Friday.
Local Edition.
Honestly, I think this is true most days.
Minus the hot part!
But today is Friday!!
So I’m letting the other side of my new coffee mug represent today.
Fabulous, darling, Fab-u-lous.
The crazy weather pattern in Virginia continues.
We’ve had numerous days of close to and even hitting 70 degrees (F). And now we have snow coming in a few days.
Guess that means more time to read.
Reading.
I picked up this book at the library- This Is Where You Belong, The Art and Science of Loving the Place You Live by Melody Warnick. It was at the front on the new release shelves and caught my eye. I don’t think it’s a shocker that I’ve had a hard time adjusting to living in Virginia (yes, even 3+ years later).
Imagine how surprised I was that the author, Melody Warnick lives in Blacksburg, a town not too far from Roanoke. She wrote this book after move #6 and was determined to figure out how to fall in the love with the town she had moved to. I’m only 1/4 of the way through it but am thoroughly enjoying it. She was already said so many of the things that I have thought.
I live in the suburbs, with no sidewalks, so there isn’t really walking the town for me.
But she does offer some other tactics that I’m planning to employ.
Shop Local.
One of which relates to shopping local.
She refers to The 3/50 Project which is about saving the independent brick and mortar stores in the U.S. (I think this concept is applicable anywhere-the numbers are just based on the U.S.).
It states that if half of the employed population would commit to spending $50 each month in locally owned businesses, it would generate more that 42.6 billion in revenue.
Those locally owned shops are what give a town its character, but I often find myself in the same situation she found, which was looking for the cheaper option.
Those businesses can’t thrive without locals purchasing their goods.
It’s also been reported that more of the money gets filtered back into the community when you buy local.
Win-Win.
The 3/50 project is about picking three independently owned businesses and spending a total (or more) of $50 between the three places during a month.
If you checked out my Friday Faves last week, then you can see I already had a head start on March since I visited a local, independent shop and found lots of goodies to bring home with me.
Local Roots Restaurant.
The hubby and I are major foodies!
And the preference is for non-chain food.
We decided that we would eat over in this great little urban section of town, Grandin Village.
You might remember I mentioned Grandin Village in this post, highlighting the architecture of a church over there.
Now Grandin is a walkable section of town.
And there are always people out walking the sidewalks from their homes to the little shops along it.
We ate lunch at Local Roots.
It’s a Farm to Table Restaurant.
The menu changes according to what is in season.
I decided on the soup of the day and lunch salad. I can’t tell you what all the soup had in it, the waitress had me at “vegetables” and “it’s delicious”.
I did ask if they could add the pickled onions to my salad because they are delish.
My hubby ate their ham sandwich because it had him at “horseradish.”
I stole a few bites of it…and it was so much yum.
I also ordered the artisan bread because I was starving and was worried about having enough food.
If you’ve ever read any of my very early foodposts which can be found here, here, here, and here , then you know that I am mostly gluten free.
I used to be fully gluten free (no, I don’t have celiac disease… I have stomach problems that feel better when I don’t eat wheat…and yes…I discuss my eating habits with my doctor), but occasionally I opt for some bread.
This was the perfect, light addition to add to my lunch.
I didn’t even need dessert.
Oh, and they had an amazing unsweetened blueberry iced tea that I wish I was sipping on right now!
Co-Op
Part of the reason for our excursion to Grandin was because that is where the Co-Op is located.
I am a member of the Co-Op, but don’t get there as often as I would like.
We picked up the lotion that my hubby likes and a few other things.
I was very tempted by this mug, but it was a little smaller than I like (I drink huge cups of coffee!) and plus, I’d already picked up the new mug at the top of this post.
Soccer.
The girlie had her first middle school match last night.
I got to see a friend who is the epitome of southern sweetness, who is going through some heavy stuff, and yet she is there with a smile on her face and offering me a hug of hello.
I sat with women (and men) whose daughters have been playing soccer with mine for some time. I met some new mother’s who had girls on the field. All of us laughing and cheering for those girls. A little whoop, whoop when one scored a goal.
They won 5-0!
Later that night, I heard from another girlfriend asking me if I wanted to check out an expo this weekend.
And I reflected on the fact that even though I miss Florida and the friends and family there, I have met some pretty amazing people here.
And it’s relationships that make me begin to love this place a little more.
Music.
So with that in mind, a song I’m loving this week:
Let your light shine!
Amy
There are a lot of places I could probably live happily, and I’ve found out what I want in a location by living in one I didn’t live happily. I empathize.
The friends I made in Georgia are wonderful, and I suspect one of them will be lifelong. And I miss them. <3
We do the local thing much as we can. Small locally owned businesses are easy to use in our community and I would say about a quarter of our leisure monies go to them. BUT, even more than the price, for me, is time. I don't have time to be goin here and there, huntin all over for stuff, and for that reason, Amazon and Meijer are good.
Great post, Amy — nice variety and chain of thought 🙂
Thanks Joey. 🙂
There are many things I do love about it here, but I often miss my family and the smell of the salt air.
I did like how the 3/50 project defined local businesses. I tend to think retail, but they talked about restaurants, dry cleaners, etc. Amazon is my go-to place because I don’t like getting out in crowds and searching here and there. The oldest’s shoes come from Zappos because we can’t find his size in stores. I think that’s why I really appreciated the concept of 3 stores a month and $50 spread across. We could do that just in lunch dates, but I am trying to be conscientious about some of the other places that I like.
Pizza, dog groomer, tax guy, barber, fabric, Mexican, bbq, Chinese, butcher/farmer — those are easy close.
We are going shoe shopping tonight, and it will be at a chain, because I can’t imagine how many nights it would take to shoe four people elsewhere! lol
😂
I’ve moved around quite a deal in my almost 60 years. The largest, and perhaps scariest was from Australia to the USA, where I stayed for a decade, before coming back home in 2006. I made some amazing friends whilst there and some of the adventures and experiences I would never have imagined as a kid growing up in the rural town of Toowoomba in the ’60’s. I’ve just moved again, closer to the beach and also closer to my partner. She is looking after her aging Dad. My backyard has an amazing tree that reaches across half of the area. I’m going to feature it in my next post. 🙂
I really enjoyed this post Amy — you have a certain way with words that keeps me connected. 🙂
Thanks so much Kim! I can’t wait to see that tree!! I love a good tree. You can’t go wrong with moving closer to the beach AND your partner! 🙂
A lovely post Kim. It reminds me to take a really good look at where I live – I love it already but who knows? I may discover more things to love.
Thank you 🙂 I hope you discover many more things to love. 🙂
Oh, I just love that Bruno Mars song. And that book sounds fabulous. I’m a big believer in shopping local. Eat, shop, play local is the motto around here. The best way to support local businesses. Nice post Amy.
Thanks so much Miriam! I’m gleaming a lot of ideas from the book…am about 1/2 way through it. I liked knowing the impact of eat,shop, play local. It really helped me have even more of a paradigm shift.
Hi Amy, I love reading your post. I try to support the local products also, they don’t spend long distance on the road. I also grow several kinds of fruits. Right now we’re eating the second crop of the Valencia oranges. After the long winter of rain, the tree got a good soak, the oranges are very sweet.
Good to meet you at Nikki’s party. Here’s my follow. Please come over and visit:
https://theshowersofblessing.wordpress.com/2017/03/07/tuesday-photo-challenge-bloom/
https://theshowersofblessing.wordpress.com/2017/03/10/52-weeks-of-thankfulness-week-ii-bees-and-butterflies/
Thank you! And thanks for coming by. I love fresh oranges. I grew up in Florida where they were much easier to come by. 🙂 I’ll be over to visit!
I think we get oranges from Florida also here in CA. My city used to have hugh land of orange grove, but the also got traded into for commercial buildings!
I’ve moved so rarely in my life that I can’t relate to the part about having difficulty to adjust to a new city … yet at the same time, it is having a huge influence on our discussions about retirement and where we want to be.
Leaving mom, dad, siblings behind is one thing … but the idea of moving away and leaving grown children behind is an entirely different conversation. Throw in all our best friends and let’s put it this way – it’s not going to happen.
I can see how children would be a huge influence. I would like to eventually be closer to my family, but if my children were to all choose to stay here, then it’s likely that I would too. 🙂
We’re looking at houses in another state to retire in, but my children are here! We are full of doubts, and aren’t moving fast. I worry about leaving the kids, and friends. Only one sister is still here in town. We’ve lived here since I was 10. A long time! My Mom is in FL now she’s after us to move there.
It’s on our list to check out.
I love that mug with the camera. I too use HUGE mugs for my tea, but it’s so cute and it’s us. 🙂
I always say that I will move back, but if my children end up staying here then that would make the decision much harder.
Florida has wonderful winters (not so great in August). I will say one of the shockers of leaving was how many things are taxed in other states that are not in Florida (i.e.-personal property, state taxes, food…and probably more).
If that mug had been larger it definitely would have been in my cabinet joining my other mugs! 🙂
Hi Amy, great post and photos! I love visiting local stores too. Especially farm to table…that’s the way to go. It’s a treat for us when we eat out but better yet when it’s healthy and delicious! And I love your cup, the color and the quote 🙂 Thanks for stopping by from Nikki’s party and great to meet you! –Karen
Thanks so much Karen! Farm to table is definitely a wonderful option and so delicious. Nice to meet you too! -Amy
I hope you don’t mind comments from newcomers, but I couldn’t resist the urge to share.
I hear you on difficulty adjusting to unfamiliar cities (even after several years of exposure). I’ve visited Blacksburg several times (mostly for medical conferences around TT) and can see why the author would have difficulty making it home. But my spidy-senses tell me she has found a way to fit in and make it home. Hope you find the similar roots in Roanoak.
I’ve been in Romania on and off for the past few years and still haven’t made the emotional transition from tourist to resident. Maybe I should add another book to my collection.
Thanks so much for stopping by my blog Amy, and I’m happy to be here.
I love newcomer comments and am so thankful that you stopped by!
My husband works in Blacksburg and my daughter plays against a soccer team on occasion there, but I haven’t spent much time wandering its streets.
I appreciate the fact that the author talks about the effort it takes for place attachment, also recognizing that it is a complex thing to achieve. I will probably be talking more about her ideas as I find them quite helpful for those who move 🙂
There are definitely parts of Roanoke that I love…and then parts of Florida that I miss.
Thank you again for stopping by. -Amy
Like the 3/50! Will do more often. 👌
I liked it too! 🙂 I’m hoping to implement it more as well.
I NEED that coffee mug!!!!! I have never heard of the 3/50 project and it’s so interesting! Thanks for the information. I feel like it’s not only better to support local businesses from an economical standpoint, but like you said, a ton of local, family owned places have the BEST food! I love the ambiance, feel, and character of places that are individual doted over by their owners! Local Roots sounds perfect!! Congrats to your daughter on the big W!! 5-0 is huge in soccer. Have a great rest of your week ☺
Thank you! I love that mug too! 🙂 I only recently heard about the 3/50 project. I think eating & shopping local makes a lot of sense. 🙂 You have an amazing rest of the week as well!