Apex Good Living

For those of you who don’t know me, I am very passionate about supporting small businesses. And in this “economy”, I believe it’s more important than ever!

I recently visited a local networking meeting and was struck by several women commenting that “as soon as they could afford it” they would buy from each other. Hmm…I pondered that and thought about how programmed we all are now to say that “a” word. The truth is, for many their income hasn’t even changed! For others, it has, but there is still money there, it’s just what we CHOOSE to do with it!

I recall from “The Richest Man in Babylon” this quote: “A clenched fist is not open to receive”…

Yes, we have to be wise with our money, yes we have to make “smart choices”, etc.

However!!! We can CHOOSE wisely! What that means is up to you!

(<a href=”http://apexgoodliving.com/?p=211″>more about the importance of buying local</a>)

Choosing to purchase a smaller gift in a local boutique which will be special to the recipient AND help your neighbor feed their family, makes a difference!

This weekend is a great opportunity to stimulate our local economy!

Get your friends together and come to downtown Apex this Saturday, April 18th! Visit the Farmer’s Market, and the coffee shop in the morning, shop for Mother’s day gifts at our vendor fair at Soco Studio*(10-4pm), have lunch at one of the many great restaurants, shop some more at our great boutiques and consignment stores**, come back by Soco for Bev Mahone’s book signing, and then go to the Halle Arts Center and see the local production of The Vagina Monologues”*!

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Just think, you can eat, shop, pick up your Mother’s day gifts (maybe a few for you too:), spend quality time with people you don’t get to hang out with often, support several charities that support women*, AND provide a community service by contributing to our local economy! Win-win-win!</b>

<i>*”shopMOM” and these shops:

The Rusty Bucket, My Girlfriends Closet, Nativa, the ice cream shop, The Bookery, Bistro64 (Cary), are raising money for “mom it forward” on this day (as are other women all across the US and the world!), and the Vagina Monologues Production is a fund raiser to build a safe room at the new police station for victims of domestic and sexual violence.</i>

Apex had a treat on St. Patrick’s Day courtesy of the Salem Street Pub !

Most people I know would say that one of the things that they love most about Apex NC is our downtown. We truly are blessed to have such a vibrant historic downtown with great Mom and Pop stores and locally owned restaurants.

It never ceases to astound me when I meet someone who has lived in Apex for a year or more and asks “where is downtown?” or asks for directions! That just blows my mind! I can only assume that they go to and from work and home via Hwy 64 or US1 everyday and never anywhere else? (I guess GPS isn’t always a good thing, maybe getting lost would be beneficial for some folks!)

In any case, for those who are aware of what we are so fortunate to have here, do you ever think about your responsibility in keeping it alive?

Unfortunately, I don’t think it EVER occurs to most people that whether or not they choose to shop at a local store matters!

I had a conversation with a local merchant recently.  She was telling me about a customer who came into her store and commented about how much she “loves downtown”.   She went on to lament that she couldn’t believe that the restaurant down the street was no longer there.  The merchant replied, “well they went out of business two years ago, ma’am.” The customer responded “Yeah, I guess it has been that long since I’ve been down here. I loved that place, I can’t imagine why they went out of business! They were great!”. The merchant’s obvious answer was “maybe it was because their customers hadn’t been there in 2 years!”

We unfortunately tend to take many things for granted. When we want to go get a gift, or dinner, we often just think about what is most convenient, or inexpensive, or “on the way”.  Like anything of value in our lives however, we need to remember to show our appreciation. Whether it’s a person, place or thing, give it your time and attention. And if it is a local business, give a little of your money too.

Maybe that boutique is a little more expensive. Afterall, it often has to be. Often times the product is higher quality, or at the very least, purchased in lower quantity.  But most people value a special gift from a local shop more anyway (even if it’s a little smaller).

You patronize your local stores for a number of reasons:

• To support your neighbors in your community. They are offering you a product or service, and in return need to support their families with their earnings.

• 80% of the profits earned in a local established are spent in the same community (not sent to Arkansas!)

• To keep them around! If you love local places, and don’t want to live in a town of “big box stores only”, think about it !

When you are trying to decide where to eat, or shop, think local! Remember that the Target or Best Buy isn’t going to go out of business if you don’t go there today, but that local shop just might!

Kids woke up in Apex this morning to the beautiful sight of snow, and those magic words “Snow Day! No School!”

I don’t know about yours, but the threat of an impeding “Saturday Make up day” didn’t dampen the spirit of my little guys who were eager to brace the cold before 8am!

I hope that you took some time to enjoy this special day. Although for many, the weather can be an inconvenience, a reduction in income, or annoying, it is also an opportunity to enjoy a brief moment in time.  A moment to smile at your kids laughing in the snow, a moment to laugh at your pets playing in the snow, or whatever it may be. Whatever it is, whoever you are, just take a moment and enjoy today!

Well, no matter who you voted for last November, you were probably not expecting a bill for $  2573.44, each today. Yes, that includes your three-month-old baby and eighty-eight year old mother too.

Most people cannot fathom what 787 Billion Dollars is, that is why there is not as much reaction as there should be. We hear words coming out of politicians mouths that mean absolutely nothing to “us”. We are all like Raymond in the movie Rain Man; How much is a candy bar, Raymond? About a hundred dollars. Well, that may be here sooner than you think.

$ 7 8 7 , 0 0 0 , 0 0 0 , 0 0 0 . 0 0

That’s   $2573.44 for every man, woman, child, black, white, hispanic, asian, native american, creole - in the country today. A family of four just wrote an IOU for $10,293.75 to the federal government. The entire population of Apex just wrote an IOU for $89,532,551.04 to the federal government. Eighty Nine Million Five Hundred Thirty Two Thousand Five Hundred Fifty One Dollars and Four Cents (Bruce, what was Apex’s total budget last year?). North Carolina’s share? $20,714,424,046.72 That’s Twenty Billion Seven Hundred Fourteen Million Four Hundred Twenty Four Thousand Forty Six Dollars and Seventy Two Cents. And this is all before “the real” numbers come into play, which, in the tradition of the washington bureaucrats, are typically more the 50% higher.

My calculator doesn’t have that many zeros.

Soco Studio, a place for social coworking was featured on the news this week by NBC17! They will hold an open house and sign up new members this Friday from 2-6pm. Sponsored/Catered by Savor Hospitality!

Two things showed up in the new today that the residents of Apex and surrounding communities should know about:

Sharon Harris plant recieves operation approval extension: The NRC approved an extension for the existing reactor through 2046. No mention in the story about the application for the additional two reactors.

PSNC asks for 14% rate cut: Good news on the utility front, natural gas prices have been falling along with gasoline so PSNC has asked the state to approve a 14% rate cut. Seems silly to me that they have to ask permission to cut their rates. No mention in the article about how the state gets to decide if we consumers can get a break or not.

As always, Christmas on Salem and the parade were a huge hit! I hope everyone who attended had a great time! It is truly one of the BEST things about Apex in my opinion. It always gets me in the spirit in such a simple, nostalgic and “non-commercial” way!

We are truly blessed to live in such a great place, and have such an awesome downtown!

I was having a conversation with someone yesterday about the weekend, and he mentioned that as he and his wife were discussing how great downtown is, it occurred to him that they should be doing more of their Christmas shopping downtown. He said that he realized that “we love downtown, and if we want to keep it, and not have it go by the wayside of big boxes and franchises, then we need to spend our money there so that they can stay in business.” All to often, I think we tend to “forget that”. We all love downtown, but then shop at Beaver Creek, or elsewhere out of habit, or maybe to “save money” by going to the discount stores. This year we are all probably trying to spend a little less. But, that doesn’t mean we can’t support our downtown merchants. Many, if not all of them have a great variety of affordable gifts. This year maybe we could all give fewer, or smaller gifts that are more special because they are unique, and perhaps cannot be purchased “anywhere”.
Please remember that all of our downtown merchants are small, locally owned businesses that truly need and depend on our support! For many, nearly half of their annual income comes from this season!
So, this year make it special, keep it local and have a very blessed and Merry Christmas!

Although all of that money went that was so urgently sent to the banks to quickly get credit flowing doesn’t seem to have made it’s way here, there seems to be a buzz of activity in spite of it’s lack of appearance.

According to the 10pm ABC11 newscast, home mortgage applications are up 117% so far for December! This report was echoed by the Real Estate Attorney that we use (Zdenek Law Firm) who reported that they had a total of 12 closing appointments scheduled on Friday!

Currently Bankrate.com reports interest rates from 4.175% to 5.75%. Rumors are that new changes in Freddie and Fannie could make home buying even more attractive to buyers.

(Now, if we can only get commercial lending moving! Especially for builders with product on the ground that they cannot finish because the banks won’t issue their draws!)

On November 25, 2008, the “Historic Seagrove’s House” at 1610 Ten Ten Rd. Apex NC will be moved. The historic property will remain on its original site, yet be moved “back” on the property to be further from the street, and more in keeping with it’s original context. (Ten Ten Rd. was widened). The home, built in 1925, was purchased by Bill Cotton of Cotton Custom Homes from Capital Area Preservation in 2007 and is being rehabilitated in accordance with a historic preservation easement. The structure will ultimately serve as the Cotton Custom Homes office. Direct inquiries to 919-367-8615 or bill@cottoncustomhomes.com.