Ten on Tuesday | Shopping Locally

Perhaps you were in line before eight o'clock on Thursday, perhaps you stayed out all night in search of the season's best deals but unlike many, Trevor and I skipped out on Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Though I've managed to snag luggage and expensive sweaters on Black Fridays past, this year, I've been focusing on keeping my Christmas spending local, handmade and small. (Plus, it's Tuesday and I'm really confused about why I'm still receiving Cyber Monday e-mails.)

You've undoubtedly heard of Small Business Saturday, a product of American Express. Am I the only one who finds this ironic? But, I've tried to make shopping small a bigger part of our holiday shopping. In Montana, our shopping options are limited in many ways. Our only affordable local grocery stores, chains.  (Though, we are glad to support Hennessey Market for our gluten free needs and the Good Food Store when we make it to Missoula.) For that reason, we unfortunately do much of our grocery shopping at Walmart. Perhaps its that guilt that's led to my newest insistence for support independent artists and local businesses.




I know that the idea of not shopping big box stores seems revolutionary to some and so, I've dedicated this week's Ten on Tuesday to ways to support local and small businesses.

1. Independently owned restaurants. Rather than grabbing chicken fingers and fries at Applebees or a microwave-cooked meal at Red Lobster, try eating at local dives and family owned restaurants. When out shopping with friends, grab a sandwich and soup at a local eatery instead of a burrito from Chipotle. A second way to support local restaurants? When you don't know what to get someone, grab them a gift card for food. Perhaps your friend or in-laws haven't had a chance to check out the new local place but buying them a gift card is not only a great holiday gift but also a great way to spread the word about supporting local.

2. Local coffee. Yes, we all love Starbucks. Especially those holiday cups, right? But, most towns have their own coffee shops - even in Montana. Actually, here, we have these adorable little coffee huts. You drive up to a little wooden shed, order your coffee and get on your way - without the Starbucks line. When family is in town to celebrate, consider picking up your morning joe from the local coffee shop instead of Dunkin Donuts. Gift cards and locally roasted coffees also make great stocking stuffers.

3. Microbreweries. Let's be honest, most of the guys in your life would prefer a six pack of unique beers to a new sweater. Chances are you can find a local brewery near you to - according to CraftBeer.com, most Americans live within 10 miles of one. If you need helping finding local beer, check out their search. In Montana, we have Big Sky Brewing Co. and Bayern Brewery in Missoula for beers and Headframe Spirits (located in uptown Butte) for various liquors.

4. Florists. Many florists now network with companies like FTD or Teleflora but making a purchase still benefits the small business front you are shopping through. A great gift for your boyfriend's mom or perhaps even grandmother is a holiday wreath. Wether you're looking for real or fresh, chances are, you can find a great option through your local florist. And, after years of working for a florist myself, I know that hurricane centerpieces are also a big hit when you're hosting holiday dinner. If you're in the central Pennsylvania area, I highly recommend Pealer's Flowers but no matter where you live, there are plenty of choices.

5. Handcrafted jewelry. If there are women on your shopping list, chances are that you have jewelry on your holiday radar. Though big box stores offer plenty of choices, local and handmade jewelers offer even more unique options. My personal favorite? Tina Steinberg's line of clever charms, personalized lockets and fingerprint jewelry.

6. Clothing. New clothes are a girls best friend. Or at least their best weakness. Though I will always love swooning over Anthropologie's newest finds, I have tried to add more handmade clothing choices to my wish list. During winter, new hats, gloves and scarves make great gifts for friends and Etsy is full of hand crocheted and knitted options. For Aiden this year, I chose a Montana shirt from local Montana mom & maker, Nici Holt of Dig This Chick. And personally, I'm hoping for one myself.

7. Non-profit Giving. Making a donation to a community non-profit in a friend or family member's name is a great choice for someone who is impossible to buy for. Eventually, this donation comes back to benefit the community where you live, as well. Other options include purchasing toys for families in need or donating holiday dinner ingredients to local food banks.

8. Shopping on Main Street. Like I mentioned this weekend, Anaconda held a great Christmas Stroll on Black Friday. The idea? To get locals shopping on main street. While your town may not host a christmas event dedicated to shopping locally, you should take the time to check out your downtown or local farmers market. In Wellsville, we had Weaver's Meats - and who doesn't want a gift certificate to buy meats and cheeses? I mean, that'd be a great gift in our house. Anaconda, on the other hand, has gift shops, clothing boutiques, and bakeries.

9. Christmas bazaars. Another way to support handmade gifts is to frequent the little bazaars that seem to show up this time of year. These craft shows usually feature an array of products - candles, candy, clothing, something for everyone - even pet treats! Better yet, these events are a great way to spend time with family or friends. Check your local newspaper and store bulletin boards for dates and times.

10. Pampering. Spas, hair salons, and nail salons are typically locally owned and operated. For the guys in your life, massages are also a great option. For a meaningful gift, take your girlfriends for a pedicure on you before all your biggest holiday party. Go for a couples massage with your boyfriend. Get your mom a gift certificate for a hair cut and color.




While there are other ways to support local and handmade businesses, I think that these suggestions provide a great start for changing your shopping habits.

So tell me, what are your favorite handmade or local businesses? 

Giving Thanks?

Thanksgiving is a holiday that I tend to find a lot of fault with - it seems strange to take one day of the year to sit down and give thanks for the things that we love, the things that we have been blessed with. I also find frustration in the comparisons made this time of year. "I'm thankful for the beautiful house that we have because others are living without a home." "I'm thankful for a great job because so many are unemployed". It seems unfair to give thanks by looking at what others are lacking. Instead, we're trying to be thankful every

That being said, we spent our holiday weekend in the most unorthodox ways. On Wednesday, I left work and our plan was to grab dinner at a summer favorite. Unfortunately, the indoor decor was lacking and the fries? Well, I thought I was dying a few hours later when I realized that they were fried in peanut oil. But hey, at least I could spend the next day thankful that I only ended up with terrible hives and the inability to breath for a few days.

On Thursday, we made a trip to Butte to take a glance in the depressing, toxic, Berkeley Pit - but unfortunately (maybe, fortunately), it never really happened. Instead, we spent the afternoon hiking up a set of trails uptown. From there, we were able to visit a memorial for the Granite Mountain Mining Disaster. Afterwards, with frozen toes, we went to our least favorite place in Butte to buy Christmas lights and movies for the evening. While I didn't end up eating any stuffing or pecan pie (trust me, I tried), we enjoyed roasted sweet potatoes and hard cider - favorites in our house.

Black Friday was spent preparing for the Anaconda Christmas Stroll, a fun annual event. While it was our first, we enjoyed the night. The local downtown stores stay open in the evening with a button contest, the judging of live mannequins, and other fun specials. For me, it was a great opportunity to network and promote my photography.

As for today? A four day weekend left plenty of time for cleaning the house, doing the laundry and grocery shopping. I just wanted to take a moment to stop in and let you know that I survived my first holiday away and in the time off work, I managed to fix my computer, too.

That means you can look forward to more posts this week. In fact, we're busy decorating for Christmas and even planning a party. This means recipe posts and decor ideas for you. And, the Making Time series will be back next week with a post on exercising. Perfectly timed after the biggest food holiday of the year, right?


So tell me, how did you spend your Thanksgiving? Was there stuffing involved?

Not for the Faint of Heart

I wanted to stop in to let you know that things may be quiet around here. And well, let's be honest, it was a quiet start to the week already.

You see. My MacBook is struggling.

I tried rebooting from disk and managed to lose Photoshop, great start. Well, rebooting didn't seem to fix the problem. After realizing it wasn't a software issue, I ran a nifty built in hardware test - thanks, Apple. As it turned out, the temperature sensor wasn't working in my computer, a diagnosis that made sense given the fact that my issue was the constant running of my fan and a CPU usage of over 300%. 

Ugh. This all happens just after I book two more Christmas mini-sessions. 

So, (after crying uncontrollably for six hours) I did what any brave 21 year old girl would do - I opened my computer. And inside, I found a messy logic board covered with sugary residue. PSA: Don't keep liquids near your computer, people.

According to Apple, and every mac repair center in Montana (all like, four, of them), the cost for repair would be no less than $500. But, according to Google, the issue could be possibly solved with some time and rubbing alcohol.

Tonight was spent removing my logic board and cleaning it thoroughly  Now, it is airing out and the goal is to reassemble it in the morning. Wish me luck.

While I am typing this on Trevor's laptop, it may be quiet here for a few days while I resolve my computer problems & get caught up on my homework.. After all, I've been thinking about nothing other than my Macbook this week.

So tell me, have you ever spilled liquid on your computer? Or taken one apart yourself? 

It's definitely not for the faint of heart.

Making Time | To Be Creative

The Making Time series began last week with a post about making time for yourself. This is a weekly series dedicated to time management. As a busy college student, I've had to learn a few things about this subject, the hard way. With the busy holiday season approaching, the daily balancing act is about to get even more difficult and so I asked a few friends to share their advice on managing a busy schedule.

This week's post is brought to you by a school friend of mine, Liatra, and focuses on staying creative and motivated. If you're looking for some motivation of your own, check out Liatra's blog or instagram feed! (Her artwork is drool worthy, people.)

As a working college student with many activities to juggle and events always happening, staying creative and working to consistently improve my art isn’t always at the top of my to do list. But as anyone even just sort of interested in art will tell you, it is very, very important to always strive to improve your skill and stay motivated. I, for one, have found that I even become more vulnerable to becoming depressed or moody whenever I’m not working on a project of any sort!

First things first, music is one of the main factors in my sanity. Some days I find myself halfway through the day without listening to any music yet due to business, phone calls, etc. But if you want to be in the best mood possible, you have got to listen to some good jams. (Can I add an "amen sista" in here..?) We also alter our state by the selection of artist, so keep that in mind if you’re looking to accomplish a large task.. For instance, trying to finish that essay while listening to Bon Iver is NOT going to fly.

Environment is everything. It also helps me to concentrate on tasks by giving myself a reward system. For example, go to your work shift and then you get to come home and practice embroidery, or do two hours worth of homework and then you get to finish that illustration! Time intervals (along with coffee and chocolate) are the best self-bribery systems available.

Being creative is sometimes challenging when you’re having a dry spell on ideas. I, for one, have a few specific things that always keep my thinking fresh and innovative - holidays, birthdays, blogs, and current events. Halloween consumed all of my creative thoughts throughout October and now I’m already coming up with ideas for December - including throwing a ‘Reindeer Rapture’ on December 21st. (I should totally copyright that. -- yes you should. I'm already convincing Trevor to let me throw my own!)

If you’re someone who wants to be creative or craft but has no idea where to start, don’t feel bad by going off of other people’s ideas! People publish blogs with the intent of spreading their ideas and projects, not to make you feel inferior for not thinking up that marshmallow reindeer pop yourself. We’re all in this together, and I certainly would have been lost this Halloween without Martha Stewart’s annual Halloween publication. The lady is a domesticated genius. Rookiemag.com and designsponge.com are also two of my favorite places to go when I’m feeling artistically uninspired. The ladies that run those websites are extraordinary and know their way around the craft store and kitchen.

Besides holidays, I usually draw influence from some of my favorite books and movies to base projects off of. I’ve been very into making collages and trying to learn embroidery lately, and every time I see a good movie I think to myself, “that quote is totally going into my next project.”

So always draw inspiration from your surroundings and never limit yourself to one media to work in. My favorite form of art has morphed from graphite, to ink, to 3D works, to needlepoint and back again. Learning multiple forms of art is also important to expand your artistic vocabulary and appreciation. I NEVER thought much of embroidery until I started myself, and now I have the upmost respect for any lady brave enough to pick up a needle.

Another thing I always try to do is create little nothing presents for friends and family. Care packages are the cutest things in the world, and lift your spirits as well as the recipients. A handwritten letter with personalized illustrations also goes a long way!

All in all, creativity is a choice and requires dedication to always be producing your best work. Switching things up never hurts anyone and allows yourself to develop more than you ever thought possible. (Me, enjoying watercolors? Never. Until I gave them a try and now we’re BFF status.) Always keep an open mind, never get discouraged over that portrait you’ve been trying to finish for over a year, and never stop exploring. (And make sure you check the Sunday newspaper for Michael’s coupons. So worthwhile.)

A lot of this advice was exactly what I needed to hear! With a busy schedule, I sometimes even struggle finding content to blog about. Staying creative can be difficult but Liatra's advice provides a lot of tips and tricks for continuing to work on your art.

Do you enjoy painting? Embroidery? Drawing? Photography? Do you find more inspiration during the changing autumn months or near the holidays?
Personally, I can't wait to start crafting for Christmas but, that kind of inspiration doesn't last all year for me. Rather than being a "spring cleaner", I've noticed that most of my motivation for decorating our home and designing new art for it comes during the start of fall. Hopefully we'll see  here again to share some of her other work!

WIAW | iPhone Edition

It's hard to believe that it's time for another edition of WIAW - where do the weeks go?

Each week, Jenn over at Peas and Crayons hosts a linkup called "What I Ate Wednesday". This week I decided to look through the many iPhone food photos I've taken lately and share some of our recent eats with you. While I make my best effort to get out the camera for photographing our meals, sometimes it's easier to just take an iPhone picture, instead. Plus, don't we all love to instagram our eats? And, to make it better, instagram finally came out with online profiles! but that's beyond the point.

The snow has led to nice hot breakfasts every morning. After last week's WIAW, we ended up eating pancakes for a midnight snack - embarrassing, I know. So, this week we tried to eat more eggs with extra veggies - and lots of sauteed potatoes too. Have you ever had sweet potatoes for breakfast? If not, you need to try it.

For lunch, we've been trying to balance our winter diet out with some lighter choices, though - soup and fresh salads all week. This weekend Trevor made a potato and leek soup that is to die for. I wish I was kidding when I say that I just ate my fifth bowl of it. In fact, Trevor's soups seem to be a recurring theme in my WIAW posts lately.

As for a guilty pleasure this week, we've been enjoying a fall staple - hard cider. Like I said, we found Angry Orchard on tap this weekend but on Friday night, after a long week of work, Trevor came home with a six pack of my favorite Hornsby's flavor and a bag of Hershey's Nuggets with Toffee and Almonds. There's a reason I love this guy. 

So, this week's eats in photos: 
1. Scrambled eggs with bacon, tomatoes, scallions & cheddar.
2. Chicken corn chowder with a fresh spinach salad & a side of hard cider.
3. Pork chops with roasted garlic quinoa and sauteed broccoli, cauliflour, squash & zucchini. (And more cider, of course.)
4. Filet with broccoli & red skin mashed potatoes.
5. Kielbasa with roasted red skin and sweet potaotes over a sauteed blend of peppers, onions, snap peas, broccoli & carrots.

Apparently we liked vegetabes even more than we liked cider this week.
Who would've thought?