by Mal Karman

All the ads in the morning paper were screaming that is was Black.
Friday—except that every calendar in the country told me it was Thursday. In fact Thanksgiving Thursday. Weeks in advance, I had mapped out the day in my head: wake up with yoga, do some writing, go for a hike, watch some football, and partake in a turkey dinner with a bevy of close friends.

Until last year I had resisted the insanity of this so-called bargain-hunting holiday all of my life. Apparently my memory is failing because that experience took way too much energy and I swore I would never again succumb to corporate America’s fishing expedition. I can still hear the dark suits in their high-rise offices now: “We need to convince this reluctant consumer to believe that by spending money he’s actually saving it. Get him to use the plastic so that he doesn’t feel the pain until, well, that agonizing bill arrives. Everyone with a wallet or pocketbook will bend if we appeal to their bargain hunger.”

So, yeah, there I was, hooked like a sunfish by an ad at Fry’s Electronics—an Onkyo audio receiver with 6 HDMI inputs for $149—presumably half price, though in reality about 65 bucks less than it would cost otherwise. But the sale started at 5am in Palo Alto. Gas and tolls eat into the bargain, n’est-ce pas? And do I want to be in a car at 4am? This time, I figure I can buy on the website. Wouldn’t I rather be online than in line?

In this era of “virtual” you can get around the gas and tolls by hiring people to stand in line for you for those in-store doorbusters, though that negates almost everything you can “save”—unless you’re hunting a big-ticket item. For me, the decision to stay up all night and go online is not the brightest one I’ve ever made. Is a night of sleep worth $65? Ask the folks at Motel 6.

The trick here is that, prior to the early morning crush on the Internet, one has to sign up for a “personal promo code.” I actually did that, and when I confidently typed it in at precisely 5am, the page loaded a message: “Coupon successfully applied.”

After entering my credit card number and security code I clicked “submit order” and got a second message that read: “An error occurred while validating the coupon, please re-try it again.” I thought that rather redundant. It’s either please try it again or please re-try it, not “re-try it again.”

I obeyed the redundancy. At 5:02, 5:04, 5:05, 5:09, 5:11, 5:15, 5:16, 5:19, 5:28. At 5:36, I gave up and tried to go to sleep. For three hours. I tried. My body clock was having none of that. “You want to mess with me,” it seemed to say, “I’ll mess with you back.” Like the Soup Nazi on Seinfeld, “No sleep for you!”

Wide awake at 8:43am, I went back to the site and gave it another shot. This time I got different results. Not results, mind you, but results. A new message told me, “We’re sorry, but there has been an error generated from our server. Please go to the previous page and try again. If you were in the process of checking out, we suggest that you call our Customer Service (8am-midnight, 7 days per week) … ”

That seems pretty clear, doesn’t it? So I phoned—and got a mechanical voice telling me there is no customer service. They will be back—after the sale is over and prices have regained a normal footing.

Fool that I am, I went back to my computer and tried several more times. It was 9:50am. This time I received new messages that convinced me it was not possible to access the Black Friday deep discounts and that it was a scam to get me to buy other stuff on the site. Up popped new screens reading: “The connection has timed out.” “No data received.” “The server is taking too long to respond. The site could be temporarily unavailable or too busy. Try again in a few moments.”

I concluded that the purpose of Black Friday, or Noir Thursday as the case may be, is to drive the deal-digger to the brink of insanity, especially after my final effort netted this: “Unable to load the web page.”

But to my astonishment, on Friday my inbox indicated that Fry’s was shipping me the AV receiver—at full price! I dashed off an outraged e-mail, which I ended with “Unacceptable! Unacceptable!!!” The response, via e-mail on Saturday, told me,“We are unable to cancel your order as requested because it has already shipped from our fulfillment center. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience.”

By then, I was ready to dismantle my house just to find a board with nails. I finally managed to get a human being on the phone and told him what I went through. He checked my personal promo code—those numbers that started me on this descent to home shopping hell—and guess what? I was being sent what I ordered with the discount. There was only one problem: On all those occasions where I had been stonewalled by this or that message, my order actually went through—not once, but 19 times. As a result, they were shipping me 19 Onkyo AV receivers.

The ones I don’t destroy in exasperation may be eligible for return. May be. I am, however, left with one overriding thought: Shopping on Black Friday or any part of Thanksgiving Day is for turkeys.

Ask Mal to go shopping at le*****@pa********.com.

by Janet Alexander

This the holiday season, and with this festive time of year come the traditions of holiday celebrations and, of course, the annual custom of holiday shopping, which for many feels like an annual chore that can come with the annual tradition of a holiday headache.

Finding the perfect presents to fulfill wish lists can daunt even the most seasoned gifting guru. One way to prevent your holiday merriment from turning into a holiday meltdown is simply to think outside the big-box store. Avoid the frenzy of overcrowded name brand megastores and shopping centers to let your holiday spirit roam free among the native Bay Area shops and boutiques that are as unique as Marin itself. Let our list of local gift stores be the saving grace of your holiday season sanity. Give the gift of Marin

Great Acorn Company Inc.
Nestled in the junction where downtown San Rafael ends and downtown San Anselmo begins, sits the Great Acorn Company. Originally opening its doors in 1976, The Great Acorn was purchased in 1995 from its original founder, Judy Tilt, by co-owners Judy Morris, a San Anselmo resident, and Mary Rathbun, who is from Ross. This store’s eclectic collection, which includes clothing, accessories, homewares, books, stationary, and more, predominantly features jewelry handcrafted by various Bay Area artists. 800 San Anselmo Ave., San Anselmo

Terrestra
In keeping with its name, Terrestra focuses on natural materials that come from the earth. Ray Kristof and Amy Satran, husband and wife who own and curate Terrestra, travel abroad to cull distinctive ceramic, glass and wood pieces from international designers, while also sourcing handcrafted fashion accessories and jewelry from individual artists—not wholesale manufacturers—across the U.S. Terrestra in Mill Valley opened less than a year ago as a companion to its San Francisco counterpart. 30 Miller Ave., Mill Valley

Beach House Style
Friends Susan Delurgio and Alisha Peterson founded Beach House Style in 2006, to combine their shared love of the easy, breezy sand and surf lifestyle. Brimming with all the airy interior trappings of a beach house, BHS also offers its own custom line of reclaimed wood furniture. You can keep a bit of summer’s warmth all year long with Beach House Style. This downtown Fairfax treasure is one of Marin’s better kept retail secrets. 779 Center Blvd., Fairfax

Toby’s Store
Toby’s is a product of its environment, stocked with seasonal produce and dairy from the surrounding West Marin farms. This is a place where gourmands can find locally pressed olive oils, premium coffees and tea, all-natural snacks, and even feed for animals—large and small—of discerning taste. The homegrown charm of a farm shop suits holiday tables. The scenic drive through Point Reyes makes this a holiday trip in and of itself, or at least a holiday detour worth taking. 11250 Highway One, Point Reyes Station

Moss & Daughters
Tolan Clark Florence, a Mill Valley native and the wife of Food Network star Tyler Florence, describes her home gifts store as a “low-key family affair.” It joined the pre-existing dynasty of Florence owned businesses—Moss&Moss, El Paseo and Tyler Florence Shop—clustered together within the same block, when it opened in 2012. Simpatico candles, Mosser Glass cake stands, vintage stemware and decorative bird feeders are but a few of Mrs. Florence’s favorite things that you’ll find at her so-called “happy place.” 1 El Paseo Ln., Mill Valley

Koze
Koze reflects the rustic, chic side of Marin’s character, as well as the formidable fashion career credentials of its owner and Bay Area resident, Darla Fisher, who was the former director of sales for Jessica McClintock. True to its name, the core business of Koze is cashmere, with six collections that embody the philosophy of the store. “Our clothes aren’t fussy,” she says. Prices range from $49 to $300—price points that fit most sized wallets. This subtle luxury carries through to its attached accessories shop, Annex. 16 Main St., Tiburon

Ask Janet what she wants for the holidays at le*****@pa********.com.

by Annie Spiegelman, the Dirt Diva

Last month I attended a Battle of the Bands event at Trek Winery in Novato. I personally knew many of the teenaged musicians who were competing against each other. I wanted them all to win … so I had to drink to endure.

While I sat there on a comfy leather lounger-style chair, with my locally crafted glass of chardonnay, listening to original rock tunes and jazz by teens-with-too-much-talent, I realized how much I loved chilling at Trek Winery. “I could easily move in here, under those Aspen trees and live happily ever after,” I said to a nearby parent who was glaring over the shoulder of one of the judges. The parents were all trying to play it cool on the outside. But inside, parents of musicians (yours truly) are just as annoying and competitive as those obnoxious soccer parents. You want your own kid’s band to win or there’ll be a screaming match with the coach. In this case, Andy Podshadley, owner of Trek Winery.

After the show I stalked, I mean, “introduced myself” to Mr. Podshadley. I was trying to shield him from the brutal thugs (parents of musicians) hovering nearby. But I learned that the winner of the Battle of the Bands would not be chosen for another week. Phew, he was safe. At least temporarily.

I learned that the 11,000-square-foot building has a private tasting room, a kitchen, a lab, a main tasting area with a bar, and a spacious patio with a waterfall and koi pond. The winery, which opened its doors in 2012, hosts various events and is becoming the local spot to view the Academy Awards each February. (The money raised that night is donated to the Novato Theatre reconstruction project.)

The winery is located at the old (1940s) Tresch Electric Building at the corner of Machin and Sweetser avenues. This green winery, renovated by mostly volunteer friends and family in 2011, has become a happy and relaxed gathering place for the Novato community, which is just what Podshadley, a Novato native, and his wife, Liz, had hoped. I talked to Andy to get a behind-the-scenes look at the family business.

OK, let’s start with the name of the winery. Trek bicycles and CBS Studios both had their knickers in a twist because you used the Trek name. You survived a lawsuit from the bike company and a threatening letter from CBS, who later, decided to leave you alone. Explain why you chose the name Trek Wines?

The name has two meanings. We enjoy the outdoors and also as a wine educator I feel people taste many wines as they progress through the wine spectrum. They take their own wine trek. We started the winery as a way to blend our love for outdoor exploration with our love for making great wine. I even wanted to have a climbing wall inside the winery, too, but Liz said no.

You are considered a green winery. Even your icemaker recycles water. Well done!

All materials used in the building and remodeling of the building were focused on someday becoming LEED-certified. We also recycle all our wine production water. We installed a 3,000-gallon cistern that catches all the wine production water. We add microbes and air and adjust the PH as needed and then we use that water to fill our pond and water the garden.

We have found that our ice machine wastes 1.2 gallons in a 24-hour period and our ice machine is small. We catch the water in a 55-gallon drum and reuse that water. We also want to have the entire winery solar-powered. We have a very large footprint on our roof and want to make use of as much as possible. We’re hoping to talk to Marin Clean Energy and others to see if they are interested in the power we do not use. We should have the solar project done by spring 2015.

For years you and Liz leased a warehouse in Sonoma to make the wine and operated the rest of the business out of your home. What gave you the idea to open a winery in Novato?

I started making wine as a home winemaker 25 years ago. I worked for Allied Domecq Wines, USA. This was the largest wine company at the time with wineries such as Clos du Bois, Gary Farrell, Mumm Napa and may others. Liz and I decided about seven years ago to have an urban winery in a downtown setting. Not a wine bar but a place for people to relax after a day’s work with a glass of wine.

It’s family-run. My son, Michael and daughter, Hannah work here when on break from college. We also wanted the facility to serve as a local venue providing weekly entertainment including music and stand-up comedy, as well as a space for private corporate events, parties and fundraisers.

You don’t actually grow the grapes. Who is your grape supplier? Where are they grown?

Our grapes come from some of the best growers in Northern California. Each area produces its signature varietal and we purchase grapes that are highlighted from those specific areas. Such as zinfandel cabernet and cabernet franc syrah from Dry Creek Valley, pinot noir and chardonnay from the Russian River, Napa Valley cabernet sauvignon, sangiovese and syrah from the Sierra Foothills and a few others.

You won the Pacific Sun’s 2014 Best of Marin category for Best Local Winery. What is your favorite wine to recommend to new wine enthusiasts?

Syrah, cabernet franc and grenache. Like most of the Trek Wines these wines are full-bodied and everyone seems to enjoy them.

Ask Annie what her favorite wine is at th*********@ea*******.net.

Trek Winery is located at 1026 Machin Avenue in Novato. Call 415/899-9883 or visit www.trekwine.com.

Mention this interview and receive 15 percent off a bottle of Trek Wine for the month of December!

by Katie Rice Jones

Everything seems to shine a bit brighter—including our wardrobes—during the holidays; after all, ’tis the season for sequin.

While most every holiday party welcomes a guest wearing a touch of glitz, throwing on any old sequin number isn’t a foolproof plan for a glamorous holiday look. When it comes to sequin, all that glitters is not fashion gold. So it is best to understand how the dos and don’ts of sequin size, color, placement and design can affect your chicness factor.