Bright Nights in Stanley Park - December’s Season of Celebrations & Sharing I don’t know of any Vancouverite who doesn’t go a little soft and misty at the mention of the Stanley Park Miniature Train.  For those of us who are born and raised in Vancouver, or who have lived here for many years, the Stanley Park Train was a must to ride, as a child, over the holidays. This year, I was fortunate to take my 6 year old niece, visiting from Toronto, to experience this delightful ride.  Many of the decorations are original to the 1960’s.  I noticed duct tape around one of the reindeer who had definitely seen better days, but this added to the charm of this display.  I certainly don’t remember the thousands and thousands of lights draped over all the trees.  I believe this year’s firefighters ... 12/23/2011

THANKS TO VANCOUVER HOME STAGER SALLY WEATHERLEY....YOU ARE SO POSITIVE.Folks I was inspired to write this Post by Ritchie Nagar’s post “GIVE THE GIFT OF AN ACTIVE RAIN POST”Yes.... Lets Say Thanks to Your Supporters and Friends who are Part of your Life in the Rain during 2011. One of my Regular Supporters I’d like to say Thanks too is SALLY WEATHERLEY  http://activerain.com/exitstageright    …........ One of our our Favorite Vancouver Professional Staggers in the Rain...EXIT STAGE RIGHTIf you have not read her posts or your are not yet following Sally try and do so, she sure add’s value to our Lives as Realtors with her Positive Staging ideas and Suggestions to help us Sell Real Estate! Plus Sharing Her Holidays in Paris...haMERRY CHRISTMAS SALLY....Again!!! HAVE YOUR BEST YEAR EVER I... 12/12/2011

Christmas Photo Contest - Soldiers The Stanley Park Festival of Lights is aglow with holiday cheer.  This year's display was aided by the local firefighters, who strung thousands upon thousand of lights to the trees and buildings in the park.  Many generations have visited the park during winter, the great attraction being the miniature train.  Many of the decorations have been around since the 1960's, and have that charming, retro look that takes one back to their youth.  Don't miss this year's Festival of Lights in Stanley Park! 12/12/2011

Christmas Photo Contest - Snowmen Ornaments These holly, jolly little, wooden snowmen ornaments can be found at the Vancouver Christmas Market.  They are flown in from Germany and made with the highest quality materials.  Some of these ornaments are the size of your thumb!  These precious little fellows would make a wonderful addition to anyone's ornament collection.  They are oozing with personality and fun.  Check them and more out at this year's Vancouver Christmas Market on Beatty Street. 12/12/2011

Christmas Photo Contest - The Claus Family The delightful Claus Family:  Mrs. Claus, Mr. Santa Claus, and their good friend, Frosty the Snowman, can be found at the Festival of Lights in Stanley Park.  These delightful vignettes are found dotted about the Stanley Park Holiday Train.  Buy your tickets in advance, and enjoy a ride on the miniature train, full of twists, turns and surprises - great for young and old! 12/12/2011

Home for the Holidays 2011 - Sutton Place Hotel Vancouver - Christmas Trees I was honoured to be invited to join a host of very talented Designers and Home Stagers from across Vancouver to participate in this year's Home for the Holidays event.   Representing my company, Exit Stage Right, the theme for my Christmas tree is "A Teddy Bear's Christmas Picnic".   Ten Christmas trees are decorated, and there is a friendly competition for the best decorated tree.  In the next few days, I thought I'd share some of these fabulous trees.  Such thought and imagination went into each and every tree. Here is one of my favourite trees this year.  Those who know me, know that I'm a complete francophile.  I basically love everything French!  You can imagine my delight when I feasted my eyes on this be... 12/01/2011

Vancouver Christmas Market - German Uber-Fun! Welcome to the 2nd Annual Vancouver Christmas Market - 2011!  Want to reach down deep and access your inner German love for Christmas?  Well, you've come to the right place!  The Vancouver Christmas Market is like stepping into the Concorde (only way faster), and arriving in small town Germany.  Don your laderhosen, grab your beer stein, and check out this wonderful market.  The Vancouver Christmas Market is a joy to the senses.  - The visual splendour of Christmas trees, lights, decorations, unusual, hard to find gifts - The wonderful aroma of baked apples, hot cider, Swiss raclette and freshly baked pretzels - The sounds of Christmas carols playing gently in the background and squeals of joy from Children, delighted with the Christmas caro... 11/30/2011

Homes for the Holiday-7th Annual Westside Vancouver Homes Tour 2011 - December's Season of Celebrating & Sharing As a Vancouver Home Stager, I like to keep current with what's hot in the design field.  Today, I had the pleasure of touring five amazing homes located in the Westside of Vancouver.  These homes are in the toniest of areas, and boast the finest materials and finishes.  All five homes have been decorated by local designers for the Christmas holidays and are nothing less than inspiring.  The 7th Annual Homes for the Holidays is presented by Sue & Sarah, The Power of 2, with Dexter Associates Realty.  The public is welcome to pre-purchase $50 tickets to view these beautiful homes, and proceeds go to the very worthy Kids Help Phone.  Kids Help Phone is a service where young peop... 11/27/2011

Home for the Holidays - Sutton Place Hotel - Vancouver, B.C. Tis the season to spread joy and cheer!  This year, my Vancouver home staging company, Exit Stage Right, was honoured to be asked to participate in the 6th Annual Home for the Holidays Christmas tree event at the Sutton Place Hotel in downtown Vancouver.  Each year, designers are invited to decorate a Christmas tree.  For a small donation, the public is asked to vote for their favourite tree.  This year, all fundraising proceeds go to PALS, a school for children with Autism.  There were about 10 decorated Christmas trees, each with a different theme.  I chose to decorate my tree and entitle it "Teddy Bear's Christmas Picnic".  I hung brown, bronze and gold ornaments, and tucked some Teddy bears into the tree, shyly peaking out... 11/22/2011

Home Redesign Adds Personality to a Bland Home. Find out how... In the last PRES 5 day training course we had the opportunity to do a home makeover for a client who said her home was very bland, and seemed to lack personality. (A home makeover for living is all about bringing in the home owner's personal taste unlike staging where you want to create broad buyer appeal to the seller's target market) In the PRES hands-on course students apply what they learned in class to the two homes we transform - - one is a home makeover for living and one is a home makeover i.e. staging for selling. When I did my initial consultation and tour of the home I noticed they had a lot of very nice bigger furnishings and some attractive accessories scattered throughout the home. But it was true - everything... 11/15/2011

Are You A Lover Or A Fighter?  Are You A Chopper And A Thrower? - Vancouver Home Staging I was sitting down with a cup of tea and relishing the most recent arrival of one of my favourite design magazines (unfortunately, I can't remember which one), when I came across a fun article that made me stop and ponder...  Oh, and no, I don't really care if you're a lover or a fighter - I just thought that might grab your attention (he he he)  Am I a chopper?  Am I a folder?  Hmmmm.  I thought I'd toss this question out to the staging community, and see where the majority stood on these 'important' questions.  Ok, here's a bit of an explanation... When staging or decorating, do you give your pillows a "karote chop", or do you leave them as squares or rectangles?  What works best for you?  Why do ... 11/06/2011

As was universally anticipated, the Bank of Canada opted to hold its target overnight rate at 1 per cent this morning.  Ongoing uncertainty in the Euro-zone continues to weigh heavily on the Bank's outlook. In its statement accompanying the interest rate decision, it was noted that the bank is now projecting a contained Euro-crisis, but also a brief recession in the Euro-area due to ongoing deleveraging and fiscal austerity. The Bank also expects continued weakness, but no recession, in the United States through the first half of 2012 before a resumption of stronger growth. Given various challenges in the global economy, the Bank of Canada trimmed its outlook for Canadian economic growth to 2.1 per cent in 2011, 1.9 per cent in 2012 and 2.9 per cent in 2013 which is in line with our ow... 10/25/2011

I Received a Referral from LA- Thanks to Active Rain! What would you do if you received a phone call from the Real Estate Staging Association's Stager of the Year, asking if you could help out one of her family members?   Well, I'll tell you what I did.  I nearly plum well fainted! "Hello Sally, this is Annie Pinsker-Brown calling". "Sally?  Sally?...are you there?". "Oh, hi, Annie", I replied weakly (remember, I'd just fainted)!  Ok, maybe I'm exaggerating just a teensy weensy little bit, but you get the idea. Turns out Annie had a family member living in British Columbia, who wanted to sell her downtown Vancouver property, and Annie thought of me.  I first "met" Annie online, here at Active Rain.  I love the work she posts here, and can relate to her west coast style.  Eventually, I m... 10/23/2011

Before & After Photos - Home Staging Vancouver, B.C. My company, Exit Stage Right, had the pleasure of staging this condo for sale in the Cambie area of Vancouver.  This property was an absolute delight to stage.  The building is only three years old, and it has a lovely view of downtown Vancouver and the mountains to the North.  The finishes are high end, and there are many professionals in this building, including many in the medical profession, due to its proximity to Vancouver General Hospital.  We sourced furniture that would fit well in a condo-sized setting, using several glass pieces to emphasize space and light.  We also made a special effort to include many textures in the accessories and furnishings, bringing in wood, rouched fabric, smooth metals, and organic materials such ... 10/20/2011

A Bird's Eye View - Vancouver Home Staging One of the pleasures of being a Home Stager, is seeing my city, Vancouver, from various view points.  I live on the North Shore, and view Vancouver from atop a mountain.  However, it's always fun to look at the city from a completely different perspective.  The problem with living on a mountain, is that you don't actually see the mountain, because you're on it! Here are some photos of the view from a condo we recently staged.  This condo is in the Cambie area, a fantastic location, close to great shopping and restaurants.  I couldn't resist taking a few photos of the view from this condo on the 10th floor.  The first photo is from the first time I visited the condo, on a cloudy, rainy day, and yet I was still blown away by the view.  When we re... 10/20/2011

What's In A Name?  That Which We Call A Rose-Vancouver Home Staging When I was in Paris (oops, there I go again!), I would walk down from our hotel to the local cafe for my daily cafe au lait and croissant.  Every day, I would pass this flower store on Victor Hugo street, and just looking at the display of roses would set my heart a flutter.  I had an emotional response to this flower shop.  Actually, the store didn't even sell flowers in general, but specifically, roses!  My mind wandered back to Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet play, and the quote:  What's in a name?  That which we call a rose. Now, I don't know about where you live, but in my city, we can buy roses.  They are in the refrigorator section in a big, white, plastic tub!  Not very romantic, eh?  This shop in Paris, aptly name... 10/09/2011

Steve Jobs - You Made Me Love Computers - Thank You! I was saddened to read of Steve Job's passing.  Ironically, I first heard this sad news when I went to pick up my newspaper from the front door.  The Vancouver Sun newspaper had a wonderful article about this great man.  That said, I did love reading President Obama's comment:  "And there may be no greater tribute to Steve's success than the fact that much of the world learned of his passing on a device he invented". I could go on about what a great visionary Steve Jobs was, and delve into Apple's incredibly successful history, but I'd just be regurgitating things I've read.  I really want to talk about how Steve Jobs and Apple Computers has affected my life personally. I'm that "grey area" age.  When I was in high school, we had a co... 10/06/2011

VANCOUVER HOME STAGER SEEKS CHIPPENDALES As Home Stagers and Designers, we are always on the lookout for beautiful things.  I was recently on a quest for some Chippendales.    I just love the elegance of these historical items.  People who have Chippendales are known for their good taste and appreciation of fine craftsmanship and quality.  I also appreciate the sinewy lines and the combination of straight and curved lines.  The profile is really something to admire.  Of course, there are cheap knock-offs, but there’s nothing like being in front of the real, genuine, original article.  A good quality Chippendale keeps its shape, and is always polished and gleaming.       Oh, did you think I was talking about the Chippendale chair?!!  Sorry!  I had a great time the other night, with some ... 08/29/2011

Previously referred to as Queen Creek area of Pinal County, the community lacked any official name and residents used nearby Queen Creek for their mailing addresses. To coincide with the addition of a new ZIP code for the community on July 1, 2009, the United States Postal Service was petitioned to provide the area with a new name. San Tan Valley was chosen. Johnson Ranch is one of several new subdivisions within San Tan Valley that were built from 2001-2011. Shopping and recreational facilities are nearby. To View all homes located in Queen Creek and San Tan Valley Arizona, go to our web site at: Http://www.QueenCreekRealEstateSolution.com Examples of Great Home Buys in San Tan Valley AZ: 3 Br 2 Bath 1440 sf 1-story Built 2005 Johnson Ranch Subdivision $73,900 3 Br 2.5 Bath 1905 sf 2-s... 08/20/2011

Previously referred to as Queen Creek area of Pinal County, the community lacked any official name and residents used nearby Queen Creek for their mailing addresses. To coincide with the addition of a new ZIP code for the community on July 1, 2009, the United States Postal Service was petitioned to provide the area with a new name. San Tan Valley was chosen. Johnson Ranch is one of several new subdivisions withing San Tan Valley that were built from 2001-2011. Shopping and recreational facilities are nearby. To View all homes located in Queen Creek and San Tan Valley Arizona, go to our web site at: Http://www.SanTanValleyRealEstateExpert.com or Http://www.QueenCreekRealEstateSolution.com To View all Johnson Ranch properties, go to our web site at: http://www.JohnsonRanchRealEstateExpert... 07/31/2011