Instead of heading to the big box store or a big.com site, consider these local gifts that those on your gift list will love, plus you’ll be helping the local economy and the environment.

1. Gym membership. A friend of mine just asked for – and got – ten sessions with a private trainer. (Can’t decide if I’m jealous or not…)

2. Rounds of golf. Or maybe a gift certificate to the restaurant in the golf club.

3. Home maintenance certificates. Heating and air places sell HVAC ‘tune-ups’.

4. A load of firewood.

5. Salon certificates. These are available for haircuts, manicures and pedicures. For men – barbers offer these, too!

6. Massages.

7. Restaurant certificates. Buy from a favorite – or a new adventure! Think about special places for brunch, too.

8. Car services. Consider washes and detailing, oil changes and other maintenance. Do it yourself or pay the local garage or car salon to do this.

9. Yard work. Lawn mowing, gutter cleaning, or special spring aereating.

10. Season tickets. Maybe the Symphony, Playmakers, or a sporting event.

11. Movie passes. These are LOVED by teenagers and college students.

12. Pay for a Spring cleaning!

Of course, this list doesn’t scratch the surface. I’m sure you can think of many more. What are your best gift ideas from local vendors and merchants? Do you have a favorite place to buy locally made items? Tell me about it, and I’ll pass your comments along!

Like the garden. One of the things I have done is plant a wonderful garden. But I had to turn our sprinkler system off. I normally use 4000 gallons of water a month; one month this year I used 33,000 gallons – that’s $523. I turned off the system. Of course now that the garden is well established, it doesn’t need to be watered unless there is a drought. But still, I don’t spend time in the garden because I’m a wienie and like AC and don’t like mosquitoes.

And that’s just one of the reasons. And it will take time to make a final decision. But I’m thinking about it, asking myself where I want to spend the next 20 years before retirement.

I think I want to move to the city. When I think of vacations, I always pick a city. I like to walk in a city. I love nature, but I want to go walking in the city. So I want to move from my home in Chapel Hill surburbia to downtown.

So the question is this – am I going to move to downtown Carrboro or downtown Durham? I want to be in a vibrant downtown. If I live in Carrboro, like everybody else I want to be in walking distance of Weaver Street Market – which is the center of town. I own a rental house there. Is it one that I want to renovate and make it our own? My husband doesn’t.

So, we’re looking at downtown Durham which is going through an incredible revitalization. They’re even planning a store that will be like Weaver Street Market!

Stay tuned…

Batik is a Favorite at Metropolis

The clothes in Metropolis make you feel attractive and feminine, whether you choose something tailored or flowing. I’ve gone shopping there when I’ve gained when I’ve gained 40 pounds and when I’ve lost 40 pounds, and I can always find clothes that are great. It’s not your ordinary clothing store with racks of clothes that look like everyone else. These clothes have character. There are colors and prints – everything that going to be good for a woman to wear.

This is very much a Chapel Hill sort of place. I take stuff from his store to my sister in California. I didn’t even didn’t find clothes like this in New York. For a great selection of things to wear at a fabulous boutique, I’ll see you at Metropolis!

Happy April!

Crazy Viv

PS I forgot to mention the sales. Metropolis has the very best sales in University Mall.

Metropolis
201 South Estes Drive
Chapel Hill, NC 27514-7001
(919) 967-1488

I don’t like to take my husband to the farmer’s market. He wants to zip in, buy what he needs and leave. By contrast, I like to go around the entire circle there – at least three times. I’ll visit with all the interesting vendors, run into – and chat with – people I know, compare all the goods and prices, and see what’s there.

To me, the Farmer’s Market is an outing, not just a shopping trip. You see everybody; once I saw the mayor. The interesting thing to me is that you see an entirely different group depending on the time of the day. From 8 – 9 there is one group of people. You meet a different group at 10 – 11.

My favorite things to buy have to be the phenomenal North Carolina peaches. (Did you know the ones from the Piedmont are totally different from those of the mountain regions? I also love to get blueberries and melons. And plants – I get my organic tomato plants there, as well as my herbs. You can also get grain fed meat and great cheeses.

Because of the Farmer’s I stopped missing the fruits I wasn’t getting from California since I can get such great fruits and veggies here. The gap was filled not with the same thing, but with something just as special. I seriously think we are one of the best small town farmer’s markets in the country.

Happy April!

Crazy Viv

Chapel Hill – Carrboro Farmer’s Market, located on Carrboro Town Commons, next to Town Hall at 301 West Main Street.

…Sharing at Harry’s Market

Harry’s Market at White Cross from Elyssa Sharp on Vimeo.

“To Build a Community” That’s what Teresa of Harry’s Market aimed to do when she opened Harry’s Market. I’m all about supporting local businesses, and at Harry’s Market, that what you find. Lots of local businesses bonding together “to build a community”. Produce, grocery, art, wines, plants. A cup of coffee. A chat with a neighbor. Chapel Hill at its finest.

There’s a vitamin shop and a health room. There’s music and yoga. Harry’s Market has a small business center, too, where you can rent shared office space. And on the third Monday – and the 19th is the third Monday if you’ve lost count – there is Third Monday Market, where locals come together to ‘swap, sell and share knowledge”. You can get all sorts of stuff and learn all kinds of things on the third Monday. Network with friends and neighbors and other businesses. And this Monday there will be a special performance on the porch! Come and check it out.

Happy April!

Crazy Viv

PS If you’d like to share your wares or your knowledge – you can rent a space for Third Monday Market for just $5. That’s a bargain!

Harry’s Market at Whitecross™
3300 Highway 54 West
Chapel Hill, NC 27516
(919) 932-7025.

Everybody knows Trader Joe’s. They’re famous for their cheese and organics – and their tastings. You can sample all sorts of great stuff, which may be why the college kids like it so much. Their private label products are very good quality. They also have some really good flavors of ice cream…and you know how I feel about that.

But Trader Joe’s isn’t the only spot where great food is for sale in Chapel Hill. I just went to Weaver Street and couldn’t believe organic meat prices! They’re less than Whole Foods. I really like the fact that I often run into people that I know. I’m a regular shopper and I like not being anonymous. I know some of the check out clerks, and I love that they greet me as someone they know.

Despite it all, though, I go to Whole Foods more because it’s closer. Isn’t it funny that in a small town there are people who won’t go to the other side of town to get the to store. I’m guilty of that one for routine trips, but I really do like going to all three of our great food stores for stocking up my kitchen!

Happy April!

Crazy Viv

PS See you in the checkout line! I’m the one in the crazy glasses

Alan Cohen is The Pen Man. He owns Office Supplies and More in the Timberlyne shopping center in Chapel Hill, and he’s not kidding when he proudly says that he has the largest selection of pens in the state! All the best pens are there – Waterman, Cross, Lamy, Pelikan and Namiki. You can also get fountain pen ink. And for Uniball fans – they carry almost every pen made. Writing can be an experience, and these are pens that remind you of that fact.

Alan also loves the top quality notebooks by Clairefontaine from France that he carries. First I went for the pens (love to try out different ones on the scratch paper provided), then the Baggallini (absolutely great), then the perfect calendar, and finally small colorful notebooks. You’re thinking to yourself that I must be some dorky idiot to get excited about paper—you’re wrong. Quality is always exciting.

Sometimes I walk around the store just to look for things to buy in the future for myself or as a present. Office Supplies and More has Moleskine gifts, a huge assortment of greeting cards, and the largest assortment of the zany Klutz line you’ll find. You can even do special orders.

If you want to buy in quantity, discounts are always given. Alan is there most of the time and has some great high school students working there. Everyone is knowledgeable and helpful. The prices are great, too – even when compared with some of those big stores. Why not support Office Supplies, a local independent discount office supply instead of the giant, impersonal stores that are around?!

Happy April,

Crazy Viv

Office Supplies & More
(919) 929-8595
1129 Weaver Dairy Road (Timberlyne Shopping Center next to the Post Office)
Chapel Hill

…Shopping at Kitchenworks in Chapel Hill!

Are you still full from Tres Amigos?!

It still amazes me that in our small little town Chapel Hill we have a place like Kitchenworks. There’s no place like it anywhere else. They sell kitchen supplies – cookware, kitchen art, dishes, knives, all kinds of fun things for the kitchen – although I must confess that I have their stuff all over my house.

Martha Jenkins is the owner, and she and her staff provide content, quality, service, and a great selection of items you need (yes, you do NEED) for your kitchen. Forget the word excellent – the staff at Kitchenworks are a top notch example of Southern customer service. They are just lovely people, and if you have questions – Martha knows her stuff. We’ve even had conversations about the original Cuisinarts – back when they were made by Robot Coupe.

When you buy a present, you buy a treat and Kitchenworks is the place to get that treat. Sometimes I give a gift certificate to clients when they close on a home, and for first time buyers – well, what better place to send them to stock the first kitchen they can call their own. The same gift goes to my husband’s staff at Duke; a few years back we gave Kitchenworks for the holidays, and it was the best gift we ever gave. We’ve done it every year since.

But the wedding gifts are the best. I actually buy gifts before I need them and store them at my house. When I need to send a gift to a bride, I take the gift back to Kitchenworks for wrapping – and shipping if need be.

The best things I’ve ever bought there are knives. Martha scours for deals on knives, and passes the savings on to her customers. And a lot of times, that customer is me! I’ve bought so many knives I had to hide them from my husband. I have eight inch chef knives, 6 inch chef knives, several different sizes of paring knives. I keep them in stock at my house for wedding gifts. (See above…)

You don’t have to love cooking to love Kitchenworks. For a great Wednesday afternoon treat – head on over and browse through the bright, colorful wares that are a delight to see – and to buy.

Happy April!

Crazy Viv

PS Make sure you get one of their Zyliss Silicone Turners. It withstands super high temperatures, and is indispensable lifting stuff out of your skillet. Mine is red.

Kitchenworks
201 South Estes Drive
Chapel Hill, NC 27514-6121
(919) 967-9388
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