By Mike and Dan Hiestand, The Houstory Brothers Instead of waking up earlier and earlier on Black Friday (or increasingly never going to bed as more stores compete to open their doors first), battling the traffic and fighting the crowds for more stuff, what if you gave White Friday a try instead? For the past more
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White Friday anyone? Try an Alternative to Stuff This Holiday Season
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Houstory Herd: A Magic Treehouse
By Mike Hiestand, Houstory President “All treehouses are sort of magic, don’t you think?” I’m having pizza with Karen LaVerne, sitting in her treehouse, outside Bellingham, Wash., and I have to admit, lit up with candles on this beautiful fall night, a bit of a mist settling into the woods outside, this place feels very, very more
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Houstory Herd: ‘Origins’ Podcast
By Dan Hiestand, Houstory Marketing Guy On this third episode of “Houstories: The Stories of Home” podcast (entitled “Origins”), we pack up for a weekend trip. Not just any trip, though: My first hunting trip. Initially, my goal is to discover the origins of the food I eat by going to the source (in this case more
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Happy Birthday Houstory!
By Mike Hiestand, Houstory Founder/President So I’m filling in this month as my brother Dan takes a well-earned summer break from the Herd. Dan will return in the fall to remind you that you’re going to die — yes, it could be next week — and yes, a living obituary is a wonderful idea and loving more
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Houstory Herd: Our Podcast Schedule
By Dan Hiestand, Houstory Marketing Guy So we’ve been getting a few questions regarding our podcast. Specifically, how often episodes will be produced and when they will be released. We are planning on coming out with new episodes about once every three months (quarterly). The next episode is scheduled for early-mid September 2015. On a related more
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Houstory Herd: Place and Family History
By Dan Hiestand, Houstory Marketing Guy So I belong to a local Toastmasters group in Eugene, Oregon. I joined the club to work on my communication skills (giving speeches, making presentations, producing podcasts, etc.). The meeting allows members a chance to speak on a variety of topics in an effort to improve, and one subject that more
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Houstory Herd: We Want HouStories
By Dan Hiestand, Houstory Marketing Guy Do you own a family heirloom with an interesting story? Do you live in a house that has a compelling history? Would you like to share these tales and other related HouStories with others? If you answered “yes” to any or all of these questions, we need to talk. We’d appreciate more
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Houstory Herd: Cabin Fever Edition
By Dan Hiestand, Houstory Marketing Guy It’s hard not to feel bad for our U.S. eastern seaboard readers, who are currently buried under piles of snow, enduring frigid temperatures and likely experiencing cranky moods — and perhaps at touch of cabin fever. I grew up in Alaska, so I can relate. I still remember the sun coming up more
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Introducing ‘Houstories’ Podcast
By Dan Hiestand, Houstory Marketing Guy When was the last time you poured yourself a nice beverage, settled into a comfortable chair, turned off all the lights, closed your eyes … and turned on the radio? There is something truly powerful and wonderful about this oft overlooked medium of yesteryear. In many ways, radio broadcasts free more
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Houstory Herd: Death and Tea Edition
By Dan Hiestand, Houstory Marketing Guy Have you ever sat down with a small group of people — strangers, actually — over a warm cup of tea and a slice of delicious cake, and talked about death? Well, after last week, I can check this off my (kick the) bucket list. I attended my first “Death more