Homegrown Happy Valley

Skip the tie this year, your dad doesn’t really want one. If you’re still searching for a gift for that special guy we have a few fun local alternatives.

BIKER DAD

Take your dad to the Lake Raystown area for some fantastic mountain biking on the brand new 30+ mile single track trail system. Make it a family event and hit the lake for a picnic lunch after sweating it out on the roller coaster trails. Before heading out to the trails, make sure dad has all the biking equipment he needs.

Local is the new black. It used to be brown, then pink, but now it’s definitely local, especially when it’s green. If you want to buy local, yet another organization has popped up to help keep the dollars we spend here in our own backyard.

Local Bounty is a user-generated directory that allows consumers to find local goods—everything from salad greens to the bowls that hold them—then rate and review the products, services and businesses. The site is scheduled to launch right before Arts Fest in July.

Spring cleaning? If you’re a parent that probably means boxing up those fleece, footy pajamas and picking up some cotton bedtime threads for your kids. Here’s a chance to turn a routine purging exercise into a community deed times two.

Step one: Buy a pair of the PJs pictured below, which  are either locally made or sold at a locally-owned shop. Sorry kid, no, Spider Man or Tinker Bell here, but your mom will be much happier looking at something else for a change.

My new favorite earrings! A fabulous Etsy find from Contempo Jewelry Designs.

I love shopping for handcrafted items with a fresh squeezed lemonade in one hand and a falafel sandwich in the other. But I can’t always wait for Arts Festival and the other summer fairs to get my fill: I want my art now!

That’s why I love Etsy.  The site bills itself as “the place to buy and sell all things handmade” and it doesn’t disappoint.

Mother’s Day is just a few days away (Sunday, May 10th, for those of us who need a friendly nudge). But thanks to these local businesses, even last minute shoppers can find great gifts for the moms on their list. Who says it’s too late to become mom’s favorite?

Foodie Mom

• Kitchen Kaboodle – She may bake you more cookies if you bribe her with kitchen gadgets.
• Tait Farm Foods – Find something for her every craving: scone and pancake mixes, dips, sauces, preserves and more. (A favorite: Harrison’s Fig and Olive Relish…it’s delicious!)

Organized Mom

To help kick off Bike to Work Week, which runs tomorrow through May 8th, we asked Jordyn Drayton, co-owner of Freeze Thaw Cycles, a sponsor of the event, how to turn yourself into a greener commuter.

What’s the unexpected upside to biking to work?

Freeze Thaw Cycles is one of the sponsors of Bike to Work Week.

People feel that it has the same effect as your cup of coffee in the morning. It wakes you up, so you’re ready to go and alert.

What about the sweat factor?

This year Appalachian Outdoors is helping me shop with a purpose. From now until May 5th, you can trade a pair of gently used shoes for a 20 percent discount on a new pair of Chaco footwear. Appalachian Outdoors in partnership with Soles4Souls will distribute the donated shoes to those in need. Since 2004 Soles4Souls has donated more than 4 million pairs of shoes worldwide.

The May issue of Country Living magazine echoes what we already knew: Tait Farm carries the best locally made products in the region.

A one-page spread asks Liz Thorpe of the famed Murray’s Cheese in NYC to recommend some artisanal cheddars handcrafted in America. Among her picks is Goot Essa’s Mountain Valley Sharp Cheddar, aged for at least three years. And Tait Farm Foods is listed as the source.

Goot Essa (German for “good food” or “good eating”) is a group of Amish dairy farmers in Howard, Pennsylvania who have been turning their milk into high-quality cheese since 2001. While the rest of the country orders online, we’ll turn down 322 for this block of creamy goodness.

5 Questions for Regina Brannen, co-owner of Spela Children’s Store and Cafe, which opened a few months ago:

1.) Name one product you can’t find at Target. PeaceLoveMom T-shirts. The company advertises to moms who don’t have pregnant bellies. The most popular tee says “Happy Mom.”

2.) What’s your hottest selling item? Resa Design birthday tees (the tiny tees feature a groovy applique of a number, which corresponds with the tot’s age).

3.) How many kids comprise the Spela clan? We have 6 right now; in August we’ll have 7.

Does downtown really need another Dunkin’ Donuts?

Here are 5 local alternatives for breakfast food:

The Cheese Shoppe and Webster’s: I dare you to find better beans. If you can’t afford coffee out, just walk by the Cheese Shoppe and inhale–you’re guaranteed to feel better. At Webster’s, pair a cup of the Three Eyed Buddha with a vanilla scone and prepare for culinary zen.

The Diner: If you really want to OD on empty carbs rolled in sugar, pick up a package of Stickies. Bonus points if you grill them in butter.