Category Archives: Life In Atlanta

I Left My Heart In Athens

24th October 2012

It’s been nearly two and a half years and I still feel like a piece of my heart is stuck in Athens, Ga. For my college roommate’s 25th birthday this month, I decided to get crafty and bring out our love of the Classic City.

Inspired by a few Pinterest projects and Esty finds, I decided to get to work on channeling our love for Athens and all things DIY with this string and nail artwork.  After deciding on the design, I headed over to Home Depot for materials.

My dad is my go-to for anything involving a saw, but a limited timeline means I didn’t have the chance to drive home and have him help on this project. And as much as my little heart is set on owning a table saw, that’s not quite feasible in a city apartment. Home Depot to the rescue.

Did you know you can pick out any piece of lumber and a Home Depot team member will cut it for you? For free? Yup. Done. Total cost for the wood? A grand 51¢.

I picked out a piece of 2′ x 2′ plywood, a set of 5/8″ nails and opted to use twine I already had at home to create the design (though colored embroidery thread would have worked as well, especially if the surface area was smaller).

After sanding and painting the background, I sketched an outline of the state and decided to use this template taped to the wood and remove the nails once I was finished. I found this easiest as I could really pay attention to the finer lines and not leave any pencil marks behind.

My state of Georgia sketch. Not too shabby for my poor drawing skills.

Lots of nails and weaving twine later, I had the perfect birthday gift and a little reminder of the place we both called home for so long.

The finished product

Materials:

  • Plywood (I used a piece 2′ x 2′, this is a bit larger than I had seen, but it allowed the string to show much more clearly in my opinion)
  • Paint
  • Sandpaper
  • Nails (5/8″)
  • Twine

Unplugging and Recharging

15th October 2012

It comes as no surprise that as a digital marketer I fill my days surrounded by laptops, tablets and mobile devices.

A tech-advocate myself, I often find myself in need of quite the opposite, a non-digital lifestyle during my down time. This weekend, I trekked a few hours northwest of Atlanta to Sand Rock, Alabama to camp and climb with friends.

While a night under the stars might sound like the ultimate escape from the digital jungle, rest assured, even miles down a gravel road and a view like this one afford you four bars and 3G.

 

Tech connections aside, I’ve found activities like rock climbing not only allow me to spend some time beyond my screens, but to also exercise my brain in ways that will benefit me come Monday morning (even if my sore abs and knees wouldn’t agree).

Climbing is new to me, and it’s a challenge. It’s like a real life puzzle where I’m battling my size and reach to find the next hold. It’s not a matter of reaching the next ascent, but where to move left, right or push down to propel my body upward. The even better news? According to people much smarter than myself, I’m not the only one feeling the benefits of a little downtime.

A recent study of keyhole surgeons by Iowa State University found that gamers were 27% faster at surgery and made 37% fewer errors. See, worth it.

It’s the time “disconnecting” that will allow us to perform at our best tomorrow morning. And while I may have been able to Tweet and post to Facebook from the wilderness this weekend, the combination was the perfect distraction.

How do you disconnect away from work? And let’s be honest, “disconnect” doesn’t always mean the great outdoors. Pinterest is absolutely an acceptable answer.

The power of influence: Nordstrom Rack’s newest addition

20th April 2012

Shopping bags in hand, success. Thanks to @Ktmel for the photo.

Earlier this week, I had the opportunity to attend a Tweet up for the opening of the new Nordstrom Rack store in Alpharetta. It didn’t take long to convince me that making the trek outside of 285 would be worth it: wine, appetizers and shopping the pristine merchandise selection before the store opened later in the week, yes please.

As a digital marketer myself, I am always captivated by the use of influencer marketing by other agencies and companies. “Influencer” seems to have become a social media darling buzz word in 2012 (and heck, 2011 for that matter) in our industry. It’s the golden opportunity: don’t market to the masses, but to the groups who are passionate and will have an impact on your brand beyond a passive Like. Like any golden opportunity, influencer outreach is much easier and prettier when on a powerpoint slide than real life.

Nordstrom Rack’s social team really hit this one out of the park. The conversation began with a personal conversation through email (not through DM or Tweet) inviting me to check out the event. Key word here: personal. I quickly replied to the team thanking them for the invite and (but of course) had to ask where they had come across my information. The team shared that they had found my Twitter handle and blog across a few Atlanta Twitter lists. Check box number two: this team did their homework. And a lot of it. Each attendee was allowed to bring one guest and was asked to share that guest’s social credentials as well.

The event itself could not have been more impressive. The store is gorgeous, Store Manager Marcella, could not have been more welcoming and the staff attended to our every need with more energy and excitement than I think I’ve ever seen in retail.

Throughout the night we enjoyed shopping (with a $50 gift card to each attendee for a little help, I was seriously blown away by that gesture), cocktails, appetizers and music from a DJ.

The entire night continued the theme of personalization and hospitality,exactly what you hope to feel when translating a brand to real life. At the end of the night, we each walked away with our fair share of deals and steals and the feeling that this would be a beyond 285 repeat adventure.

Finding influencers is hard. Making them fall in love with your brand (and not just for the prices and goodies) is even more difficult. Nordstrom Rack in Alpharetta delivered on it all and I can’t wait go back and experience it all again very soon.

Check out the store on Twitter for updates, sales and upcoming events.