socialADDICT

It was the question of the night; last Saturday, September 26 after almost 4 years of dating, Jason popped the question over (literally) a delectable red velvet cake at The WaterGrill in downtown LA; and YES I said YES!!! It was totally unexpected on my part since I was just reminiscing on a wonderful day in LA and enjoying the evening even more with him. I cried of course and he got a little choked up! It was so beautiful and thoughtful! I love you, Jason!

The beginning of the day consisted of driving up to downtown LA on Saturday (and as usual taking way longer than planned - dang parking lot on the 405!), arriving at the FABULOUS Biltmore Hotel, touring the MOCA and watching the RedBull Soapbox Races which took place literally on the same street as the Biltmore.

Biltmore Hotel actually deserves their own blog post (which I will probably write later) but I want to give them major props for the BEST customer experience/service I have ever had at a hotel. Ever. From the moment we booked our reservation all the way through to picking up our car at the Valet - every single employee greeted us with a genuine smile and made sure our every need was met.

Another huge props I have to give is to Leslie, the Marketing Director at the Biltmore. I had initially “met” her on Twitter when she saw me post a comment about booking an rsvp at the prestigious hotel a few months back. She immediately replied back to me with an offer to let her know if there was anything she could do to make our stay more enjoyable. Being a marketer and little bit of an investigator myself, I jumped at the opportunity to mention that “a complimentary bottle of champagne in the room is a good start *smiley face*”. Leslie replied back saying that she would definitely make sure we were “taken care of”. Which is a nice way to leave it open for interpretation - only to my surprise when we arrived in our suite, there was alas! a bottle of chilled champagne and a HAND WRITTEN NOTE from Leslie awaiting our thirsty selves. My, my the power of social media marketing and the people who truly connect their brands and experiences with their customers. What a lasting impression! Thanks again to the Biltmore Hotel for an unforgettable experience!! I cannot say it enough - your customer service and kind gestures will never be forgotten & we plan on staying with you for years and years to come! Learn more about this historic hotel here. Thanks again Leslie - we are most impressed with your Twitter skills and customer service follow through!

Follow the Biltmore on Twitter to get deals & other updates @BiltmoreLA!!

On Sunday we headed over to Santa Monica to eat a scrumptious breakfast on the beach and walk through Third Street Promenade before heading home. What a great weekend together!!

So it’s OFFICIAL! I’m going to be a Mrs.! I’m going to take awhile to start thinking about any plans and just enjoy this time with Jason as my fiance! Thank you to all for your love, well wishes and support! I love you all and cannot wait to start posting more info as it gets planned! Now…where to find Vera Wang dresses in San Diego… XOXO

For more pictures visit my Flickr Stream here.

I went up for a weekend get-away to LA a couple of weeks ago and one of the days I went shopping up in Malibu with my boyfriend’s Mom - yes, we get along very well! Even though I would like to think I can afford the fabulous things in Malibu (I really can’t) the time spent in the boutiques is always fun. One of the last stores we went into was Ron Herman - a small boutique full of beautiful cashmere, designer jeans, silk scarves and French-made jewelry - absolute HEAVEN! I ended up purchasing a studded bracelet there (apparently all of the celebs are wearing them - so I just had to have!). The sales associates were very nice and welcoming and I had a pleasant experience in the store and I would recommend anyone to return.

Now it’s been a few weeks and I went down to my mailbox tonight and saw a letter addressed to me - yay for mail that isn’t a bill! Turns out it’s a hand-written thank you letter from the sales associate at Ron Herman! Are you kidding me?! What an amazing thing to receive! So here’s how the note reads:

“Dear Sarah,

Thank you so much for shopping at Ron Herman Malibu. I hope you love your new studded bracelet, it’s a hot new accessory we can’t get enough of :). I hope you enjoyed the rest of your vacation, and please check out our website, RonHerman.com.

Cheers,

Eileen”

Well, Eileen - THANK YOU for such a personalized, well thought out, HAND WRITTEN letter. I can’t remember the last time I had customer service like this. You never get hand written thank you cards (even from your family or friend’s wedding or whatever) anymore. So thank you Eileen and Ron Herman for hiring some amazing associates and creating such an amazing customer experience. This note alone will make me check out the site and make me want to go back to the store in Malibu again and again. Wow - so cool!