Southern Life

SOUTHERN LIFE ‎
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If you want a glimpse of Southern life,
Come close and walk with me;
I'll tell you all the simple things,
That you are sure to see.
You'll see mockingbirds and bumblebees,
Magnolia blossoms and dogwood trees,
Caterpillars on the step,
Wooden porches cleanly swept;
Watermelons on the vine,
Strong majestic Georgia pines;
Rocking chairs and front yard swings,
Junebugs flying on a string;
Turnip greens and hot cornbread,
Coleslaw and barbecue;
Fried okra, fried corn, fried green tomatoes,
Fried pies and pickles too.
There's ice cold tea that's syrupy sweet,
And cool, green grass beneath your feet;
Catfish nipping in the lake,
And fresh young boys on the make.
You'll see all these things
And much, much more,
In a way of life that I adore. ‎
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‎-Patricia Neely-Dorsey ‎

Great Feel Good Video

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Pinecone Garland

I was at a shop a few days ago and they had fantastic garland made of pinecones. It was incredible, but CRAZY expensive. It was $250 for a 10 ft. section. I decided I could make it myself and it turned out better than I could have hoped. It was really easy to do, but took quite a bit of time. The good thing is that I will have it to use for a couple of years.

McCampbell House

There are many great, historically significant homes in Nashville. One of which is the McCampbell House in the Donelson neighborhood. The McCampbell house is a two-story brick Federal-style home and was built around 1790 by the Hall brothers. The McCampbell family acquired the estate in the 1840s. Since the mid-20th century, most of the grounds have subdivided and developed. The McCampbell House remained a private residence although in recent years deferred maintenance has resulted in the house and grounds becoming overgrown and deteriorated. The owner recently passed away and willed the vacant house to the State of Tennessee. It could be an amazing home, but the longer it sits vacant the greater the cost of renovation. I'm going to add this house to my wish list.

Christmas Gifts in Cigar Boxes

I have finished all of my Christmas shopping. I have always enjoyed wrapping gifts almost as much as I do buying and giving them. I have wrapped gifts in a variety of ways. In the past I have used plain, brown butcher paper and solid color ribbon, the coordinated Martha Stewart paper and other different types of wrapping. But, this year I decided to do something different. I was at a local cigar store a couple of days ago and in the corner I saw a huge stack of empty wooden and paper cigar boxes for sale. The paper ones were $1 a piece and the wooden ones were $3 a piece. I bought a bunch of the paper ones in which to wrap gifts. I really like the designs and colors of the boxes, so I didn't wrap them in paper. I just used the boxes and jute twine. Overall, I am pretty pleased.

Hometown Christmas Home Tour

I live about an hour north of the small town where I grew up. There are many, many wonderful ‎things about having grown up in a small town. Some aspects I wouldn’t have changed even if I ‎were given the power to have done so. I don’t make it down as much as I probably should, but I ‎do return a fair amount to visit the family. There are many AMAZING homes in Maury County. ‎This weekend is the Christmas Home Tour and I’m venturing down to tour these houses. Some I ‎have been in tons of times and others I have never entered. It should make for a fun and ‎exciting trip. Now if I can only survive the questions such as: “When are you moving back ‎home?” and “How are your mom and dad?” If anyone is in southern middle Tennessee, come ‎join in on the fun. www.maurychristmas.com

I Love Christmas!

I Love, Love, Love Christmas. Not the gift giving part, but the decorations, parties and visiting with people you don't see often. I am fortunate to own a wonderful house, but it is an urban neighborhood Nashville type of place. There are lots of things on my wishlist and a cabin in the country ranks at the very top. If I had an ideal Christmas home, this would be it. I might even consider the move to North Carolina to have it.

Artists

I am by no means an Art collector or expert. I have always heard one should buy what speaks to them and what they like. I LOVE David Harouni. His studio and gallery are on Royal Street in New Orleans. I'm not going to go off on a tangent about how much I LOVE New Orleans, but his gallery is always one of my first stops when I arrive in the city. The last time I was there, he was working on a series for a law office. They were all like the face pieces with the crown, but they were Supreme Court Justices in their robes. They were AMAZING! So, when I win the lottery I will definitely buy some of his work. In the meantime it is great fun to look and wish. Check out his work at www.harouni.com

Funny Way to Market Important Health Information

Great way to market something we should all take seriously.

Cotton Jones + ACL Music Festival

My best friend Doug moved to Austin, TX a little over a year ago. I am not pleased he moved away, but it has provided a great opportunity for me to visit several times. Living in Nashville, I have always heard how similar Austin and Nashville are. I guess I can see that in some respects in that they are both state capitals, both large university towns and both have a pretty significant music scene. Anyway, I like Austin. I went to visit Doug a few weeks ago and it just happened to be the same weekend as the Austin City Limits Music Festival. We didn't have tickets so on that Saturday morning we went down and bought some tickets from a guy who charged WAY too much money for them, but it was worth every penny. I was obviously excited about seeing Dave Matthews, Citizen Cope and the Zac Brown band but wasn't prepared for some of the other bands I didn't know. One of the first bands we saw was Cotton Jones. I think they may be my new favorite band. Great and interesting sound and they definitely made standing in the rain worth it! Check them out.

Dinner Party Music

I really like old school standards. I am one of those guys who actually buy the compilation cd’s ‎they play and sell at Ralph Lauren, Pottery Barn, Restoration Hardware and the like. I had ‎amazing grandparents and blame my love of this music on them. I can remember being at ‎their house and playing old 78’s and other records on their record player. I remember my ‎grandmother trying to teach me to dance and I definitely wish I had paid closer attention to her instructions. In ‎organizing parties or work functions I tend to spend almost as much time on the musical ‎selection as I do everything else. I love how these songs set a mood for an entire evening! If ‎you aren’t familiar with Chet Baker - You need to be! 

Volunteer Traditions

I have always been a little jealous when I saw someone from South Carolina wearing a belt, cap, or croakies with the palmetto. Being a born and raised Tennessean, I wanted something of my own. I just never saw anything that spoke to me. I had the good fortune of being able to see the show Wicked in Nashville a few weeks ago. When we got there the seats to my right were empty. When the young couple walked in to be seated, I stood and noticed the young guy's belt. I immediately thought I had to know where he got that. At first, I was hesitant to ask for fear of being some cheesey old guy. Ultimately, at intermission I asked. He told me about a great online company called Volunteer Traditions www.volunteertraditions.com They have everything a Tennessee boy could want - check them out!

Jeep Grand Wagoneers

I am a child of the '80's and I may have taken the Preppy Handbook a little too seriously. I love Ralph Lauren, OLD Abercrombie when it was still cool, and OLD Gap. And I love Jeep Grand Wagoneers! One day I will have one of my own (and the money to not worry about the gas costs.) As usual while playing online I found a great website www.wagonmaster.com This guy buys wagoneers and makes them like new. It is definitely a great website for window shopping and more if you have the cash.

THANKS to PS 22

I have spent my entire professional career working with and for children. My first real job after graduating from college was with the Boy Scouts. I was the District Executive for the Audubon District in New Orleans. I spent a great amount of my time convincing little guys that they needed to be a cub or boy scout. It was a great job. When I moved to Nashville for Grad School, I continued working with kids. I worked in a residential program, with an agency that did in-home behavioral therapy, and Juvenile Court. I have told you before how much I love my current career. The ONLY downside is that I almost never see kids. I read about them, I see tons of data and statistics, and I hear about them. I just never get to see and interact with them. Oftentimes, I see such negative information that it becomes easy to forget all of the AMAZING things young people are doing. Today I was goofing off and playing on YouTube and came across a video that was amazing. Sometimes, I’ll find or hear things that remind me EXACTLY why I do what I do. This video is definitely one of those! Their Teacher is incredible! He makes me want to quit my job and join the ranks of educators! Enjoy!

Country Music Marathon

Spring and the Country Music Marathon both arrive in Nashville at about the same time. The Marathon is this weekend and will bring with it TONS of people. Now, I am in no way a runner and will definitely not be taking part in the running. However, I find the more important part of the event to be the social aspects. Part of the race will be through the Belmont neighborhood and I am fortunate to have friends who live along the course. I will be drinking with friends at a couple of parties throughout the neighborhood, but will definitely do my part to cheer on the runners and my friends who are participating. A couple of my friends are running. Josh is running to raise money for First Steps, a program that helps special needs children. So, if you have any free time - Come to Nashville for the Marathon. www.cmmarathon.com

Augusten Burroughs - Author

I love to read. I’ll read almost anything. Obviously, I like books that are about or set in the ‎South. I particularly like books that are about life in small southern towns. However, my ‎reading varies. Sometimes I like serious, complicated biographies and other times I like quick ‎easy reads. One of my favorite authors is Augusten Burroughs. He is not southern, but his ‎grandparents were and he spent much time visiting them. So that makes him o.k. to me. He ‎has written wildly funny and complicated works about his family and their own individual ‎dysfunctions. Some of his books are Running With Scissors (now a movie), Sellevision, and ‎Possible Side Effects. He has a new book titled A Wolf at the Table. This book is about his ‎father. I haven’t started reading it yet, but am very much looking forward to it. Because of this ‎new book, Burroughs was in Nashville and spoke at Vanderbilt recently as a fundraiser for the ‎Brooks Fund of the Community Foundation. I have heard authors in the past, but didn’t really ‎know what to expect from Burroughs. First off, he looked nothing like I thought. I had seen ‎photographs of him before, but had no idea he was so skinny. Unlike many other authors, he ‎doesn’t have a prepared presentation or read from his books. He just kind of talks which works ‎well for him. And then answers questions. He is wicked funny. Check out his work if you aren’t ‎familiar with him.‎ www.augusten.com

Robert Earl Keen

I have a friend Chad who lives in Amarillo, Texas. We are also Fraternity Brothers, although he ‎was at Texas Tech instead of Lambuth. After we met, we realized we had very similar tastes in ‎music. We started exchanging names of bands the other had to check out. He introduced me ‎to the greatest singer/songwriter to ever live… Robert Earl Keen. Since that introduction years ‎ago, I have had the pleasure of seeing REK at numerous shows in Nashville and across the state. ‎Check him out at http://www.robertearlkeen.com/‎

Smathers & Branson Needlepoint Belts

I spend way too much time online looking at houses, boats, dogs, baseball scores, vacation spots and countless other things. It is not unusual for me to stumble across a website and think to myself “I HAVE to have this!” I had this very experience just a few months ago. I have always loved needlepoint belts. They are just so very cool and would add just the right amount of color to my usual uniform of khakis and solid color button downs or polos. Through the years, I have had friends who had girlfriends who made belts for them. Unfortunately, I did not. So, I stumbled across Smathers and Branson. Hell Yeah! They have great products. I will definitely buy one of these as soon as I can make up my mind as to which pattern I want. These aren’t cheap, but would make amazing gifts! Check out their products at www.smathersandbranson.com

Southern Proper "Beau" Ties

A few days ago I told you about my “big” work event called Children’s Advocacy Days. Since it is our one big event of the year, everyone dresses even better than usual. We went with a Southern gardening theme this year so I decided to be as Southern as possible. The event is in March, so it is too early to sport a seersucker suit – which I will definitely break out before long. So, what to do? I thought and talked and decided the least I could do was wear a bow tie. Now, I am a born and raised Southerner and a Fraternity man but I had absolutely no idea how to tie one. I’m afraid to say this aloud since the powers that be may revoke my membership card. However, I remedied the situation as quickly as possible. My friend Jon who was raised the right way taught me in about an hour. It was an interesting process in that I wanted to be very “technical” about it. His amazing suggestion was close your eyes and pretend you are tying your shoe. And it happened! And all I had to do for this amazing training session was to buy dinner – I definitely got the better end of the deal. When I made the decision to sport this bow tie, I started looking online for just the right one. Lo and behold, I ran across an amazing website and learned of a brand I had never even heard of… SOUTHERN PROPER. How did I not know about their amazing products? Check out their stuff at http://www.southernproper.com/

White Squall and Old Gap

I love movies. I love traveling. I love to hear about people who have accomplished things they ‎never believed possible. I love khaki shorts and white long sleeved polos. I love the way Gap ‎clothes “used to be.” I love boating and all things to do with being on the water.
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Therefore, it is no surprise that I love the movie White Squall. It is definitely a great Sunday ‎afternoon movie. Take the time to watch it if you haven’t. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!‎

Hatch Show Prints

I am fortunate to have the greatest job in the world. I work with the Tennessee Commission on Children and Youth. We basically function as an in-house consulting firm for family and children’s policy issues for the State of Tennessee and our Legislature. I am truly fortunate to enjoy what I do AND know I make a difference in the lives of so many people every day. One of my primary responsibilities is to organize an annual two day legislative event known as Children’s Advocacy Days. We just call it CAD for obvious reasons. The most challenging aspect of the planning is determining the theme. This year was a little easier. Nashville has an amazing treasure in the Hatch Show Print Shop on Broadway. Hatch is a print shop that uses blocks to hand print posters. Hatch has done tons of posters for bands, concerts and events. For those of you who watch CNN, (don’t we all?) Hatch did all of the posters and graphics for their 2008 Presidential coverage. Their work is amazingly cool. So cool in fact, the Nashville Airport has many of their pieces framed and hanging in the terminals. After we decided the theme for CAD ’09, Hatch designed and printed our posters. They turned out much better than I had even hoped!

Check out Hatch Show Prints at http://www.countrymusichalloffame.com/site/experience-hatch-history.aspx

"... the best years of your life"

I attended and graduated from Lambuth University in Jackson, TN. Lambuth is a small, private, Methodist University in west Tennessee. I looked at several colleges and universities before making the decision to attend Lambuth. Just like Goldilocks, I looked at schools that were too big, too small, too close to home, and too far from home. It is difficult for me to put into words exactly why I chose Lambuth over other comparable schools other than it just "felt right." From the second I saw the school, it looked and felt like what I thought a University should look and feel like. To this day I have not one single regret. While at Lambuth, I pledged and was initiated into the Sigma Phi Epsilon Fraternity. Every spring my mind goes back to my days at Lambuth when we would move sofas from inside the house to the front yard. We would sit in the sun and drink, talk, study or do nothing. I remember people walking by and saying "enjoy yourself.... these are the best years of your life." Little did I know how dead on right they were.

Check out Lambuth at http://www.lambuth.edu/