Get To Know Me
I’m shopping Northern California’s best downtown secrets and bringing them to you. These hidden destinations are your sources for trusted advice, quality, and noteworthy style found by resident experts, not an algorithmic search engine. To elevate the standard, I only recommend excellence—businesses I’ve tried myself—because I make the majority of my purchases with a shop small/shop local attitude.
Why am I upside down? Because doing the obvious, like Amazon, is boring!
For more than 10 years, I featured top-notch goods, services, and food by independents in my hometown’s newspaper, but a medical odyssey deprived me of shopping for the better part of a year. Once the opioids were clear, I went on a healthy spending bender and blew my borders. To all of Northern California.
Take that, Percocet!
Despite online trends, there’s still a substantial marketplace where you can experience unique items chosen by mom & pop—not a distant focus group. Even though delivery trucks storm our neighborhoods and my Gen Z son warns me about evolution, there’s a lot to appreciate in personalized settings by knowledgeable folks who know your name.
Receiving a yes when requesting a donation for the PTA isn’t bad either.
So the next time you shop only to find empty storefronts, cookie-cutter clutter, or a confusing online onslaught where dependability is questionable, think about Downtownnorcal and what you can confidently buy and bring home today.
In other words, come with me. And live a little!
About Me
Married ballroom dancer, mom of UO son (Go Ducks!) and two rescued dogs. I’m civically promiscuous, prefer the indoors, great R&B, and the second glass of wine. I’m also a Muscular Dystrophy and Tarlov Cyst Disease patient.
Meet Beazley, our 13 year-old love. He can't spell, but he's great at telling the time: It's always 5:00!
Rasputin (aka: Raspy) had some terrible horrible, no good, rotten, bad families before us. He doesn't get far from the Prozac, but as you can see, that's just fine after a busy day.