usually $1,199, for $899. I had been thinking about buying a sectional for some time but never did anything about it. Now here was the very one I’d been eyeing for $300 off.
I asked why it was as-is and was told it was a return. Nothing seemed amiss: no snags, tears, stains, dents or sags. The Richmond IKEA has furnished its returns waiting area with Karlstad sofas in the same slipcover and they seem to be holding up well, plus a friend of mine has bought two as-is sofas from IKEA with no problems. And there it was, assembled and ready to go. I bought it.
Here are the questions I wish I had asked. Read more
It’s Pea Coat Weather! Our 6 Top Jacket Picks
/3 Comments/in CANADIAN CONTENT, Classics & Trends, FASHION, Fashion & Beauty /by EditorFall is pea coat weather. Here are six hot jackets that can handle the oncoming chill. (LOOKBOOK)
BUY RIGHT | While it may not possess the enduring absolutely-have-to-have status of an archetypal trench coat, the classic pea coat (it’s actually a jacket) is one of those iconic fashion items that enjoys recurring cachet. Read more
Make Frozen Puff Pastry Pizza Tonight
/1 Comment/in Easy + Quick = Delicious, Entertaining, FOOD, Food & Drink, View All Food Stories /by EditorMake this gorgeous Provençal Pizza with store-bought puff pastry in a matter of minutes.
EASY + GOOD | Puff pastry is a flaky, crispy ingredient found in a surprising array of show- stopping appetizers, entrées and sweets. Of course you can make it from scratch if you want—à la Julia, perhaps?—but quality premade products found in the freezer section of grocery stores work fine, too.
Author Martha Holmberg used mostly frozen puff pastry for the 50 interesting and original recipes featured in her cookbook Puff—mains like the pizza alternative she shares with Frugalbits readers here. Read more
Nuts Over Nougat
/2 Comments/in Easy + Quick = Delicious, FOOD, Food & Drink, View All Food Stories /by EditorThanks, Todd Selby, for introducing us to Didier Murat’s no-brainer nougat noir, the tastiest nut brittle ever.
EASY & DELISH | If you’re addicted to Internet food and home décor porn like I am, you already know who Todd Selby is and can scroll straight down to the bottom of this intro for an awesomely easy nougat noir recipe. It was part of a recent photo essay he did for the New York Times on an out-of-the-way French bakery in Vermont. Read more
Hamam Or Huckaback: The Linen Towel Option
/62 Comments/in HOME, Home & Garden, View All Home Stories /by EditorFed up with soaring energy bills? These stylish well-priced alternatives to triple-thick bath sheets could lead to savings.
SHOPPING AROUND | Leave it to sophisticated Europeans to promote a stylish/ecofriendly way to dry your body after bathing. Flip through any of their high-style décor magazines and you’ll run into references to both linen and flat cotton towels, which are a true and viable alternative to those triple-thick terrycloth bath sheets we North Americans appear to prize—a choice that has our dryers set on overtime and our energy bills on the rise. Read more
Make These Window Screen Candleholders
/6 Comments/in Columns, 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 EditorSure it’s great for keeping out bugs, but metal window screen also shines as a candleholder.