What an amazing month! From Facebook to Pinterest to Instagram to YouTube to Twitter, you’ve tagged along with us (get it? tag? hashtag? because there was lots of tagging!) for a wild little ride. And as much as we gave you (ahem, one hundred bucks every dang day!) you also gave to us. Reading all about your favorite charities, about your ways of paying it forward, about your favorite small businesses to shop, about your special times shopping with a friend… all those things and more made this anniversary celebration so worthwhile to us!

So as we come in for a landing, we want to bring it all together. Remember earlier in the month when we told you to go over to Twitter or Instagram and you were all like “but I’ve never done that before!”? Well now you’re a pro so let’s put those skills to good use.

Here’s your mission.
1) Go to your A. Dodson’s Favorites board on Pinterest. Missed that contest? Go here to catch up.

2) Tweet the URL of your Board along with a happy anniversary message. Be sure to use hashtag #adodsons

3) Share your Tweet on our Facebook Page. One way you can share your Tweet is by simply pasting the url of your Tweet in a Facebook status update. Here’s one way to find your Tweet’s specific URL on a desktop:
a) Hit “expand” under your Tweet
b) Then click the “Details” button on the right side of the time stamp.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
You have from now until midnight on Wednesday, February 27th. A winner will be announced Thursday morning along with our final 10th Anniversary announcement. You’ll want to tune in because it’s kinda a grand finale. Like big time!

When A. Dodson’s accepted the challenge of designing and decorating a house made entirely of 100% Made in America products, we knew we were in for an experience. We’re trying our darnedest to document every lesson we learn and every “No WAY!” moment we have because what we’re learning is stuff everyone should know. And so here goes…

Check out the cool ceiling in the bottom right photo. We're loving it!

When selecting trim for your home, American lumber is a much better choice because it’s just been milled versus lumber that’s been sitting around waiting for transport from, say, Chile for 6 or so months. When lumber sits around it begins to twist and warp making it much harder to work with and ultimately causing you to purchase extra or settle for subpar results.

And, of course, it goes without saying that buying lumber made in America supports American jobs. In an industry that’s been one of the hardest hit in the last 4 years, every single purchase makes a difference for our economy.

Stay tuned for our next installment of Made in America | What We’ve Learned when we talk about the difference 5% can make in Hampton Roads.

We think having a fab motorcycle jacket is one of the best things you can do for yourself! It’s that soft piece of timeless leather in your closet that gives you a sense of comfort. It’s that piece you can pair with almost ANYTHING! A few fashionable New Yorkers gave us inspiration…and here’s how we made these looks achievable with our own version for $69.99.

New York Version

A. Dodson's Version

This bright color pop look is all the rage! We love how she paired sleek stripes with color and made it look effortless. The key pieces: back & wihite striped tee, pop of red, pop of yellow, and motorcycle jacket! Here’s our take…its a little more laid back, so totally achievable any day you want! A. Dodson’s ‘Zip N Go’ jacket {$69.99}, striped tee, tight pencil skirt, a chunky yellow necklace, and the pop of red?…LIPS!

New York Version

A. Dodson's Version

      What BETTER use of your Summer maxi then to toughen it up with a motorcycle jacket?! We paired our ‘Zip N Go’ jacket with a floral maxi in the back of the wardrobe! SO cute. (Underneath are some biker boots & leggings).

A. Dodson's Version

New York Version

We love this “polished rocker” look! The key is pairing a cutesy full ABOVE the knee skirt + a fabulous motorcycle jacket! How we made it work: A. Dodson’s ‘Zip N Go’ jacket, a flouncy leopard skirt (this one was a thrift store find from the 90′s!), leggings, and high heels to complete it!

It’s time for another installment of the A. Dodson’s Small Business Everyday initiative. At every turn the girls (and boy) at A. Dodson’s are scouring the earth, ok fine the town, for small businesses who are kicking some behinds and taking names. And when we find them, we climb the tallest mountain and start screaming their name (ok fine we start blogging which is really close to the same thing). There’s no such thing as competition in our book because, as far as we can tell, we’re all in this thing together!

So… *clearing throat* here goes! We love these guys and we think you should, too!

CAFE STELLA is a coffee shop in Norfolk’s Ghent neighborhood and we love them for mixing up freshly roasted coffee, great homemade food and found objects. And they offer fresh almond milk if you don’t care for milk or soy in your latte. This husband and wife duo is lovely and sweet, kinda like the creama on my espresso. When you go, tell “Maurice” we said hi!

Cafe Stella | See that contraption on the right? It's their in-house coffee roaster!

And what goes better with a cuppa Joe than a gourmet donut? Uh, NOTHING! So next on your tour of A. Dodson’s favs is O’doodleDoo’s Donuts. Right down the street from us, in fact dangerously close to us, is a little unassuming building that you may not notice if you weren’t keenly trained to look for the SOLD OUT sign. They’re open everyday beginning at 5am until the donuts sell out. They make each donut from scratch, by hand with whatever flavors float their boat (and are in season). Check their Facebook page for daily flavors. Today they listed 11 including baby ruth, blueberry pancakes n bacon, whoa! Bacon? Gotta go!

O'doodleDoo's Donuts | Is that a S'mores donut at the top? Somebody hold me back!

Looking for an inexpensive way to cover your dreary situation and impress your friends? Add a little texture to your life with burlap! It’s as easy as 1, 2, 3… Just follow these quick hints and viola, your space has been transformed!

Ask your local coffee shop or garden center for any excess burlap bags. Cut them down to size and start your staple gun. An electric stapler is the way to go…

Cutting the bags into interesting shapes will make the wall really stand out. Start at the bottom corner of the wall and work your way out. Don’t stop until you reach an “architectural landmark” (i.e. a column or window…)

Put your furniture back into place, hang a few pieces of art and presto you are finished. Family and friends will ooh and ahh over your creativity!

Quick, drop whatever you’re doing. Not only are these cookies delish but there could be a dash of nourishment in them. It just happened by surprise when I was trying to make some low-fat cookies. Halfway through the process I realized I didn’t have any applesauce. So I used non-fat plain Greek Yogurt and hot damn they turned out GOOD! (These statements have been verified by a 5 year old so get to stepping!)

Skinny(ish) Peanut Butter Cookies
Servings: 12 • Size: 2 cookies Calories: 200 • Fat: 7.0 g • Protein: 4.4 g • Carb: 34.5 g • Fiber: 1.4 g • Sugar: 25.4 g Sodium: 113.1 mg

   
Ingredients:
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tbsp butter, melted
3 tbsp natural peanut butter
1 egg
2 tbsp non-fat plain Greek Yogurt
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt
24 Dove Chocolate Hearts

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°. Line two cookie sheets with non-stick silicone baking liners such as Silpats (I highly recommend for best results) or lightly spray cookie sheets with cooking spray.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking soda and salt and stir to blend. In another bowl, whisk the sugars, butter, peanut butter, egg, yogurt and vanilla together until light and fluffy.

Whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients in two additions until the batter is very well blended. If the batter looks more “crumbly” than smooth, add just a drop of water at a time (ONLY if needed) until it smooths out.

Bake the cookies for about 5 minutes then add the chocolate hearts and bake another 5-7 minutes. Take them out when they are still very soft in the middle. They’ll firm up as they cool.
HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY!