Property Brothers are coming to the Greater Vancouver area and looking for people looking to Sell their home but in need of a makeover. The only criteria to enter your home for a chance to win the Property Brothers home makeover is:
- That you live in the Greater Vancouver Area - You live in a detached house that is over 2000 square feet with a driveway or double car parking - Of course that you are looking to sell your home for top dollar but need a makeover before getting it on the market
Visit the Cineflix website to see how you can enter your home for the Property Brothers home makeover in the Greater Vancouver area:
Once again it is that time of year...a time to give back, a time to help make Christmas special for families in need. Every year at this time our office - HomeLife Benchmark Realty Cloverdale and the Pacific Titans Hockey Academy rally together for a month before Christmas and raise funds to help support the Surrey and Langley Christmas bureaus.
This year we helped to provide Christmas Hampers for 3 families...but more importantly we helped to keep the spirit of Christmas alive for the children in those families. Tonight we delivered the Christmas Hampers and every year I am torn with excitement at giving and the emotions that well up as we deliver the hampers and meet the families. Everyone's story is different...tonight we met single Moms struggling to make ends meet. From a cancer survivor trying to find work to a Mom who finds it challenging to provide the right diet for her diabetic son.
Christmas is a time of giving, I challenge everyone out there to give back in some way. Whether it is helping a person carry in their groceries or paying for someone's order in the drive through, anything that brings a smile to someone's face. That is what the Spirit of Christmas is all about!
One of the many questions we get asked is whether or not it is a good idea to sell your home during the Christmas season?
I would argue that it is...People looking for homes during this time of year are usually the very serious, qualified buyers. They have either sold their home already or need to buy.
Selling during the Christmas season and having your home decorated can actually make your home more warm and inviting. Although, you have to be careful not to decorate as you normally would. Less is always more....Which we usually say when staging your home by asking you to pack away as much as possible and setting the stage to showcase your home well. The last thing we want is to clutter it up with more stuff. Minimizing the space instead of maximizing it. Try to choose tasteful decorations sparingly. Leave presents hidden away until just before Christmas if you can. Otherwise, only have out a few. Try not to have too many religious things out. The reason is that you want people to be able to envision themselves in your home, but to see it as their home. Removing these things and photos etc, also helps to protect your own privacy.
We went out in the rain yesterday and my husband found his perfect 9' Christmas tree, probably the biggest and most beautiful Christmas tree we've ever bought. We usually get our tree from Art's Nursery in Port Kells on 192nd Street. They had some beautiful trees this year, but none big enough for my husband. If it doesn't threaten to scrape our cieling it's not tall enough and then it has to be big enough around as well. He's very cute, always manages to find us the PERFECT tree.
This year he fell in love with a Christmas tree at Potter's on 152nd Street in South Surrey.
Both locations always have a great selection of the freshest Christmas trees and each year if we can't find the right height and tree at one we head to the other. The above photo is the tree we found at Art's Nursery last year displaying our Christmas families hampers.
Looking for something fun to do with the kids this weekend? It's always tough to keep them occupied at this time of year, it's too wet and cold to go outside. Why not pop in to Clayton Heights Secondary this Saturday from 10-2pm for lots of fun Christmas activities for the whole family. It's FREE, all Clayton students and staff are asking for is a canned goods donation for the local food bank.
Christmas Crafts Gingerbread decorating Games in the gym Face Painting Christmas music Christmas Classics in the theatre Santa Photos from 11am-1pm Tim Hortons coffee, hot chocolate and timbits
Admission - canned food donation for the Food Bank
On this evening's news they featured a great company for the holiday season. Husbands everywhere love them and wives will too! ;)
The Lights Before Christmas provide professional Christmas light installation. No more concern about hubby going up on a ladder or steep roof. Leave it up to the professionals...this way, as one gentleman was interviewed he no longer gets blamed for doing it wrong. :) It's all on The Lights Before Christmas and their installation crew.
Their prices start at $175 and they offer free estimates as well as suggestions on new trends or how to best display your lights. Why not leave it up to the professionals this Christmas.
No more lights up til Canada Day either as the quote includes dismantling in January!
Having started my family in Ontario, every year in November since our daughter was 1 year old we would make our way into downtown Toronto for the Santa Claus Parade. Now our girls are teenagers and the twinkle in Santa's eye just doesn't do it for them anymore....I miss seeing all the little ones and the excitement in their eyes.
We have never been to the Parades here in beautiful British Columbia but my husband will be participating in this year's Cloverdale Santa's Parade of Lights this Sunday December 2nd starting at 5pm.
If you are planning on taking your little ones, be sure to dress warm and head down early to get them a comfy spot where they won't miss out on anything!
I hate to admit it, but it's been over 20 years since I shopped for a grad dress...:) When I did shop I didn't really know where to shop and even had a hard time finding a dress. It's hard to believe my eldest is graduating and even though that's all her and her friends have been talking about, it really didn't sink in until we started shopping for her grad dress a few weeks ago. I wasn't sure why we were shopping so early since her grad isn't until May of next year...but after shopping and realizing it is going to take until March for her dress to come in, I am glad we did.
How different times are now, because I could have looked at a dozen magazines and had no idea what kind of dress I wanted nor where to look for them. My daughter knew exactly where she wanted to look for her grad dress and not only what styles she wanted to try on but the designers that she liked.
We started out in New Westminster where there are quite a number of shops. The only one I would recommend is the "Bridal Gallery" they have a very good selection and will be getting a lot more in over the next few months in preparation for grads next year. They were helpful and had a variety, from bridal to bridesmainds to grad dresses - short and long, formal and semi-formal.
Then last week we went to a shop here in Surrey, "Ruby's Bridal shop" on 160th Street and Fraser Highway she found her dress. At this point after previously trying on a number of dresses, she knew exactly what she wanted. The service we received by the staff at "Ruby's Bridal Shop" was top notch and they understood what it was that she wanted. They listened and even brought her a dress that wasn't even on the racks yet, then took the time to pin it on to show her how she will look in one her size. We didn't get that kind of service in any of the previous shops she had tried dresses on. They made my daughter feel comfortable and she walked out appreciating the service she received as well.
We've had the new bins for a month and a half now and it seems to be working well. The 1st week seemed a bit slow in my neighbourhood, but it seems like they have got a rhythm going now.
The garbage and recycling bins seem to be clean enough but the food waste bin is disgusting and it's way too big to get down to the bottom of the bin properly cleaned. I thought I was doing well keeping the waste in the paper bags...but then you add damp grass clippings etc and now the bin starts to have everything stick to it. No amount of water seems to get the bins fully cleaned....
I came across a program being offered in the Lower mainland that would come out and clean your bins on garbage day...not only will they clean the bins but they will sanitize them.
Which after reading up on their website...it hadn't even crossed my mind the bacteria that could potentially be growing in our bins each week. This time of year might not be so bad, but give us even just our token few days of a heat wave each summer and the bacteria will be sure to multiply exponentially.
Check out their website if you're interested in their services:
I can appreciate that this is yet another cost to people, but the program is a good one. Helping to shrink our landfill sites and forcing the community to think about our children's future in this world. Everyone needs to take a step towards helping to minimize our carbon footprint. This new garbage system is a step in the right direction. If it costs us a little to help keep our homes clean and safe, I am all for it. I finally signed up for "Doggie Detail" and this week was my 1st pick up. They had removed my waste from the bin first thing in the morning on my set removal day before 8:00am. I was impressed. They have my vote, now I hope they hire more people to service actually coming to my home and cleaning up the dog waste... :) Not lazy, but it truly is my least favourite chore.
Will you hire a company to come in and clean your bins or "Doggie Detail" to safely dispose of your dog waste?
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.