People sometimes ask me what I do for fun, truth be told I probably spend my evenings a little differently than most 20-somthings. Thursday night I went to a Marketing Workshop hosted by Burbank’s Team Business. It was a small group that showed up, so just about everyone in the room got personal attention from the Speaker, Dennis Bernstein, a Professor of Marketing at Woodbury University. Good time had by all.

You can always use more information, you can always do something better, your marketing strategy should be like a living entity: growing, evolving, maturing, proving that it is fit and that it will survive in the business world where there is no doubt that “survival of the fittist” is the name of the game. Maybe your competition was at this workshop, maybe he/she learned how to go after your clients…maybe you should’ve been there.

So what did I learn? PR is king. One attendee asked, “If I only have the budget to do one thing, what should I do?” Dennis replied without any hesitation, “Advertising is nice if you have a lot of money, but if you can only do one thing, HIRE A PR FIRM. PR will do more for you than advertising ever could.” Hmm…so I chewed that over last night, made some adjustments to my marketing plan, and now have a strategy that integrates hiring a PR guy. Even though I have quite a few notes from the workshop, I think that one tid-bit made the night worthwhile. So thanks Dennis.

Team Business has a number of workshops throughout the year. The next workshop is on June 25th, 6:30-9:00pm and it is called “All About Business Loans.” If you’d like to see a schedule and discription of the upcoming workshops, they are all posted on the justBurbank Events page, or you can go to the Team Business website. The workshops are FREE for Burbank Chamber Members, $10 for Burbank residents/businesses and $15 for “outsiders” or non-Burbankians. That being the case, you have no excuse, and seriously, YOU should go…yes you.

If you would like more info about Team Business visit their website or call 818-238-5198.

So I was driving down the street the other day and I noticed a pizza delivery car in someone’s driveway. The car caught my eye because I have been on the lookout for a great pizza place to feature in this blog. The sign on the car is what convinced me to give this pizza place a try, the sign read, “Garlic Jim’s Pizza.” Any restaurant with the word Garlic in the title is going to get my business (at least once) simply because I have been known to eat roasted garlic cloves by the fork-full.

I decided to check out their website and see what they had to offer….and there it was, the Spinach Artichoke Pizza. This was a no brainer, I placed my order and waited patiently for the delivery guy.

This pizza was everything I had hoped for: large-falling-off-the-pizza pieces of artichoke, spinach peeking out of gooey layers of cheese, and bite size pieces of roasted garlic. It was like the bad-breath angels parted the clouds and starting singing right there in my living room. I had to get out a fork and knife to handle these generous toppings. Then, I got my next pleasant surprise of the evening…the perfect crust. Now, sure, “perfect” is obviously subjective, and I know there are lots of different versions of what may be considered perfect crust. Apparently Garlic Jim and I had the same opinion on this matter. The crust was crisp on the outside and soft and fluffy in the middle. It was also seasoned just enough to distract me from the fact that I was just stuffing tons of carbs into my mouth, but not so much that I had to reach for my water after every bite. And to literally top it all off, there was a nice hint of cheese baked onto the outside of the crust (cue angels singing).

So, do I recommend giving Garlic Jim’s a whirl? Yes. Should all of you garlic lovers out there rejoice and order the Spinach Artichoke Pizza? Definitely.

My younger sister and her boyfriend seem to go to more costume/theme parties in a month, than I’ve ever been to in my life…they’re just those kind of people. This week, she came down to Burbank for a visit (she lives in San Francisco) and made time to hit up one of her favorite costume shopping spots: American Way.

This local thrift store has been around for as long as I can remember. It is located on Magnolia Blvd between Hollywood Way and Buena Vista. It has a huge inventory of used clothing all priced just right. Everyday they have specials, and I have gotten things for as little as $0.50. If you haven’t been shopping at American Way, you should…and if you feel like thrift stores are icky, then get over yourself, take a day off from being a snob, and find a treasure hidden in the many bins of handbags, or scarves, or ties…

My sister and her boyfriend quickly made it through the store, found what they were looking for (1980’s attire) and went to their party dressed to impress. They only spent about $20 total. The people who work there are friendly and amazingly patient considering that they spend much of their day organizing the clothes after people have rumaged through everything. The only down side is that there is no dressing room. I figured out how to eliminate this as a problem many years ago…here’s my trick:

Go to American Way in layers of clothing…have on a small undershirt, and tight fitting pants or shorts. The other option is to wear a loose fitting long skirt. When you’ve found something to try on, slip it on over your shirt/shorts, or under your skirt…true, everything will be a little bulky, and you won’t be able to tell if it fits perfectly until ou get home…but when the price is $1.00, this kind of test drive should do just fine in order to make a decision. If this sounds barbaric and oh-so-wrong, then maybe thrift store shopping isn’t for you…but if you do decide to give it a try, you’ll be made to feel “normal” when you notice that EVERYONE around you is trying on clothes the exact same way.

So, if you have a special event coming up that requires specific attire, try creating an original ensemble. This will save you TONS of money, and you’ll get points if you’re New Year’s Resolution was to be more green this year (recycle-reduce-reuse!)

Lately, Kate and I have been spending many of our weekends tying up loose ends with justBurbank.com preparing for the launch. Last weekend Kate looked at me with puppy dog eyes and begged, “can we please get away from our computers for a bit and go out?” I reluctantly agreed that it was time for a field trip, and last Saturday we found ourselves at Target, one of our favorite shopping destinations.

Target seemed like a good place to go, since not only could we get a few groceries, stock up on mother’s day cards, and get a few trinkets for an upcoming baby shower…I could also get a few things for the office. Little did I know that within minutes of entering the store, we somehow migrated to the Garden section. Without planning this at all, we ended up filling up 3 carts with plants, soil, and decorative pots for Kate’s sadly under landscaped backyard. We got so jazzed about the idea of gardening and fixing up the back yard we didn’t even look at price tags. We also found a “Drought Resistant” section that was full of plants that would be perfect for the area around Kate’s pool that didn’t get any water from sprinklers.

Preparing ourselves for the worst, Kate pulled out her credit card ready to spend what she thought would surely be at least $1000. When we were done ringing our 3 carts in, the bill came to…$320!! We got enough plants to cover her garden, 6 really pretty gallon pots, and 12 bags of soil, and even remembered to get mother’s day cards, for only $320. Unbelievable.

The rest of that Saturday we spent gardening, planting all our new plants and flowers. This was an ideal break from our work, and it gave us a great workout. The whole project, including shopping time, only took about 5 hours.

Now when people come over to the house and ask Kate, “Where’d You Get all those flowers? Did you have a landscaper come over? Did your gardener do this?” She can say with pride, that she got a great deal at Target and did all the work herself (with a little help).

I highly recommend checking out Target’s Garden Center if you’re planning on bringing a little more Spring into your yard this year. The prices were right, the Drought Resistant plants will save you money in the long run, and the rest of the flower selection will make you smile. So get out there Burbank, beautify your yards, and get a little exercise this Spring by fxing up something that’s probably been on your To-Do list for way too long.

One of my favorite pastimes is going to a restaurant with a great patio and sipping on a tasty beverage with friends. Granville Café not only has a superb location on San Fernando (near the AMC), but it also has the patio, drinks and appetizers to boot.

My absolute favorite (after much empirical research) was their Berry Patch Mojito. If you’ve never tried a mojito then you’re missing out on one of the best summer drinks of all time. A mojito is traditionally made with rum, fresh mint, fresh lime, and a splash of soda water. The Granville Café has stepped this drink up a notch and added fresh berries to the mix. Not only is the presentation of this drink impeccable (it’s the kind of drink that people see from across the room and make a point to ask their waiter to bring them one as well), this drink also will bring you back to the Granville time and time again wanting another. It is sooo wonderfully fresh, light, and perfectly balanced (not too sweet, not too alcoholic, not too minty…just right). Strawberries, blackberries, blueberries and raspberries are all muddled in with the fresh mint and lime to create happiness in a glass.

You should know, that typically, I am not a rum drinker. Usually, I stay away from drinks that include rum as an ingredient. The Berry Patch Mojito is so delicious that the fact that rum is involved was a non-issue. In fact, I’d recommend this drink to anyone, rum drinker or not. However, if you swore to yourself that you’d never drink rum again, then here are some other selections I tried and loved: Tipsy Lemonade and Pearadise Martini.

If you are mysteriously not yet convinced to wander into the Granville Café, then consider this: they have an exceptional happy hour with discounted mixed drinks, beer and wine as well as deliciously discounted appetizers that runs Monday-Friday 4pm-7pm.

Once upon a time, I was a waitress at California Pizza Kitchen (nope, not the one in Burbank) and I met a number of CPK big-wigs. One of the funniest people I’ve ever met, was also the creator of the CPK Mac & Cheese recipe.

CPK has Mac & Cheese on the kids menu…BUT DID YOU KNOW, that there is also an “adult” version? No, this item is not listed on the menu, but you better believe that you can order it…and you should! The Mac & Cheese from CPK has been one of my little secrets for a number of years now. When ever I run into a Mac & Cheese enthusiast, they always have a recommendation for me as to where to find the “best” mac & cheese in town. I always politely jot down their recommendation, but then I ask them to go try the adult mac and cheese at CPK…then to email me and let me know what they thought. Without a single exception, the enthusiast always come back to me thanking me profusely (and sometimes cursing me) for intruding them to this addictive and undisputable champion.

Now, it’s not “fancy” mac and cheese, in fact there’s nothing gourmet about it. I don’t know about you, but when I’m craving this kind of comfort food all I want is three things: for it to be filling, reliable, and so good that I can’t wait until my next craving strikes. CPK’s Mac and Cheese is so good that I’m sure they don’t put it on the menu simply because they want people to continue eating their pizzas…having the mac and cheese known by the public at large might create some kind of mass hysteria should they ever run out.

By publishing this article, obviously I’m willing to risk mass hysteria…the mac and cheese is just that good…people should know about it, and it saddens me to think of how many mac and cheese enthusiast have been going without. So go, be satiated my comfort-food-loving friends! You can thank me later…

I stopped in Market City Caffe while I was out doing research for the Where’d You Get That blog. I wasn’t planning on featuring them for WYGT, but after pounding the pavement for hours, a girl’s gotta eat.

I always get the same thing whenever I go to Market City, the Pancetta Shrimp. If I’m super hungry I’ll get it as an appetizer and then another entrée as well, but more often I just get the Pancetta Shrimp and have it as my entrée.

I was trying to try new things, and find a new favorite, so I ordered a pasta dish, and had a bite of the entrée’s that my friends ordered. Not to my surprise, nothing could beat the Pancetta Shrimp. All my friends loved it, and I found myself wanting more after the last bite. When you eat something that just sings to you and calls your name as you walk by the restaurant, you know you have to feature the item in Ya Gotta Try This.

So, that said, here’s what the Market City Caffe menu has to say about the Pancetta Shrimp, “A Market City Caffe favorite since 1988. Jumbo shrimp marinated in balsamic vinegar and fresh basil, wrapped with pancetta and grilled.” Okay, as if that isn’t good enough to inspire a ride in the car, here’s what they left out: the appetizer order comes with four of these scrumptious jumbo shrimp and they are all served on a bed of broccoli, tomatoes and olives that are all equally as delicious as the shrimp themselves…I never know what to eat first, or what to save for the end, because it is all so good.

Practice what I preach: “If it is a nice day, eat on a patio. If you are at Market City Caffe, order the Pancetta Shrimp.”

With a name like Pizookie, how can you not be a little curious?

Well, I’ll be frank, even as a hard core Doritos connoisseur, with a love for all things salty and dip related, I enjoyed this cookie lovers dream. The Pizookie at BJ’s is a large cookie baked and served in a single serving pizza tin, that is topped with vanilla bean ice cream. Yes, it is as good as it sounds. Not too long ago, I had a craving. Not Doritos this time, they just were not going to do the trick. I NEEDED a good cookie, and I knew that BJ’s was the only place that was going to do my craving justice.

Just read the description, “A freshly baked, hot out of the oven, rich and delicious cookie topped with 2 scoops of vanilla bean ice cream and served in its own deep dish. Your choice of chocolate chunk, white chocolate macadamia nut, peanut butter or oatmeal raisin walnut.” I mean, come on…really…it’s the mother of all cookie desserts. And if you just feel like having your dessert in your pj’s while watching a chick flick at home, call BJ’s, place the order over the phone, and pick up your gooey chocolate goodness at their curbside take out without ever leaving your car…how perfectly great does that sound!?!

To top it all off, BJ’s is open late: Sun-Thurs 11am-12am, and Fri-Sat 11am-1am. Thanks to BJ’s late hours all of the midnight cravings of Burbank can breath a little sigh of relief.

Kate (who is my mother and business partner) was always collecting business ideas. She was the idea woman. There are files full of potential businesses ideas/plans in her office. She only had one obstacle…she always wanted a partner. Enter Me: Libby. I was brought up to believe that there would be nothing better in life than becoming an entreprenuer. My mom couldn’t find a partner to do business with, so she bred one. Not really…but it makes the story more interesting…

While my mom was always good at coming up with original and practical business ideas, she was not very fond of marketing…and taking the next step and the next, to make her ideas come to fruition. Odd as it may seem, this was my strong point. I am a very practical, very logical, a very anal retentive planner…give me the goal, and I’ll get you there. Unlike my mother, I am not an “idea girl”…I may be creative, but I can’t make something from nothing in the same way she can. Once Kate realized that I was the missing piece in her plan to take over the world, she pushed me to finish college and get back to Burbank ASAP.

And so I did…During my college years she came up with the Local Directory idea. We brainstormed over the phone, and sent each other articles from Business Week and Wired magazines and generally just talked about the “what if’s” should we move on this venture. Then, I finally came back to Burbank.

On the plane flight home I sat next to a man who was reading the Wall Street Journal. Over his shoulder I saw the title of an article, “Why Can’t Google or the Yellow Pages Go Local” (well it was something like that anyway). I tried to be discreet, and I read the whole article over the poor man’s shoulder during the flight. Here I was, on my way back to Burbank, getting ready to start a business with my mom, and sitting next to me was the perfect article…one that encourages me still. I knew while reading over that man’s shoulder that I was on the right path.

So began our little venture into the world of local directories. City Sites Inc, my mom’s website design company since 1995, became my place of work. Once a week we put time aside to discuss justBurbank.com. We had a white board and wrote any and every idea down. The board became very messy and totally covered in ink. We spent about a full year doing research, honing our idea and planning the development. The programming began in November of 2007.

Our little idea became a reality. And tomorrow, April 7th, 2008, we launch. I promise mom, I’ll try not to freak out. And that’s our story…at least chapter one.