It's that time of year again, where the local blueberry fields are abundant with that delicious blue fruit. Just about everywhere you go in the lower mainland you can find someone selling blueberries at a fruit stand. 

If you are looking for something fun to do with the family. This weekend, Saturday August 4th, marks the 9th annual Blueberry Festival in downtown Cloverdale with lots of great activities and fun for everyone. From the Surrey Show and Shine for the car enthusiasts, to pie eating contests, arts and crafts and so much more.  

For a list of all the activities visit the following link:

Cloverdale Blueberry Festival

Finally a new restaurant in Cloverdale! Looking forward to trying the restaurant out with the family. I hear the food is pretty good. They seem to have a lot to choose from, a little something for everyone!

 http://www.originaljoes.ca/

Here in Canada we are proud of our Canadian athletes and the 4 medals that have been won so far. Our very own White Rock has an Olympic Bronze medal winner from today's women's weight lifting event - Christine Girard. It's amazing to see the strength and courage that all the athletes portray. But to see the actual strength it took to lift 133kg and 103kg in Christine's weight lifting events, she truly worked hard for that Bronze. 

Congratulations to all our medal winners! 

 http://www.vancouversun.com/sports/2012-summer-games/Canadian+weightlifter+snatches+bronze/7017735/story.html 

Growing up in Malton, Ontario I always lived next door to an Italian family. At the time Malton which is part of Mississauga had a large Italian population. Which was always a good thing for me, every one of my friends just about were Italian and they all had Italian Mama's that knew how to cook! Every one of those Mama's would tell me to "Mangia, mangia" whenever I was over because I was so skinny and they wanted to fatten me up. Who was I to disagree...:) Like any growing child it didn't matter if I had just finished eating at my house, I always ate again when I was offered. I didn't want to hurt their feelings....I didn't want to be rude. :)

That is where my love for Italian food began and it has taken me years to even master making a good tomato sauce. 

So this past weekend when we asked our eldest where she would like to go for dinner and she asked for Italian, my husband finally agreed we needed to venture in to Vancouver to eat. We asked a few friends where they recommended and had some great suggestions. But in the end went where our Italian friends highly recommended...."Poor Italian Ristorante" on E 1st ave in Vancouver.

I have been trying to get my husband to go into the big city for a while for a bite to eat, but he always thought of it as too far. Even with the ridiculous traffic going across the Port Mann, it really wasn't much more time than if we had of ventured into White Rock on the strip.

We weren't disappointed either, the food was delicious!!! The service was just as good, very attentive and the atmosphere was inviting. We will definitely be going back and soon I am sure as our eldest has already asked to go there for her birthday in August.

Next time you are looking for a little taste of Italy check out Poor Italian Ristorante, you will not be disappointed!

Visit their website to see what their menu has to offer:


https://www.pooritalian.com/

Thanks to one of my clients for sharing.

If you have been thinking about renovating your kitchen or bathroom. Emco is having a Side walk sale today at their South Surrey location. They are located at the corner of King George Blvd & 24th ave.
2412 King George Blvd Surrey (604) 535-2412

Lots of great deals. Sale runs from 9am-3pm today only!

Take a look at their website to see some of the things they have to offer

 http://www.emcoltd.com/

Need I say more....as the world watches the London Olympics for the next few weeks. Sitting here watching the opening ceremonies with my family. Watching the history of Britain being told through the ceremonies. The ceremonies so far are amazing, every country seems to out do the last. What I am sure has become a family tradition for many, has become our family tradition to watch the opening and closing ceremonies...as well as many of the events in between.

Football (what North Americans call soccer) will be the main event seen in our home. But we will likely catch many of the other events as we wind down from our work each day. Swimming and rowing have always been favourites to watch as well.

We are looking forward to watching all of our Canadian athletes as proud Canadians and cheering them on. From the 2010 Olympics "We Believe Canada, we believe!"

For a schedule of the events visit the following link: http://www.london2012.com/schedule-and-results/ 

One of the most common questions we get asked on a regular basis is..."How do you figure out what the property transfer tax will be on the home I am looking to purchase?" We have blogged and even video blogged about this in the past, but I figured it was worth mentioning once again. 

The property purchase tax is payable on the purchase of all real property in B.C. It is calculated based on 1% of the purchase price up to $200,000 and 2% of any amount above $200,000. As a first time home buyer, you are eligible for full exemption of Property Transfer Tax provided your purchase price is $425,000 or less. With a purchase price of $425,000 to $450,000 the Property Transfer Tax is applied according to a sliding scale.

To see what the exemptions are and to understand what other costs you need to factor in when purchasing a new home visit the following link under our Buyers tab:

 https://www.balancerealestategroup.com/11Closingcostsyoushouldknowabout.ubr

 

It is about time that Surrey's federal election boundaries are changed to add another electoral seat. With a city as large as ours we need to have MP's focused on smaller geographical regions where they can hear their constituants voices.

http://www.surreyleader.com/news/161513275.html

A public hearing in Surrey on the local boundary changes is set for the Sheraton Guildford hotel in Surrey on Wednesday, Sept. 12 at 7 p.m.

I love getting tips like this....

Top 10 things you can do with 1" Binder clips

I already use them to keep food bags closed... and they are great for tidying up electronic cords!