Crumby Marketing or Salty Wit?

AirTran serves gourmet pretzels that taste and look exactly like regular pretzels. And on the blue foil pretzel bag they have squeezed in some lighthearted marketing.

The tone is meant to be humorous, but my response was more of a phony "ha ha" then a sincere appreciative chuckle. Was I just too exhausted from the Atlanta gift show to see the good humor? Am I jaded and hard to please? Or does their ploy just miss the mark. Please help me figure out if I am a savvy judge or a whiny bitch.

Rozelle's Linen Legacy

It was another long day at the Atlanta Gift Show. I think I have seen enough for one day. My back-up camera's battery is about to die. I am considering skipping the last two aisles.

The trade show tyrant in me awakens, and uses guilt to keep me on track. "You are here to cover the show. You haven't been here in a year and a half. I can't believe you are thinking of going back to the hotel and reading a book!!" The triumphant tyrant walks all the way to the end of Aisle J on Floor 8. There I discover a new company that makes me very very happy in a bittersweet way.

Sisters Gay (left) and Dinah started Shades of Grey when they bought out the remaining inventory of luscious linen from David Lentjes. David's wife, Rozelle Lentjes, an amazing designer who passes away from esophageal cancer 2 years ago.

Gay, a Birmingham-based designer and Dinah, a Nashville mom with great taste, already owned plenty of Rozelle's pillows. They were fans who are continuing her linen legacy.

This was a wonderful way to end my day.

Let's make like eggs and scramble!

I have one more day with my beautiful sister. Therefore, I don't want to sit at my computer and work. My mind isn't on writing, it's on being out and about and talking with sis. We can never get enough time. We are going to the beach. It is a warm sunny day in Florida, and she needs to go back to Seattle with a hint of tan. So we are off and running after breakfast. She made her signature dish: scrambled eggs with salsa and feta over toast.

Simply FONTastic

For me, letters spell "h a p p i n e s s." Here are a few joy spreaders from the Atlanta Gift Market.

Tee hee hee...I see "SeX" in Design Ideas' display

I left my mark in the Vagabond Vintage showroom.

A friendly and welcoming display at Eastern Accents' Studio 773 exhibit

Guests who sleep on your sofa can now put French Laundry's throw pillows back on in order.

Last year the boss gave personalized mugs to the secretary pool. This year it'll be these colorful pots from Peddlers Home Design. Great for holding pens, clips, and the afternoon candy fix.

This fab rug was in the Assouline booth.

Fred Grandy cuts these letters by hand. His favorite one to make is Q.

Don't Look Dead

This is what happens.

I am inspired.
I feel the urge to write.
Words pop into my head.
Sentences start to form.
I mentally compose a great introduction.
Then I do my laundry and clean the house.
Another great idea sabotaged, drowned, suffocated in layers of bleach and Windex.

BUT........
I just got back from the Atlanta Gift Show. Besides sleeping too little, coveting objects, and seeing friends whom I admire and relish, I attended an hour seminar on "The Power of Blogging." The overriding message was that when it comes to blogging, the most important thing is not to appear dead.

And so I am determined to make time to write, post pictures and not seem uninterested, apathetic, or dead. Because I am very much NOT uninterested. In fact, the trip to Atlanta has, in some ways, caused many of the random ideas that once ricocheted off the white matter in my brain to take root.

If I can just relegate certain times for cleaning, I'll be off and writing.