Marisa Minicucci, is the designer of the M Siamo high end line of casual wear and jackets. The line is being cleared at a showroom location. You can expect dresses or jackets to run $40-$225 and tops $20-$80.

Location: 4200 Boul. St-Laurent, suite 910
corner: Rachel
Tel: 514-849-1207
Dates: May 15-May 22
Times: Mon-Fri 10-8, Sat 10-5

Q: 1 – At this time of the year, we are putting away all of our winter clothes and thinking about what has to go to the dry cleaners, yet we hesitate because of environmental concerns.

A: The dry cleaning industry has been hit hard by stricter environmental laws. Dry cleaners spend thousands of dollars   installing containment tanks so there are no chemical leaks that could get into the sewer systems and they doubly treat the water for the same reason. Excess waste is avoided in polyethylene dry-cleaning bags by using new bagging machines with robotic arms. A magic eye is designed to size up a garment and cut the bag off 2″ below the garment.

Q: 2 – Is there a way to save on dry cleaning bills or to use less chemicals?

At Western Cleaners if you bring in a minimum of 10 lbs. of clothes, they can be bulk dry cleaned at only $1.89 per lb. Sweaters  are the most popular, but blankets, coats and even suits  can be cleaned this way. An inexpensive service  to quickly remove stains on suits is the “while-you-wait spot, sponge and press”. The stain is removed, the jacket or pants are refreshed and all are given back to you in under 10 min.  Knitters bring their sweaters here to be blocked, or to get holes repaired or sleeves shortened.

Q: 3 – What other special services do dry cleaners offer?

Miss Brown and Bellingham Cleaners and Tailors, can both empty and old feather pillow, sanitize it, deodorize it and even replace the ticking with a new one. A good dry-cleaning can also remove dust mites from area rugs. Miss Brown can even get skunk odors out of your house.

Q: 4 – Does dry cleaning affect the repellency of raincoats with repeated cleanings?

Yes, it removes the water repellency. You can have them re-coated; They are placed in a spray booth and get a water repellent shower. If you didn’t know how to properly stash away your wedding gown, these cleaners can do an expert cleaning job and then pack the gown in an acid-free box for storage.

Q: 5- What about cleaning our leather and suede coats?
These are now washed rather than dry-cleaned. Hides are tanned these days with water-proof dyes so this method is less harsh on the skins, and the jackets come out less stiff.

Bellingham Cleaners and Tailors  2655 Bates Rd. at Wilderton Ave.
Tel: 514-733-4444.
Also offers a drive-thru service and a 24-hour night deposit box using VIP bags.

Western Cleaners, 4460 Ste-Catherine St. West at Metcalfe St., Westmount.
Tel: 514-935-2000.

Miss Brown, 67 Provost St.
Tel: 514-637-6741;
4930 Sherbrooke St. West at Claremont Ave., Westmount.
Tel: 514-489-7669.

Samples of youthful labels Miss Sixty/Energie, Killah, Acne, Filippa K, Nudie and James Perse can be scooped up this week in the Chabanel district at Chabanel clearance prices.

Location: 225 Chabanel West, Suite 705
Dates and times: Wed May 13 & Thurs May 14: 12-8, Fri May15: 12-7

If these are Scandinavian names that you oogle: Jackpot, Part Two, In Wear, Matinique, Tiger of Sweden, Cottonfield and Soaked in Luxury, then head for their factory clearance sale. For women and men (regular sizes), prices will be 70% off. Peak Performance lines will be there too, clearing spring clothing for golf, training, casual and swimwear.

Location: 265 blvd Lebeau, Ville St-Laurent
Date and time: Thurs May 14: 9-9, Fri May 15: 12-9
Cremazie Metro, bus 100 & 54

 JRC Toy Warehouse is the only place in town I have found that offers amazing deals on toys. It used to happen only between October and December but now we have a quick May sale to take advantage of prices which are up to 70% off. Name brands from Fisher-Price, Hannah Montana, Mattel, Hasbro, Bratz, Little Tikes, Cars, High School Musical, Mega Bloks, Vtech, Spiderman, Dora the Explorer, Go Diego Go, Melissa & Doug, Spinmaster, Polly, Step 2 and Barbie have been found. Books are priced from $1 & up, there’s puzzles, crafts, building toys, educational things, baby stuff, plush toys and more.

Location: 5589 Royalmount at Devonshire
Phone 514-342-6979 X 26
Hours: Daily 10-5
Dates: May 14-24
www.jrctoys.com

Anyone who would like some free compost, the City of Montreal is giving it away the weekend at the environmental complex out East. Bring your own containers and pick up as much as you need.

Location: St. Michel Environmental Complexe at Jarry St. and Iberville.  Go to the Iberville entrance of the at the corner of Jarry.
Dates and hours: May 9th and 10th, 8am-6pm

This week, CJAD is doing its own stimulus package for Montreal. All week long they’re going to try to get you motivated to shop in Montreal and save money too. On Monday, I will be on The Kevin and Trudie show from 3-4 pm teaching you how you can stretch your dollars as far as possible. You can even call in and ask me questions. Looking forward to hearing from you.

Location: CJAD-800AM
Date: Monday May 11
Time: 3-4 pm

Krickets children’s wear is a Spring/Summer event in Gatineau, QC.  This is a hugely popular sale when it happens in Montreal. In sizes 3 mos. to 12 years, the brands they may offer are: Krickets (12 mos – 24 mos, 2-3X-4T, 4-6X, 7-12), baby (3 mos-12 mos), Sleepy Bug sleepwear and Squirtz bathing suits. You can expect prices to be 50% off all Spring 09 goods and up to 70% off previous collections. Fall 2008 collections are at 2 for 1 specials!

Location: Gatineau, Quebec at 74 boul. Greber (MAP)
Dates: Mon May 4 – Sat May 9
Hours: Mon-Fri: 9 – 5, Sat: 9am-3pm
http://kricketsworld.com

Chocolate and Mother’s Day, a perfect match.

1 – Let’s get back to the history of chocolate, how did we find out about it?

Columbus brought the beans back to King Ferdinand of Spain in 1492, they didn’t know how to process them. Explorer Hernando Cortez had spent some time among the Aztecs in 1519, and had been able to observe the processing technique, so he took this knowledge and some more beans back to Spain.

2 – I’ve heard that it was kept as a secret potion?

Members of the Spanish court fell in love with it after they discovered that by adding sweetener it became a wonderful drink. It was so favored that it was kept a secret amongst the nobility for almost a century. With the marriage of Louis XIII of France to a Spanish princess in 1615, the scrumptious secret was let out and dispersed throughout Europe almost as fast as an Internet virus.

3 – How is the cocoa bean turned edible and delicious?

To make chocolate, the football-shaped pod is opened and the cacao seeds found inside are fermented in the sweet pulp from the pod for days. When the pulp rots and falls away, the beans are dried and roasted, removing the shells. They are then ground into a liquid consistency known as chocolate liquor.

4 – What is the difference between dark, milk and white chocolate?

If this base is hardened, it becomes unsweetened baking chocolate. To make it palatable, sugar and extra cocoa butter are added, and then it becomes what we know as semi-sweet chocolate. For milk chocolate, the world’s favorite flavor, milk is of course added along with sugar, extra cocoa butter and vanilla.

White chocolate has only the cocoa butter, milk solids and sugar, and no chocolate liquor

5 – Okay, now we’re salivating, with Mother’s Day coming up, and this being a hard year, where can we buy deals on chocolate

Splendid Club Chocolate, 4810 Jean Talon ouest, Suite 100 at Victoria. Phone: 514-737-1105. Hours: Mon-Fri 10-3 6
For lovely inexpensive chocolate gifts (even for yourself!), sneak over to this building’s outlet on the main floor for factory direct chocolate (even Kosher) bargains on caramels, lollipops, pretty baskets from $12-$100, boxed ballotin, assorted boxes and chocolate hollow and solid novelties (Santas, bunnies, teddies). Corporate gifts are available by appt.   splendidchocolates.com

Galerie au Chocolat,  8985 Henri Bourassa ouest, VSL at Thimens. Phone: 514-331-8460. Hours: Mon-Thurs, 9-4, Fri 9-3.  This has been a secret spot for years, as they were a wholesaler and sold retail only to those in the know. The Belgian chocolate comes in milk chocolate or dark and is made in interesting varieties: rice krispie bark, raisin clusters, almond rochers, covered pretzels, caramel hazelnut wafers, blueberry or cherry clusters and espresso wafers. You can buy them bagged or beautifully boxed. The best deal is the white box of “seconds” usually found on the counter – same taste, priced less ($15 for 700 grams). You can even get free home delivery for orders over $75 ($10 if it’s less). Other location: 8305 boul. Langelier (514-933-8460).

Lindt Chocolate Outlet Store, 58 boul, Brunswick, Mega Centre des Sources at boul. des Sources. Phone:  514-695-3392. Hours: Mon-Fri 9:30-7, Sat 9-5, Sun 10-5. This chocolate company started in Zurich in 1845 and then acquired the famous Rudolf Lindt’s company in 1899. First check out the back of the shop which is 25%-75%, off and the chocolate still tastes wonderful at these prices. The shop offers you all the Lindt classics, including 9 kinds of Lindor truffles (intense orange is there), and for the “health conscious”: dark chocolate in 70%, 85%, and 90% as well as flavors: red chili, pistachio and cherry. There’s also Ghirardelli chocolate, Ricola Swiss herb cough drops and gift baskets. There’s usually free tastes at the counter.

Last month I mentioned a sale, I had never visited. I got a note from them saying they were happy my shlogging fans showed up (one of them wrote to me mentioning that the goods are very high end here and even sale prices were pricey) and that they would be continuing the sale, past the day it was supposed to end:

If you are fixing up your bathroom, you just might want to take a look at Imperial Decorative Hardware as their prices for decorative bathroom hardware are up to 80% off. There are faucets, toilet paper roll holders, make-up or shaving mirrors, towel racks and fancy door handles. Who knows what else you might stumble across?

Location: 4595 Hickmore
corner: Montee de Liesse
Tel: 514-737-3000
Hours: Mon-Fri 9-4:30