Music+Recipes+Postcards

I discovered Turntable Kitchen from City Sage's blog.  This video is what got me and the wheels in my head started spinning.

The Turntable Kitchen Pairings Box Experience from High Beam Media on Vimeo.

This would be a great concept for a teaser for an event that you might be planning.  Picture this - you're sending a group to Hawaii and you want to get them excited about the trip.  Create a goodie box for them by adding in a little Hawaiian music, throw in some amazing recipes from a local chef and some postcards they can send back to family and friends.  I think anyone would be jazzed to receive a little package like this - don't you think?

Turntable Kitchen is pretty cool itself.  For foodies + music lovers looking to try something different, here's how the Pairing Box works.  A mystery box arrives and inside is a recipe and the dry ingredients needed to make it along with a special edition vinyl of brand new music to listen to.  Sounds pretty cool doesn't it?

Encouragement:: Be Yourself

I have to say...sometimes this blogging world is hard.  Sometimes having your own business is hard.  Sometimes, you rack your brain trying to come up with an original idea only to see that it's been done 20 different times.  You can feel deflated.

You look at others and think - wow, they are so successful.  I wanna be just like them.  They have so many followers on their blog or they have so many clients.  Can't that just happen to me?  What can I change so I will be like that?

Ever had those feelings?

I sure have.  Then I give myself a little pep talk and it looks like this:

Do I think I'm successful?  Yes I do.  

Do I have as many followers that I want following my blog?  No I don't, but it takes time. 

Do I love blogging?  Yes I do.

Do I have enough clients?  It would be great to have more, but I'm picky about who I work with and value each one.

If you view someone as a success, would it be easy to copy what that person or company is doing?  Yes it would...BUT for me, I have to remember that I don't have to do what everyone else is doing to be successful.  I can incorporate my spin on the elements if it fits with my goals.

It's important that people put their own unique twists on things, on blogs, on events (in my case).  I follow so many different types of blogs because I have so many different interests.  But what I do is look to these as inspiration.  What is going to inspire me to think differently.  

I love to create.  It's what I'm passionate about.  My blog is my creative outlet.  Heck, even my day job is my creative outlet.  I'm always trying to figure out how to put a creative spin on a roadshow or a conference or a tradeshow booth or a party.  There will be people that like my blog and their will be others that don't.  There will be potential customers that will be so excited to hire me to plan their next event and there will be others that we just aren't the right fit.  

One thing is for sure.  What you get is ME!  Not a replica...not a knock off.  You get the original.

{image credit: Be yourself}

Color Crush: Fuchsia

The weather is getting warmer, the flowers are starting to bloom (at least in the Bay Area) and that means Spring is coming.  Bright colors are coming.  I love this vibriant shade of pink.  It pairs so well with other colors...tangerine tango, navy blue, yellow.  You name it - it goes with everything.  If you use this color in a room, it immediately adds brightness to the space.  If you wear this color, you can't possibly be sad.  It's just one of those colors that catches your eye and brings a smile to your face.

{image credit: row 1: champagne, vw bug, saguaro fireplace; row 2: eiffel tower, bow headband, kate spade bag; row 3: frozen french lemonade, pink flower, flea bracelet, pool flowers}

West Coast Getaways+A Meeting

This morning I showed you 3 great West Coast Getaway properties.  But what I didn't tell you is that all 3 of these properties have meeting space.  All of them would be fabulous for small sales meetings or intimate retreats of some sort.

First up Saguaro in Scottsdale, AZ would be perfect for a group that wants to kick up their heels, boots, loafers...whatever.  There is so much nightlife that surrounds the hotel.  You might actually not want to leave though, the 2010 Top Chef winner - Jose Garces just happens to be the chef on property.  They have quite a bit of space - 10,000 square feet of indoor/outdoor space to be exact and 194 sleeping rooms. The perfect size overnight group would be 60 for this property.  One of the most unique spaces that the hotel offers is Zocala which has floor to ceiling windows and you can walk out to an L-shaped patio.  It overlooks the Civic Center Mall.  Unfortunately they didn't have a photo of this great space, but they promised to send me some pictures when the finish their photoshoot.

Bardessono in Yountville, CA is a luxury green property that offers the best in eco/glamour and is ideal for executive management retreats.  The hotel offers a little over 1500 square feet of indoor space, and also has several gorgeous outdoor pavilions for groups.  The perfect size group for meeting and eating would be 40.  With only 62 sleeping rooms, your group will definitely feel like they own the property.  Some of the most unique spaces at this property are their pavilions which surround the guestrooms.  The guestrooms are in clusters.  So transient guests aren't disturbed by noise if the group is hosting a reception or dinner, the hotel would have the group all stay in the same cluster of rooms.  The water features and ponds that surround the area are lovely and make for a great ambiance.  There are so many restaurants that are within walking distance, you would be able to do dinearounds without any complaints. 

Lastly, The Allison Inn & Spa in the Willamette Valley, OR is just 45 minutes outside of Portland.  The hotel offers 85 sleeping rooms and over 20,000 square feet of combined indoor/outdoor meeting space.  You could have larger groups at the property, but they wouldn't be able to accommodate all of the overnight guestrooms.  The perfect size group for meeting, feeding and overnight would be 50-60 (or a buyout).  The property has 2 outdoor gardens are beautiful and quite unique.  The Upper Garden overlooks a vineyard and the Willamette Valley and in the fall, there is nothing quite like it.  The Estate Garden is at the front of the property and is wide open.  They also offer a chef's table at Jory Restaurant that is perfect for a group of 8. 

City Crush: West Coast Getaways

I know - I really should have posted this last week since we just had a long weekend.  But these little jewels are perfect for a 2 day getaway too.  You can definitely bring the kiddos to these locales, but after you look at the pictures, you might want to call grandma and grandpa and see if they want the little boops for a visit.

First up is the Saguaro in Scottsdale, AZ.  Located next to Old Town.  As they put it on their website, Old Town is the historic quarter where cowboys meet cutting edge and this hotel definitely packs a punch with cutting edge and it's uber hip modern decòr.  You're gonna want to pop into Distrito, one of the hotels restaurants offering New Mexican Cuisine along with over 100 varieties of tequila and an array of cocktails.  It's not going to take much convincing on anyones part to get me to hang out by the pool or the pink fireplace.

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