Living

Two-and-a-half year old Keenan lit up when he saw his favourite cashier at Donalds Market. Carmen Louie, the bespectacled object of his affection, gave the little boy a hug and with a warm, gap-toothed smile greeted grandma and mom by name.

The plants of Art Knapp have a way of hypnotizing you with their colours, confusing your sense of touch with their unusual textures and manipulating your sense of smell with their different fragrances of life.

Somewhere in the crowded midst of Briers Home and Gift, you can chance upon everything from a hand-held device that plays movie music to animal-shaped pacifiers.

For good service, press Button Button. The store that, for 18 years, has paid the bills by selling nothing but buttons, credits our readers with being the first to formally acknowledge it for what it is Gastowns hidden gem.

137 The length in metres of Kitsilano Pool. 900 The maximum average number of cyclists per day on Cornwall Avenue in the summer months. 700 The number of free-range eggs Sophies Cosmic Café serves on a busy weekend.

Little Hardware, one of the few West End hardware stores, has been around for 30 years. In 2009, Rose and Leon Albrecht bought the business and have been voted Best of the City numerous times.

We're brutally honest, says Erin Rae, licensed optician for Bruce Eyewear. These folks won't let you walk out with something that doesn't look good but, chances are, you'll find something that looks good in their vast selection of glasses.

ARIES (March 21-April 19): The battles youve been waging these last 10 months have been worthy of you. Theyve tested your mettle and grown your courage. But I suspect that your relationship with these battles is due for a shift.

When we told Kid Carson that he had won Best Radio Personality in our Best of the City poll for the second year in a row, his first reaction was to want to give something back to his fans.

Whoo-hoo! Its Vancouver Wine Festival week! If youre hitting the International Festival Tasting room, and you should, dont forget that the more you spit, the more wines you can sample and enjoy.