Enzo’s Pizza, please be here to stay

I’m a proud Stone Mountainer, and our next-door neighbor is Tucker, Ga.  When I think “good places to eat,” Tucker normally isn’t my first choice.  A lot of Tucker is mostly industrial anyway, and the restaurants there have struggled even before the economic downturn.  What used to be the Tanner’s is now the Moe’s, an Arby’s just shut down, etc.  One particular location (formerly a Hardee’s then a Schlotzsky’s) is now home to Enzo’s Pizza.

My mom has mentioned Enzo’s to me before and usually goes with large groups of friends.  Arriving home this afternoon from Valdosta, Ga., my mom took me to Enzo’s to catch up on my weekend.  I’m SO glad she did.  In addition to my mom’s great company, I had a nice experience at the restaurant, and fingers crossed that it will break the curse of that building.  

I had a slice of pizza at an extremely reasonable price, and the ingredients were fresh and delicious.  The highlights of Enzo’s, however, were the frosted Sweetwater brewery glasses everyone, even those ordering water and non-alcoholic drinks, gets to enjoy.  Also, Enzo’s seems like a sports bar inside, the outside patio is a beautiful stacked stone space with a fireplace and fountain.  I expected the food to be good, but these touches make Enzo’s Pizza unique.

Enzo’s is perfect for those in the east metro area who want a fresh flavor but don’t want to drive all the way to Decatur.  My hope is for the restaurant to not only continue to flourish, but that it would breathe some life into restaurant life in Tucker.  

 

Enzo's Pizza, Hugh Howell Rd.

Freedom!

I’ll be honest, I wanted to make “I’m a big girl now” the title of this post, but I couldn’t get the Pampers jingle out of my head, and I thought that might come across the wrong way.

Anywho, sorry for the long silence…the reason is…I graduated!

Here are some pictures:

Me at the Arch. I know...original. But I have been waiting for this moment for a long time.

So glad Dr. Jones got to announce my name! Best professor at UGA.

The fam!

The last few weeks have been spent packing, unpacking and starting my internship at Cookerly Public Relations in Atlanta.  I’m in my fourth week now, and I couldn’t be happier.  It’s been really interesting, taking what I learned for two years, combining that knowledge with “real world” information and developing my own PR style.  Look for more updates about Cookerly, life and all fresh things in Atlanta soon!

Harry’s Pig Shop–A Responsible Restaurant

Athens is known for its great restaurants.  We have Southern food, organic food, ethnic food, townie food, etc.

One of the newest restaurants in Athens is Harry’s Pig Shop, in the Homewood Village Shopping Center. The food is enough reason to go–great barbeque and eclectic spins on traditional dishes. I highly recommend the pork & scallion wontons for an appetizer.

There is another reason, however, to visit Harry’s. It is one of the most environmentally responsible businesses I have seen in a long time, and that is so refreshing in an industry where a lot of food, paper, plastic and water is wasted every day.

While the business uses throw-away dishes and utensils, the items are made out of a corn-base, recycled material and decreasing the amount of water used in cleaning. Anyone from Georgia knows how important responsible water use is–we’ve been in a drought a looooong time. By helping reduce the amount of non-biodegradable waste, as well as contributing to the local market, Harry’s Pig Shop is helping the Athens economy and environment. You shouldn’t need another reason to go besides the food, but if you did, the “feel good” feeling from helping out is a good one!

You can find a complete menu at Harry’s Web site.

And if you’re looking for a great blog about food in Athens, try Katherine Strate’s blog. Great information, great pictures, great blog.

The most important part of PR…

To me, the most important part of PR is honesty. Honesty covers a multitude of situations, including admitting when you’re wrong. A few months ago, I wrote a blog post about companies acknowledging applications and replying to applicants so the waiting period was less painful. After talking with a few of my colleagues and mentors, I realize that I have possibly miscommunicated how I feel, and certainly cast myself in a different light than I would like to be viewed.  

Scott Williamson from Coca-Cola reminded a group of Grady students to always think about how we’re developing a brand for ourselves. In my case, the “Anna” brand.

When I wrote about companies acknowledging applicants, I was in no way trying to attack any company or the HR reps or any other person who looks through applicants and decides who to contact. While I feel that I wrote honestly, I have possibly damaged the “Anna” brand. 

I have heard recently from teachers and professionals that our generation thinks we’re entitled to something. This can be confusing as well, because for every teacher and professional that tells you to not act that way, there is another telling you how great you are. But the point remains–do not let your delivery harm your message. In trying to convey a message of respect for everyone, I came off as disrespectful. As the younger generation, the entry-level generation, we must be mindful of our elders and those with more experience. 

Tact is a beautiful thing.

If I offended you or anyone in my former blog entry, I apologize.

Not only do I have the bug…I love the bug!

And, no, I’m not referring to the swine flu bug.

My friend and Creative Consultants team member, Sara Lett, posted about this Web site on her blog. I clicked…and fell in love. 

I’m always open for travel, but not only was this Travel Channel site graphically stunning and very interesting, it gave me the best/closest to what I actually think I am personality test.

With finals approaching, it’s nice just to get away…even if it’s a few minutes on a Web site.  Check out http://www.ihavethebug.com/ NOW! 

FYI, I’m: logical, practical, but not to the point to be annoying (it actually said that, I didn’t put that in,) realistic, thorough, dependable, outstanding babysitter

Travel Bug symptoms: aversion to confined spaces, deep and contented sighs, and an obsession with accruing miles

I should visit Mt. Kilimanjaro and Aspen, Colo. Aspen–yes please! Kiliminjaro…Hmm, we’ll see.

If I weren't Southern, I'd be from Colorado

 

 

I'll have to think about this one.

Come put the g-r-e-e-n in p-a-r-t-y!

Come and celebrate:

EARTH DAY 2009

“It’s SO Easy Being Green!” with Kermit the Frog

Wednesday, April 22 from 10-3 PM at Tate Plaza

UGA Go Green Alliance and Physical Plant Division invite YOU to come and learn how to LIVE GREEN while enjoying FREE FOOD, GIVEAWAYS, LIVE MUSIC AND ANIMALS. Special guest speaker Mayor Heidi Davison along with Hairy Dawg and UGA Cheerleaders will be attendance. Student organizations and clubs along with local businesses and restaurants will have booths with fun games and prizes to give away. Come and see what we mean, It’s SO Easy Being Green!

A fresh company

I found out about this company through a friend of mine, and when I check it out, I have to admit it’s like a breath of fresh air.

Ordinarily Amazing is a Web-based company all about realizing the extraordinary in everyday life.  The Web site has no agenda.  It’s simply people sharing their stories, sharing joy and passing around hope.  OA was created by Kristi Turner, a former exec who grew tired of the daily hustle and bustle of the corporate world, and decided to focus her energy on her passions instead.  Inspired by her mother’s extraordinary, yet ordinary, life, she founded Ordinarily Amazing.  Turner is currently working on a book to share what she has found with America.  The company is also based in my hometown of Atlanta, shout out!

I can log on to this Web site and not be inundated with advertisements or opportunities, blah blah blah.  It’s nice to just come to it after a long day at school and read something encouraging.  I’ve even posted my own stories before to pass on what I have received.  I don’t like dark chocolate, but my mom loves the Dove dark chocolate, and I love the little sayings on the insides of the wrappers.  OA is like one big Dove wrapper.

I wanted to share this cool company with all of you.  To see the Web site, go to http://www.ordinarilyamazing.com.  They also have a blog, and you can see it at http://ordinarilyamazing.wordpress.com.

Pal’s: A picture is worth more than a thousand words

 

Put a smile on my face every time we drove by

A few weekends ago, I went home with my dear friend Katherine Strate to Morristown, Tenn. On the way to her house, she drove me by Pal’s. I could hardly believe my eyes. She told me that Pal’s is famous for their sweet tea and cheddar rounds, and on the way out of town we stopped by the place to see if the tacky building was all show. It wasn’t. I got a great sweet tea, but other than the taste, the size was unbelievable! (Just like the building.) We were in the car for four hours, and I couldn’t finish it! And do you know how much the half-gallon (guessing) of tea cost me? 99 cents!  

Now the more I see this picture, the more I like it. Pal’s is upfront with their customers. Not a word mentioned and you know they sell burgers, hot dogs, fries and drinks. And the brand delivers–they stay central to their products, they sell them at a good price and they serve quality food. (By quality, I mean taste, not nutrition–as Paula Deen says, “I’m your cook, I ain’t your doctor!”)

We had a great trip. In addition to relaxing and drinking sweet tea, Katherine and I had a press release we wrote be published in the Morristown Citizen Tribune!

I attached some pictures of the countryside for your enjoyment. Hopefully they’ll be as relaxing for you as they were in person for me!

What’s in a word?

I had been searching for a new topic to write on, and when I was recently walking with my friend Leslie, I used the word “sketch.” And then it dawned on me…where do these fad words come from?

When I say fad words, I don’t mean words like “cool” or “like” that we have integrated into our everyday language.  I’m talking about the words that seem to catch on like crazy for a few months on then burn out.  Looking at this from a PR and communications aspect, I wanted to know why these words caught on in the first place.  There are selected phrases as well, for example, while people used the word “hot” to describe things before, when every other sentence out of Paris Hilton’s mouth was “That’s Hot,” every teenage girl was suddenly shouting “That’s hot” from the rooftops and printing the phrase on t-shirts.  

Another perfect example is from the movie Mean Girls where Gretchen is determined to have everyone refer to good things as “fetch.”  (She wasn’t nearly as successful as Paris, but if you ask me, “fetch” is far more unique than “hot.”)  But back to my original point–what’s the point in trying to make a word catch on anyway?  As a communicator, this phenomenon baffles me.

Don't worry Gretchen, I think you're fetch!

Here are some words that I thought of and my friends on Twitter helped me brainstorm:

“Sketch”…I have to admit, I still like this one

“Stoked”…we’re in suburban Atlanta people, not Orange County

“Dunzo”…again with the Laguna Beach talk

“FAIL!”…this one is a new one I haven’t made my mind up about

“Get excited!”…don’t be surprised if spirit-fingers follow this exclamation

“Clutch”…this is my roommates choice-I think of a manual car, she thinks the best thing since sliced bread

“Stellar”…reminds me of astronomy

“FALSE!”…I was told this is where “FAIL!” started, origins from “internet geeks” (His words, not mine, and I would be considered an internet geek myself.

Where do these words come from?  And what makes them so interesting to catch on.  So far, I only have two theories. 

1.  We want to be like the people that we see using these words

2.  We’re tired of our normal, everyday watered-down language and are seeking some variety.

What are your thoughts?  And what are some words I’ve missed?

Thanks, teach!

I received this link from my sociology professor. In my effort to keep this blog about all things unique, I wanted to share it with the blogging world.

He’s definitely fresh. To me, he sounds like Will Smith a.k.a. Fresh Prince.

But just for Professor Dave, who else thinks this is not occupational deviancy?

http://www.todaysbigthing.com/2009/03/16