This year in Georgia, I think the fall colors are better than ever!  On a few of my morning walks, I tried to focus on nature and see the beauty!  I decided some of those "natural wonders" would make up a nice little Wordless Wednesday post!  So here goes...

Have you ever seen this many acorns/acorn caps on one little limb...ever?

This picture doesn't do justice to the fantastic brilliant red color of this maple tree!

I wear a Size 8.5-9 shoe... that's one BIG Oak leaf!!

This little leaf just caught my eye... looks like someone was trying to spray paint a peace sign on it!  Or something like that

HAPPY FALL, YA'LL!!

You're Invited! 

Pull up a chair and Sit a spell!

Come on Down!

Its the 2nd annual Atlanta REbarCamp!  (or is it the first annual, since the first one was the premiere / inaugural REBarCamp? ...I'm sure someone knows!)

Either way, some of the brightest minds in the Atlanta area are coming together on Friday, October 28th to share, learn, network and have a little fun!

This year we're meeting on the west side of town in Cobb County.  (last year we were Downtown)  And for those of you who have never been to Cobb County - our location is just around the corner from Atlanta's most famous landmark - the Big Chicken!  (Yes, the big chicken. Only in the south!)

Go here and register - the fee covers facility rental and refreshments! 

If you're not familiar with the area around the Big Chicken - take minute and watch the video directions!  (compliments of Randy Barnes) Or you can copy and paste the actual link in your browser to watch! 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfI7jMTF47o&feature=player_embedded

Wear comfortable clothes.  Bring your iPad, netbook, laptop or a pad of paper, just don't forget your pen! 

Plan to stay all day, half a day or as long as you want!

See you there on Friday!

The Holiday Season is right around the corner!  And there are so many things happening... festival, plays, concerts, recitals, holiday home tours, Christmas Tree lightings... I could go on and on. 

Every year, we collect all the local events happening in the Atlanta area and create a beautiful 2 month calendar.  It's become a popular marketing piece for our local Atlanta clients.  (And we hear their clients love receiving it!)

It's a 2 month calendar that's filled with ideas and events for everyone - from families to teens to seniors.  We feature all the traditional, regular advertised events like the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra or the Nutcracker Ballet at the Fox Theater.  In addition, we also find wonderful events that are truly "hyper local" and ususally free!

Our graphics designer uses InDesign to create our calendar.  But you could just as easily find a calendar on the Microsoft website and add your own events. 

Or set up a jumbo postcard in Publisher!  Find a beautiful photo to put on the front and float a text box over the photo with a list all of your favorite events!  The hardest part will be narrowing down your list of favorites!

So give it a try!  Create a local, custom Holiday Marketing piece and share it with your sphere and clients!  If you're in the Atlanta area - please give us a call and check out our pricing for the Atlanta Happenings Calendar!  770.414.9393

Google – it’s one heck of a company with so many great ideas and products.  Gmail, Google Docs, Google Maps, Calendar, Reader... the list goes on and on!

Did you know that Google has a Text Message "Search" feature?  Even if you have a web browser on your smart phone, you might find Google's SMS search easier. For one, it's incredibly fast-- no clicking links and searching through results while you try to find your glasses!  You use special keywords to get immediate access to information.

Here’s an example: text "weather 30329" to 466453 (GOOGLE) and instantly receive the current weather in Atlanta, along with a three day forecast.  Cool! …or Hot!  It works with any zip code.

Movie times, no problem!  This little feature comes in handy when the gang says, “let’s catch a movie!”  Just text "movies" plus the zip code for movie times in your area along with options to view more films, more theater times, addresses and phone numbers. 

For the ‘directionally challenged’, who don’t have a GPS; you can get step-by-step driving directions in a text!!  Simply text the word "directions [your start address] to [your destination address]  I used this feature recently and it was spot on!

There are over 22 "hot search keywords" you can get your hands on information faster than searching via your browser and squinting to read! To see a demo along with all of the search features (and instructions on how to use them), check out the Google Mobile SMS page!

And of course, we have to use the disclaimer "don't text and drive" and “normal texting charges apply.” However we’re pretty sure most real estate professionals have unlimited texting or data plans today and that realtors are excellent drivers!

image source: wired.com

I've been noticing that more and more of my neighbors and friends are starting to compost or installing a Rain Barrel.  Maybe it's a trend - maybe some folks fancy themselves as a suburban farmer. 

At my house, I have a garden! So it was a natural progression for me and my husband to start Composting and get a Rain Barrel.  We started composting 5 years ago, because we have that famous Georgia red clay soil - and it needed some help! 

Leaves, grass clippings, coffee grounds, potato and carrot peels, egg shells... you name it - we compost it!  And what a difference it has made in our garden soil.

Then 3 years ago, we added a Rain Barrel.  It's amazing how much water we collect during a 30 minute summer rainstorm!  Having a rain barrel is a great way to water your planters throughout the summer without spending a lot of money on water.

When Georgia was experiencing a drought and there were strict water restrictions - our Rain Barrel saved the day for our garden!

So next time you're looking for a unique and "Green" closing gift for your suburban clients, this might be the ticket!  For the DIY client, a Rain Barrel kit runs about $30 and Rain Barrels start at $100. 

** Disclaimer: I'm not a tree-hugger or a "greenie", just doing my part to Conserve Water, ReCycle and ReUse! 

As usual, Eleanor Thorne says it all! So it's just easier to Re-blog it!

You can bet I'll be working the 24 hour diet, bottle tan and makeup tricks for the Atlanta Virtual Rain Camp Meetup tomorrow! 

Yes, it's tomorrow - Wednesday, September 7th - at Gordon Biersch in Buckhead! (not Midtown)  Thom Abbott and Lynn Friedman got the party started, making arrangements to meet between 4:30-7:30PM. 

The Virtual Rain Camp information is here.  So mark your calendars, I look forward to meeting everyone IRL at Gordon Biersch!

*image courtesy of Gordon Biersch website

Postlets Pro....  Thank you Zillow! 

Everyone loves "free" and this is a wonderful gift from the folks at Zillow.  If you're not already using Postlets, mark your calendar for next week's training class hosted by Brad Andersohn.  August 4th at 10AM PST. Click on this link for the registration!

Big thanks to Sara Bonert for sharing this info!

Patty Keller - AnotherME

The Virtual Assistants of Real Estate

Wine Tasting Weekend in North Georgia!

There are some beautiful wineries in the North Georgia Mountains and I had the opportunity to visit several with my girlfriends the other weekend!  We enjoyed a "Flight of Whites" along with lunch at Montaluce.  With 5 glasses in the flight - needless to say our table was full of wine!

I recommend Three Sisters, Wolf Mountain, Blackstock and FrogTown too!

Link Building and Search Engine Optimization.(SEO) Today, the major search engines look for strong, trusted websites with links from their site to yours as part of the whole SEO ranking process.

As a realtor, you need to have these inbound links to augment your SEO (search engine optimization). However, most real estate agents don’t know where to begin when it comes to link building! And most don’t realize it’s a tedious and time-consuming task.

Good News!  My friend, Eleanor Thorne has come to your rescue! Here’s a list of 60 Link Building sites that you can link to and start moving up the page on Google!

Yes, there are 60 sites and if you need a little help to get it all done, just let me know! This is the ideal project for a Virtual Assistant!

Last week, I wrote an article on AnotherME talking about different things you could do if you only had 5 minutes. Well, I found another one and I couldn’t resist sharing it with you.

Have you heard about Real Estate Coach Radio.com? It’s a cool stop on the internet offering 5 minute radio snippets specifically for Real Estate Professionals. Speakers include Kevin Turner, Bernice Ross, Jimmy Dague, Andrew Wooten and a host of others talking about topics relevant to the industry today. You just click and play!

There is a new show every day and you can download to an MP3 or pick up the iTunes version. It’s free to subscribe and what a fast and fun way to grab some food for the brain!

Do you have other ideas for things you can accomplish in 5 minutes?