Nella Vita di Resolutions #1: Mom and Pop

No, I’m not suggesting that your resolution should be to become a mom or pop this year, but that you should support one (the great news is that it doesn’t have to be your own). Buy shopping locally at Mom and Pop Shops you are able to get the products you need with a side of warm fuzzies. Here are 7 reasons to shop local.

1. It keeps dollars in our economy. Money is good.
2. It creates local jobs. Jobs are good and pretty important in maintaining a good quality of life. Plus, if more people have jobs, they will require less services which means less taxes.
3. It helps fund local government. Working for the local government this pleases me…please shop local, I need a raise!
4. It supports area non-profits. Who wouldn’t want this?
5. It helps the environment. See above.
6. It invests in entrepreneurship. I like the idea of rewarding creative, hard working people with my money.
7. It makes your town/city/village a destination, so that others will flock from afar to spend their non-local money J

I’m a big believer in small steps for big changes. So I’m not proposing that everyone must vow to buy everything they ever need/want from local retailers. Instead I suggest that each person choose one item and make a commitment (it’s like a resolution but with teeth) to only buy that item locally or choose one local store to support. For me, I’m going to buy all my yarn (and I buy a lot of yarn) from local Charlottesville yarn stores this year. Who will you support?

Nella Vita di Resolutions

Ah the New Year. In the perpetual kickball game that is life, New Years is like coming up to kick all over again. Perhaps it is a chance to redeem yourself from previous shortcomings or a chance to once again shine and punt the ball over the fence. Either way, most people step up to the plate with some sort of resolve (I will not suck) just as most people step into the new year with a mantra of determination (I will not suck). But not sucking is easier said than done; how do we not suck at life? It is a question many of us strive to answer. Over the next few posts, I will share five New Year resolutions that will put you on the path to not sucking. Not being perfect myself (surprising I know), I will even include what I plan to do to reach each resolution.

Nella Vita di Fat Asses and No Asses

Just in time for the holiday gorge fest is this 'fat map' from Huffington Post. It shows calorie consumption per capita or in other words, where people are over eating and where people aren't even eating at all. No surprise really that third world and developing countries are those whose citizens are most likely to starve. Of course if forgoing a second helping of mashed potatoes will not magically allow an African child to eat them, but I think it is worth a reminder about our own consumption habits and how they may affect the world. If this Thanksgiving we served one less dish at dinner and took the money we saved to invest in a feed the world program imagine the impact we could have.

Nella Vita di Tree Dwellers

Every year I always want to put up a Christmas tree, but something always comes up and the fact that I'm not at my house on Christmas morning makes the whole thing seem moot. This year Shane and I will be spending Christmas in Florida (nothing like Santa and sandals) with my Nanny and Poppy. That added with the fact that we just moved and really don't think throwing garland on stacks of boxes will be that festive. Next year though, will be our first Christmas as a married couple and damn right we will have a tree!

These cute little ornaments from anthropologie are enough to tempt me to at least get a Charlie Brown reject this year, but at $12 a pop, I think I'll just wait til they go on sale and January and stash them away for next year.

Nella Vita di Heaven

Forget fluffy white clouds in the sky, this is where I plan to go!

Nella Vita di Ugly Chair/Pretty Chair

When I moved in, Shane had four old chairs that really should have been put out of their misery two decades ago. One has since been burned in our ritual furniture sacrifice due to Shane using it as a door stop...outside (can you say mold!). The other three have been hidden away in unused rooms in our house. A project I've slowly been working on in the family room is setting up my own sewing/craft station. I decided that a cute and happy sewing/craft table chair would be the perfect first step, and what better to use than le ugli chair?



I painted it blue (clearly) to match a repainted blue bookshelf of the same color I already had in there. The pattern is a bit busy, but for some reason I've been drawn to busyness in the family room, perhaps because it is such a large space. Regardless this fabric just seemed very happy but relatively neutral at the same time. This fabric will surface again in another project that I've been working on.

Nella Vita di Indoctrination

Ah is there anything better than a young mind. So thirsty for knowledge and easily malleable to the persuasion of their superiors. And what better to fill those naive young minds with then historic preservation. That's right, it's time for next generation indoctrination!

As I child, I know how much I loved going to museums and exploring old houses and structures, longing to learn all of their secrets and inner workings. As an adult, I can not wait until I have kids of my own and can teach them about all the wonders that the built environment has to offer and the complete joy they can experience uncovering the past (though if psychology has taught me anything, my kids will become suburbanites that love modern art...they will quickly be shunned and written out of my will :) ). Walking around downtown, I can't help but think how fun it will be to have architectural scavenger hunts...i.e. how many Doric columns can we find? (If there were any doubts about my complete dorkitude, I think the last sentence will squash them).

Apparently however, I am not the only one. I've come across a couple great websites that are great (and fun) tools for teaching historic preservation and appreciation for the built environment and history in general. St. Louis Historic Preservation has a great site on teaching different kinds of building materials and even features a fun quiz (I am ashamed to say that I did pretty horribly...clearly my current realm of grants and affordable housing has weakened my mind!). The History Channel, as part of its Save our History campaign, has some great lesson plans too (for those of you who prefer a more structured brain washing). You have to register to access the plans; I just said I was a home-schooler. I'm sure there are plenty of other great sites out there, so if you come across any please share. In the mean time, if you happen to come across a child be sure to tell them that all the cool kids know what rusticated limestone means and that the real reason it rains is because God is crying because somewhere an old barn just fell down.