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What are the Best Neighborhoods for Young Atlanta Professionals?

If you are a young professional relocating to Atlanta, you should checkout properties in Virginia-Highland, Sandy Springs and Midtown.

Virginia-Highland is a small community located in East Atlanta. It is beautiful community filled with old style condos and homes. The properties in this area also come in a wide variety of price ranges. There are one and two bedroom condos for under $200,000 and homes that cost $1 million dollars and more. One of the reasons young professionals are drawn to this area is the abundance of coffee shops, entertainment options, and restaurants. On North Highland Avenue for example, there is a restaurant on just about every corner, and on Ponce De Leon Avenue there is a retro movie theater and two major grocery stores.

If Virginia-Highland is not your cup of tea, then I recommend checking out another in-town community, Midtown. There is currently so much development going on in this area right now that it is hard to keep up. Along 10th street there are several apartment buildings being built, and along Peachtree Street several new restaurants are scheduled to open this summer. In addition to an abundance of apartments and restaurants, there are several other things that attract young professional to the Midtown area. This includes easy convenience to mass transit and Piedmont Park. If you want to solely depend on public transportation, than you should live on Peachtree Street between 8th and 12th street – this will allow you to easily commute to the Midtown train station. If you want to live in walking distance of Piedmont Park, than you should live along Piedmont Avenue between 10th and 14th streets. Piedmont Park is a cool place to visit on the weekends. There are numerous walking and biking trails, tennis courts, a doggie park, and a golf course. During the spring and summer the park also host gardening events, music concerts and several arts & crafts festivals.

Midtown is also an established business district, and there are several ad agencies and law firms headquartered there. In addition, a new tech innovation is being built which is expected to attracted several major tech-related companies that include World Pay, NCR and AT&T.

If in-town living is not for you, than checkout Sandy Springs. This area is a few miles north of Midtown, and in recent years has attracted a large number of young professionals. In the past, this area primarily catered to retirees and young families. Recently however, the area has seen an increase in condo developments and corporate relocations. One of these corporate relocations includes the development of a new Mercedes-Benz headquarters, which is expected to attract a large number of young professionals. In addition, Sandy Springs is also conveniently located to two metro train stations and two major freeways.

What do You Think about the “Blurred Lines” Ruling?

I am happy with the recent “Blurred Lines” ruling. Why? Because it proves that just because you are a powerful person in the music industry, you can’t just do what you want to do. I also feel that the recent ruling of this case will set an example to other artists who were thinking about doing the same thing that Robin Thicke and Pharrell did.

If it sounds like I have a personal vendetta against either of these gentlemen, this is not the case. I personally think that both Thicke and Pharrell are talented artists — which make me wonder why either would be involved in something like this. Thicke has a great voice and stage presence, and we all know that Pharrell is a talented songwriter. So why take another person’s song and try to make it their own? The only reasoning I can come up for this situation is that they were looking for an easy way to make a hit. Instead of working hard and coming up with their own musical sound, they decided to take the sound of Marvin Gaye‘s hit song “Got to Give it Up“, re-arrange the beats, and add a few lines from rapper T. I. Unfortunately this plan backfired on them.

The plan backfired because neither one of these guys did any research on copyright laws. I also must say that the legal department of their record label also didn’t do their due diligence. It will be interesting to see if either Pharrell or Thicke will appeal this ruling. I am also curious to see if T. I. will be involved in any future legal proceedings.

This recent court ruling should also prompt more of today’s artists to create their own brand and style of music versus trying to copy the sound of other classic singers. There was a time when most music artists had their own singing style. For example, you would never mistake the female R&B group First Choice for the Supremes, because lead singer Rochelle Fleming had a very distinctive voice from Supremes’ lead singer Diana Ross. Or, you could never mistake Helen Reddy for Cyndi Lauper because they had very different singing styles. A lot of people (including me) miss this unique brand of music – versus music that sounds computerized and mass produced.

I also read a recent article which stated that Marvin Gaye’s family may also seek damages regarding another Pharrell song, Happy”. If a lawsuit is filed on this charge and the Gaye family wins the case, I think it will put an end to artists using other artists’ songs forever. However, all this can be avoided if the artist pays for the right to use the song and files the correct legal papers.

What are Some Unique Things I Can do with Cupcakes?

One of the reasons I like making cupcakes is that they are so versatile and you can do some really cool unique things with them. You can use them to create a dessert tower or to decorate a traditional pie or cake.

I frequently get asked by family and social media friends for tips on how to make their cupcakes more unique. I usually tell them to switch up the flavors and let their imaginations come up with creative decorations.

To make your cupcakes taste unique, create a flavor combination that no one is expecting. Most of us have had a chocolate cupcake topped with chocolate frosting, but how many of us have had a chocolate cupcake topped with hot spicy caramel frosting. Most of us have also probably had a vanilla cupcake topped with vanilla icing, but how many of you have had a vanilla cupcake topped with lime frosting blended with jelly beans. Do you see where I am going with this? It’s all about creating ‘unique’ flavor combinations that will make your cupcakes different and memorable.

Another way to make your cupcakes unique is to make them sweet and savory. A good example is a curry flavored white cupcake mixed with peppers and onions, topped with vanilla bean and white chocolate frosting. Or, you could make a banana cupcake blended with pineapple and coconut topped with a strawberry frosting mixed with jalapeno peppers. These flavor combinations would surprise anyone.

I also like to see cupcakes used to decorate traditional cakes and pies. For example, you can use lime flavored cupcakes topped with lime frosting to decorate a three layer lemon cake. You can place cupcakes on top of the cake, and also between the layers. These colors will look so beautiful together when you cut the cake — and no one will be expecting cupcakes between the layers. You can also use mini strawberry cupcakes to decorate the top of a chocolate sheet cake. The color of rich chocolate and strawberry also work well together.

You can also use cupcakes to decorate a traditional pie. My favorite is to use a large cinnamon cupcake topped with vanilla cinnamon frosting to decorate the top of a sweet potato pie. The vanilla and cinnamon flavor combination will go great with the sweet potato pie filling.

I also like to decorate a traditional deep dish apple with mini apple cupcakes, I like to decorate traditional peach cobbler with peach and plum cupcakes topped with raisins, pecans, walnuts and cinnamon sprinkles. Both of these pies would be great for a birthday or anniversary party.

As you can see, there are many unique and fun ways to use cupcakes – you just need a little creativity and imagination.

How to Get a Good Paying Job without a Degree

The growing problem of student debt has been in the news frequently over the past two years. Colleges and universities keep increasing tuition, which has resulted in thousands of college students going into deep debt.

Most of us were told at a young age that in order to be successful and get a high paying job, we needed a college degree. So for decades millions of high school graduates headed to college. However, back during the 70’s and 80’s getting a degree didn’t require going into debt or getting a high interest loan. This was because there were numerous tuition assistance programs and low interest loan options available, along with a large number of educational grants. Fast forward to today, and we see that the process of getting college funding has significantly changed.

Due to the steady increase in college tuition, the only way I can see avoiding high student debt is to bypass getting a bachelors and masters degree. I know many of you are probably wondering how a person can get a good paying job without a degree. The answer, there are other alternative ways you can get a good paying job — which includes getting a professional certification.

Instead of enrolling in a four year college, enroll in a technical school that offers professional certification in areas like computer consulting and information technology. With this certification you will be able to apply for a job at companies like IBM and Hewlett Packard. In addition, this type of certification will also help you gain employment at major airlines and utility companies.

If working for someone is not for you, than you can use your professional certification to start your own business. However, I recommend completing an internship or working for a related business for at least a year, before launching your own company. This experience will help you set up your own business and educate you on how to hire employees and attract customers.

I also know of several people who got a certification in web design and are now working in a good paying job. One person is working for an ad agency and another is working for the government. It only took these people 12 months to get their certification, and both were able to get grants to cover 70 percent of the tuition costs.

Event planning is another field where you can get a good paying job without a degree. There are local community colleges that offer event planning certifications, and several universities that offer online certification courses. In most cases you can get a certification within 9 to 12 months. The salary range for a corporate event planner ranges from $35,000 to $65,000 a year, and independent event planners can typically make $25 to $50 per hour.

How to Navigate through the HGTV Network

The popularity of real estate television has prompted the HGTV network to add several new real estate show to its programming portfolio. I personally think this is a bad move, because it may potentially result in over saturation.

I don’t know about you, but I personally don’t need to see another show about how to renovate and sell a home. At the moment there are several HGTV programs that show viewers how to do this, which include “Love it or List It”, “Flip or Flop” and “Buying and Selling”. All of these shows are very similar in format, so I can’t imagine why HGTV would want to add more similar shows.

For those who enjoy watching people shop around for a home, checkout “Property Virgins” and “House Hunters”. Both of these programs supposedly show ’real’ people going through the home shopping and buying process. The more I look at these shows however, I am beginning to wonder if the episodes are scripted or rehearsed. Scripted or not, these two shows are bringing in consistent viewers and ratings.

Despite the popularity “House Hunters” and “Property Virgins”, HGTV has recently added three additional home buying shows – but with a twist. They are “Hawaii Life”, “Caribbean Life” and “Lakefront Bargain Hunt“. All three of these shows demonstrate how to shop for affordable and expensive homes located near the water.

Then there are the rehab shows which include “Fixer Upper” and “Rehab Addict”. Both shows feature a woman demonstrating how to renovate a run down home. I have watched both shows and the only differences are the hosts. Despite this however, the network is adding two more similar shows in the near future.

So how do you navigate through all these shows? I think the key as to which show to watch is your personality. If you are a newlywed couple looking for home buying tips, then the “House Hunters” show will probably be very entertaining to you. On the other hand, if you’re someone thinking about buying a cool midtown loft or downtown condo, then you will probably enjoy watching “Property Virgins.” The show frequently features people who want a property near downtown and midtown areas. The host of the show, Egypt Sherrod, has a very cool and hip personality which appeals to this type of demographic.

Now, if you are someone with a lot of money who is thinking about buying a summer home near a lake, beach or ocean, then you would probably find some good home buying tips by watching “Lakefront Bargain Hunt” and “Caribbean Life”.

However, if you are someone who has outgrown their home but don’t want to move, then you should checkout “Love it or List it, “Buying and Selling” or “Fixer Upper”.