Growing up I didn’t have access to malls, big supermarkets or mass retailers and so there would be frequent trips into town with my mum. We’d stop at the butcher (who knew what kind of cuts we liked and, when money was tight would add a few pieces of salami for us, no charge), the fish market (actually, we’d go down to the docks and buy it off the boat), the five & dime type store (for buttons, thread, or a magazine). There was a high-end womens retailer that my mum would go in, if only to pet and dream about the pretty things and a toy shop where I’d do the same.

More often than not, we’d see our neighbours in these shops or the shop owners would be our friends whose children I’d go to school with or whose husbands my father would do business with. We were all connected which meant we were generally friendly, helpful and dependent on one another.

Over the years my moving and the change modern shopping has held me back from shopping as locally as I did as a child. I found online shopping so much easier since I don’t like malls and bargain hunting. And once in America, where supermarkets and giant retailers were taking over, the need to go from shop to shop – and person to person – seemed like a hassle.

But several years ago, when I was sick of complaining about the lack of service at Home Depot and the practices of Walmart, I began to change my habits and went old school.

My current neighbourhood in Philadelphia, which has been around since the 1700′s and pretty much unchanged since the 1800′s, operates in the old-fashioned local way. In the 60′s, the community saw its businesses closing and the landscape starting to slowly change so residents and business owners worked hard together to save their local shops, to save their friends businesses, to save that connection that was being replaced by anonymous shopping.

Now, we have a butcher, a baker, and yes, a candlestick maker. There’s also a cheese shop, an organic dry cleaner, a camera store, a paint shop – all small, private and locally owned. And busy.

The other day I strolled up to main street, walked into a local cafe for a coffee, and then as I sat outside and sipped it, watched the town wake up. As the clock struck 9AM, the store doors began to open and one by one the owners came out to sweep their store fronts. next, then the locals started to come through those doors as the shopkeepers greeted them by name.

“Hullo Ms. McCormick – got that cheese in.”

“Did you get caught out in that storm last night, Teddy?”

“Isn’t this a gorgeous morning? I need a bigger regular today to go out in it!”

Sitting there, taking it all in, I could have sworn I was in a movie. It had been far too long since I’d been in this kind of environment, the kind where shops really knew your name and your dollar made a difference because the owner didn’t just sell you cold cuts, he was also your neighbour, a tax payer, a potential employer. Maybe even a friend. And that’s worth an extra dollar to me or an extra ten minutes out of my day.

Now, I’ve a healthy balance between supporting my local shops (not just financially but personally connecting and recommending) and shopping mass retailers (Amazon is still really easy for me to get products that can be harder to find or I don’t feel like lugging home). I shop at Whole Foods, a mass retailer of food, but buy the local product within it as much as possible. But Saturdays I buy from the local farmers market in Rittenhouse Square.

I’m more often than not a middle ground kind of girl; looking at all my options and doing what’s best for me, my community and my pocketbook. Sometimes that’s supporting my local shop, sometimes it’s ordering online. Balancing my needs with that of my community. Which isn’t too hard when you get find what works, especially when you consider the benefits all around.

I have always been a fall kind of girl which is why, come every September since 2004 when I moved to Los Angeles, I’d start to crave a road trip out east. While so many dream of seeing Paris in the spring time, I always wanted to see the east coast in Fall.

And this year I was finally able to do that thanks to my move to Pennsylvania. Scarfs and woolly throws finally made sense once again and my camera had lots of reasons to click.

Standing in my yard, watching the squirrels prepare for winter (and listening to them crack and dump chestnuts onto the ground below), watching leaves literally fall for hours and hiking with my dog, Jack, in golden colours – well, it’s been amazing, comforting, inspiring… beautiful. Each day seems different which is something that I didn’t like about living in perfect year round weather (she says before winter comes – I’m not a huge winter lover) and being aware of that difference has helped me to feel more inline with the week and somehow relax against its rhythms.

I find myself looking for places to escape to each weekend; a train trip to see the foliage, a park to walk through the leaves, pumpkin patches, cafe’s with apple cider, nurseries, puddles to jump in. And during the week, I just take it all in.

Pink of Perfection has a great little post on cosying up for fall and This is Glamorous has some inspiring images, too. I think am going to try to do each one of them. What about you? Any fall favourites you have (outside of Halloween) that you love to do? And if you’re fall-challenged like I was, how do you deal with 80F/25C weather when sweaters are popping up everywhere?