Dear Melissa,

Quiet holiday . . . I'm finding that my mood this holiday season is quiet. I never would have imagined not having wrestled the zillions of holiday ornaments out of storage and into my garage by now. Usually I am knee deep in Christmas decorations, herds of lighted deer, Santa blowups and more. I won honorary addition to the Brookhaven tour of Holiday Homes last year! This year, my place is on the market and the seasons seems so very short, not sure I'll even visit storage for the wealth of boxes. Quiet feels good this year.

Up For Sale . . . My place is officially on the market now, you can check it out at www.3339aldenplace.com and I'm selling off a lot of furnishings, artwork, rugs and more at designer estate sale. I live a showroom life, only using the house for parties about four times a year, so everything stays in top condition! I live in my bedroom, home office and kitchen and that is why I'm very ready to downsize. The sale has great pieces for you and for gifts! Check back weekly for new additions. I still have goods from when I closed my Roswell Interior Boutique.

For Art's Sake . . . What a wonderful holiday gift, sharing the joy of an original art piece. There are so many holiday studio and open house tours right now, be sure to check the listing I've provided here. I'm also featuring artists from these shows currently on The Art Full Life, check the listing Friday's 2pm for archived shows.

Celebrate the Season by Design!

MG

"All men dream: but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that it was vanity; but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act out their dreams with open eyes, to make it possible."
~ T. E. Lawrence

Footprints to Success

Wading through the social networking web can be somewhat confusing and mystifying. From MySpace to Facebook, Digg to Feedblitz, Linked In to Zoom, Twitter to Ryze where is the best place to spend your time and connect in a meaningful way with others? Sure you can spend hours and hours online just playing, but in today's business environment it is vital to avoid the tendency to see this all as a big toy box and realize it can be a valued tool for business. In many ways it can best be compared to the optimal places to leave your footprints for others to follow you or make a connection.

Age, intention, and demographic does have a lot to do with it. In my experience, since many, if not all of these services are so far free, it can't hurt to put up a profile. Many are short or limited to name, picture and tidbits only, then send a handful of invites out and see what sticks. I know it sounds haphazard but trial and error is still a reasonable test method. I'm getting good response on Facebook, and amazed at the number of connections on Linked In. Ryze hasn't done a thing for me as yet and I've been there the longest. MySpace so far seems strictly social, but the jury is still out. I'm still learning the ins and outs on Digg, Reddit, and Feedblitz. Zoom is waiting to be explored. Twitter seems interesting but you have to be proactive and post blog bits with live links back. One of the best experts in navigating all this is Penny Sansevieri. Penny tells you clearly and concisely how to benefit quickly and easily from these networks. She's got a great free ezine that really delivers.

Change Direction for a New Perspective

I often enjoy getting outdoors for exercise particularly in the cool crisp temperatures of approaching winter. Just 2-3 miles is enough to clear my head, open my mind, and renew my vision. Recently, I reversed my usual walk and was surprised at how completely different the very same route looked from a new direction. It made me realize that all too often we do things one way only and lose our perspective. In order to regain it, we need to approach our routine from a new angle. Next time you feel your life and business getting trapped in tunnel vision or feeling myopic in focus, consider viewing it from another angle, or approaching from a new direction. You are bound to get a different perspective, fresh insight, and possibly a new solution and opportunity for greater success.

The Color of Money and Much More

Green is the most universally accepted color along with blue, but it does depend on the shade or tint. Most veterans are not fans of camouflage green and that means sage and moss as well. If you are specifying apple green make sure you know where your apples are from! Certainly a Washington apple will taste different than a Maine apple and that goes for color too.

Green is considered an undemanding color. It is one of the easiest colors to perceive. It represents perfect balance, as the center of a rainbow. Green provides a sense of quietness, compassion, relaxation and comfort and is the easiest neutral. It is popular in home interiors as it gives the illusion of bringing the outdoors inside. And it is a neutral with personality far beyond a beige or taupe.

Green is also a hue of rebirth, regrowth, and renewal. It is what most of us in seasonal climates look forward to in the Spring. The astounding regreening with all the new leaves and plant growths after the grey of winter. It is a time for our spirits to reawaken and recharge.

I have been getting some really terrific feedback lately from subscribers and will be sharing that from time to time. Your comments make a great difference to me. Let me know what you like, what is working for you, and what you want more of!

“I have been enjoying your newsletter for a couple of month now and wanted to say . . . Thank you! I have found inspiration, joy, hope, positive reinforcement and great information in your missives.  Thank you.”