Useful Gifts/Northampton Survival Center

   Living in a small space really makes you think about the amount of stuff you have. I really don't have that much stuff, I've gotten rid of a lot of it over the years and each time I've moved. But when you don't have a lot of living space, what little stuff you DO have seems like too much. This has made me very mindful of my purchases and especially of the gifts that I give and receive. I'd rather get a useful gift than something that will take up more space and won't get used. Don't get me wrong, I love clothes, books, music, and smelly lotions just as much as the next girl, but if I want that kind of stuff, I'll just buy it for myself. When receiving a gift, I'd rather it be something useful. Over the years I've developed a deep appreciation for incredibly useful, practical gifts. There's nothing I love more than when someone recognizes another person's need for something and then gives it to them.
   
   I wanted to share one of the most useful gifts I ever received. When I was 18 years old, I moved out of my parents' house and into my own apartment. I had no idea what I was doing and I was totally unprepared for the situations that might come up when you live alone. One of the gifts that my parents gave me during that time was this beauty:



    
   That's right, a simple toolbox with a few basic tools. At the time, I thought, "What am I going to do with this?" But this gift has been used over the years more times than I can count (particularly the level!). I am so grateful that my parents recognized what I needed and gave it to me. I love this toolbox! I wish more people gave useful gifts like this!
  
   Useful gifts don't have to be something material. A useful gift could be giving someone support or providing friendship or volunteering your time. I was scheduled to do some volunteer work last fall at the Northampton Survival Center. The Survival Center is an emergency food pantry that provides low-income families in Hampshire County with free food, clothing, and personal care items. I wanted to put my office skills to use and help people, so I met with the staff at the Survival Center and arranged a time to come in each week to work in their office. Unfortunately, the week I signed up I also received a full time job offer from somewhere else, so I never got a chance to volunteer. But I still drop off clothing and other items whenever I get the chance.
  
   I guess where I'm going with this is, you never know how important a useful gift could be to someone. I never would have guessed that the toolbox I received over a decade ago would still be one of my favorite belongings. Next time you give a gift, consider making it a useful one! 
  
   To give the gift of your time or learn more about the Northampton Survival Center, visit http://www.northamptonsurvival.org/.

"The hands that give are more pious than the hands that pray..."

    

Springfest 2012

   My computer is up and running again so all is well in the world. I was scared for a few hours because I hadn't backed up my photographs in about a month. I was concerned about losing all of the shots I had taken since then. Luckily, the computer only need a minor fix and then it was working again, so I immediately backed everything up. Phew!

   Moving forward, a couple of weeks ago I had the pleasure of attending Springfest in downtown Northampton. Springfest is a festival of music put on by the Northampton Community Music Center. It first started in 1995 and takes place on Main Street in downtown Northampton. It features live music performed by the students of the music center every half hour. The festival is also a fundraiser for the center. Neighborhood businesses sponsor the students' performances and the students individually raise money to go towards scholarships for families that can't afford lessons. It's a great opportunity to support the music center and the children of the community.

    In addition to it being Springfest, the Saturday Northampton Farmers Market was also taking place that day. The outdoor market is another great way to support the community as well as eat fresh and healthy! The market takes place on Gothic Street every Saturday from 7am-1pm from April 28-November 10.

      
   For more information about the Northampton Community Music Center visit http://ncmc.net/. To learn more about the Northampton Farmer's Market go to http://www.farmfresh.org/food/farmersmarkets_details.php?market=122.

Hampshire Regional YMCA



To learn more about the YMCA, visit http://hrymca.org/.

Mosaic Cafe (and more fun at the Waterfalls)

   Life has been really busy lately! I've visited many wonderful places but haven't had a chance to update the blog in awhile. Luckily, I have some much needed time off now so I can rest, relax, and share all of the pictures I've been holding on too.

  My best friend visited this past weekend and chose to eat at Mosaic Cafe for lunch on Saturday. I had eaten at Mosaic once before so I was excited to return. I ordered the Mosaic salad and it was delicious! It is a mix of lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, roasted peppers, feta cheese, carrots, roasted walnuts, zaatar, with a vinaigrette dressing. I even liked it better than the crepe I ordered the previous time, which was also very tasty. It was a beautiful sunny day so we ate on the tables outside (and we both thoroughly enjoy people watching).

(My BFF Jenny)

  
   I also took Jenny to the Waterfalls at Chapel Brook in Ashfield over the weekend. You can read more about them in my previous blog entry. Even though it wasn't hot enough for swimming, I knew she would enjoy seeing them and the peaceful feeling you get after visiting them. I expected the water levels to be low, considering we haven't had a ton of rain this spring in Western Massachusetts but I was surprised at how high the water actually was. Rocks that we sat on last summer were now covered in water! There were also a lot of trees that had broken in half and fallen down (probably from the heavy snow storm we had at the end of October). But it was still BEAUTIFUL and peaceful and totally worth the trip! 

(Jenny LOVED the waterfalls)

 For more information on Mosaic Cafe or to see the menu visit http://mosaiccafemed.com/index.html.   

  

La Fiorentina Pastry Shop

   La Fiorentina is a perfect spot to stop in for a sweet treat after dinner. It's a cute little Italian pastry shop in downtown Northampton. There are also locations in East Longmeadow and Springfield (which I believe was the first/original shop). They offer a wide variety of treats such as chocolate mousse cake, red velvet cake, carrot cake, gelato, lemon tart, macaroons, coffee and more! It's a great place to meet with a friend, have a long chat, and enjoy a tasty pastry.

     For more information visit http://www.lafiorentinapastry.com/.

Local Burger & Herrell's Ice Cream & Chicks Man...

   Happy Friday! I LOVE the weekends! It's always surprising to me when I overhear people complaining about their weekends. I LOVE spending time with my family, getting things done around the house, visiting with friends, and going out for food and fun! I have no complaints about that!

   Tonight we went out to dinner at Local Burger on Main Street in downtown Northampton. Unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures of it (it was too crowded to snap pictures), but there are some pictures in the "gallery" section of their website at http://www.localnorthampton.com/. It is a local, family owned, burger and fry joint. If I had to make a Michigan comparison, I would say it is similar to the chain Five Guys...only better! Plus, you can BRING YOUR OWN BEER! How fun is that?! The fries are so crispy and the chocolate shakes are made with hand scooped ice cream, just the way I like them! They also offer veggie burgers, hot dogs, fried pickles, onion rings and chicken tenders. I strongly suggest you grab a table before you order or you might not find a seat. This place is also a great spot for a post bar bite to eat. They're open until 3am!

   After dinner we walked around downtown. I loved listening to the street musicians play music as we walked. It makes for such a fun and exciting atmosphere!

 

    We headed over to Herrell's Ice Cream on Old South Street for dessert. Although Herrell's offers a large variety of flavors and toppings, my favorite thing to order is a simple cone of chocolate ice cream. Once you have Herrell's chocolate ice cream, nothing else will ever taste as good. You will try to go other places, but you will always find yourself saying, "This isn't nearly as good as Herrell's." Go taste it for yourself and you'll see what I'm talking about. It's a little bit pricey, but totally worth it!

   On a completely unrelated note, I had an opportunity to spend some time today photographing some recently hatched chickens. How cute are these little guys? They're just in time for Spring!

    

     

Noodles Restaurant and Ben & Bill's Chocolate Emporium

   There is a restaurant called Noodles in Troy, Michigan near where I used to work and the food wasn't very good, so I when I found out about the Noodles here in Northampton I was hesitant to try it. As it turns out, this is a different Noodles restaurant and I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed the food. I ordered the Curry Noodle Soup with Egg Noodles and I loved it! It was a nice mix of sweet and salty. The broth was delicious! My only critique would be that the portion sizes are quite large, but you could split your dish with a friend and save some money.

    After lunch we stopped in Ben & Bill's Chocolate Emporium. I purchased some of the dark chocolate almond bark and it was very tasty! I was tempted to get one of the many chocolate bunnies they had out for Easter but I restrained myself.

  

To check out Noodles visit http://www.noodlesnorthampton.com/ or Ben & Bill's at http://www.benandbills.com/.



       

Oldies but Goodies

A few shots from 2008...

Why I Love Broadside Bookshop

   My son was about two years old when we first moved to Massachusetts. We had to live in a hotel for two weeks while we looked for a place to live and those were a very difficult and exhausting two weeks. One night, we decided to go out to eat in downtown (Northampton) for dinner. Afterwords, we walked around to check out some of the stores. We wandered into Broadside Bookshop on Main Street to browse the books. My son picked up a frog puppet book and was looking at it. He wanted to buy it, but we didn't have any money left after dinner and it was getting late and we were very tired. He kept picking up the book and we had to keep putting it back. The woman working at the counter saw this struggle and could see how exhausted we were. She came over and whispered, "Your son can have that book if he wants it." We said, "Really? But we can't buy it right now. We don't have any money." She said, "Don't worry about it. He can have it." It made our whole evening so much better. It was so unexpected and we were so grateful! I've never forgotten that evening or her act of kindness. Now, several years later, I make sure to order/purchase all of my books there. Any store that can show empathy to an exhausted mom and child deserves all of my business! Check out Broadside for yourself at http://www.broadsidebooks.com/.