Michigan, or the Great Lakes State as we Midwesterners like to call it, has been the place I’ve called home all my life, until last week. Today I find myself sitting in an airy, East Village office space with sunlight gleaming into the window as I chronicle my latest adventure.

Let me rewind.  As my second semester of junior year began at Michigan State University, I started the search for an internship. I knew that I had experienced much of what the Midwest had to offer and wanted an opportunity that would challenge me and force me to grow. As I researched PR agencies across the west coast, I fell in love with Bay Bird Inc. This boutique lifestyle agency would allow me to work closely with the president and staff, giving me an experience unparalleled to most internship opportunities.  The clientele impressed and intrigued me. The smaller, niche company had a range of lifestyle clients that would excite even the largest of agencies. And the location- downtown San Diego, what’s not to love?

Realizing this could be the first step towards a successful career, I applied.  After my interview, I had my foot in the door and anxiously awaited my move to the beach as Bay Bird Inc’s newest intern. As the semester came to a close, the only thing between San Diego and me was the cross-country flight. As I exited the plane last week, I was giddy anticipating exploring my new home. As I investigated the many areas San Diego had to offer with my father and boyfriend in tow, I knew that this would be a summer I would never forget. If I didn’t believe in love at first site, I do now.

My first week has been nothing short of amazing with the chance to attend the Drew Brees Golf Championship Red Carpet Event and assisting with The Summer Skin and Shopping event at the fabulous 20 Lounge in Cardiff.  Along with these exciting events, I have been working on social media campaigns and getting acclimated with Bay Bird’s impressive list of clientele. If this is just the first week, I can only imagine the opportunities the entire summer will bring.

Two thousand miles from home; the ladies at Bay Bird Inc have welcomed me into their nest. So this is where my story begins, a college senior exploring San Diego for the summer, learning from fabulous experts in the PR industry, creating lasting relationships and living the California dream.

Top boutique lifestyle PR firm, Bay Bird Inc, is now accepting resumes for a full time Senior Publicist position in San Diego, California to begin immediately. This PR rock star will be responsible for handling a range of lifestyle accounts including: Spirits/Beverage, Beauty/Health, Art/Design and Culinary clientele.

Our ideal candidate should be an extremely creative PR professional with a proven track record of handling lifestyle accounts, providing clients with top-tier media results locally, regionally and nationally. The right candidate should be heavily connected with lifestyle media and have a vast knowledge of all social media platforms.

Our ideal Senior Publicist candidate will:

• Have a minimum of 4-6 years experience in the spirits/beverage, hospitality, culinary, beauty/health, art/design, restaurant and consumer lifestyle arenas, either with an agency or in-house position.
• Must demonstrate tremendous writing and communication skills.
• Must have impeccable media references and strong media contacts.
• Must have experience managing public relations campaigns, including management of junior level team members.
• Creative, creative, creative!
• Experience pitching new business is favorable.

New Year’s resolutions – who needs ‘em? We do. Annoying or not, they’re down right obligatory.

As we turn the page to a brand new year, the “birds” at Bay Bird Inc look forward to soaring even higher in all areas of life. Beyond the expected, de rigueur health & fitness goals to erase evidence of holiday indulgences, our personal resolutions this year are varied. However, it seems there is one common thread, a goal we are all working to achieve – and that is to live life wholeheartedly and in the moment.  To seek complete zen-like satisfaction through one word: moderation.  So, while we reflect on a very busy year that seemed to have flown by,  this year we plan to truly enjoy each moment, meal, sip, and gathering. Rather than rush, we look forward to taking the necessary time to enjoy the “now”  - the spark of an idea, the spiritual mash-up, the innate evolution of creative genius.

And what better way to do that than by turning to our culinary and mixology clients as they prognosticate and expertly forecast the top food and drink trends of 2012. No, not all of them will be fat-free. But we can savor in the small, while not skipping a bite (or bev).

Our mantra this year will be, “Mangia! Bevi! Moderation!”

In this post, we share our client, the maestra of mixology, Erin Williams of Hush Cocktails’ top 8 cocktail trends for 2012.

Cheers to a sweet, savory, smoky and spicy new year!  We can’t wait to dig in with a fresh new focus.

~Peyton