Velveeta, I know you not

By Leslie Anne Tarabella / November 5, 2014 /

It was a harsh reality I wasn’t ready to accept. My children had been raised in the “New South” and there was no one to blame but myself. My son looked at the kitchen counter with a mix of intrigue and disgust and asked, “What is it?” “What do you mean? It’s Velveeta.” I told…

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November in New Orleans

By Leslie Anne Tarabella / November 4, 2014 /

November is one of our favorite times to make the two and a half hour drive west from Fairhope, to visit New Orleans. In the French Quarter, we were treated to a Second Line procession from this happy couple’s wedding. All the guests danced down the street as the jazz band played. My husband captured…

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Anne Byrn Saves The Day

By Leslie Anne Tarabella / October 23, 2014 /

  Anne Byrn. Does her name ring a bell? Where have I heard that before?     Oh my gracious! She’s THE CAKE MIX DOCTOR!!! You know that like me, you’ve loved this cookbook for years! After I packed away, or gave away most of my cookbooks, because the ease of the internet kept recipes…

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The Perfect Fairhope Cottage

By Leslie Anne Tarabella / October 20, 2014 /

Ahhhh. I would always take a deep breath and relax just a little when I would drive past this perfect Fairhope cottage. Its inviting porch, green shuttered windows and big live oak in the front yard just called out, “Come sit a while” to me.   And then, as it always seems to happen in…

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Sundae at the Grand

By Leslie Anne Tarabella / October 1, 2014 /

In small towns, we tend to make our own fun. So one day, some people in Fairhope, Alabama said, “Hey, why don’t we try to make the World’s Longest Ice Cream Sundae?” We all came together – all 1,565 students and almost 300 adult volunteers – at the Marriott Grand Hotel Resort, Golf Club and…

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Red Solo Cup, I Lift You Up . . .

By Leslie Anne Tarabella / September 29, 2014 /

  If heaven were the Miss America Pageant, the talent competition would be the pearly gates. Y’all know good and well that if Miss Alabama had dared to sit barefoot and cross-legged on the plain floor and whack the stage with a plastic cup while singing slightly off key, I think the media would have…

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Touring Glennwood Estates

By Leslie Anne Tarabella / September 5, 2014 /

Here we are in lovely Glennwood Estates, an old established neighborhood in Decatur, Georgia. It was a beautiful summer day for a stroll, so I grabbed my camera to capture some of the charming homes along the way.     The first building I noticed was a beautiful apartment. With screened porches, awnings, arched windows,…

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Happy Birthday Lois Lane!

By Leslie Anne Tarabella / August 29, 2014 /

Happy- Yappy Friday to you, and Happy Birthday to Lois Lane! Yesterday was actually Lois’ 9th birthday. It wasn’t until after the celebration she consented to share this story with you, so I’m a day behind. Lois Lane was born the day before Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast. A pure-bred beagle, she comes from…

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Update on Southern Belle Soldier

By Leslie Anne Tarabella / August 27, 2014 /

Happy Wednesday! Since so many of you have asked how she’s doing, I wanted to give you a quick update on Simcha Antar, the 20 year old Fairhope, Alabama native who has recently joined the Israeli National Army. The good news is that Simcha arrived safely to her post and is busy being immersed in…

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A Walk In The Park

By Leslie Anne Tarabella / August 20, 2014 /

Yesterday, I showed you several photos of our new park, but I saved the best story for today. Have you ever seen a congressman go down a corkscrew slide? Here’s the short report I did for Gulf Coast Newspapers . . . When asked the riveting question, “Which piece of playground equipment would you run…

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