www.chairishthefuture.com is this weekend! Vern
Yip of HGTV fame is emceeing the event at the King Plough Arts Center
in Atlanta. There is still time to buy tickets and partake of a
wonderful evening of food, drink, fun, connecting, and chairs! I will
be there with my new beau (I am too old for a boyfriend!) It benefits
the Metro Atlanta Furniture Bank, a great cause. Who knows, I might
even pick up a few additions to my collection. Love to see you there.

You asked to see The Bag!
I had readers request to see the bag that “he” bought me spur of the
evening on Valentine’s, so here it is. And I have to confess that my
real treasure was a red balloon that he gave me at lunch the day before
Valentine’s and I kept it attached to my purse (not the one here, the
everyday bag) for over 8 days as it continued to fly high! You’ve no
idea the amused looks and comments it drew from men and women alike,
unfamiliar with seeing an adult with a red balloon.

Under the Big Top again! Heading
into Atlanta this weekend for Cirque du Soleil. Betting many of you
have seen a show or two, if you haven’t DO, if you have DO AGAIN! There
is nothing more stunning than seeing the human body used as a living
art form and that is really what Cirque does. It is also a brilliant
reminder of how DESIGN is a totally engulfing sensory experience
touching our sight, our hearing, our touch, our smell, and our taste. How can you DESIGN a total experience for your clients? It isn’t about the sofa but about the experience they will have by owning it . . .

Prospering by Design, ARE YOU?

MG

Valentine’s weekend was awesome! My new beau (I feel too old for a boyfriend) came up Friday afternoon and we got an early walk in up to Sunset Rock, a lot of fun despite clouds and cooler temperatures. Dinner at one of my favorites, Cyprus, was Mediterranean in flavor complete with a flaming appetizer (always good for sparks to fly, LOL).

Spoiled me delightfully! Saturday we strolled Highlands, and “he” was decadent with a handful of stylish new acquisitions to my wardrobe. Great to find a man who enjoys unique finds despite his conservative tendencies. Dinner was a riot as there was another couple that got engaged very quietly and I’d been admiring her handbag. After my fifth comment, “he” congratulated them on their occasion, pulled out $100 and said he’d buy her bag for me. I was thunderstruck and giggling hopelessly. She promptly dumped the contents of her purse and handed it over, evidently it had been an outlet mall find! The entire restaurant was agog!

Got a hike in! Sunday we made it up Whiteside Mountain with incredible views and fresh air. The weekend forecast had been littered with rain, but it held out for us. Next plan is the last weekend this month with Cirque du Soleil and Chairish the Future. I have to confess being spoiled is great fun and it has been a very long time since that happened!

Back to work! I’m still hearing that many of you need websites and aren’t sure what to do about it. I will do another website teleseminar but solo this time with the nuts and bolts of how to get your materials together and make it cost effective and profitable. Look below for the MARCH 2nd Social Media Teleseminar!

Prospering by Design, ARE YOU?

MG

I knew it, I knew it! The moment I wrote a bit about a date, you all inundated me with good luck wishes, desires for updates, and helpful comments. You are a riot! You all want to know more about my love life than you do how to build your businesses, LOL!

He brought flowers! Okay he is very romantic, brought me a white rose in a vase (inside his coat) to the restaurant. We had a lovely dinner at Capital Grill in Buckhead and capped it off with dessert at The Ritz (in the lounge, get your mind out of the bedroom!)

Back in Atlanta this weekend! Yes, I will see “him.” I am also checking out the Atlanta Art House, the newest exhibition at the botanical gardens Orchid Daze, and another art show on Friday night. Perhaps I will run into some of you local Atlantans.

Prospering by Design, Are You?

MG

Copyright Melissa Galt 2008/2009

I have yet to meet anyone that wishes they spent more time in the office or on their career; instead everyone seems to miss time with their families and friends. Family is not limited in this discussion and context to those related only by blood. Many of us have our truest and best family by virtue of lasting friendships and not blood relation at all. I believe that family is whomever you choose it to be whether by birth and blood or by choice and opportunity.

It is vital to make a truly conscious effort to celebrate our family in fun and rewarding ways often. Here are some tried and true and even a few new ideas for celebrating with your chosen family.

Blockbuster Movie Family Pack

While you can blow it out and take everyone to the movies complete with popcorn, orange gooey nachos, and gargantuan sodas, you can also do this at home and still provide the popcorn, more moderately sized refreshments and skip the pseudo food.

My clients have found that even a large TV in a great room is enough to keep family together and entertained for an evening or a rainy afternoon. If you have the option of doing even a small home theatre, there is never a reason to indulge in the high price of movies at the mall. You can even include your own popcorn cart and a mini refrigerator for cold drinks.

Bring Hollywood home and celebrate movies with your family.

Colossal Cultural Family Event

Museums are not always the stuffy places we think they are but often they will have exhibits that are family friendly and sometimes even specific to children. Museums also encompass the scope of venues including natural history (I call these bone museums and are great favorites for kids) and science museums. I even attended a Garbage Museum not long ago in Milford Connecticut devoted to the art of recycling. It was all designed to show our youth the path of goods that get recycled and those that don’t. It was fascinating and well done and would make a great family outing.

I remember my Mother dragging us (once in a while kicking and screaming) to museums as children, but the lessons sank in and I now go as often as I can and have enjoyed a much broader range of art knowledge because of those trips. It likely influenced even my career decision. Exposing children to art early on can have a profound impact on them, but best of all enjoying art as a family can be a very enlightening experience and provide an opportunity to share a diversity of viewpoints and interpretations of what is viewed.

Celebrate your family with art and culture.

Six Flags Family Fun Day

Now it doesn’t have to be Six Flags but any amusement park including those that offer white water fun and rock climbing experiences. The key is to allow everyone a chance to enjoy what they like and no one is forced to participate but can watch and wait patiently or find their own kind of fun.

It often happens that half the family decides to spend their time in line on the roller coasters and gravity defying attractions, while other family members prefer to indulge in face painting, hair braiding, and winning stuffed toys at the toss it booths scattered throughout. It isn’t important that everyone ride the monster coaster but instead that the day starts together, is connected for hair raising tails of terror and sharing of prizes won, and that everyone heads home happy and tired.

Celebrate your family with an amusement park getaway!

Family Aquarium Adventure Day

Many major cities now have significant aquariums and often sea water parks when located on the coast. If there isn’t one where you live, take a look at what nearby (driving distance) cities offer this and investigate a day trip. These are like ocean zoos and can be great places to learn about the creatures of the deep as well as share time as a family.

Aquariums often include IMAX movies featuring rescue of sunken treasures, or stories of underwater predators (movies generally need action and derring do.) In addition they’ll have daily underwater shows with divers portraying mermaids or just interacting with the sea life. This can also be an effective way to encourage swimming, and the opportunity to snorkel and scuba.

Celebrate your family with an aquarium adventure day.

Family to Family, A Legacy of Giving

While many of us are familiar with the idea of adopting a child in need, there are also organizations that encourage adoption of a family in need. This may be either overseas or in our own backyard. With such disaster displacement as Hurricane Katrina, families were taken in by other families and helped back on their feet.

Now, I am not suggesting you necessarily adopt a family into your home, but adopting a family by way of sponsoring them is a great way to start a legacy of giving. So often it is something as little as $30 a month to support a child and so a family might be $100 a month whereas in our lives that may be the price of a new pair of shoes or a dinner out.

This is a chance for everyone in the family to participate in the giving and to get to know a family less fortunate. The added benefit is it tends to keep us more grounded and aware of our blessings, rather than taking for granted what too few have. Organizations to facilitate this can be found online and through organizations such as Habitat for Humanity, Ruby Slipper Project, Hannah Home and more.

Celebrate your family by sharing the gift of giving.

Get your free edition of Interior Destinations, Melissa Galt’s award winning newsletter devoted to Designing Your Business for Your Best Life Now, available at www.melissagalt.com. For more great articles and tips, check out Melissa’s blog at www.todaybydesign.com

Where are you the most productive? Do you find that your productivity is often based on the time of day and on your location? I know I get a lot more done in the quiet of my mountain escape than I do in the crazy energy of Atlanta! In Atlanta my schedule is more often loaded with sourcing for clients, site visits, speaking engagements, airport trips, and catching up with friends (oh and YES, dating, LOL). So I plan five day stays here in Highlands to get it all on track and moving forward. How can you plan your most productive times and emerge successful?

Mapping fun! This is my YEAR of YES, and that means I have to make a lot more time for my dream list. I’m planning a visit to Connecticut in May to see dear friends and then a trip to Bonaire for scuba certification and to see the house I did a few years ago for clients. They both scuba and train, but I’ve never seen the house! Rumor has it the neighbors and friends have given it rave reviews. What are you doing to plan regular fun in your life?

Heading into Hotlanta this Saturday! Got a date Saturday night (yes, we met on match.com and this is our first face to face!) Sunday, I’m meeting a friend for the last day of the Flower Show and brunch at Canoe. I’ve got client biz on Monday, then Tuesday reconnecting with my favorite design group for lunch and a look at Insidesign, http://www.myinsidesign.com/.

What are you doing to find new resources?

Together we’ll all go farther! Prospering by Design, Are You?

MG