Baby it's cold outside!

Wow. I am not ready for the cold. I guess no one ever is. Yesterday I got a rare chance to meet Scott for lunch. I was in between a client meeting in Naperville and heading downtown. When we were talking about where to go I just wanted some soup or something warm. 

He suggested Egg Harbor. We go for breakfast all the time, but rarely for lunch. I was game as I wanted a sit down place, but also fast. 

When we walked in I noticed that it was packed!  No suprise given how great the food is. We were freezing cold so coffee was a must!  

I always think of pancakes and bacon, but today we checked out their menu of soup, sandwiches and salads. 

I had the soup and salad combo. I chose the chicken and rice soup and a salad (maybe the harvest salad). 

It was a great and perfect for a cold day.  There is something about food in a crock that just warms your sole.

It takes a village (or a running community)

I have been behind on my posts and it didn't help that we were away for the weekend to complete the Disneyworld Wine & Dine Half Marathon.  We spent a quick whirlwind trip to Orlando to run the race and then head home.

I was thinking about the fact that we were not in Elmhurst this weekend and I wasn't sure what I would write about.  My blog is, after all, about shopping local and here we were - not local.

So, on Saturday we were waiting in the corral and had a long time to chat.  For anyone who has done a large race with 10,000+ runners you know that you can wait a long time before you get to start.  I brought up that we were not very local this weekend and Scott instantly disagreed with me.

He noted that we wouldn't even be at the race if it wasn't for Elmhurst.  It was an interesting point and absolutely right.  Here is why...

When we first moved to Elmhurst our daughter was only about 18 months old.  We were in that stage of life with too little sleep and too little time to do much more than work and chasing a little toddler.  Working out, running or doing anything for ourselves (or with each other) was not a priority.  After we lived in Elmhurst a few months I noticed a few things.  For one, when I parked at the parking garage, no one takes the elevator.  I noticed that there were a lot of people running by our house each morning and in general everyone seemed very active.

For us it all started on the first Thanksgiving that we lived here.  Scott brought up that there was a BIG turkey trot 5K on Thanksgiving morning.  It was the Dan Gibbons Turkey Trot.  I casually mentioned that it would be really fun to do a 5K one day.  We ended up having a discussion about how unhealthy we felt and that we wanted to set a better example for our daughter.  So..when spring came - we started running.  We had not realized what the Prairie Path even was when we moved here, but the first time we went to it, I was amazed at how many people were out. (Although you can't tell from the picture below)

A year later we were 90 lbs lighter (collectively) and we did the Turkey Trot.  It was awesome and it it led to many other race.  It led up to our half marathon this past weekend.

So, not only did Elmhurst bring us to that half marathon, lots of businesses were part of it too (see....I am bringing it around to the shop local element!).

As we sat in the corral, we started to take inventory of all the gear and services that we used local businesses for in order to get to that race:

1.  Runners Sole:  We love this store and go there for a variety of things.  For this race we both had shoes from Runners sole as well as socks, water bottles, Gu gels and body glide.  The other thing Runners Sole has given us is advice.  Their staff is very knowledgeable and they have given us advice on everything from running in the heat to pacing for a race.  I love that they are more than just a store that sells running gear.  They are a store that fosters running in our community.

2.  Prairie Path Food and Ankle:  When we trained for our first half marathon, I started having a lot of foot pain.  I was worried so visited Dr. Saera Arain who not only did a through check up, but also taught me a lot about what happens to your feet when you run and introduced me to the Powerstep inserts (changed my life).   They have been a great resource whenever I have had concerns.

It really made me think about the power of community.  We would not have been sitting at the start line of a half marathon if we hadn't moved to a community that inspired us to get off the couch and be more active.  On top of that, we had great resources available in our town to help us out and give us guidance.

I felt very lucky at that moment...at least until mile 10 (at that point I just felt like I wanted to sit down)

A Very Entrepreneurial Elmhurst

About a week ago I posted a note on the Elmhurst Etalk Facebook page asking about businesses that people really liked in town.  I got some great answers and have been able to check out a few additional local businesses I didn't know about.  (I still have a list of a few I haven't been able to check out).  Lisa, the owner of Monkeys N Munchkins made the point that I should make sure to keep in mind virtual businesses that do not have an actual retail presence.  There are quite a few businesses that live in their homes and on sites like Etsy.  Great point Lisa!

First off, I checked out Lisa's store on Etsy.  She is a top 100 Etsy merchant.  Here items are adorable.   Here is just one example of the cute kids accessories she features:

Overall it got me thinking.  Not just about cute jewelry, but about other local businesses that are in our town, but not as visible.  I started with Etsy.  We have quite a few Entrepreneurs in our town.

I learned a trick on Etsy that is very cool.  You can filter all of your searches by LOCATION. That means that when you are looking for something you can check out whether anyone from Elmhurst, IL is selling it.  I am SO excited to do this next time I am looking for something.  Here is how you do it.

Step #1
Search for your item on Etsy.com.  For this example, I have searched for "headbands":

In this case you will get listing for all sellers with anything "headband" related.  If you scroll down to the bottom you will find a field on the left that allows you to choose a "custom location".  Once you do that, you can type in "Elmhurst, IL".  It evens allows for "South Elmhurst, IL".

After you select it you will ONLY see sellers that are in Elmhurst.   Here are the Elmhurst, IL listings for "headband".

Give it a try!  This is a great way to support your neighbor or even local businesses that are putting their products online!  I had no idea you could do this, but by a few simple steps I can always check first to see if I can support someone in our hometown.

When the weather outside is frightful...

In the 2+ years we have lived in Elmhurst we have not done any real renovations or changes to the house. I think I was scarred from our house in the city where we did some major remodeling. Some  projects were exciting (gutting the kitchen) others were a surprise and not fun (gutting the basement after flooding). Although that is the house we got married in and had our daughter, my memories of that house are clouded by constant home improvement projects. After having a newborn and a basement that was gutted down to a dirt floor I declared that when we moved to our next house, it would be awhile before we did anything. In our Elmhurst house, my husband has been planning many things from painting, remodeling our deck and significant changes to the basement. (Our daughter calked him a Tinker the other day -- I think she is right). He has planned for years and a few weeks ago said it was time to start a few projects.

Because he knows me well and is a master of making me agree with him, he picked a surprisingly cold day a few Saturdays ago to suggest that we put in a fireplace. I grumbled about spending the money, liking our house the way it was, pain in the blah, blah, etc. We currently have a fireplace, but have been unable to use it as it needs work.. Of course he had done all the research, found a place (local - yea!!), figured out that we could use a gas insert, etc. 

So on this cold, cold day we trekked into Fireplace and Chimney Authority in Elmhurst. They have a showroom and if you walk in there on a cold day you will be hooked!  It was so warm and cozy and instantly I was dreaming of snowy days sitting by the fire. Yes!  It actually made me excited for a cold day (doubtful that I will feel that way come February). 

We found the right insert, placed our order and yesterday had our fireplace installed. 

It is amazing.  When I came home from work we had dinner by the fire and it was lovely. I do find myself less irritated by the forecast of cold weather as we have an instant coziness that our house didn't have before.   He was right.  I do love it.  It wasn't hard to do and it is a great improvement to our house.  Now that this is done, I think I have unknowingly opened the door to home improvement projects. I heard him mumble something about heading to Ace Hardware to get more paint samples...oh boy...here we go...

A "Masterpiece" of a store: K&T Colors

Okay....I am officially in love with K&T Colors.  I have a bit of a problem with art supplies....I just believe you can never have too much.  :).  When I posted about not knowing where to find Modge Podge and glitter a few people suggested K&T Colors.  I didn't know we had an art store in our town.     If you are a serious artist, this is THE place to be (not me)!.  If you are NOT serious, but just want something fun, this is THE place to be (me)!.  They not only have a good looking selection of art supplies for "real" artists.  They also have a lot of kids art supplies as well as craft supplies.  I found my Modge Podge!  Yea!

On top of supplies, they have the ability to do custom framing and conduct art classes.  What a great resource to have in our town.

My daughter founds some Crayola washable paint with GLITTER.  With the cold weather upon us, it would be great to refresh some of our art supplies.  She liked them so much, she carried the box around the store, refusing to put them down just in case I might change my mind.  She also carried the bag outside the store, into the car and into the house.  Glitter paint for a 4 year old is some serious stuff.

This is one of my favorite new finds as I usually go to Michaels for art supplies.  Instead of driving all the way to Michaels and running through 12 aisles of things I don't need (and will likely buy) looking for easy to use kid paint brushes, I can go 5 minutes from my house and be in and out very quickly!

Day 10: Uptown, Bachabee, Kie and Kate, oh MY!

My mom was in town this weekend in order to celebrate Halloween with us.  She braved the cold on Friday night (brrrrr) and was treated with the Pumpkin Ravioli I bought earlier in the week from Rosalia's Deli.  I have to say that it was delicious!  Everyone in the family (including the picky 4.5 year old) at it.  It was the perfect end to a VERY cold evening.

On Saturday we had a few hours before Scott and I were headed to Solider Field for the USA vs NZ rugby game so naturally my mom, daughter and I did a little shopping.  We weren't really looking for anything in particular, but we all do love to window shop.  My mom particularly enjoys Elmhurst shopping and just seeing what the stores have.   I also had gotten so many awesome suggestions from Facebook for places to stop in that I wanted to do some "research" (i.e....shopping!).

Our first stop was The Uptown Shop.  During the City Center trick or treating last week we stopped in for candy and I knew I wanted to go back asap.  The thing I love is that they have a little bit of everything, but it all seems to fit as part of the store.  They have jewelry, candles, toys, purses, clothes and home decorations.  LOT of cute and unique things in the store. It is one of the stores where you have to spend some time looking so you can see everything.  Every time I turned around I saw something else I liked!  Our daughter liked the toy sections and that kept her occupied so I could look around a bit.

There were so many things I liked that I could put 20 pictures in this blog.  One of my favorites was this set of entertaining dishes where you could change out a decorative piece for each holiday, parties, etc.  They were so cute and my mom and I were talking about numerous family members that would love these.  The best part is that I have never seen anything like it.  It is cool to see things that are truly interesting & unique.  (I may be putting these in the blog as a BIG hint to my husband...he is a loyal reader...hint hint, dear...)

After Uptown Shop, we headed to Bachabees.  We had been to Bachabees before and it is one of my mom's favorites.   Last time we were there, she bought a pair of socks for a co-worker that said f*** cancer and they were a big hit!

They have a nice mix of things from books, gift items, soaps, trinkets & beautiful ribbons.  Like Uptown, it is the kind of store that you can spend a lot of time looking and find new, fun things in all the nooks and crannies of the store.  I only got a few pictures as the 4.5 year old was enjoying picking up everything she could find, breakable or not (yikes!).  I spent a lot of time watching her so I am anxious to go back!  I took a few pictures off of their website so I could show how cute the store really was!

One thing I loved is that they had a cute book called "Giving Thanks" that is a guest book for Thanksgiving that you put out each year and everyone signs and writes what they are thankful for.  I host my husband's family every year so I may go back!  It would be a very fun addition to the holiday.

Another area I thought was really interesting is that they had a beautiful selection of ribbon.   I made a mental note for a later date.

The last stop was at Kie & Kate.  I simply love this store as it just exudes FUN.  They have clothes, accessories, gifts, toys, trinkets and lots of fun & interesting items in the store.  They also had some very cute holiday pieces and I had wished I had a chance to go prior to Halloween.  They had a "buy one, get one" sale on Halloween pieces.  They were VERY cute.   We all spent a lot of time do the "oh did you see this..SO cute".  My daughter in particular liked Kie and Kate as there were lots of books and trinkets that she liked.  She kept saying "oh, mommy...oh mimi...I must show you something".  adorable.

One of the really unique parts of the store is an area where you can create a custom tee shirt or onesie with adorable appliqués!  Very simple and cute.

I ended up buying an early holiday gift for my nieces.  (I was afraid it wouldn't be there when I went back).  My nieces are 9 & 10 years old and obsessed with Instagram.  They are constantly taking funny pictures of themselves, us and their friends.  When I saw this "Photo Booth" package, I could not resist.  It is a cardboard photo frame and some fun accessories (on sticks) to create some funny pictures.  This is absolutely perfect for them.  For a quick background, I saw something similar in Zulily about 3 months ago and wanted to get it for them, but it was way too expensive for some cardboard items.  I thought I would make it myself, but lets be real - I don't have time for that.  Kie & Kate had it for a THIRD of the price of the one on Zulily.  Score!!

Overall it was a very fun few hours of "research"!  Because my job is incredibly busy in November and December I am an early Christmas shopper (I have already started).  I have a great mental list of potential holiday gifts (and a few things I would love..of course!).

Day 7: One week in!

It has been a great week so far.  Not only have a tried a few new places and enjoyed the challenge of focusing dollars locally, I have gotten a chance to talk to quite a few business owners.  The biggest thing that has struck me is how committed these business owners are to our community.  This is not just about running a business or making money for most of them, it is about enriching a community that they care about.  It was very inspiring.

 I have been surprised how easy it has been to change my behavior once I was just conscious of my habits.  There have been only a few areas where I have have not found a great solution without our community (but I am still checking!)

Here is a list of things I have not been able to find inside Elmhurst.  None of these (outside of kids shoes) are a big concern, but I wanted to be fair that I can't find everything.

Please comment if you know of a place I can go for these items.  I would love to know if there is a great place I have not found:

Electronics (accessories): My niece wanted an iPad cover for her birthday, but I could not determine where I could pick on up within Elmhurst (we went with a gift card as well - a great option as I can't pretend to know what is "cool" these days)

Art/craft supplies: I have a love affair with Modge Podge & Glitter, but couldn't figure out a store where I could buy those things.  Similarly, I want to make a small fleece blanket, but don't know where to get fabric.

Kids Shoes:  Our daughter is about to need new tennis shoes.  We are partial to Stride Rite and other quality kids shoes.  It would be great to have a good kids shoe store in town.  I guess I could go to Kohls or Kmart, but she has wide feet and those are harder to find.  I haven't tried Shoe Carnival and will likely stop in soon to see if they will have wide shoes (and quality brands).

Not so bad for week one!!