Keeping It Local

I started saving for Christmas last December. That's right. December of 2010. I travel a lot for work, so I opened a separate savings account and dumped all of my expense checks in there for an entire year. It was a great way to save without feeling the pinch. But, when the day after Thanksgiving rolled around, I was looking for options on where to shop. Enter all of my local-loving friends.

First, there were the tweets. Oh, the tweets. Everyone I knew was going to shop locally this holiday season or so it appeared. There were several holiday shopping guides, and my favorite roundup was Shopcrawlr's guide. Allison knows her stuff, and she even had all of the discounts listed for the local shops, too.

Friday was not in the cards for me to get out to the shops. Between Friendsgiving and my parents coming into town for the OU game on Saturday, I was a busy little bee. (Did I mention that my mom wanted 3 Christmas pillows and 1 OK pillow all to be done that Friday afternoon?) So Saturday was the day for me.

After the OU game, I ventured out on a whirlwind of a trip. First stop was Blue Seven. Although they have SO MANY THINGS, I didn't see anything that I couldn't live without. After a stop by t, and urban teahouse, I made my way to Tree & Leaf. There I practiced the prized Christmas tradition of 1 for you, 1 for me. They have so many awesome tshirts, why wouldn't I? I then continued eastward to Full Circle Bookstore.

The tee I picked up for myself at Tree & Leaf

Now, here's where I must confess that I had never been to a local bookstore before ::wince:: My life was Borders driven, and when Borders died, so did my love affair with books in print. That was until I made my way to Full Circle. Bookstores have a way of completely calming me down and making me enjoy the smallest of things. I picked up a book for ... someone. I can't give away all of my surprises!

After Full Circle, I made my way to the Plaza District. I love this area, and there are so many great shops to choose from! I made my way through DNA Galleries and Collected Thread. You all know my love affair with Collected Thread. They are, after all, the first shop to carry my Oklahoma pillows. And, Lindsay is perhaps the sweetest person alive. I picked up another gift from CT and headed to SHOP GOOD. SHOP GOOD used to be in the Plaza, but they moved to 9th Street a couple of years back. And, let me tell you, they have such a great concept! "Every item in the store ... is socially responsible, fairly traded and connected to a local or international community development project. Just check the tags on your favorite items to see how your purchase will contribute to a deserving charity or community, both here in OKC and around the world." Of course I got some presents there, too!

I still have quite a few presents to buy, but I have some ideas of where I am headed next! What's your favorite local OKC/Norman gem?