You probably know that there was an earthquake in Virginia this week – and it seemed to shake more than nerves and bricks around here. A dear friend send us

Since finishing school and entering the real world, I’ve realized what a big role confidence plays in how successful you are. I think it’s fair to say that most young college grads these days don’t have

According to multiple sources, the traditional gifts for a twelth anniversary are silk and linen. A more contemporary gift is pearls. Since we’re all

In preparation for a weekend trip to Chicago, I wanted to get my dear friend Lois something unique from Richmond as a hostess gift. What better place than Tinkers to find the right item. In particular, I’m a fan of

“Life is a banquet – and most poor suckers are starving to death!” is one of my favorite quotes – from one of my favorite movies: Auntie Mame with Rosalind Russell. If you’ve never seen the movie, or haven’t seen it in awhile – please watch it today. Trust me,

I’ll admit I’m snob when it comes to books. To the degree that I make judgements about people on the beach or in the airport based on the book they have (or if they don’t have one). Murder mystery =

The corporate guys at Radio Shack came through for me! I can’t believe it. You’ll recall in my post last week I’d found Fran at the Willow Lawn Radio Shack and was so impressed with her commitment to customer service that I

It all started when I took my mom’s 1990 cell phone into Radio Shack at Willow Lawn to see if they had a new battery for it. Come to find out

I spent last week at Nag’s Head, NC for the annual Beckstoffer Beach Week – a multi-generational family reunion of my husband’s family that included 14 Beckstoffers from 3 generations. In past years, there have been as many as 40-some Beckstoffers in 3 or more homes. Did I mention they’re all Type-A personalities?

Website Redesign and Search Engine Optimization — if you aren’t thinking about it you probably should be. It seems like the bulk of our proposals and ongoing work right now revolve around planning, creating or implementing a new website with enhanced internet marketing/search engine optimization strategies.

We had dinner at Lehja here in Richmond the other night, and couldn’t have been more delighted with the entire experience. The decor is gorgeous, the servers were overly-accommodating (without being annoying) and the food was

I’ve never seen Mad Men (gasp), and in the vein of true confession I was never a Seinfeld or Friends follower – I catch a rerun occassionally but I missed out on a lot of water cooler laughs over the years. But I am loving that some of the 1950′s and 1960′s

It’s that time of year – again, already. Spring break leads to Easter break leads to summer vacation weeks at the beach or taking an RV across the country or even a hop across the pond for the wedding (Megan just arrived back from London and I’m sure you’re hear all about her trip in future blogs). I’m planning on spending

It’s been a long time since I’ve blogged. Just ask Maggi, she’s been giving me the stink-eye about it for awhile.

I’m headed to Austin, Texas tomorrow to explore their weirdness, and to learn how they decided in 1996 to be the “live music capital of the world” before they actually were. It’s a pretty fascinating story

I received a retweet the other day that has become one of my new favorite little motivational sayings. It’s as simple as

I just got off the phone with a lost opportunity. We didn’t win an account that we thought we were a good fit for, and that lost client was kind enough to tell us why we didn’t win. In doing so, he reminded me of a dirty little secret in the advertising business.

Two Fridays ago, I decided to go out for lunch. I thought about what I wanted to eat and decided that the baja salad from Wendy’s would be perfect. I had tried it for the first time a few days before, and it had excellent guacamole, fresh pico de gallo and was just overall delicious!

OK, I admit I spent the last of February (and the first of March) on a lovely vacation. But stilll, my heart jumps

Well, it’s four days into February. Have you already forgotten about your New Year’s resolutions that you made and promised yourself to keep back in January? I can say that I haven’t completely forgotten about mine, but they have been pushed down on my list of life’s to-dos.

We’ve spent the last few weeks refining our “MBM Process” for a proposal. It’s been a great exercise to really look at all the steps that go into creating messaging and marketing strategies.

I was talking with a good friend and business associate earlier today, and we were discussing some of her staff. Other than senior leaders in her company, her team is content to show up for work, do what needs to be done, and leave. Nothing more.

I was reviewing a 20-page proposal yesterday, and was realizing how much I enjoy editing for grammar’s sake. I am pretty adept in correcting grammar mistakes like possessives and plurals.

At MBM, we’ve always operated more like a democracy than an oligarchy, plutocracy or monarchy (although I woudn’t mind be referred to as “Your Highness”). But I’ve had a bit of a revelation lately.

OK, I know you’ve heard that at least 100 times in your lifetime – I certainly have. But I’m not sure if there’s an antithesis that’s as familiar. I do know, however, that the inverted version is a lesson I learn continually — or more accurately it’s one that I’m taught continually but never seem to fully grasp. For example, I neglected my

OK, I have nothing interesting or thoughtful or insightful to blog about today. Plus it’s a slow week here and we’re all caught up in our favorite distractions. So, in the interest of giving you some insight into the sicker side of MBM, here are links to some of our favs. Before you go to any of these links, please follow these simple rules:

It’s a quiet day in the MBM office. While most of us are actually here, things are fairly calm. I must admit that I’m only working 2 days this week and after last week’s break it is hard to get moving!

I just finished reading Anna Karenina and was enthralled with every page. It was perfect reading for cold, snowy days in front of the fire. I can’t say enough good things about the story lines, the writing, the character development, and the emotion. So I won’t even try. Just read it

Today (during lunch of course) I dropped into RackRoom Shoes to see if I could find some replacement black pumps. My expectations were pretty low to begin with. I mean they’re not Saxons Shoes — but their price is more in my comfort zone. They had some nice options at great prices, but nothing that made me want to pull out my credit card. But before I

For those of you who know me, and more specifically, my husband – you know we have a significant amount of “things” in boxes as well as laying about in various storage areas. To Richard they are “collectibles,” to me they are “stuff.” I’m not taking a holier-than-thou approach to this subject (although occasionally I have been known to have a mild tantrum). In fact, I take full responsibility for several boxes of

Not only are Charlie Brown and The Grinch on my list of holiday have-to-sees, but my absolute favorite is A Christmas Story, which is on for 24 hours straight on TBS, December 25. Definitely looking forward to that one for sure!

Silly songs from our childhood animated holiday specials keep popping into our heads. Kelly’s a fan of Charlie Brown and The Grinch. Megan is partial to Charlie Brown and White Christmas. Courtney wasn’t a fan of Rudolph

Yes, it exists. In fact, one year back in the early 1990′s I even made one. Basically mounds of tofu

After 11 years, MBM has finally developed a real budget to manage the company! Our delightful bookkeeper/CPA developed the expense side based on the last 3 years, and the indesenpable Courtney put together the revenue side

I just spent the last half hour cleaning out our Cafe. It’s been needed for a long time, but like with all projects it took a force of nature to make me find the time to do it. Force of nature you ask? Well, first some mathematical physics:

With the warm weather we have been having this week, it’s hard to believe that it is the end of October. We have welcomed fall treats this week, thanks to some of our favorite local vendors: an assortment of candies from our friends at Heritage Printing, and a fall-inspired mix of donuts from our friends at James River Press.

I spent a whirlwind long weekend in Chicago last weekend with my dear friend Lois and her family, including my godson Charlie. And when I say whirlwind, I mean

On Monday, I accompanied Courtney and Kelly to DC for the National Capital Bank photo shoot. We left Richmond at 5 a.m., so I was worried that time would slowly creep by and we would all run out of energy. Thanks to Kelly’s careful planning, we stayed busy and remained on schedule, making the day fly by.

Our banking client in DC, The National Capital Bank, is excited about their theme for their upcoming annual report which is all about the people of the Bank. Most of my week has been spent talking to National Capital Bank customers and shareholders to write up little articles about each and their experience with the Bank.

Special thanks to National Capital Bank for bringing this cool concept to our attention. It’s from Frost (a banking, investment and insurance firm out of Texas) and it is a campaign built around the beliefs of the bank.

I’m traveling to Chicago next weekend to see my best friend from college and her family. I’m now in the typical traveler’s quandry: check bags or carry on? What’s the fee? Why is there a fee?

Over the past several years when we visited the beach with Robert, pirates have left him a map which leads him to find some of their buried treasure. They’re hoping he’ll take good care of it and one day when he’s older they’ll come and ask him to be a pirate with them!

The past month has been a whirlwind for me and my blog posts have been non-existent. I can’t promise that I’ll be back to normal for awhile but I’m working on it.

We are interviewing for a part-time fall intern. Would you or someone you know be a great intern for MBM? We offer a paid, hand’s on opportunity. Here’s our intern ad:

Some of us at MBM recently attended the AMA luncheon, featuring Todd “Parney” Parnell, Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of the Richmond Flying Squirrels and Nutzy! Parney recapped what marketing and advertising avenues they pursued for the 2010 innaugural season.

I don’t know if I’m more excited about our new website, our new clients, our potential clients, or the other exciting things going on in my life!

As we continue to hear conflicting information about whether or not Earl The Hurricane will be visiting us here in Virginia, we’re also preparing for what we hope will be an exciting September. With this newly designed website

Megan and I were elated when we were surprised with new 22” monitors last week! Now we can see a lot more on our screen – it’s great, and definitely helps when comparing 2 documents. Thanks MBM!

As Labor Day approaches, everyone seems to be snapping out of summer mode. Although no one at MBM has a school-aged child, it is certainly interesting how the school year still affects both our personal and business lives.

Every day this month I’ve looked at the calendar and said “I can’t believe it’s August already!” Truly, August 1 is the anniversary of MBM – and we’re now in our 11th year.

I sure have been busy with websites lately. We recently launched a campaign-specific site in conjunction with National Capital Bank’s Move to NCB campaign, and we’re currently working on a homepage and full website refresh for them as well.