**Cafe Berlin**
Cafe Berlin has the best brunch in town. Their French toast is killer and their serving sizes are generous enough to justify cramming two meals into one. The atmosphere is lively and friendly, and their organic food comes fresh from local farms. In fact, Cafe Berlin loves to support Columbia, whether it’s by serving Lakota Coffee or booking CoMo musicians to put on gigs there. If you are someone who is passionate about buying local, then put your money where your mouth is and dine at Café Berlin. Trust me, both your conscience and stomach will not regret it.

**Maude Vintage**
I am obsessed with fashions of the past found at Maude Vintage. They collect vintage clothing from past decades and offer costume rental year-round. If you love vintage fashion, I recommend checking out their many racks of unique pieces to find the perfect one to spice up your wardrobe. They also sell vintage items for the home and offer music, art, accessories and clothing created by local artists. My favorite items found at Maude Vintage are their locally designed headbands and jewelry pieces.

**Lucky’s Market**
Another way to support Columbia-area farmers is to purchase produce from Lucky’s Market. On Wednesdays, you can use both last week’s and this week’s coupons to get double the discounts. Although Lucky’s is a chain, it does offer local produce and allows local vendors to set up shop in its parking lot. Lucky’s also gives you the option to get ready-to-eat food from its cafe. The non-perishable and personal items, like make-up, cost more than you would pay elsewhere, but the draw is that these items are organic and come without the toxins and high-fructose corn syrup you will find in other items from the larger chains. Lucky’s attracts customers like me because of its high quality products and unique variety.

**Pinnacles Youth Park**
The Pinnacles Youth Park is located 12 miles north of Columbia near Finger Lakes State Park. The Boone County Pinnacles Youth Foundation permits the public to explore its beautiful limestone rock formations and to travel its nature trails. A creek also runs alongside the rock formation, and I recommend traveling here when the water level is low to permit for easy access across the stream.

When you take the trail downstream, you’ll find a cave where the water has washed out of sand and soil beneath a piece of bedrock. I like to take my camera along for a chance to snap a shot of Missouri nature or to capture my friends in unique places.

**The Blue Note**
The Blue Note is a beautiful venue that brings musicians and fans together in its up-close-and-personal setting. At sold-out concerts when things get a little too crazy on the ground floor, I escape to the balcony for a break from the chaos without missing out on the show. Since it changed management in 2014, the venue has put on a variety of regular events — such as its “Brew ‘n View” movie nights — and still sponsors festivals like Ninth Street SummerFest and Roots ‘n Blues ‘n BBQ.