Shop Local!

In today's Raleigh News & Observer, there's a great article about the importance and impact of shopping local.   This is an issue so near and dear to my heart.  Go to http://www.shoplocalraleigh.org/ to see lots of information.  Here's a snippet from the article;

TOP 10 Reasons to Shop Local

1. Buy local to support yourself
2. Keep our community unique
3. Be eco-friendly
4. Create more jobs
5. Get better service

6. Put your taxes to good use
7. Invest in the community
8. Support community groups
9. Promote competition and diversity
10. Encourage future investment

Their website expands on each point, plus has lots more to say.  Good grief people, hasn't this recession and just everything going on in the world taught us all a few things about the importance of simplyfying our needs, supporting our communities and being much more mindful about how we live on this planet?   As an interior designer, I generally have nothing good to say about imported merchandise, other than it's cute and cheap.  Is that what we really want?  By making cute and cheap qualities that we look for when making purchases, we're supporting all kinds of awful behavior, from abusive labor practices to unsustainable manufacturing processes.  You know I could rant on and on, but you've all read the same stuff that I have. Please let's get our heads out of the sand and stop denying what we know is true.  We've got to pay attention and make better choices.  Let's just try shopping with an eye toward quality and longevity and being less about immediate gratification and jumping on the constantly moving trend machine.

Give it a try.  We have so many great independently owned businesses here in the Triangle.  I'll talk about some of my favorites in an upcoming post.


Ciao,
Anne

The latest project

The old deck's gotta go.  We can't walk onto it without getting splinters.  It's old, twisted and well loved.  In it's place will be a screened in porch with an adjoining deck for the grill and eventual fire pit.

So it was all torn down, about a month ago.  Things have progressed slowly but surely.

This is how it looked last week.  Will take another photo tomorrow if the heat doesn't melt us all.  It's going to be a beauty!

Ciao,

Anne

Backyard beauty

I promise (myself) that I will become a proper blogger, starting today.  But first, this photo.  Mike took it yesterday afternoon as he noticed 2 fawns cavorting about in our backyard.  With all the construction, it's an interesting place for any kid! 

Peace,
Anne

Back from the beach

We're back from the Outer Banks and this is my favorite picture from the week.  Our grandson, playing in the sand.  Focused on the task at hand, no other thoughts intruding on his fun.  Let's just pause here and savor the memory of feeling this way. 

Ok, now I've got to get back to work.  I'm working on a new website for my design business.  John, a talented webmaster, is actually doing the work, of course, but I have so much to do so that he can make it look great.  You'll all want a site made by him when we're done!  I'll share his info as soon as we finish.

Our screened porch is under construction  Have I shown you any pictures of that yet?  No?  Then I'll do that tomorrow.  It's going to be one fabulous room.

Ciao,
Anne