Whatever happened with... (water bill, diet, wedding plans) and a new listing from Anne Powers!

There are so may things to tell you guys!!!

Last week, Glennis and I went to the Who's Who in Luxury Real Estate conference in Scottsdale, Arizona.  This is one of our favorite conferences.  They always have great speakers, and the conferences are always held in really cool places.  (Remember last year when we went to San Diego, and the year before when we went to Seattle?)

Except this time it wasn't cool, it was HOT! :)

But there were tons of pools there :)

On Wednesday we went to the awards dinner, and I got an award called "Outstanding Social Media Savvy."

I was THRILLED!  Over the years Beacham has gotten a lot of awards for our magazine, our print marketing and our marketing package, but this is our first award for social media.

It means so much to me because I run the social media campaign here at Beacham, and I am really proud of what we've accomplished.  We have this blog, which was ranked #5 real estate blog in the world last year.  A few months ago we launched a new Beacham Blog, we have more fans on Facebook than any other real estate company in Atlanta, we are very active on Twitter, and we even have a new Pinterest account.

One thing that never ceases to amaze me is that people read THIS blog, and they remember what I talk about!  Every time it happens I do a double take.  Over the last few months I've run into people I haven't talked to in a year or so and they will say "what happened with your water bill," 0r "how is that diet going?"  A lot of times it happens when I'm introduced to someone for the first time.  I'll shake their hands and they say, "how are the wedding plans coming along?  I read about them on your blog?"  That happened to me a lot this past week in Arizona.  It made me realize two things... one, that people actually take the time to read the blog, and two, that I've left a lot of loose ends!

First thing's first... the water bill.

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Read this story to see the initial story of what happened with my $9,000 water bill.  A few weeks later I wrote this post explaining that the City of Atlanta Department of Watershed Management replaced my water meter and wiped away everything but $800, which they said I still owed them.  I decided to wait a few months and collect a few bills.  Every bill I've gotten has been under $50, so I clearly had one of those bad water meters that are all over the city.  Now I just have to go back before the board, argue my case one more time and hope they erase the final $800 balance.  WSB actually interviewed me about the water issue last week, but my hair looked so horrendous I just cannot post it here.  I've  since stopped using leave-in conditioner. ;)

In a huge karmic joke, I actually walked over my water meter last night and the top was off just slightly.  It slipped off and my foot fell INTO the water meter hole.  It left three big scrapes on my leg, and it's all bruised today.  I guess the water department is out to get me one way or another!

Next loose end?

The Dukan Diet.  I started the Dukan Diet about a month ago for two reasons. I wanted to lose a few more pounds before the wedding, and I was also just having a lot of stomach pain.  I did the Dukan Diet for about 2 weeks and lost 4 lbs.  I guess that's not a huge amount of weight, but it was 3/4 of the weight I wanted to lose, so I would consider it fairly effective.

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At the same time I started the Dukan Diet I also gave up gluten and dairy in hopes that it would help my stomach pain.  My friend Ginny also suggested I go see Dr. Tasneem Bhatia.  She is a holistic doctor here in Atlanta who was on Dr. Oz and went to Westminster.  I loved her!  When I went to see her I still had significant stomach pain even thought I had dropped the gluten and dairy.  I also had headaches and low energy, which was a result of all the meat I was eating.  She did a lot of test and got me all turned around.  She put me on a low acid diet, kept me off the gluten and dairy and got me some supplements.  I've kept the 4 lbs off and feel SO MUCH BETTER now.  If any of you are interested in holistic medicine I recommend her 150%!  She spent a lot of time with me and listened and really tried to figure out a way to help me.  Please email me if you have any specific questions about her.

And now a wedding update...

We did a food tasting, YUM!  The food at The Grand Bohemian is amazing.  I even liked the sea bass, and I don't even like fish!

And we picked out a save the date. We are so excited because it's orange, the best color ever.We picked out flowers :)  We decided to work with Flora in Asheville.  She is going to do a beautiful mix of succulents for me.  It was really fun talking to her.  She totally understood what I wanted.

And we will end with a house...

A few weeks ago I shot this house at 2128 Lucerne Lane.  Anne Powers has this house listed, and I loved it!

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Isn't it pretty?  The kitchen is so wonderful.  it opens to the family room and breakfast area.  The whites and greens go together so well.  The master bedroom suite is also large and cozy with a huge master bath and fireplace.  The gazebo pictures show a large common area in the neighborhood.   To find out more about this house please visit beacham.com.

Talk to you guys soon!

 

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A trip to Highlands, NC with my best friend...

About a month ago I had the opportunity to go on a road trip with my best friend.  I haven't done that since college.  Beth Nellis joined Beacham & Company this summer.  She is selling real estate in Atlanta, but she also lives in Highlands, NC some of the time.  She is selling real estate up there as well.  Beacham & Company built a whole new website for real estate in Highlands/Cashiers, and we needed pictures.  I was scheduled to go up in the middle of the week and take some photographs.  I felt so badly because my best friend Lindley had just broken up with her boyfriend of three years, and I had to leave town.  On a whim I said, "hey, why don't you come with me?"  She agreed!  Girls trip!  We drove up to Highlands and took pictures, ate food, drank wine and lived it up at the Old Edwards Inn.  I came back feeling refreshed, in love with Highlands, and reminded of why best friends are so important.

While we were there I said, "hey, why don't you write about this for my blog?"  She is a much better writer than me, and I knew she would do a great job capturing the feeling of the trip.  She did! Without further ado...

...

This Writer’s Life: If you’re lucky enough to live in the mountains, you’re lucky enough

Have you ever broken up with someone even though you still loved them?

I did.

Then…I sat on the floor singing the “Bodyguard” soundtrack... singing “I’m Every Woman” to my dog, and thinking I’d probably be alone forever…

The next day, I called Blayne…when she answered, all I said was, “hey… we broke up.” If you’re a girl and you have a best friend, you know those words translate to: “You better do something before I start crying hysterically” … she told me, “Pack you’re things, we’re getting out of town.”…perfect best friend response…

At 8:00 am, the next day, I was ready…wearing a fashionable BCBG jumper…of course, I later decided that it made me look fat (which is why there are no pictures of me actually wearing it), but at the time, I was the cutest broken heart in Buckhead…

With our mouths full of Chick-Fil-A breakfast, we bobbed our heads to the new Phish album all the way up 85N…

When we finally found ourselves curling around the mountain roads, we did what most busy Atlantans would do…we got concerned that we didn’t have cell phone service.  Then we tried to call Blayne’s mom to ask what gear we should put the car in…no answer...  I asked, “What do these people even do in the mountains?”...

I was about to find out...

Beth Nellis

Next thing we know, we’re in a town full of sensible people who actually wait to hear the answer when they ask you how you’re doing.  Beth Nellis met us right away at Old Edwards Inn.  I was impressed right off the bat.  Her greeting is genuine and you feel like you are the most important…

She believes Highlands, and she made me believe in it, too.

We follow her to a charming house so I can watch Blayne snap some photographs…and I take some pictures of her taking pictures...

Blayne with her camera

Next, we followed Beth to Highland Country Club, where we took photographs of a croquet court and a lovely garden that was just begging for a bride and groom to take pictures there…

Garden at Highlands Country Club

Once Beth cut us loose we grabbed some lunch on the roof of the Old Edwards Inn…i.e. a couple healthy salads that we loved…  and a cheese plate that we totally polished off!

Rooftop lunch!  If you look closely you can see the top of my jumper!

Notice there is very little cheese left on that plate!

Blayne wanted to go shopping…I wasn’t really in the mood, and by not in the mood I mean I was broke…she bought a few scarves, a striped shirt, and some other stuff for her upcoming Phish shows in Denver…

Blayne had to put on her new scarf RIGHT AWAY!

For dinner, we chose a restaurant known for its Italian (Paolettis), ordered veal and chicken, and then discussed how it must not have been their specialties…don’t worry; we still managed to consume 600 plus weight watchers points and a few glasses of wine…

Clearly the flash did not go off...

The next day before we left, we visited the Bascom, an art center, where we discovered the magic of the striped shirt Blayne bought the day before…and by magic, I mean, it takes 20 lbs off of every person who puts it on…

See how much skinnier Blayne looks in the left photo than the one on the right?  MAGIC!

We liked it so much that we drove all the way back into town so I could buy one for myself… as luck would have it, there was only one left, and it was my size!!

Yes!

I’m telling you…that’s just how life is in Highlands…the last one’s always your size, and you always get a great parking spot…

On our way home we made stops at two different waterfalls, drove down a road less traveled, and stopped at a restaurant that has no menu…they just bring you everything…

And then…we sang…

We sang the whole way back, at the top of our lungs, with smiles on our faces …you know you’ve found a best friend for life when you can actually sing without caring how bad you sound…

So, now, I regret asking, “What do these people even in the mountains?”…

I was missing the point… it’s not about what you do… it’s about what you don’t do…

You don’t worry…you don’t feel sad…you don’t think about all the things you should be doing…you don’t think about the person who’s not calling…

Remember that time I broke up with that someone who I still loved?…Me neither…

Take it from me…mountain air makes a weak heart a little stronger… and when you’re up that high, ears popping and all, you have no choice but to find a better perspective…