I picked up a copy of LouLou Magazine while I was getting my hair done at Envy the other day. Geez, look at me, reading fashion magazines and sitting in a salon for the second time in as many weeks. It was the first time I’d ever glanced at LouLou and the one-page green shopping guide caught my eye. It featured a laptop bag made from recycled seatbelts, a Cargo PlantLove lipstick case made of corn, and a purse that consisted of an old skateboard deck fashioned with a clasp. Admittedly, the skater clutch caught my attention the most and with the url “BeckyCity.com” posted at the end of the page, I knew I’d remember to look it up when I got home.
Founded in 2003 and headquartered in New York City, Beck(y) is a shrewdly designed collection of handcrafted, one-of-a-kind bags and accessories constructed with recycled skateboards and plush, high-end fabrics. [Beck(y) Bags]
The Sk8bag handbags look pretty awesome and come in square and curved mini-tote clutches, but Beck(y) also makes two styles of unisex messenger bags, belts, buckles, money clips and even an iPod case.
My neat-meter peaked when I also found out that whenever anyone donates a used deck to be made into a handbag, Beck shares a slice of the profits with skateboarding-related charities.
Beck established the Boards 4 Bowls program. For every used board she receives Beck donates $3 to a variety of non-profit organizations dedicated to building and maintaining public skateparks across the country. Beck currently works with the Tony Hawk Foundation, Jeff Anderson Memorial Fund and Elemental Awareness. [Beck(y) Bags]
On the Beck(y) website it says the Sk8bags should be available in Vancouver at Lark 8th Ave. I may just have to take a trip to Lark (which also has a blog) so I can hopefully spend the rest of my happyfrog funds on something eco-nifty… although I may only be able to afford the money clip, still – it’s worth checking out.
Update: D’oh! I might not be able to count this as a happyfrog purchase cause they’re not made in BC or by a BC company… will be on the lookout for more goodies to share!
The latest craze in new mommyhood is not a trendy Italian stroller or the hottest infant-sized outfit, in fact it really has nothing to do with the baby at all. It’s something called a ‘Push Present‘. When I first caught wind of this fad it was on some American morning TV show while I was dressing for work, refereeing an argument, packing backpacks for school and ensuring everyone was wearing ‘weather appropriate clothing’, so I didn’t’ give it much thought at the time. The next day while in the car I heard Buzz on Crave discussing it with a female co-host I started to think more carefully about what this actually meant.
For those who don’t know what a ‘Push Present’ is (men may want to pay careful attention if their s.o. is expecting) it’s a carefully thought out marketing ploy to make people believe that if you give birth someone (your man) should buy you something sparkly, like a diamond necklace or gold bracelet or anything to show off to your girlfriends really. Essentially, it is a gift for having pushed out a baby. Now, considering that I am about to do this for my fourth time since 2000 I would think I am somewhat of an expert on the subject. Also keeping in mind that fact that the combined weight of my first 3 children was a whopping 31 pounds 7 ounces and that they were all born the ‘traditional’ way I have quite the opinion on birthin’ babies.
I am not opposed to gifts in anyway, I love giving them and appreciate it greatly when I receive them. What I am opposed to is this corporate guilt placed on individuals to spend exorbitant amounts of cash for baubles and trinkets because social pressure now leads you to believe that if you love your woman this is what you will do.
Of course men should show their love towards their wives or girlfriends but I personally find that diamonds and such are the least romantic way to do it. It’s so cliche and it’s almost like cheating because it takes no effort to walk into a store, pull out your credit card and have some pushy sales person tell you what your woman will love to have.
The main problem I have with this whole concept however is the idea that women need some kind of reward for having given birth. Oh, I know as well as anyone else what it takes to have a baby, don’t let anyone ever tell you it is easy because it’s not. But what about the fact that you have in your possession the most precious little being in the world? The gift you have been waiting and longing for for 9 long months? Not to sound too cheesy, but is there any greater gift? I honestly hope this is a passing faze because really, the only thing any women needs to show off to her girlfriends after having a baby is… you guessed it, the baby itself. And men, if you feel the need to buy something to show your appreciation for your partner’s hard work, flowers or a well deserved massage or pedicure are the way to go in my opinion. But really, waking up in the night to change diapers and playing with the baby while mom takes a long bath are much more valued.
Contributed by Jenny (Sis604)
This autumn I introduced the Best of 604, in response to a local newspaper’s Best of Vancouver. Sure, my categories weren’t as diverse but I’m pretty free to build upon the Best of 604 at any time, so that’s exactly what I’m going to do.
Reading Morning Brew this morning, I saw a link to the 24 Hours’ “24 ways to avoid your family“, which ended up being a list of “Vancouver’s best time-wasting web sites”.
They included the Katkam, which is a given, Urban Vancouver – a really great compilation on which anyone can write and Translink’s i-move.ca (that if you Google, my site comes up second, with Darren’s first).
A couple of the suggested reads made me chuckle to myself so I figured the best thing for me to do would be to make my own list.
Best of 604: Local Website Edition
Best Webcam that isn’t the Katkam: Numinous
Best Traffic Webcams and route info: GVRD directory
Best Site to get Surrey News: Surrey Leader
Best Site to get Burnaby News: A Burnaby blogger needs to Contact me.
Best Site to get New Westminster News: Royal City Record
Best Independent Daily News Source: The Tyee
Best. Lists. Ever.: Meg Fowler
Best Mommy blogger: Duck Cake
Best Marketing Blogger (that gives us free things): Darren Barefoot
Best Site for iPhone Users in Vancouver: John Biehler
Best Gadget Review site: Roland Tanglao
Local Radio Station That “Gets” It: 95 Crave, from their Drupal website, on-air personality blogs, to Ustream broadcasts.
Best Socialization and Silliness posts: Net Chick
Best Local Facebook Guru: Phillip Jeffrey
Best Concert Posters: ChalkedUp
Best HDR Photography: Coriolistic Anachronisms and Duane Storey
Hardest Working Podcaster: Dave Olson (upwards of six different podcasts for your listening pleasure)
Best Coffee Resource: Vancouver Coffee
Best City Development Resource: Pacific Metropolis
Best New Tech Blog: Techvibes
Best New Eco-Friendly Directory: happyfrog
Best New Restaurant Directory: Urbanspoon
Best New Blog (to me, in 2007) – Commuting: Paul Hillsdon
Best New Blog (to me, in 2007) – Shopping: The Style Spy
Best New Blog (to me, in 2007) – Restaurant Reviews: Raul’s “Dining out”
Most inspirational: Derek Miller and his wife Airdrie. Derek’s living with stage 4 metastatic cancer and blogging every step of the way.
If you are looking for anything else in Vancouver, try my categories “cheap things to do“, “stanley park“, “food“, “shopping“, “conference” and even “what the surrey“.
If you disagree with any of my choices, please make your own list (pass it on!), leave a comment below, or send links my way either on my contact form or via del.icio.us (tag your link as “for:miss604”).
As a proud Canadian girl I was overwhelmed when I received new ice skates this Christmas. Truth be told, I’ve never owned a pair of my own before and these are pretty spectacular. Within 24 hours of receiving them I was getting them sharpened at the West End Community Centre and stepping on the ice. With the blades still warm, I was gliding over the blue line as smooth as butter while trying to catch up to John who kept taking off on me every time I paused to practice my “hockey stop”.
For under $20 today John and I were able to get him a rental, pay for the both of us to skate, and get my new blades sharpened. If that isn’t a good enough deal for you, the West End Community Centre ice rink was actually open on Christmas Day for a FREE family skate, and they’re doing it again on December 29th. I’ll definitely be practicing my ice girl moves a lot more this season.
Vancouver Parks Board Ice Rinks
West End Community Centre Holiday Schedule (pdf)
For the record, my husband is great at keeping secrets and that doesn’t worry me. He surprised me with some of the most original gifts, all while ensuring they would be items I could enjoy everyday. Regardless, I’m just happy to be sitting here with him and my family as the snow begins to fall in Surrey.
PS I think my thumbs are too stubby for this iPhone and I need to find out how to scroll through my WordPress categories when composing a post with this thing.
UPDATE: Photos from John’s new camera. I decided the one he has from 2003 just wasn’t cutting it anymore…
PPS I think the kids had a great day and I had fun kickin’ butt at Trivial Pursuit 80s Edition with my brother. Tomorrow John and I will be heading out to enjoy something else I was lucky enough to receive today. As he puts it, he has two years to make up for – referring to the two years we were waiting for his immigration to come through and we lived solely off my income. I really don’t need him to play catch-ups with gifts. I’m just glad that he’s happy, he’s working, and we’re still able to do the inexpensive yet priceless activities that we love. More to come tomorrow.
