It's Friday y'all!!  It's been a long, busy week and I'm very happy to see this day finally come!  We have a busy weekend ahead, but it should be a lot of fun!

Today I'm guest hosting over at Camylla's blog, Simply Me.  Hop on over and see what I'm having to say over there.  Oh and on my guest post there is a recipe that you will be wanting to make this weekend with the overnight temps in the 40s!  Yes, you read that right!!  They are predicting lows in the 40s this weekend!!  I can't wait!!

Thanks again Camylla for asking me to guest host for you!  If you haven't checked out her blog, it's a must!  Click here to see what I'm talking about!

Have a wonderful Friday y'all!!

Homemade cornbread recipe

One of the blogs I love to follow, Sherri Lynn's Life of a Wife, recently had a post that I loved!!  If you remember a few weeks ago, I blogged about my mamaw's cornbread and how I have been dying to find a great recipe for homemade cornbread.  And Sherri Lynn's post was just what I was looking for... click here to see her post.

So tonight — I decided to try out her recipe!

Buttermilk Cornbread with Monterey Jack Cheese

1 cup flour

1 cup yellow cornmeal

2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1/2 cup (packed) coarsely grated Monterey Jack cheese

3/4 cup buttermilk

2 eggs

3 Tbsp honey

1/3 cup unsalted butter, melted

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Butter an 8x8" baking dish.  

Whisk flour, cornmeal, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together in medium bowl.  Stir in cheese.  In another bowl, whisk together buttermilk, eggs, and honey.  Add melted butter and whisk until blended well.  Add buttermilk mixture to dry ingredients.  Stir just until combined.

Pour batter into prepared pan.  Bake until tester inserted into center of bread comes out clean, about 15 minutes.  Cool completely in pan on rack.

59twenty

People are always asking me, "what is there to do in Meridian, Mississippi?"

This is one of many events that goes on in our hometown — and it is happening in 9 days!!

  
-Main Stage-

11:30 - 1:00 = Cary Hudson

1:00 - 1:30 = break

1:30 - 3:00 = Wes lee

3:00 - 3:30 = break

3:30 - 5:00 = Cheryl LuQuire

5:00 - 5:30 = break

5:30 - 7:00 = Lightnin' Malcom

7:00 - 7:30 = break

7:30 - 9:00 = Sonny Landreth

9:00 - 9:30 = break

9:30 - 11:00 = North Mississippi Allstars


-Peavey Stage-

10:00 - 10:30 = No Requests

10:30 - 11:00 = Mousai (Amy Lott)

11:00 - 11:30 = Highway 39 (Steve Wilkerson)

11:30 - 1:00 = break

1:00 - 1:30 = All For You

1:30 - 3:00 = break

3:00 - 3:30 = Trey Hawkins Band

3:30 - 5:00 = break

5:00 - 5:30 = Lost in Lodi

5:30 - 7:00 = break

7:00 - 7:30 = Self-Made Fools

And the winner is...

Crystal from over at Homemaker in Heels has won the giveaway for the monogrammed coasters!!  Congratulations Crystal!  I'll be sending you an email very soon!  We had 37 people enter the giveaway and according to random.org — #28 was the winner!

If you want to read the post about the giveaway and Uncommon Stone Designs, click here.

Crystal posted that she like this design best...

If you like the designs on Michelle's website and facebook page be sure to tell your favorite boutique about them and see if they would be interested in carrying them.  

Thanks again to everyone who entered the giveaway!  Hope y'all are having a great Wednesday!!

Perfect Dip for Tailgating

Today's post is #500 on my blog.  Guess this Southern Socialite has been doing a lot of rambling and entertaining, hopefully.  And what would make a great post for #500?  A recipe that's perfect to eat while watching football, of course.  Because that's what we are doing today — being lazy while watching football.

A while back, I asked for a recipe for an easy dip and my favorite cake baker, Carol Fanning, supplied me with this recipe.

1 large can chunk chicken (do not drain)
3 pkgs. softened cream cheese
1 pkg. taco seasoning mix
2 eggs
1 tablespoon Tabasco
1 can chopped green chilies


Combine all ingredients in non-stick skillet and cook over low heat till cream cheese is melted, stirring often.  Make sure you stir in the eggs so they won't fry or scramble.  Pour into an 8 inch springform pan OR a greased 7x11 casserole dish and bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.  Immediately cover the top with 2 cups grated cheddar or Mexican cheese, 1 small jar of salsa, and chopped green onions (optional).  If you use the springform pan, let it cool before removing the ring... remove slowly so it won't "pull" the cheesecake.  Serve with crackers or chips. The springform pan gives a prettier presentation, but is so much easier in a casserole dish.

I used a casserole dish, mainly because I didn't want to wait to remove from the springform pan.  It's so good y'all!  ENJOY =)

And, if you haven't already —  don't forget to enter the Monogram Giveaway by clicking here.

One more thing — GO DAWGS!!!

Monogram Giveaway

A few weeks ago, Michelle with Uncommon Stone Designs emailed me about being a "southern socialite" and after conversing back and forth about her amazing work and her company, we decided to give one of my readers the chance to own one of her designs!

Monogramming is huge here in the south, as I'm sure it is everywhere else, and this particular product Michelle is offering is something you will definitely want in your home!

A full set of individually handstamped travertine tile coasters!!!

If you are the winner, you get to chose one of the following designs with your monogram choice. 


Choice #1

I love this design!  It's perfect to give a bride and groom as a wedding gift or to give the couple who has everything.  You get to pick the letters on the coaster!!







Choice #2

This design features a large 3 inch capital or lower case monogrammed letter.  These would make great Christmas gifts for teachers, friends or co-workers!








Choice #3

This one is more of a "fancy" coaster.  It features a 1 inch monogrammed letter with a design.  The letter can be capital or lower case.  These would be perfect to give for a birthday or housewarming gift!








Now that you have fallen in love with one of the designs above, you know you are ready to enter this giveaway.  And you have FOUR chances to win!!

1 — be a public follower of my blog
2 — "like" Uncommon Stone Designs on facebook by clicking here
3 — comment on this post which stone design you like best
4 — comment which stone design you like best on the Uncommon Stone Designs facebook page


***please leave a seperate comment for each entry***

This gives you FOUR chances to win!!!  The winner will be chosen on Tuesday, September 27th!

If you aren't in to monogramming like I am, visit her website — she has a wide variety of items to choose from... Uncommon Stone Designs.

Good Luck and thanks for entering!

Center of Attention

I wanted something fun for my table this fall and who doesn't love candy corn??  I love all the cute DIY ideas from Pinterest!  And that is where this idea came from.  I found the glass cylinders at TJ Maxx — all three for under $18.

Now I just have to keep Terry's hands out of the candy corn!

Mums the word

Fall is my favorite time of the year — the different smells, rustic colors and football, of course, just brings a smile to my face.  And, since there is a little bit of fall in the air, it was time to start bringing out the wonderful decor of the season.

I've had these two brown pots on my back patio for a few years and I decided to give them a little face lift to plant my mums in there this year.

After washing them and painting them black, it was time to find the perfect mums.  Maroon is my fall color of choice, so it made sense to get maroon/burgundy mums.

The coop told me you never want to buy them fully bloomed out, so they helped me pick out three that are perfect for the front porch.  Two are in the newly refinished pots and the other one replaced the geraniums in the urn.

I should probably take time to sweep the porch now that I have planted the mums.... =)

What is your favorite color for mums?

STATE — Go State, GO STATE

I shot this video last night before the game. Even though we lost, I still have team spirit! GO STATE!!

First MSU Home Game 2011

There is just something about attending a football game at Davis Wade Stadium — our fans are always pumped and ready to cheer on the dawgs.  The tailgates are always lively and fun, and the colors maroon and white just brings a smile to my face.

Last night was the first home game of 2011.  Abby and I made our way to Starkville to cheer on our dawgs!!  While heading up to the stadium we saw one of our favorite bloggers, Megan from Party of Two, Praying for More!!  I love reading the posts from Megan and Russ and their journey to bringing home their little bundle of joy.  This baby will be loved by so many (not just immediate family), because we having been helping them pray for the new addition to their family.  I can't wait to see the post announcing the good news that the prayers have been answered and their future little one will be home with them.  And Megan's parents are just as adorable in person as on the blog.  Megan and Russ, we loved meeting you!!!

Then, as we continued walking to the stadium I ran into Kate!!  Kate is also a blogger over at A Permanent Student and A Dash of Salter, but even better than that — she is a great friend and I love her parents, Leilani and Sid Salter.

After visiting Brice at his tailgate, we headed up to our seats...

Home Feature Preview

Here is a sneak peek of the decor that will be featured in our home feature of the October/November issue of 393 Magazine.  It's a scare, y'all!!

I can't wait for everyone to see the rest of the photos and meet the owners of this creatively decorated home.  Be sure to pick up your copy of the October/November issue of 393 Magazine the first week of October.

And thanks to the homeowners, I'm ready to start my decorating!!!  

Remembering 9/11

September 11, 2001, I was driving to my first full time job listening to the Kidd Kraddick morning radio show when I heard the news that a plane had struck one of the Twin Towers. Of course, I was sad and I was trying to take in everything that they were saying, but it didn't give me that deep sick feeling until I got to the office and saw the plane, lodged inside the tower with smoke brewing from the plane.  You see, while I was driving and listening to the radio, I had a visual in my head that it was a small plane that crashed into the building and as tragic as that thought was, nothing compared to what I felt when my eyes actually saw what was going on in New York City.

I got to work just in time to witness the second plane hit the second tower.  Tears kept trickling down my face, as I knew that this couldn't have been an accident.  And as I kept my eyes glued to the TV, I watched people jumping to their death, I listened to the shear panic of the reporters and eventually, I witnessed both towers come crashing down to become piles of cement rubble.  I kept thinking this is America — why would anyone do this?  And then the eye witnessing reports came in as the Pentagon was hit and how another plane went down in Pennsylvania, which was reportedly headed for the White House.

Work was released as reports of gas prices were rising and I, like everyone else, drove panicky to the nearest gas station in Marion to fill up the tank in my car.  The fear was not only that the gas prices were going to double, but that there might be a shortage as well.

And then I drove home.  My home at the time was my first apartment.  I had just moved out of my parents’ house the week before 9/11 and I was enjoying my freedom, until that day.  That Tuesday, I wanted to move back home.  I wanted to be where I felt safe from the terrorists who came over to our great country and started turmoil.  However, I stayed put.  I sat on the first piece of furniture I had ever bought, a love seat, and I watched TV and cried and continued doing that until the next day.  Sleep never happened that night.  The fear of another attack somewhere else, somewhere closer to home was in my mind.  How do you prevent it from happening again?  Who was responsible for this deadly hate crime?

And in the coming days, we realized who was responsible for that day.  That person and his followers were responsible for families being ripped apart as they went on with their daily tasks not knowing their fate.  I still remember seeing on TV the people who were rescued from the debris, the American flags flying and hearing the heart-breaking stories of families who received phone calls from their loved ones in the towers before they met their maker.  And I will never forget this statement:

"I can hear you, the rest of the world can hear you and the people who knocked these buildings down will hear all of us soon." ~ George W. Bush

Mamaw's cornbread

All this wonderful weather we've been having has me thinking about cornbread and it seems that subject is on others minds, too.  I saw a blog post from Terry's college roommate's wife on cornbread and while I was up at 3:30 again last night, I saw on Facebook where Kelly Pollard's grandmother brought her some homemade cornbread yesterday.

Y'all I love cornbread.  I grew up on this stuff and I've had all kinds.  Seems that everyone makes it differently and I've YET to have any like my mamaw use to make.

I lost my mamaw (my dad's mom) to cancer when I was a junior in high school.  I miss her every day!  She didn't run around in high heels and pearls, or drive a fancy car, but I loved everything about her — everything, but her love for snuff.  lol  My brother and I use to go to papaw and mamaw's house at least two weeks during the summer and they spoiled us rotten.  My brother loved mamaw's biscuits, and I loved her cornbread.  So, every morning (and I do mean every morning) she got up and made both for us.

That's right, you read correctly, she made homemade biscuits for Brian and cornbread for me — for breakfast.  We didn't eat it all for breakfast, but we did snack on it for the rest of the day.  But, here's the thing about mamaw's cooking — she didn't use recipes and she certainly didn't measure anything out.  I'm not even sure she owned measuring cups or spoons — she measured everything with her hands.  And she mixed everything with her hands.  You could taste the love she poured into that dish in every bite.

Mamaw has been gone for fourteen years and I've not had cornbread like hers since.  Her cornbread was thick and golden brown and it had the slighted crunch on the edges and then it melted in your mouth.  What I would give to have one more day with her, just a day in the kitchen, me and her just a cooking away.  You can rest assure that I would have a thick notebook to take notes and I would treasure every minute of it.  

Now, who has a cornbread recipe that sounds like my mamaw's??  If you have one, please send it my way!!  Until then... I'll just drool over this pictures and dream of what they taste like!

Who makes the best cornbread you've ever eaten?

 

Taste of Home Cooking School

Every couple of years, The Meridian Star hosts a Taste of Home Cooking School.  Last night was the night for this huge event.  Michelle Roberts came for her fourth show with us last night, and it was her birthday!!  The event was held at the historic Temple Theater and a lot of folks came out from all around to be entertained by Sidney Covington, emcee and see what Michelle was cooking up.

Here are some of the pictures I took last night at the event.  The food not only looks delicious, it smelled amazing!!  If you missed the show, make plans to attend one in another state or plan to be at our event again in two years!!

Etiquette for Homecoming Reunions (Do's and Don'ts)

At the end of the month, Terry and I will be attending his 20 year high school reunion.  And of course, whenever I think of a high school reunion I always think about this movie...

Romy and Michele's High School Reunion

So we do not make the same hilarious mistakes of Romy and Michele, I'm happy to be sharing with you a guest post from Kristen Swope.  Kristen sent me an email stating she read my recent blog post on a reunion I had with some previous co-workers (now best buds) from The Clarion Ledger and she had some tips she thought would be great to share with my readers.  I hope you enjoy her list of do's and don'ts below.

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"When you get to a certain age, invitations to homecoming reunions start to arrive in the mail.  Being in my late thirties, my husband and I have been getting reunion invitations in the mail for quite some time. Even though I have kept up with many of my friends from college and high school, (or caught up with them on various social networks) I still get a rush from the idea of seeing all those faces again and have responded yes to most invites from homecoming reunions either on my husband's side of mine.

These unions can be social landmines though, and seeing old flames while you have your husband or child in tow can get pretty hairy at times.  Even seeing old friends you have had a falling out with can be a thorn on the otherwise happy occasion.  After going to a few of these events, I've compiled a few do's and don'ts on etiquette for attending reunions.

DO:  Dress to impress.  Like Ehow.com's article, I think we should look our best at any occasion, and at a homecoming reunion, coming in confident and impeccably dressed will determine your mood for the whole soiree.  Dress appropriately for the occasion.  If it's an afternoon barbecue, wear something more casual like a summer dress or a white linen shirt with jeans.  If it is a hotel ballroom affair, a little black dress with hells that you're comfortable with is always a classic.  Dressing to impress doesn't necessarily mean to impress others, but having you at your most comfortable and confident will definitely radiate through your persona.

DON'T:  Wear your skimpiest outfit because you lost a lot of weight since high school.  It may encourage unwanted attention or give off a trying too hard vibe.  I've seen this happen twice, too often I see conflict arise from a husband trying to fend off his recently slimmed down wife's admirers as they tried to get closer than what is appropriate.

DO:  Be polite.  Ask others how they have been.  Introduce yourself with anecdotes from high school.  Congratulate your former classmates on their successes and console them on their losses.  Introduce your hubby to your former boyfriends if you have remained friends, just don't go reminiscing about your past with him around;  it can be hurtful to one of the other to do so.

DON'T:  Gossip.  While it can be truly tempting to do so, gossiping can only lead to trouble at reunions. Never repeat what a casual acquaintance offered as a snide remark about your friends to their faces.  Don't giggle in the bathroom with your girlfriends about how an old high school crush has gone to seed.  Hearing bad things said about you can really hurt, so don't do it to others in a vulnerable situation.

DO:  Keep your alcohol intake in check.  While a sip of beer of half a glass of wine is definitely fine, drinking too much is a party to trouble at reunions.  Keep alternating sips with water if you're a light drinker, and tell others that you have to drive after the event so as to politely decline more offers of libation.

DON'T:  Party like it's 1999 (or worse).  Sure, seeing old friends can be a blast, but drinking until you see you lunch come up or forgetting what happened the night before?  Not really.  By drinking only what you can handle, you'll still have fun and the respect of your classmates afterward.

DO:  Socialize with the while group.  The whole point of a homecoming reunion is to catch up with everyone, and by sticking to one group, you will be alienating others.  Learn about how your other classmates have been and circulate.

DON'T:  Create an adult clique.  Adults are not free from creating social cliques, where we end up just how we were in high school, forgetting that other people exist too.

A homecoming reunion can be nerve-wracking, but it can also be one of the most fulfilling events to go to.  Make yours a memorable one with the proper etiquette for a good time!"

The guest blog post was written by proud WAHM (work at home mom) Kristen Swope, who does freelance writing about everything from swimming pools to home lighting.  She devotes most of her quality time to taking care of her five-year-old-daughter Isabel, and being a loving companion to husband John.  She lives in Fremont, California in a house with a kidney-shaped swimming pool.

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Thank you Kristen for this great post!  I'm ready for his high school reunion, now!

Do you agree with Kristen's do's and don'ts?  What kind of pointers do you have for reunions?  I look forward to hearing your thoughts!

Bring it!

Dear Labor Day,

I'm happy you're here, but I'm really longing for this...

I'm ready, are you?