Downtown Living: Door to Door Organics

I love living downtown, which works out well because I hate driving.

I also love cooking and baking, which means having to shop for groceries, which does in fact involve me driving. My problem is this… there are zero grocery stores within walking distance of my loft. This means driving (about 15 minutes total), spending 45 minutes or so meandering through the isles, and then hunting for parking near my front building entrance to carry them down the block and up the stairs.

I’ve gotten it down to quite the science… if I go on Sundays parking is both free and usually easier to find. But not always. I’ve also figured out a two basket system: I have two canvas fold out carriers (one for dry goods (the purple one) and one for frozen/cold (the orange one) that I carry in each hand. It’s ridiculously domestic of me.

… until now…

Yesterday I received my first delivery of groceries from Door to Door Organics. E’ffing awesome.

I’ve been introduced to other organic produce delivery services in the past but none that offered the flexibility, variety, and price that Door to Door does. Moving forward, I’ll receive a weekly delivery of fresh, organic (mostly local) fruits and veggies to my door. But not only that… they offer eggs, milk, meat, dry goods too… I ordered like 3 bags of granola. I was even able to ask them to call me on my cell 10 minutes prior to their arrival so I could meet them and receive my package (616 Lofts does not have a doorman!)

Kudos to a great service and awesome product. I am a happy customer.

Also, I for real just wrote an entire blog entry dedicated to grocery shopping… help. Me.

You Call Yourself a Social Instigator eh?

Suzy, Chris & me… GRSSC’s most social players.

I’m not shy and I blame my Mother.

When I was younger I had to attend my older brother’s baseball games and as a special treat my Mom would give me a dollar to get candy (usually skittles or sweet tarts… those big ones with three different colors in one package) from the concession stand. The only catch was that I had to walk up to the counter by myself and place my order (with my Mom watching from a safe distance). I never liked doing it. It made me uncomfortable regardless if I knew the parent who was scheduled to volunteer that day. But eventually I got over it… like, really over it.

Last weekend I won an award for being social. Yes, they absolutely give those out at the Grand Rapids Sport and Social Club end of the year awards party. GRSSC for short, is the league where I play dodgeball, volleyball, and kickball. I was actually nominated for two awards: Volleyball’s Most Social Player and the Overall Most Social Player. I was beat out by Chris Kindred for the overall award but snagged the one for volleyball. Suzy joined us in the social circle for Dodgeball’s Most Social Player.

And so, as every award winner does after receiving a trophy and a years worth of free popcorn from Celebration Cinema, I gave a speech: I thanked Baby Jesus Christ and my Mom.

The funny thing is, my Mom is sort of an introvert.

A little bit of Monday night volleyball.

A little bit of Thursday night dodeball.

And a little bit of why Suzy and I both won social awards.

 

A Little Bit of my Startup World

To get you up to speed, for the last two years I’ve worked for a small company called Pomegranate Studios. Projects like ArtPrize, Momentum, 5x5Night, and TheCommon.org were all created within its walls. All of Pom’s project were startups, all were backed by our founder Rick DeVos, and all were/are completely unique to its field. Most recently we launched our latest project: Start Garden.

Start Garden is simple… create an ecosystem that helps ideas become businesses.

Through its many ventures, Pomegranate has toyed with turning the city of Grand Rapids into a giant campus by displaying thousands of works of art. We’ve played with publicly displaying presentations of ideas on an open stage. We’ve tested monetary catalysts and the levels of which makers, entrepreneurs, and tinkerers react to it. And we’ve even worked through what programming focused around a startup ecosystem might look like. Mix it all together and you get a cookie that’s not only sweet but also hearty (like oats and whole grains and stuff) with various shades of neon frosting. Cookie metaphors. Nice.

Crap… now I want a cookie.

Over the course of three years we’ll be funding two ideas a week in $5,000 sums. The ideas funded (and other outside ideas at the discretion of the Start Garden Team) are then considered for additional funding in a stair step process from $20,000 up to $500,000 amounting to a grand total fund of $15,000,000.

This cookie… this Start Garden thing… is an ecosystem consisting of partners, mentors, resources, and preferred vendors. Focusing on social media, event planning, and physical space management, I get to be part of the team who makes it all happen. It’s cool. It’s everything I want in a job. And I love it.

The Start Garden Team after the April 26th announcement.

Today, the 3 week anniversary since its announcement, Start Garden is sponsoring the 2nd Annual Michigan Lean Startup Conference. I’ve been sitting in a room, full of dudes (and a few females) listening to startup testimonials and pitches, and tweeting about it. The 7 speakers, the dozen or so pitch presenters, and the 250 attendees of which the event consists of are all part of the Start Garden ecosystem.

Side note: Noah Kagan (a speaker today) just began his talk by pointing out the skinniest and fattest person in the room… what is happening?

Noah… you are a potty mouth, but you did just said, “Business relationships are like a garden.”

I agree, I feel you… like START Garden. See what I did there?

This is my job. You’re up to date.

TEDxGrandRapids Year II

TEDxGR on Thursday with friends Nick and Scott.

If I had to give a TED talk tomorrow I picture it going a little something like this:

Get born.

Find my groove.

Chop my hair.

Get a job.

Have one.

Have two.

… drinks that is.

Make my first meatloaf.

Run a 5k.

Never run a 5k again.

Relax for an hour.

Look lovely.

Do good.

Mess up.

Listen. Listen. Listen.

And the rest of the story… the end.

I’d have to work on the point a bit but I think I’d try and gear it towards being an independent female and why our society constantly asks single women the magic question: Are you married? No. Are you dating anyone? Nope. And then go on to explain the next question they’d like to ask but don’t because it’s considered rude: Why?

Answer: Because most boys are smelly.

Real answer: Because I choose to be.

This weekend I was introduced to an man in his 70s. He first asked where I worked and I told him. I’m not sure he quite understood what I do for a living, didn’t ask any follow up questions and then reverted to the magic question. I answered “no” and then he asked how old I was. “I’m 24,” I said. I thought to myself for a moment. He must have thought I looked old enough to the point where I ‘should’ be married.

At TEDxGrandRapids on Thursday I ran into a few old friends, most married with children. We briefly caught up and they filled me in on their life as I did mine: working lots, socializing lots, living downtown, single. Their immediate reaction, “That’s awesome! Stay single for as long as possible.”

“How long?” I asked. “Like, at least until you’re 30,” they said.”Take time for yourself. Do all the things you see yourself doing. There’s plenty of time to start a family but these are the years to take for yourself.”

So, to the 70-year-old gentleman who is mostly curious about my marital status and less about my independent adventures… I do plan to someday do the whole happily ever after thing, but for now… I’m busy being independent.

The Eames House of Cards. Mine is the ‘I X GR’ one… signed Nichole Smith.

Complete VII by Adeshola Makinde

In case you ever wondered what I look like without makeup, friend Adeshola captured it.

Adeshola takes photos. Lots of them, and posts them on his photo blog Complete VII (7). In my opinion, his style is raw and little invasive. He tends to capture moments that would otherwise be left forgotten. If his images were a temperature they’d be hot. If they were a mood they’d be… what’s the opposite of unassuming? Confident. They’re not saucy, not spicy… but sexy and real.

If you see him around town with his camera smile… or flip him off. Your choice.

Follow him: Adeshola. See the rest of this photos and more on Complete VII.

I’m pretty sure my grandparents read my blog… sorry you guys.

TC, Where They Actually Put ‘Please’ On Traffic Signs

‘Please drive 25 MPH’ the sign read as we drove into town. Traverse City may not have dancing on Friday nights but they sure do have manners.

People smile at you there. They give you free tastings because they’d rather not run a credit card for $3 (or just say that cause you just had a good conversation and they think you’re cute). They invite you up on stage to sing with them not knowing if you’re good or not (but if I do say so myself, piano man Tom and I made an excellent pair at the Top of the Park). And holy crap are they not used to tall people… I wore heels on Saturday and got more comments on my height than I’ve had in a long time.

I’d never been to Traverse City before, let alone wine tasting in Traverse City (aside from that one time I drove through town on my way to a pageant, Miss Heart of Michigan. I didn’t win. I probably should have just gone wine tasting). We visited about a half a dozen tasting rooms on the Leelanau Peninsula including the one Madonna’s Father owns as well as Mawby which is the place that makes ‘Sex’ champagne. Then we pulled into the drive of Black Star Farms, Suttons Bay.

Gorgeous. This place is like something out of the movies. With a curved drive you weave through grape vines, past a horse pasture, and eventually come upon a demanding estate that can only be home to Scarlett O’Hara. Beyond the house are red barns, the cellar (which is an attraction all itself with an entrance that leads underground), and the tasting room.

I want to live there and if I can’t live there then I want to have my nonexistent wedding there. I’d ride horses and drink wine and eat cheese for the rest of my life. Because after all… like the hipster teen carved into the railing off Empire Bluffs… YOLO, You Only Live Once. Here-here my hipster friend. Here-here.

Alex, Me, Emily, Nick, & Jennifer

Nick, Emily & Me @ 7 Monks Taproom

We took a morning hike up Empire Bluffs. The lake was like glass.

YOLO my friends. YOLO.

Mike & Me

Mike and Me at Rockys Friday night

Mike Cygan… where to begin…

It had been years… years! since I’d seen his face. Mike was my go to when I was living and working in Detroit. We had both gotten hired with the Pistons in multimedia, promotions, and game operations during the 2008-2009 year. Yes that’s the year they traded Chancey Billups for Allen Iverson and yes it was awful. We cried. Not really.

In March of 09 both of our contracts with the Pistons ended and neither of us stayed put. I moved back to the west side of the state for a job while Mike up and moved to the west side of the country!

But before we went our separate ways, we had our times. Mike introduced me to Arrested Development, peanut allergies, and iPhones. I introduced him to random singing, pageants, and a whole lotta girl stuff that I’m sure he wishes he could forget.

This weekend Mike was in town for his sisters graduation from GVSU and for the first time in what seemed like forever I got to hug him. We both agreed it was like not a day had passed. He still looked the same with his crazy curly hair and wide smile. He agreed I did too.

Mike and me at a game. We had organized a Miss MI Contestants event that night. I was competing that year.

Time flies so fast and it’s crazy to think about all the things that have happened since I’d last seen him: I changed jobs, moved cities, ended relationships, switched to an iPhone (from my blackberry… Mike was so proud). In less than a few years… we had grown up. At least on the outside anyway.

Party Bus to Detroit… oh and a Tigers Game

I’ve lived on both sides of our state and know there are at least three things Detroit has that Grand Rapids does not:

1. Trader Joes     2. Sommerset Mall     and 3. The Tigers

I’m not sure there is anything I can do about Trader Joes (I googled it, something about you have to submit a recommendation for a location but it can’t be within a certain distance of another store in which case Grand Rapids is out of luck because there are stores in both Detroit and Chicago). As for shopping, well I’d rather visit stores on the Michigan Mile in Chicago or splurge on-line rather than at Sommerset. But the Tigers, they are irreplaceable.

Last weekend 50 of us (mostly from Grand Rapids Sport and Social Club – and beyond) packed up a bus and drove to the game. The Tigers lost but our group… if we were playing a game… we won.

Andy and I expanded our friendship.

It got real…

A good time was had by all.

You Can’t Always Get What You Want… But You Can Have FUN. Trying

“ONE MORE SONG! ONE MORE SONG! ONE MORE SONG!”

The lead singer, Nate Ruess, does this thing with his cheek when he’s on stage. He smiles real big and pushes his tongue to the right side of his mouth trying to stifle his expression: he’s happy and it’s contagious.

They’re famous for their popular hit ‘We Are Young’ but so many of their other songs are amazing. They’re about lost love and hurt, but more importantly the resilience after the heart-break.

Lately, I’ve found myself pondering those things. Less about the breaking hearts because, really that’s long gone, and more about the resiliency. I’m typically an over prepared person. Just the other day a friend who had never been to my place commented, “Wow you are neat.” In my head I cracked the joke, “Yeah… I know I’m cool.” But I knew what he meant… not a piece was out of place.

But every now and then life throws you a curve ball and that’s when the ability to dust yourself off comes into play. And so, I sang FUN.’s ‘Carry On’ at the top of my lungs last night at their concert at the Intersection:

If you’re lost and alone
Or you’re sinking like a stone
Carry on
May your past be the sound
Of your feet upon the ground
Carry on

Then they sang The Rolling Stones, ‘You Can’t Always Get What You Want.’ I smiled the entire time.

“ONE MORE SONG! ONE MORE SONG!” And they did.

616 Lofts girls... Courtney, Me, & Alex.

Fired Up About Easter 2012

Our Easter eggs. We did a really good job.

Each holiday my Mom still sends my brother and I care packages. For Halloween we get candy and usually some magnets or random trinkets. For Valentines Day we get heart shaped cookie cutters or hand towels. And for Easter we get baskets. Because I spent Easter this year at home in Schoolcraft she even did me one better and hid it in my old bedroom.

But the real Easter story this year didn’t occur until after I returned to Grand Rapids.

On Sundays I usually spend my time catching up on chores, so I had some ground to make up when I walked in the door around 7pm. I threw in a load of laundry, jumped in the shower, and unpacked my bags… including the goodies from my Easter basket. I nibbled on the chocolate bunny a bit, put the random items in their new place, and lit the candle in it’s holder and placed it on the dresser in my bedroom.

Midway through sweeping the floor the fire alarm sounds. Why? I wasn’t making popcorn (which is what normally sets it off).

On my dresser sits a ball of fire.

The entire candle holder was up in flames. I drop the Swiffer and dash for a t-shirt to soffocate the flames (thank God I was doing laundry right?). After a couple minutes the alarm stops and I open the t-shirt to a small cloud of black smoke that billows from the shirt. The alarm goes off again. I then tossed the candle (still wrapped in the shirt) into the shower and turned on the water. Extreme? Yes. But then again a perfectly safe candle just burst into flames in my bedroom.

Nothing was damaged minus the candle and the shirt, which I tossed in the trash-bin this morning. The accident did make me appreciate the comfort of renters insurance.

I stopped to see Miss Lydia (my cousin). She got sidewalk chalk in her basket so we put it to good use.

Later at home I got to spend time with the family pup Eleanor. Such a sweetheart.

Pappa Smith... in his true form. Now you know where I get my peace sign habit from.

For dinner we had a Low Southern Boil. Tasty!