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Hotel Review: One Farrer Hotel & Spa (Skyline Studio)

The One Farrer Hotel & Spa comprises of three hotels under one large hospitality umbrella. The Urban Hotel features contemporary chic accommodation options for travellers who want the most bang for their buck. The Loft Apartments cater to guests staying in Singapore for a longer period of time and the Skyline Hotel & Sky Villas are for discerning travellers who value the intimate touches of luxury.

I had the privilege of staying in a Skyline Studio at the One Farrer Hotel & Spa one weekend. The Skyline Studio is located in the luxury arm of One Farrer Hotel & Spa, the Skyline Hotel. The studio comes with a a plush King-size bed, separate working area and a 55-inch TV for your entertainment. The Skyline Studio comes with a range of interesting features and inclusions that I will cover in this review.

If you do not like the pillows provided in the Skyline Studio, feel free to order one (or more) from the Pillow Menu. Together with the 'Sleep Well' beds that are fitted with fine Frette linens, One Farrer Hotel & Spa is committed in helping you achieve that sleep you deserve.

The Skyline Studio enjoys plenty of daylight which gives the already spacious room a greater sense of space. The blackout blinds and sheer curtains for privacy can be drawn automatically from the controls provided in-room. If you are feeling peckish, access the dining catalog from the Samsung LED Smart TV in your room. Craving for some shopping instead? This can also be done from your TV or if you prefer, head on down to the lobby to see what is actually on offer.

The One Farrer Hotel & Spa is located two minutes away from Farrer Park MRT with sheltered walkways so you do not have to worry about the unpredictable rain patterns in Singapore. There is a huge range of shopping and dining options around the hotel, making this place a great staycation location for locals as well. Old Hen Coffee Bar, which serves one of the best Cold Brews in Singapore is just a short stroll away. if you need to go to the supermarket or shopping center, City Square Mall is less than 10 minutes away. If you still can't find what you need, head on down to Mustafa Shopping Center and explore the shopping mall that never sleeps.

The Skyline Studio comes with a personal illy machine for the espresso lovers and TWG teabags for the tea connoisseurs. The minibar comes with a selection of soft drinks and beer which are free to consume. They are also replenished daily so you never have to worry about having nothing to drink - if you do run out of drinks though, the Skyline Lounge offers complimentary beverages from 6am to 10pm daily.

The bathroom comes with a huge tub for soaking, a separate rain shower, your wardrobe (which actually makes sense!), a huge sink with a 'Perfect View' vanity mirror, a fog-less shaving mirror in the shower and a TOTO eco-washer. Both bathrobes and yukatas are provided so feel free to choose whichever you prefer (or both!). I personally love the idea of having the wardrobe in the bathroom. This should be done across all hotels - no more scrambling to find your clothes in the cold bedroom after a hot shower!

Amenities are provided by a leading luxury Spanish skincare provider, Natura Bisse. While I have not heard of them prior to my stay, I thought that the shampoo and conditioner in particular was excellent!

In the bathroom, you will find a do not disturb button which I think is another stroke of genius. Some of us do not leave the do not disturb button on because we simply forget about it. Imagine having the housekeeper come in to make up your room while you are stuck in the bathroom. Having the button in the bathroom means that you can easily tell them to go away (and come back later) if you are in the middle of something important.

As a Skyline resident, you will enjoy a set of special privileges. While having an Executive Lounge (or in this case, a Skyline Lounge) is not uncommon in the hotel industry, some of the services and amenities provided are definitely unique and worth mentioning (in bold):

  • Personalised check-in and check-out at the Music Lounge
  • Five complimentary light meals provided at the Skyline Lounge
  • Complimentary local calls
  • 3 pieces of complimentary pressing a day (non-accumulative)
  • Complimentary 2 hours usage of meeting room per day
  • Exclusive pool and gym usage (separate from the main pool and gym)

Firstly, you will receive five complimentary light meals when you stay in the Skyline Hotel in One Farrer Hotel & Spa. Most hotel lounges have breakfast and evening cocktails only. Higher end luxury hotels like the Mandarin Oriental and Pan Pacific Singapore provide up to three meals a day, including Afternoon Tea. As a Skyline resident, you will get the following meals:

  1. Breakfast: 6am to 1030am (or choose Escape restaurant for a wider variety)
  2. Lunch: 12pm to 2pm
  3. Afternoon Snack: 3pm to 5pm
  4. Evening Cocktail: 530pm to 8pm
  5. Supper: 830pm to 10pm

I did not manage to check out the Skyline Lounge during all the meals provided but I thought the Evening Cocktails were exceptional! Following the current hospitality trend, the Skyline Lounge dispenses quality wine through an Enomatic Wine Dispenser (similar to St. Regis Singapore and Hotel Jen Orchardgateway Singapore!). What impressed me most during the evening cocktails was ironically the food that was provided.

Personally, the salmon was amazing. Having only been to the property once, I am unable to vouch for the consistency of the quality but it was truly cooked to perfection. As you can see, the food provided during evening cocktail hours can easily substitute for a decent full-size dinner.

Supper (830pm to 10pm) should be renamed to Desserts actually. If you have a sweet tooth, it may be a good idea to drop by the Skyline Lounge at 7pm, eat til 8pm and then continue with desserts at 830pm.

I guess this is partly the reason why they have decided to keep the gym at the Skyline Hotel open 24/7. If you are looking to spend an entire weekend at a hotel without actually having to step out, I can't actually think of someplace better.

Even though Skyline residents have access to a private rooftop pool on Level 18, there is nothing like the impressive Olympic-size main pool. Most hotels in Singapore have a free-form pool which is beautiful to look at but terrible if you actually have a decent workout. The pool at One Farrer Hotel & Spa is perfect for those wanting to count laps.

If you just want to get away from the sweltering heat in Singapore, laze around the pool decks or the poolside cabanas with a drink in hand. The Sunset Bar serves up delicious cocktails for those who are thirsty.

If you have friends over, invite them up to the Sunset Bar and grab a drink together while waiting for the sun to set. The Sunset Bar is truly an idyllic area for you to laze a beautiful afternoon away.

 The fully-equipped gym on the same level as the pool is also massive in size. Stay in shape regardless of whether you are here for business or leisure.  Opt for the steam and sauna rooms after a workout to detoxify your body - nothing beats the feeling after a good workout. The gym comes with a generous selection of free weights as well as a personal trainer who will be able to assist you and provide some tips for you.

There are also various machines that you can utilise if you are visiting the gym alone without a spotter. This is perhaps one of the most extensive hotel gyms I have seen in Singapore and it will be interesting to see whether or not they include a membership here like what some other hotels have done.

One Farrer Hotel & Spa also offers various meeting spaces for those in the MICE industry. This place could very well be your next corporate retreat if you are living in Asia-Pacific.

I chose to have my breakfast at the Escape restaurant located on street level instead of the Skyline Lounge. If you are looking for a nice weekend lunch, Escape serves a pretty decent lunch from S$45++ which comes with a small selection of seafood (including sashimi) and local favourites.

The breakfast selection was ample and filled with delicious local favourites. You will not find fancy dishes like omelettes drizzled with white truffle oil here. What you will find instead is soulful and local food that will satisfy your morning hunger pang. Besides, I never really understood how people can stomach that much champagne for breakfast. This is the way breakfast should be (in Singapore anyway)!

Those with a more Westernised taste bud can choose from a selection of freshly baked pastries. The usual suspects that complement a continental breakfast can also be found during the breakfast buffet.

If you're looking for bread spreads, you will be able to choose from the usual jams or local flavours like Kaya (otherwise known as coconut jam). To be honest, the Escape restaurant reminds me a little of Makan @ Jen (Hotel Jen Orchardgateway Singapore). The overall atmosphere is playful and energetic with a lot of natural elements. Bodum glassware are also utilised here - coffee is french pressed and teas are from TWG.

The One Farrer Hotel & Spa is a great addition to the hotel industry in Singapore, although having three hotel brands under one hospitality umbrella reminds me a little of Shangri-La Singapore. The Skyline Hotel in One Farrer Hotel & Spa offers a great experience for the staycation-goer but the price can quickly add up if you are here on business. The Best Available Rate for the Skyline Studio (that I was in) is S$590++ (approx. S$695 after applicable taxes). Although it is an excellent room with great amenities, I am simply unable to justify the high cost of the room, considering how other luxury hotel properties (like the Grand Hyatt Singapore) are charging lesser. On the other hand, Urban Rooms in the Urban Hotel start from S$252++ on an Advance Purchase rate. This is definitely a lot more reasonable and it will be a great introduction to the One Farrer Hotel & Spa brand before you decide to shell out close to S$700 for a Skyline Studio here.

One Farrer Hotel & Spa
1 Farrer Park Station Road, Singapore 217562
Website | Email

Hotel stay has been sponsored by One Farrer Hotel & Spa, though all views expressed are my own.


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Take 13% off Hotels on Zuji (HSBC Credit Card Members)

Zuji Singapore is once again running a promotion for discounted hotel stays. If you own a HSBC Credit Card, you are in luck! Take 13% off hotel bookings (no minimum spend required) when you book using an eligible HSBC Credit Card and the promo code HSBCHOLIDAY13. Compared to the OCBC promotion last month (12% off), this is slightly better!

Click HERE to access the promotional landing page.

Booking Period: until 31 July 2014
Travel Period: until 31 December 2014

Terms & Conditions: The Coupon Code cannot be used for hotel reservations at properties belonging to the following chains: (a) Accor Hotels (Accor Hotels, Pullman Hotels and Resorts, Sofitel, Ibis, Mercure, Grand Mercure, All Seasons, Novotel, Mgallery, hotelF1, Formule, Sea Temple, Quay West, The Sebel and Citigate), (b) Hilton Hotels Corporation (Conrad Hotels and Resorts, Hampton Inn, Hilton Garden Inn, Hilton International, Double Tree by Hilton, Embassy Suites, Homewood Suites by Hilton and Waldorf Astoria Hotels and Resorts), (c) Intercontinental (ANA Hotels, Crowne Plaza Hotels, Holiday Inn, Hotel Indigo, Intercontinental Hotels, Special Properties, Staybridge Suites and Candlewood Suites), (d) Marriott International (Bulgari Hotels & Resorts, Courtyard by Marriott, Marriott Hotels, JW Marriott, EDITION, Marriott Vacation Club, Renaissance Hotels, The Ritz-Carlton, Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott, SpringHill Suites by Marriott, Residence Inn by Marriott and TownePlace Suites by Marriott, (e) Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide (aloft Hotels, Le Meridien, Luxury Collection, Sheraton Hotels, The St. Regis, W Hotels, Westin Hotels and Resorts and Element Hotels), (f) Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts (Shangri-La Hotels, Shangri-La Resorts, Traders Hotels and Kerry Hotels), (g) Marina Bay Sands, (h) Venetian Macau Resort (i) Sands Macao Hotel, (j) Banyan Tree Macau and (k) MGM Macau.

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Thursday, February 18, 2010

It Gets Better Every Time

In other news, a recent post by Lewd Bob rightfully named and shamed some wanker psychologist for claiming that the coffee we drink can 'tell' us something about ourselves.

In the midst of the comments, many of you came to the protection of Psychology, and so you should, but my argument at the time was that popular psychology saturates the media, and it is mostly, from my vantage point atop my soapbox, fucking rubbish.

The latest example is some group that examines people's Facebook status and is attempting to glean the mood / morale of entire nations.

"The creator of the index, Adam Kramer, a social psychology student at the University of Oregon (who happens to be 72 percent happier than the average American Facebook user) explains on his blog; "every day, through Facebook status updates, people share how they feel with those who matter most in their lives. These updates are tiny windows into how people are doing." From this angle it looks like social media could be the brave new frontier of the science of happiness."

Facebook the science of happiness? A 'social psychology' student getting the headlines? I rest my case. The whole article is here.

In other other news, vale Ruby Hunter.

Ramon Insertnamehere said...

Mr E Discharge said...

Hey. I though we had the lines of demarcation established here.

Ramon does Obscure.
Perseus does Angst.
Bob doe what ever that stuff that Bob does.
Boogey does pompous.
KItten does stupid.

Did I miss a meeting?

Puss In Boots said...

I thought people only posted things on status updates which make them look cooler/funnier/etc to their "friends?" I'm not sure they should be taken at face value of what mood the writer is in. Ridiculous.

Alex said...

Ramon, I assume your comment was in reference to the accompanying video.

I would like to second it.

Ramon Insertnamehere said...

Indeed Alex.

Mr E - you've given me a splendid idea for a post.

squib said...

I third it

I thought 'The Age' was Melbourne's best paper?

Lewd Bob said...

Perseus, we agree again.

Ramon Insertnamehere said...

It would seem not, Squib.

squib said...

No wonder many libraries are no longer storing newspapers in their collections

WitchOne said...

Puss I lost an old high school friend recently (bloody careless but entirely deliberate) because she had a go at me for not "understanding nor caring about her angst".

Now I have a number of problems with this statement.

1) Her status updates on FB are all (and I quote) "I is happies" "Morning everyone! My writings will be updated on my blog this morning, I spent all night having such wonderful dreams to share with you all" etc and so on and on and onnnnn.

2) She professes to be a writer yet her grammar is the worst I've ever seen.

3) Anyone who posts such meaningless psuedo positive drivel as a status update has no idea how to express her angst and therefore it is useless asking if she has any.

Am I right? If I'm wrong I'll run and apologise immediately but FB as a window into the collective soul? Bullshit. People lie on FB (apparently).

Perseus said...

It wasn't Aesophia was it? I like her. Where is she hiding, by the way?

And where the hell is Pepsi?

Puss In Boots said...

Um, I just watched that clip. What the fuck?!

Perseus said...

It's one of the most awesome under 60 seconds video I've seen.

I have no idea what it all means either.

Just like a David Lynch film, I put meaning to my left, expectation to my right, and just sit back to enjoy the journey (except Inland Empire, which felt less like a journey, and more like being buried alive).

Ramon Insertnamehere said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
WitchOne said...

God no! That girl and I will end up in the same nursing home wearing purple hats. Don't know why she's been quiet lately, I think she goes through phases. She has updated our blog recently though.

Ramon Insertnamehere said...

Talking about the bizarre, do people want a Poetry Slam Friday tomorrow?

Warning; it is a depressing Marxist poem from a depressed Marxist.

Alex said...

It's one of the most awesome under 60 seconds video I've seen.

There's a whole army of those G.I. Joe moral spoofs, if you're interested Perseus. I first saw them when they were doing the rounds about 5 or so years ago, along with the He-Man "Quest for Chicken" parody.

I was wondering what relevance it had to your post, but now I know.

And knowing is half the battle.*

*And if you don't get this joke, you clearly don't watch enough 25 year old children's shows.

Perseus said...

Alex - This is the first I've heard of the GI Joe spoofs. Someone showed me this video last night and I watched it ten times in a row, laughing more each time.

Ramon - Of course we want PSF. Hell, it's the only consistent thing we have at this site.

Ramon Insertnamehere said...

OK, but don't say I didn't warn you.

Alex said...

Here you go Pers, I think that's all of them. Use the "play all" button to um, play them all.


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Monday, July 27, 2009

You don't matter here in California

I have been amazed at the number of articles on the 2nd Amendment lately. Like it's a new issue. Maybe it's a sudden interest in the Constitution and Bill of Rights (whatever that is).

Here in our state, with no apology, some life is more important than others. Some have a right to defend themselves with deadly force wherever they travel. They have a right to defend their family and property. They have a right to life. You do not. Unless you are at home, you are subject to becoming the bad end of a statistic. Who are they? Those who have been granted the right to carry a concealed weapon in California. Their cause, their worth is above yours and mine. Here is San Diego there are aprox. 1600 people who have been elevated above... we the people. While some are legit in their occupation and circumstances, others have obtained this status because of elitism. Because they are in the click. You and I, we the people, we are not. We are not to be trusted. We are not to be granted a "right" proclaimed in the constitution. The only amendment where our founders saw the importance of using the phrase... "shall not be infringed" is the one in bearing arms. Yet in California, this has been negated to nothing. 40 states in the union trust their citizenry more than this one with over 4 million permits. For us here, we have to prove a justifiable need... and our life is not justifiable.

Just remember, as California goes, so goes the country. Live free or die.

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CARBONDALE — SIU football coach Nick Hill announced a 2018 class high on skill players Wednesday, the first day of the NCAA's new early signing period.

The 16-player class, all high school seniors, featured two quarterbacks, running back Tremayne Lee of Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin High School, two tight ends and two wide receivers. Lee, the Springfield Journal-Register metro player of the year in 2016, rushed for 1,200 yards and 21 touchdowns on 142 carries this past season.

With eight of the Salukis' top 10 offensive linemen slated to return, the class only had two frontmen, 6-foot-5, 265-pound Beau Branyan of Decatur St. Teresa and 6-5, 305-pound Brett Groves of Cary-Groves High School. Jacob Traxler, a 6-4, 225-pound running back/defensive lineman at Eldorado High School, and Miguel Rodriguez (6-3, 223) of Viera (Florida) High School were the only two defensive linemen in the class.

All 16 share SIU's culture of substance over recruiting stars, Hill said.

"I've said this before in who we're signing, it's easy to get caught up in the highlight reels. Now that I'm completing my second year, it's seeing who is being successful," Hill said. "Sometimes it's the lowest recruited kid on the list that ends up being the best kid. Sam Skinner did that last year. He was a late signing that didn't have any offers. He came up and he was going to be our opening day starter as a true freshman. It's just like the mentality of being a worker and being low maintenance and fitting into the culture that we have here. Toughness. Going to class. Appreciating the school work."

Traxler, the Black Diamond Conference MVP, helped the Eagles to an 8-3 mark in 2017. He rushed for 1,185 yards and 12 touchdowns on 128 carries, according to the Harrisburg Daily Register, and had a team-best 107 stops on defense. He picked off four passes, forced four fumbles and recovered one.

"He's as good looking a recruit, I don't care where you go to find 'em, as you'll see," Hill said. "When he walks in the room, he looks like a man. He's 6-foot-4, 225 pounds. Not an ounce of fat on him. He's a worker. We're just fired up. He brings a mentality that we need to keep adding to our team, so, he's got a bright future."

Nic Baker, a two-time state champion at Class 4A Rochester, and Austin Reed (6-2, 210) of St. Augustine (Florida) High School were the two quarterbacks. Reed led St. Augustine to the state semifinals this year. They will compete with redshirt freshman Brandon George, and, possibly, Matt DeSomer, for minutes in 2018 behind returning starter Sam Straub.

Junior Tanner Hearn is one of three players that are leaving the program, Hill said, along with cornerback ShawnTrez Spates and outside linebacker Kamahl March. All three left on good terms, Hill said.

The early signing period, an NCAA first for football this year, stretches to Friday. Hill said more players could join the 16 he signed on Wednesday in the 2018 class, including some possible FBS transfers, who would be announced in January.

On Twitter: @THefferman


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Friday, April 30, 2010

To some this probably isn't a big deal, but to me it is H*U*G*E*. When I started blogging, I didn't think anyone would care... it is wonderful to see that you actually do! I hope to continue to grow my "followers" list, but want to send a personal THANK YOU for my first 10! Each one of you have changed my life in some way...either by introducing me to Oil Rubbed Bronze spray paint (ya' gotta stop me before my children are ORB!!!) to coaxing me into "recovering" a tacky red velvet chair (that only Elvis would love). This blogging thing has turned out to be so much fun...and as soon as the camera is working, I will show the projects off that I have been working on. I can't wait for you to see! :)

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Hop on!

Sunday afternoon project....

Please tell me if I am o.k. here or if I have a problem. It was a nice Sunday afternoon and all of the kids were enjoying a TV show, husband was cutting the grass, and I had about a million things to do. He had asked me for something that I had stored in my "art closet". While retrieving it, I came across an older table runner and realized "HEY! This has a similar hint of blue that my kitchen walls are sporting!" Well, that was it, and in my ADD...OCD...second of thinking...I was onto a new project. I got my glue gun, some scissors, and went to work.
In my kitchen I have those window covers that are sorta roman shades, but tie on the sides? Ya' know what I am talking about? Well, anyway, they were a bland beige. I took that table runner and showed those curtains who was boss. I cut the table runner long ways down the middle...glue gunned the cut side to the bottom of the curtain/shade/hybrid thing...and VOILA! I added color.
Does anyone else here start a project with just the slight glance of inspiration?
If so, what have you started?

Have a nice week!
***** camera is not working AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!! Will post pics ASAP. :!

Sunday, April 18, 2010

Introducing my family...

I would like to let everyone (all 7 of my followers, but thank you to you!) get to know me a little better! I want to introduce the most important little things in my life and that is my family. Here we are in all of our glory. Believe me, any picture that we have together has usually taken about 10 minutes to get together. And by the time I am in the pic, I am usually saying some obsenity while gritting my teeth to smile. I brought 2 kids and Shawn brought 3. His are easy to point out since they have the dark, Italian blood.
Have a great day!

Friday, April 16, 2010

As a newbie blogger, I haven't quite filled my "portfolio". I am newly married and moved into a serious bachelor pad. Not a frat house bachelor pad, but the kind where he has been divorced for a few years and had the basics. 4 forks, 3 spoons, a knife here and there; a small and sad little picture on a huge wall, a purple sofa from Ikea and a slipcovered and badly abused loveseat. Basically everything his ex-wife hated. I won't go there. Bless her heart. :) Have I drawn the picture in your mind? So needless to say, I have moved in and taken over. Super Decoratormommaidbringinghomethebacon Lady! Basically what I am doing here is showing you all the little steps I am taking to make this house a home for my wonderful hubby and I to raise our little rays of sunshine in. At least this is our home for the time being. Until my son comes home as a 6 foot 2 inch pre-teen. And then we will probably have to move into something a little more accomodating...*sigh*. One of my little projects to fill the huge wall that housed the sad little picture (and it was an u-hug-ly picture) with shelves and pictures. The one shelf I started with didn't cooperate a first, but I provided what every teacher has in her box of magic...VELCRO!
The poor and blank wall started out as this:

And now....Va-Va-Voom!

I love how it turned out. Of course, I know..I know, I need a lot more pics and they are a comin'. But for now I just think she is the cutest little thang.

So now...I am asking everyone for the perfect color for my walls. I would like a deeper khaki. What do you think? And what suggestions do you have?

I hope to post more through the weekend. But with all 5 kids in the house. I am not bettin' on it.
Did anyone recognize the little birds? They are my dollar store re-vamp. Just spray painted them with rubbed oil new best friend, thanks to all of you talented ladies out there..:)
Linking up to

Thursday, April 15, 2010

Spring Break 2010....what a partay!

It was nothing but a good time at my house.
Um...not. Maybe a wet t-shirt?....of sweat. Drunk?....with frustration.
So I decided to get a little crazy with only 2 hours remaining of my Spring Break.

OK, so I am not a professional and I don't play one on this blog....

BUT, this is what my husband came home to the other night...

and this...

Alrighty then....
And let me tell you he was not exactly giving me hugs and kisses. Hey now. It isn't my fault he walked in on me in the middle of one of my OCD, manic episodes. Really?
And to let you all know...this is not a post about how to decorate or how to organize. And like I said before, I literally had a few hours to come up with a plan since my kids were due home the following day. So this is what I came up with.

and then this....

even a bunny found a cozy little spot.

So please know that this is mainly for my sanity. And it was done in 2 hours with spray paint, plastic boxes, and lots and lots of toys. :)

And as a side note, the old me from the 1990's would have had an absolute heart attack if she had known that she would have ended up organizing and cleaning during her Spring Break!

Have a great weekend!

Saturday, April 10, 2010

Hissy Fit...

This morning I had an all out HISSY fit. Since I had decided to start my new blog, I just had to post some pictures of at least something in my home. Right? My computer and camera conspired against me. They had other plans. But, my hissy pulled me through as it always does, and I finally got a few pics downloaded. Onward.
I had posted in a previous blog that I had used some drop cloths as table covers for my small, intimate wedding (you should have seen my mom and sister's face when I pulled those babies out when they asked "what are you putting on the tables?" GASP....loved it...priceless). Well... they now hang beautifully in my living room and I absolutely love them. Since I am on to my next project today, I am posting just a pic or two today. Hope you like them as much as I do. Later...fried green tomatoes... YUM to the freakin' YUM!

And a bonus ballet shoe and husband's sunglasses if you can spot them...whoopsee!

Friday, April 9, 2010

I have five children all in the the. same. time. every other weekend. Yep. My new agenda these days is taking our small house and creating more space (or creating the strongest margarita possible...but that is another post...nervous grin). The pictures I am posting are of things that inspire me and I hope to re-create. Stay tuned, because I will make them happen. It may be a year from now, but I will make it!

I am in need of a quick fix. OK, Here I am trying to be all "blogger like" and follow in the footsteps of all of my muses out there. My first project was going to be creating a photo wall. Yesterday, I installed a shelf. Well, it is sagging forward. Does anyone out there have a fix to this? I was thinking maybe velcro down the back? Thanks so much!

Thursday, April 8, 2010

The Marriage of two Families...are we crazy or just in love?

I think we are a little bit of both. The wedding took place at a lodge, Fish Hook Point Lodge to be exact, in Blue Ridge, Georgia. It was dreamy!

With five kids between us and families coming together, it was a weekend marked with meant craziness. But love was all around and I was marrying my dreamboat.

At some point during my "I am in love and want to have a sweet, intimate, homey feeling wedding for everyone to enjoy and come together and love one another...and blah, blah, blah" mental state, I decided to do everything myself. And I mean everything. We all know what that means. I won't even go there. But the weekend ended up being everything that I wanted and all five of the children are happy. We are in love and love our new family!!!!!!!!!!! Here are some pics of the celebration.

The cake was purchased at Publix and decorated with real flowers from Harry's Farmer's Market and a bird's nest I created with two birds that are obliviously in love with 5 sweet little eggs. *Get it?*

The "V" was covered in moss and placed on the mantel of the beautiful stone fireplace and draped with a ribbon of soft white flowers and candles. The centerpieces were grapevine wreaths with flowers from Harry's placed in Mason jars. Mirrors and candles were from the dollar store. The birds and eggs found a comfy spot in the center.

Brown bags and plaid bow welcomed guests to treats of Coca-Cola, Moonpies, and S'mores.

All tables were draped in dropcloths (Oh yes I did!) purchased from Home Depot for $9.00. Those will be repurposed on my living room windows. That post to follow soon.

These here pictures are just a tip of the iceburg of the fun and festivities had by all. My dreams are coming true...a big family, a wonderful husband, and a blog. What else could a little ol' southern girl ask for?

Oh yeah.

I am craving something fried. :)

The Beginning...

This is the launch of a longtime dream of mine. To launch a blog about everything that is important to me.
More to come soon!


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Senate passes bill to study veteran brain injuries

By Jessica Wray

INDIANAPOLIS – A measure is headed to the Indiana House that would have the Indiana State Department of Health complete a study on creating a program to help veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder or traumatic brain injury.

The Senate passed Senate Bill 180 unanimously on Tuesday. The bill would require the health department to focus on treatments for post traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injuries, as well as ways to improve the state’s access to those treatments

The bill’s co-author, Sen. Jim Banks R-Columbia City, said in a press release Tuesday that PTSD and traumatic brain injuries can create other mental health concerns – which is an important topic for the state to look into.

“Each year, as many as 5,000 U.S. veterans commit suicide, which is a statistic we cannot ignore,” Banks said. “It’s my hope this study will help our brave men and women secure financing and access to the treatment they need to lead a happy, healthy life.”

Banks said he was approached by several veterans groups concerned about veterans’ access to healthcare treatment, specifically when suffering from brain injuries. Sen. Brandt Hershman, R-Buck Creek,  co-authored the bill.

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3 Responses to Senate passes bill to study veteran brain injuries

  1. I suffered a traumatic brain injury (TBI) when my car was T-boned by a tractor trailer on the New Jersey Turnpike in 1993, so I can relate to the condition of many returning veterans. In my case, I was unable to pursue conventional rehabilitation due to the complications posed by a pre-existing psychiatric condition – bipolar disorder. So a was forced to pursue the alternative medicine route in order to recover, something which turned out to be a blessing in disguise. It turns out that there are several very safe and effective means for treating head injury in alternative medicine, among them Attractor Field Therapy / Acupuncture for the Mind (AFT/A4M), homeopathy, and low-energy neurofeedback (LENS). By using a combination of these methods, I was able to recover my functioning almost completely. I am enrolled as a graduate student at Columbia University, and have written a book about my recovery: Broken Mind, Persistent Hope (Mustang: Tate, 2014). It will be available in bookstores May 6th.

  2. I have insomnia so I’m up all night. I try and think of ways that I can help other Vets. If you call your dooctr or VA every other day, write them e-mails and letters and keep copies of them and once you get fed up (six months is my limit). Write them a letter (intelligent) telling them how unprofessional you feel their service has been and let them know that you are going to file a formal complaint to the head of their department. Then you will get some answers. You don’t have to be rude about it. I think if they send out a letter telling Vets that you are still working their case, is better than not hearing anything from them at all,when you write them or call them you should tell them that. I like e-mails because I can keep a copy of what I wrote to them and the response from them and a date. Save them, they come in handy. Go to the patient advocacy in the VA, that is their job to help you when you feel you are not getting the help you know you deserve. I think they are back logged and they need more workers, but that is not our fault, if we pressure them, then they should pressure the powers that be to get more help, because as soon as one of us go off (hurt or curse) someone we will be labeled crazy. Talk to the Vets around you and try to make their day better, don’t sit around and complain with one another, use that energy to focus on a solution. I have a lot of bad painful days, but I talk myself into good days as much as I can and I pass it on to others when ever I can. I pass on any information that I learn new. Ask to see their supervisors, if you receive an email, save it and it they cc someone on the e-mail they send to you, ensure you add those cc people to the e-mails you send back to them, because I think those cc are people in the know. Don’t give up, that’s what they want you to do. If we tell or children and the children around us not to go into the military because of the way you are treated when you get out, they will have to go back to the draft because no one will want to go in. We deserve better and we have to stand up for it. Civilians in this country don’t have a clue of how hard we work while we are in the military and the things we have to do once we get out. I call and e-mail HLN all the time, I make sure I don’t sound like a lunatic or someone with a vendetta, they know me by my name and they publish my ideas and air my points of view a lot. The Army was a good job for me and helped me grow, but there has to be a better way to treat us once we are out and after we have given up so much to protect our country

  3. Ah, i see. Well that’s not too tricky at all!”


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A beautiful kitchen is.. well… a beautiful kitchen to behold. There are few rooms that are as well used which is why it’s hailed as ‘the heart of the home’.

It’s the reason why home buyers place so much emphasis on a good kitchen. So it’s something you really want to get right; when family life is so busy, the last thing you need is a cramped or disorganized kitchen slowing you down. Here are a few benefits to investing in a beautiful kitchen.

A Beautiful Kitchen is Practical

Anyone that’s ever cooked in a small kitchen will tell you that it’s just not fun. With little storage space, everything you own is probably crammed in, stacked on top of, and crushed against other items. This clutter means it’s not easy to grab things when you need them. Without much counter space, it can be annoying cooking meals, especially when you’re preparing food for a family. Plus without a pantry or enough cupboard space, you’ll probably find yourself having to make more trips to the grocery store because you’re running out of food more often.

The right storage should work with the appliances you own, how you currently use your kitchen, and any future plans you may have. Overall, a bigger kitchen is far more practical if it’s the hub of the home and you entertain often. Consider knocking down a wall and re-designing the space. There are companies that offer a complete kitchen remodel, so there’s no hassle. You may find that a good designer can build in the butler’s pantry you’ve always wanted.

beautiful kitchen

Granite Transformations

A Beautiful Kitchen Has Bespoke Places for Appliances

A bigger kitchen with more cupboards and counter space gives you room for handy cookware and appliances that make your life easier in the kitchen. A lean grill pan or grilling machine to grill meat and vegetables. A slow cooker for those days when you can’t be bothered to slave over a hot stove. A food processor to quickly chop, grate and slice ingredients. And assorted kitchen gadgets you can’t live without. In smaller kitchens, you just don’t have the storage for everything you need.

beautiful kitchen

A Beautiful Kitchen Is Perfect for Entertaining

Just a couple of decades ago, entertaining at home was a lot different from now. The style was more formal, larger living and dining spaces were preferred, and kitchens tended to be smaller and enclosed. They were seen as more of a ‘backstage’ area, which is why home owners now like a butler’s pantry.

beautiful kitchen

Key Piece Interior Design

These days the entertaining style is far more casual. Guests sit in the kitchen, even helping the host to prepare the food. Less formal seating arrangements are fine, large kitchen islands with bar stools work well. So having a large kitchen allows you to entertain. You can chat to your guests as you cook, pour some wine, and an open space makes for a pleasant environment in which to relax. Retailers now have so many options for in-kitchen dining and entertaining so visit Zanui or Temple & Webster for beautiful alternatives.

beautiful kitchen

A Beautiful Kitchen Adds Value To Your Home

Finally, if all of the other points don’t have you sold, a great kitchen will always boost the value of a property. While kitchen remodeling is expensive, you can be safe in the knowledge that you’ll make your money back, plus more, if and when you come to sell your home. While your kitchen is personal to you, go with a design that’s going to appeal to others too. White or wooden units, granite or marble counters and white tiles are all classic and won’t go out of style. Avoid anything too trendy which probably won’t age well and is likely to look outdated in a few years.

Personalise the rest of your kitchen and tabletops with items that can be easily moved or replaced when you sell.

Home Styling and Decluttering

For more information on how we can help you up-date the styling of your home and declutter to improve your lifestyle, please visit our sister site, Don’t Call Me Penny. You’ll find tips, inspiration, and services for home lovers.

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Forever Vera

There is no one that compares to Vera Wang when it comes to design, dressing a woman, and the art of being unique.  This weekend I was fortunate enough to rock not one, but two of her beautiful baubles!

Working for her company taught me about fashion, art, life, and true style. From her gorgeous bridal collection, to her exquisite RTW collection, I am forever in awe of her creativity and talent. But, the most impressive and inspiring part about Vera is her dedication to her clients and the women that she designs for. Her work ethic and devotion made such an impact on my life and my career. Vera's brand is incomparable and so is her team. Love, love, love them.

Vera's style and skill transcends boundaries and wearing her pieces makes you feel beautiful. Wearing these pieces this weekend was so special and I will forever treasure the photos.

For more shots of these beautiful baubles, click here!

Thank you to Dee Demeo from Vera Wang for sending these treasures my way! Xx


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Tag Archives: Chartreuse

Chartreuse Tea Review

Chartreuse TeaLast weekend I visited Greenfield Village with my family. It is one of our favorite places to visit and we go often. They were holding a special Fall Flavors event along with a Farmer's Market. One of the vendors in the market was Chartreuse Tea. They are a made in Michigan company that features organic, caffeine free herbal teas.

I was first introduced to their teas while shopping at Whole Foods. The bright, chartreuse tea tin caught my eye. For an end of the year teacher's gift, I gave my daughter's two teachers a tin of the Peaceful Bliss blend. Highly appropriate I thought.

Anyway the Chartreuse Table at the Farmer's Market was a loose leaf tea drinker's dream. They had about 10 of their teas ready for sampling. They were all so good. I got to try Hibiscus Quench, Pride of Africa, Citrus Sunrise, and Mountain Green.

Hibiscus Quench

Check out the rosebuds!

I brought home three of their teas. Hibiscus Quench is made with organic hibiscus, organic rosehips, organic lemongrass, organic orange peel, organic spearmint, organic lavender, organic red rose petals, and organic stevia.

Hibiscus Quench Steeped

I love the rich color.

Mountain Green is made with organic green rooibos (my preference over red rooibos), organic orange peel, and organic lemon myrtle.

They also gave me Solomon's Seal, which I have not tried yet. It is Solomon's Seal Root and organic brown rice. I have not tried it yet, but I wonder if it is like genmaicha tea.

I highly recommend you try their teas, especially if you are looking for a caffeine free, herbal tea that is also organic too. You can find their tea at Whole Foods stores in Michigan, Illinois, Missouri, Nebraska, and Wisconsin and online at Amazon.com.


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Stitch Fix Box #2

My second Stitch Fix box arrived in the mail last week and I have to say they did an awesome job of listening to my feedback on the first box and customizing this one to fit my taste more accurately. When I opened the box I was excited about the colors and cuts of what I saw. Sadly, two of my favorite items just didn't quite fit so I had to send them back. With my feedback from this box I'm hoping my third box will hit it out of the park with style AND fit.

COLIBRI SOLID TAB SLEEVE BLOUSE $48: Love the color and fit of this top, wore it the next day to work. KEPT

MICKEY JEWELED COLLAR PEPLUM TOP $48 -  I liked the idea of this top a lot but when I actually tried it on the peplum just didn't quite hit my hips right. I debated about this one but returned it in the end.

KARSON TEXTURED PENCIL SKIRT $58 - When I opened the box I was super excited about this skirt, love the fabric and color. Unfortunately, I literally couldn't get it over my thighs it was so small. The tag said S but it seemed more like an XXS to me. Had to return.

YUSUF EMBELLISHED SHOULDER STRIPED TOP $58 - This was my least favorite item in the box, it fit well but I just wasn't into the shoulder pads/bejeweling. Sent back.

ABANA ANKLE LENGTH SKINNY JEAN $148 -  I upped the price point in my profile for pants after my last box and was really pleased with what they chose. I liked the quality, color, and stretchiness of these jeans. Sadly, I needed one size smaller. Hoping they will send me them in a smaller size in my next box! RETURNED

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Feeding the Community in Philly

Clear Channel Communities

Power 991Clear Channel Communities™, the community engagement brand of Clear Channel Media and Entertainment, WUSL-Philadelphia’s Power 99 and WDAS FM will team up with Compassion CDC, to feed 5000 homeless  for a special pre-Thanksgiving Dinner. Power 99 FM and WDAS FM personalities will be on site to help serve and to emcee the event including Power 99 fm’s Rise and Grind Morning Show with Minasaywhat, Mikey Dredd and Muthaknows, Cosmic Kev and Cappuchino along with WDAS FM’s Patty Jackson, Frankie Darcell, Tony Brown and Mimi Brown. Also appearing will be Philadelphia Eagles Mychal Kendricks, and  Arrelious Benn.

WHEN:          Monday November 25, 2013 from 4 to 7 pm.

WHERE:        First District Plaza, 3801 Market Street in Philadelphia – Main Ballroom.

CONTACT:    Loraine Ballard Morrill, News and Community Affairs Director, 484-437-0378, lorainemorrill@clearchannel.com.

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Sunday, July 26, 2009

Visit from Owen's Mom!

This is Carianne, my friend of 15 years this summer (we met in high school summer band 1994)! I have talked about her and you've seen pictures of her on our blog from time to time. She was in town last week from Wednesday afternoon until Saturday morning. She's expecting her first child (a baby boy - Owen) in November, so it was really neat to get to spend time with her and talk about all sorts of baby stuff, among other things as we girls tend to do - hee hee! She came to work with me on Thursday and Friday and set up a little area in my office to work on various things on her "To Do" list. We had lots of fun eating, talking, shopping, working on projects, etc. Thanks for a great visit Carianne!

Starting Thursday, we will have John's family in town - we are really looking forward to them being here!

Have a great week - until we meet again...

  1. I really like that picture of us!!! What a pair! Have a lovely week!

  2. i agree! what a pair! you two are too cute! i'm sure you had a ball! take care!


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duminică, 22 septembrie 2013

How to Get the Cinematic Look in Boring Places

 Greetings, people of the internet!

 Sorry for not being able to make the other video yesterday, but I was busy with two things- the second trailer and scene 13.

 As I was working on that, I made a great movie discovery. I realized that any high quality video is cinematic, no matter what the video is about:

 Related to the video, here's the trick to capturing the 'cinematic' look of your home.

 The Cinematic Look in Boring Places

 A few months ago, I decided I'd go on a road near to where I live, simply because I had never been there before. I looked up and the first thing I saw was a horror movie- like house, covered in fog and almost hidden behind tall bushes.

 I knew I had to get a shot of this for whatever video I would be making, so I grabbed my camera and started recording. I first got a steady far shot, then zoomed in to one of the windows.

 When I did this, I saw my sister, randomly staring at me. The house I was filming was my house, and it did look cinematic, despite my thoughts.

 It's just like visiting someone and thinking their house is much more organized or much more welcoming. Then that someone comes to visit you and thinks the same.

 So try this out. Shoot a scene inside your home, edit it and show it to people who have never been there before.

 Progress this Month

 This month was great for two reasons.

 One, I have never been so committed to a project before. I blogged everyday for 30 days, I didn't give up on the movie idea(normally, I lose interest in about 10- 12 projects a month) and... well... see the links in the sidebar.

 Second, I realized I live in the best possible part of this country to shoot a movie in. Went on a bike trip yesterday, only to find out I have all the locations needed for my movie within a ten mile radius. There are literally hundreds of square miles of empty, unused field around here, an abandoned shack far away from anybody to keep me from entering it, hills high enough to look like mountains(good for the intro scenes), a small river that seems to pop out of nowhere and an undisturbed bit of thick woods. What's more, these places can also be reached in a car, which makes everything perfect. I can finally shoot this thing.

 Hopefully, I'll dive into filming next weekend.

 As for the blog progress. Well then, in a month of 1-2 posts a day, I have got up to 517 views. I hope to add a zero to that figure by the end of the second month.

 Those being said, I'll be back in 12 to 24 hours.


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An Airless Paint Sprayer for Artists Who will Paint Their Own Studio

You can direct the money to pay a painter to add value to your own studio by using the airless sprayer to paint your own studio. The airless gun sprayer is the best invention for painting tasks because of the following benefits:

• You do not require any prior knowledge of usage.
• It deepens the paint to cracks and uneven walls.
• It produces a smooth texture after painting.
• It dries faster especially when you use paint thinner, hence no need to vacate the house because of paint.
• It has different power sources to suit your need- hydraulic, electric and compressed air.

The fact that it is beneficial it has its flaws. They include:
• The high-pressure paint ejection can cause injury.
• A studio requires various painting activities.

The airless paint sprayer is a multipurpose tool making, painting your own studio fun and exciting, the air sprayer reduces the paint mess from the old paintbrushes. It allows you to exercise creativity and ensure you have your taste at heart. In permits you to display your artistic skills in your studio. In addition, it allows you to have a complete makeover for your studio. If it is a new premise, self-painting offers ultimate painting solution. You can change the outlook of your furniture, wall paintings, and the walls. If you also have a passion for woods, you can use Jet JWL 1221VS as your wood lathe.

When purchasing for an air sprayer, have a guide to ensure to buy one, which is suitable for massive painting because of durability. There are sprayers mainly for wooden surfaces while others are for metal surfaces. It is advisable to take a multipurpose sprayer in as much as it will cost you a little more money it is worth the expenditure. It will help you tackle all your DIY painting projects. The portability of the appliances also gives them an upper hand in operations. You can paint all the surfaces within your studio. Of course, if you’re going to beautofy your studio through painting, you also need to clean the grasses surrounding you studio. For more information about it, kindly visit this website: . For higher heights, you can use the ladder. Some of the most recommended sprayer for your studio include:

1. Graco 16N673 TrueCoat Pro II Electric Paint Sprayer
This sprayer is designed to paint furniture. The tilting angles allow rotation in all direction hence easy mobility to ensure you paint the entire surface even the hidden areas and joint characterized by furniture. Its main advantage is you do not need a thinner to create a smooth texture.

2. Wagner 0518080 Control Spray Max HVLP Sprayer

Wagner is a stronger sprayer with a dual turbine for addition power supply. It is recommended for commercial purposes because of the 20-foot hosepipe to paint a larger surface area.

3. Critter Spray Products 22032 118SG Siphon Gun
This is sprayer suitable for home use and medium-size painting jobs because of its small gun; you cannot adjust it to fit huge painting activities. This is the ideal sprayer for novices for requiring professional touch of painting. The manual has all instructions on assemblage and uses together with cautions on usage and in a case of accidents.


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GMA 7's sunday noon variety show bids farewell airing it's last episode yesterday.
It has been a consistent concert show viewed by millions of  avid fans of the Kapuso filipino families.
The show SOP first started airing on February 2, 1997, with a live show from the GMA Broadway studios.
It has also become a trademark saying for the typical filipino fans - Sobrang Okay Pare.
Through the years it turned out to be a more serious show until it was dubbed as SOP Rules.

                            This show is hosted by great tv hosts Janno Gibbs, Ogie Alcasid, Regine Velasquez and Jaya. There was a time when SOP quickly caught the attention of the viewers and advertisers and soon was becoming on its way as a threat to the dominance of rival ASAP.

                             After it's successful penetration , this show became so much star studded and joined by the biggest Kapuso stars. So whenever it's sunday, it has been a habit for filipino fans to watch and celebrate with this concert show. Now that they're gone, will there be a show that can beat them. Will there be a Party Pilipinas ?

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Jessica & Todd {Magnolia Plantation}

Jessica & Todd {Magnolia Plantation}

By Andraya Northrup | July 11, 2010

Jessica and Todd’s May wedding at Magnolia Plantation was full of music and laughter and a healthy dose cutie patootie children. I LOVE weddings, but the children always have me in the palms of their sweet little hands. Sweetgrass Social Event & Design styled this lovely affair filled it with clean and crisp details.

The cake was designed by the talented Molly Lawson of d’lish discriminating desserts with catering by Granville’s.

Charleston wedding

Photography: Alice Keeney Photography | Wedding Coordination and Design: Sweetgrass Social Event & Design | Wedding Cake: d’lish discriminating dessertsWedding and Reception Venue: Magnolia Plantation | Florist:  JW Weddings and Events | Catering: Granville Catering | Reception Band: Millhouse | Officiant: Rev. Marshall Huey of Old St. Andrew’s Parish Church

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  • Jessica & Todd Trego
    Posted at 15:22h, 11 July Reply

    Todd and I wanted to say thank you for selecting our wedding for your site! Each and every vendor worked so hard and helped to make our day very special and we are forever thankful! We would highly recommend any of these vendors to future brides! Thank you, again, for the honor of selecting our wedding for your website!

  • Jessica Ann
    Posted at 20:33h, 11 July Reply

    This wedding is just beautiful!! How did you come across your florist and your coordinator? I would love to know more about them both!

  • Kip
    Posted at 14:40h, 13 July Reply

    D’lish! D’lish! D’lish! 🙂

  • Jessica & Todd Trego
    Posted at 17:34h, 14 July Reply

    Hi Jessica Ann,

    Thank you so much for the wonderful comments regarding our wedding!

    I came across our florist, Justin Wham, because he was working out of a bakery in which we initially selected our wedding cake, Ashley Bakery. Justin is WONDERFUL! I just gave him my colors, told him I wanted him to be creative…and the beautiful flowers and lighting were the end results! He is very artistic and has a great eye for detail and creativity!

    Wedding coordinators….Sweetgrass Social…Meredith and Jacqueline are members of my Junior League group here in Charleston. I actually bid on a package deal with them at one of our Silent Auctions! They did a great job and helped keep me on track! They, too, had many great ideas and suggestions for the reception and setup and did a great job making sure our special day was relaxing and worry-free! I would definitely recommend both of these vendors (as well as all of my other vendors!)!

  • Jenna Kate
    Posted at 15:10h, 26 July Reply

    Which site at Magnolia did y’all use? It’s one of the venues we’re considering for our fall 2011 wedding! Beautifully done!

    Cheers and congratulations!

  • Jessica & Todd Trego
    Posted at 07:33h, 05 August Reply

    Hi Jenna Kate!

    We used the Carriage House at Magnolia. It is towards the back of the property, right on the Ashley River and gives some seculsion from tourists that might still be walking around. Also, there is plenty of parking for your guests. There is a bridal cottage right in the area, and you have a great sized indoor/outdoor area! Good luck with your planning!

    If you want to schedule an appointment with the wedding coordinator at Magnolia, her name is Jessica Cruz and was wonderful to work with!

    Thanks for the kind comments and let me know if I can help you further!

    Posted at 12:13h, 09 August Reply

    Your wedding pictures are absolutely beautiful! We are having our wedding at the carriage house in 2012, and I’d like to know where you purchased or rented those fantastic lanterns… If you purchased them, do you have them available to rent or buy?

  • Crystal Gaskins
    Posted at 18:54h, 17 March Reply

    I was wondering where you guys got the off family care towelettes from? I think that was a really neat idea. We are getting married at magnolia plantation at the carriage house in the middle of may. I would like my guests to be able to enjoy the wedding bug free.

    thanks for the info

    crystal gaskins

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#StyleDiary: Monday Blues & Winter Hues x

Monday’s are for wearing the most amazing pair of jeans that have the texture of smooth butter, sky high heels that make you feel like you’re levitating and a crispy shirt for
androgynous-fashion’s sake.
This outfit is probably one of my favourite, and although I wouldn’t get away with wearing it at varsity for the mere fact that the uneven floors we walk one would induce me to fall over, I would wear this just about anywhere else.
This sweet pair of jeans and crispy shirt make a delicious combination (do you see what I did there?) and are both likely to still be in store.

All photo credits go to the super lovely Gaby Goncalves, whom you can follow on Instagram at @gabriella_goncalves.

Outfit Details
Shirt: Forever New
Jeans: Forever New
Shoes: River Island
Handbag: Mr Price

Hope you all have a beautiful Monday!
Love Always,

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For some years now I've been working on a series of novels. These stories confront contemporary issues such as genocide, extremism, the power of the Internet, modernising society and what is lost, and much more.

The next stage for me is to finish these frameworks and start trying to get my writing out into the wider world. If anyone who reads this blog has any contacts with literary agents, authors or publishers and could help me, please get in touch.

To represent my work I've bought a domain and, with some expert assistance, denial crackedit will be launched soon.

Becoming a bit caught up in fiction, The Kook has slowed down. After a major makeover by Alex @ A-side, we'll be ready to print in early 2010. We got some samples in, and they look epic. I've just got to launch him some files tomorrow and we'll be rolling. Watch this space...

Wishing you the best of luck and waves for 2010,


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Tuesday, October 15, 2013

To Sleeve, or Not to Sleeve?

I really need to make some winter Sunday dresses for Sugar Muffin (my daughter, name changed to protect the adorable). A friend gave me some fabric I'd like to use:

I can't make up my mind on the design though. I'm thinking of trying a bubble skirt, with flower trim either at the neck or waist.

I can't decide if I should do it sleeveless to wear with a sweater (which I need to buy for her anyway, but which she will probably want to take off), or put short sleeves on it, which at least looks a little warmer.

I'm thinking third from the left, on the top or bottom row.

Any ideas? What do you think?

To sleeve, or not to sleeve?

pollcode.com free polls

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Saturday, December 21, 2013

Bags, Bags and more a little bit of painting

I've been busy working behind my machine.  I've been so enthralled with my new projects that I find it hard to step away from them some times to do my needed errands.  I wanted to share an art bag that I just recently finished.  I'm really excited with how it turned out. I used a slashing technique to add dimension to the fabric. The female is hand drawn, painted, free motion stitched by me and then appliqued on to my custom designed bag.  So excited to share with the world!

Little man and I had some fun making non toxic paint yesterday, the coloring up the backyard for nearly 2 hours and joyfully washing away our art with the water hose.  Have any of you ever made cornstarch paint? (1 cup cornstarch, 1 cup water, food coloring)  I'm happy to report that we got the paint ALL over ourselves, including a white tshirt (which i set aside for painting so not a big deal) but when I threw our clothes in the wash last night, every last bit of cornstarch paint came out of our clothing without a trace. And NO,  I did not use any bleach. So it is a messy yet fun project that cleans up better than kid intended paints and markers.  Here are some pictures from our messy fun!

1 cup of water, 1 cup of cornstarch, mix, mix, mix. Pour into their individual spots and add food coloring.

Not so good for paper but...

A little liquidy, did not work so well on paper but was a lot of fun on the ground (and rocks, and hands, and...)

The colors we began with.

a splattering of color

Something gooey and colorful to stick your hands in.

I'm thinking this could make for an interesting Halloween Costume next year. Incredible Hulk anyone?

We started off with yellow, orange, purple, red, green and blue. We ended up with light orange, neon orange, turquoise and a whole bunch of....

paint on the ground. I wish I could have captured this craziness on paper, that would be an interesting backdrop to an illustration!
Christmas is just 4 days away!  I'll try to write again but if not, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you all. Thanks for being such great, supportive followers of Threads and Pencils, the support means the world to me!

Friday, December 13, 2013

Almost Christmas, creative ventures flourishing just in time for the holidays!

While my son is taking a quick break from jumping couch to couch, I thought I might sit down to write. Sometimes the task of writing seems overwhelming. I feel like my words are repeated over and over again, or i haven't any new ideas to share and think perhaps sitting down will just make my readers bored.  I hope not, but I think about these things.  But today, I wanted to share a few of my latest creations.

I've been having a lot of fun with my sewing machine, a little bit of art mixed in, bento box preparations are still a hit (though some nights I am so tired that I wonder why I just don't make a sandwich for everyone) and today a small greeting card "box" idea that is NOT my own idea but totally worth sharing as I LOVE it!   I'm not one for buying the mass produced greeting cards, I feel that I have enough crazy ideas swirling around in my head that i should be able to sit down and make my own cards. I feel this way about my girls too, I encourage them to make their own before thinking of buying something.  So we tried out a new "card" idea today.  Instead of a card actually, it is a banner in a box. Perfect for a birthday but I think it would do for any holiday or occasion that "requires" a card.

I started out with a simple $1 box (though I'm sure if you AREN'T in Hawaii you might actually find such a box much cheaper!) I decorated the top with the name of the recipient.  With a bit of card stock, scrapbook paper, glue or tape, ribbon, I made a Happy Birthday Banner with a couple of extra circles for loving messages from my girls to their friend.  I'm pretty sure this is all self explanatory, make the larger circle still small enough to fit in the the circles on the ribbon far apart enough that they can fold like an accordion into the box.  For a special little touch, with your scraps cut out confetti shapes (sorry Mom!), much easier if you have one of those funky shaped hole punchers.   And watch your friend smile as she opens her greeting box.


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Katy Perry Tickets

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Wish List

This site is cool. I intend to make it cooler. To do so, I could use a little help. I'm a writer, not a web-designer, and what you currently see on the site reflects the limit of my HTML-writing abilities.

The following is a list of production elements I would like to incorporate into the site. If you would like to help make these a reality, please contact me at sam@inow.com. Editorial Wish List

In terms of editorial content, my plan is to overhaul the Free as in Freedom story over the next 18 months, folding in more historical material, more third party commentary and more technical information. To give readers an idea of where I see things heading, I've adopted the numeric naming convention used by most software projects. I'm designating the text copied directly from Free as in Freedom and posted on March 7, 2002, as FAIFzilla 1.0. Version 1.1 will incorporate all the feedback supplied by readers in the 90 days following the publication of Free as in Freedom. Future versions will be significant rewrites of version 1.1

The following is a list of editorial milestones. This list will probably change, depending on how things progress. If you would like to help out with the writing or research associated with any one of these milestones, let me know. The same goes if you have pertinent information to offer in the way of an interview.

  • 1.2 -- New chapter on the Free Software Foundation and its history. I had to cut this from the book version because of deadline constraints.
  • 1.3 -- New chapter discussing the LGPL, its significance as a rare compromise on Stallman's part and Stallman's subsequent attempts to reverse that compromise.
  • 1.4 -- Rewrite historical chapters 6 ["Emacs Commune"], eliminating factual errors and beefing up the technical content. Emacs was and remains Stallman's signature work, and I admit I provided only the roughest outline sketch of what the software does and how it came to be. I would love it if somebody with an in depth working knowledge of the program could provide some pointers on how to get across the technical and conceptual ingenuity of Emacs. I'm also willing to accept submissions that would augment this chapter.
  • 1.6 -- Rewrite Chapter 11 ["Open Source"]. Writing this chapter was difficult, because many of the events were recent or ongoing. This made it hard to separate the truly significant from the overblown. Like a lot of journalists covering the open source/free software "schism," I tended to emphasize personal rivalries and quotations over more subtle developments in the technical realm. I'm hoping that as the events of 1995-1999 fade into the background it will be easier put those events in historical context.
  • 1.7 -- Rewrite Chapter 13. ["Continuing the Fight"]. This chapter was the last delivered, and it shows. My intention was to analyze Stallman's work from the historical perspective. Are the values of "freedom" and "neighborliness" in sync with the traditional values espoused by the Constitutional framers or are they simply one of many interpretations? I would like to fold in more of Eben Moglen's thoughts on the difficulty of software from a legal perspective, an examination of past examples -- eg. strikes, player piano roles, corporations -- that forced to courts to reshift their interpretation of the law. A lead-in chapter on the FSF would probably help set those thoughts up.
  • 1.8 -- Rewrite or update remaining chapters.
  • 1.9 -- Rewrite Introduction and Epilogue, discussing lessons learned from the GFDL/online publication process.
  • 2.0 -- A full, ready-for-publication second version of Free as in Freedom. Current target date: January, 2004.

    Home | FAIFzilla 1.0


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Thursday, June 2, 2011

British Aviation in the First World War - Pt1

The next series of blogs will examine the evolution of British aviation during the First World War. Ultimately there will be 3 separate but inter-related narratives; the first is a general overview of British WW1 aviation. It is structured as a series of notes supported by 'slides' and was a presentation I gave recently. The second looks at the impact of Trenchard’s policy of the ‘relentless and incessant offensive’  on the RFC/RAF's development. The third picks up the subject of aerial photography and focuses on the interpretation of the photographs during WW1.

The term ‘the industrial battlefield’ has been used to describe the Western Front during WW1 (Bloody Victory: The Sacrifice on the Somme - William Philpott).  Implicit within this description are the technological revolutions that had and did fundamentally change the nature of warfare in the early 20th century.  Nowhere is this more clearly highlighted than in the development of aviation.  The evolution of British Air Power during WW1 clearly illustrates the challenges faced when developing and integrating new technologies into an operational environment whilst in contact with the enemy.

How important was Aviation?

How important was aviation between 1914 and 1918?  The following points serve to illustrate the contemporary perception:

Relative Manpower:
BEF on the Western Front;
·         1914 – 86,000
·         March 1918 – 1,293,000 (x 15 Growth)

RFC/RNAS/RAF (Totals all theatres)
·         1914 – 1,844
·         October 1918 – 291,748 (x 158 Growth)
Financial Investment:
·         ¼ of Britain's military budget in 1918 was spent on the RAF.
·         ½ of the £160 million in contracts [in Britain alone] outstanding at the end of the war were air contracts.

Birth of the Royal Flying Corps

On 9 Nov 1904 the Wright brothers flew a heavier than air aircraft for more than 5 minutes.  By 1908 they were conducting flights with passengers (pilot + a.n.other).  In July 1909 Louis Bleriot completed the first cross Channel flight.  The Channel was no longer an impregnable defence policed by the Royal Navy.

Despite these developments, British government interest in heavier than air aviation was limited.  Finally in 1911 Asquith, following significant pressure, asked the Committee of Imperial Defence (CID) to consider the future of aviation.  The CID's sub-committee, headed by Haldane, recommended, in its February 1912 report, that a Royal Flying Corps (RFC) be formed and organised into a Military Wing and a Naval Wing with a Central Flying Training School.  The RFC was formed on 13 May 1912.  It was evident from the start that the 2 Wings perceived the utility of aviation differently.

From an Army perspective Brig Gen David Henderson, and General Staff Capt Frederick Sykes, who were key members on the CID sub-committee, envisaged aircraft carrying out; artillery observation, the prevention of aerial reconnaissance, attacks on an enemy field army and aerial combat as possible tasks, but circumspectly concluded that military aircraft were essentially a RECONNAISSANCE auxiliary for land armies.  In the 1912 army manoeuvres aircraft successfully performed reconnaissance missions and tests were carried out with aircraft carrying bombs and the new Lewis gun.  From the start military (Army) aviation development and procurement was focused mainly on the government run Royal Aircraft Factory.

The Naval wing interest was wider than just reconnaissance.  Churchill believed that aircraft could supersede small cruisers and reconnaissance vessels and protect naval ports.  By Oct 1913 he outlined 3 aircraft types: a scout seaplane, a ship based fighter seaplane, and a home service fighting aircraft for defence and patrol.  This expanded interest led to the Naval Wings collaboration with the fledgling private aviation industry (Short, Avro, and Sopwith) in pre-war experiments with the wireless, machine guns, bombs, and torpedoes.  In efforts to counter the Zeppelin threat it even tested a Vickers 1.5 pound semi-automatic cannon that stopped the aircraft dead in the air causing it to drop 500 feet!  Tests were also conducted on a seaplane carrier, the cruiser Hermes, equipped with Short seaplanes with folded wings.

By 1914 these divergent approaches led to a split within the RFC.  Officially in July 1914 the Naval Wing became the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS).  In addition to the operational split, on the eve of war the British aviation industry was fragmented, disorganised, and underdeveloped. Significantly the majority of the aircraft were powered by French made engines.

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Sunday, December 16, 2007

The Craft of Writing

I've spent the past week, one way and another, very close to the technical aspects of writing. The image that most people have of 'writing' is of a frenzied outpouring of creativity, scribbling frantically or clattering away at a keyboard. There's no doubt that this is part of the process; it happens to be the most glamorous bit, and also the hardest to explain. What goes on inside a writer's head in this initial composition phase defies ready analysis (although several of us have tried over on the Macmillan New Writers' blog), where I only semi-jocularly refer to hearing voices as my core writing experience.

What we're talking about when we use these stereotypes of the creative process is really the preparation of a first draft, but there are several stages before and after this. All writers do some pre-planning before they start to work, whether it's a scene-by-scene storyboard, background research, character analysis, timelines, or any of the other techniques writers use to get themselves ready to face the blank page.

There is also, once the draft is complete, the revision and editing process. I've been spending the past week working on the edits suggested by Will, my editor at Macmillan. This is an entirely different kind of creativity--a better description would be applied evaluative judgement. Will has suggested 400-odd line edits as well as half a dozen or so areas where scenes needed to be wholly or partly rewritten. A 'brainstorming' frame of mind is not helpful to me at this stage: instead, I need to see why Will has made the suggestions, whether I agree with them, and if I do, whether his suggested fix is the best way of doing it. This is an interesting and perversely enjoyable activity, but it couldn't be further from the idea of the writer taking dictation from the Muse.

At the same time as I've been working on my edits, I was also at West Dean on Greg Mosse's "How to Write a Novel" course. It sounds banal to suggest that to be able to teach creative writing, you need to be able to write, and you need to be able to teach, but much professional tuition is deficient in at least one of these areas (more often the teaching side). Greg is a trained teacher, and his courses are relentlessly practical. The emphasis is on how you generate a workable story area, people it with believable characters and a compelling location--but most of all, it's "how do aspiring writers then stop themselves from doing it?" Having completed my NLP Practitioner training this year, I found this approach fascinating. The last couple of days were as much about the mental state we need to be in to write a sustained piece of fiction as any technical discipline. Greg's wife Kate, author of the hugely successful Labyrinth and Sepulchre, was on hand to share her thoughts on the writer's craft, as was Jason Goodwin, creator of an expanding series of detective novel set in 1830s Istanbul. By the end of the course, we all had a good sense of the mindset used by successful writers.

I still stand by my original views on the road to publication (although they do not follow the party line in every case). If I had to summarise them in a single sentence, it would be "keep at it" -- and that very much is the party line.

As well as being educational, the course was great fun, and I was privileged to spend the week with such a talented and supportive group. So a special hello to Anne, Denise, Eileen, Fiona, George, Hainey, Kirstin and Lakhraj. Sorry if I gave any of you my cold, and I'll see you all in Panama one day!

David Isaak said...

Hi, Tim--

I found I had to address the line items first to sort of get the housekeeping out of the way to deal with things of more substance. But I can imagine other plans of attack.

How did you go about it?

Tim Stretton said...

Exactly the same, David. Knock of the line items and then do the big stuff. That approach also eased me back into a story I stopped 'living' over a year ago before I had to tackle changes for which I needed to reimagine the characters.


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Chores by Age

What kids can do at each age. Here's an outline for training them to be independent. To print it out click here.

3 years
Dress Self
Use Toilet independently
Beginning to brush teeth
Pick up toys
Say prayers
Clean Glass tables

4 years
brush teeth
make bed
make own breakfast
make sandwiches
beginning to clean room

5 years old
straighten room
empty garbage cans
set table
clear table
make own lunch
warm up canned food
get allowance

6 years old
take shower
load dishwasher
empty dishwasher
clean sinks
run microwave
water plants
make and answer phone calls

7 years old
wash dishes
floss teeth
clean toilets
pull weeds
have a savings account
read with comprehension

8 years old
groom nails and hair
get up by self
participate in team sports of clubs
develop personal talents
clean mirrors
memorize phone number and address
do own hair
begin piano lessons

Since this is a very long list, click here to get ages 9 - 16.


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National Guard extends sponsorship of Dale Earnhardt Jr.

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The Army National Guard will sponsor the No. 88 Chevrolet driven by Dale Earnhardt Jr. though the 2014 season.

“NASCAR is a critical marketing platform for the National Guard,” said Lt. Col. Michael Wegner, marketing branch chief, Army National Guard. “This program touches recruiters, influencers, our own Citizen Soldiers and those interested in the Guard’s many career opportunities and benefits. NASCAR fans in our target demographic are twice as likely to consider the military as a career option, and the overall fan base strongly advocates for military service. It’s the right place for the Guard and has helped us recruit more than 400,000 Citizen Soldiers since 2007.”

The Army National Guard paint scheme will be featured on Earnhardt’s car in 20 races on the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series schedule in 2014.

“It’s an incredible privilege to work with and represent the Guard,” Earnhardt said. “We have the opportunity to interact with those who serve our country and many who are considering military careers. I’m personally in awe of their sacrifices and feel a tremendous amount of pride in our relationship with them. The entire No. 88 team is looking forward to another season together.”

PepsiCo’s continuing support of the No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports team includes five primary races annually through the 2015 Sprint Cup season. Additional sponsorship for Earnhardt will be announced at a later date.

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WWE Monday Night RAW LIVE UPDATES and RESULTS for February 17, 2014

WWE Monday Night RAW is LIVE tonight from the Pepsi Center in Denver, CO.

Randy Orton will continue his gauntlet of matches against WWE Elimination Chamber opponents with Sheamus tonight. Expect Alberto Del Rio and Batista to continue their feud and perhaps another stare-down between the Wyatt Family and The Shield.

As always TIREBALL SPORTS will be covering this event LIVE with quick results and detailed results.

Quick Results

Randy Orton and Sheamus went to a no contest after everyone showed up in the and brawled
Jey Uso defeated Billy Gunn
The Wyatt Family defeated Sin Cara & Los Matadores
John Cena defeated Cesaro
Big E defated Mahal & McIntyre
Jack Swagger defeats Kofi Kingston via submission
Roman Reigns defeated Mark Henry
Fandango defeated Santino
Daniel Bryan defeats Kane via DQ after Kane refuses to break a hold.
Daniel Bryan defeats Christian via pin

WWE Monday Night RAW Results for Feb. 17, 2014

And there is no need to refresh this as it will automatically update!

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Apple, Inc. today released its Report on Government Information Requests. A quick scan shows most of the countries that requested user data were Western, with USA requesting more than just a truckload of personal data. Missing from the list are any countries from continental Africa.

Like many companies, Apple receives requests from law enforcement agencies to provide customer information. As we have explained, any government agency demanding customer content from Apple must get a court order.¹ When we receive such a demand, our legal team carefully reviews the order. If there is any question about the legitimacy or scope of the court order, we challenge it. Only when we are satisfied that the court order is valid and appropriate do we deliver the narrowest possible set of information responsive to the request.

There are two ways you could interpret this.

  1. Digital surveillance isn’t yet sophisticated on the continent
  2. Apple products are [not yet] in wide use on the continent.

The answer, I think, it 1 & 2. Only 15% of the continent is connected to the internet. There may be 700 million mobile devices on the continent, but few of them are smart devices. Even fewer are Apple devices. A little birdie shared some hard data about the devices that were running on MTN Uganda’s network in Q1’13. There were less than 10,000 Apple devices connected to the network’s 3G spectrum. Even if each country only had 10,000 Apple devices, that’s only 540,000 or .0008% of all mobile devices on the continent.

Various Ministries of information or ICT prefer wholesale control or blocking of access to the web, rather than try to sleuth for misbehaving individuals. See Ethiopia and Morocco’s draconian approach and Uganda’s recent attempt to squelch dissent by trying to block Twitter and Facebook.

However, as connected technologies become more and more a part of African life, and efforts like SIM registration become the new normal, governments will have plenty of data to collect on their citizens.

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Wednesday, Jan-17-2018, 6.39PM

Srirangam byelection: S Valarmathi to be AIADMK candidate Srirangam byelection: S Valarmathi to be AIADMK candidate

Jan-16-2015 | 0 Comments

CHENNAI: Former Tamil Nadu chief minister and AIADMK general secretary J Jayalalithaa on Friday announced that party's Trichy urban district wing joint secretary S Valarmathi would be its candidate for the byelection in Srirangam assembly constituency.

The bypoll has been necessitated by the disqualification of Jayalalithaa, who represented Srirangam assembly segment, after a special court in Bengaluru convicted her in a disproportionate wealth case.

Jayalalithaa has also announced setting up a 50-member election committee to oversee the election process. The members of the committee include party presidium chairman E Madhusoodanan, ministers Natham R Viswanathan, R Vaithialingam and Edapaddi K Palanisamy.

Chief minister O Panneerselvam and Hindu religious and charitable endowments minister ChendurPandian, who is undergoing treatment in Chennai, have not been included in the committee.

Meanwhile, the All India Muslim League has announced the party's support to the AIADMK candidate.

"When the fundamental forces are making efforts to establish themselves in Tamil Nadu, it is time to strengthen the hands of the AIADMK leader who stands by the minorities," Muslim League state president S J Inayathullah said in a statement.

He hailed the ruling AIADMK for rolling out various welfare schemes for the state.

The DMK has already renominated N Anand, who lost to Jayalalithaa in 2011 elections, as its candidate in the Srirangam byelection.

The bypoll will be held on February 13, and votes will be counted on February 16.

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Monday, February 6, 2012

Savannah Georgia

 I love a walking city and Savannah is one of those. I felt like I came across less "seedy" areas this trip than the last time I was here. (not that walking through dangerous areas usually slows me down any...but I do try to do it during daylight rather than night!)

 Savannah is designed with a series of squares or parks that are just beautiful.

 As I approached one intersection, I saw all these people with cameras and I wondered who could be I came to the corner, I saw that it was Girl Scout Moms taking photos of their scouts in from of the Low House!

 One of the squares, Chippewa, was where Forrest Gump sat on the bench. The bench is now in a museum in town.

 On my last visit, I spent a lot of time in this Colonial Park and Cemetery. There are some old grave sites there!

 Above is the church building that I believe the feather drifted down in front of in the movie Forrest Gump.....and look who I ran into......a Forrest Gump impersonator. I learned he is actually from Atlanta.

 The house above was open for tours (another trip) and it was featured in the movie, The Conspirator. If you are a history buff, this movie is about the woman that was hung after Lincoln's assassination as she ran the boarding house that John Wilkes Boothe frequented and had lived in....Robert Redford directed it and it is great!
Below is Paula Deen's shop and restaurant. I have done the Paula Deen tour on a previous trip and eaten in her restaurant. It was basically a southern cooking buffet.....good but not worth standing in line for hours to experience.

 Below the globe is a WW II monument along the waterfront.
 The City Market is another shopping area that is worth visiting.
 The statue from the movie and book, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil also has been moved to a museum. It had been in a cemetery. Replicas are available, of course.

 Johnny Mercer was from Savannah, so there is a statue of him near City Market.

 Many of the bus tours allow on and off privileges. There are also horse drawn carriages available.

 That William Bartram really made it around....I see signs about his studies in many places I visit.
Below is closer shots of the WW II Memorial, a very nice tribute.

The walking tour that I referred to is available at
They have different tours from which to choose. Sure hope I can do that next visit. More to come....

1 comment:

Jan Castle said...

WOW, what a pleasurable tour...would love to visit there! Thanks Holly,


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Sunday, October 26, 2008

Because It Changed Everything Part 1

I started To Kiss the Cook a year ago, plus some interest due to procrastination. To say that I had no idea what I was getting into would be an epic understatement. Begging the question (from most people) "Why did you start it?"

I had developed a reputation among friends for 3-5 page quarterly emails. Massive. And I always assumed that people skimmed them and then pat me on the head. But then someone would reference the abundance of details therein and I would be encouraged. I'd had other friends start blogs while they traveled abroad and became acquainted with a couple other women who had made a real run at the internet and seemed enriched by it. So even though my blog is a little more censored than the old email chains were, it filled the gap and allowed me to talk through my kitchen adventures at the same time.

The first big change: TKTC as a Romantic Litmus Test

When I started ToKissTheCook last fall, I was talking to someone I called Chip. Nothing serious, just two people looking for dinner company who had an uncanny (and less than wholesome) amount of friends in common. The short of it is through a rather off-putting turn of small world events, we each discovered things we didn't like much about the other person. It happens. I won't get into my beef because it's rather irrelevant now but his issue was this website. I had talked about him, positively and vaguely, in the early days of this website when it was only my girlfriends reading it. An important lesson in full disclosure for me but an interesting reaction from him- he did not get why I wanted to talk about it or anything else for that matter. Alas, we are now both with the people we were hung up on when we were talking to each other so I suppose all's well that ends well.

Which does lead me to a contrast.

My blog used to be linked my Facebook page. It's not anymore but after the whole bit with Chip, I was adamant about not hiding anything. The security blanket? The one person who I'd opened up about a bit more than Chip was not on Facebook. And while I never wrote anything I'd be ashamed about him reading, it'd never crossed my mind that he would happen across it. Then after a year and a half of being actual friends, the little email popped up and I needed to say it. I told Jaimeson about my blog in January.

I think he caught the Facebook stream occasionally but once I took it down, he never mentioned a single thing again that lead me to believe he was reading it. And he has a rather nomadic lifestyle (eg not in front of a computer 10-14 hours a day) so I wasn't offended by his perceived lack of interest, I was a little relieved. And then I was confident he was not reading it and went on gushing more and more as things between us started to evolve. As I am in PR and talk about music (his livlihood) a lot, I tried to be careful not to put anything up that would strike an off-note with a publicist/ friends of his who saw my blog crossing a clips page and used instead hyperlinks to MySpace and iTunes rather than full artist names to avoid Google Alerts.

And life went on. And we had adventures and I was in it. "In it" in a way I hadn't been into anything in such a long time and probably not ever as an adult. I'd written a couple rather personal posts about it that I put up and then took down days later. Then put up again and took down. Some of you likely remember those.

Then he was here visiting in June and it was a few days before my birthday. We went out for barbeque, crashed a rooftop roller derby party and then met some friends of his at Liar's Club. It was a great Chicago night and having had him here with pie for a few days, we'd settled into the most deliciously sincere versions of ourselves. When we got home that night, recapping our various adventures, I got a bear hug for no reason. And he said "I started reading your blog again yesterday."

And my heart stopped. And it was maybe 3 seconds in real time but two statements ran through my head as coming next:

1) We have a lot of fun together, but I'm a rather public person and I can't have any part of my personal life out there, even if it's encrypted. I'm sorry.
2) I like you but I don't think I'm as into this as you appear to be and I don't want to hurt you. I'm sorry.

Neither of those scenarios included the following (what actually came out):
" I almost didn't tell you because I didn't want you to feel like you needed to censor yourself. You have such an incredible outlet and I love getting to read about what's going on from your perspective, in your voice. I didn't know, I really didn't know for sure that you felt the same things I did and it's amazing and I hope you don't mind that I read it."

You would think my heart would start again there but it didn't. I was shocked. I shouldn't have been but I was and I don't think I said much after that but there were some kissing noises and I can't recall a single other thing, apologies :)

And because of the way he said it, I haven't censored myself about the giddiness and the anticipation and the adventures. I think he catches it from time to time but I don't know how often and I like it that way. So that was really big. That he knew who and what I was and how I felt about him and pie and adventures and he liked me anyway. And it helped me to trust what was happening. What's still happening. I highly recommend letting someone into your life who's best-case scenarios match up with yours time after time after time.

"Want to watch a movie?"
"You know, I DO want to watch a movie. I kinda want to watch Harry Potter or something like that."
"Why don't we go to blockbuster and buy the latest one? And get candy?"
"And POPCORN. And turn all the lights off!"

The second big change: TKTC as a career woman coming mid-week.

Molly McGuffin said...

I miss the 3 page scandalous-as-all-get-out college email updates, hahah!

Shanti said...

i know i've said it before, but, i pretty much love reading about you being in love.

Katrin said...

Sweet post. Very nice! I make Martin read every single post I write. :)

theycallmecurlysue said...

I've thought about letting my boyfriend start reading my blog. I know he doesn't mind, I told him I do write about him--name changed of course. He would love to read and said whenever I'm read he is excited to see it. I want him to but what if I do start censoring?!

nicoleantoinette said...

Adorable fest.

So@24 said...

Censor yourself?? Of what?

You're Cooky!

You have nothing to hide!

Any Little Reason said...

Your writing makes me smile.

Maris said...

What a sweet post! It's so nice when people you care about in "real life" read and enjoy your blog. Since I write about things that are important to me, my blog is definitely something I would want to share with anyone close to me.