Birch Co. Finds #001: Local Edition + Tribe Pop Up Finds
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This vanilla sugar latte from Not Just Coffee is my favorite cup of jo in town.
Welcome to my new weekly series where I share my favorite things and where you can find them. This post may contain affiliate links, which means we may receive a small commission if you click a link or purchase something that we have recommended. While clicking these links won't cost you any extra money, they will help us keep this site up and running and keep it ad free!
There once was a time when I wrote down all the places I wanted to check out in Charlotte in a small notebook. That time was ten years ago, I had a blog by the name of in the Queen City, and finding cool things was not as easy as it is today.
Charlotte is booming with amazing local business, many are new and some have been around forever. Here are my favorite finds from this week:
Events
Girl Tribe Pop Up. This was by far their best yet and makes me excited for what's next for these amazing, hardworking, and talented women. I went on Friday, for the VIP preview night (thanks for the invite, ladies!), and it was stellar. There was a bar with custom cocktails, a swag bar (the best kind of bar, in my opinion), discounts at every booth, and so much more. VIP hours are the best hours because it's not as crowded and gives you the opportunity to meet the women behind each business.
Oh, and I got inducted into the Jeni's Ice Cream Fan Club. Now I'm counting down the days when her Charlotte location opens up.
Art
The team behind #thesavageway has launched Driveway Art, a take on their Clean Graffiti program but for residential properties. You may have seen their work throughout town and now you can bring it to your own driveway! Checkout what they did for the Girl Tribe Pop Up this past weekend:
Books
I've been on a cook book buying spree lately. My latest purchase (and a birthday gift from my mom) is Kachka: A Return to Russian Cooking by Boonie Frumkin Morales. I found it at Park Road Books, a local book store that has been around since 1977 and the people who work there are super helpful and lovely. I also purchased two books for Charlotte's birthday: Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls by Elena Favilli and Of Thee I Sing: A Letter to My Daughters by Barack Obama. I can't wait to read them to her!
Beauty
GUSTO + CO is an online skincare store, founded by Marquita right outside of Greenville, SC, that features a carefully curated collection of independent brands and niche cosmetics. I met Marquita at the Girl Tribe Pop Up and she was very knowledgeable about natural skin care and answered all of my question! She is lovely and I hope you give her website a look. Oh, and I walked away with something called Mermaid Oil from SALT by Hendrix, a brand out of Australia. I'm waiting on my jade roller to arrive so that I can go to town on my face with this magical facial treatment.
Food
I always crave comfort food when my husband travels so my mom and I paid a visit to A&A International, an Eastern European grocery store that we have been patronizing for decades. Their new-ish location on Sardis Road is much bigger and so is the selection of various Russian staples and dumplings. Oh, the dumplings! I highly recommend the Siberian dumplings, now available for purchase by the pound.
Speaking of dumplings, my current favorite way to eat them is with a little bit of quality butter, a pinch of Shichimi Togarashi spice from Savory Spice Shop, and a handful of chopped dill or green onions (or both!). Right now Savory Spice Shop has all of their gift sets on sale for 30-50% off. This is a steal! Run, don't walk, before they sell out. I got the Bloody Mary spice set that I'm going to debut at the next book club meeting with my girls.
Drinks
I'm a coffee drinker, however, I drink more hot tea than your average person. Tea is ingrained in me thanks my Russian upbringing and growing up drinking tea from samovars at dinner parties hosted by my grandmother. This is why I was most excited to meet the ladies behind Birch Fine Tea at Girl Tribe Pop Up. They're not your grandmother's tea company. Alena and Kristina focus on all natural and organic teas that promote weight loss, energy, and wellness. You can shop their tea collection online or order their teas to sip on at The People's Market in Dilworth.
Stay tuned for future roundups of my favorite weekly finds, places, and events!
