Cypress, Grouse, and Seymour are the beloved local mountains of our region that provide us with a natural playground, hiking trails, drinking water, and in the winter time a source of much joy and fun as we play and carve through their snowy wonderlands.

Opening dates for the locals had been moved back due to mild conditions and plenty of rain although thanks to a frosty spell over the last week or so the chair lifts will be ready to roll sooner than most actually expected.

I plan on getting up Grouse to experience their outdoor skating rink and I’ll be getting my lovely laminated season pass for Seymour very soon. I encourage everyone to get outdoors and enjoy these fun resources that are all within a short distance from home, whether it’s snowshoeing, skating, skiiing, boarding, or tubing.

This Sunday, December 14th, Howie’s Bistro and Bar will be hosting a food drive to benefit the Greater Vancouver Food Bank Society.

“12 hours of giving: The feel good party” will take place from 10:00am until 10:00pm. Admission is a 5-can minimum donation and they’ll have tons of entertainment.

Howie’s review submitted to Food Vancouver: “Delicious Sunday Brunch! I live around the area and there aren’t a lot of places to go to nearby for real food without having to drive to up to Hastings. I occasionally pop in for a coffee and some breakfast and during the week I sometimes go in for a beer. Great music! Great service!”

Howie’s is located at 2830 Bainbridge Avenue in Burnaby and is just a short walk from Sperling SkyTrain station.

Update: There is another event this weekend for a worthy cause. Candice, who will be doing the Team Diabetes marathon, will be hosting a bake sale at Zellers in Central City this Saturday. Stop on by to support her efforts and pick up some goodies if you can.

There’s nothing quite like getting an email from someone offering to do something nice for you, especially at times when you’re the last person on your mind. The other day I was invited to visit In The Pink Boutique in South Surrey to have a look around their designer shop and pick out a dress to wear to my Best of 604 party.

Located on the corner of 140th street and 32nd Avenue in the Elgin area of South Surrey it’s just a quick jaunt off Hwy 99 or the King George Hwy to get to this little oasis of a neighbourhood surrounded by tall trees and filled with quaint restaurants, community centres, and ocean air.

Having clocked in too many highway hours looking for the most sought after “it” items [Tracy] Silvester realized she would set the urban tone in her own backyard. From ground-up construction Tracy dreamt of having a place where the “girls can congregate”. The multi-brand boutique is the setting of a women’s dream closet.

I met up with Tracy and she showed me their collections while hand-picking items for me to try on. There was a healthy selection of local designer items along with the likes of Betsey Johnson (whose pieces I would love to own). On my way to the dressing room she chose another off the rack that I was “iffy” about due to its flat shape on the hanger — John always reminds me to wear items that actually fit my shape and nothing too “tent-y”.

It just so happens that this last selection was it, it was the dress for the evening, and I owe it all to Tracy’s keen eye. I loved the colours (and had the perfect shoes to match) and it was in no way “tent-y”, it was pretty much the perfect shape for my body type.

I knew what I liked when it came to dresses but sometimes it really helps to just put your faith in the hands of a professional. Tracy makes sure to be involved in the region’s fashion scene by checking out some of her favourite shops downtown on occasion, attending trade shows, and scouting out Portobello West so she really knows her stuff.

One of the best parts about this dress mission was being in a boutique shop and not a mall, which adds a very personal feel to the experience. Throughout my visit women were stopping by to chat with Tracy and check out the latest styles she was able to bring in.

Photo credit: Raul on Flickr

Right now In The Pink is having a 25% off sale on items like the lovely dresses I tried on including styles by Bailey 44, Cherry Blossom, Chulo Pony, Ella Moss, Fidelity, Frye, Hudson, James Perse, Level 99, Plenty by Tracy Reese, Splendid, Sugarlime, Sweet Chemise, True Religion, Velvet, and Vince.

My dress was by Vancouver designer, Narcissist, and I think it’s pretty fun that I found it in South Surrey, in a shop run by a woman originally from Richmond. If there’s a 100 mile diet for clothing this is it; make sure to check out boutique shops like this and support local small business (and designers).

I was not paid to write this review however I will disclose that I will be keeping the dress, thanks to In The Pink Boutique.

I’m piling through the photos on Flickr of all the fantastic people that showed up last night for the Best of 604 awards reception. Some may think it’s a silly idea to have an awards night for bloggers and websites, but I think that (especially in this town) so much effort, passion, care, humour, and personality goes into creating such great content that everyone deserved a night out regardless.

Photo credit: Derek Miller on Flickr

I’m so thankful that so many people were able to come out – bloggers, media, friends, family, and many people that I have known in the online realm for years and just last night had the chance to meet. The fact that they all assembled to chat, eat, drink, and celebrate their own work, as well as others makes me so proud to be a part of this city.

The most important element of the evening was the cause and together we raised $1,845 for the Greater Vancouver Food Bank Society.

Photo credit: Derek Miller on Flickr

Photo credit: Raul on Flickr

Photo credit: Keira-Anne on Flickr

Photo credit: Raul on Flickr

To say that I’m touched by the efforts of so many is an understatement. I want to thank everyone that attended, those who voted, and every single person that has inspired me to keep doing all of this day in and day out – whether they are aware of it or not.

Photo credit: Derek Miller on Flickr

According to the overwhelming positive response I’m pretty sure I’m on the hook to make this an annual event so keep your eyes peeled in later November 2009 for the Best of 604 (and 778) to make a return.

I’d like to give a shout out to the wonderful ladies who ran the door last night and were so incredibly helpful, Rosemary, Marina, and Kate. Thanks to Jenny and Keira for being my lovely prize assistants, and to John for the music – I’m SO glad I got to hear some International Noise Conspiracy.

My best friend and love of my life – John and Me
Photo credit: Raul on Flickr

Please check out the Best of 604 site for all the sponsor links, they really came through with some super prizes and if you enjoyed the venue like I did, consider heading back to The Cellar for a good time.

Below is a list of of results from the voting in each of the 14 categories. Some of the winners were not in attendance so I’ll try to touch base with them regarding their prizes.

Best site for Sports:
1. BC Soccer Web 35% ^*
2. Canucks Hockey Blog 35%
3. Outdoor Vancouver 15%

Best Podcast (audio or video):
1. Lipgloss and Laptops 35%
2. Choogle On 14%
3. TikiBar TV 11%

Best site for Events:
1. Beyond Robson 40%
2. From Blown Speakers 19%
3. Vancity Buzz 13%

Best Multi-Author site:
1. The Tyee 23%
2. Beyond Robson 16%
3. Vancouver is Awesome 15%

Best New Blog of 2008:
1. Modern Mix Vancouver 31%
2. 3 Degrees West 12%
3.Tiny Bites 9%

Best site for Tech:
1. Buzz Networker 21%
2. Techvibes 18%
3. iPhone in Canada 16%

Best site for News:
1. The Tyee 23%
2. CBC 21%
3.News 1130 16%

Best site for Politics:
1. The Tyee 35%
2. Matthew Good 22%
3. Jonathon Narvey 18%

Best site for Humor:
1. The Province Live @ 5 24% ^*
2. CondoHype 17%
3. Your Dose of Lunacy 13%

Best Company blog:
1. Raincity Studios 18%
2. BuildDirect 17%
3. 3 Degrees West 10%

Best site for Food (directory or blog):
1. The Well-Tempered Chocolatier 14% ^*
2. Farmstead Wines 11%
3. Chow Times 10%

Best site for Photos:
1. Waxy Photography 16% ^*
2. Marc L’Esperance 13%
3. Blue Olive Photography 11%

Best site for Fashion or Style:
1. Demicouture 24%
2. The Style Spy 20%
3. The Conveyor Belt 17%

Best Personal site:
1. John Chow 46%
2. Gus Greeper 7%
3. Delicious Juice 6%

^*Prizes have yet to be collected.

I had no idea this would have such a response and grow to become what it has (with over 6,000 votes to boot!) I’m looking forward to next year; to watching all of these great sites grow, discovering new sites, and celebrating the hard work of each one of these content producers.

Photos from the evening can be found tagged as “Bestof604” on Flickr, such as Raul’s great collection, and Tawcan has some up on his site as well.

There are some badges on my Flickr although you may even want to make your own, please feel free.

Update: Ianiv streamed the entire awards presentation with Qik, you can check it out here.

Tonight at 6:00pm about 200 people will be gathering at The Cellar for food, drinks, supporting the Food Bank, and celebrating the efforts of all those who contribute online in Metro Vancouver. Here’s a quick rundown of what to expect today for the Best of 604.

Doors are at 6:00pm and admission is by monetary (cash/cheque) donation to the Greater Vancouver Food Bank Society. I will have three lovely volunteers handing out a complimentary drink ticket (until 7:00pm), accepting your donation, and handing out raffle tickets. There will also be some finger foods supplied however as we’re at max capacity make sure to show up on time in order to get in on these goodies.

The awards announcements will take place around 7:15pm/7:30pm and I’ll go through all the runners up, as well as announce and award the winners with prizes donated by our gracious sponsors.

Please make sure to RSVP here – we sold out already but I have released a few extra tickets.

A note to the ladies (and the gents), I know a few of us are dressing up a little (I’m hoping to get a sweet dress this morning). As I explained on Twitter last night, my business is blogging (freelance, Miss604.com, sixty4media consulting etc.) so I won’t really have an office Christmas party this year. This is as close as I’ll get so I’m going to try and doll up a bit and celebrate the year with all of you. This doesn’t mean you have to dress up – jeans are very welcome – it’s just that I’ve had a few inquiries about attire.

Finally, be sure to have cast your vote for the awards – we have almost 6,000 votes in already so make sure you have made your favourite known.

Please let me know if you have any questions and I look forward to seeing everyone tonight. Remember to RSVP and I’ll print a list of the winners right here on Miss604.com tomorrow morning.