Pretty Southern

  • Pretty Southern Recipe: Mint Julep

    Pretty Southern Recipe: Mint Julep

    On a sunny day in the South, no cocktail tastes quite as sweet as a mint julep.

    For the perfect Southern mint julep, follow these instructions.

    mint julep

    Pretty Southern Mint Julep:

    2 oz. Kentucky Bourbon
    1 oz. Simple Syrup — made by boiling 1 cup sugar and 1 cup water, and allowing it to cool before mixing a cocktail
    3 Mint sprigs from a backyard garden
    1 oz. Soda Water
    Crushed Ice

    Muddle your mint in crushed ice, though if going for aesthetics be sure to set aside a sprig for garnish. In a cocktail shaker, pour 2 oz. Bourbon, 1 oz. Simple Syrup, and 1 oz. Soda. Shake with chivalry then pour over minted ice.

    Thank the stars you’re alive on this fine day and drinking something delicious. Enjoy the races.

  • Dressing for Atlanta Steeplechase

    Dressing for Atlanta Steeplechase

    An archetypal Southern gentleman could be adorned in seersucker. He would drink mint juleps on the finest occasions.

    A gentleman has an inherent taste for the finer things in life. As was said of Scarlett O’Hara’s daddy Gerald, “There was no need for him to acquire a good head for whiskey. He had been born with one.”

    Garrett Cox has that same knowledge as a true Southerner. Mr. Cox was kind enough to share his photos from the 2011 Steeplechase at Kingston Downs. In this photo: Hat by Orvis, Sunglasses by Fly Fisherman, Bow Tie by Brooks Brothers, Kerchief by Jos A Banks, Shoes, socks, belt by Johnston Murphy, and Suit by George Saratsiotis — a tailor in the small town of Americus, GA. It’s this gentleman’s opinion that “seersucker suits should be purchased in small towns in the South.”

    There is nothing finer than a well-dressed gentleman in the springtime.

  • Defining a Modern Gentleman

    Defining a Modern Gentleman

    The definition of a gentleman in our modern times is debatable. Every person has their own perception of what a gentleman means. Common terms are polite, chivalrous, loving, compassionate, and if the gentleman is a Disney prince, he has to be handsome.

    Charleston gentleman bow tie

    In “Gone With the Wind” Margaret Mitchell discusses the concept of a gentleman. She uses her bevvy of colorful characters to convey the various qualities of chivalry. Is Scarlett O’Hara’s first husband, Charles Hamilton, more of a gentleman because he died in the Civil War than Rhett Butler – the nefarious, swarthy rogue who captured Scarlett’s heart?

    Ultimately, Mitchell convey’s her definition of a gentleman through Scarlett’s Father, Gerald O’Hara:

    “A lack of the niceties of classical education carried no shame, provided a man was smart in the things that mattered. And raising good cotton, riding well, shooting straight, dancing lightly, squiring the ladies with elegance and carrying one’s liquor like a gentleman were the things that mattered.”

    Remember, guys and gals, about the virtues gentlemen of the Old South used to uphold. All it takes is having a green thumb, riding horses, accurately firing a gun which might’ve been acquired from stores like Guns Montreal, be a good dancer, an even better date, and always keeping cool at a party. Hope everyone has a day filled with gentility.

  • Margaret Mitchell: Media Maven

    Margaret Mitchell: Media Maven

    margaret-mitchell

    The best storyline of Gone With the Wind is neither about Scarlett O’Hara nor Rhett Butler — it’s the author Margaret Mitchell’s very own life story.

    Born in Atlanta on Nov. 8, 1900, Margaret Mitchell spent her childhood listening to the war stories of Confederate veterans. They told her everything about the Civil War except that the South had lost. She found that out when she was 10 years old.

    Before leaving for Smith College in 1918, Mitchell fell in love With Lieutenant Clifford Henry, a Harvard undergraduate training for active duty in World War I at Camp Gordon in Atlanta. In 1919, shortly after she learned Henry had been killed in action in France, her mother became ill and Margaret rushed home. She did not make it back in time to see her mother, and she stayed on to take care of her father and brother.

    Mitchell had many suitors, but Red Upshaw and John Marsh came to the fore as serious potential husbands. She got a job as the first woman to cover hard news for The Atlanta Journal, and married Upshaw. The marriage was short – Upshaw was a bootlegger and alcoholic. John Marsh, her other serious suitor, returned. They married and remained so until her death.

    Mitchell was forced to quit her job at The Atlanta Journal because of problems With her ankles and feet. Bedridden, she read voraciously and began work on what her friends called ‘the great American novel.’

    She showed the finished manuscript, all 1,037 pages of it, to a visiting New York publisher, and on June 10, 1936, Gone With the Wind was published.

    By October of that year, Gone With the Wind had sold one million copies, and David O. Selznick bought the rights for $50,000. At the time, it was the highest price ever paid by Hollywood for the rights to a first novel.

    Margaret Mitchell won the Pulitzer Prize in 1937. In 1939, Atlanta hosted the premier of one of the most popular movies of all time, Gone With the Wind, starring Clark Gable and Vivien Leigh.

    On August 11, 1949, while crossing Peachtree and 13th streets close to her home, Margaret Mitchell was struck by an off-duty cab driver, and died five days later. She was buried in Atlanta’s Oakland Cemetery with the rest of her family.

    Margaret Mitchell Grave Historic Oakland Cemetery

    Many years earlier, in an interview with her publisher, she was asked what  Gone With the Wind was about. She said ‘If the novel has a theme it is that of survival. What makes some people come through catastrophes and others, apparently, just as able, strong and brave go under?

    “It happens in every upheaval. Some people survive – others don’t. What qualities are in those who fight their way thought triumphantly that are lacking in those that go under. I only know that survivors used to call that quality ‘gumption.’

    “So I wrote about people who had gumption and people who didn’t.” (1936)

    Gumption a.k.a. spirited initiative and resourcefulness. Much like her heroine, Scarlett O’Hara, Margaret Mitchell had gumption in spades.

  • Remembering Claude Bridges

    Remembering Claude Bridges

    Our dear friend Hamilton Bridges lost his father on Wednesday, Nov. 17 2010.

    Claude Bridges

    It’s been a blessing to know Hamilton. He and his wife MaryAnn are two of the most fabulous Atlantans. The most frustrating fact is that there really isn’t anything we can do to help our friends except to be there to comfort, support and pray for them.

    Mr. Claude Bridges passed away after fighting a courageous battle against one of the worst diseases known to mankind. He was truly an inspiration even suffering from this wretched thing. Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (abbreviated ALS and a.k.a. Lou Gehrig’s disease) is a progressive, fatal neurodegenerative disease.

    It starts with losing muscle control in one part of the body; part of an arm, leg, or even trouble swallowing or breathing then continues to spread throughout the entire body.

    Steven Hawking is one of the most people to have ALS. Unfortunately Mr. Bridges wasn’t as lucky as Hawking. Most ALS patients pass away within three-to-five years of diagnosis.

    Regardless of his circumstance, Mr. Bridges always had a smile on his face. Maybe Mr. Bridges was able to stay so positive because of his faith. He couldn’t tell us. What we do know is that at MaryAnn and Hamilton’s engagement party Mr. Bridges made a toast to the couple that one could never forget.

    He was able to toast to his son and new fiancée with the assistance of a computer — way cooler than Steven Hawking because a) it was Mr. Bridges and b) because it was at a fantastic party). You can see the full video captured of the toast here:

    Hamilton Bridges & Mary Ann Barrett Engagement Party from Kevin Patrick on Vimeo.

    Please take a moment to read the wonderful words Mr. Bridges had to say about Hamilton and MaryAnn’s marriage:
    “It is both heartwarming and exciting to gather here tonight with family and so many friends to celebrate the engagement of MaryAnn and Hamilton… Many of you know that Berney and I have strongly encouraged our children to wait until 30 to get married. Hamilton’s two older sisters complied.

    We have said that Hamilton being the baby always got special treatment. When he met MaryAnn he knew a good thing when he saw it. After getting to know MaryAnn – Tracey, Mom and I all agree that it’s okay for Hamilton to break that rule.

    We would like to welcome MaryAnn, and her parents Babs and Bob Barrett into our family. I hope you have met the Barrett’s this evening. In addition to her parents, MaryAnn’s sister, Karen, and her husband, Ted, are with us tonight.

    Thank you Babs and Bob for sharing your delightful daughter with us. We look forward to sharing many more happy occasions with you.”

    How incredible. Mr. Bridges didn’t mention anything about his precarious health but chose to focus on how excited he and his family were to welcome MaryAnn. What a wonderful moment for both families which friends were privileged to witness. It’s this same spirit and strength of character as Lou Gehrig himself.

    Gehrig brought this disease to national attention when he retired from Major League Baseball in 1939. Lou Gehrig held the longest streak for 2,130 consecutive games played over 14 years until broken by Cal Ripken, Jr.

    Lou Gehrig’s last game was played with the New York Yankees in 1939 when he famously told his coach “I’m benching myself, Joe,” saying he was doing so “for the good of the team.”

    After reading of this disease, it became clear that there was a common thread shared by Lou Gehrig and Claude Bridges. The passion both men had for their families.
    In reading Lou’s farewell speech that he delivered on his retirement day he said he considered himself “the luckiest man on the face of this earth.” He went on to say:
    “When you have a wonderful mother-in-law who takes sides with you in squabbles with her own daughter — that’s something.

    When you have a father and a mother who work all their lives so that you can have an education and build your body — it’s a blessing.

    When you have a wife who has been a tower of strength and shown more courage than you dreamed existed — that’s the finest I know.

    So I close in saying that I might have been given a bad break, but I’ve got an awful lot to live for. Thank you.”

    To read more about Mr. Bridges wonderful life please visit his online obituary.

    Have a lucky and loving day.