Two Moms' Localpalooza for Small Business Saturday! (11/24/12)

Our longtime readers know how much we love smaller businesses. Small businesses provide so many unique products that in many cases you cannot find anywhere else. They also are very community motivated and their passion for helping their community is evident. We love shopping at small businesses so we thought that we would revisit some of the ones we have introduced to you.

Nibbles Play Cafe in Wheeling, Illinois is a fusion cafe where kids can play in different themed areas while parents can sip some coffee or tea. The Cafe also provides healthy, well-rounded meals for kids and hosts many special events. In fact, many of your kids' favorite characters and music talent make visits. Looking for something to do on Black Friday? On Black Friday, Nibble's is having a special event from 10:00AM-2:00PM. The event is co-hosted by Creatively Caring and will feature local vendors for parents to peruse while their kids are involved in a make-it, take-it craft and activities. Admission is free if you bring a stocking stuffer to benefit the Special Needs residents of Glenkirk. Please check here for more details.

Norton's USA is the perfect store for all small business lovers. The adorable store (with its equally adorable owner) is a cache of unique products made in the USA. The range of products are just amazing. In addition to providing a place for us to purchase American products, Norton's is also very involved in the community. The brick and mortar store is in Barrington. However, they do have an online store making it easy for readers all over to buy American! **Norton's USA will be having a Christmas Open House this weekend Nov 23 & 24 from 10AM-5PM and Nov 25 12PM-4PM. If you go in and mention our blog, you will receive 15% off of your entire purchase or 20% off of one item. Also, if you shop on Small Business Saturday and use your American Express Card, you will receive a $20 Gift Card (no expiration date) to use at Norton's for a future purchase. These events only apply to Norton USA's brick and mortar store in Barrington. The Open House will be a lot of fun with tastings, warm cider, and holiday cheer!

Nutphree's Cupcakes is a bakery in Mt. Prospect that makes cupcakes worth ignoring your diet for but are entirely nut-free. The cupcakes are made from quality ingredients that are certified nut-free. It is a place where those with and without nut allergies can share a treat together. Besides the bakery, Nutphree's does deliver their cupcakes throughout the Chicagoland area. You can check their website for details. Nutphree's is always coming up with new tasty concoctions, so be sure to keep up!


Tiesta Tea is a cutting edge tea company. They have very unique blends that are sure to inspire you and make your day special. Their teas are specially blended with different effects in mind. If you take a look at their website, their tea is not only divided by type but also by effect. It makes it really easy to find the perfect tea or find a tea that you weren't necessarily looking for but must have! This company is very energetic and passionate about the customer as well as their product. You can find them at Mariano's, Whole Foods, Treasure Island, Oh,Olive!, and online!



PopOlicious is a local gourmet popcorn shop in downtown Arlington Heights. It has an unbelievable number of popcorn flavors. In addition to popcorn, PopOlicious also has Maurice Lenell cookies and Mamma Connies Chocolates. PopOLicious can put together cute gift baskets and tins for you to give as gifts.

Siggi's has brought Icelandic skyr to America. Siggi's skyr is all natural, sweetened with agave. It has a unique taste-different from our yogurt here. I have found that it goes well with granola and fresh fruit. You can find it locally at Whole Foods Market and Mariano's.

The Grove  hosts a couple of craft fairs during the holiday season. We blogged about the first one a couple of weeks ago. This week marks the beginning of the Holiday Store which will feature many local crafters. The event runs November 23-December 23. However, it runs from Wednesday-Sunday of each week (it is not open Monday and Tuesday). It is open from 10:00AM-5:00PM and admission is free. We found tons of unique gifts at this event all from local crafters!

Affy Tapple not only provides us with sweet treats for Halloween but also has a tucked away company store holding other tempting surprises. Besides Affy Tapples, they also have truffles and other delectables from the Mrs. Prindable's line.

Just Peachy Photography is putting a spin on traditional photography. Photographer Erika Williams really understands children and has come up with many innovative portraiture experiences to really capture our kids in photos. She has a lot of on location ideas in the Palatine area and handles sessions at your home during playdate sessions among other experiences.

Jiminee's Doll Clothes is the perfect place for anyone looking for high quality clothes for American Girl Dolls. We have shopped there a couple of times and have been impressed by everything that we have seen and bought. They have an online store, so check it out if your are planning on adding to your doll's wardrobe!

Le Chocolat du Bouchard in Naperville is a must-see haven for all chocaholics. Le Chocolat creates every chocolate decadence that you can think of---truffles, brownies, cake, cookies, hot chocolate and more. Additionally, they have quite a selection of chocolate bars from all over the world.

Above, I linked to the companies profiled. I thought that I would link to our reviews in a list below. We really think it is important to try out companies that we put in our blog so I would like you to be able to read our reviews of these companies.

Le Chocolat du Bouchard
Jiminee's Doll Clothes
Tiesta Tea
PopOLicious
Just Peachy Photography
Nutphree's Cupcakes
Norton's USA
siggi's
Affy Tapple
The Grove Holiday Store

Remember to Shop Small on Saturday!