Karen Lahm: Proof Positive of the Power of Commitment, Creativity and Collaboration: Its natural beauty and near perfect weather aside, Vallarta holds a unique appeal for those seeking more than just a pleasant respite from cold winters — namely, the opportunity to assimilate a wonderfully diff erent way of living in concert with a stimulating expatriate community whose respective life experiences, sense of adventure and creative pursuits add zest to the fascination of living here.

Best New Supermarket: Mega Cormercial Nuevo Vallarta, Nayarit: Now North Shore residents and visitors have a new reason to look forward to shopping for their groceries. Thanks to the recently opened Mega Comercial Nuevo Vallarta, located in Bucerias’ outskirts, they don’t have to drive all the way to Puerto Vallarta.

Best Way to Blow Your Diet: Paris Café Pâtisserie: In the dictionary, “temptation” is a 10-letter word, but at the Paris Café Pâtisserie it is only six letters: p-a-s-t-r-y. Eric Lenoir, cafe owner and pastry chef, learned the art of pastry making as a youth, while baking at his mother’s side in Paris, France. He has worked worldwide, including being a chef in Las Vegas and Ecuador, and starring in his own TV cooking show in California.

Best Nautical Shopping: Zaragoza Marine: “Like being a kid in a candy store” is the feeling marine enthusiasts experience when they step into the new Zaragoza, which has been described as the most extensive chandlery (marine supply store) on the west coast of Mexico. Starting as a hardware store more than 40 years ago, Zaragoza has almost anything a maritime aficionado could desire and is a proverbial “nautical Wal-Mart.”

Adopt an Alebrije: Most alebrije artists tend to focus on small pieces, primarily due to practical reasons. Indeed, the amount of time required to complete these intricately painted woodcarvings increases exponentially with size, and focusing on a single piece often prevents artists and their families from generating income through the sale of smaller items in the interim.

Great Markets Around Vallarta: Colorful and chaotic, the market, also known as el tianguis, is one of the most important shopping venues in Mexico, as in many parts of the world. Whether you need hair ribbons or a lethal machete, an embroidered tablecloth or a set of tires, a live chicken or the pot to cook it in – it’s likely to be at a local tianguis.

A Touch of Mexico: Is anything more captivating than a touch of Mexico in your home? We talked with three local Mexican designers, asking for ideas and input for providing that special Mexican touch. Whether you live here or want to pick up something for your home elsewhere, you’ll appreciate the input they offered.

Find It All Now!: Fashionable, stylish, chic, trendy, elegant, hip, smart and modish — not shoes or hairstyles, but everything required for your Vallarta home! From sofas to refrigerators, lighting to rugs, find it all — for indoors and out — just a short ride north of the airport in Las Juntas, along the highway to Tepic.

Best New Shopping Experience to Look Forward To: Liverpool: Red alert for all shopaholics! A new shopping center will open its doors in October, promising to be a menace to our credit cards but also a delight. One of Mexico’s most popular department stores, Liverpool, will feature two floors with more than 73,000 square feet of shopping space each.

Best Excuse to Sin: Xocodiva: New on the PV scene is yet another temptation. And we recommend you not pass up this one: delectable, handcrafted artisan chocolates. Made in a gleaming little South Side shop by Canadian chocolatiers Carole Fast and Charlotte Semple, these confections are mind bogglers, activating every pleasure center, bar none.

Best Use of Glass: Galeria EM: Intrigued by that funky little palapa-roofed building across from the entrance to Marina Vallarta? Well, you should see what’s going on inside! And you can, half-hour tours of this glass studio and showroom given in English or Spanish to those curious about the making of translucent magic from A to Z.

Best Baguette: Comercial Mexicana: Just above the bin of bolillos at Comercial Mexicana lie the baguettes, fragrant bayonets of bread with crispy crusts. At just $8 pesos each, this bread goes fast — especially on weekends because only 56 are baked each day in each of the two stores in Puerto Vallarta.

Turkeys are Red, Iguanas are Blue: To relieve their inevitable bouts of bucolic boredom, goatherds have from time immemorial moonlighted as unpaid whittlers of wood. But then around 50 years ago, the world of pro bono wood-whittling was changed forever when a Mixtec Indian named Manuel Jimenez began applying paint to his rustic carvings.

Traditional Jalisco Candies: A visit to Puerto Vallarta would not be sweet enough without these delicacies.

Hot Spot: The Marina Vallarta Malecon: Peaceful and pretty and a world apart from the hurly-burly of town, yet just 15 minutes away, this is the perfect place for those who dare to dream.