Story of the Day - Page 47 of 56

Bold, Beautiful Boots For Bargain-Hunter Babes

November 23, 2010/4 Comments/in CANADIAN CONTENT, Fashion & Beauty, Shops & Shopping /by carolannrule

Fashion writer Laurel Zapke tracks down bold, beautiful and bargain-priced boots for every season and reason imaginable.

SHOPPING AROUND | In Vancouver, it’s boot season all year long. The Kitsilano Chic girls wear fuzzy boots with bare legs and shorts in the summer evenings, while the uptown crowd wears thigh-highs with five-inch heels in any season. My favourites are soft black leather with a short chunky heel and zipped up comfortably to mid-calf. The only thing I love more than the way they feel is the price tag: less than $100. To help you track down your own favourites, we’ve done the footwork to find the most current styles with price tags under $200. Read more

The Cheapest, Chicest Hotels In Portland

November 22, 2010/2 Comments/in Travel /by carolannrule

With its surfeit of chic hotels for every taste, Portland is the perfect stylish and affordable getaway—especially now.

TRAVEL ADVISORY | Forget Seattle, Vancou- verites. For a getaway where the food is the hottest (just Google “Portland Food Scene” and you’ll see), the hotels are the coolest and the shopping is sales tax free, spend an extended weekend in Portland, Oregon, especially this time of year.

Why now? Because Portland hoteliers are heading into what they call the low season, when their already reasonable rates drop even more dramatically—and the chicest hotels are seriously budget priced. (These rates are even more attractive with the Canadian dollar currently at par.)

The 3 Cheapest Chicest Hotels In Portland Right Now Read more

Kelly Deck’s Top Sources For Home Decor & More

November 19, 2010/1 Comment/in CANADIAN CONTENT, Home & Garden, My5 Finds /by carolannrule

Top Vancouver interior designer and media personality Kelly Deck shares great + affordable sources for stylish things for your home.

Kelly Deck has immersed herself in the spirit and lifestyle of the West Coast design community. When she opened her interior décor boutique on Vancouver’s Main Street in 2002, she began a successful foray into homes and backyards, developing a design presence that champions the integrity of coast living and the importance of design.

Now the director of Kelly Deck Design in beachside Kitsilano, her full-service interior design firm specializes in private residences. Her ideas have gained national reach through her Globe and Mail column The West Coast Way; her HGTV series, Take It Outside; and her appearances on Urban Rush, CityLine TV and Breakfast Television.

Kelly Deck’s 5 free, cheap or worth it things to see, do or buy in Vancouver Read more

Easy Appie #2: Lesley Stowe’s Big City Bar Nuts

November 18, 2010/0 Comments/in FOOD, Food & Drink, View All Food Stories /by Editor

Before treating the world to her signature Raincoast Crisps, Vancouver chef Lesley Stowe served this sinfully simple—and quick—appetizer to her catering clients.

ENTERTAIN SMART | Long before Lesley Stowe began producing Raincoast Crisps, the one-of-a-kind, gourmet cracker-alternative she manufactures locally and distributes throughout North America, she owned and operated the most celebrated catering and specialty food emporium in Vancouver. From her charming (now closed) shop off Burrard Street, she and her team offered prepared dishes and imported food products from around the world and treated Vancouverites to a taste of delicacies previously unavailable in the city.

Known for her inventive mix of ingredients (to which Raincoast Crisps are a testament), Stowe says that Big City Bar Nuts were a favourite on her catering menu. “There are quite a few sweet and salty things out there, but our recipe added something on the savoury side. It’s the hint of rosemary that makes them stand out.”

This nut mixture, made in under 10 minutes, was a show-stopper then—and now! Read more

4 Sources For Big Rolls Of Great Holiday Gift-Wrap

November 17, 2010/2 Comments/in Goods & Services /by carolannrule

When buying holiday gift-wrapping paper, go big or go home.

SAVE MONEY + TIME | The most cost-effective time to buy Christmas wrap and ribbon is in January when it’s discounted by half or more. Almost as good is to buy it now in large and luxurious rolls. Not only is there a cost savings when you buy big, but there’s also the peace of mind from knowing you have enough paper no matter what shape or how large the gift. This year I’m going for stylish big-bulk rolls, and also for tough. I want paper that can stand up to peeking, paper that’s not bible-tissue wuss-wrap that tears at the slightest tug.

4 Great Local Sources For Big-Bulk Wrap Read more

Party Planning Made Easy: Try A Work-Back Schedule

November 12, 2010/6 Comments/in Goods & Services /by carolannrule

So much to do. So little time. Treat Christmas like a business and use a work-back schedule—you could find the season more enjoyable.

SAVE ON STRESS | Time to Hall out ye-old workback schedule If you’re like me, one month from now, December 12 to be exact, you will start to panic and pour on the holiday steam. You’ll shop madly, bake badly, decorate like a maniac and begin, finally, to think about the design for your custom Christmas card, kicking yourself as you do every year for not having jumped on it earlier. So much to be done in so little time and all of it accomplished in the evenings.

Christmas will never be as carefree for adults as it is for kids—we have too much work to do behind the scenes—but this year I’m going corporate and using a simplified version of a “work-back schedule” to get everything done in an unhurried, orderly and more enjoyable manner. Read more

Clean Down Comforters & Jackets Easily—At Home

November 11, 2010/1 Comment/in Home & Garden /by carolannrule

Could it be any easier to clean your down comforters and jackets at home?

SAVE YOUR MONEY | Have you checked recently to see what drycleaners charge to clean down comforters, pillows and jackets? Bloody expensive, this service! Drycleaners have their place to be sure, but paying them to fluff your down when you can do it yourself with minimal effort is silly. Read more

One Of These Masalas Is Not Like The Others . . .

November 9, 2010/0 Comments/in Brand X, FOOD, Food & Drink, View All Food Stories /by Glenys Morgan

Which of these masalas has chef Glenys Morgan planning a Bollywood night: Patak’s, The Curry Queen or Asian Home Gourmet?

We’ve found The Best Leather Bomber In Town

November 8, 2010/1 Comment/in CANADIAN CONTENT, FASHION, Fashion & Beauty, Shops & Shopping /by carolannrule

The jacket of the moment is the leather bomber—and the best-priced ones are in Vancouver.

CHEAP + CHIC | Whoever made up the Fashion Must-Have lists that appeared in Canadian magazines and newspapers this past fall overlooked a must-have that is everywhere on the streets in Europe right now: the leather bomber or members only/British moto jacket cross. Just back from Italy, my friend Amelia says stylish women of all ages were wearing this sort of outerwear in Rome and beyond; ditto, says fashion friend Kristy, who spotted leather bombers around Scandinavia two months ago.

No slouch when it comes to trends, Joe Fresh picked up on the bomber/moto craze, including a $49 polyurethane take on the style in its current collection. And cute though it is, we’re taking a pass because we’ve found a Vancouver jacket we like better made of genuine leather for a killer price. Read more

Shop With Alda Pereira, Designer Of The Year

November 5, 2010/0 Comments/in CANADIAN CONTENT, Home & Garden, My5 Finds /by carolannrule

Frugalbits goes shopping with Alda Pereira, western Canada’s 2010 interior designer of the year.

Already considered one of Canada’s top interior designers with many awards and plenty of ink in glossy publications to her credit, Alda Pereira added another feather to her cap last month when a jury of her peers recognized her as Western Living magazine’s 2010 interior designer of the year.

While her private residential projects and multi-unit development interiors are always a delight to the eye, Pereira is no “shrinking wallflower looking to please multitudes,” commented Western Living editor Anicka Quin, who appreciates Pereira’s “knack for pairing the unusual with the well tailored.”

We love Pereira’s talent too—and her personality, which despite her early and prolonged success, is refreshingly unaffected. Pereira admits she loves to shop “Unabashedly. Period,” she says, “especially window-shopping. Did I mention that it’s free?” Here she shares a few of her favourite haunts. Read more