Lifestylist® Marketing Ideas

Finally! The cooler weather is almost here and the stores are filling up with beautiful new accessories and goodies to seasonalize our homes with. As a Lifestylist® I like to constantly be on the prowl for what's new and exciting, and get an idea of what people are really buying for their homes.
I love Z Gallerie - they are my favorite "go to" source when I am working on a new model home. They are masters at offering personality pieces that help make a room or home memorable, and they also stock those big exciting works of art that you can never find when you need them. But on a recent visit they made me think of them for something I hadn't purchased from them in the past - furniture.
Z Gallerie started out in 1979 as a family run poster shop which has quickly grown to include 54 locations in 18 states! Their beautiful stores have expanded into becoming a one stop shop which make it easy for consumers to get everything they need for their home in one place. The stores are organized into different color stories which make it easy to find everything you need. They offer great accessories and furniture that are so unique people would think you had them custom made.
Speaking of personality pieces, as soon as I walked in the store I fell in love with two chairs I think I'm going to have to have - "Eddie" and "Bella". Eddie was just stunning in leather that was the perfect shade of teal, and Bella was a pearl grey fabric that was just sexy. You know you found something you must have when you can't stop thinking about it, and that's the case with these two chairs.
Make Z Gallerie a destination for your next shopping trip, and let us know what you fall in love with.

I am so excited! I just learned that Bobby Flay traveled to Tucson and had a "throwdown" with the Matias family at Teresa's Mosaic Cafe. This is a restaurant that we did the interior of, and as with all Lifestylist® Designed challenges we spent a lot of time getting to know the family and their needs before we came up with a plan.
Teresa's is all about family and the wonderful handmade food so the interior had to have as much personality as the family does. To do this we designed tables made of handmade tiles - thousands of them all that we made by hand. It was an extensive amount of work but the results were definitely worth it.
The episode airs on the Food Network - check out dates and times for your area.

Yesterday the unthinkable happened - my hard drive crashed. It's one of those things you hope will never happen. Fortunately I back up constantly but it was insane how helpless I felt when I couldn't go to my big beautiful imac and get the information I'd come to rely on it sheltering for me. Keep in mind this was a 4 yr. old machine and I'm on it probably 8-10 hours a day so it has served me well.

Before I gave up on it I decided to go to my favorite Apple Store (NorthPark in TX) and see if a Genius could breathe new life into it. I've also been thinking about getting a new computer or ipad so this seemed like the perfect time to check into that as well.

I'll let you in on a secret if you have an Apple Store near you that's in a mall - many of them open before the mall does so if you get there at 9am or so you can beat the rush.  Fortunatley I took my own advice, because by the time I left it was a mad house in there!

Did you know that most Apple stores have Business Specialists? I asked for mine when I arrived who was Jess, knew I would be in very capable hands. These team members understand the needs of business clients and can make the experience short, sweet, and get you exactly what you need. He gave me great advice about all of the things I wanted to accomplish and how to get there with hardware and software. He also was able to get me a Genius appointment. Marty - my new favorite Genius not only looked at my existing computer, but spent a great amount of time trying everything he could to get my computer back up and running and he did! Almost 3 hours of assistance from a tech guy - cost? Not a penny!

What I love about Apple is that they don't try to oversell you. Marty could have easily said you need a new hard drive and never tried to fix what I had, but he didn't. He was very patient and tried different things until he had a solution. Now that's what I call a Genius!

I'm now happily in front of my new 27" imac, and I think we are going to become good friends. Just looking at images on this new screen is incredible so I'm sure that I'll be sharing more of them.

I've heard through the "Apple-Vine" that Apple is beginning to put more of a focus on their business customers and I couldn't be happier.  Going into an Apple store is fun! and the amazing attitude of the people that work there always rubs off on me when I go in and my day gets a little bit brighter.

Something that is very important to this Lifestylist® is cooking with kids, and teaching them from the beginning how to eat well and delight in the food that they eat. As part of this passion I've gotten involved in Days of Taste and met Robin Plotkin - an amazing Licensed Dietitian, communications consultant and Mom. She has given her time to the Days of Taste program for years and truly understands the importance of teaching kids about nutrition and making it fun.

Tomorrow is a day I'm really excited about - I get to work with Robin and Lisa Stewart Photography on a project to spread the word about Robins Bite. Lots of food, styling and great information. It's going to be a lot of fun, and I can't wait to share the results with you here.

I do love being a Lifestylist®, and getting the opportunity to travel across the country meeting new people and spotting new trends. Recently I was up in the 1,000 Island area of NY and spent a day just driving and looking at the magnificent architecture and natural beauty of that area.
When I found this little cabin tucked by the river I fell in love - especially with the brightly colored Adirondack Chairs in the front of it. Of course I took a picture and never forgot what a great, happy look this was.
Then the other day I was walking through Home Depot and found these bright, happy chairs and I had to have them! Especially since they were only $12.00 each and maintenance free. I love what a difference they made in the backyard of the Idea Factory - even when I'm not out reading a book or birdwatching on them I love just being able to look out the window and seeing the burst of color.
It's easy to use an accent of color to wake up any space. It can be done with pillows in a living room, towels in a bath or with plates in a dining room. Great, fun design doesn't have to be expensive - you just need to be brave enough to try different ideas out.