According to our calendar, Saturday was... yesterday. Oops! So we’ve already revisited our blogging resolution: we’re dedicating Saturday mornings weekends to posting!
The last two weekends we’ve focused on shopping locally. There is a really neat little shoe store a block or two away that is having a store closing sale. Luckily, they’re not going out of business; just consolidating their inventory, moving in with the store next door, and continuing to run their online store. Last Sunday we stopped in and bought 3 pairs of shoes (two for me, one for Natalie) at a discount of about 60%. Needless to say, we’re quite excited!
This weekend has been chock full of local shopping. On Friday we ate dinner at a local Thai place (thanks to “Groupon Now!”), Guys and Wok, and finished the night off at our local watering hole, Friar Tuck. A couple friends were in town visiting from Arizona just in time for the 6 inches of snow we received that day. Welcome back to the Midwest!
Saturday morning brought the return of the Green City Market following the Holiday break. Oh how we missed thee! The market runs until 1pm and we couldn’t get our butts out of bed weren’t able to get there until after noon so a lot of the vendors were packing up. Despite this, we picked up some sweet potatoes, onions, garlic, eggs, and apples. A very successful trip!
For lunch we decided on a nice little place called Mista. They serve pizza and wraps using organic ingredients and they are quite veggie and gluten-free friendly. If you are ever in the neighborhood, you should definitely check them out!
Ice cream is probably our favorite dessert. We are very fortunate to have Bobtail Ice Cream within walking distance. Great homemade ice cream. We bought a pint of cookies and cream and paired it with some hot fudge we made on Christmas Day. Words cannot describe the deliciousness.
I believe Benjamin Franklin said it best: “Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.” We found that happiness on Friday when we walked to our local beverage emporium, Binny’s (thanks for the gift card, Aaron and Alyssa!). The Left Hand Brewing Co. was sampling some of their Nitro milk stout in celebration of bringing the beer to the Chicago market. This beer is a much tastier version of Guinness. While the brewery isn’t local, they are an excellent microbrewery in Colorado making great beer while implementing a comprehensive green plan in all they do. (We enjoyed Nitro while watching Beer Wars) Next time we visit the Denver area, we will definitely make a stop at Left Hand.
Today we visited a new church, Luther Memorial Church of Chicago, recommended to us by our pre-marriage counseling pastor. We have been searching for a church in the area where we feel comfortable and have the ability to get involved in a supportive community. We were both very impressed with this church and they have many volunteer opportunities that we plan to get involved with. Youth groups, food pantry, supporting sustainable agriculture are a few of the things we are interested in. Stay tuned for updates on these as we fully explore all that Luther Memorial has to offer.
Before we go, an update on where we stand with our $300 a month food budget:
Weekend Grocery Spending: $57.22 [Green City Market: 16.50] + [Trader Joe’s: 40.72]
Total January Food Spending: $294.43 [leaving us with 5.57... this could get interesting!]
How often do you shop local? We’d love to hear about your favorite stores!
The last two weekends we’ve focused on shopping locally. There is a really neat little shoe store a block or two away that is having a store closing sale. Luckily, they’re not going out of business; just consolidating their inventory, moving in with the store next door, and continuing to run their online store. Last Sunday we stopped in and bought 3 pairs of shoes (two for me, one for Natalie) at a discount of about 60%. Needless to say, we’re quite excited!
This weekend has been chock full of local shopping. On Friday we ate dinner at a local Thai place (thanks to “Groupon Now!”), Guys and Wok, and finished the night off at our local watering hole, Friar Tuck. A couple friends were in town visiting from Arizona just in time for the 6 inches of snow we received that day. Welcome back to the Midwest!
Saturday morning brought the return of the Green City Market following the Holiday break. Oh how we missed thee! The market runs until 1pm and we couldn’t get our butts out of bed weren’t able to get there until after noon so a lot of the vendors were packing up. Despite this, we picked up some sweet potatoes, onions, garlic, eggs, and apples. A very successful trip!
For lunch we decided on a nice little place called Mista. They serve pizza and wraps using organic ingredients and they are quite veggie and gluten-free friendly. If you are ever in the neighborhood, you should definitely check them out!
Ice cream is probably our favorite dessert. We are very fortunate to have Bobtail Ice Cream within walking distance. Great homemade ice cream. We bought a pint of cookies and cream and paired it with some hot fudge we made on Christmas Day. Words cannot describe the deliciousness.
I believe Benjamin Franklin said it best: “Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.” We found that happiness on Friday when we walked to our local beverage emporium, Binny’s (thanks for the gift card, Aaron and Alyssa!). The Left Hand Brewing Co. was sampling some of their Nitro milk stout in celebration of bringing the beer to the Chicago market. This beer is a much tastier version of Guinness. While the brewery isn’t local, they are an excellent microbrewery in Colorado making great beer while implementing a comprehensive green plan in all they do. (We enjoyed Nitro while watching Beer Wars) Next time we visit the Denver area, we will definitely make a stop at Left Hand.
Today we visited a new church, Luther Memorial Church of Chicago, recommended to us by our pre-marriage counseling pastor. We have been searching for a church in the area where we feel comfortable and have the ability to get involved in a supportive community. We were both very impressed with this church and they have many volunteer opportunities that we plan to get involved with. Youth groups, food pantry, supporting sustainable agriculture are a few of the things we are interested in. Stay tuned for updates on these as we fully explore all that Luther Memorial has to offer.
Before we go, an update on where we stand with our $300 a month food budget:
Weekend Grocery Spending: $57.22 [Green City Market: 16.50] + [Trader Joe’s: 40.72]
Total January Food Spending: $294.43 [leaving us with 5.57... this could get interesting!]
How often do you shop local? We’d love to hear about your favorite stores!
Firstly, just discovered your blog today (thanks FB) and love it.
ReplyDeleteSecondly, this is such a Shane post...and I love it.
Thirdly, shout out to CO microbrews. And Adam and I just watched beer wars this weekend, too! What didja think?
Finally, you two are the best...married...couple...ever.
Sincerely,
Your wedding reader #2
Thanks Beth!
DeleteWe both thought Beer Wars was very interesting. We have been trying to buy only micro brews lately and that documentary just further solidified our opinion that micros are best.
Hope all is going well!