Sunday, February 24, 2013

You Deserve An Award!


 
As the country waits on tenterhooks to see which celebrities win what award, we'd like to give a huge shout-out to all our independent retailer kin. Far or near, all of you deserve an Oscar, and dare I say,  a solid week of relaxation and pampering!

For all you do - the people you make happy every day and the communities you support - we say bravo!  Now take a bow, will you?

We'll be back next week, friends.  Have a great week!

Lori and Scott




Sunday, February 17, 2013

Bring It On!

With Valentine's Day in the rear view mirror, we've got our sites on warmer days ahead as we head toward Spring.  Gone are the red hearts and pink candles, so sad to put away the last vestiges of holiday finery!  But, as we said, there's much ahead in the pipeline, as Easter nears.  Our front table depicts the nearness of Spring and focuses on local food products and great cook books - you'll have to come see it!



Of course, the key word in that last sentence is "local", because we love promoting our budding food businesses up here in Altadena, the new foodie capital of California!  Speaking of local, there are a couple of rather important things going on here this week.  One is the Town Council meeting on Tuesday, 2/19, where the public has been invited to give their opinions (again!) regarding big-box chain business in Altadena. The group Neighbors Building A Better Altadena has asked for a temporary moratorium on big-box development while our Community Standards are being rewritten, and we think that's a smart move. We don't see the benefit in rushing headlong into a commitment that would change our community so drastically without being entirely sure that's what we all want.  Sure, jobs are necessary, but we'd rather they come from independent business, not chain.  There's some great resources to study at The American Independent Business Alliance's latest newsletter, particularly the news that the Imperial Valley  Independent Business Alliance was able to influence the city of El Centro to pass one of the strongest local purchasing/contracting preferences we've seen yet!  The ordinance states "Local Business Enterprises" that are both locally owned and generate a majority of their revenue locally will win a contract if they come within 10% of the lowest bid by an outside company.  Food for thought for our town, too!

The other important meeting this week is being held by the good folks at the Altadena Chamber of Commerce at the Community Center on Thursday, 2/21 at 7:30 pm.  The meeting is for business owners who'd like to discuss needed updates to the Community Standards, so if that's you, please make plans to join!

In other news, our book signing with the authors and illustrator of The Chocolate Princess In The Land Of Plenty has been postponed due to an illness in the family.  We will let you know of the new date once we plan it.

Have a great week, friends, and we'll talk again next week!

Lori and Scott

Sunday, February 10, 2013

Altadena Valentine

Scott and I are lucky in that we hardly ever get sick.  We do try to eat good, healthy food and get enough sleep, but owning your own retail store isn't exactly a relaxing experience.  After five and a half years of working just about every day except for national holidays, it's a wonder that we haven't had to take sick time off.

As I sit here writing this, I'm also blowing my nose into a tissue, my eyes are watering and I'm dead tired.  Yes, I got the crud that's going around, but Scott and I are lucky in another respect, as well.  We know Marcia Copess of HomeBody Botanicals, and sell her botanical remedies and body care products at WFS.  How wonderful to know that when you wake to that dreaded tickle in the back of your throat, a natural remedy is right within reach!  HomeBody's Elderberry Elixir, Fire Cider, and Winter Chills Tea are seeing me through, enabling me to remain vertical and pretty much coherent.  I've talked to many people who are suffering with whatever is going around, be it a cold virus or the flu.  So many don't want to take a flu shot, and the flu shot doesn't guarantee that you'll escape, nor does it protect you from the common (or uncommon) cold.  Upper respiratory congestion leading into bronchitis seems to be the prevailing complaint from this particular virus making its way through Altadena.  Luckily, I seem to have been able to contain this cold to just my nose and eyes with the use of Marcia's products.

I love our creative Altadena artists, and that includes those who formulate organic and wildcrafted botanical remedies and body products!  Thanks, Marcia!

In other news, be sure to look for our email and Facebook page for information on next Saturday's book signing with the authors and illustrator of The Chocolate Princess In The Land Of Plenty.

We had a lovely Valentine-themed poetry event last night, with jazz by local musician (and poet) Amin El, who plays a mean standing bass, and his friend, Taka, who accompanied him on guitar. The poetry recited by Aldonia Bailey, Brian Miles, Debra Johnson aka The Smile Lady, Amin El, among others, was touching, sweet, sometimes bawdy, and as always, relevant to life today.  Here's a couple pictures of the festivities - if you're in the area, come on by, we hold these poetry events just about every month.

Poet And Muscian Amin El Enthralls The Audience

Amin El and Taka playing smooth jazz


The Lovely Aldonia Bailey Recites Love Poetry


Today we held a fundraiser for Altadena Community Church's bad-weather shelter for the homeless.  I'm proud to say that we're going to give them $150.00 - here's a big thank you to our community for helping out!

Have a great week, friends, we'll talk again next week!

Sunday, February 3, 2013

Webster's News You Can Use, Mid-Winter 2013

In lieu of our regularly scheduled blog post, please see our latest edition of Webster's News You Can Use, Mid-Winter 2013, here.

Have a great week, friends, and we'll talk again next week - we'll be back to our regular schedule!

Lori and Scott