Making the "Ruff Life" of Our Pets a Little Easier

I stumbled into Ruff Life during my 30 day challenge last fall.  I had heard that there was a great pet specialty store and thought I would check it out as we practically have a zoo at our house.  Okay,  we are not that bad - just 3 dogs and 1 cat (there are no fish or partridges in a pear tree quite yet).  I went in with the idea to just check it out and get a few treats for our furry members of the family.  In that visit I met Chris, the owner of Ruff Life.

Chris and I had a great talk about local business and how as a community member he opened Ruff Life to serve a need in the community and that he was a big fan of Elmhurst.  I have been excited to tell his story about he and his wife Eliza and their vision and passion around Ruff Life.

Here goes...

Chris and Eliza live and breathe retail.  Both of them have spend considerable amount of time running large specialty retail stores such as Walter E. Smith and Dicks Sporting Goods.  In fact, Eliza is still at Walter E Smith - hmm..I see some cross over here.  Can they make a couch that just has an official scratch post on the side since my cat seems to think that is what it is for anyway?? Sorry to digress.  Back to Chris and Eliza...

Chris and Eliza moved to Elmhurst about 12 years ago as they want do join an amazing community for their boys (who now go to York).  It is no wonder with their background that they would eventually open a store of their own.  They opened Ruff Life in May of 2014.

So why a specialty retail store?  Well - it was all about two little furry family members:  Their dogs, Bradley and Lucy.

Chris explains it like this:

"Both have allergy issues...both food and external such as grass. We used to drive about 30 minutes to buy food for Bradley...We decided to rescue Lucy about 2 years ago and she was in even worse shape...After researching and learning constantly, we decided that Elmhurst needed a store like this.  We knew there was a need based on location and how much people love their animals here".  Below is a picture of Lucy - such a cutie!  Ruff Life is also very active in supporting pet rescue organizations and often have adoption events in store.

I love that the store was based on both a passion for them and our community as well as a need.  Ruff Life fills that need by having products that have zero wheat, corn or soy.  The other thing is that they pride themselves on providing these foods without breaking the bank.  They are often times cheaper (YES, cheaper) than the big box retailers that carry the same brands.  In addition, they have a rewards program that gives you $25 for every $250 your accumulate.  In addition, they have some interesting supplements, treats & toys that you can't find everywhere.  Some of them look so good, you will want to eat them (ha!).

I find that local businesses are about personal service.  If you have any pet food, treat or toy need, stop in to see if they can help. When we adopted our latest puggle, Buddy, we realized quickly that he is a chewer..of everything..all over the house.  Chris helped us find  a few toys and treats to help keep him occupied and stop chewing up our daughter's Playmobil princesses.  (whew- that was some drama in our house which was solved by some very specific toys based on his size and the things he was chewing).

So, why do Chris and Eliza love Elmhurst?  Quite simply it is because "We are so close to Chicago, but you can't tell.  It has a small town feel where everyone looks out for one another.  We love our community and want to see it thrive." say Chris.

When they are not minding the store or participating in an local event, their family is spending time together at Cubs games, watching the Butler Bulldogs in Indy or working on cars.

So if you have furry family members (or know anyone who does) please stop into Ruff Life and say hello!  They are located at 126 W. Vallette.

Coffee & Community at Brewpoint

"It wasn't just about the coffee...Its that fact that through great coffee we could have a foot in the door to build up the community, to form and support lasting partnerships, and to provide excellent service"
Melissa, Owner of Brewpoint Coffee

My first look at the people behind our local businesses is to look at the owners of Brewpoint coffee.  I wrote about Brewpoint during my 30 day challenge as I needed to find a place in Elmhurst to get coffee in the morning instead of buying it downtown on my way to work.  Enter Brewpoint.  It hadn't been open for too long, but I had heard great things.   It was also on the side of the tracks I need to take the 801am train into the city.

 It quickly became my go to spot in the morning.  By that, it wasn't just a cup of coffee.  They literally SAVED me during this ridiculously cold winter we had.  I went from a morning where I got to the garage, walked to the train platform, huddled with others and cursed the day that I became a Metra commuter; to mornings where I would enter Brewpoint, get "Good Morning" greeting from Melissa and Angelo, get my medium skinny vanilla latte and look out the window....until I saw my train coming.  I then could dash out, jump on the train and enjoy my coffee.  MUCH less cursing involved all around.

My love of Brewpoint goes beyond coffee and as Melissa expresses in her quote above, Brewpoint is about more than coffee.  It is about community.

So, who are the people behind Brewpoint Coffee?  The shop is owned by Melissa and her (now) husband, Angelo.  They have owned Brewpoint for about 8 months.  Within that 8 months they not only started a business, but also got married.  Yes, they are small business owners AND newlywed...and yes, they are still speaking to one another :).    They didn't originally plan on running the business together.  Angelo was only planning on helping for the first six weeks for so as the shop was opening up, but as it happens, those weeks turned into months and now they are running Brewpoint together. 

Brewpoint is an expression of their owners.  It is a themed around "exploration".  It is all about expanding your mind and expanding your tastes.  I have seen Melissa and Angelo trying new taste combinations and giving samples from interesting coffee drinks, teas and pastries to just try out new things. (Yes, at some point I will branch beyond a skinny vanilla latte).  They also have a great variety of different milks (some non-dairy) and gluten free products. 

It is no surprise that the coffee shop has a worldly feel given that it was concepted while Melissa and Angelo were in the Philippines.  I love how she tells the story:

"We started Brewpoint Coffee in all the wrong ways: ... I had recently left my corporate job to do community work in the Philippines; while Angelo had been pushing me to dream big and out of the box for months....I took his advice and there in a very hot house in the Philippines with a small electric fan blowing in my face, Brewpoint was conceived".

I love this story as it shows the guts and passion it takes to decide to be a small business
and that for many it is not a job, but the expression of an idea and a dream.  If you walk into Brewpoint I think you feel that in the atmosphere and you taste it in the coffee.

When I asked Melissa what was her favorite thing about Elmhurst she said "The people, Hands down".  So take a minute to stop in, say hello to Melissa and Angelo and grab a coffee.....or a pastry...or a Glazed and Infused donut (available on Fridays and Saturdays)...or all of the above!

Brewpoint is at 124 W. Park Avenue in Elmhurst.

Shop Local Blog is Back...With a New Twist!

I have been thinking for quite some time on what this blog should evolve into.  I loved the 30 day challenge as it fun, simple and really changed how I looked at my own spending behavior.  Biggest issue?  What the heck to do once the 30 day challenge is over?  Uh….I didn’t really think through that part.  Whoops.

I have been thinking a lot about where to go with the blog.  Clearly thinking a looooong time as it has been MONTHS.  Then, the Runners Sole closed, seemingly out of nowhere.  Right after I was walking down the street to go to see the movie, "Home", at York theater (cute movie btw!) and on the left side of York it was empty storefront after empty storefront.

It made me sick to my stomach.

Our local businesses simply cannot survive and won’t stay in our community if we don’t support them.

Being a business owner is very hard and truly a labor of love.  Growing up, my mom ran a small business in our town.  She sold gifts, hand painted art and other items such as gourmet coffee.  I watched her work a 12-15 hour day.  Every.single.day.  She didn’t do it just to make money.  She did it because she loved it.  She loved her customers and she believed that her business added to our community.  It brought people, revenue and something special to our town.  I have never seen anyone work as hard as she did.

When you support a local business you are supporting an actual person and a family that is IN our community, cares about our community and is adding that little something “extra” to Elmhurst. 

“Ding”

The light finally went off.  I want to showcase the PEOPLE behind our local businesses.  These are people with a passion and a vision for our communities and each and every one of them is very different.  They have stories to tell and I want to try to showcase these stories.

I want to tell the stories of the people in our community that work so hard to bring a product or a service to Elmhurst that keeps our community unique.  Without them, we become a “cookie cutter” community, no different than any other town.  I haven’t met anyone who wants that for our town.

So, in the coming weeks, I will profile some great business owners and give you a little peek at the person behind the business.  We will learn not only who they are, but WHY they chose Elmhurst as the best town to grow their business.  

Look for our first story soon -- until then, please take minute to stop into a local business this week.  

The End of a 30 day Challenge to Shop Local: The #wins and #fails

It has been an entire month already.  It actually flew by and it was only randomly today as I was thinking about holiday shopping that I realized that my 30 day challenge was "over".  I wanted to do a wrap up, although I plan on continuing to blog about great local stores & services in Elmhurst.  That said, it did start with a challenge so here is how I did:

#Wins

I did change my behavior in a big way this month.  I became a purposeful shopper.   Let me explain further.

When I looked at where my largest shifts came from there were two big areas:  Big box stores & online.

I rely on big box stores because they are essentially one stop shop.  You can get clothes, gifts, groceries, etc all in one spot so they are so easy.  I found myself buying most of the things I needed at one of these stores, but often buying more than I actually need.  Who hasn't gone into Target for one thing and come out $100 later??

My other area was online shopping.  Because I am so "busy" I used online shopping as a way to save time and money.  With daily flash sales, free shipping, etc it had been a great way to buy anything from clothes to art supplies.  The issue for me is that between "deals I couldn't pass up" and having to get enough in my cart to get the "free shipping if you spend X$" I wasn't really saving money.  OR I was buying the easiest or cheapest thing vs. what I really wanted.

I had never realized how much mindless shopping I did.  I don't just mean spending money unnecessarily as we do watch what we spend and work towards a budget, but not really thinking about whether it is something we really need, where did it come from, is it really what we want?  When you have to seek something out, get in your car and go into a store, you thinking through these things.  It made me much more purposeful about every purchase and therefore my husband and I were discussing how we spent less than usual this month, but were happier with the things we bought.

For example:  Instead of buying random things throughout the month that are a "deal" on Zulily for my daughter I bought her a Christmas Necklace from Monkeys N Munchkins, a special skirt from Pout In Pink and books from A Book Above.  These are all things that she loves and are very special. They were all bought for a specific purpose and not because it was a great deal.  Also, our pets' are also happy recipients as we are switching over to sourcing their food from Ruff Life and were already fans of using Floofins & Co.

I had a realization about half way through that I am so horribly over scheduled that I don't feel like I even have time to think.  That is why I find myself shopping for convenience over "value".  I simply didn't feel like I had the time.  And you know, sometimes I don't (see shopping #fails below), but mostly I was able to make time and overall found it to be a better experience. That purposeful thought around where I spend money will continue beyond the 30 days.

So, it wasn't all great which brings me to my #fails.

I didn't really have too many fails, but I did have one night when it just all got really really frustrating.  This was about a week ago and I had left work in  flurry to make it to a doctors' appointment that I had to make it to before 6pm.  It is very hard if you work downtown to get to anything in Elmhurst before 6pm.  For those that don't commute, here is the deal.  The first Metra train to leave downtown after 5pm is the 5:13pm.  For me that is a stretch as I have to leave by 455pm to make it the station in time.  That train when on time reaches Elmhurst by 539pm.  By the time you are off and to your car it is likely past 545 which will give less than 15 minutes to reach your designated appt.  It is doable, but not easy.

So that night I was on the 513 and the train stopped...just long enough to make it that I could not make my appt.  I had to call and cancel which made me angry to begin with because I had literally run out of work to make it.  It was the only night that week that I didn't have a late meeting or dinner that would require me to stay downtown for part of the evening.  I decided to make the best of it as I had two errands I really needed to make to get to stores in the City Center.  I needed a baby gift for a very good friend I was seeing a few days later and I needed to pick up an item I had special ordered from a local store.  I thought I had redeemed my frustrating evening as these were two things I could get done even if I had missed my appt.  I walked from the train to the stores it was freezing cold outside.  It didn't take me long to realize that the first store was NOT open!  It was only a little after 6pm, but they only had later hours once a week.  I got smart and quickly checked the hours of the other store on my phone before venturing any further and found that they were closed too.  I just about burst into tears, but I figured they would freeze on my face and just make it worse.

It was not my best day to shop local.  I did learn that weekday evenings are not possible unless I am just needing groceries or something at a national chain (Kohls, Kmart, etc) or I get to know which evenings stores have late hours.

Despite that evening, my overall experience with this challenge has been very positive.  We were tracking throughout the month to see the shifts we made.  (We didn't count utilities, car/house payments, etc in our calculations.)

 When we finished, we estimate that in the past 30 days we were able to spend nearly 85% of our dollars in Elmhurst.

It wasn't even that hard once we just changed our mindset. In addition, during this challenge,  I have learned a lot about my community and have met some great store owners.

I don't plan on stopping, but instead will continue to seek out and support those businesses that truly make our community unique.  I look forward to the holiday season and continuing the support, not just on days like Small Business Saturday, but all season long.

A little bit of Elmhurst at the Happiest Place on Earth

We have been very fortunate to take a trip to Disney this fall.  It has meant that we have been away from Elmhurst a bit this month.  Recently before going, I wanted to pick up a fun "Disney" like outfit for my daughter.  Previously we had an adorable Minnie Mouse outfit we had found at a dance store in Villa Park, but she had grown out of it.

I almost ordered something from the Disney Store, but I wanted to check to see if I could find something locally.   Also, I often see little kids walking around hot, humid Florida in costumes that look very uncomfortable.  The last thing I want to do is either carry around an extra change of clothes or deal with a unhappy preschooler.   I found the best skirt at Pout in Pink in Elmhurst!  It is a very cute, FULL, Minnie Mouse colored tutu.  I was able to pair it with a red and white shirt and it was perfect for the Magic Kingdom Christmas Party.

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I was asked repeatedly where we got the skirt as it was very unique and unlike anything else anyone had at the park.   We even had a few people that worked at Magic Kingdom (cast members) mention how much they liked it.  I was proud to say that it was from a special store in Elmhurst, IL.  The best part is that is so well made and from great materials so it was not hot or itchy at all!  MUCH better than the materials used for most Disney costumes - at a LOWER cost!  My daughter couldn't stop spinning and showing it off.  She also mentioned that it was so comfy that she wanted to sleep in it later that night.   Even though we got it for Disney I think we will use this outfit again this holiday season.  What a great find!

It's a Nu Day

I have been promising Scott that I would do a post on Nu Crepes since it is one of our favorite restaurants.   We go here often, but once the 30 day challenge started for some reason we didn't make it there for the first few weeks.

This is really Scott and my daughter's place.  I go with them from time to time on the weekend, but they usually go almost every week.  It is one of the post-gymnastics/dance rituals.  Our daughter loves Nu Crepes so much that if we even mention it in passing she insists that we go there (in that obsessive 4 year old kind of way).  

I think the reason they like Nu Crepes so much is varied:

Dad:  Adventurous eater and loves the variety.  Nu Crepes is constantly adding new menu items.  They are usually very unique and play on the current season.

Preschooler:  Only likes a few foods.  Peanut butter + banana + crepe = preschool palate happiness.

What I am referring to above is a crepe called The King.  It is the only thing she will order when we go there.  So much so that we don't even have to order for her - the Nu Crepes team already knows.  

I like Nu Crepe in particular because it is a really unique place.  When we have people in from out of town or friends from other burbs/city we usually take them to Nu Crepes.  Unanimously people always love it and it stands out as something really unique in Elmhurst.  They are a little tucked away in the City Center, but I think that is part of the charm. 

Sadly, as I write this I am on a business trip in NYC.  I am surrounded by restaurants on every block, but all I want right now is a Veggie crepe...grrr.

Over half way through the 30 day challenge

It occurred to me tonight that I am over halfway through the challenge I gave myself.  For a reminder, it was to take 30 days and spend as much money locally as possible.  There were a few things that I do without even thinking:

1.  I shop a lot online vs. seeing if I can buy it in a store.
2.  I love stores like Target and tend to default to Target for everything and don't take the time to see if what I need is available within Elmhurst
3.  I work downtown which means that I tend to have most services I use (Dr., Dentist, etc) and purchases (morning coffee, lunch, etc) all downtown.

So, I have been embarking on a challenge to keep my money locally.  The thing I have learned through this is that it has made me much more MINDFUL of where my dollars go.  I no longer quickly hit that devious "one click" ordering on Amazon the moment I see something we might like.  I really think about if we need it.  Can we buy it in town? Is there something else like it?  For all my shopping, I think this month might actually save me money (who knew?). I have had to break some habits and start a few new ones.

One of the habits I just love is buying coffee before I get on the train.  There is something about heading into a coffee shop in the morning and hearing the chatter of our community.  It is a great way to start the day and something I would not have ever thought about doing.

Another is just spending time getting to know the local businesses in our community.  These businesses don't just carry products or services, they are part of our community. I have found more information, advice and conversation when shopping at a local store.  Local store owners are there because they want to add something to our town and I have enjoyed becoming more familiar with what Elmhurst has to offer.

So, has it been hard?  A little bit.  It has taken more time.  A realization I had after week one is that I am horribly over scheduled.  I have so little extra time in the day that the thought of having to physically go out to a store to find something seemed frustrating.  What I found is that it really didn't take all that long (as long as I knew where to go) and actually it was way more satisfying to go into a store vs. click a button.  I have had some trouble with services due to hours.  I need very flexible hours and someone who is open late.  I have to take extra time to research the hours for dentists, drs, etc.

Overall, it has not been as hard as I thought it might be.  I found that I was mentally already committed to shopping local, but my actions needed a little work.  I am looking forward to the next few weeks (and beyond) to see where this takes me...