The June issue of Belle is out and actually it has been for more than a week! I just completely forgot to write my monthly post announcing it here. It’s a great issue– groundbreaking really. We’ve got two guys on the cover for the first time in Belle history. One is Chris, the winner of [...]
I’d say 95% of the time I love interviewing people. I love the freedom being a writer gives me to ask pretty much any question I want– no matter how crazy, bold or uncomfortable. I can talk to people about things that they may not normally tell a stranger. And after more than ten years [...]
Have you ever scored a really great freebie? What did you have to do to get it? A while back I got a freebie for complaining. Yes, I liked getting the $20 gift card since I had experienced such bad customer service, but I didn’t like having to be negative to get it. So I [...]
Be sure to pick up a copy of the May issue of Belle Magazine. My contributions for this issue include profiles on local artist Marquin Campbell and Logen Hall, a 17-year-old featured in Seventeen Magazine this month because she won a national talent competition. I also got to review an incredible restaurant in Spartanburg called [...]
I wrote an article for the spring issue of At HOME about some treasures my husband and I found in our attic. We were cleaning out the attic rafters and found vintage newspaper printing plates from the 1930s as well as envelopes sent to Greenville from around the world. For the article I took my [...]
Explorer David Livingstone said, “I’ll go anywhere as long as it’s forward.” That quote took on extra meaning for me during a recent assignment for Business Black Box, a business magazine based right here in Greenville. The editor Jordana Megonigal called me last month with an exciting (and somewhat scary) proposition. She asked me to [...]
I don’t care if small cross-body handbags are in style this spring. I will forever carry a big purse because that’s the only way I can take my coupons with me wherever I go. Most people that know me know I love saving money. I’m definitely not cheap– I just can’t stand the idea of [...]
Check out the May issue of REDBOOK (just look for Kardashian family) to read my “Be Part of the Solution” article on helping military families. It’s on newsstands this week. I’ve been working with REDBOOK for about a year and a half now on various articles, but this is my first published piece with the [...]
I bet you didn’t know that some pretty huge celebs have Iowan roots. And a good number of them are on Twitter. The population of my great home state is just over three million (3,007,856 according to 2009 numbers) but there are plenty of recognizable names that grew out of our corn fields and pig [...]
Finding it a little hard to believe it’s April already, but I’m excited to tell you about the latest issue of Belle! I just love the cover– our photographer is Lauren Gossett and she knows so many hidden spots perfect for our fashion shoots. Our April issue includes something no other issue ever has. Our [...]
I’m excited to tell you about a new writing opportunity. I’ll be the financial columnist for Hope for Women. Here’s a little information about Hope for Women from their website: A companion for women who “expect the best” in every aspect of life… Hope for Women (Hope): Created by women with integrity and substance, we [...]
The March issue of Belle is hitting stands now. And the little girl on the cover is adorable. Her name is Madison. She loves Dora, hates blue jeans and has a natural ability to work the camera. She won our first Cutest Baby Contest. (By the way, judging babies’ cuteness is one of the most [...]
You never know until you ask– that’s one cliche I actually like. Another way to put it is that fortune favors the brave. If you’re bold enough to ask you’re more likely to get what you want. I’ve experienced this over and over in my professional life, but a great personal example of this for [...]
I read an article on DaveRamsey.com earlier this month that included this statistic: “A study from Citibank found that 57% of divorced couples said money fights were the primary reason they didn’t get along.” I wanted to use that stat in a magazine article I’m working on so I Googled it and found it used [...]
American Pickers is one of my new obsessions. If you’ve never seen it, it’s a reality show featuring two Iowan dorks traveling the country searching for what they call “rusty gold.” They paw their way through forgotten barns and dusty attics looking for hidden treasures. I had a similar experience in my own attic. I [...]
I love talking about money and over the past week I got to talk about it with four very interesting and intelligent ladies for a magazine article I’m writing. First on the list was Kimberly Palmer. She writes for US News and World Report and she recently published the book “Generation Earn.” Next up was [...]
The February issue of Belle Magazine is now on news stands! As an editor of this magazine I write several articles each month and I also organize and edit other writers’ work. This issue was really fun– although I tend to think every issue is fun! The pieces I wrote included an awesome love story [...]
As a reporter and a writer I learned long ago that stories are everywhere. They can be at your doctor’s office, in your email inbox, or as I learned, at your hair salon. I happened to be reading tweets from my favorite local news anchor @TVAmy. She sent out a link letting people know that [...]
I’ve been doing a lot of guest blogging lately. I’ve done bachelorette blog posts to help promote The House of Bachelorette (my sister’s company) and today I’m guest blogging over at Design Sponge. I love blogging at Design Sponge because it’s one of my all-time favorite blogs. I was happy to update a blog I [...]
The South Carolina heat has me dreaming of inhaling cool mountain breezes, walking on crispy leaves and kicking back at Mountain Club of Cashiers. I got to visit the place a couple of months ago for an assignment. I wrote all of the copy for their huge new website, designed by the incredibly talented Merge [...]
Nearly ten years ago I started a tradition. I took a blank, boring journal and filled the first few pages with bad poetry, dorky photos and a heartfelt note. Then I sent it away to a friend. The pages of that journal eventually got filled with memories and what was once a cheaply made book [...]
I love great design and I notice it right away when I visit a website. But when it comes to Google, design really doesn’t matter– content does. So why do so many companies hire designers and programmers to create their websites, but do the writing themselves? I guess it’s because writing isn’t brain surgery. Pretty [...]
Do you like the name Ink Swift? I hope so because I came up with it! Ink Swift is a self-publishing company offering more books, perks, control than the competition– and there’s a lot of it. New statistics show that more than twice as many new books are now self-published than published traditionally. Not familiar [...]
You know that cliche about how the mechanic always fixes his own car last? Blogs are kind of the same way. Business has been off the charts for me the past few months, although you wouldn’t know it by my website. But I know I’m not the only one that finds it difficult to squeeze [...]
