D often likes to say, “You can’t spell Cheap without Chan.” While I always give him the side-eye when he says it, I’d have to admit, I do love me a happy hour, a coupon, and a sale. So, when it came to my birthday, I started to gather information about all the birthday freebies available around town and how I could fill my day collecting on all of these offers. Through my research findings, it was clear that the old adage “there are no free lunches” is mostly true. Many of the “free offers” are only available if you sign up for a loyalty/rewards club or email list. There…

While Marie Kondo pretty much has the phrase “Spark Joy” locked down as her brand statement, the act of sparking joy can come from other things as much as folding your clothes into compact little packets. Botjoy is one of these things. Created by Portland artist, Gary Hirsch, Botjoy is an art-forward movement to spark hope, courage, inspiration, AND joy into this world. He’s done so by painting small robots onto the the backs of dominos, then leaving them in the streets for random strangers to find. He’s expanded the effort by inviting others to steal his idea, which has led to the creation of Brave Bots for children in…