Keeping it Local

We live in the perfect town for shopping locally.  We have the "townie" type mom and pop shops and then on the outskirts of town we have the farms.  In the summer there is no shortage of fresh, right from the field, produce!  Here are my favorite reasons to shop locally.

1.  You can't get any fresher!  Fruits, veggies, milk, eggs, meat, bread, coffee.   Who needs a big old grocery store!  All grown, baked, and raised right here.  I love that I get Jane's fresh organic milk down the street and that it came from a farm only minutes away!  Our eggs were gathered this week, and our produce (seasonal) picked the same day! 

2.  I'm supporting our town.  This was something I tried to commit to when we moved here.  It's not always easy because it's not always the cheaper way to go.  But I'm trying to do our share in supporting our local economy.

3.  The people!  We get to know the shop owners and farmers who are our neighbors.

4.  One of my favorite reasons- hardly any drive!  I HATE driving far to shop.  It is awful with two little kids.  Our nearest mall is a half our away with lots of traffic.  Like I mentioned before, we don't have any fancy stores, but we do have a small children's consignment shop that I get many of Jane's clothes from.  Check this out, I got it all for under fifty dollars last week!

5.  The products are awesome and unique!

Hometown Christmas

There's something extraordinarily special about celebrating the holidays in a small town.  Our suburban town center is quaint and humble.  There's no Gap or Starbucks.  It's not fancy, nor big.  But at Christmas time it feels magical.  Wreath's hang from the lampposts, neighbors light up their lawns.  The first weekend in December we welcome Santa to town with a huge parade.  Jane had a ball as she collected candy canes and peppermints and waved to floats decked out in green and red.

Finally the firetrucks started to come and every child knew that Santa was to follow.   But it was the moment right before, as one of the trucks played "Here Comes Santa Claus", that got me choked up.  Maybe it was the excitement on Jane's face, maybe it was the lost feeling of the joy of Santa that came rushing back at that moment.

Friday night I took Jane into town for the lighting of the Christmas tree.  The choir sang, the mayor wished everyone a Merry Christmas, and Santa arrived via firetruck in time to light up the tree.  We enjoyed Christmas cookies and watched the children visit with Santa.  (We're still in the, "I'll look at Santa but from a safe distance" stage!) 

The night gave a true meaning to the song verse, "In the air, there's a feeling of Christmas!"