Essentials: The Best Drip Coffee Setup

In our Essentials series, we like to feature things that may seem difficult at first but are fun and rewarding once you get into them. Today, we’re going to take a look at what you need to get started with a great cup of coffee at home. I recently visited Italy with a few friends, and it was my first time in the country – and my first time trying their coffee. I’ve always been someone who believed that most coffee tastes the same and as long as you add enough sugar and cream you’ll be able to enjoy any cup of ‘joe’. After trying more Italian coffees than I can count, my mind was changed. Once you have a good cup of coffee, it’s hard to go... Read More

(Editor's Note: We are continuing our BC Finance series with an article about financial advisors. One of the things most of us could work on is becoming better with our finances. In this article we ask the question "Do you need a financial advisor" - read on to find out.) Read on, and check out NAPFA for all of your certified financial planner needs. NAPFA is not a sponsor, we just prefer to use them over their competition. If you’re reading this article, you may be interested in finance, but just don’t know where to begin. You may be interested in investments, or you might just be lured in by my sweet by-line. Let’s assume you are... Read More

In our Essentials series, we like to feature things that may seem difficult at first but are fun, rewarding, or both once you get into them. Today, we’re going to take a look at what you need to get started with cigar smoking. Recently, I took a trip to Havana, Cuba and spent some time in one of the La Casa del Habano stores on the island. These are locations that are owned by the Cuban state tobacco company and the only place on the island that you can be assured that you’re buying a genuine Cuban cigar - there are a lot of fakes available, even in Havana. Cuba is known for making some of the best cigars in the world, but there’s a... Read More

It has been a rare sight throughout history to see the President of the United States sporting facial hair. As most of us have witnessed, it's now always a clean shaven face that wins the race. Around the 1960's, beards became extremely popular among the hippie counterculture involving drugs and uncleanliness which made them grow even more unfashionable in the political world. What also effected the outlook on facial hair was Fidel Castro and radicals during the 1960's wearing them which added the stigma of "American hating" to beards. It has even been blamed for some candidates losing elections. But times they are a changin'! And... Read More

When I was younger, I would always see my dad stroking his beard while reading a book. I didn't understand this. But, since he's my dad - I went ahead and began stroking my pathetic, hairless chin anyway. One day he caught me stroking my chin and asked "Caitlin, why are you doing that?" And I so nonchalantly replied: "Because Dad, it's not fair that you can grow a beard and I can't!" As this evidence proves, from a young age I have coveted beards from afar. Always longing to grow one, always being too feminine to do so. So it should be no surprise that the men I've dated and/or am attracted too are sporting the largest of the... Read More

Recently, I decided to go on a trip to Europe and wanted to change up my travel style. Typically, I pack a carry-on and backpack for all of my travel, but this wasn’t going to be ideal since I would be traveling by air, train, and even boat while visiting nine countries over the course of 22 days. What do you do when you want to travel as easily as possible? You go the solo backpack route. There are a lot of websites and Reddit threads with packing lists, tips, and concerns. After pouring through many of them we put together a list of some of the best gear for solo backpacking: it’s our list of the Ultimate Backpacking Travel... Read More

This one goes out to all of the Cube Heads out there - that's right, I said Cube Heads. No longer am I going to let us be condescended upon by that awful term Cube "Monkeys". It is such a blatant derivative of an animal that loves routine and lacks thought, we're more than that. No, no, no, from here on out we are to be referred to as "Cube Heads" an obvious relation to our Rock star brother, the Metal Head. Today we tackle the personalities of the people you will encounter in your typical office setting. Notice I said typical office setting. I'm talking about your classic, men and women of all ages and races office... Read More