There is one magazine you will see on the coffee table in any Southern home. It is the Southern Living. I grew up with this magazine. In fact, the first recipe I cooked in my mom’s kitchen was from Mother’s Southern Living Cookbook 1967. It was a homemade pecan pie. When I say homemade, …
You open the front door and by gosh, there is a long box sent FedEx addressed to you. If you are lucky enough to have your sweetheart with you every day, believe me, you are lucky enough. Many of us share our love one with the military, government work overseas, and organizations that keep …
Valentines Day is just around the corner. I am putting the finishing touches on my sweethearts gifts. The personalized handtowels are completed.The name tags with jute twine and glassine bags for the heart shape donuts are finished. Now it is time to dip the strawberries. Yippee! The most important ingredients are the strawberries. I …
With Valentine’s Day approaching, I can’t help but think of my favorite romantic author. He writes love stories from the heart. He makes it all believable and you fall in love all over again with love. Nicholas Sparks ! He is not a native of North Carolina but he reminds me of a saying my …
Aww. A crisp white blouse. It is a classic. No southern lady’s wardrobe has only one. We have at least ten or more and they are in different styles and length of sleeves. Some will be monogramed. Some will be fitted and others will be oversized for lounging, possibly your boyfriend’s or husband’s. One thing for sure, you can …
Down South, we like parties and festivals. If a friends says they are throwing a party, you know it is going to be a good time. Throwing a party takes some preparation. You don’t want to be in the kitchen when the drinks are being pour. It takes a couple of weeks pulling a tailgating …
My personalized burlap coasters were a hit. I made three dozen sets . I am now ready for a burst of color. I found an adorable DIY idea on creating your own coasters with Silhouette. The results are adorable and functional too. And so so inexpensive. I found four clear coasters at a dollar …
Ask any Southerner what is a Hen in the Basket and they will tell you. “Why, that is my Grandmother’s candy dish.” Growing up in North Carolina, I was lucky to have family that lived in big farm homes. They had huge front and back porches. The bedrooms were upstairs and the living and kitchen …
I always have a big white bowl of lemons sitting my kitchen. Growing up I learned from my mother, that lemons were a staple in a Southern home. They are just as important as having butter in your fridge. From homemade lemonade to lemon sugar scrubs or repelling insects, lemons share their sunshine in …
What in the world is a sonker ? If the word sonker doesn’t ring a bell, you probably have never visited North Carolina and if you have, you didn’t ask for dessert. A saucer of sonker with milk dip sure hits the spot after a big plate of southern fried chicken, creamed potatoes and …
North Carolina is Horse Country. From the Outer Banks with native ponies to the mountains of Asheville, farms and stables abound. Growing up in Carolina, you will have experienced at least once in your lifetime a horse ride. As a child, I visited my grandparent’s weekly. And my granddad had a horse. Dan, the horse, …
Burlap and Lace burst on the scene in weddings several years ago.Coming from a true Southern background, I couldn’t see the beauty of the two put together. My idea of burlap wasn’t for weddings. Burlap reminds me of being a kid and having a potato sack race. The races were fun, but I hated how …
If you love designing as much as I do, you actually enjoy the winter season. You are inside and have a reason not to venture out into the snowy weather. With winter in full force, for me it means staying toasty warm and designing. I get so into the design, I look up and find everyone has …
Every southern state has its own special way of making bbq and its sauces. In fact, every state declares their sauce is the best and pig cooking too. Of course a challenge of who makes the best bbq had to be in questioned. The competition was fierce and after it was all tasted and done, North Carolina was named the bbq …
Valentine’s Day! Such a special day. It is the time the florist phone is ringing , right up to closing. Extended hours could go to 11:59 pm and there will be the one who just needs a few rose petals to layer the bath by midnight. It is a fun celebration and love is in …
In Carolina, we take any reason to visit a neighbor and share food. The place to meet someone for a chat is around the eatin’ table. We don’t take a full meal . We do that when someone loses a loved one. Just to visit, we bring a bowl of chicken salad, pimento cheese wedgies, sausage balls and …
What better than to begin this new year but to pamper myself. One way of slowing the pace is a massage and spa moment. I found while traveling abroad to include this moment. One of my favorite spas is Jean Louis David in Doha, Qatar. The spa offers many ways to relax and de-stress after an 18 …
Eating black-eyed peas on New Year’s has been considered good luck for at least 1,500 years. According the Talmud written around 500 A.D., it was Jewish custom at the time to eat black-eyed peas in celebration of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. Possibly the tradition arrived in America with Sephardic Jews, who first …
It is pleasure of mine to be able to stage homes for events. One of my favorite rooms is the dining area. There is just something inviting about a table. It invokes memories of family gatherings, coffee inspired chit chat, homework with snacks while mom does the dishes. This dining room graces a beautiful home on the Perquimans River of Hertford NC .
Working with Cameo Silhouette Designs Free Designs Weekly is so easy. I just found a tip and it is so useful. If you right click on a design you have downloaded from the Silhouette Library and click “show properties”, it gives you the instructions and tips of how to use the design.
