Pretty Southern

  • Gracious Thoughts

    This summer I started teaching a creative writing class at My Sister’s House: a shelter and personal development program for women here in Atlanta. It’s been an adventure. Each week I meet new women who are at the Atlanta Union Mission for the same reason: life.

    Stuff happens we can’t control or explain. I’ve met women who have just been released from prison, a mother and daughter who needed a place to stay because they couldn’t pay rent on their apartment, and a 24-year old young lady pregnant with her fifth child.

    Every time I go to work there I leave with a renewed sense of humility. In Taoism, the three jewels of the Tao represent humility, compassion, and modesty. Teaching my workshop at My Sister’s House and with the staff of the Atlanta Union Mission has been a huge lesson for me as well in those three jewels of the Tao.

    A few weeks ago, I did a session with the shelter clients where I asked them to write about their dreams. One woman, Lisa Longmere, truly took me by surprise. In furthering compassion, humility and modesty through PrettySouthern.com, I’d like to share Lisa’s answer with y’all. Here we go…

    My Dreams

    Sitting at home on a nice piece of furniture with my favorite covers after a nice day at work. My car parked in the driveway, watching my favorite shows on my floor model widescreen TV and eating seafood, popcorn, ice cream and double chocolate chip cookies on a Friday night.

    Waking up with enough money in my purse to take care of bills, put gas in my car and a couple of hundreds left for my personal use.

    Having my personal life all righted so that I could invite the man of my dreams over for the weekend with no problem. We’d enjoy slow dancing after a couple of drinks listening to Mary J. Blige.

    I dream to to be living wise in my old age.

    Lisa’s dreams are a humble message to all of us who has money in their bank account, a car in their driveway, and the ability to eat whatever they want in their own home. The women I’ve met this summer have changed my life and reminded me that grace truly means unmerited thankfulness.

    If you’d like to donate to My Sister’s House or the Atlanta Union Mission, please click the link here http://www.atlantamission.org/

  • Southerners Love Our ‘Maters!

    Luscious, juicy, ripe, tangy, succulent…tomatoes! Summertime finds Southerners planning picnics, reunions, barbeques and get-togethers with family and friends. Our special occasion meals often include fresh tomatoes. Generally we serve sliced red tomatoes or fried green tomatoes, but they can also be baked, stuffed, grilled, breaded, diced, pureed, or even canned for future use. Any way you slice them, we love our ‘maters!

    Not only do we love eating tomatoes, many of us enjoy growing them. Whether we are seasoned experts or beginning gardeners, we delight in talking about our beautiful flowers and bountiful crops.

    Here are a few gardening tips for tomatoes. Your local nursery or garden center can be helpful, too!

    • I prefer starting with small plants. Two or three plants can yield a nice crop, so you don’t need a lot.
    • Choose a sunny location. A small bed or corner of your yard is perfect, but tomatoes can be grown in large pots on your porch or patio if you get enough sun. They need at least 6-8 hours of sun a day.
    • Prepare your soil so they have an environment in which to thrive. I use Scott’s Miracle-Grow Soil and I am liberal with mixing a good deal of it into the garden area.
    • Space your plants at least two feet apart. Make sure you give the roots room to grow. Plant them deep enough to reach to the first couple of leaves. Once planted, I pinch off the very bottom leaves.
    • You’ll need a tomato cage for each plant. Place firmly over the plant so it can grow up the middle, and the branches will have support. When the tomatoes get growing, the vines can get heavy. I usually keep colorful ribbons or twist ties around to keep the stray branches attached to the cages once they start getting longer. Don’t let branches fall on the ground, this invites disease or bugs.
    • I like to plant one marigold between each tomato plant. They keep pests away, and they’re pretty. Basil is also a great companion plant to grow next to tomatoes because they go together in many recipes, and basil repels insects.

    • For the first couple of weeks you’ll want to water plants every day. After that, water maybe twice a week. (less if you get rain) You can usually tell when plants need water because they’ll look a little wilted.
    • Prune some leaves occasionally. Be careful not to pinch off the ones that have flowers. These little flowers are where your tomatoes will grow. It takes a little practice to determine where to prune. Normally the darker, tougher looking leaves are where you pinch back.
    • Pick tomatoes green to fry, or leave them on the vine until they are ripe and ready to slice.
    If you don’t have a recipe for fried green tomatoes, one of our most famous Southern cooks, Paula Deen has a fabulous fried green tomato recipe!

    Grow well and prosper!

    [author] [author_image timthumb=’on’]https://prettysouthern.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/Karen.jpg[/author_image] [author_info]Pretty Southern contributing culture and lifestyle reporter Karen Hatchett is a life-long southerner and resident of Smyrna, Georgia. She’s a Marketing & PR professional, arts & music lover, jewelry designer and casual gardener.[/author_info] [/author]

  • Tennessee Artists Craft Custom Wedding Bands

    Tennessee Artists Craft Custom Wedding Bands

    With all of the excitement this week surrounding the Not Wedding and it’s amazing Southern vendors- I had to share the work of artists Rob and Leighanne with you.  They live in an old farmhouse in West Tennessee with their seven children and craft the most gorgeous wedding bands you’ve ever seen for their etsy shop, Rob & Lean. Inlaid with wood and natural stones like turquoise, these stainless steel bands are perfect for a couple looking for something a little bit different.

    For our April wedding we ordered my husband a band from Rob and Leighanne and could not have been happier with the service and quality of their work and communication.  The stainless steel band was beautifully inlaid with a deep brown cocobolo wood that we picked out, making it feel like our own design.  We even had the inside engraved (for free!) with “Home is wherever I’m with you”- lyrics from one of our favorite songs included in our wedding day as we walked down the aisle post-ceremony- which Lauren featured in today’s Southern Songs post! Our entire experience creating this ring for my husband was wonderful, they even sent hand-written cards to us- that’s true Southern manners!

    [author] [author_image timthumb=’on’]https://prettysouthern.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/KatHeadShot.jpg[/author_image] [author_info]Kat Kraszeski-Jackson is an art teacher, artist, and diy crafter living in Greensboro, NC. She loves sharing her favorite artists, projects, and creative inspiration here on Pretty Southern.[/author_info] [/author]

    Featured image by Veil&Bow, story images by from Rob & Lean

  • Southern Vintage Inspiration

    Vintage, rustic charm singing of sweet romance is a new theme for Southern weddings. There’s a refined elegance in using a classic, country setting for the day a true lady pledges her love to a gentile gentleman. Four Inch Fold is here to help create the magic.

    New to the Southern wedding scene, Four Inch Fold is a unique vintage furniture rental company here to provide a complete aesthetic for fabulous events. At only four months old, Four Inch Fold has received a warm welcome from the wedding community and will be featured at The NotWedding!

    “My love for vintage rooted from childhood when I was often given hand-me down clothes, furnishing, and accessories. I am a very visual person and decided to go into the field of architecture where I also picked up graphic design,” says Four Inch Fold proprietor Mao Thao. “To fuel my creativity beyond my daily labor of love, I started making wedding invitations for a few friends in the last couple of years – just for fun. I started following a lot of wedding blogs and stumbled upon the emerging vintage rental business. A light bulb turned on and there was no turning it off. I was immediately inspired to share my vintage passion by creating innovative ways to translate, reinvent, and redefine vintage items for our modern use.”

    “The NotWedding breaks the mold of traditional bridal/wedding events, and I love the fact that the vendors’ services/products are put into action through a whole wedding ceremony and reception. It creates a more personable experience and I believe it’s the best way for guests to find inspiration for their own wedding. Moreover, they get a wide variety of inspiration from talented wedding professionals under one roof. My favorite part about Southern weddings is the laid-back atmosphere. The beauty of Southern weddings is that it can be as simple or elegant as one likes but the down-to-earth fun atmosphere is always present.”

    “I don’t think you have to be born in the South to be a Southerner and I think that makes a 21st century Southerner stand apart from other eras. I have lived in Georgia for almost 9 years and adapted to a few Southern ways – except I don’t eat grits.” Mao smiles. “The South has become a growing melting pot of all sorts of people so I find it important to maintain the Southern identity through its culture such as food, entertainment, and accent.”

    A lady is warm, romantic, charming and delicate, yet strong. A gentleman is mannerly, appreciates a good meal, and best of all, courageous when necessary. A lady and gentleman's individual traits compliment each other

    .

     

    For more information about Four Inch Fold, please check out Mao’s blog like her on Facebook or follow her on Twitter! And keep an eye on Pretty Southern for photos of Mao’s work at The NotWedding!

    Editor’s note: photos and artistic styling by Once Like A Spark

     

  • Pretty Southern Song

    Granted Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros are from Los Angeles but their song “Home” is distinctly Southern! “Alabama, Arkansas, I do love my ma and pa, Not the way that I do love you.” The first time we heard this song was when our very own Kat Kraszeski Jackson put it on her eclectic wedding mix. If you love indie pop, cool melodies, catchy lyrics then this is a Pretty Southern song for you.

  • DJ Josh Whitlock

    Atlanta’s very own Josh Whitlock is a shining example of a gentleman. The best thing about Mr. Whitlock is that he’s for hire to DJ your next event!

    DJ Josh Whitlock will be bringing the heat on July 21 at The NotWedding…but his game has already achieved quite a reputation. He’s been working the party scene since 2001. In the past decade he’s worked more than 100 events!

    “I had always loved dancing, and knew how crucial music selection was for a great dance party.” Josh told PrettySouthern. “My friends also knew this about me, so when it came time for them all to start getting married, they asked me to DJ their weddings. I figured, I’d be going to their weddings anyway, so why not go as the DJ instead of a guest. I’m so glad those friends thought of me, or I don’t know that I would have ever considered the DJ business.”

    After working weddings for 10 years, Josh has learned a thing or two about weddings. His favorite part about Southern weddings includes several things like the sweet tea, open bars, clever toasts and dancing! Josh has also witnessed some quirky wedding moments over the years.

    “My most surprising/craziest song was requested by the bride and groom as their last dance song. It was ‘Time to Say Goodbye’ by Andrea Bocelli & Sarah Brightman. I played it, and thought to myself ‘No one will dance to this. They’ll all just look at me until I switch the song.’ Boy was I wrong! They waltzed around the room, and sang at the top of their lungs in opera voices. Even the Dad joined in. I’m pretty sure the movie ‘Step Brothers’ stole that song idea from that wedding.”

    When it comes to exemplifying the fantastic, creative options for Southern weddings, The NotWedding will have it all! Josh has worked The NotWedding before as a DJ, including the first event in 2008 but he’s particularly excited this year about a certain secret surrounding the event. Of course, he’s been sworn to secrecy so as not to spoil the surprise!

    “All I can say is that you don’t want to miss it because that’s what I’m most excited about. The girls in charge are what I like to call All-Stars. They do everything well, and they make tons of friends doing it. I’m even lucky enough to be married to one of them. Clients often ask me ‘Can I see you DJ an event before I decide to use you?’ Now instead of telling them to crash a wedding, I tell them to check me out at The NotWedding.”

    For more information on book DJ Josh Whitlock, please check out his website. You can also check him out on Facebook and Twitter or you can hear him out in person at the fabulous NotWedding event at Ambient + Studio on Thursday, July 21 and tickets are available by clicking on The Not Wedding’s website!