The World of B&Bs (...and a boss that humors me).

Last week, I traveled for work to teach a social media seminar for one of our outlying counties for the ISBDC .


I'm lucky to work for a boss that not only humors me, but tries to help me along in my 365 mission.  So, when I asked to please get accommodations that weren't a hotel chain, she obliged by booking me a room at  the Herman Leive House in Aurora, IN.

I'm going to admit something.


In my family vacations and all of the adventures we had, we never stayed at a bed and breakfast.  We stayed at plenty of motels and independent inns, but never in my memory a true B&B.  I never really thought about why, until I arrived at the Herman Leive House. There's a prominent sign that states that it's not equipped for children.   As it turns out, it's a renovated house from the 19th Century Greek Revival style (Admittedly, I have no idea what that means)  that was originally owned by the master brewer for the local Crescent Brewery- a total win in my book.  I was somewhat dismayed not to be haunted by a beer wielding spectre, but that's probably for the best anyway, because the current owner and caretaker doesn't allow alcohol on the premises.  


It was a fantastic experience.  All local hotel chains were $100+ for the night- and I got a gorgeous time period decorated room with some really neat historical reading material, a totally comfy bed, and a bathroom that didn't look like thousands had been through the doors for only $65.  In the middle of the night, when I got thirsty, I wandered down to the kitchen to find a nice, cold bottled water and a tray of brownies.  (I was fairly convinced it was the best dream ever, until I woke up with crumbs on my face.)  I loved my stay, and will be back again when I'm in the area.


I can't stress enough how important it is that I have a boss that is attempting to help me along in my goal, even when it's not necessarily convenient for the team.  On more than one occasion, our staff meetings have taken place at a verified local restaurant in Madison, IN, or New Albany, IN- simply because she's trying to help me succeed.  Then again, maybe that's the whole point.  Even if it's just to help an employee, there's still an effort being made, awareness being generated, and money being spent in independent/local venues.  


But the first break from local is upcoming, on August 7-9.  I will be travelling to Indianapolis for training, and staying downtown.  Our 'home office' has secured reservations at the Embassy Suites- and while I'm comfortable discussing this with my direct boss, I'm not necessarily ready to insist at the state level on my accommodations.  I double checked to see if the Embassy Suites was owned by a local management company;  but, it is not.  It is a corporate Hilton hotel.  


I knew starting out that this was to be a yearlong conversation with ups and downs- and this brings into focus   another issue.  There are no independent walkable downtown hotels...they're all corporately owned.  


Ah well.  This means I'll have to patronize doubly the local restaurants and craft breweries.  As the old children's tale goes- 'Don't throw me into the briar patch, whatever you do.'


P.S.  I'll have July totals and communities impacted within a week or two.  

16 In, and the Top 5

Sixteen days in- long enough to be a tad frustrated with some of the things I've not had to get yet and am unsure where to look.  It's still mostly been easy;  though, I'll say the two biggest challenges have been concert tickets (total fail- Live Nation or Ticketmaster has the monopoly) and avoiding the convenience of fast food when I've not packed a lunch.  That happens more often than I'd care to admit.  I'm not a morning person, so thinking ahead to lunch is impossible when I've just run into the wall on the way to the bathroom with my eyes still closed.



 Fast food was also an issue on the way to said concert when an unnamed friend asked me to go through the drivethru at a certain restaurant with yellow arches (not naming the culprit or the restaurant here, see...) and I had to smell those fries.  They're like crack, all salty and crispy and...oh yes, let me tell you how I beat that one.  I went into Save A Step to pick up a Diet Coke, and ended up buying some of their chicken strips instead.  I only pouted for a few seconds before I realized they weren't actually that bad, and I'd stuck to my guns without succumbing to the chain pressure of convenience and delicious little fry morsels.


So far, there are five things I'm just not sure how to get and I'm going to throw them out to the readers to see what you'd recommend- or, is it already time to break the rules?  You decide.


5.  Feminine hygiene items.  Gentlemen, I'm sorry that you're turning several shades of red about now, so if you must, jump down to number 4.  Ladies, have you ever noticed how lacking the supply department is in the small grocery stores and the Save A Lots?  2 sizes...that just doesn't cut it.  So without further detail, does anyone know of somewhere locally or independent that has a decent selection?


4.  Razors and refills.  There seems to be the same lack of choice as #4- you're left with generic three blade disposables or single blade...and neither are kind to legs or armpits.  The Mr. isn't up for an experiment in hair growth, so I've got to find something somewhere (preferably Schick 5 blade Hydro!) that will keep pit and leg forests at bay.


3.  Kids Clothes.  We're getting back to school time in a few weeks and while we've got stuff to last through the warmer months, both kids have shot up since the cooler spring weather and need long pants and shirts.  I'm going to attempt to source as much secondhand as I can, but if I needed to get say a new pair of jeans or a dress, where would I go?  (New Albany, Jeffersonville, Clarksville (non chain), or Louisville?


2.  Sunscreen.  Again, we're dealing with very little if any selection at the smaller groceries, which leaves convenience stores that are locally owned.  I suppose that's probably what I'm going to do for our upcoming Holiday World venture, but if anyone has suggestions, I'm totally open. 


1.  DVDs/Movies.  We're getting to the 6th and 7th Harry Potter books, and the kids want to see the movies...so, this will inevitably be coming up in the next two months.  (Hey, anyone have a copy of these three they want to sell?)


I haven't updated my totals in a week or so, but we're saving money if only for the fact that I have to plan my impulsiveness, thereby eliminating the problem.  Ah well.  I take heart in the fact that I've a plethora of wonderful indie/local coffee joints, restaurants, and breweries in which to forget my sorrows.

Because Rookie's Cookies ARE Groceries

Normally, I'd hate to admit I was wrong.

This time, I'm proud to say- I WAS WRONG.

I thought in the buy indie/local project I'd spend more money in groceries for a family of four than I'm accustomed to.  

On Saturday, I hit up an ATM that was willing to give me some twenties to go pick up as many veggies and fruits and other such stuff that vendors sell at The New Albany Farmers Market , and then figured I'd head over to Save A Lot (See HERE to explain why SAL is local) for some of the other stuff you just can't get at the Market.

I wandered around with $60, and spent every last bit of it.  On what, you ask?  Well...2 containers of Sancho Miguel's salsa (to take to parties), a watermelon, blackberries, onions, green peppers, peaches, Rooibee Red Tea , a bag of Quills Coffee , some organic free range beef, and last- but not least- some Rookie's Cookies , because those buttery little morsels melt right in your mouth.  Please ignore the fact that I'm actually allergic to milk protein and am not supposed to have butter...I can't keep my mitts off these things.  Even the dog loves them.


After I dropped everything off at the house, I headed over to Save A Lot to get the rest.  When the list was checked off and all of the damage totaled, I'd spent an additional $63 or so.

You may have already done the math, but if you haven't, I'll let you know that our grocery bill for the week was $123.

I looked back through our average Kroger or Meijer receipts each week, and we actually did BETTER hitting up the Farmer's Market and SAL- we saved money (AND GOT ROOKIES!)

I mentioned in the beginning that impulsivity was going to be my biggest hurdle- and to some extent that's true.  But, without all of the tempting 'deals', I'm actually spending a lot less.  In other words, it's a heck of a lot easier to just go with the list and get what's on it.

Oh, and update on the dog:  He seems to be adjusting to the food, thankfully.  The...erm...smell has lessened and he seems to have worked out his issues. Here's to hoping that continues.

The Doggone Thing

You've never smelled anything like this in your life.  Seriously.  I'm not going to elaborate any further than that- but, our first buy indie/local derailer may actually be the dog.

Meet Dewey.  He hates this picture of himself, but what do you do when an 8 year old is in charge of your wardrobe?

Dewey is some kind of lab/whippet/terrier/heinz 57 mix, with a smart, outgoing, and incredibly goofy personality.  He was a KY Humane Society dog, hand picked for my family by a friend who has an amazing talent of matching the perfect dog with its forever home.  He came into our lives when he was about four months old, and is now two and a half- which in dog years makes him an unruly teenager.    

When we first got our canine, we wanted to be the perfect rescue family.  We bought him top of the line dog food- not too many grains and fillers, mostly meat.  He snarfed it down with gusto.  Fast forward a few days...and Dewey started to have issues.  Really smelly 'No, honey, it really wasn't me!  IT WAS THE DOG!' issues.  Not only that, he was having trouble on his visits to the back yard.  So, we switched foods, which really only changed the scent slightly. Rinse, lather, rinse repeat- nothing worked.

Finally, out of sheer desperation, we picked up one we hadn't tried- Rachel Ray's Nutrish. Yes- Rachel Ray, exuberant cook and daytime talk show host queen, has a line of her own dog food.  Lo and behold, all doggie foulness stopped almost immediately- and the way Dewey ate the food, we could see that it was clearly 'delish!' (Incidentally, I ran into my friend Jessica at our local 4th of July on the 3rd of July celebration, and by some twist we got to talking about our dogs' digestive habits.  Kid you not, her dog had the exact. same. issue. Rachel Ray's Nutrish saved her too.)

So, for the past two years, Dewey has eaten Rachel Ray's, which you can only get at Kroger and Walmart.

Until this week, when we started our indie/local experiment, and ran out of dog food.  I ran over to Feeder's Supply and got some Earthborn Holistic dog food, which is also made in Evansville, IN.  Dewey LOVED it. His stomach so far does not.

We are back to the 'Dammit, I told you, it's the DOG!' times- and not so great trips to the backyard.

So potentially that brings us to our first of many inevitable buying dilemmas. When you have a creature dependent on you who clearly doesn't care WHERE you buy his food so long as his tummy is full and comfortable, is it that important to adhere to an economic experiment?  I'm going to go out on a limb here and say no, it's not.  I think we're going to give him a day or two more on the Earthborn, (which really is a great company, and it's not their fault Dewey prefers vivacious brunettes' dog food lines!) and if it doesn't settle down, I'm going to head over to Kroger and pick up some Nutrish.  

Ah well.  It's all part of this yearlong conversation we're having.  

July 4th...New Albany Style. (Erm...3rd.)

DP Up Dogs for dinner...then NABC beer at the river for fireworks with the family.  Nice crowd!

Two days later...

I'm amazed at how much I have to think about everything I do, before I do it.

I got to work today and was craving my customary Diet Mountain Dew, but was immediately faced with whether getting it from the vending machine was considered local or not.  The machine is serviced by Derby City Vending , which falls under both independent and local definitions, for Louisville.  But, it doesn't follow the New Albany first mentality.  If I'd have thought about it, I would have picked it up on the way to the office at Lightning Food Mart or something...which requires planning ahead.   I can't say I won't fall prey to the vending machine one day in the next 363- but I'll try to foresee my daily craving rather than being surprised when it happens.

I successfully navigated transferring a prescription, picking up dog food, and grabbing fresh fruit, all within the level one designation of independent and local.  I won't bore you on the details- but, we're keeping track of all spending on a spreadsheet, and I'll update monthly.

The two biggest questions of the day:

1.  Gas.  Let's face it. There are no indie/local gas stations.  My choices remain box store gas pumps or international brands such as Shell, BP, Marathon, etc.  There are a handful of other oil companies, but even they get their gas from other sources.  Still, the Shells, BPs, and Marathons are usually franchised- meaning that they're operated and managed by a local business person.  (What, you mean no one's discovered oil under their yard- extracted it, refined it, and set up their own fuel station in town?) Someone mentioned on facebook that a truly local option would include taking the bus; but to be honest, our public transportation system here is lacking in so many ways I'd get to my destination sooner if I hopped on one foot down the middle of Charlestown Road in a snowstorm with an eyepatch.  

2.  Groceries.  New Albany has a handful of small grocers which could more easily be classified as convenience stores.  Little Tiger Food Mart, Lightning Food Mart, and Market Boy Food Mart are all going to get a visit to see what's available to a hungry family of four; and our local farmer's market will be seeing our fruit and vegetable purchases.  (Hopefully some bread, meat, and cheeses too!)

In my research, I also discovered that while Save A Lot is a chain, each store is locally owned.  They're not even really a franchise;  they describe it as a license.  From Save A Lot :  (ignore their glaring punctuation error...)
  "Licensor’s do not typically collect upfront fees or offer exclusive territory. Once a licensee launches the operation, the relationship with the licensing company is frequently limited to optional purchases of products and / or services, whereas franchisees can typically expect to pay upfront fees and pay royalties on a go-forward basis."

I didn't realize this about Save A Lot- and I'm thrilled to find this out for some of those potentially harder to find items. While it may not fall under level 1 (local AND indie), it would fall under level 2 as local.   When you fear having to explain to two kids that the reason there's no snacky fun type foods in the house because Mom's decided to buy local to year, it's a relief to find that the option is still there.

I'm finding that there are several conversations being sparked on my facebook wall and twitter feed- both for, neutral, and somewhat skeptical of what I'm trying to do here.  That's fine;  I want to hear all of it.  Feel free to comment with suggestions, questions, and whatever else.  It's all part of the next 363 days' conversation (and probably longer, truthfully).