I learned a lot from my interviews with my friends. The main lesson for me is… life brings you great opportunities when you put yourself out there and pursue what you love. That is exactly what I plan on doing!
What am I doing?
My biggest project has been Weekend Retweat. We finally have our new web site www.WeekendRetweat to record all our great adventures. I’m very excited about all the latest developments with our group. We’ve added a few more faces and began covering Independent Travel. This new category will be a place for the Retweaters to share all the cool places they travel with their family and friends. There are so many great sights to see and people to meet along the way!
I am also working with new clients. I’m helping them develop social media strategies and having a blast. I love to come up with ideas to promote businesses. I really believe that social media has changed the playing field now. Sure there will always be advertising, but I love the interaction with customers. Word of mouth baby! It has been and will always be the way to effectively reach your target audience.
As much as I love doing… I need time to just be Tiff!
Jeff and I have taken a week off to visit our friend Erin Lee in Memphis. I love to travel…and just be.
I am sitting in her loft in downtown Memphis as I write this. I really love this town! This has been a real vacation. No agenda, no hurrying to see sights, we are just chillin. I needed this time off. We are headed to Clarksdale, MS next to get shacky at Erinz Shack. She recently finished her shack at Shacksdale Motel. This coming weekend is The Most Southern Weekend On Earth festival at Ground Zero. Rumor has it that Morgan Freeman will be in town. Ya know I’ll snap a pic of that!
Feeling a little creative the past two days. So, I decided to snap pictures of some of my favorite sites in Memphis. Can’t seem to embed it, so click on the link. Enjoy!
A true vacation is a chance to relax and to escape everyday life by retreating to a place in the woods or a lovely secluded beach; even if it is for only one night. Recently, the Weekend Retweaters’ were invited to stay at the Inn & Spa At Cedar Falls. Michele Savoldi, Rose Landon and I were thrilled to have this opportunity to retreat from our hectic lives and be pampered at the Inn.
A short senic drive from Columbus, Ohio; The Inn & Spa At Cedar Falls is located south of Columbus in Hocking Hills. Hocking Hills is a special place for me. Some of my earliest memories are of camping at “old man in the cage”; at least that is what I called it. I loved Old Man’s Cave, despite the fact that I really believed there was an old man living in the “cage”. As a teenager, I went with a youth group to Geneva Hills regularly and took my first independent road trip with my friends to Hocking Hills. My husband and I have taken road trips on our Harley there just to get away and a couple years ago celebrated our anniversary at The Inn & Spa At Cedar Falls. Hocking Hills is an ideal getaway spot for both adventure and relaxation.
Life is enough of an adventure at times. I was looking forward to a relaxing getaway.
The first impression of The Inn & Spa at Cedar Falls is simply inviting. The landscaping is just gorgeous! There is plenty of outdoor seating that seem to say, “relax and sit for a while.” The outstanding staff welcomed us with an impressive attention to details. Checking into the Hickory Hollow Cabin was yet another confirmation that this would be a retreat in the woods, a true vacation.
After I checked into our cabin, I headed straight for the Spa. I had a message appointment with Randall Wellman, spa manager. The Spa is in a former cabin tucked in the woods and offers a variety of treatments that all sound fabulous. The view of the woods from the message room is so peaceful. I felt as if I was getting a message out in nature. It was the perfect start to the retreat! Randall told me that they do spa treatments for couples, mother/daughters and girls getaways. I will be back!
Michele, Rose and I had a great time hanging out at the cabin and exploring the grounds. When we arrived at the restaurant for our dinner reservations, it was filled with couples having romantic dinners and groups enjoying each other’s company. We watched an older couple holding hands as they sat and talked on the deck outside the window by our table. It was fun to imagine our own version of their story. The Executive Chef, Anthony Schultz has prepared an incredible menu. The food is amazing! I had the Fennel & Cardamom Rubbed Salmon, served with linguine and cheesecake for desert. Michele and Rose both had incredible looking dishes. Pleasantly filled from dinner, we welcomed a walk back to the cabin.
The next morning we enjoyed the morning with coffee on the back deck. The deck is built up and feels like a tree house in the woods. Still thinking about dinner the night before, we headed back to the restaurant for breakfast. I loved the homemade granola, fresh fruit and pancakes served with an orange butter. It was fabulous!
After breakfast we had the chance to chat with the Innkeepers, Ellen and Terry. As always, one of my favorite parts of travel is the people you meet! I love their story. Ellen’s mother, Anne Castle had a dream and vision for the Inn & Spa At Cedar Falls. Ellen and Terry met and fell in love working towards Anne’s dream. Eventually, the couple took over operating the Inn, which became a wonderful lifestyle to raise their family in. It was really fun to listen to their commitment to the growth and development of their business. They recently added a beautifully designed meeting facility. Once again, I was impressed with the attention to detail. Ellen and Terry seem to work so well together. Ellen is committed to their mission and vision, while Terry is diligent at using green methods in building.
As I checked out that morning, I was already planning my next retreat from life. I love the atmosphere, the food, the pampering, the people and the service. I want to return with my husband, my friends and my family. I think everyone needs a true vacation from time to time.
Visiting Clarksdale, MS for the first time, you get the feeling there is a story residing. Blues is the main attraction. Enthusiasts flock to Clarksdale to celebrate, honor and experience the blues. To sing the Blues, the legend has it that Robert Johnson sold his soul to the devil at the Crossroads of 61 & 49. Decades later a growing number of people find themselves at a crossroad in life and are choosing to contribute to the story.
The Shacksdale Motel is a story in the making.
Erin Lee from Memphis first visited Clarksdale on New Years Eve 2004, celebrating at Ground Zero Blues Club and staying at the Shackup Inn. Since then, she has made New Year’s Eve in Clarksdale an annual event. Erin soon began to envision building her own “shack-o-miniums”, complete with dogtrots (sleeping porch). In 2009 had a random discussion with Barry Thornhill. Barry and his wife Sally wanted to organize a Blues Festival. Erin’s friend Jim Field had just purchased six acres across from the Shackup Inn. Erin knew Jim and Barry needed to connect. Within two weeks of the introductions, the shareshack concept was given birth, which became the Shacksdale Motel. Erin likes to say that Barry is the gasoline to a project. By September 2009 construction was underway.
Erin's Shack
Reminiscing over the past year, Erin gets choked up. Her shack is perfectly decked out with treasures from a lifetime of collecting. Always the gracious hostess, Erin enjoys telling the story of each detail in her shack. “Barry Thornhill, Roy Thornhill and Jim Field have my upmost respect and made my shack happen,” Erin says. She also credits her son Josh and the kindness of family and friends. Now open for business, reservations can be made at the Shackup Inn. The partners regularly pinch themselves over the story they find themselves in.
The Characters of Clarksdale
The fascinating part of travel for me is not necessarily the destination, but the people you meet. Staying at the Shacksdale Motel, the people will welcome and entertain you. Bill Talbot, one of the owners of the Shackup Inn, is hilarious with a constant flow of original content. Another owner, Guy Malvesi has a legendary attitude. Erin fondly says, ” He is a kermudgeon that doles out the charm and abuse equally.” The locals who were born and raised in the Delta are as sweet as pie and will serve up a healthy portion of their famous southern hospitality.
Many of the new characters of Clarksdale have chunked corporate America and international careers. Mainly associated with the Blues and art, they originate from all over the world. A couple from Florida owns the Hambone Art Gallery. Another couple, one from Holland and the other from New York, created the Rock-n-Roll & Blues Herritage Museum. Randall Andrews, the chef at Rust, was born in the Delta, moved to Las Vegas to pursue a career as a chef to LA celebrities and returned to give back to his community. John Henshall from Australia passed through on a whim and now comes back regularly. Although not a permanent resident, John was given the key to the city for his work on an economic report he completed to help in the revitalization of Clarksdale.
Whether it’s the Blues at the juke joints or the art that brings you to Clarkdale, once you uncover the stories you will fall in love with the culture and the people. Be sure to cop a squat at The Shacksdale Motel! And while you kick back on the porch listening to the Blues, dream up your own place in the Clarksdale lure.
This year could not have been planned…my focus board and goal setting were useless! All I can say is that God has blessed me. In letting go I gained much more than expected.
On January 17th I launched DoingLifeBeingTiff. I was desperately seeking purpose in “to be or not to be”. Over the course of the year I shared with you this crazy journey in true Tiff style…transparently.
At the beginning of the year I read Elizabeth Gilbert’s Eat Pray Love. Jeff and I took a trip to Chicago in March to hear Gilbert speak. I love her take on the creativity mystery. Fearing she would never write another book that anyone would care about after Eat Pray Love , she had a revelation. Creativity comes to you, not by forced effort, but by a collaboration with a spiritual force. (I prefer to acknowledge God as my force.) People often question: “Should I be afraid that I will never amount to my potential?” and “Is my best work behind me?” No…we are not the center of the universe. Our “work” doesn’t come from us. We should, however, show up and dance what ever dance we feel compelled to dance. OOH…I LOVE THAT!
This concept inspired me to hit the road and embrace adventure. I was hoping to “find” Tiff. Riding the Harley with Jeff allowed me to escape into my alter ego…bad ass Tiff. I also had some great travel adventures on trips to Texas, Memphis, Mississippi, and New Orleans. @SoulTravelers3 convinced me that I could afford travel by letting go of stuff. So…I sold my car to pay for a month long trip to Costa Rica. I learned to be independent and adventurous on this trip, but was disappointed that I did not receive a divine revelation or direction for my future. UUGH.
One of the biggest highlights this year was the people I met and the people I reconnected with. Thanks to Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and blogging, I now have some amazing new friends. I have been so inspired by their journeys. I am struck by the way people are brought together to collaborate on projects. Just like Julie in the movie Julie and Julia, careers have risen out of the social media phenomenon. Just another confirmation to me that I should ”put myself out there” (as Jeff and I refer to it) and allow the networks to collaborate, so to speak.
At the beginning of the year I began to follow a great kindred spirit, Freda Mooncotch. I have had a great year following her journey of healing and “slowing down to the speed of life” as she puts it. I even had the opportunity to meet with her on my trip to Chicago. I’ve learned so much about the power of our thought life through her journey. She is another great example of allowing life to take shape and not allowing insecurities to derail your journey. Thanks Freda for being so transparent!
After almost a whole year of trying to figure out what I am supposed to “do”, I had a job land in my lap. A colleague and friend from my real estate days contacted me for an inside sales position. I am so grateful to have a job in our current economy and plan on saving lots of money for my passion…you guessed it travel.
As if topping on the cake, I can say that the BIGGEST blessing this year was a reconnecting with family. Thanks to social media I am more connected with my parents. (Funny, but true) My parents and I joined Tastecasting this year and have seen each other more than ever! Today I even became “friends” with my father-in-law on Facebook. Got to love that!
Change was a big theme of 2009. I guess the biggest change came from the inside out. I am so grateful and blessed. I truly believe that God has a plan for me…that I don’t need to micro-manage. So, I don’t plan on setting goals this year or “work” at finding myself…just hope to collaborate and dance with the creator!
The world is just getting smaller everyday, Ya’all
Last weekend I was invited to sample some goodies from the Collin Street Bakery. When I visited their website it dawned on me that I’ve been to the bakery. What a small world! The bakery that has been “Serving the Best Baked Goods Since 1896″ is located in Corsicana, Texas. We have family in Corsicana and have taken the kids to the historic location on West 7th Ave. Aunt Diane always brings the best baked goods to family functions.
I thouroughly enjoyed the day of the tastings. While the Collin Street Bakery is known for their DeLuxe Texas Fruitcake, my new favorite is the White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cheescake. I learned there is more than one type of fruitcake. My favorite is the Apricot Pecan Cake. Jeff’s favorite is the Apple Cinnamon Pecan Cake. In addition to what we sampled, the bakery also serves cookies, bundt cakes, breads, muffins and Costa Rican coffee. This will make great Christmas gifts! They have a 100% guarantee and can deliver straight to my home. Although, our family wouldn’t mind if we took a trip to Corsicana!
Then I learned about Collin Street Bakery’s Costa Rican connection. Now here is how the world gets even smaller for me ya’all!
To guarantee the freshest pineapple and papaya for their baked goods, in 1991 The Collin Street Bakery founded Finca Corsicana a few miles from Mount Poas. I’ve been in the area when I traveled in Costa Rica. The pineapple and papaya in Costa Rica melt in your mouth! In my opinion, this was a very wise business move for the bakery. Not only did they insure the best quality for their baked goods, the 3000 acres pineapple farm has become a destination for tourists interested in eco-tourism. I’ve written about Eco-tournism in Costa Rica. I love the concept of visiting the farms and supporting the local communities! In 2005 Finca Corsicana built a tourist facility to welcome visitors to their farm. I have another reason to return to Costa Rica!
It was fun to connect with a company that has been serving our family in Corsicana for years and to learn they love Costa Rica as much as I do. It is a small world!
My biggest project has been Weekend Retweat. We finally have our new web site www.WeekendRetweat to record all our great adventures. I’m very excited about all the latest developments with our group. We’ve added a few more faces and began covering Independent Travel. This new category will be a place for the Retweaters to share all the cool places they travel with their family and friends. There are so many great sights to see and people to meet along the way!
