We had shopped around four stores for the granite counter. The absolute best place for granite in the Montreal area is Italbec (italbec.com) with the price about $1500 below the next best price. We had chosen 3/4″ Caledonia with standard nosing, however, for only about $500 more we went with the 1 1/4″.

The whole project started on Monday morning and was done by Friday afternoon – only two and a half days without a kitchen sink!

kitchen reno

What really sucked here is when we took off the ceramic there was a goddamm sheet of 1/4″ plywood.  More work!

Let’s put some of waterproof gypsum board (or gypse) for the back wall.

Traps husbands fall in
When your better half says, “honey, now don’t go out and max out the credit card for me this year. I really don’t want anything, let’s save our money…” this actually means the opposite. Believe me, I took this literally one year
(Thank God I didn’t get her anything on her birthday, not Christmas).

Did she explain this “opposite” concept (or trap) to me? No. Thankfully, some women at work were gossiping about their moron husbands falling in the same trap. I jumped in and said that generally we guys don’t try to act stupid or thick on purpose. We just don’t know better sometimes. That’s when they called me a bastard. Let me qualify that: My wife insisted she didn’t want anything and that I should save my money for the kids. I obeyed. I’m a bastard.

The following year I splurged and spent $1000 more than usual on her. The reaction was of surprise, but not of disappointment. Less than a week later she was in line at the Boxing Day sales (Boxing Day in Canada is like Black Friday in the US, except it’s the day after Christmas, not Thanksgiving.)

Or maybe you’re going full steam ahead when you abruptly blank and have no idea where to steer the conversation next. It happens to the best of us and it doesn’t exactly impress the pants off of that hottie you’ve so far managed to charm into hanging out with you.

Thankfully, authors David Matalon and Chris Woolsey have come out with the cure for awkward silences, empty talk about the weather and worst of all, embarrassing conversation faux pas. Their book, The Concise Guide to Sounding Smart at Parties: An Irreverent Compendium of Must-Know Info from Sputnik to Smallpox and Marie Curie to Mao, is a humorous and very informative read that they say will “transform you into the supernova of the party universe.”

Co-author Matalon talked to Click Magazine recently about the book, how smart is the new sexy, and gaining the confidence to talk.

Click: One thing I found extremely troubling with the book is that it makes it sound like I won’t be able to rely on my stunning good looks anymore. Is that the case?

David Matalon: I think your stunning good looks will always come in handy. That’s just an extra bonus.

Click: Phew… Why did you feel that this book needed to be written?

DM: Well, I had been going out to parties and I had found that there were certain names and events and things that I thought were pretty much common knowledge that I would mention that people didn’t seem to remember. I remember growing up, people knew who Franz Ferdinand was. They knew who Nietzsche was and they could actually say something about them. So I felt that probably what was happening was that everyone was so busy cramming all that information in their heads at school that they had just forgotten it. And it’s really fascinating cool stuff to talk about if you approach it from the position of ‘Oh that’s interesting.’

Click: Who do you think will gain the most from reading this book?

DM: When we started out we thought it’d be great for people who are socializing a lot and going to business parties and stuff like that, but it’s amazing because I’ve sat and watched people of all ages and both sexes laugh out loud and say “Oh my God I need this book.” At the end of the day, the book doesn’t make you a genius, but it gives you the confidence to have conversations.

Click: This may sound sexist, but do you think that there’s less pressure for women to sound smart?

DM: That’s an interesting question… there are more women executives, more women in professional roles, the competition’s higher and you have to have something to say, especially if you’re trying to get the attention of your boss or someone you’re romantically interested in. If there are two women of equal beauty, but one’s got a great personality and is smart and the other isn’t… I think the smarter one’s going to get more attention.

Click: Do you see a shift in thinking that makes intelligence a higher commodity than looks or money?

DM: I think definitely for men there is. I think women have always been attracted to intelligence. But I do believe there is a shift now, especially with shows like Sex and the City, which shows that you can be beautiful and sexy, but you can also have a great job and personality and you can be more. And that archetype of that powerful woman becomes very attractive.

Click: Now… if I’ve convinced someone that I’m smart at a party, how do I keep it up at subsequent meetings?

DM: Being smart is being part of a dialog and taking an interest in the other person. There’s an awareness to see when those eyes are glazing over and stop and listen. That’s part of being smart too — listening. If you find that there’s a subject of particular interest that the other person had shared with you, go read about it. Also, go read about something that you’re not an expert on and you can talk outside your realm of usual conversation. What happens then is that you become interested in what you’re saying. I think, very often, we tell our same stories again and again and we get a little tired of ourselves. So if you’re learning things that you’re excited about, I think that’s part of what makes someone smart — their passion for the subject.

Click: We’re always told to ask lots of questions when you meet someone new and put the focus on them. Do you think that’s right?

DM: Don’t be afraid to make statements. One of our intentions with the book is to make you confident. It’s good to ask questions, but you’ve got to be careful that it doesn’t become an interview. So, I prefer statements to questions in a dating environment.

Click: Are smart people finally getting the respect they deserve?

DM: There used to be a social taboo against being an egghead or a geek, but it’s coming back. And people really respect smart people. Who doesn’t want to be as successful or as smart as someone like Gates or Trump or Jon Stewart? There’s a lot of respect for intelligence.

By Ambrose Diaz first seen on http://holidays.canoe.ca/Relationships/Lavalife/2009/12/02/12007576.html

If you really want to score a great buy, use a price-comparison site. Dealio.com, which compares prices on 30 million products from 100,000 merchants, has a larger retail search than rival sites offer and provides coupon codes with a thumbs up/thumbs down review to show how many users have had success using the coupon. What we really like about this site, though, are the downloadable tools that help you find the lowest prices online.

Pronto.com fetches prices on 70 million products from more than 25,000 online merchants, including eBay. PriceGrabber.com offers prices on products from nearly 13,000 merchants. Both sites let you sign up to receive e-mail alerts when your favorite brands or products go on sale. And both have blogs with product reviews, deal news, gift ideas and trends in clothing and home decor.

If you know exactly what you want and need just a bare-bones price comparison site, try Google’s shopping search engine, Google Product Search (formerly Froogle). What you’ll get are lots of results for your search, product reviews, seller ratings and a “local shopping” option to help you find products at stores near you. What you won’t see is a home page full of hot products, shopping guides, product categories and colorful images you’ll find on sites such as PriceGrabber.

Shop with cyber-coupons
Put away the scissors — you don’t have to clip these coupons. Plenty of sites offer coupon codes (and printable coupons) for online and brick-and-mortar retailers. The nice thing about our picks is that you don’t have to register on these sites to gain access to the coupons.

RetailMeNot offers coupons from more than 40,000 stores and a community where you can get tips and deal info from others. You also can have the week’s most-popular coupons e-mailed to you.

CouponWinner.com has nearly 20,000 coupons from about 9,000 retailers. What we like about the site is its Coupon Scout tool that lets you compare coupons from up to five retailers. Click on a category, such as women’s apparel, and the Coupon Scout tool will appear on the left-hand side of the page.

Coupon Sherpa is new to the online-coupon scene (launched in September 2009). The staff test promotions and work with merchants to ensure that the coupons actually work. The site also includes a page of holiday shipping deadlines for Christmas delivery. Coupon Sherpa also is available as an iPhone application (see Coupons Made Easy).

Not only does Alex’s Coupons offer coupon codes for more than 1,200 stores, but also it helps in the fight against childhood cancer. Over the past four year’s, Alex’s Coupons has donated more than $20,000 to childhood cancer charities.

And if you’re shopping for children, check out CleverBabies.com. It has coupons for stores such as Toys R Us, DisneyShopping.com and babyGap. The site also posts sales, has forums and has its own coupons.
Hot deals!

If you’re not exactly sure what to get that certain person on your gift list, check out online deal sites, which post loads of discounted items. You’re bound to find the right gift at the right price.
Our favorite still is dealnews, which has a team of deal hunters keeping their eyes on a million products at more than 2,000 online retailers. Plus merchants and the site’s visitors tip them off to bargains. The deal hunters hand pick the best deals among the thousands they get daily and update the site at least 200 times a day, says Dan de Grandpre, founder and chief executive of dealnews.

The site also bans stores with poor customer service. Plus, you can sign up for e-mail or RSS alerts for products or stores you’re interested in and get gift ideas from the site. And it has a Black Friday section with a list of stores that offer price matching.

Dealtaker.com lists some deals on its home page, but you’ll find hundreds more listed in its forums. So if you’re willing to take the time to troll through the forums, you’ll probably find deals here you won’t find other places. Or use the search option if there’s a particular product for which you’re trying to find a deal.

There are more than 200,000 forum members who post deals, and you don’t have to register to view the ones listed. The site also offers coupons for more than 2,000 online stores, a price search engine and e-mail notification of deals. If you like the community atmosphere, you also can find lots of deals posted in the forums on MyBargainBuddy.com.

For electronics and tech gadgets, we like DealsOfAmerica, which updates deals every hour. Every item it lists on the home page has a picture, a description, the store that’s offering the deal and, best of all, the list price so you’ll know just how much of a bargain you’re getting. The site also has coupons, a price-comparison tool, a list of products or services available for free after rebate or coupon and a hot deal e-mail alert you can sign up to receive. Deals are from top online retailers and brick-and-mortar stores with nationwide presence.

Gift-card deals
Never pay full price for a gift card again. GiftCards.com and Gift Card Granny (launched November 2009) sell merchants’ gift cards for less than face value. They’ll also buy gift cards you don’t want (for 80% to 90% of the card’s value).

Buying a discounted gift card to use for your own Christmas shopping is a good way to score additional discounts. For example, buy a $100 Gap gift card for $90 (instant $10 savings), use it to shop online and use a coupon code for additional savings.

Free-shipping deals
High shipping costs can be a big drawback to shopping online. FreeShipping.org offers free-shipping coupons for more than 1,800 stores, including Amazon.com, Target and eBay. And all you last-minute shoppers don’t want to miss Free Shipping Day December 17. Luke Knowles, who created Free Shipping Day in 2008, says he expects at least 500 merchants to participate this year and guarantee Christmas-Eve delivery for all items purchased on Free Shipping Day.

Get cash back
Another way to spend less is to earn cash while you shop. That’s the premise of FatWallet, Ebates.com and Bing cashback. Join their cash-back programs and you can get cash back (usually a percentage of your purchase) when you buy items from select merchants.

Be sure to read the fine print. You don’t get cash back at the time of your purchase. Instead, it accrues in an account and is sent to you periodically. Also, not all merchants featured on these sites participate and of those that do, some have their own requirements for earning cash back.

Black Friday Shopping Nightmare

There are several sites devoted to posting Black Friday ads weeks before they run in newspapers. Created in 2003, Black Friday (bfads.net) was the first site exclusively dedicated to posting Black Friday ads. What we like about this site is that it has photos of sale items and icons that denote whether they are early bird or rebate items and the time the sale begins. Black Friday also has online deals, buying guides and a mailing list you can sign up for to receive e-mail notifications of deals.

If you don’t want to rack up credit-card debt shopping this holiday season, there is a safe way pay with cash online — and get deals. Check out eBillme’s Black Friday deals and sales for online shopping.

Parting tips
On a final note, if you’re shopping online be sure to look for privacy and security seals on retailers’ sites, know the return and exchange policies, and check shipping deadlines to ensure your gifts arrive on time. (See 5 Tips for Safe Online Shopping for more advice.)
And to make sure you’re getting the best bargain online, look for the item at the best price from a merchant with free shipping and a coupon to lower the cost even further — the trifecta of bargain shopping.

Happy shopping!

Read the entire article at http://www.kiplinger.com/features/archives/2007/11/hotdeals.html

1.) When your steak is cooked improperly you’re likely to get a set of fresh and new sides. Now if you ordered medium and the steak is just below then it’s likely the chef will just cook the meat for the 2 minutes it takes to up the temp, and then replate the original sides. But if a steak has to be completely recooked you’ll always get a fresh new plate.

2.) When there’s a bakery on premises you get fresh bread, never recycled, 100% of the time. I’m with Anthony Bourdain on the idea that recycling bread from table to table is not that big of a deal. And any place that uses fresh bread crumbs, or makes bread pudding, uses the leftovers from the day before. Check out a cookbook and you’ll notice that it says to use “day old bread” for breadcrumbs. Again, if the restaurant has a bakery on site then this day old bread is just the extras that were never touched.

3.) The daily special is not a way to get rid of food that’s gone bad. There are two types of specials: got a still good item that’s about to go bad; and fresh food that’s prepared with care. We did a daily fish special that the chef always gave us a hard time about if we reused a portion of the previous day’s special. I might use the spicy tomato coulis from the night before to flavor a polenta, for example. It was always encouraged for a brand new set to be made each day.

And no restaurant would serve you food that’s gone bad, if the special is intended to push an item then it’s because the food is still good to eat. But there’s too much of it to sell as a normal menu item and a special is a great way to sell the food, rather than toss it in the garbage before it’s inedible.

4.) Feel good that the premium price you’re paying is because the restaurant is also paying a premium price for quality product. If your favorite restaurant is serving a local grass fed beef tenderloin and it costs a few bucks extra, you can rest assured that the chef payed that extra cost as well. You’re getting the best ingredients put on your plate that makes sense for the amount of business a reputable restaurant does. Not every place can afford to run exclusively local ingredients, but the good spots always order in the highest quality stuff that can be had.

5.) Your plates are clean and without smudges. Sounds like a small item, but we’d often joke on the line about how many bowls it would take to find a servable one. We’d go through and drop 4 or 5 plates into a drop bin until we found one that was clean.

Read the whole article by Steve on http://munchmonster.com/editorial/5-ways-restaurants-provide-service.html

Exceptional Restaurant

Elektra Coffee Machine Belle Epoque Copper Brass

Especially sized and somewhat redesigned for home use, the Mini Verticale also comes in copper and brass finish. Wooden handle, chrome or brass eagle make them very retro stylish. The base diameter is only 320 mm or just under 12.625″, so it takes little space but weighs close to 30 lbs. According to the review we found on Coffee Geek this Electra has few negative points, mainly – no direct line to water, but a liter storage container, the drip plate and reservoir are pain to clean, and if you ever have to reset the pressure switch, then you really going to feel the pain.

Elektra Mini Verticale Coffee Machine Chrome

Well, if you have at the very least about $1,800 USD or €1500 to spend, depending on where you live, those negatives are rather minor nuisances comparing with the beauty of this machine and the knowledge that you are one of the very few who dared to own one. Available in 7 voltages – 240, 230, 220, 127, 120, 115 and 110 Volts. Italian Espresso Coffee machines from Elektra.

Ideeli is a members only club that organizes short (lasting just 2-3 days) online sales of luxury products at steeply reduced prices.  Think Italian designer shoes for $100 rather than $500.  It’s one of the hottest new trends on the Internet.

Ideeli works with hundreds of luxury brands from the US and Europe.  These brands all have the occasional need to quickly sell overstocked items or to quickly introduce new products to the market to generate buzz and word of mouth. In the old days they would do this with sample and warehouse sales.

Now they use membership clubs like ideeli to move the product for them.  Ideeli is given a set number of items to sell and offers them in short time restricted sales at huge discounts.  It conducts about 20 of these sales per week. While they keep the names of the brands they work with somewhat under wraps (we aren’t allowed to mention them here) , we can say they have relationships with nearly 300 of the top luxury brands in the world at prices of 60, 75, or even 90% off retail

Goods include more than apparel and shoes.  In the case of ideeli, they also offer home furnishings, jewelry and travel.

Sales can sell out in a matter of hours or days and never last more than a few days.  And if you don’t like the item when it arrives, or the fit is no good – you can return it.

For Jennifer, the sales make for great sport. “I love it!”, she says, “You need to move quickly when you get an alert to see if the item is something you are interested in and how cheap it is.” And with a 2-year old in tow, “It sure beats spending time in a department store.”

Jennifer also loves the variety. ‘Living in Dallas, you just don’t get a chance to see a lot of these brands and at these prices – forget it.”

The one drawback of these clubs is that membership is limited.  That’s because the clubs have access to a limited number of items for each sale.  If membership were too large, then the items would sell out in minutes leaving most of the members upset.  Typically new members need to be invited to join by existing members.  If they don’t have an invite, they can apply to join through their waiting list.

Fortunately, ideeli is expanding its membership for a limited time. They have set up a special page where, for a limited time, readers of HowLifeWorks.com can sign up free, and bypass their waiting list.

To get your free ideeli membership now http://www.ideeli.com/events/coming_soon?event_id=14243

Louis Vuitton

Hey ladies why don’t you get your man a designer wallet for Christmas?

Leather wallets have become increasingly popular amongst men all over the world. There are so many reasons why this has become so. For one thing, leather is a material that is very sturdy and durable. Who would not want to get a wallet that can last for years and years? This spells much savings in the long run for any man sporting any sort of profession.

What’s more, leather wallets come with a lot of features. Some leather wallets come with card slides ranging from eight to twelve in quantity! With interior pockets and ID windows, all cards, IDs, and other pertinent documents can be stored in leather wallets very easily. Paul Smith has certainly brandished a strong name for himself as a designer and his prowess has expanded into the market of leather wallets as well.

One such wallet that has grabbed the attention of a lot of people is the one that contains a photographic print known as Mini in London. The wallet is made of premium leather, sporting cream stitching on its exterior. The inside contains the print of a car famously known as the Mini Cooper. The car is then placed against a London backdrop. The cool thing about the wallet is that the car sports a lot of colors against the backdrop that is a bit grayscale in color, giving more emphasis to the fast car!

Mini Cooper Wallet

Of course, one cannot help but consider the Billabong brand when it comes to men’s wallets. This is because the brand has certainly garnered a very strong portion of the worldwide market. The great thing about these wallets is that they come in all sorts of material. This is very nice since the preferences of men can differ relatively. The popular Billabong wallets come in both leather and canvas.

Billabong's Black Texas Leather Wallet

The Black Texas Leather Wallet by Billabong, for instance, is one of the recommended models in the market. The wallet comes with 2 compartments for all sorts of notes. One of these compartments is zipped, a security feature that adds more convenience. There are 6 slots for ATM and credit cards, a zipped coin pouch, an ID window, and 2 more slots for additional notes, receipts, and such. The wallet comes with the Billabong signature as well.

The Red Pepper Deck Canvas Wallet is also another popular model in the market. This tri-fold wallet made of quality canvas is perfect for the avid surfer. The wallet has two slots for credit cards, a zipped slot for notes, a zipped coin pouch on its exterior, a photo ID window, 2 other slots to contain miscellaneous things, and a plastic card holder that is removable for 4 other cards.

What are the Alternatives to a Classic Plain Leather Wallet for Men?

The leather wallet is considered a plain and functional accessory, with little opportunity for customization. Whilst many men favor a plain wallet for its convenience, there is also strong demand for unique and fashionable wallets.

This is certainly the case for the younger gentleman, but also for the man who appreciates individuality and attention to detail. There are many distinct and unique wallets on the market that offer style and versatility. In this article I will look at the different ways wallets can be customized (e.g. leather treatments, colors, lining and embossing), with particular reference to the designer brands that make them.

One of the most exciting wallet brands to emerge has been J.Fold, a New York based company established in 2003 that manufactures quality sports wallets. They have quickly developed a strong following amongst the likes of Justin Timberlake and the Arctic Monkeys, and are known for modern and bold designs.

J-Fold Men's Wallet

Diesel is known as an urban brand, and their men’s wallets reflect this ideal with edgy designs that display maturity. Timberland offers a piece of the rugged outdoors with their fashionable accessories, whilst remaining relevant to the urban consumer. Ted Baker understands that men need versatility with their accessories as well as a unique sense of style, and offer a strong range of wallets. Simon Carter offer s a modern take on classic English design, and have crafted a distinctive and light hearted approach to their leather accessories.

Timberland produces a range of wallets in natural and earthy tones which includes their classic tan color (known as weathered iron), a light beigey-grey and an earthy brown. It shows off a more laid back and casual image, suitable for casual and business-casual attire. Many designer brands such as Ted Baker incorporate color into a wallet with a colored edge that contrasts with the brown or black leather. J.Fold use exciting color contrasts such as a turquoise trim against brown leather. They are more famous though for their bold use of color throughout the wallet such as bright reds, racing greens, blues and yellow. Although not for everyone, their colorful wallets are street smart and will receive a lot of attention from admirers.

Timberland Wallet

Many wallets use a textured leather effect for interest, but there are other approaches to livening up the leather surface. For example, a leather glaze produces a shiny effect for a unique character without being too ‘way-out’. Simon Carter uses a glaze combined with a vintage effect on its travel wallet for a light hearted spin, ideal for city professionals who want a bit of individuality. Timberland uses a Nubuck leather for its ‘Sleeker’ wallet range which is softer and lighter than normal leather and has a similar look to suede. This is ideal for a casual and laid back look.

Many designer brands also customize the wallet by creating patterns and shapes with the leather. Most designer wallets have an embossed logo, but others use embossing to create abstract patterns (e.g. the Ted Baker Cutout wallet which has a paisley pattern).

The most playful designs come from J.Fold, who developed a technique of punching holes into their wallets, with a lining behind in contrasting colors. The J.Fold Loungemaster has tiny perforated holes punched into the leather surface, whilst the Reverb has small oval shapes that gradually change size. J.Fold also layer pieces of leather on top of the main wallet, as in their Roadster wallet which has two strips of leather to look like racing stripes. Another very modern approach to customize a wallet is screen-printing directly onto the leather. Diesel, known for their urban influences, screen-print anarchic designs for a dramatic look.

A more subtle way of customizing a wallet is a contrasting lining, which can be dramatic without dominating the whole wallet. A subtle but effective look is a brown interior on a black wallet or vice versa. J.Fold takes this a bit further and uses very colorful interior colors such as lime green and bright orange. Simon Carter, known for their quirky sense of humor, line all their wallets with a colorful comic strip that was developed exclusively for the brand. There are many types of unique and individual wallets that offer subtle and dramatic alternatives to the plain and ordinary.

Buying Slimmer and More Fashionable Men’s Leather Wallet
Fashion experts have been constantly and consistently recommending going for more fashionable men’s wallet products. There are many types of men’s wallets available in the market. Thus, many men are having a hard time deciding over which brands to buy. Some of the best and most popular brands are selling men’s wallets that are bulky and stocky, thus, many men tend to buy not-so-fashionable accessories. It should be your priority to find and choose the more fashionable and attractive ones. The wallet money clip is therefore among the best and usual choices for vanity and practical purposes.

A slimmer credit card holder could be the best option when buying men’s leather wallet. Some people call such accessories as skinny card cases, while others simply refer to them as the slim men’s wallet. This type of men’s leather wallet is especially designed to store and hold credit and bankcards. Most men rave that such accessories are handy and are very useful especially when there is hurry in finding functional cards. Unfortunately, such wallets do not feature much space for money bills. This way, you could accessorize the accessory through buying and integrating a wallet money clip.

The wallet money clip is a special clip that holds the money and clips it securely to the wallet. Slim men’s leather wallet products and credit card holders do not usually feature compartments and spaces for holding bills. The wallet money clip is attached to hold money bills inside or even outside the wallet. This way, men’s leather wallet products could still be slim and fashionable without sacrificing the money-holding feature and function. It is not surprising why wallet money clip in men’s leather wallet products is becoming very popular. The most fashionable and vanity-conscious men almost always prefer slimmer credit card holders or a money-clip wallet designed with credit card slots.

Mini Cooper Wallet

Where to buy such fashionable men’s accessories? The luxury and men’s accessory sections of retailers and department stores are sure venues where men’s leather wallet products are found and are bought from. Wallet money clip products are also to be found in such stores. Many men’s leather products do not already include or feature clips, but you could always easily add the money holders according to your preference and style. Thus, wallet money clip is a way to customize and personalize men’s leather wallet.

Wallet Buying Tips

The first thing that you have to consider when buying a wallet is the size. Size affects comfort. Too small of a wallet and your not carrying $400 in twenties. Too large, and you’ll get a herniated disk or bruised ass. Consider things that you want to carry in order to indicate the proper size. On the other hand, if you are the person who always carries cash, credit cards, you may consider leather smaller wallet with credit card slots. Taking this into consideration will save you from buying a wallet that you can not fill up, or a wallet that you have too much stuff for.

Another factor that you have to consider when buy a wallet is the amount of extra slots it has. From the reasons described above, you have learned that the size of the wallet must correspond to the number of things to be included.

Most importantly, will the wallet cause a herniated disk from being too thick when he sits down?

Expect to pay $50-$200 for a good wallet or about $10-$30 for a cheaper, functional one.

Burberry Men's Wallet