MINI MOMENTS
For the kids out there who are either just not into or flat-out terrified of getting their photos taken on Santa's lap, a new holiday alternative has arrived. This weekend, local photo studio Electric Photoland is hosting two, daylong photo sessions inside its ELVES' COTTAGE, a holiday photo set made in collaboration with national photobooth company Smilebooth. The smallest of children can crawl inside the elfin abode, all decked out for the holidays with tiny furniture and decor. Reservations can be made at electricphotoland.co in advance for photo sessions ($69) held at River Park Square (Sat, Dec. 16 from 10 am-8 pm, during Terrain's BrrrZAAR) and in downtown Coeur d'Alene (Sun, Dec. 17 from 11:30 am-5 pm). Included with each session is a five-minute shoot, access to a private online gallery, and permission to use any session photos for holiday cards, prints or other personal projects. (CHEY SCOTT)
LUNCH BUNCH
Extra! Extra! Maybe the best news since sliced bread: RUINS is running a LUNCH MENU again, and it is wonderfully similar to Stella's beloved sandwich board. Starting at 11:30 am every weekday, grab any of your old favorites — chicken salad, BBQ, tuna melt, egg salad or yes, of course, the legendary banh mi. With fresh sandwiches between $7 and $15, it's one of the most affordable, delicious midday meals out there. Dine in, take out, or get it delivered on GrubHub. And don't sleep on dessert — snag a lemon curd parfait or bread pudding to round off the meal, or a Mexican Coke or Sprite (the ones with cane sugar!) for the perfect lunch pairing. Chef Tony Brown says lunch is here to stay at Ruins, much to the relief of OG fans who have followed Stella's Cafe's many iterations for a dozen years. The wait is over, and the banh mi is back to stay (hopefully). (ELIZA BILLINGHAM)
JINGLE BELL ROCK
Keep an eye out for some familiar faces while watching TV this holiday season! STCU is running commercials featuring local/regional musicians covering holiday favorites. North Idaho native Carli Osika can be seen sweetly singing "Santa Baby" with a guitar in hand, Spokane Valley-based musician Riley Anderson (RCA) performs "Joy (to the World)" at Arbor Crest, independent rock/indie group Fat Fox from Tri-Cities performs a stellar rendition of "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" and Americana-duo SmallTown Strings (JayJ and Caroline Carlile) from Curlew perform a bluesy version of "Winter Wonderland." If you haven't been able to catch the commercials as they air, view them all at stcu.org/holiday. (MADISON PEARSON)
