Southern Charm

I have rekindled my love for Southern Living.

I know, rekindled? Where did the love ever go?

Funny little story about my stubbornness, actually...

My mom always told me (as in, from a very young age when I had just learned to read and insisted upon picking up every piece of print I could find, including her copious copies of SL) that I should major in journalism and work at Southern Living.

Wrong. So, so wrong.

I REFUSED to go this path. And in some ways, I still do. Even as an English major, I don't particularly love writing. It is more of a necessary evil. I don't like to be told what I am supposed to write about. I'd rather just talk through my own free-floating ideas. Hah, surprise.

Anyway, out of spite, I guess, I snuffed my nose to anything Southern Living, lest my mother think she won the fight.

I like to call these my dark years. Because really, who was I kidding?

And then I grew up, accepting myself for the old soul I really am. And I realized that Southern Living people were my people. What had I done ignoring those beautiful tablescapes, delectable recipes, and page after page of Southern charm? Man, Southerners KNOW hospitality.

So I soaked it all up again.

And then this semester I discovered the SL twitter.

Shoot. That was the best transit ride home in some time.

Around Thanksgiving, they tweeted the article on their Christmas Gift Guide.

I can't even deal. Y'all, I seriously want everything on this list. Every item is sure to please any southern belle or beau.

And then I saw it. A most precious pie carrier. Made by Vonny, I didn't even know they existed, but as much as I like to bake and surprise friends and classmates with a sweet treat, I knew I would use such a stylish little tote on the reg.

Typical SL move, they linked up to a site where you could buy it (and the matching casserole carrier) monogrammed.

Lucky for me, my boss decided to carry the line of Vonny products. And that meant employee discount. Bonus: I know how to monogram. Merry Christmas to me from me.

I mean, please. Just tell me this isn't cute.

I think my Happy Birthday to me from me present will be that matching casserole carrier.

Swoon.

Moral of the story: don't turn your back on SL. And don't put Twinkies on your pizza. (Actually, that last one is from Heavyweights, but I think it is pretty sound advice, nevertheless.)

Because I'm A Lady, That's Why

I guess it's official... I'm out as a lady now.

This past week I was presented at the Poinsettia Debutante Ball at the Country Club. Bless it all. The entire debutante season ended up being a lot of fun with some sweet girls I enjoyed spending time with, but the ball was by far the most entertaining. My sweet friends from out of town came just for the event, and my precious buddies here in Birmingham altered travel plans to be there.

The night was such a whirlwind, I don't think we ever got a complete group shot. At least w

e got a few of us!

We all needed a little help getting ready for the night.

Next year I get to go with the red sash across my dress. Yippee Skippee.

Also, I kind of feel like I should be listening to this when I flip through all of the photos.

And this is just in case you didn't understand the title.

Fay's 12 Days

Let me just take a moment to introduce you to the greatest Christmas movie ever. It's a tradition in our household ever since I watched it in art class in elementary school.

I know, it's great. Don't worry, we have like six copies on DVD.

A Neighborly Christmas

Last week Alex, Caroline, Katie, and I went to see Andrew Ripp/Drew & Ellie Holcomb's Christmas show at Workplay! Typical, I only have iPhone pictures, but Alex posted some really cute photos of the evening on her blog.

We ran into this sweet friend who I was fortunate enough to have breakfast with this morning.

And this other friend who braved downtown Opelika with me earlier this semester to see Drew & Ellie.

It didn't feel much like Christmas, especially with Andrew repping the tank top mid-December.

Good news, you can still get Drew Holcomb and the Neighbors A Very Neighborly Christmas album for free on Noise Trade! At least do them the favor of promoting their album by tweeting about it or putting it on facebook!

Christmas Crinkle Cookies

So, I left my camera cord in Auburn. Of course, I didn't realize this until after I had remember to take it a few places over break. So there will be a lack of pictures for a while, unless they were taken with my iPhone.

Anyway, there have been so many Christmas parties and cookie swaps that I've had to pull out some of my favorite recipes! This one is one of my favorite go-to cookie recipes because it is definitely different than the standard chocolate chip or sugar cookie. I only have it because it was included in my Shakespeare study guide made by our sweet GTA. (This is why I love my major.) Fair warning, these cookies are more like a cake/brownie texture, but I think that's why everyone likes them so much!

• 1 stick butter, softened (SO important that it is soft)
• 1 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 2/3 cup flour (not necessary to sift it!)
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• Bowl of powdered sugar... the more the merrier

Beat butter and sugar until lighter in color and creamy. (Trust me, don't skimp on this step. That's why the soft butter is so important!)

Add eggs and vanilla and beat until well-combined. (You want this mixture to be lighter and fluffier.)

Add dry ingredients and mix until well-combined, making sure to scrape the bottom of the bowl so that it is all combined. (I usually add everything in slowly or else I cover the kitchen in flour.)

Use a melon baller or two spoons to make small balls of dough and drop them into the bowl of powdered sugar. Make sure you coat the whole thing in sugar! (I use a a Nordic Ware cookie dropper that I bought at Target. It is probably the greatest investment I've made in bakeware.)

Bake on a cookie sheet for 8 minutes in a 350 degree oven. Enjoy!

It's Fall Y'all

In the words of Jon Acuff via twitter "the weather today felt like it was ordered from an L.L. Bean catalog."

I volunteered at the Reading is Fundamental 5K/10K this morning and this was my view from my station. Not too shabby even if I was up at 5am and it was 39 degrees outside.

I made this pumpkin cake. She calls them pumpkin bars, but cake was a more apt term.

And apple crisps. I put wayyyy too much sugar on these bad boys and neglected to spray the foil with cooking spray first, so maybe the next time around.

I hope fall sticks around.

seeing double

I have the privilege of being AOII's t-shirt chair, and it is a job that I enjoy to a sickening degree. I designed the header for this blog, and I just loved it so much, I used it for our sisterhood retreat t-shirt. It's been so funny to see girls walking around campus in it, so I thought I'd share it with you all, too!

rubbing elbows

I am obsessed with Lands' End new Canvas 1963 line. I've bought some great items, including my personal favorite, this tangerine and ivory knit infinity scarf. (And it's on sale now!)

But one item I really like and regret not having bought is this ribbed open crewneck in teal with chocolate brown elbow patches.

Real cute with that vest, right?

Well, I'm not such a fan of how wide that neckline is, and once I found this I had already placed my online order and didn't want to pay for shipping again. It's been in the back of my mind in case I placed another order again soon, but I finally lost all patience when I saw a cardigan with heart elbow patches on Pinterest. I figured I could use the same tried and true freezer paper tutorial from Little Birdie Secrets and make my own shirt. So I bought this plain mustard colored shirt at Target, some microsuede material from Hob Lob (at a 50% discount, might I add), and some matching thread. I already had the Heat & Bond adhesive and freezer paper at home. This project didn't even cost me $15 total and it took me maybe half an hour.

It's nothing too incredibly special, but it does add a little zip and makes me look the part of an English major. I promise it looks cuter on with my brown puffer vest-- I just don't want to embarrass myself with the self pics. :)

Liebster Blog Awards

My sweet friend Ashley told me that I was one of 5 ballers to win the Liebster Blog Award! This is given to bloggers who have <200 followers. The word liebster is a German word that means dear, sweet, kind, nice, good, and many many other like words. I am so grateful for Ashley and everything she has meant in my life and for this award! (Also, please let me come hang out with you and EA over Thanksgiving!)

As a way to keep the award going, the recipients of this award are to nominate 5 outstanding bloggers with less than 200 followers.

The rules of the Liebster Blog Award are to link back to the blogger who gave it to you, reveal your top 5 bloggers and let them know by leaving a comment on their blog, copy and paste the award on your blog. Finally, have faith that your followers will spread the word too!

Here it goes...

1. Jana at I Will Hold On Hope. You can thank her for getting me started on blogging. That's right, positive peer pressure, people. And thanks to her I have a Twitter too. Imitation is the highest form of flattery, right? She is a highly talented photographer and I encourage you to check out some of her wedding and engagement work!

2. Emily Grace at Learning Grace. What. A. Champ. Emily Grace speaks God's truth with every word. She is always a encouragement and her blog highlights what she's learning through life as an undergrad.

3. Maegan at Lavished With Love. What a faithful teacher! She invests in me via her blog even hundreds of miles away. I have so enjoyed her honest (and usually hilarious) daily encounters with motherhood. What a blessing to be able to watch her on this journey!

4. Caroline and Alex at Untangled Lines. You want to be inspired to step back from the computer and live life? Take a look at the blog they co-author. If I didn't know you two better, I'd say all you do is just frolic around outside and hang out with cool musical artists. But I've seen your mound of chemical engineering work (Carol) and your stack of Burney novels (Alex).

5. Hillary at Essential, yet Appealed. She blogs about Jesus, America, and Southern culture. I mean, what more do you want?

(We have a class blog for my Milton class and I almost posted it for this award just to be funny. But I think it would make most normal, sane people curl up and cry.)

love thy neighbor