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Girl's Weekend

Karen Hall • August 22, 2018

As Lauren mentioned in an earlier post, Stefan gave us all a generous amount of Christmas cash to be used on an experience. The only stipulations were that 1) all the money was utilized and 2) we write a blog post about what we did.

 

My experience was a wonderful weekend with three amazing women – my best friend since seventh grade, her sister and her niece. Well, sure, I’ve been on girl’s trips before and I’ve traveled often with this same group. We did some things to make this trip special.

 

My friend’s niece, who is a nurse, worked a double shift so she could go with us, we booked a house instead of a hotel so we could really kick back, relax and enjoy each other, and I vowed to unplug from work. As rewarding as my position at roux is, let’s face it – we all need to recharge. It’s good for the brain and the soul.

 

One first for me on this trip was a walking “ghost tour” complete with stories of sightings and hauntings all over the small town we visited. The tales were told with great energy and were quite thought provoking.

 

A first for all of us was a visit to a lavender farm. To say that the gift shop smelled amazing does not even come close. We learned about varieties of lavender, the best places to plant lavender and about how long the plants will live (5 years). We all bought plants to put in our own yards and gardens and we bought all manner of lavender scented products. Wow – did the car smell fantastic on the way home!

 

We did eight wine tastings (don’t judge us) and bought lots of our new favorite wines. This will continue the experience for all of us as we enjoy the wines ourselves and give to others as gifts. We also purchased glassware, pottery, jewelry, wine racks, t-shirts and hats.

 

We painted pottery. It was fun to do together and the folks who ran the shop were nice enough to prioritize our pottery so we could get it before we left for home. While none of the pieces are perfect (a few are close), they will provide us smiles throughout the year as we see them and remember our fun weekend.

 

Oh, and we ate. We ate lots; and it was all fantastic. The people who waited on us were all super nice and a few of them were wealth’s of information about their city and their menus and were not shy about making recommendations on what to do and what to order. We all appreciated that tremendously. We shared appetizers, ate off of each other’s plates and passed delicious drinks around for table tastings – just like the family that we are.

 

While at our house away from home which was absolutely perfect for us we talked, tried to help solve each other’s problems and dilemmas, enjoyed the wonderful views, painted fingernails, enjoyed being away from our everyday routines, shed just a few tears, laughed almost constantly, and as you probably imagined, drank a bit of wine. It was just the adventure we all needed.

 

I’ve included a photo taken at one of the vineyards we visited. It was huge, so the photo doesn’t capture the size although it does provide a glimpse into the beauty. If you’d like to learn more about the town we visited, please go to http://dahlonega.org/
Hot Springs Food Pantry volunteers pose with their new refrigerator.

Food for Thought: Supporting the Hot Springs Food Pantry

By roux LLC • April 30, 2024
We are excited to announce the recipient of our most recent Food for Thought grant — the Hot Springs Food Pantry, located in Hot Springs, South Dakota. Food for Thought is a fund we created through The Community Foundation to offer grants to organizations that help feed children in our community. This isn’t just about money though. We’re also on the lookout for ways to teach kids about good food, to help them learn to prepare it, and to encourage them to love it as much as we do. We are always looking for organizations in our local communities whose mission aligns with ours and have specific needs we can provide grants for. Because our croux reaches far and wide, “local” doesn’t just mean Tennessee. In this case, the community is local to one of our core team members, Lauren. After moving back to her hometown of Hot Springs, South Dakota to be closer to family, she got involved with the local food pantry and saw a specific need there. The food pantry needed a refrigerator so they could provide more fresh produce and protein to families in the area. They were also seeing an above average need in the community due to rising costs which has depleted some of their funds. The grant received from Food for Thought will go towards these efforts and help provide fresh food for families in the area. 

Say hello to Annie

By roux LLC • February 27, 2024
We’re back with another creative croux feature. Normally, these pieces are put together by one of our freelance writers, Annie Van Essen, but this time, we’re spotlighting her!

Mardi Gras 2024: Celebrating 10 years of good times

By Lauren Weiss • February 12, 2024
We celebrated our 10-year anniversary in July 2023, making this our tenth Mardi Gras as a krewe. We are so thankful for the many projects, partnerships, clients and friends who have been a part of our journey so far. The essence of Mardi Gras can be summed up in one lighthearted phrase, “ Laissez les bons temps rouler!” — French, for “Let the good times roll!” We’ve had a lot of good times here at roux over the last decade, and we’re excited for them to keep on rollin’. Bon Mardi Gras and merci beaucoup, friends!
Lauren, Stefan, Lianna and Karen sit together on a couch.

Sharing our 2024 “Words of the Year”

February 5, 2024
Every January we like to gather as a croux and plan for the year ahead. It serves as a holiday celebration and a strategy session. We look forward to it every year. Over the last few years, we’ve also begun incorporating a “word of the year” practice, where we each choose a word that we will focus on throughout the year.

A little bit of “lanyappy”

By roux LLC • February 17, 2023
This year, we decided to take our merry-making to the streets of Nashville to see how well the average passerby could interpret some of our favorite Creole vocab. The results were… entertaining. See for yourself!
Favorite Super Bowl Commercials 2023

Our favorite Super Bowl commercials — EVER

By roux LLC • February 13, 2023
Every year, our croux puts together a roundup of our favorite Super Bowl commercials. This time around, we thought we’d switch it up and ask for submissions of our team’s favorite commercials EVER. Whether from 2023 or 2003, we want to celebrate the advertising magic of Super Bowl Sunday.

Say hello to Kyle

By roux LLC • February 2, 2023
Here at roux, we have a wonderful team of creatives supporting us, including photographers, videographers, writers, and designers. Today, we’re excited to introduce you to Kyle Sorvick, one of the talented graphic designers we work with as part of our extended croux.

Christmas greetings from partners and friends

By roux LLC • December 23, 2022
We all look forward to receiving Christmas greetings from friends and loved ones, whether it’s a social media post or a physical card to display in our house or hang on the fridge. But when it comes to company Christmas cards, corporate greetings can sometimes fall a bit flat. We love when a company spices things up and sends a message that’s genuine and fun. Videos can also be a more effective and affordable option for a company, when you consider the reach made possible with email and social media, and the savings on printing and postage. Averitt and JetRight are two local companies that knock it out of the park every year when it comes to their video Christmas cards. Whether they choose to be lighthearted and silly or share a heartwarming message, watching their videos shows you the real people and spirit behind the companies. Check them out below!
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