Understanding the connection of local galaxies to their circumgalactic medium (CGM) is crucial for establishing a robust comparison sample for studies of the interactions of higher-redshift galaxies with their surroundings. I will report results from our recent imaging and spectroscopic studies aimed at understanding how CGM properties and stellar properties correlate. In a study of star-forming galaxies at redshifts 0.02<z<0.14, based on HST COS, SDSS, and GBT spectroscopy of quasars with foreground galaxies located nearly "on top" of them, we find a 100% detection rate of strong H I column density absorption. Combining our sample with the literature, we find the H I column density to be anticorrelated with impact parameter and stellar mass. We also find that the specific star formation rate increases with redshift over 0<z<3, and decreases with stellar mass, consistent with the evolution of the star formation main sequence (SFMS). However, ~20% of DLA/sub-DLA galaxies lie below the SFMS, suggesting longer-than-typical gas-depletion timescales. Indeed, most DLA/sub-DLA galaxies with 21-cm emission have higher H I masses than typical galaxies with comparable stellar mass. Furthermore, ~40% of the galaxies are cases of multiple galaxies at the absorber redshift, indicating that some DLA/sub-DLAs trace regions of overdensities. Finally, I will report results from our HST imaging and spectroscopic observations of galaxies with existing integral field spectroscopy (IFS). Combining imaging and IFS of galaxies with CGM absorption spectroscopy offers powerful insights into the galaxy-CGM interactions, and the flows of gas and metals in and out of galaxies.
