Our Simple Southern Home

“May be a simple life but thats okay, yeah If you ask me baby I think I got it made” – Darius Rucker, from his song, “Alright”   Like most Southerners, South Carolina native, Darius Rucker understands happiness often springs from the simple things in life. Now, a study from the University of Chicago confirms…

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Fairhope Arts and Crafts Festival

This is the weekend we wait for all year long! It’s time for the Fairhope Arts and Crafts Festival . . .but did you know that this event is actually two separate art shows?   The Eastern Shore Chamber of Commerce hosts the 63rd Annual Fairhope Arts and Crafts Festival with 230 participating artists and…

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Southern Valentine

It’s not that Southern love is necessarily any better than other regions . . .   we just have a different way of expressing it. “Gimme’ some sugar” isn’t about the white granular substance you buy in a bag at Piggly Wiggly. And of course, Rhett Butler had a way with words (swoon). (Thanks, Margret…

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Our purpose in being proper

This is a little different from most of my articles, but I was so bothered by the recent shootings of the innocent police officers in New York, I couldn’t stop thinking about how children are being raised, and the difference a few manners may make. A west coast acquaintance was not happy I instructed my then…

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There’s deep meaning in Krylon

It’s December in the South, and since I’m a Southern lady, I headed over to Ace Hardware to buy the required cans of metallic spray paint. Judging by what was left on the shelves, which wasn’t much, it seems gold is making a comeback, although silver is still ahead by a spritz or two. It…

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Red Velvet Cake for Christmas

There’s no rule that red velvet cake is only for Christmas. It also makes a big appearance around Valentine’s Day and Independence Day as well.   But something about Christmas just makes us want a beautiful, delicious Red Velvet cake for dessert.   Ladies all around the South know to have a red velvet cake…

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Christmas in the South

So, we’ve no snow. Just fields of white cotton. Seashells and glitter give us a feel of sparkling ice crystals. Of course, living in the South, we have to take precautions with our decorations. Oh, how we love to spray paint everything and glitter the Charles Dickens out of it. But first . . .…

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Velveeta, I know you not

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

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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The Perfect Fairhope Cottage

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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