Finally Focused?

I love wine. I talk about it, drink it, learn it, buy it, cook with it, attend wine events, and go wine tasting whenever the occassion arises. If you know me, this is no surprise.

This weekend I'm representing a client at Eat, Write, Retreat in Washington, DC. This food blogging conference is teeming with brilliant bloggers who generously lend support and interest to the ideas and aspirations of one another. As a "work in progress" blogger, I couldn't help but pick their brains from a personal standpoint. How did they get their blog going? What makes them tick? Do they get that nervous feeling when they share personal details to the online world?

Over a glass of -- what else -- wine, the lovely blogger behind Eat. Drink. Smile said to me, "Well, what do you love?"

"Wine."

"Write about wine, then!" she said.

"But there are too many wine writers," I retorted. I am, of course, always making excuses for why I can't blog.

Another great blogger who writes/photographs Eating is Art said, "But not from your perspective. You could write about wine within your own life."

We spent a little longer chatting about my maybe-blog, and I decided I'd give it a shot. I already sort-of blog, but it's floating with no identity. I love wine, and I love to share the experience of it with people. So I guess I'm out of arguments.

Welcome to J.Love's Wine (yep, I know it's my third "reinvention," and I'm fine with it).

Showing some Love for Outreach Geek

A good friend of mine, Jennifer Armitage, has made a niche for herself as a resource for all things public outreach for nonprofits. Often nonprofits don't have the PR support they need, so I admire Jen's efforts to offer them a free tool with her site, Outreachgeek.com. I had the pleasure of writing this guest post for Jennifer's site. I hope it's useful. 

Guest Post: Make Your Media Coverage Count

We’re all guilty of it: We think our cause, event or company update is exciting and potentially newsworthy. And sometimes, it is. Most of the time, however, the media doesn’t think your organization is as big of a deal as you do. I don’t say this to be harsh, but when navigating the world of media, organizations must understand that quality media coverage is more important than quantity. One well-placed, newsworthy press release will take your media coverage much further than dozens of releases distributed to the wrong people for the wrong reasons.

When you inundate a news outlet with press releases or media advisories every week, the news desk will start to recognize your name for the wrong reasons. They’ll associate your email address and organization name with spam or irrelevant chatter. Try to create a positive name for yourself with a clear media strategy that focuses on getting news coverage only for key milestones and time-sensitive events. Not only will you look good in the papers or on TV, but you’ll look good to the media who covers you.
Always strive to share only newsworthy, timely pitches, and follow these guidelines:

DO pitch:

• A heartwarming success story about someone who made great strides as a result of your organization’s activities

• An annual event, such as a run, walk, or special fundraiser

• A major accomplishment, such as an award or major grant received

When you pitch these, however, realize that they’re not relevant for every outlet, every time. For example, a grant received for a Sacramento nonprofit may be interesting news to the Sacramento Business Journal, but Good Day Sacramento really won’t see a story for its audience there. Learn your outlets before you pitch them.

DON’T pitch:

• An internal announcement that only affects your organization

• A general release about nothing in particular just so you can get your name out there

• A release that has no local angle for the media you’re trying to pitch (no one in L.A. wants to hear about an event in Sacramento)

These few guidelines really only scratch the surface of media relations and press release pitching, but they may help you stand out from the crowd in a positive light when it comes time to make headlines.

Dear Kings, this Girl Can't Say Goodbye

Tonight is the rally at Cesar Chavez Park to save the Kings. I can't make it in time, so instead I am doing my part to make some noise by writing this post.

All around are signs of hope that maybe, just maybe, the people of Sacramento can put up a good fight to keep the Kings in our city. Ailene Voisin wrote an inspiring column this past weekend about how the team members don't want to leave, either. It felt good to see it. Carmichael Dave, Jiffy Lube and company have made unbelievable noise with Here We Build. I am voraciously soaking up every tweet and post about Here We Build, Here We Stay and any article coming out about the Sacramento Kings right now (check out this fantastic one on RotoWorld).

Like many longtime Kings fans, I love this team. I have adored most of the players who have come through (Doug Christie will always be my favorite), with the exception of a few players who brought more grief than glory to this town. For the most part, this team has brought drive and passion to this city in good times and bad.

Whatever happens at the end of the day, the Kings have made their mark on this city. I'll always remember the horror of Robert Horry's 3-pointer to knock us out of the Western Conference Finals, the elated roar of the crowd when I attended a playoff game against the Mavericks where the Kings won, and the very first Kings game I went to in first grade when my mom dressed me up in my favorite fancy outfit for the event.  

The people of Sacramento are speaking pretty loudly. At least we know that we've put up a real, heartfelt fight. I guess we'll find out what happens next very soon. In the meantime, let's make some more noise.

So good, I wrote to Esquire

Wanted to share my letter to the editor of Esquire Magazine after using a recipe from their "Eat like a Man" section. It was one of the best meals I've ever had, plus it brought Jason and I both into the kitchen to cook together. We'll see if they publish it!

Dear editors,

I am currently sitting on the couch in a blissful food coma. At the urging of my fiancee, we made the Baked Ditalini recipe from Michael Shlow for dinner tonight (published in the March issue). I told him I'd make it on one condition: He had to cook with me. We succeeded in making this dish correctly, and had a ton of fun. It was conversation-halting, chow down inspiring, ridiculous goodness. The best part? Even after cutting the recipe in half, we could still feed 10 people, so we'll have leftovers for at least two days. This one's filed in the recipe pile, and we plan to make it again, and again, and again. Readers: If you try this one, skip the wine and pour a big glass of milk. It's perfection. I'll "eat like a man" any day. 

Is it all about synergy?

Last night while dining at a low-key favorite, Pete's Brewhouse in midtown, Jason told me about how a few of his friends had done a group blog in the past. Each person took a turn to post, and it was pretty successful.

I have to say I love the idea. As a solo blogger, I find it hard to generate posts because a lot of what goes through my mind may be interesting to me, but is it really interesting to everyone else?

Many of the most-loved pop culture icons come in duos or groups: Mickey and Minnie, the Saved by the Bell cast, the Three Stooges, Ricky and Lucy...you get the idea.

They're all on to something. It's all about synergy and harnessing the power of many. There's debate, conversation, multiple points of view. What are some of the good "buddy blogs" out there where more than one person contributes? What do they bring to the table for the readers and the bloggers themselves?

Food for thought...

His and Hers

As the three-month mark before our wedding fast approaches, I am starting to get that giddy bride-to-be feeling whenever we do something wedding related. Besides work, it's most of what I think about. Even most of my daily activities have become relative to the wedding. The gym? Yes, I probably should go if I want to look decent in a wedding dress. A trip to Ulta? I have to check out makeup that might be good for wedding day. Hanging out with friends or meeting new ones? Hmm...are they on our guest list?

One of our engagement shots in downtown Sac.

The past couple weeks were full of prenuptial activities, specifically engagement photos and wedding ring shopping. Jason and I are a little Type A about some things (okay, sometimes a lot Type A), but I was proud to learn that we are pretty laid back with some of these planning details. For our engagement photos, courtesy of Doubleshot Photography, we just asked that they have an urban vibe and then we followed the guys' expert advice.

Wedding ring shopping was even easier. I think we spent all of a half hour at Jared's. I had my heart set on a simple platinum band that wouldn't detract from my engagement ring, and Jason wanted something simple, too. He's not used to the ring thing, but we found a perfect one that looks great. What struck me about our wedding bands is how cute they look side-by-side (my ring size is 3.5).

His and hers wedding rings. I heart them.

It's just a fun time in wedding planning. The fact that Jason will soon be my husband has become very real, in the very best way. As we get into crunch time, I have a few takeaways to remember:

• If you don't have a strong opinion about something, just go with the flow and take advice from the experts. That's why you hired them.
• Savor those moments. Picking out wedding rings and just realizing the magnitude of the situation brought such a smile to my face. 
• Keep moving! There are so many small details, I feel like we should check our list of "to-do's" every day because I don't want to stress at the last minute.

Thanks, food bloggers

Full disclosure: I do not consider the photos in this post to be well-done food photography, but "real" examples from a real person.

I absolutely adore reading fancy food blogs. They are a new found pleasure of mine, especially since I started working on an account with Lindsay Olives through my work at AugustineIdeas. Part of our PR strategy is to reach out to food bloggers and try to establish a good working relationship. Thus, I have spent quite a few hours researching the really great food blogs out there. Tough job, huh? Anyway, I digress.

Braised tri-tip roast: A happy accident when we bought the
wrong cut of meat

Food blogs inspire me to write posts about some of my culinary attempts (as do shows on the Food Network), but the vast difference between these bloggers and me is that they are phenomenal cooks who spend hours analyzing recipes and trying out ingredients. I am more of a wife-in-training, novice cook trying to build my skills in the kitchen. In fact, I have a hard time even following a recipe.

Impromptu chicken parmesan

But I love food and I value healthy eating, so it makes sense to cook. I also enjoy entertaining and being able to provide people, especially my husband-to-be, a delicious meal. This is not a blog laced with gourmet recipes and gorgeous food photography, but I still like to share my love for good food. Thanks some of my favorite, talented food bloggers like The Wednesday Chef, Gluten Free Girl and What's Gaby Cooking who make the average, every day cook feel inspired.