"It's like spending two days inside a shopping mall," I explained to those who got to stay at home as we undertook the annual 700-mile journey to visit the world's biggest gift market in America's sixth largest city via the world's busiest airport. As Jen and I made our way to Atlanta for AmericasMart last week, I imagined our coworkers and customers from Good's Store silently cheering us on through all the hassles of airports and hotels, two small-town Pennsylvanians in the Big Peach. "I … [Read more...] about The Big Peach
Work
No-Spend September
Could I do a no-spend challenge for the whole month? The idea came to me in August. Earlier this year, I started a monthly budget, with allotted amounts for expenses, but with most of my income going towards savings. I track everything on a spreadsheet. In August, I had some extra bills but I realized that if I combined August and September, I could reach my savings goals for the two month-period, as long as I didn't buy anything extra during the month of September. Some months this would … [Read more...] about No-Spend September
Happy New Year!
The pork simmers in the slow cooker, and we have sauerkraut in the fridge— tonight we will feast. Pork and sauerkraut are traditional Pennsylvania German dishes for January 1. On Saturday, I bought the pork loin, a great 9-lb slab, on sale at Oregon Dairy Supermarket. At the crowded meat counter, I saw another shopper's cart loaded with pork, sauerkraut, and hot dogs. Another folk tradition, one I learned about only recently, is burning bayberry candles on New Year's Day for good luck in … [Read more...] about Happy New Year!
Shopping AmericasMart in Atlanta
"You should go to the Atlanta gift show in January," a sales rep told me. "You'll find brands there you've never heard of". "I'm too busy with other things in January," I said. "I can't go." "You have to go the Atlanta market," a friend from church told me. "When I had a store, I did all my Christmas buying there." "It sounds good. But I don't think I can go this year." "Let's go the Atlanta market," my co-worker Jen said late last year. "I want to go." "Umm... ask Harlan." Jen … [Read more...] about Shopping AmericasMart in Atlanta
Working in the Margins
"Buying is a lot of fun," my colleague Kathryn said. "You get to shop all day!" That sounded so good to me that when Kathryn told me she was retiring at the end of the year, I applied for her position the very next day. While I usually don't write much about my job, I'm going through some big changes at work right now and thought I'd blog about them. When I told people I was an "online merchandiser", nobody know what I meant, and now that I'm a "buyer" no one knows what that means either. (I … [Read more...] about Working in the Margins