Your Office Should be the Leased
of Your Worries!
Years ago, I had a very small business requiring a very small office, so I rented a very small space which, unfortunately, came with an elevator and restrooms that smelled exactly the same. How nice it would have been to have the option of leasing as little space as I needed — along with all kinds of upscale amenities and services — at a little gem called The Office on Main Street in Farmington. It’s not a new idea, but it is an excellent one. In fact, I wouldn’t call the space you get at The Office on Main square footage. I’d call it cool footage! — J.H.
The Office on Main
321 Main St., Farmington
860-678-4400 theofficeonmain.com
The Ins and Outs of Ink!
Ever been to The Ink Store in Canton? You know, the store that sells just ink? (Okay, they sell it in toner, inkjet, and fax cartridges — but it’s still just ink.) Well, if you ever need ink, that’s where you want to go, and not just because you can count on coming home with the ink you need but because you won’t have to hike through paper, mailing supplies, writing instruments, calendars, computers, electronic devices, and office furniture on your way to ink. You walk in and there you are — in ink. And I have an inkling that when you’re out of ink, in ink is the place to be. — J.H.
The Ink Store
106 Powder Mill Rd., Canton
860-284-9417 theinkstore.com
A New Kind of Donor Perfect
Founded 20 ago by several Simsbury residents, Gifts of Love is a terrific local organization where working families — families who often don’t qualify for other forms of assistance — can go for the food, clothing, household items, or gently used furniture they need but cannot afford. Donations, fundraising events, and a variety of collection drives ensure that the more than $300,000-worth of goods distributed every year are always available. And while those who contribute may never meet those who benefit, each kindness is more than repaid by the simple knowledge someone in need now has warm clothes, good food, and a home to come home to. — J.H.
Gifts of Love in Avon
35 East Main St., Avon
860-676-2323 giftsoflovect.org
Get Your Buns Over There!
Off Route 44 in Avon is a family restaurant called Five Guys Burgers and Fries that appeals to me for three very important reasons. First, the name rhymes — which, at my age, makes it a name I can actually remember. Second, they sell only what the name says they sell — which, at my age, makes it the kind of place where I can go and remember precisely why I’m there. And third, these five guys — whoever they are — have turned burgers and fries into such an incredible art form that the meat and potatoes of this wildly popular franchise are some of best meat and potatoes you’ll ever taste! — J.H.
Five Guys Burgers and Fries
Walmart Plaza, 255 W. Main St., Avon,
860-409-9100
278 Scott Swamp Rd., Farmington,
860-677-7600
fiveguys.com
 
Getting By with a Little Help From
New Friends!
No doubt about it. Age has its benefits and its drawbacks — increased candor being a benefit and… well, increased candor being drawback. (Or is that just me?) Anyway, no one knows better how difficult the proverbial “golden years” can be than those already there, which makes Seniors Helping Seniors, a national organization with a center right in Granby, nothing short of brilliant. Matching seniors with specific strengths to seniors with specific needs is an amazingly simple, yet effective, way of empowering both! Each gives. Each receives. And each benefits from what is clearly a new kind of social security. — J.H.
Seniors Helping Seniors
16 High Ridge Dr., Granby
860-716-2017 seniorshelpingseniors.com
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A Very Neighborly Invitation!
One of West Granby’s real treasures is Angel Horses, Inc., a sanctuary where horses that have worked in the therapeutic world can retire and enjoy the nurturing, companionship and love they so thoroughly deserve forever — and where humans can go “to experience the magic of connecting with such sensitive beings.” The stable is home to Foxy, Doogie, Katie, Nacho, Sonny, Radish, and Doc, and one look in their gentle eyes or one stroke of that velvety spot between their expressive nostrils, and you’ll know you’ve been blessed. Donate today and visit when you can. It’s heaven. — J.H.
Angel Horses, Inc.
12 Knollwood Ln.
, West Granby
860-764-9004 angelhorses.org
Just in the Wick of Time!
Got a really burning desire to buy yourself or someone else something really wonderful? Then follow your nose to Freedom Candle Company in Granby. While this neat little shop features lots of great stuff — including unusual candle accessories, reed diffusers, jewelry, hand-blown glass, and natural soaps, the spotlight is clearly on their own hand-poured candles, which come in 85 sublime fragrances. In fact, at the risk of waxing a bit too eloquent, let me just say that when it comes to shopping for candles, nothing make more scents than Freedom Candle Company! — J.H.
Freedom Candle Company
569 Salmon Brook St.
, Granby
860-653-3341 freedomcandleco.com
Art and Soul
Here’s something you just might not know: Hiding in plain sight off Mountain Road in Farmington is a 152-acre, ten-building estate where paintings by Degas, Monet, Cassatt, Manet, and Whistler, Chinese porcelain and sculptures by Calder and Barye, Louis XVI clocks — a collection of Caucasian, Persian and Anatolian rugs and many, many other world-class masterpieces await your perusal. It’s called the Hill-Stead Museum — and it’s an amazing “instead” museum for those wishing to enjoy some of the world’s finest art without traveling far from home. Make a day of it every first Sunday of the month, when wandering is encouraged. It’s good for the soul! — J.H.
Hill-Stead Museum
35 Mountain Rd., Farmington
860-677-4787 hillstead.org
 
Flora. Fauna. Finis!
I have three pets and a beautiful garden — and I am never happier than when I am doing something, anything — with either. It’s not surprising, then, that I should find Petals and Paws (formerly New England’s General Store) less of garden and pet supply center than true magnetic north. Fertilizer leads to freesia, kibble to Kon, and catnip, well, to more catnip. I wander and wonder, testing toys, bouncing balls, and sniffing soil — amazed at the richness of what others call dirt. Petals and Paws. What a find. Makes you wonder why there isn’t a store that sells chocolate and shoes. — J.H.
Petals and Paws
465 Albany Tpke., Canton,
860-693-8760
361 Scott Swamp Rd., Rt. 6, Farmington,
860-674-9476
petals-paws.com
 
When Your Taste is All in Your Mouth
Some people like come as you are restaurants so they don’t have to worry about a bad hair day or that tee shirt with holes. I like come as you are restaurants because I know their focus is on good-tasting food instead of good taste in fashion — and that’s exactly how it is at Wood-n-Tap Bar & Grill. Wood-n-Tap isn’t just a come as you are restaurant. It’s their slogan. That’s why their menu is so vast and so tempting and that vast and tempting menu is why they are the go-to destination for anyone in or near Farmington as ravenous as they are rumpled! Go as you are! But go! — J.H.
Wood-n-Tap Bar & Grill
274 Farmington Ave., Farmington
860-773-6736 woodntap.com
Their Glass is Beauti-Full!
Maybe the eyes are the window to the soul, but these days it’s the soul SGO Designer Glass of Northern Connecticut is putting into windows everywhere that’s catching everyone’s eye! Whether it’s fresh red tulips set in glass cupboard doors, frosted beveled geometrics for that entryway hall or rich Victorian panels for bed or bath privacy, SGO does it all — and they do it all with old-world craftsmanship and new-world flair. Just add your vision, a little bit of light, and the dullest spot in your home, your office, or anywhere will brighten with a beauty you won’t believe. You know what they say: No pane, no gain. — J.H.
SGO Designer Glass of Northern Connecticut
1280 Hopmeadow St., Unit F, Simsbury
860-651-9508 northct.sgodesignerglass.com
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