Put a monogram on it

By Leslie Anne Tarabella / July 13, 2017 /

This week’s column reminds me of a joke — how much does a sorority girl weigh? Oh, about a monogram! Hahaha! Hey, you know you laughed! Alexis Savannah Smith always complains she can’t monogram her guest towels because no one will use them. Monograms are a very big deal in the South, and a good…

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Don’t let the crashing waves get you down

By Leslie Anne Tarabella / July 3, 2017 /

  For generations, Southerners have flocked to what we consider to be “our beaches.” Stretching along the Gulf Coast from Gulf Shores, Alabama to Panama City Beach, Florida We make the trek every year, hoping no one else has discovered our spot of paradise. We easily recognize those who drove from far away to reach…

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Beauty Shops vs. Hair Salons

By Leslie Anne Tarabella / June 15, 2017 /

I’m fed up with “hair salons” and want to find a good “beauty shop,” or even better, a beauty “parlor.” When I was a little girl, I’d tag along with my mother and grandmother to Bee Bee’s Beauty Barn, which wasn’t in a barn, and considered itself a “shoppe” — ultra fancy with an “e”…

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The joy of cooking with a church cookbook

By Leslie Anne Tarabella / May 31, 2017 /

Laura Jean was asked to chair the new cookbook committee for her church in Prattville, and she’s beyond thrilled. She took the words out of my mouth when she said, “I thought with the availability of recipes on the internet these days, we’d never see another church cookbook again.” Everyone in the South knows the…

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You dropped the bomb on me, baby

By Leslie Anne Tarabella / May 18, 2017 /

My 17-year-old son Joseph, had cleaned the kitchen, taken out the trash and was finally sprawled across the furniture in the family room, arms and legs going every-which-way, while he played on his phone. My husband was out of town, and I busied myself here and there with all the mom-things. The TV was on,…

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The miracle of the mother

By Leslie Anne Tarabella / May 13, 2017 /

Even though there’s no maternal element mentioned, the Bible story about the loaves and fishes has always made me think of mothers. I’ve never had a problem believing the small lunch was multiplied to feed thousands, but what’s difficult to accept is that out of all the people at the gathering that day, the only…

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Logophile? Check out this show!

By Leslie Anne Tarabella / May 3, 2017 /

I’m a word lover. A lover of words. A, “logophile.” I’m not claiming to KNOW a lot of words, but I love hearing them, which is why I’m HAPPILY STUNNED and DELIGHTED with the new play at Theatre 98, “On the Verge — or the  Geography of Yearning,” written by Eric Overmyer and directed by…

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Oh, to be young and on spring break!

By Leslie Anne Tarabella / April 26, 2017 /

My son Harrison went on a big adventure for spring break with five other college friends. Actually, all of them knew at least one other person on the trip, but none of them knew everyone. They basically said, “Hey, who wants to drive cross-country, camp in national parks, then turn around and come home?” (my…

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Are Southern women prettier?

By Leslie Anne Tarabella / April 6, 2017 /

You’ve heard it before, but are afraid to say it aloud for fear of sounding boastful. Southern women are prettier than others. But wait just a cotton pickin’ minute. Is it true? Are we really prettier? I’ll let you in on a little secret. We’re not. Everyone just has that illusion because the truth is,…

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The Gulf Shores and Orange Beach guidebook is ready!

By Leslie Anne Tarabella / April 3, 2017 /

Well, I couldn’t be happier with the way it turned out!  I mentioned a few months ago (HERE) that I was chosen to write this year’s Gulf Shores and Orange Beach 2017 Official Vacation Guide. It was an interesting project about the place I love, and even though I’ve lived in this area my entire…

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