Archive | March, 2012

appreciating: photo apps: all the secrets!

31 Mar

i’m so addicted to my photo apps on my iphone.

i’m pretty blown away at what you can do on your phone.  now the iphone (and prob others) have a better camera than digital cameras.  all of these apps above are simply awesome.

first there is instagram.  you’re all already probably pretty hip to instagram.  you can upload your photo and choose like 20 different filters for it.  this is where i start.

max with instagram app

then the picture is saved to my phone and i pull it up in my next favorite app -LoMob.

i can’t say enough about LoMob.  really sweet filters that are different from intagram.  i’m into layering photo apps.  this is max on one of the options on LoMob:

max with instagram and layered in LoMob

here he is on another:

then i pull the photo up in EASY TITLER.  this allows you to write in a ton of font choices on your photo.  It looks like this:

i love this app!  then you can pull together several photos in diptic.  there are a ton of options in diptic.  in the case below, i first did diptic and then pulled it up in EASY TITLER:

so here are some photos i took this morning of the house and ran then through the apps:

enjoy!  let me know if you want any help!

 

dreaming of taking off

29 Mar

is that wrong to say?

i mean it’s such a big deal to be so busy nowadays.  at work at 7am, staying till 7pm, travel here, travel there, phone buzzing, ringing, pinging.  can’t meet with you until may, june, july.  busy for some reason has gotten the bad rap of meaning productive or maybe even – dare i say – popular.

i’m one to always try and bump the norm but i don’t do too well in this regards.  i fall into the busy trap.  i read an article once that really caught my attention.  it said that we train our minds and ourselves to work at a certain level.  that sucks.  i’ve totally done that.  i run best when running hard… or busy.

let’s stop.

let’s stop being busy and putting ourselves second, third, fourth or fifth.  let’s banish the phrase “i haven’t used all my vacation days and it’s december and i have 22 days left”.  that is not to be rewarded.  everyone needs to recharge, rejuice and revive.  ya know why?  because all you’re being busy for is this:

i will never forget being at my dad’s funeral – 7 years ago this September – and seeing all the GM folks and thinking back on how work ruled my dad’s life.  moving us to 8 different cities, always on voice mail (that was the thing back then) during vacations (!), stressed about this and stressed about that (kind of sounds like me, harumph).  i remember screaming in my head- HEY GUYS WE’LL ALL BE HERE ONE DAY!  DON’T FORGET!

but we do forget and … we get busy and time goes by.  i don’t want to live that way but i think the problem is that there aren’t a lot of alternatives.  yet.   when i get some time, i’ll try and think of some.

check out these places to relax.  nice…

is anyone going anywhere fun?

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mad for these mad men looks

25 Mar

what’s not to not like about mad men?  being in advertising, i can assure you that not much has changed since the 60’s. 

just kidding.

plenty has changed.  oh those were the days…  i wouldn’t know (except for watching the show) HOW OLD DO YOU THINK I AM ANYWAY?

i’m mad for this show and not just the fashion…. here’s what i love:

1. the smoking.  i know – smoking is gross and bad for you.  i know, ok?  

but you didn’t know that back then!  what a great accessory.  something to twirl around your fingers as you coyly wait for him to take out his lighter and light your smoke for you.  something to show your anger by exhaling with drama and throwing the smoke to the ground with a stomp.  or just simply something to do at the bar waiting for your martini…

2. don draper.  

the bad boy you hate to love.  secret-keeper, womanizer & egotistical – perfect ingredients for the consummate ad man.  this scene is so fantastic.  it is what everyone thinks of when you think of advertising – pitching an ad campaign.  emotional and passionate.  love it.

 

3. peggy.

making it on madison avenue with the big boys and doing it the right way.  of course there was that sad slip up in season one with peter campbell, but she moves from secretary to don to copy writer and one of don’s core people and confidants.  go peggy!

4. the style.

i love the dresses and anything joan wears.  what great vintage looks!  i also love how people got dressed up for work.  would be a pain, but still fun.  you know why it wasn’t a pain back then to dress up for work?  you had more time.  you weren’t so REACHABLE.  your stupid cell phone wasn’t ringing or buzzing or texting every minute.  when you left in the morning – you were at work and when you came home, you were home.  so you had time to get dressed up.  that’s my theory and i’m sticking to it!

in big anticipation of tonight’s comeback of mad men on amc after a 17 month break, i’m appreciating all the shows that glamorize my profession.  maybe i can coast on the vibe for a while even though you couldn’t pay me to live back in that day and time!

hope you’re all tuning in.  if not, order season’s 1 – 4 now on netflix and settle in for a summer of fun then catch up to us.

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fargo & good food: oxymoron?

23 Mar

up until this week, the only thing i ever thought about when i heard the word “fargo” was this:

but i actually went to the real fargo, north dakota this week with the CEO of my agency:  harold and beth out of the minneapolis/chicago office and mark from our media partner, usim.  we went for a meeting and had some time before our flights to check out the town of fargo.  we discovered the most unbelievable restaurant.  do you like how i said “we”?  if beth, harold and mark are reading this, they are saying to themselves “fulford, you didn’t discover anything…poser”  THEY discovered it the night before and we all went back for lunch.  this place belongs in austin, chicago or minny – not fargo! 

don’t get me wrong i’m not dissing fargo.  from the 24 hours i was there it seemed like quite the place.

but still – this place was off the hook good.

SIDENOTE:   isn’t life so much more grande when you work with fun people?  we had quite the team in fargo and not only did we all feel great about the work we did and the great people we met but the laughs at lunch made it an all around enjoyable experience.  it’s so important to not take yourself TOO seriously and have the ability to enjoy the company of people you work so hard with together.  ok, now back to the food.

here are some great pics from our lunch yesterday.  we got to meet the chef nicknamed “Dirty” who was this young, local fargoian cooking up unbelievable goods.  harold even bought us all tee-shirts –

Harold and Mark

Amy, Harold, Beth

so that was our lunch in fargo.  lovely being there but for me, not lovely getting home!  storms in the big d prevented me from getting home so i flew straight into cleveland and just got home last night.   talk to you soon.  always appreciate good, healthy food and hard-working, fun people.   XXOO

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can luxury be accessible?

19 Mar

it sure can!

at least on april 21 from 7pm – 10pm it will be when the dallas event “accessible luxury” takes place at ‘park place premier collection’ benefiting the wonderful scottish rite hospital in dallas. 

do you know what scottish rite hospital does for children all over texas?

TSRHC treats texas children with orthopedic conditions, such as scoliosis, clubfoot, hand disorders, hip disorders and limb length differences, as well as certain related neurological disorders and learning disorders, such as dyslexia.  scottish rite has treated more than 200,000 children since it opened its doors in 1921 (!)

so come to the event on april 21st with me! 

click here for more info.

i can tell you what i’m excited about the most:

RUNWAY SHOW

helloooo….Oscar de la Renta fashions will be taking the runway at 8 p.m. featuring Model Citizens and Campbell-Wagner models.

BUBBLE ROOM

sip champagne and check out the gems from eiseman jewels. browse the collection of texas native and jewelry designer katie decker.

ROF is going to dig this!

MASERATI MAN CAVE: cavern showcasing Beretta’s polished apparel and gear awaits you for an evening of luxury cars, specialty drinks and hand-rolled cigars.

all for a fantastic cause!

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appreciating all over the place

19 Mar

little snippets of appreciation from my past week.

it was a great week last week having not traveled at all, i got to catch up with some friends i haven’t seen in a long time. i’m in fargo, north dakota tonight getting ready for a meeting, so here are some highlights from the week:

totally love ROF for treating me to a superb dinner friday night out and then at home sat night where we snuggled and watched: rear window//movie as part of our AFI challenge (you can read about that here!)

have a great week and don’t forget to realize that you are really blessed right now.

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7am saturday sweet brew

10 Mar

the best day and time of the week is 7am on saturday morning.  now that i’m old, i am actually awake to hear the first bird churp the morning song.  it means it’s time soon to stream – via apple tv – chicago’s 93xrt radio station and listen to saturday morning flashback (ROF is uncanningly good at guessing the year before they say it)

this morning i thought about

my love affair with coffee.  it started when i was attending columbia college on michigan avenue in chicago.  my neighbor in naperville actually opened a coffee store on michigan avenue (in chicago place) and i worked there during my sophomore year.  it was quite a venture for her as a non-entrepreneur – opening a coffee shop on arguably one of the best well-known shopping streets in the country. hell0… cha ching…i’m just sayin’.

i didn’t necessarily like to drink coffee – i did – but that’s not why i liked it.  i romanticized it all out of proportion (i stole that line from woody allen’s opening monologue in manhattan.)  i love all the words that go along with coffee like brew, vanilla, steep, chicory, espresso, dark roast, latte, mug, cinnamon, morning, pick-me-up, clutch, auto-timer (ok, i like more what that does vs. the word)

i just liked the idea of it.  of course, i was smoking at the start of my love affair with coffee.  many of you would say ewww gross but truly…sigh… being 23 going to school in downtown chicago, drinking coffee at an outside cafe’ and smoking a marlboro light was just the breakfast of champions (and oh so french).  i could do that because at that age, i was for sure invincible.  going to school and being facinated with advertising and marketing and life.  it was all real good.

back then i was obsessed with paris too. 

so welcome saturday morning.  let’s all brew a great cup of joe and look forward to a great day ahead.

these photos, their credits and more breakfast goodies can be found on my pinterest board here.

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detroit runs deep

8 Mar

i’ve really missed all of you, big time. i miss writing and all that creative stuff.

today, i want to reflect on the past 2 weeks i’ve spent in the great city of detroit. it actually was just 6 days but who’s counting? i don’t know if it is the new airport (first impressions…) urban raw-ness mixed with international flavor. being the global headquarters for great american automobiles does add a certain important scent to the air. or maybe it’s the coneys. i don’t know what it is but i’m starting to dig it.

ok, so if you’ve never been to the General Motor Renaissance Center – World Headquarters, you’re in for a treat. every time i walk in there i’m amazed. first of all, you need to read about it (it’s interesting, i promise)

Renaissance Center (also known as the GM Renaissance Center and nicknamed the RenCen) is a group of seven interconnected skyscrapers in Downtown Detroit, Michigan, United States. Located on the International Riverfront, the Renaissance Center complex is owned by General Motors as its world headquarters. The central tower, the Detroit Marriott at the Renaissance Center, is the tallest all-hotel skyscraper in the Western Hemisphere, and features the largest rooftop restaurant, Coach Insignia.[7] It has been the tallest building in Michigan since its erection in 1977.

John Portman was the principal architect for the original design. The first phase constructed a five tower rosette rising from a common base. Four 39-story office towers surround the 73-story hotel rising from a square-shaped podium which includes a shopping center, restaurants, brokerage firms, banks, a four-screen movie theatre and private clubs.[8][9] The first phase officially opened in March 1977. Portman’s design renewed attention to city architecture,[9] constructing the world’s tallest hotel at the time.[7] Two additional 21-story office towers (known as Tower 500 and Tower 600) opened in 1981. This type of complex has been termed a city within a city.

so let me take you on a tour of little bits of the inside… if you’re into M.C Escher, you’d love this huge building. i spend most of my time in tower 100.

so i stayed on the 59th floor of the marriott and took these pretty incredible pics outside my window. that is canada on the other side of the river:

obviously, there has been a lot of controversy surrounding GM but i can honestly say, from an insider’s point of view that the vehicles they are putting out are top-of-the-line awesome. personally, i think it is a lot cooler to drive a quality American car or truck than to drive a status symbol. and we all know how cool i am. lol

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facebook friends

1 Mar

so kicking off a short series called facebook friends.  i had this idea when i had pneumonia.  i’ve so enjoyed (appreciated) reconnecting with friends but it is such a shallow connection in a way – sometimes.  so i decided to dig a little deeper.

today, i’m talking to jill wenta.  jill is married to gerald who was (is!) a  friend of mine at the end of high school and through college and beyond.  jill and i went to the same high school but gerald went to another school.  gerald was actually the first person i met when i moved to naperville from milwaukee when i was going to be a junior in high school.  so happy to get to know  jill better  & reconnect with gerald.  they have a fantastic family (including a bulldog!!)

thanks for sharing, jill!

the wentas

1. how do you know “the appreciator” ?

Amy is the first friend of Gerald’s that I met when we started dating. We were on our way to a party and stopped to have a drink before.

2. tell us a little bit about your family.  include details like work, what you do for fun together?

We have been blessed with two beautiful boys to raise and one beautiful son in heaven to watch over us. Gerald, the boys & I love family time. We like to bike, hike, camp, road trip, the beach, and just hanging out at home. Gerald and I both graduated with a degree in Landscaping. We have owned our own landscape business in South Florida for 12 years.

3. what are three passions you have as a family and/or individually.

We all love to take road trips together. Our animals are very much a part of our family ~they go on trips with us if possible, and all of us really enjoy anything outdoors.

4. tell us about a favorite party you’ve thrown

Any social gathering that we have with friends is  always casual. To us, the most important part is enjoying the time with them and catching up after weeks of crazy busy schedules!

5. if your family had to vote on a favorite, homemade dinner, what would it be?

Steak, mashed potatoes, broccoli & a yummy chocolate dessert

6. do you have any vacation plans this year?

No, we are very spontaneous. Because we own our own business we need to schedule trips around landscape installations. We do like to take quick weekend trips close to home.

7. if your family could have starred in any movie which movie would you have wanted to star in?

Christmas Vacation!

8. what is the best room in your house?

The main area of our house is a TV room/ dinning room/ kitchen ~ it’s all one big open area. We LOVE it because no matter where we are we are together. If it gets loud we send the boys to their playroom.

9. what is a fun tradition or routine that you have?

Watching Christmas Vacation and Elf,  over and over again, during the holidays. Also, when the boys were in the same school, Gerald would take them to get donuts before school on Friday mornings.

10. lastly, what are three favorite (chose one): websites/music/quotes/recipes you can share?

God only gives you what you can handle even if it takes you a really long time to understand why~ Me

Don’t cry b/c it’s over. Smile b/c it happened~ Dr. Suess

Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it~ William Arthur Ward

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