Greek Invasion

I am sure that when people that live outside of the south think of southern cooking, they picture fried chicken, collards, black-eyed peas, maybe even chitlins and cornbread.  And yes, these are staples of southern food (I've never had chitlins but many people eat them) but this doesn't mean that we eat this every meal everyday.  Goodness, we would all be as big as a house if we did (yes, many people do eat like this in the south and yes, they are as big as a house. Why do you think the south is notorious for fat people?)  Anyway, my point is that the south does offer a great number of delicious foods other than our stereotypical dishes.  Mediterranean food seems to have taken this area of Alabama by storm.  I don't know if Greek/Mediterranean food is popular throughout the south or the nation but it definitely has exploded here in Tuscaloosa and Birmingham.  My very favorite is Nabeels:

  Nabeel's market and cafe is located in Homewood, Alabama has wonderful Greek food.  I love their Moussaka and Greek salad.  The have sandwiches, pitas, traditional Greek dishes, like Shrimp Aegean and the Gyro plate and their prices are so affordable.  Two people can easily eat there for around $25-$30.

Yellow Fever

When everything starts blooming and the highs are in the 80s', you know its spring in the south.  Every year about this time, I long for a yellow room.  I love the yellow and green combo in the picture above.

This is a little too much yellow for me but I still think its an adorable room.  I can just imagine how bright this room would be with the morning sun.

I like this room but it needs MORE yellow!

Just the right amount of yellow to suit my taste. I think the mixture of yellow, blue and black (maybe thats a dark gray, I can't tell from the picture) is perfect.

Wish this was mine!  I love painted furniture and this yellow really makes this piece of furniture the star of the room.

Southern Gothic

I am a huge fan of Southern Gothic literature.  William Faulkner, Tennessee Williams and Harper Lee are classics, with To Kill a Mockingbird being my all-time favorite.  So, this got me interested in gothic architecture.  We have three beautiful examples here on campus, built between 1884 and 1888.

Clark Hall, located on the University of Alabama campus, is one of my favorite examples of Gothic Architecture.  Can you believe that the University actually let this magnificent building fall into enough decay that it was almost falling down?!  Thank goodness the administration wised up and restored Clark for future UA generations.

I am not sure where this house is located but I would love to see the inside.

I could get used to cooking in this kitchen.  This is, if I did much cooking.  I like how this room utilizes some gothic features but doesn't overwhelm the space with too many.

This is a great space and I love the casual vibe it gives off.

What an adorable swing.  I hate to even know what it cost.

What do you think about these architectural details?  I can just imagine these elements in a quaint little gothic cottage set behind a couple of low branching oaks. SO southern.

Decorating With A White Palette

I love the white tongue and groove paneling and the WINDOWS!!  You can never have enough natural sunlight in a room; it makes everything prettier.  The white background really helps the beautiful aqua and chartreuse colors pop.  I think I would replace the metal chairs with three traditional wooden chairs to balance out the modern patterns on the pillows.

I absolutely love this neutral color scheme with just a few hints of color to warm it up.  I could so see this room in an old renovated Federal style home or maybe a place in the French Quarter.

 This white kitchen reminds me of many that I have seen throughout the south.  We love our white cabinetry, white beadboard, white tile and wood floors.  Such a great combination.  I tend to be drawn to more traditional style with a little bit of a twist but I love these modern stainless steel countertops and modern bar stools.  It compliments the traditional style of this kitchen and keeps it fresh.

Haint Paint

I have always heard that southern porches had blue ceilings so that mosquitos would be disoriented and fly toward the blue “sky”.  But recently, I saw an article on another explanation for this tradition.  This shade of blue is called ‘haint blue’ and originally showed up on slave dwellings.  Some say this practice started in Africa to protect one’s home from evil spirits and the tradition has been a mainstay in southern culture.  This beautiful shade of blue shows up on shutters, doors, porch ceilings and even furniture.  I am contemplating painting a small side table this color and antiquing it a bit to put in my living room.

Down South

So, this is my very first post on my very first blog.  As you can probably tell from the whole purpose of this blog, I love the South.  I love the food, the people, our accents, our architecture and our way of life.  Its slow, family oriented and meant to be enjoyed to the fullest.  We have a very rich and unique history, plenty good and plenty bad- but isn’t that how it is everywhere else?  My main goal is to share with you all the things that I love about the South and I hope that you will love them too.