Meet Erica Calhoun | Lifestyle Blogger

We had the good fortune of connecting with Erica Calhoun and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Erica, what role has risk played in your life or career?
You’ll never find out how far you can succeed if you don’t take risks. I learned that from my mother, as well as, in my own life. I would say I’m a daily risk taker and it has always worked out for the good. Whether it’s quitting my job to explore and pursue a new career, jumping on a plane to tour Europe, or going on random road trips with friends, all of those experiences involved risks that led to having the most amazing memories. Even my blog felt like a risk in the beginning, because of course you wonder, whose going to read my stories? The only way to find out is by doing it and the worse that can happen is you fail and try again.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I run a blog, known as Loveletterslattes.com, that focuses on various topics – my personal life, fashion, beauty, books, and food reviews. I wanted to write about several aspects of my life and my favorite interests. Whether you like reading about the drama of my life, my monthly book recommendations, or reviews on local restaurants, everyone can find their niche. This allows me to connect with different people of different interests.

What I am most proud of is how many people enjoy and relate to my blog. I get texts and Dm’s all the time of people telling me how much they like my blog and how they find it so relatable. It has reached a wide variety of people of ages and backgrounds, which I was not expecting. It really makes the hard work, sleepless nights, and hours staring at a screen feel worth it.

It was definitely not easy to create a website and manage it on my own, but it’s also not as hard as people would think. If you have the passion to do something then it becomes a whole lot easier to accomplish your dreams. The hardest part is learning a new skill by yourself and trying to make it successful. My advice to anyone else wanting to create their own blog is to watch other bloggers and take notes on what they do. I looked at a dozen female lifestyle blogs similar to what I envisioned my blog to be. Then I filled a whole notebook on how they built their brands. My brand is uniquely my own, but with little influences from many other bloggers.

I created my blog because I was in search of something that I could relate to. When I realized that was missing, I figured why not share my life and stories with the world in the hopes that someone else can feel they are not alone in this big world.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I frequently write about my favorite spots to visit in my lovely hometown of Macon, Ga or on my trips to Atlanta. In the Atl, I love trying a different restaurant. My most recent trips involved going to Augie’s Cafe, right next to Slutty Vegan, visiting the Waldorf Hotel for my birthday, and a spa trip to the St. Regis. All of these were some of my favorite Atlanta spots to visit for a weekend. In my hometown of Macon, the downtown restaurants are the most unique parts of our city. To anyone visiting for a weekend, I would say book a room at the new Hotel Forty-Five, located in the heart of downtown Macon. This will allow you to walk around downtown and go visit my favorites – Ocmulgee Brewpub for amazing burgers, the Dovetail for a nice dinner, Kinjo’s Kitchen for an asian twist, or Oliver’s Corner Bistro for Sunday brunch. There’s lots of entertainment like arcades, an axe throwing facility, a rock climbing gym, and live music playing just about every night.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My mom and dad deserve all the credit for making me who I am today. Both of them provided deep encouragement for me to start writing once they saw my potential in elementary school. My mother spent countless nights teaching me the foundations of good writing, which I will carry for a lifetime. It seems that I also inherited her passion for creativity and leadership. Without my dad’s extraordinary intelligence, I would not have a talent or passion for writing at all because I grew up knowing he was an excellent writer and poet. None of my accomplishments would have existed without their unceasing loyalty, support, and encouragement.

Website: https://www.loveletterslattes.com

Instagram: diariesoferica https://www.instagram.com/diariesoferica/?igshid=MjEwN2IyYWYwYw%3D%3D

Other: Pinterest: @loveletterslattes2022

Image Credits
Photo Credits: Erica Calhoun/ Loveletterslattes.com