Mother's Day comes but once a year, so this Sunday, make up for that time you "borrowed" her car after curfew.

Consider a keepsake with a philanthropic twist, like the Blue Ruby Jewellery collaboration with Cause We Care. These stylish bracelets are made of teak wood beads with turquoise, aquamarine and blue quartz accents, and all proceeds go to the Vancouver-based charity. $20-$45 each or set of 3 for $55 at Blue Ruby, www.blueruby.com

Since you took away so much of her beauty sleep over the years, help mom restore her skin with philosophy's Hope in a Jar Night (the add on to the cult favourite, Hope in a Jar). This thick, intensely moisturizing cream that will have mom looking so young, she'll be mistaken for your sister. $48 at Sephora.ca and philosophy counters, www.philosophy.com

For a sweet end to Sunday brunch, visit the wonderful Beaucoup Bakery for a 10" macaron cake filled with Sicilian pistachio pastry cream and raspberry gelée, surrounded by raspberries and topped with fresh edible flowers. Serves six ($24), must be ordered by Thursday, May 9 by phone 604-732-4222 or email hello@beaucoupbakery.com.

Nothing feels more personal than an engraved item, which is why we love these stylish Colour Block Cutting Boards ($109-$159, plus $11 for engraving). There's still time to have one done for Mother's Day at Make at Granville Island, 1648 Durlanleau St., Vancouver, www.makevancouver.com

A good bag goes a long way. Vancouver-based Lloyd and Wolf’s Maddy bag combines fashion and function by acting as three bags in on: Extend the strap for a cross body bag, shorten it to make it a shoulder bag, and remove it for a clutch. Sourcing from Italy and Spain result in high quality skins, and limited production runs mean this bag is uniquely hers. $450 at www.lloydandwolf.com  or at Rebecca Bree, 3680 W. Fourth Ave.,  Vancouver, 604-714-0085, www.rebeccabree.com

Few things are as indulgent as the pure comfort of a hug and a hot blanket…like bacon. A big sigh, and a pork-filled haze. Oh Edible Canada, you win. This all bacon everything take-out window at Granville Island is a hot one.

From salads to desserts, it’s a full on pork corruption and a feastival for Editor-in-Chief Sarah and I. Standouts include the Whistle Dog with bacon jam, Bacon and Duck Rillette Poutine, but special recognition goes to the Box O' Bacon. Candied pepper bacon with a rye chocolate dipping sauce. Need I say more? You had me at hello. —Kate Horsman

Tribute to Canadian Bacon at Edible Canada, 1596 Johnston St., Vancouver, 604-682-6681, www.ediblecanada.com

After six years as the premiere gourmet attraction of the Granville Island Public Market, Edible Canada is venturing into a new role as a vibrant bistro.

Its stand-alone restaurant/shop is exactly what the Island needed: a much needed market where both locals and tourists can enjoy the best of regional cuisine. We started with the Fried Fraser Valley Chicken and Duck Terrine ($12.50), then moved on to fresh seafood entrees like the delicious Birch Syrup and Kasu Roasted Sablefish with peas, fava and lima beans ($25) and then indulged in the Strawberry Ice Cream ($6.50). All paired with Nichol Wines on tap ($7) starting with Pinot Gris and ending with Pinot Noir. —Anya Georgijevic

Edible Canada at the Market, 1596 Johnston St.,
 Vancouver, 604-682-6681, www.ediblecanada.com

Our idea of Russian roulette is spinning a globe to see if our index finger stops in St. Petersburg or somewhere in Siberia.

When it comes to replicas of planet Earth, plain green and blue will do for the classroom, but the condo requires something cooler. Consider an Earthsphere by Artline Contemporary Globes. The handcrafted acrylic globes are as close to cartographic perfection as it gets and come with a lifetime guarantee. Pick from an array of sizes, stands and silk-screened hues, like white and grey with gold latitude longitude lines (pictured). The material it’s made of means you can mark it with a destination wish list using a grease pencil and wipe clean.

Globetrotter meet globe hotter.

$27-$495 at Gigi B., 1663 Duranleau St. (Granville Island), Vancouver, 604-687-1565.

While many of the haute off the runway gowns that Carey Mulligan donned for the latest issue of Vogue couldn’t be zipped up (the lighter than lithe actor’s derriere wasn’t sample size), the vintage Cordobès hat she sported in the fashion spread fit her to tee.

We found the hard-to-find Cordobès at Granville Island’s Edie Hats in classic black, brown and grey ($190-$250). Shipped in from Seville, the felt flat-brimmed, flat-topped style has a history in the flamenco and equestrian spheres of Spain.

If a big brim is too bold-headed, warm to the trendy topper with a Montreal-made Robert Hall porkpie ($129) tipped back.

At Edie Hats, 4-1666 Johnston St. (Granville Island), Vancouver, 604-683-4280, www.ediehats.com

Their contemporary Indian cuisine continues to elicit eulogy, and now the dynamic duo behind Vij’s and Rangoli restaurants, Vikram Vij and Meeru Dhalwala, have penned a second cookbook, Vij’s At Home: Relax, Honey. We sat down with them in hopes of squeezing out some secrets.

Who’s the better cook?
Vikram Vij: I am.
Meeru Dhalwala: Personally, I think I am. But Vikram loves meats and I do believe he is a better cook of meats.
VV: And vegetables.
MD: No way. Absolutely not. Your strength is meats. Mine is the vegetarian.
VV: Let’s just say that I am the better cook.

What’s your favourite place to eat in Vancouver right now?
MD: Home, when Vikram is cooking for me, because he’s such a good cook [she says cheekily].

Meeru, you sing the praises of goat meat as the leanest of all meats, do you cook it at home and who’s your source?
MD: He loves cooking goat meat at home.
VV: I do. It’s my meat of choice. On Granville Island, Tenderland Meats has goat meat.
MD: A lot of the ethnic markets do too.

What’s your favourite dish from the book?
MD: Right this very minute, the Rapini and Shiitake Mushroom Curry. Probably because it’s September right now and it’s a very fall tasting curry.

What key ingredients do you work with when cooking at home?
MD: The basics are tomatoes, onions, garlic and butter. From the spice point of view, for me it would be turmeric, cumin, some cayenne pepper, because I like a hint of spice in the food, and coriander.
VV: For me the basic ingredient is alcohol in the cupboard, because after you’ve had a couple glasses of wine, everything else flows very easily.

What’s the key ingredient to a long, happy life?
MD: Eating a good meal and eating it together.

Read and watch more of our interview on today's Editors’ Diary.
Vij’s At Home: Relax, Honey ($35) at Barbara-Jo’s Books to Cooks, 1740 W. Second Ave., Vancouver, 604-688-6755, www.bookstocooks.com

The Harry Potter-possessed person in your life wants a trip to Wizarding World in Orlando, but your pockets are deathly hallow. In lieu of a Confundus charm, buy them a broomstick.

The new Granville Island Broom Company makes brooms fit for fictional characters and cleaning house. Handcrafted on-site by two sisters trained in the art of broom-making by their parents, the family’s brooms were featured in Bewitched and Harry Potter promotions. They sell standard Shakers, but we say opt for one made with a twisty Manzanita branch ($59-$170).

While it won’t fly you to Florida, a broom given on the occasion of marriage or housewarming brings good luck.

Granville Island Broom Company, 1406 Old Bridge St., Vancouver, 604-629-1141, www.granvilleislandbrooms.com

Audrina Patridge shooting off a dazed gaze, Spencer Pratt shrugging off responsibility with a raised brow and Kelly Cutrone with mouth agape giving what for—all moments from The Hills, all immortalized by Karin Bubaš as chalk pastel portraits.

Seeing an inspiring exhibition of pastels at the Musée d’Orsay followed by watching copious amounts of MTV are what led the Vancouver artist to create 20 drawings that capture with life-like perfection the less than perfect (yet still charmed) lives of Lauren Conrad and company.

Entitled With Friends Like These…, the show is both pretty and witty. If only the lovely ladies of La-la Land themselves possessed more of the latter.

With Friends Like These… runs until September 13, 2009 at the Charles H. Scott Gallery, Emily Carr University, 1399 Johnston St., Vancouver, 604-844-3809, chscott.ecuad.ca

For snippets from our interview with Karin (like who she loves and hates on The Hills), check out today’s Editors’ Diary.

We’ve outgrown Casey and Finnegan, but that doesn’t mean puppets can’t still teach us a thing or two.

With intricate hand-carved creations pontificating on touchy subjects like sex and death with satirical panache, an Old Trout Puppet Workshop show is anything but wooden. The Calgary-based theatre company—who’re also responsible for Feist’s Juno Award-winning video “Honey Honey”—dazzled us with their Famous Puppet Death Scenes a couple years ago and return to Vancouver this week for The Erotic Anguish of Don Juan, their take on the world’s greatest lover.

No need to pull strings to get in. Yet.

The Erotic Anguish of Don Juan runs until May 9, 2009, Performance Works, 1218 Cartwright St., Vancouver, tickets $26, www.thecultch.com

We like our workouts like we like our mini skirts—short and sweet. And new gym in town PowerVibe is letting us skimp on fabric, but not results.

The cleanly-designed space under the Granville bridge centres around a piece of equipment called the Power Plate, a vibrating machine that stimulates reflexive muscle actions and boasts the likes of Sting and Hilary Swank as fans.

But instead of leaving you to fumble with the strange apparatus, the gym gives seven-person, 25-minute classes, led by a very attentive and motivating trainer. A fitness fad? Our skepticism quelled when for days after our session we felt quad muscles we never knew we had.

Follow the class up with a 30-minute session in one of their personal-sized infrared saunas to prolong the calorie burn, oust toxins and reduce post-workout stiffness, and you really will be putting your best leg forward.

PowerVibe, 638 Kinghorne Mews, Vancouver, 604-687-8423, www.powervibe.ca for rates.