Social Media Detox, the Aftermath

My previous blog post was how I was going to completely shut off my social media accounts for a week (minus Instagram... because when I am relaxing on the beach I love looking at pictures) and enjoy a simple spring break. I deleted the Facebook app and Twitter app from my phone to begin the detox.

Day 1= Started off strong. I enjoyed not constantly checking my phone and wanting to know what everyone else was doing. I could just sit back and enjoy my time with my friends and chillin' on the beach. This day was a breeze for me.

Day 2= I woke up and had an urge to read Twitter but obviously couldn't because I deleted the app. Instead I made a bowl of cereal and sat on the porch and listened to the breaking of waves. Needless to say Twitter was off of my mind really quickly. Day 2 made me realize how much of a habit I have made checking my social accounts. I wake up, check Twitter then scroll through Instagram and then if I really don't want to get up yet I'll check Facebook.

Day 3= This day I had less of an urge to check Twitter. I got up and went straight to the beach and didn't even bring my phone with me. However, when I was getting ready to go out to dinner, I was ready before everyone else and really wanted to check Twitter. I slowly was beginning to realize that it was when I was not preoccupied with anything I wanted to turn to social media.

Day 4= Woke up to a text from a friend asking if I had seen this specific tweet... this was a killer. I wanted to hear about what was going on in the entertainment world; however, I had no access. I had to ask for the "low down" of the story and that I didn't check Twitter. She was surprised but quickly caught me up to speed. It is funny that my friends even know my daily social media schedule!

Day 5= I had a lazy day relaxing on the beach and never really had any thought about social media. This was starting to feel like a normal thing... no access to the social world. In all honesty, it felt pretty great not to have to check this or scroll through that!

Day 6= Last and final day of the social media detox. I was eagerly awaiting my arrival home andddd I caved. I was in a car for over 10 hours and really just wanted to check Twitter and Facebook. The only positive thing I thought about was seeing all of the notifications I had gotten during the week.... BUT I really only had a few favorites of a tweet and been tagged in some pictures on Facebook. Major let down because I thought I would have had so many comments and posts and tweets, to my surprise I didn't have hardly any.

To wrap up this whole social detox thing I will leave you with this insight...
Time is now and being with friends and family is precious time you can't take back. Engage in conversation with people OUTSIDE of social media. Relationships are what keeps me going and I took that for granted. This detox definitely brought me back down to earth to realize live in the moment, no really actual the physical moment.

The Road to Becoming a Foodie

Hungry? Instagram always makes me hungry because of the large amount of gourmet food posts I see when scrolling through my feed. BBDO Atlanta conducted research on this topic and concluded that, “Millennials have a fascination with food as a way to tell their story. For them, food is not just about nourishment. It’s about self-expression and entertainment. It’s about personal storytelling. They’re Instagramming what they eat, following food celebrities on Twitter, and venturing out to all sorts of new places, from the latest trendy joint to the hole-in-the-wall down the street. But for a generation defined by social media, they don’t care if a restaurant gets bad reviews on Yelp. If their friends like it, they’ll go. If they like it, they’ll share a picture and review of it.” Not only are they all about the trendiness of the food industry, they are concerned with the nutritional value of the food they eat. If restaurants and food packages do not clearly state the nutritional value of their product, they will not survive among the Millennial generation. I'm trying to become more of a foodie myself so this is a trending topic for me! Stay tuned who knows what scrumptious food grams I might come up with.

beachweek.

Brrr. It feels like -17 degrees outside right now. Are the winter blues starting to set in? Do not fret, Travel Channel Beach Week is here! All over Instagram and Twitter, #TCBeachWeek is taking over. I'm beginning to think this is the best way to advertise beaches, because it's freezing outside and everyone's mind is thinking about tropical destinations to escape the reality of how cold it is. The Travel Channel is airing some of the hottest beaches of 2015 during their annual Beach Week tour around the world. They kicked it off with the top 101 Sand n' Surf spots. From Matira Beach in Bora Bora to Rehoboth Beach in Delaware, the Travel Channel is counting down to the No. 1 beach in the world! At the end of the week they will reveal the Best Beach Awards of 2015, 10 categories with winners selected by the Travel Channel experts. Follow the Travel Channel on Twitter and #TCBeachWeek to stay in the loop with all things tropical! Stay warm out there! 

Top 10 Beaches by Category

1. Sexiest Beach
Miami Beach, FL 

2. Best Unusual Beach
Red Beach, Santorini, Greece

3. Best Romantic Beach
Little Dix Bay, Virgin Gorda, British Virgin Islands 

4. Best Beach for Adventure
Praia do Futuro, Fortaleza, Brazil

5. Best Beach Bar
VICE, Nissakia Surf Club, Artemida, Greece

6. Best Beach You Haven't Heard of... Yet
Lake Atitlan, Guatemala 

7. Best Beach Boardwalks
Coney Island, NY

8. Best Family Beach
Seaside, Florida 

9. Best Party Beach
La Barra, Punta del Este, Uruguay

10. Best Exotic Beach
Ihlabela, Brazil

buzzwords.

Leaving my social media class today, I was trying to think of inspiration on what to blog about. Well, it hit me in class,  I want to share this article with you that I found on Twitter yesterday! LinkedIn released an article about the “10 most overused LinkedIn Buzzwords”.  After reading this article I thought to myself, "Those were great words to use, I really am all of those!" However, seeing that they are so common I have some editing to do. I am challenging myself to a word overhaul. I encourage you to evaluate your current buzzword standing is and see where some debuzzing needs to take place. Time to dust off those dictionaries and spark some wordy imagination into your LinkedIn profile!

Tips for editing your LinkedIn profile:

• -       Showcase your talent: Give future employees what they want to see. Put your best work forward and stand confidently behind it.
• -       Highlight your accomplishments: Show off what you have done in the past 4 years of college. I know everyone has achieved some goal.
• -       Avoid generic buzzwords: This is something I am still working on. I don’t want to be thrown in the same category as every other Millennial on LinkedIn. (My words list is in process now)
• -       Be yourself: Having a public profile is the easiest way for future employers to get to know you, so just be yourself.

#SB49

Last night, I tuned in to watch a football game along with 171 million other viewers. Ever heard of the Super Bowl? I thought so. To some, the super bowl is the paramount game of the year. To advertisers, the super bowl is a $4.5 million dollar 30-second commercial. If you are like me at all, I was more concerned with what was going on during the breaks of the game than the actual game itself. My twitter usage was at an all time high during this years super bowl because I wanted to know how people were responding to the commercials. From what I could tell, there was a theme to this years advertisements such as dadvertising, puppy bowl, and superBAWL. This year it was all about making a difference and some of the commercials got pretty #serious. Not only was this year about having a standout commercial, but also, having an engaging social media campaign. According to CNBC this was the most tweeted super bowl ever, with a record breaking 28.4 million tweets during the broadcast. In case you missed something on Twitter last night, AdWeek has provided the best tweets from brands during the super bowl. 

Here are my top 5 picks for the best commercials:

1. Always -- #LikeAGirl



2. Dove Men + Care -- #RealStrength



3. BMW -- A Trip Down Memory Lane



4. Loctite -- Positive Feelings



5. Kia -- The Perfect Getaway

creative.

handwritten by Stacey Meredith

I received this print for Christmas this past year, and I must say it was my absolute favorite present. Not only because it is in black  & white (my two favorite colors besides purple) but it was made by my creative mentor Stacey Meredith. What I love most about this print is how accurately it describes me as a creative person, it's almost scary how exact it is. When asked to describe myself, it usually takes me a while to come up with just the right thing to say. Well, this print does exactly that -- this is who I am. 

1. Easily bored -- I always knew even when I was little that I would have to constantly be doing something new, pushing the envelope somehow because if not, life just seemed boring to me. Even now as I am a senior in college, that is why advertising excites me. It is always evolving and always changing, how could it ever seem boring?

2. Risk takers -- If you do not ever take risks how are you going to grow as an individual. I take risks hoping there is a greater reward but sometimes I fail. If you never try you would not understand the most rewarding thing in life, which is overcoming a challenge. 

3. Color outside the lines -- Being constricted by coloring lines was such torment to me as a child. I would just ask for "white paper" so I did not have to follow the coloring books lines. Life can be seen as coloring outside the lines. I find joy in the unordinary, walking a different way to class, or making a mess out of a watercolor painting. You have to get outside the lines to really embrace new experiences. 

4. Think with their heart  -- Anyone can tell you I wear my heart on my sleeve. I care deeply for people and have infectious love I wish I could spread to all people. I know I get my big heart from the precious mom who raised me. Because of her, trusting my heart is what just feels right.

5.  Make lots of mistakes -- I am really good at making mistakes. Life’s greatest lessons are learned by how you react to those mistakes. Learning and growing from mistakes is exactly what has shaped me to be who I am today. 

6.  Hate the rules -- I do not like being told what to or abiding by someone else’s rules. Granted, if I didn’t follow any rules I would probably not be where I am today. Don’t get me wrong there is a time and place for rules, however, not when it comes to my creative thought process.

7. Work independently -- When it comes down to it, I am an independent extrovert. I do great work when in collaboration with people but I also accomplish a lot when I am on my own. I am very driven by my own desires and love to see my thought processes come to fruition. I hope to run my own Etsy shop or freelance one day.

8. Change their mind a lot -- Once I make a decision, I want to change my mind. I am an innovative thinker and do not like to settle. My mind is constantly thinking of ideas and my preferences change frequently.

9. Have a reputation for eccentricity -- I do not like to do what everyone else does. I love individuality and see it as an expression of creativity. Admiring local finds, quirky brick walls, getting lost and stumbling upon a tasty restaurant are simple quirky things I love. As Sweetwater brewery would say, “Don’t float the mainstream”

10. Dream Big -- Whether its traveling the cobble stone streets of Italy, landing a job across the country, owning tons of puppies and aspiring to be a creative. I have dreams and passions that consume me daily. I have these grand ideas and plans and everyone’s response is always… just keep dreaming. Stay tuned because one day, these dreams will become a reality. 

 

Until next time-

simply,

leah 

closets.

lululu.tumblr.com

beginner layout design.

In high school, we were assigned a magazine project. Well, if you didn't know, I love weddings, and everything about them. So I decided to do my version of "the knot" or in-style wedding. It is very basic but it sparked my interest in layout design.  Since I designed this magazine, I now have a job working for the graphic designer who assigned this classroom project! I absolutely love it and I'm designing pieces for my former high school *bizarre! Well, here is the beginning to my layout design career. 

Cover

The Spread

Add

blog inspiration.

 I ordered this book, Blogging for creatives, and I am so so SO excited to read it and learn more about this whole blogging world. With that being said, I am taking a break from posting things so I can learn a few design tricks first! But don't go anywhere because it won't be that long- I'm starting to get addicting to blogging... so for now 

inspired to share.

I stumbled across this amazing website today and wanted to share it with you. This blog is filled with design, style and I find it very very creative. It is a business woman trapped in a creative mind like me! It's neat to see how people express their inner creativity.  

Check out this blog @click here!

maybooks.

Maybooks! This is the cutest little website on the block. Looking for a notebook or journal? Check this place out. You can custom design your may book. Pick out your pattern, add your monogram and then pick out your filler pages. Its as easy as 1,2,3!