Nestled between the residential towers of the West End you can spot a few heritage houses that have endured for decades. Some converted to apartments or businesses, others preserved in time like Roedde House. One that sticks out, with no other heritage houses remaining in its immediate vicinity, is Abbott House at 720 Jervis Street between West Georgia and Alberni.

Photo credit: Clayton Perry Photoworks on Flickr

The rich built their homes on the bluff above Coal Harbour where Morton had built his cabin. West of Burrard, Hastings turned into Seaton Street, which was known as Blueblood Alley. But the bluebloods soon left for the West End, and then Shaughnessy. Only one Blueblood Alley mansion remains, Henry Abbott’s home at 720 Jervis. [Vancouver Sun]

1960 – West Georgia and Jervis. Archives item# Air P91.

Henry Braithwaite Abbott (same namesake as Abbott Street) had his house built in 1899. He was an executive with the CPR who was present in Craigellachie, BC when the last spike was hammered in to complete Canada’s first transcontinental railroad. He was also on the first train from Montreal to Port Moody with Lord Strathcona [source: Vancouver History].

Photo credit: nonstopdesign on Flickr

The house (now painted “CPR Red”) has undergone transformations over the years, it was even the original home of the Elbow Room Cafe until 1996. If you do a search for its address you’ll find that it has apartments which are a part of the Residences on Georgia development.

Edible Canada on Granville Island combines a bistro with a retail store that is packed with the best permanent selection of local and artisan ingredients around.

If you’ve ever wondered what “Canadian Cuisine” entails, look no further than the Edible Canada bistro menu. Keira and I stopped in yesterday, enjoying individual french press coffees and two items from the brunch menu. I had the standard Edible Canada Breakfast (scrambled free range eggs, Sloping Hills pork & apple sausage, double smoked bacon, smoked tomatoes, crispy duck fat fried hashbrowns, fresh herbs – $12) and Keira couldn’t enough of her Wild Mushroom Benny (spinach, thyme, Sea to Sky mushroom salt, citrus hollandaise, salad – $13).

She hesitated asking about a gluten-free option but the server said they have gluten-free bread, which she was easily allowed to substitute. In fact about half of the menu is gluten-free, including options like Fiore Farms Ham and Eggs (house cured ham, two sunny side up free-range eggs, bacon hash, grilled green onions, pork jus – $15) and lunch items like the Roasted Winter Beet Salad (Okanagan pears, Agassiz hazelnuts, Happy Day’s goat cheese, orange shallot & thyme vinaigrette – $11/$16) or Yarrow Meadows Duck Poutine (shredded duck leg, cheese curds, duck fat frites, two sunny side up free-range eggs, Sea to Sky bacon salt – $16).

After our meal we exited through the retail shop, but not before spending a good 20 minutes picking out gift items and sampling some amazing bourbon barrel-aged syrup. The staff was friendly and helpful, naming the gentleman who carved hand-crafted wood bowls from Cowichan or explaining the origin of the local cranberry marmalade. I realized that many of the places I’ve visited over the last few years (in the Cowichan valley or on the Langley or Harrison/Agassiz Circle Farm Tour) had items for sale in the Edible Canada retail store. Venturi-Schulze balsamic vinegar, Cocoa Nymph chocolate bars, Vista D’Oro preserves, Earnest Ice Cream, Erin Ireland’s Banana Bread, and much more.

Pick out distinctly “British Columbia” ingredients for your own cooking and baking, or put together a gift basket with items like rose petal scone mix, lavender sea salt, and chocolate mint tea from Salt Spring Island. Top Products are listed online and you can search for jams, jellies, oils, vinegars, crackers, sauces, cereals, syrups, nuts, seafood, candy, and more.

Stop by Edible Canada on Granville Island at #212-1551 Johnston St (across from the Net Loft and kitty corner to the market). Follow them on Twitter and Facebook for more product information, special events, and promotions.

Christmas at Canada Place is in full swing with the Breakfast with Santa events this weekend and plenty of activity out on the promenade. I took a walk around Canada Place at dusk on Friday afternoon to check out all the the free fun for families.

The promenade activities run from 8:00am to 10:00pm daily and admission is by donation to Christmas at Canada Place’s cause, the Strathcona Community Centre’s Food Security for Children.

Stop by Christmas at Canada Place (and check out the Woodward’s Windows in various other locations) to enter to win a trip for two to Hawaii. Take a photo on-site and tag it with @CanadaPlace then post it to Twitter, Facebook or Instagram for your chance to win. You can also enter by voting for your favourite Christmas tree along the promenade.

Follow Canada Place on Twitter and Facebook for event updates, more free activities, and information about their attractions.

Those little candies with hole in the middle are celebrating this year as LifeSavers turn 100. A stocking-stuffer favourite, over 11 million Canadians have purchased a nostalgic Life Savers Holiday Funbook for someone on their Christmas list.

To spread the cheer, they’ve offered up a $100 Life Savers Holiday Stocking Stuffer Prize Pack for one Miss604 reader.

The prize pack includes: A generous supply of iconic Life Savers Holiday Funbooks, a holiday ornament, tumbling blocks, Pick-Up Sticks, a Rubiks Cube, a stocking, and mittens.

Life Savers Holiday Funbooks and individuals packs have always been a part our Christmas as stocking stuffers. Here are some of their suggestions for other stocking stuffer fun:

• Think of size. Include up to two large items in the stocking – have one of the bigger items sticking out of the top and stuff one down to the bottom to make the most of the available space. Squeeze in four to five medium sized items and fill the gaps with ten small items to really make an impressively stuffed stocking.
• Capture a moment. Include a picture of a fun memory like a concert photo, a spontaneous hug or a funny face to spark smiles during unwrapping.
• Trick your loved ones into thinking they’re getting….socks! Stuff favourite items into socks to make family members think they’re getting something boring. They’ll be pleased to find a trinket inside after unwrapping. (A note about this tip though, I actually love getting socks!)
• Always add something practical. Fill stockings with gift cards like one to a favourite coffee shop, restaurant or to the movie theatre. Keep in mind items that always come in handy like, a toothbrush, soap and small stationary items – you’ll be the holiday hero when someone runs out of a much needed necessity.

For some “truly Vancouver” stocking stuffers how about a Translink FareCard, some Charlie’s Chocolate Factory chocolates, an ornament from Circle Craft on Granville Island, or a hat from a favourite local sports team?

To enter to win the Life Savers 100 Holiday Funbook prize pack listed above, just leave a comment on this post naming your favourite stocking stuffers (to give or receive). You can also post the following on Twitter for another entry:

I will draw one winner at random from all entries at 10:00am on Tuesday, December 18, 2012. Visit the Life Savers website to learn about all 100 years of the candy.

Update The winner is Debbie f!

There’s nothing like instilling and celebrating a sense of community pride, like Rob Geary and Luis Galvan of Welcome to East Van have done since they started the brand in 2006. The goal was to inspire the community to embrace, develop, and evolve its identity. This year, like last year, they’re running the “12 Days of Giving” campaign in the heart of their neighbourhood.

Photo credit: Eric Flexyourhead on Flickr

The campaign started yesterday and until December 16th they’ll be setup by the Gastown Steam Clock to accept donations for those in need. They’ll then move to another outdoor location on the east side. Thanks to Frog Box and The Great Little Box Company they’ll be filling up on donations until December 23rd.

Here are some of the wish-list donation items that the Welcome to East Van 12 Days of Giving is hoping to collect: Canned meat, peanut butter, bags of whole wheat pasta/rice, pasta sauce, canned fruit/vegetables, cereal, baby formul, baby food. They have requested that donations NOT include homemade items, expired baby food, products containing alcohol, or open packages of food.

The signature “East Van” will also be picking up donations at the following locations that have 12 Days of Giving Boxes ready to go:

To find out more about the campaign and to see where they’ll be setting up each day, follow Welcome2EastVan and 12DayFoodDrive on Twitter.