One of the things I have become relatively passionate about is supporting local businesses. Texas, Austin specifically, has so many family owned shops, restaurants, products and services and there's so much support towards them. When you walk into an Austin store or restaurant they have decals on the door saying "Thank You For Supporting a Local Austin Business!" I love that and have found myself lately shifting my habits to help them and go to their stores as opposed to the corporations.
The little blue book at the top of this post is one I purchased the other day called CRAVE Austin: An Urban Girls Guide to All that You Crave. It's basically a book of restaurants, boutiques, spas, salons, and any other type of trendy place or service that are all local to Austin with independent owners. That book being published is such a cool idea with awesome places that I might not have heard about otherwise. Now I am going through the book and adding a ton of places to my to-do list so I can keep exploring my city.
One of the easiest ways I have found to support local businesses is by going 'locovore' which is the practice of eating food that is grown locally. We have been shopping at our local farmers market for produce, dairy and meats, all of which are grown or made locally. Another thing to do is look for local items at your own stores. Apparently Texas is big on honey farms and our grocery stores let you know what is local by putting a bright orange 'local' or Texas sticker on the bottles! The picture at the top left is an actual honey counter at one of our fresh food markets where you can bottle your own fresh honey that comes from a local farm.
As a business owner I don't want to keep seeing the Wal-Marts of the world take over. I encourage you all to shop local, eat local, and support local as much as you can. Parents who are able to support their families while doing what they love will thank you and so will your neighborhoods as they continue to thrive. Go Local.
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