Casey and I just returned from a week long “lock down.” We made the decision a couple of months ago that we had to get away for a week of uninterrupted time to work on our new Power of I marketing book for the interior design industry. A “lock down” for us means no phone calls and NO EMAIL. Yikes!!! That’s really hard for me.

WOW! We accomplished so much during our “lock down.”

The Power of I is authored by Casey, Jackie, and myself. Since we had already spent considerable time on our content, this past week we worked on additional text, graphics, and Studio templates. Not only will it include never before heard of marketing ideas but we are also developing a supplementary Studio Marketing Module with actual templates to create your own marketing materials within Studio. The templates will include electronic storyboards, numerous unique postcards, brochures, door hangers, gift certificates, request for testimonials, and magazine articles, just to name a few. This book is guaranteed to help you implement a marketing plan that works, looks professional, and will also help you establish processes to systematize all your marketing efforts. Look for more information on our exciting new project in the upcoming months.

About the Mayor’s Mansion Inn . . .
For our “lock down,” we knew that we needed a quiet place to be creative. We thought a bed and breakfast would be the perfect environment to keep us focused and inspired. We didn’t want to spend a lot of time driving, so Casey found a B&B in Chattanooga, TN, called “The Mayor’s Mansion Inn.” We made sure our room had a large table so we would have plenty of room to spread out our work. We took two 22″ external monitors and external keyboards, which made our work so much easier. My laptop served as an extended monitor; I loved it. We worked on the book for twelve hours each day of our six-day stay.

I took all the photos below with my iPhone. Hmmm, I couldn’t seem to correct the back light issue when Cindy, the owner of the mansion, took the photo of Casey and I.

All the rooms at the mansion had custom made window and bed treatments.

The bathroom had the longest shower curtain I have ever seen, I couldn’t capture the shower curtain in one shot. I think the ceiling was almost 12′.

I didn’t realize Casey had never stayed at a B&B until we were eating our first gourmet breakfast on Tuesday morning when she mentioned to another guest that this was her first stay at a B&B. At one point, Casey said “I am never leaving here.” I can certainly understand why she made that statement. The staff waited on us hand and foot and our wish was their command. We were both amazed and loved every minute of our stay!

Everyday, we were served a three-course breakfast. I know you are thinking, “A three course breakfast?” First, we were served an appetizer (fresh fruit in a stemmed glass on a doily), the second course was the main course (French Toast with Banana’s Foster), and finally the last course was a dessert (one day was Strawberry shortcake; shown below). Casey and I never knew we should be having dessert for breakfast. Getting back into reality after our fairy tale life at the B&B will be a difficult adjustment for the first couple of days. Who is going to bring my hot tea and Casey’s coffee on a silver platter? We need to book another trip soon!