DL in the ATL, NOT

I was invited to a party outside the ATL in a suburb called Sandy Springs. My friend and I had been to two other fundraiser's in town earlier in the night so we were not all that excited about going outside the Perimeter but we heard this was going to be a fun party for a hip hop artist that my friend knew from her recent trip to Hong Kong. His poster was apparently plastered all over Asia. He lives in ATL and I have never heard of him. I had no idea who the artist was but figured it might be more exciting than the same old same old.

We moaned and groaned the whole way there because it was so far outside town. We drove up into a subdivision and gave our names to the party organizers. They were staffing the security booth. We drove to the end of this subdivision after driving by hundreds of cars. We got to the next check point to find a police officer trying to talk us into parking on the street. We told him we were in heels and had no intentions of walking miles to the house. We told him we were on the VIP list and he told us to go to the gate and buzz the house and they would let us through. We got right through after ringing the buzzer. We drove up the long, winding driveway and stopped right in front of the step and repeat. The first thing we noticed was all of the valets were white. This was unusual in the ATL but the burbs seemed different.

We jumped out of the car just in time to see the helicopter that had just landed with the hip hop artist making his grand entrance. I have seen grand houses of the rich and famous all over Buckhead but never seen anything this Grand. This was like Country Club of the South on steroids. This place was a feast for the eyes. On one side was two Bengal Tigers in Cages, (I didn't know this was legal) on the other was a full length turf basketball court with lights. There were photographers everywhere and MTV was filming their show Cribs. We went to the bar for a glass of bubbly to be told they had run out. You have a party in a multi million dollar house, and you can't afford bubbly. As a professional event planner, I found this unbelievable but I went with the flow. We started walking around introducing ourselves to all of the other guests. We were 2 of 5 white people at this party. I found this comical. We had just been to two parties, one in Buckhead, and one in Midtown that had the exact opposite demographic. I really don't understand how the ATL can continue to be so segregated 40 years after the great MLK, Jr died to bring us all together. Things really do stay the same. I would love to do an event Black and White blending the two cultures together as one for a common cause. Don't know if the ATL has the courage to attend. That is for another day. Back to the party...

Just as we started upstairs to the pool and hot tub area, I looked up and saw letters DL projected onto the top of the house in cursive writing. This really got me thinking. I had heard about JL King's book about men in the ATL living on the down low. These are men that act like they are straight but actually have male sexual partners. He claims many of them are in the hip hop world. This is a hot topic in ATL but no one wants to go on record talking about it. I was sure this was going to be my first foray into meeting all of these hip hop men on the down low. I looked all around and saw nothing to indicate anyone was on the down low. I started asking people what the DL projected on the house meant, to be really embarrassed, DREAM LAND, I was told, WOW! Just as I learned what DL stood for, my friend introduced me to the owner of the house. His name was AKON. He was taller than me (unusual for the hip hop world) very handsome, well dressed, and well spoken. I said, even though I am not familiar with your music, I am sure it is good, or you would not be able to have this great big house. He said that the song playing was his but all I could make out was Snoop Dogg, singing. He was surprised I knew Snoop and not him but that is because Snoop was on Showtime's L Word. He said that he was the one that wrote it and was featured in the video with Snoop. Since there are probably other people like me that don't know who AKON is, this song is for you... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4fZF9UsS8LY
This song is about a convicts love for the other person behind bars. Even though it features women as the object of desire, I think there are so many undertones of the DL but then there is also Dream Land... What do you think?

IKEA

http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=3675&id=1450153385
Worked with IKEA on a fundraising event over the last few months so I was in the store more times than I can count. I have always loved that Swedish Store. In fact, when I built my eco-house, I poured over the IKEA website to get ideas. I wanted to furnish my house with their products, but there was no store in the ATL six years ago when I built. I even had the idea that I would drive to DC in a U-HAUL and pick up everything but I just never had the time. Once you buy IKEA's products, someone has to put them together. While things like that used to give me pause, I have since learned there is a great company, CAI, that contracts direct with IKEA customers to do exactly that, put everything together correctly. So this year, I had IKEA design my office space ergonomically and CAI installed it all. It was still less expensive than most any other design stores in town and their products are so cool looking and have such clean lines. I love the modern look which is probably why I have always enjoyed IKEA. I usually don't like the big box stores but IKEA really stands apart. I love the fact that they have a place called playland for kids to be dropped off while their parents shop. For those of us that will never have children, we are not as enamored by them as their family members when they are whining, screaming, and jumping on everything in sight while you are trying to furnish your house. Playland gives them a place to act out while the rest of us can enjoy our shopping venture.

I also like the fact that they have those really big reusable shopping bags. I use those over and over, even when I am not shopping there. I enjoy being able to find items that are not made in China too. IKEA has its share of china-made products but you can also find things manufactured in Europe. You cannot find that at the big box retailers not matter how hard you look.

I also love the smell of those cinnamon rolls baking in the store It evokes a feeling of my grandmother's house. She used to bake apple dumplings every Saturday and the smell of the cinnamon reminds me of her when I am shopping there. Nothing makes me more emotional than the thought of eating apple dumplings with my grandmother on a cool fall afternoon. I think this is another thing that is so brilliant about IKEA marketing. They know that creating a sense of home is more than just the goods you buy to fill it up. It is more about the feelings it evokes from the fond memories of your family. I wish there were more stores like IKEA. It really doesn't feel like the US-based big box stores like Wal-Mart, Target, and K-Mart. Would love to hear any thoughts you have on IKEA.