I was so excited, this was the 1st year we had the opportunity to get out to some of the restaurants in Dine Out Vancouver.
This past weekend we took friends of ours out to dinner at La Piazza Dario's Ristorante Italiano in the Italian cultural centre just a few minutes from downtown Vancouver. We had never been but our friends raved about it, so we thought we'd try it out. We were definitely impressed with not only the food but the impeccable service. The decor is a little dated, but as long as you can get past that you will be pleasantly surprised. Their food was just like an Italian Mama's good cooking. Brought me back to when I was a little girl, where I grew up just outside of Toronto where I was surrounded by Italian Mamas that all wanted to fatten me up "Mangia, Mangia". What child wouldn't love being offered delicious food every time they visited.
My girlfriend and I tried the Dine Out 3 course menu and really enjoyed our Red Snapper...one of my favourite types of fish to eat. Where the men went for meat and pasta. Every last bite from appetizer to dessert was absolutely delicious.
Today I am writing again as a woman, wife, mother of girls, sister, daughter, niece, grandaughter...and friend.
Another one of my close friends was in the hospital today to have a cancerous lump removed from her breast. The day after I wrote my blog back in October another close friend shared with me that her mother-in-law was also diagnosed with breast cancer and going in for a lumpectomy.
Thankfully both women found out they had Breast Cancer after having their regular mammograms. I don't even want to think of what could have happened had they not gone for their mammogram. Now all we can do is hope for the best and be there to support them.
But the real reason for today's blog was just how shocked I was to find out that only 1 out of the 4 friends I asked today goes for their regular scheduled mammograms. When the stats are that 1 out of 3 women will get Breast Cancer....it scared me to think any one of these women without having had their mammogram, they reduce their chances of early detection and take the risk if they have cancer that it spreads and becomes deadly without having a chance to fight it. It's not something any of us wants to think about, but already 2 of my very close friends one at 30 years and the other at 50 years old have had Breast Cancer. Both very healthy women... they are only 2 of the many women that I know or know of that have been diagnosed with breast cancer.
Nowadays I cannot imagine anyone not knowing someone affected by this nasty disease.
Here in BC the province will cover Mammograms for women 40+ years, if you haven't gone for yours....put it in your calendars to do. It's not just about you, it's about those that you love. Encourage the women in your life to get theirs done too. Do what I did and ask those women if they have been getting theirs done regularly and I am sure you will be surprised at how many haven't had the screening done.
All provinces will sceen for breast cancer if you are between 50-69, but each province has different guidelines for screening from age 40-49. For screening locations in BC click on the following link:http://www.smpbc.ca/Program/Locations+and+Mobile+Services.htm
Monday I blogged about curb appeal and staging and how important it is to showcase your home in order to sell your home quickly and for top dollar. Then ironically, yesterday at our Office meeting we had a local business owner share what her Terra Verde redesign business can do for our clients...before the sale of their home and even after the purchase of their new home.
I had the pleasure of chatting with her before her presentation. I like what she has to offer and will be seeking her services to help with my own home. Part of her services include freshening up or complete redesign of your outdoor spaces. My backyard is almost completely shaded and nothing grows in it. I look forward to her advice on how to spruce up my yard with plants that will grow despite the lack of sun. On top of that she is a colour specialist and I would like to have her in to help us decide on what colours would look nice in our main living areas. We`ve lived in our home for almost 8 years now and long overdue for a change....
What better way to recommend a company`s services than to have personally used them yourself. I am looking forward to sharing with everyone what Catherine Kennedy at Terra Verde redesign can do. As I mentioned she not only helps people improve their curb appeal and staging to sell their home...she is also a great resource to help homeowners that have moved in and just don`t know what to do with their yard in the front or the back.
For more information on Terra Verde Redesign visit her website at the following link:
My daughter and I were in Vancouver for a meeting and both had a craving for good Greek food. We've always been told Kitsilano is the place to go for Greek food. I remembered a colleague had suggested a couple places and contacted her to see which ones she recommended. Then realized why the name sounded familiar when I checked the Dine Out Vancouver site as Kerkis Greek Taverna was one of the many participating restaurants. For $18 they offered an appetizer, entree and dessert. An excellent deal since it was the same price as the many of the entrees all by themselves. Not that we were able to eat much more than the entree...if you know Greek you know just how big the portions can be. :)
Our test when it comes to a good Greek restaurant is always the tzaziki...if it's homemade and has the right mix of ingredients the restaurant will always win our vote. The Tzaziki can make or break a Greek restaurant for us....but Kerkis Greek Taverna did not disappoint. :)
If you haven't had a chance to try one of the restaurants participating in Dine Out Vancouver 2013, there's still 5 nights left. Visit their website at the following link;
It's hard to believe we are coming to the end of January already...Where many people are thinking of getting their home's ready to sell.
One of the most important things you can do to get your home ready is to ensure you not only stage your home for potential Buyers to fall in love with, but to set the curb appeal for the very best first impressions.
I came across a great article with a lot of really good tips on how to stage your home and boost your curb appeal. From curb appeal, to having a clean and de-cluttered home...every little bit helps to get your home SOLD fast and for a good price.
Once again another reason we are proud to be Fraser Valley Realtors...Our Fraser Valley Real Estate Board has donated on behalf of all it's members, $18,500 to the local food banks divided between all of the communities that our board supports.
To read more click on the following link:
It's important to support our local food banks year round and not just during the holidays. Unfortunately there is and always will be a need and every little bit that we can do to help will make a difference.
Even though communication has drastically changed around the world in the last few years, snail mail still holds a necessary place in our society. Perhaps instead of getting that letter from a loved one you get an email or facebook message. But for some reason it's still exciting when you do get something personally addressed to you other than bills or junk.... There's just something to be said about actually holding a note in your hand that can be cherished forever and not just seeing it somewhere on cyber space to be lost and forgotten.
I remember how much I looked forward to letters from loved ones and friends when I was growing up, when it was too costly to keep in touch by phone. A time when you could pour your heart out on paper and someone at the other end would really enjoy reading whatever it was that you had to say....
As of Monday January 14th Canadians will have to pay another 2 cents on top of the 61 cents that a regular stamp already costs us.
For standard letters under 30 grams the domestic rate will go from 61 cents to 63 cents. For letters weighing between 30-50 grams the domestic rate goes up 5 cents from $1.05 to $1.10.
For standard letters, cards and postcards under 30 grams destined to the US the rate goes up 5 cents from $1.05 to $1.10 For standard letters, cards and postcards under 30 grams destined to foreign countries, the rate goes up 5 cents from $1.05 to $1.10
Registered mail rates have gone up as well.
For more details visit Canada Post's website in the following link:
A BIG Thanks to my cousin for today's blog idea....
One of my all time favourite movies was "Pay It Forward" with Kevin Spacey, Haley Joel Osment and Helen Hunt which came out in 2000.
As I had a few minutes this afternoon to see what people were up to on facebook my cousin wrote about Paying-It-Forward....I loved his idea and figured I would join in on the fun. I've always been a big believer in Paying-It-Forward and thought what better way to start off 2013.
The 1st - 5 people to comment on my cousin's Facebook status will receive something special (a book, a meal, a gift of some sort) and unexpected at some point in 2013. He's calling it 2013 Creative Pay-It-Forward, the idea is that it will be a surprise with no warning and the only catch is that those 5 people must make the same offer in their Facebook status.
So here is our offer the 1st 5 people to comment on our facebook business page will receive something special from us...sometime throughout the year, out of the blue. In order to participate if we don't already know you personally then we are going to need you to send us a message with your contact details: name, address, email and phone number. Then show us that you have indeed shared the same post on your wall.
Last year a fellow colleague in Vancouver did something similar except he called it Karma week where he did 7 random acts of kindness to total strangers for 7 days straight. Knowing him I don't imagine he only did those 7 days, I am sure he practices that throughout the year. Ian planned on making this an annual event.
To read last year's blog click the following link:
Seems to be that time of year where everyone starts to make their New Year's Resolutions. The most common New Year's Resolutions every year seem to have something to do with exercising, losing weight, more family time, quit smoking, eat healthy, organize your home and work life, volunteer.... etc.
As I mentioned in yesterday's blog we have set our goals, but I wouldn't call them New Year's Resolutions. I haven't set any and I don't think that I will, for some reason they are too easy to break. After all, how many people actually stick to their New Year's Resolutions? I prefer to set goals and then if I achieve them great, if I don't then I can evaluate why I didn't and adjust accordingly.
We are curious what are your New Year's Resolutions? Will you stick to them?
The Bettina Reid Group went through a lot of changes in 2012.
We start off each year setting our goals for the year. We set our goals as a team, our own personal goals within the team and our goals for outside of work. One of my goals was to start blogging every day except weekends. Blogging about the community, new businesses we have frequented or ones we are fond of, of course real estate related blogs and pretty much anything I fancied on any given day. I have wanted to blog ever since I can remember but kept over thinking things and struggled with what to write about. 2012 was the year to let go of that struggle and just DO! I did, I pretty much blogged a minimum of 5 days a week for 52 weeks straight. I did it and I am proud that I did....not truly because I am proud of writing my blogs. Which may have been interesting to some and not to others...I am okay with that. I am proud of myself because it showed me that I can do anything I set my mind to do.
January started us off at a steady pace and by April we were busy enough to expand again. I hired another agent to help Kara out with all the new Buyers we were working with. In order to ensure we were able to give our clients the service we promise and the service they deserved.
Then in June we hired a temporary assistant to help us with all the administrative details which freed us up even more to ensure our clients get 110% from us all the time.
In September we were back to our core with just myself and Kara....who has been an integral part of The Bettina Reid Group for the past 2 years.
As great as our temporary assistant was, we knew she was only temporary....we bid her well in her career endeavours and welcomed our newest addition Lisa Speers. Lisa joined the team in November and she has already become a valuable asset to the Bettina Reid Group. She is helping to keep us both in line. :)
Then in the middle of October Kara added a new addition to her own family with a beautiful baby girl.
Looking back at 2012, in a year where the economy struggled and the real estate industry as a whole seemed to as well. We had our best year yet! We would like to Thank all of our clients for trusting us with their most valuable assets and helping us to reach our goals for the year. Without you we couldn't have done it!
We look forward to what 2013 has to offer and know it is going to be an amazing year with a lot of exciting things to come.
The data relating to real estate on this website comes in part from the MLS® Reciprocity program of either the Greater Vancouver REALTORS® (GVR), the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board (FVREB) or the Chilliwack and District Real Estate Board (CADREB). Real estate listings held by participating real estate firms are marked with the MLS® logo and detailed information about the listing includes the name of the listing agent. This representation is based in whole or part on data generated by either the GVR, the FVREB or the CADREB which assumes no responsibility for its accuracy. The materials contained on this page may not be reproduced without the express written consent of either the GVR, the FVREB or the CADREB.
The data relating to real estate on this website comes in part from the MLS® Reciprocity program of either the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV), the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board (FVREB) or the Chilliwack and District Real Estate Board (CADREB). Real estate listings held by participating real estate firms are marked with the MLS® logo and detailed information about the listing includes the name of the listing agent. This representation is based in whole or part on data generated by either the REBGV, the FVREB or the CADREB which assumes no responsibility for its accuracy. The materials contained on this page may not be reproduced without the express written consent of either the REBGV, the FVREB or the CADREB.