This U.S. based retailer is hugely popular with teens all over that country with its over 1,000 stores located in every State in the Union.  The rest of Canada was ahead of us but we finally got our shops in the Fairview Pointe Claire Mall and on the south shore in Promenades St-Bruno –  with more to come in the Fall.

“Quality at affordable prices” is their motto, so the trendy tops., pants, shorts, shirts for 14-17 year old females and males will not break the bank.

Fairview Pointe Claire;  Promenades St-Bruno; Galeries d’Anjou (Sept 28); Champlain Mall (Oct 12)

I got a request from a fan with messy neighbors who wanted to block out the ugly scene by using some sort of fabric on their fence. I had two ideas for her:

1 – Textiles Debouk sells water resistant balcony fabric in about 6 solid colors and in stripes too,  at 54″  wide. You fill find all kinds of other fabric here as well. They are temporarily located at the address below while their original store down the street is being  renovated.

Location: 7498 St Hubert St
corner: Faillon
Tel: 514-276-3278
Hours: Regular plus Sun 12-5

2 – LasCan,  has everything related to tents, awnings, webbing, tarps, truck covers, sports nets, etc.  This is a 52-year-old family company and they do repairs so they have all kinds of things that might work. I believe they have the webbing you can weave in and out of a frost fence too.

Location: 9001 Elmslie, Lasalle
corner: Dollard
Tel: 366-2800
Hours: Mon-Fri 8:30-12, 1-4:30 (no Fri afternoon in summer)                                                s

If you’ve just made that major move, it’s now time to buy new blinds for your windows. They’ll even come to you at no charge.

From the traditional to the contemporary, Verti Store carries a vast array of blinds and draperies that suit every taste, every window size and every budget.

This window-covering mecca will amaze you with 10,000 sq. ft. of  displays of custom made PVC, aluminum, wood and faux wood vertical and horizontal blinds; beautiful shutters; panel tracks; roman, pleated, cellular or roller shades and affordable draperies and drapery hardware.

Verti Store also offers many in-stock versions of the above products as well as over 1,000 rolls of fabric to choose from.

Stop by one of their 5 locations or call in to take advantage of their completely free and no obligation shop-at-home service. For the same pricing as in store, you can shop in the comfort of your own home with the help of their decorating consultants.

Verti Store has been serving their customers for over 30 years, providing them with the most competitive pricing possible. Whether you’re working with a restricted budget or sky-is-the-limit funds, Verti Store’s wealth of choice and ice and experienced staff can turn any house into a beautiful home.

This is the place in town for huge discounts on famous name brand snow-wear ( you may find Gusti, Deux par Deux, Innsbruck, Nano, Kamik, Louis Garneau, Lole, Orage, Auclair, Misty Mountain,  Sun Ice, Ripzone, Powder Room, Liquid Boardwear, Kombi, Below Zero, Killtech and Luhta for children, teens and adults

There’s downhill and cross country skiwear, winter outerwear and snowboarding clothing. Besides the  suits, there are Kamik boots, hats, underwear, socks, goggles and gloves.

There’s some liquidation on last year’s snowsuits at great prices. Hope there’s still some left for you. Please note if you have been there before over the years, that they have moved around the corner to Louvain St.

Expect to friendly and knowledgeable sales help even with competitive warehouse pricing. Brador Hiver’s exceptional after-sale service helps you out with broken zippers or replacement for torn knees in ripstop fabric.
The Brador Guarantee ensures that every item you purchase with them meets your high standards.

Right now they are offering an exclusive seasonal sale for their VIP customers. You can subscribe to their VIP mailing via their website at www.BradorHiver.com OR on Facebook at www.facebook.com/BradorHiver. This early season promotion offers $20 worth of FREE accessories with any purchase (minimum $100) AND they pay the taxes.

Location: 350 Louvain o. suite 133
corner: Meilleur
Hours: Mon-Sat 9-5, Sun 10-4 (Aug-Mar)
www.bradorhiver.com

Since 1964, The Tailored Man has been coming to North America fitting men (and sometimes women) with made-to-measure suits at Hong Kong’s prices (starting at $550, shirts start at $65). The suits come with extras you don’t usually see in North American stores: sweat shields, cell phone pockets and the pants have a heel guard and knee lining. When you order a shirt, you choose collar style, cuff and monogram location.

Sunder Daswani’s team is back in Montreal so make a personal appointment: 866-751-7868 or 647-989-0555 or www.tailoredman.com/appointment. To be added to their mailing list: goodfit@tailoredman.com.

Locations and Dates: July 24 & 25:  Centre Sheraton, 1250 Rene Levesque West, Phone: 514- 878-2000
July 26  & 27:   Ruby Foo’s Hotel, 7655 Decarie Blvd. Phone: 514-731-7701
July 28 &29:  Sheraton Laval, 2440 Autoroute des Laurentides, Phone: 450-687-2440
www.tailoredman.com

Parc Safari has something for everyone in your family. It is wayyyy beyond a drive around to see exotic animals, though that is an amazing part of the day. The water park, with its three lagoons (one with a waterfall), tube ride, and especially the new sculpturally beautiful splash pad/slide Lagon des dauphins, can be a whole day in itself. This new area offers up 8 water slides and 60 water games.  Here’s a tip: if you go there, keep your eye on the yellow pail of water.

Besides the safari drive, you can walk around three animal areas. We’re talking 500 animals, folks, in about 60 different species: elephant, bison, deer, camel, tiger, lion, water buffalo, yak, zebra, hippopotamus, rhinoceros, wildebeest, eland, black bear, monkeys, etc.  You can find great scrabble words as you come across the oryx, addax, gaur and onager.  Learning about the animals is fascinating:  giraffes only sleep 20 min a day, swan couples mate for life,  zebras are black with white stripes  (finally found that out!) and Shaka the lion is a movie star, having appeared in the film “The Aviator” with Leonardo DiCaprio.

There is no way you cannot be wowed by the lion and tiger clear glass tunnels which you walk through and are separated by a mere 3 cm.  from these beautiful beasts. Have you ever gone eye-to-eye with a giraffe? Well you can do that here too.

A lovely part about Parc Safari is that you hardly have to put your hand in your pocket once you pay to get in ($113.86  for a family of 4, or under $100 with a CAA discount). They allow you to bring your own lunch, and have endless amount of picnic tables in the shade, grass, and even a sandy beach.  The staff in the parc actually give you the food to feed the bears or monkeys, etc.  You can bring your own carrots to feed the safari animals – it’s so much fun to watch as they chew and crunch right in your face.

If you decide to lunch at Parc Safari, besides your burgers, pizza and hot dogs, you can munch chicken burgers, smoked meat, sausages, waffles, fruit smoothies, poutine (mais oui!) and even grab a beer. It costs about $8-$14 for the restaurant meals and $6-$7 in the cafeteria.

For those who like rides, there are still some retro ones that bring huge smiles (and screams) to both young and old. Where else can you spend a day on all the rides you want, as many times as you want for a measly $3 per person? The few extras in the parc are so minimal: a pony ride is only $4, and one on the camel is $6. The tube ride is a mere $2.  If you want to buy a box of animal food, it’s only a tooney.

Especially endearing is the  “custom spray” tilt-a-whirl ride. You do not have to go high tech to make customers happy on a hot day – all you need is a hose. As you get on this ride, a gentleman ask if you would like to get sprayed as you pass him; you can say yes or no, and even ask for a little or a lot. Where else can you select-a-preference-water-factor on a ride?

On a busy day the 45 min safari adventure can take up to 2 hours. This is NOT necessarily a negative. We must learn to slow ourselves down to the pace of nature. If you are inching along, sitting in the comfort of your air-conditioned car, you get to really take the time to watch the animals live and interact.  Babies are being shown what to do by their mommas, bisons are rolling in the dirt to scratch themselves, animals’ chests are rising and falling as they take a siesta, and yes they’re  peeing and pooing too – still a thrill for the kids. You can feed and even touch some of the species as they come up to visit you at your car window.

And we haven’t even gotten to the six stage shows and eight animal feedings or les Filouminous characters who wander around the park giving hugs.  There is so much to do that you can turn this in to a staycation weekend. Look on their site for reasonably priced 1 and 2-day packages, including an overnight in nearby motels or campsites.

Parc Safari is celebrating its 40th Anniversary this year so to celebrate they are having a contest with over $8,000 in prizes. You can win a backyard swing set, a safari package, summer camp at the Cosmodome, and gift certificates and passes. You can go online to fill out the form:  www.clikici.ca/ralleye-safari-2012.php

If you haven’t been to Parc Safari since you were a kid, it’s time to go back. The best deal is that if you add $20 to your admission price, you get a season passport.  Divide that all up into many days of fun and it is really pennies to enjoy this entertaining gem right at our doorstep.

Location: 280 Rang Roxham, St-Bernard-de-Lacolle, QC, J0J 1V0
Tel: 450 247-2727
Summer Hours: 10-5 for the safari, 10-7 for the parc  (less hours in Spring and Fall)
www.parcsafari.com

A smart shopper (whose son works at Loblaws), just told me that Maxi supermarkets are very consumer friendly. When you shop there, just bring the flyers from the other supermarkets and they will meet the price.

Using the Sodastream, you can  make your own soda with water and a carbonator. One carbonator adds fizz to  60 litres of water to become seltzer or flavored soda (cola, lemon, lime, ginger ale, tonic, root beer, cranberry, raspberry and diet flavors.).  It’s all natural, there’s no aspartame in the diet sodas and no high fructose corn syrup in the flavors .

It’s a green way to save our planet, no cans, bottles, no batteries, no clean-up. You simply exchange empty carbonators  for full ones and save money on bottles and cans.  The reusable BPA bottles makes soda for pennies a serving – about .25 per litre. The price is $99.99 (fancier designs can be $129.99 or $179.99).

You can buy your Sodastream at Warshaw; Uprooted from the Main, it planted itself facing the Atwater market. Warshaw concentrates on kitchen and household items. Prices are kept low, since they buy liquidation deals and pass the savings on to you.

The store is chock full of serving dishes, gadgets, baking dishes, table linens, curtain panels ($6.99 & up), placemats, shower curtains, bathroom accessories, area rugs and runners, plants, and a big espresso section.

Expect to find:
– a big selection of bar stools
– gardening pots, soil, vitamins, planters
– shopping carts from France with fun designs and words
– Klip-It lunch containers in all sizes: some have cutlery, salad dressing containers, room for an ice pack. They’re made of virgin materials which are BPA-free and lead-free
– silicone baking molds in all colors and sizes
– a huge display of Trudeau products. Their salt & pepper shakers are guaranteed for life
– aprons for adults and kids
– cushions, chair pads, throws, pillows, towels, placemats, napkins, tablecloths
– knapsacks that convert to towels, reversible beach blankets (in a carry bag) which are waterproof on one side.
– baskets and storage containers
– bamboo rugs, synthetic Persian rugs, bath mats
– novelty throws called Safari with animals and throws which reverse to sherpa
– specialists in espresso machines: Saeco, Caffitaly, Breville, Keurig with and without pods
– blenders, toaster ovens, grills, kettles, juicers, toasters, oven mitts
– hampers, picnic baskets, umbrellas
– a plant section in the store with oddities like lucky bamboo, money tree and ginkgo biloba.
– And the Sodastream machine to make your own soda

This is definitely the store where there is something for everyone.

Location: 145 Atwater
corner: St-Ambroise
Tel: 514-933-2250
Hours: Regular plus Sun 9-5

Dépôt du Plein Air is a Montreal based store around for 18 years whose  goal is to get you to enjoy the outdoors with down to earth pricing.

The store is a virtual camp ground with 8,000 square feet of products set up on display. Customers are encouraged to walk through the more then 25 fully assembled tents. Lie in a choice of 40 sleeping bags while testing the comfort of camping mats.

Take a trek around the store with a choice of more then 50 backpacks on your back or (in the winter) snowshoes on your feet as well as cross country skis and boots. There is a selection of more then 15 kayaks, canoes and SUP’s (Stand Up Paddleboards) available in 8 different colors. As well,  you can choose from a broad selection of outdoor clothing. The only way to know if a product is right for you is to try it.

The location is not as grandiose as some of their competitors…no climbing walls or membership fees. They seek out the best quality/priced products while ensuring a personal and knowledgeable shopping experience. They take pride in getting to know their customers, talking to them and asking them questions in order to define their needs and suggest different product alternatives to meet them. They offer  exceptional service, straight forward merchandising, lower overhead resulting in lower markups, ensuring the best possible prices of quality products.

Right now with every $100 purchase, they will give you a free hammock.

Everyone has clothing in their closets and drawers which they no longer wear, never wore or avoid. Now you can be green – reduce and recyle them. The S.W.A.P. Team holds twice yearly events, a big one in July and a smaller one in the Fall, where you can trade clothing. Fashion designers also donate new clothing to the mix.

How it works: You bring gently worn clean male, female or children’s clothing, and you are given tickets valid for exchanges. There is no limit on swapping on a one-to-one basis. In a typical event over 4,000 items are swapped, and leftovers (3,000 or so) get donated to Fripe-Prix Renaissance Montreal.

Take Off Your Clothes – Montreal:

1. Buy your ticket now before they sell out.
2. Bag your clothing, shoes and/or accessories for men, women or children
3. Download, print and fill out the handy label and attach it to every bag of clean and folded clothing you’d like to swap.
4. If you want to know what not to swap, check on their web site and also look at their laundering policy.
5. Drop off your clothes by July 22 (check out drop-off locations/hours)
4. Come to the event, pick up your exchange coupons at the entrance, and start swapping!

Location:  Place des Arts
Admission: $10 adv. / $12 door
Dates: July 28 & 29
info@theswapteam.org
www.theswapteam.org/montreal