
The Fairmont Empress on Victoria Harbour
March 16, 2009
The Fairmont Empress on Victoria Harbour
March 13, 2009
So recession kinda sucks huh? Seems every day it gets a little harder to justify an evening out when the sky is apparently falling. The way I see it, we can either cloister ourselves at home with our favourite depressant (in my case, Bombay Sapphire) and wait the downturn out–or, we can get out there and lift a budget-friendly glass to better times.
Win a Zin gift certificate!
Think you can’t afford an after-work get-together with friends right now? Not true! Check out the great $2 tapas menu on offer between 4 and 7 pm at Zin on Robson from March 16 to April 30.
Executive chef Karen Gin’s menu of toonie treats includes mac & Jack (with a hit of Jack Daniels), chili lime-glazed chicken wings, naan pizza, braised short rib poutine, and my personal all-time lounge-food fave: truffle popcorn.
Zin is one of my two favourite martini bars in Vancouver (more about the other one later) and I’ve got a $50 gift certificate to Zin to give away in a random draw on March 27. To enter, just leave a comment answering these three important questions:
Make sure I can get in touch with you, and good luck! (And if just can’t wait to win, make sure you make Happy Hour reservations: call Zin at 604.408.1700.)
PS: Blog about this contest at your own site with a link back here and you’ll get a second chance to win!
March 12, 2009
It’s spring break in BC’s Lower Mainland and that pretty much guarantees a gloomy weather forecast. (Old joke: how do you know what the weather’s doing in Vancouver? Easy: if you can’t see the mountains it means it’s raining and if you can see the mountains, it means it’s going to rain.)
You can’t let the wet stuff dampen your holiday spirit. Just grab the Gore-Tex and a sturdy brolly (the cheerful, wind-resistant offerings from Vancouver’s Cheeky Umbrellas are well worth the bucks) and make like a local with some of these recommended rainy-day pastimes:
Vancouver loves a Cheeky Umbrella
Where do you like to pass a rainy day in the Lower Mainland? Please share your suggestions!
March 1, 2009
Aboard BC Ferries' Queen of Capilano
Surrounded on three sides by ocean and spattered like a Jackson Pollock painting with crystalline lakes and historic rivers, Canada’s magnificent landscape is perhaps best viewed from its myriad waterways. Sure, you could take in the iconic wilderness scenery on a luxury cruise through British Columbia’s Inside Passage. But if you’re pressed for time or money, there are plenty of other ways to experience Canada at “see”-level.
Highly recommended day-trips:
Have I missed any? Let me know!
February 26, 2009
Hockey is a big hairy deal around our house. It’s like a white noise (well, sometimes more like a black noise) that hums along in the background between October and April. And while I myself am not a hockey-head, I cannot escape its influence: since he discovered the sport in Grade 5, my now-teenaged son’s moods have been inextricably linked to his team’s divisional standings. I find Adam’s loyalty to the Canucks rather endearing: he will not abandon them, even though he knows they will inevitably break his heart.
Slap Shot
So how do I–the woman who once embarrassed her son by cheering for another team’s goal because she didn’t know they switched sides after each period–plan to bond with my hockey patriot this spring break? Easy: we are going to the movies. Hockey movies.
We’ll be heading downtown to the Vancouver International Film Centre to catch a few of the 11 hockey-themed flicks on offer from March 9- 20. The Hockey Nights in Film series runs the gamut from beloved national classics (The Rocket) to Hollywood joyrides (Slap Shot) and cinéma vérité documentaries (Junior). And at just $10 a ticket, it’s way cheaper than a hockey game.
WANT TO WIN TICKETS?
Is hockey a part of your family dynamic too? I’ve got a couple of pairs of tickets to give away, so leave a comment here with a hockey-related family memory and I’ll give the best story-teller a pair of tickets to see either Slap Shot on March 9 at 7 pm, or Junior on Thursday, March 12 at 8:45 pm. (If you blog and would like to write about this contest or share your memory on your own site, please just leave a short comment below to direct me back to your own post).
Remember to leave your e-dress or blog URL so I can contact the winner. Contest closes Thursday, March 5, 2009 at 8 pm.