Part Career Gal, Part Blogger, All Dog Mom, Fashion, & Philly Fashion Week
Welcome to The Crown Diaries, an SXS look at the real-life experiences of women running businesses, crushing their career, and rocking their passion projects. For each Crown Diary, we ask one woman to provide a behind-the-scenes account of “a week in the life”: where did she go, what did she do, who did she meet? Read on to find out!
ABOUT ME: Alisa Kahn (@alisa.kahn), 31
CITY: Philadelphia, PA
MISSION: Life isn't perfect but, what matters is how it's spent.
Alisa is a marketing manager for quick service restaurant, The Simple Greek, plus lifestyle blogger and "life-sharer". Her typical week could include bringing her audience along to a Philly food and wine event, or a not-so-glamorous story about her dog and how he ate the pancake mix out of our moving boxes.
DEGREES/CERTIFICATIONS: Bachelor's in Liberal Studies, Minor in Theater & Painting.
FAVORITE SETTING TO WORK: "At home with my dog Dillon on my lap!"
FUN FACT: "I have the same birthday as my mom and we love celebrating together every year!"
BUSINESS/LIFESTYLE MEMBERSHIPS/COURSES: SHExSHINES Academy Member, Volunteer for Children's Crisis Treatment Center
WEDNESDAY
6:00am
Wake up! Today is an earlier day than normal because we are filming a short commercial for work at one of our New Jersey locations. Got ready for the day really quickly, made coffee and out the door!
7:30am
Arrived at one of our New Jersey locations to start filming with a local videographer and our marketing team. The commercial shoot included some inside shots and outside as well so we tried to move quickly to get out of the way of customers that would be coming in around 11am. Can't wait to see the finished product!
1:30pm
Back at home to finish the workday. We have an amazing dog walker who came by around noon for Dilly's break so I can concentrate one my work now that I am home. I didn't schedule any calls for today because I didn't know how long the commercial shoot would go. So, I was able to catch up on emails and clean out that inbox! Nothing makes me feel more accomplished than keeping that inbox count as low as possible.
5:00pm
Day ends and I made dinner for myself, walked Dilly again, and got his dinner ready as well. My husband is in a bowling league, so I had tonight to myself. I really don't mind the alone time because it allows me to catch up on my blog work! I made myself some noodle soup - again I have the diet of a child - and snuggled up on the couch to do some work.
7:00pm
I spent time working on my blog materials. I fixed up my media kit, sent out some pitch letters, and contacted some of my favorite brands over Instagram to talk to them about opportunities to work together. I have a goal of sending out 50 collaboration emails this month!
8:00pm
Talked to my parents on the phone. We caught up on our weeks, what’s on the calendar for the weekend and how everyone is doing.
9:30pm
Getting ready for bed. I have a strict morning and nighttime skincare routine. I have been using Rodan+Fields products for over 5 years and I couldn't be more thrilled with them. I do a 4-5 step regimen both morning and night, so I give myself about 5-10 minutes to do this while brushing my teeth in between.
THURSDAY
8:00am
Get up and get dressed to take Dillon on his morning walk. We are out the door every morning at almost the exact same time - Dillon has a schedule and he makes sure that I stick to it!
8:30am
Make coffee, feed Dillon and prep for the meetings I have scheduled. Because I work from home, all of my meetings are over Zoom. These calls include team meetings, 1:1 calls with franchise owners, and vendor management meetings. In my role, I help each location (they are independently owned) with their local marketing needs on a case by case basis. I also implement the topline marketing plans for the brand as well such as new product rollouts, social media campaigns and in store branding.
12:00pm
Dillon gets his second walk of the day. While I walk him, I am almost always listening to a podcast or a book. My current podcast list includes: The Daily, My Favorite Murder, and Dateline. I really love that working from home allows me to take Dillon out myself. It’s a nice break in the day as well!
12:20pm
Lunch time, I usually make something easy like a salad mix from Trader Joes or my favorite is chicken nuggets because I am really a kid at heart.
5:00pm
Done work for the day and getting ready as fast as I can to go to Philly Fashion Week!
6:00pm
Met up with two of my fellow bloggers @kelleyannegibson and @shesredhaute for a quick dinner at Iron Hill Brewery in Center City before Philly Fashion Week starts! I love spending time with these girls and talking about blogging, goals and creative ideas! Plus, working from home can be somewhat isolating so, I try and get out of the house after work as often as I can.
7:00pm
Show starts! We got to see so many incredible shows, enjoy VIP seating and - of course - take so many photos!
10:30pm
Getting ready for bed- what a crazy and wonderful night! This is one of those times that I want to skip washing my face, but I push through. I know I will regret it in the morning if I don't!
FRIDAY
8:00am
Dillon wakes me up. I really don’t need an alarm clock with him!
8:30am
Dillon gets his morning food and I get my morning coffee. I have a desk that I work at but, sometimes Dillon won't eat his breakfast if I am sitting upstairs. He just wants to be where I am so, I adjust and work at the dinner table sometimes until he is done with his food. Then we relocate for the second part of the day!
9:00am
Calls start right away! Today is definitely jam packed with back to back calls which makes the day fly by- not too mad about it on a Friday!
12:30pm
Lunch time walk with Dillon! We stopped by our local dog park today, but he really doesn't enjoy it because of the gravel. He prefers the grassy parks so we will have to take him to one soon.
5:00pm
Done with work and I quickly get ready for my second night of @philly_fashion_week shows!
5:45pm
Brett is home early and is the best husband ever for driving me over to @fashiondistrictphl to meet up with Kelley for a quick bite to eat before we head over to the runway.
6:00pm
Meet Kelley at City Winery for their happy hour specials. Kelley and I met about a year ago at a SHE x SHINES event, and I'm so happy we did!
7:00pm
We make our way over to the Fashion District PHL and check in. This night was even better than last night! Excellent food, great company and amazing runway shows! I can't wait to see some of these trends start to filter into my closet.
10:00pm
I am wiped out! This week felt so crazy and was full of work and fun too. One last thing I have to do before I fall asleep is pack for the weekend! I am heading out to AC with some friends for a bachelorette party! Luckily, I have a new shipment in from @RenttheRunway so I don't have to worry about what to wear and packing is easy! Next, I go through my nightly skincare routine, put on warm pjs and snuggle up with Brett and Dillon. My favorite way to wind down is to watch something on Disney+. We just finished Toy Story 4 and also a season of Disney Fairytale Weddings- tears all around when you watch this show.
The Crown Diaries are meant to reflect individual women's experiences and do not necessarily reflect SHExSHINES point of view.
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