Do you remember visiting your grandma's house and getting a cut or a scrape? She knew just what to do to help. If you looked in grandma's pocketbook, we bet you'd find a whole arsenal of beauty and health supplies to keep her looking great from sun up to sundown. And they had other uses above and beyond outward health and beauty. It just so happens that many of grandma's go-tos are popular today, too!

This year’s Be a Sweetheart campaign runs February 8th and 9th. For 17 years, sweethearts have doubled their gift giving by embracing the greater community in their expression of love. For each pound of candy purchased on these two days, Mast Store will donate $1 to a food security partner.

Warning, warning … Valentine’s Day is quickly approaching. Now’s the time to make your gift selections to surprise your Valentine. We’ve scoured our stores to come up with nine gifts – some traditional and some you may never have considered for Valentine’s Day. We think they’ll connect with what’s important to your loved one and, by extension, to you, too. Let’s get started.

Have you ever wondered where the practice of making New Year’s Resolutions started? According to History.com, it’s a practice that’s at least 4,000 years old. The Babylonians made promises to the gods to pay their debts and to return items they had borrowed to curry favor. The Romans changed the calendar to start the New Year in January, named for the god Janus, who had two faces – one looking into the past and the other focused on the future. 

The holidays – it’s a time when lots of questions are asked. How do reindeer fly? How does Santa visit everybody’s house all on one night? And what would be a good thing to get John, Susan, and Beth? While the answers to the first two questions will require a lot of research and debate, Mast Store has the answers to the last question. Here are our top 13 gift ideas for 2019.

This is the final Fall Foliage Primer of the year. It looks like Knoxville, Greenville, and Hendersonville still have some locations of high color. Other reporting spots - Boone/Valle Crucis, Asheville, and Waynesville - have some spotty color (particularly Oaks, which are in their glory right now, and some Maples). There are still lots of activities to get out and enjoy, too. Check out what our reporters have to suggest as well bid you a fond farewell until next year. 

There is a Japanese proverb that says, “One kind word can warm three winter months.” If a kind word can be so powerful, what can a kind action do? Colder weather is on the way, so coats, hats, and gloves are needed to be ready for it. During the month of November, Mast Store and Columbia Sportswear are partnering for the fifteenth time to Share the Warmth Coat Collection in our home communities

We are reaching the peak! All locations can safely report that Fall is HERE! Some locations - like Valle Crucis and Boone - are just past peak, but still have pockets of incredible color, while other locations - like Greenville and Knoxville are just beginning to reach their highest color show. And there's lots in between in Waynesville, Asheville, and Hendersonville. It's our favorite time of year! Colder weather is on its way everywhere this week, so no matter where you're visiting, be sure to bring a jacket, a fleece, and a raincoat. The weather this time of year changes quickly. Take a look to see the fun activities to enjoy this week. 

It's week five of the Fall Foliage Primer and the color is beginning to show itself all over. Frost is likely in the Boone/Valle Crucis, Waynesville, and maybe Hendersonville areas later in the week, which will hasten the color change. Temperatures are perfect for leaf viewing, but there may be some showers, so remember your jackets. Check out this week's recommended events and activities. We're sure you'll find some of them to be "spooktacular." 

The U. S. Department of Agriculture defines food insecurity as “the lack of consistent access to enough food for an active, healthy life.” Merrell Footwear, an active lifestyle brand, joins the Mast Store for the eleventh year in 2019 to provide Food for Kids (October 21-November 3), a cause that supports funding the weekend food efforts in each of Mast Store’s home communities.