My life has always included living, working, and most importantly playing in Downtown Sioux Falls. I cannot think of another area in the city that has so much to do in one spot. The holiday season is by far my favorite time to be downtown. Today I’d like to give you my shopping guide to my favorite street in town Phillips Avenue. These are just some of the great shops we have to offer, be sure to visit us soon to discover your own favorite spots in Downtown Sioux Falls.

For Mom
When shopping for my mom I know that sentimental is best. If you have never heard of love languages you all need to get with the program. I’m yet to meet a mother that doesn’t love a handwritten card from their kids. For the absolute best stationary in town you need to shop at Engage Paperie. Seriously friends the cards at this store will melt any mother’s heart – they are almost as good as flowers.

Speaking of flowers the next stop for Mom should be Young and Richards Flowers. Not only do they have wonderful arrangements available this is a charming unique shop with home décor that is sure to make you look like the most thoughtful gift giver in the entire family.

For Dad
This guy is notoriously hard to shop for and there have been many years a six-pack of beer has done the trick. However, if you truly want to do something nice for the old man you have to checkout Man Code. The name should say it all, but you know as well as I do that fathers are notorious for hanging on to their clothing items far past the time they came into style; even past the second and third time around that certain items were in style. Just because Dad is older than you doesn’t mean he needs to dress like a fuddy-duddy.

Now back to that six-pack of beer. Truly if you are looking at providing your dad with some holiday libations you should provide him with some classy pints to enjoy his holiday brew. That is where Mrs. Murphy’s Irish Gift Shop comes into play. They have the best flasks, pints, bottle openers, and man cave pub memorabilia necessary to make dad feel like the jolly Irish king he is (it doesn’t even matter if he is Scandinavian or German).

For the Ladies
On Phillips Avenue we have several amazing boutiques filled with wonderful clothing, jewelry, and accessories. Trust me when I tell you nobody ever got mad at a gift card from Chelsea’s Boutique, Lot 2029, or Lillian’s. Remember I’m a dude and if you are a dude reading this trust me when I tell you, buy the wrong size, wrong color, wrong style and the holidays will be miserable. My suggestion would be to swing into the Downtown Sioux Falls office located in the Shriver Square building on 11th and Phillips and purchase a gift card redeemable at all Downtown shops.

While you are in the Shriver Square building be sure to enjoy breakfast or lunch at The Cookie Jar Eatery. Shopping Downtown isn’t just for everyone else – if you are being the best brother, sister, friend, father, or mother you deserve to eat like a champ. The Cookie Jar will fill you up with soup, sandwiches, and of course COOKIES!

For the Dudes
From time-to-time I hear people say that Downtown is only for women to shop. This is completely false. While I admit my gender is unendingly difficult to shop for, Downtown is certainly the place to accomplish this arduous shopping feat. Take Zandbroz Variety for example, One thing holds true a man always likes getting a good book for a gift. Seriously I got my Dad a book last year, and I don’t remember the last time he bought himself a book, but he read the whole damn thing in two days. Find out what interests your man and I assure Zandbroz has a book for him. They also feature amazing gag gifts; toys for kids, taxidermy art, vintage clothing, skin care products, watches, jewelry, greeting cards, and so much more I haven’t found yet. If you can’t find a gift at Zandbroz you truly aren’t trying to shop.   

Men love sports. Why not purchase the fellas in your life some fan-wear from A League of Your Own, or a new pair of running shoes from 605 Running Company (shameless Plug, get over it), and if he is a truly adventurous guy some climbing gear from The Great Outdoor Store. Simply put Downtown is not just for the ladies, guys can easily be bought for in and around Phillips Avenue.   

For the Kids
Childs Play Toy’s and Childs Play Wear! I don’t think I really need to say anything else. This shop is amazing featuring: toys, games, clothes, and books. What else does a kid need? I recently bought my nephew a gift for his 5th birthday from this magnificent shop.

He opened it and said; “This is just what I wanted!”

If you want the feeling of making a 5 year olds day, shop at this store period.

Important People
Finally, you might find yourself needing to send a gift to close family friends; something that screams I’m from South Dakota and this gift will make you wish you were as well. Home Porch is just the shop you are looking for. They make custom gift baskets and feature some of the best products our fine state has to offer.

You might also consider shopping at Ten Thousand Villages. This amazing shop is a fair trade retailer of artisan crafted home decor, accessories and gift items from developing countries.   

Lastly, all of that shopping has certainly earned you a sweet treat. Enjoy some truly amazing coffee and desserts you cannot find anywhere else but at CH Patisserie. Trust me the place will blow your mind and make you happy.

I can go on-and-on about Downtown and I only touched on a few ideas for the holidays. Believe me when I tell you that shopping can be fun and easy when you shop local, shop Phillips Avenue. If you need ideas of were to shop feel free to stop in and see me and I’d be happy to help with directions, ideas, tips to make you the best gift giver in the world. 

Cheers,

 Greg Koch   

This sounds like a ridiculous name, but the Good Life Halfsy half marathon race in Lincoln, NE holds up.  When I discussed my experience with Kyle Schmidt this week, I wondered aloud how much of my positive experience related to the fact that I am from Lincoln.  I ran the Sioux Falls half marathon on September 7th (1:16:26), and although I thoroughly enjoyed the course, the fans and the overall experience, I didn't have the connection that many of our 605 Racing team members had in being from the area.  Even in running the Omaha half marathon two weeks later (1:14:35) in the city that I currently live, I found myself in the same situation where I enjoyed everything about the race, but still did not have a strong connection to the race.  I'm not sure how to explain this better than to just say I'm not sure whether I would or would not recommend this race to someone.

Then on October 20th, I ran the Des Moines half marathon (1:12:55), and of course this race has historically been my favorite.  The course is fast, the crowd support is strong the entire way, and to top it all off, I usually find a way to get in some type of racing shape by the third week in October.  Of course, it doesn't hurt that I've ran this race in Des Moines for the past three years, and in doing so, I've developed some familiarity with the course and the race event itself.

All that to say that the Good Life Halfsy half marathon takes the cake. Everything from the familiar location to the point-to-point course to the elite athlete treatment to all the other amenities that I never would have thought about (i.e., post-race Runza sandwich).  The course was set-up to be fast, and I was shocked, to say the least, when I ran down the Pinnacle Bank Arena ramp to a time of 1:11:39.  Two months, four half marathons, two PR's (each by over a minute) and almost five minutes of improvement from September to November.  The Good Life Halfsy is scheduled for Sunday, November 1st, and I would strongly encourage anyone looking for a fall 2015 half marathon to sign up.

With four half marathons under my belt this fall (and five on the year), it's time for me to take a little break from racing that long distance. Just in time for Thanksgiving!

Happy Running!

Logan Watley