Not Your Usual Holiday Shopping

Neither Phil nor I enjoy shopping at the mall north of town, but we do like to support local, independent businesses, as we did on this rainy November evening.

The Greenhouse, an eclectic store offering kitchen goods, home decor, furniture, and more in downtown Bellingham, is celebrating its 40th birthday this year, and tonight was their invitation-only private holiday shopping event for their "Green VIP" customers. As we entered, the sounds of Tocato Tango were immediately appealing, and we soon were humming to "Hernando's Hideaway," among other musical treasures.

Phil enjoyed a glass of wine and every taste treat being passed around, while I zeroed in on some unusual holiday items, including a gift for my sister I can't show here and this charming pair, and then on a plate full of delicious brownies to sample, made by Jess Thompson, shown above.

The author of Dishing Up Washington, Jess explained that she named them Two-Pound Espresso Brownies because they contained a pound of butter and a pound of bittersweet chocolate, as well as a quarter-pound of finely ground espresso coffee beans. How could I not buy her cookbook after hearing that? I've had time only to glance through it, but have already seen several recipes I'm eager to try, and am relishing Jess' fine writing and Lara Ferroni's excellent photography.

Moving on to Paper Dreams, the sister store to Village Books, we were greeted with glasses of sparkling wine poured by co-owner Chuck Robinson himself, nattily attired for this evening's pre-holiday gala for the store's "Devoted Dreamers," a customer loyalty program similar to that found at the Greenhouse. After selecting our free holiday ornament, we perused the extensive stock of cards, stationery, calendars, soaps and lotions, holiday decor, useful bags, and many other delights, and bought some gifts for family members.

Most of the money we spent tonight will stay in our community, benefiting not only the employees of the stores we patronized, but also the businesses that they, in turn, spend their money in. That's important to us, which is one of the reasons we shop in local, independent stores whenever we can.

(See Phil's take on the evening -- and some interesting book titles -- here.)