Expert Transmission Tips

When it comes to your car, the transmission is one of the most important components of the vehicle.  If your transmission breaks or needs any type of repair, it can run you a couple hundred or even a couple thousand dollars depending on how severe the damage.  Now, unless you’re a professional, you will have to bring your car into the shop and get it repaired.  In order to prevent a costly situation, there are a number of simple methods that any car owner can do.

Be a better and more cautious driver.  Along with following traffic laws, how a person drives and handles their vehicle makes a world of difference: (more…)

Collections Gallery

There is something exceptional about handmade items created by local artisans. Something handmade comes with that inimitable seal of extra thought, touch, care and passion imbued into it by the artists themselves.  We hear a lot about shopping local in order to support our community businesses; well how about shopping local for items that are actually made right here on Cape Cod as well!

Collections Gallery is a combination boutique shop and gallery located on Jarves Street right in the historic village of Sandwich. They have been in business for 20 years having resided for their first 17 years in a shop on Route 6A in East Sandwich. An interesting nuance about this shop is that it’s an artist’s cooperative, comprised of 14 members. Each talented member sells and displays their own work in the shop and as part of the membership in the co-op, they must also each work in and contribute to the smooth running of the business. They also do have some consigning artists as well. The artists create and sell a vast variety of handmade pieces including: jewelry; paintings; pottery; quilts; hand-sewn and collage, and other fine art items.

This year the Gallery is also doing something special to help benefit the Sandwich Food Pantry. They have been working on creating 1,000 origami paper cranes and will be selling them all winter, with a generous portion of the proceeds going to the food pantry. There is a Japanese legend that reads if anyone folds 1,000 cranes, they will be granted a wish by a crane.  In Japan the Crane is revered as one of many mystical and holy creatures said to live for a thousand years.  The Gallery members decided to continue making the cranes in the good spirit which they embody and support a terrific local cause. The shop also had entered  and won second place in, the Town’s annual holiday window decorating contest, which as you can see was adorned with the beautiful handmade cranes!

Come and view their unique collection of handmade art. Collections Gallery is located at 23A Jarves Street in Sandwich. Winter hours are: 11-4 Sunday through Friday and 10-5 Saturday. They will be closing on Tuesdays during the month of March. Then in April they will go back to their full time hours of 10-5 daily. They can be reached directly at 508.833.0039.

Custom Nothing Apparel

Cape Cod inspires…the vast open skies and sea offering a contemplative spot to meditate if you will, on what is important to us. Perhaps it is these open spaces, the non-confining feel to the cape that allows us to feel a sense of freedom. We can look out to the sea that appears to never end, with the belief that anything is possible, helping us to fuel our passions and feel a sense of purpose. It is no surprise that with the sea in our back yard, and the open sky as a ‘pallet’, Cape Cod would be home to many talented artists whose personalities shine through their work. (more…)

Consigning Women

Finding a great deal when shopping is always satisfying. We talk a lot these days about shopping local and supporting small business and for good reason! Consignment stores are a great way to support your local retail community while saving money on some of life’s required purchases: clothing and furniture. There are a lot of high quality consignment shops scattered about the Cape. Perhaps one of the largest is Consigning Women in East Harwich.

Consigning Women was opened in August of 2005 by owner Mary Martin, consigning at that time just gently “loved” women’s clothing and accessories. In July of 2010 Mary moved the store into a 7,000 square foot space and began consigning furniture and home décor, along with the clothing. (more…)

Cape Crabbers: Cape Cod Apparel

Looking for a unique holiday gift for the person who you think has everything? How about a Cape Crabbers t-shirt, American made apparel that makes a statement: “Life is a Vacation”!

Cape Crabbers was launched in 2009 by then recent college grads and life long friends Melissa Johnson and Zane Krumanocker. Melissa was the artistic talent behind ‘Petey’ the official Cape Crabbers crab. Petey was ‘born’ after a doodle session resulted in a rough drawing of a funky cartoon-like crab. Melissa and Zane had always wanted to start an apparel business and with the creation of Petey their business idea came to fruition and Zane came up with their creative Cape Crabbers moniker! (more…)

Wellfleet Oysters and More

What a day we had this past Saturday at the Wellfleet Oyster Festival, a great place to spend an afternoon with friends and family; especially on a day as gorgeous as this one was! This annual event and Cape Cod tradition held in ‘downtown’ Wellfleet, offered a tantalizing menu for all of the senses: food; music; shopping; people watching and exciting educational events.

This was the 11^th annual festival celebrating Wellfleet’s famous oysters and its deep rooted shell fishing traditions. SPAT Shellfish Promotion and Tasting, a non profit organization devoted to nurturing a better understanding of the town’s shell fishing traditions, along with a multitude of volunteers works hard to present this event each year…and what a success! In keeping with the important focus on recycling here on the Cape, the festival is always very conscientious about collecting all shells:  oysters, clams, etc and returning them to the bay in order to keep the oyster reefs thriving. There were special recycling buckets placed all around the festival grounds to encourage everyone to do their part. (more…)

Rediscovering the Public Library

Remember the days when hanging out in the public library after school or on weekends was the thing to do? Finding a corner to call ‘home’ for those few hours, traveling the peaceful aisles savoring the sights of all the wonderful stories that were being told. When is the last time you remember spending time in a public library?

Cape Cod has some terrific public libraries that not only retain that wonderful spirit from years past, but also have a history deeply rooted in their community. The buildings are often an architectural find as well! A library is more than just a place to borrow a favorite book or find a reference for a paper or article that is being written, it can also offer a place for people to come together and share in storytelling or learning.  The beauty of a library is that the books are free. Electronic book readers are a fantastic idea, yet buying an e-reader is not always an option for everyone…reading a good book should be though. (more…)

Running with the Dogs

Did you know that according to the American Pet Products Association (APPA), 62% of US households own a pet? That equates to 72.9 million homes, which equates to a very healthy pet product and service industry!

We are fortunate here on the Cape to have access to a close knit community of providers that cater to the care and well being of our animals. As our first Happening Pets feature we wanted to introduce CapeK9Cardio a premier pet sitting business based out of East Falmouth. We had the pleasure of meeting with Jason and Laura Michaud, owners of CapeK9Cardio. Not only do they offer pet care services for when owners are away from home, but they have an attitude towards pet health that rivals that of us humans … running is good for the soul. They bring a feverish energy and unparalleled passion to what they do and after spending time with them, you can understand why their business is such a success. (more…)