When I moved to Baltimore from Boston almost 20 years ago, my neighbor had just moved here from Texas a month before me. As mothers of young children, we were the blind leading the blind in our new city. How I wish I'd known Susie Chisolm then! Susie, a very special friend, has recently started a business aimed at putting potential residents on the fast track to not only loving our charming city but finding just the right people and services they need to make the transition as painless as possible. Following is an article that was published this week in the SoBo Voice that does a much better job explaining what she does than I could. Her company's name is Executive Welcome, which belies her unique and personal approach introducing newcomers to just what they're looking for to reduce what could be years on the learning curve! 
I subscribe to a mostly inspirational automatic email called "Polymer Clay Daily." There are some great artists out there working in this medium and every once in awhile one really resonates with me, like Judy Belcher, whose work is shown above. I share her love of patterns in black in white. Take some time to visit her site for more of her work. It is very diverse and takes surprising twists and turns.
The Etsy blog interviewed Stacy Mitchell, author of Big-Box Swindle: The True Cost of Mega-Retailers and the Fight for America's Independent Businesses about shopping local and her work at the New Rules Project.
"Why should people shop local this holiday season?
One reason is that shopping at an independent business, instead of a chain, generates far more benefit for your local economy. Several recent studies have found that a dollar spent at a locally owned business generates 2-3 times as much local economic activity as a dollar spent at a chain and supports many more local jobs.
Another compelling reason to go local this year is to make the holidays fun again. Who wants to sit in traffic at the mall? It's so much more rewarding to stroll through the small stores in your neighborhood or downtown. You'll not only find unusual gifts that don't come from a sweatshop, but you're bound to run into friends, get into an interesting conversation, enjoy the beauty of historic buildings decked out in lights, take time to savor a hot chocolate at the local café — in short, you'll have a chance to really experience and celebrate the place in which you live."Personally, I have a no mall policy all year! Target is the closest I get!
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