Miss America's Outstanding Teen

Olivia McMillan, Miss Georgia Outstanding Teen 2014

Olivia McMillan is a 17 year-old student at Northside High School in Warner Robins, Georgia.  She is a classically trained vocalist and delivered a beautiful rendition of "Nessun Dorma" and won Miss Georgia Outstanding Teen 2014 back in June.  Now she's competing for the title of Miss America's Outstanding Teen!

Along with the volunteering for the Miss America partnership program of the Children's Network, Olivia's platform is the Sibling Support Project, for siblings of medically fragile and special needs children.  Her brother Max has autism and bipolar disorder.

This young lady is beautiful and talented and she's my pick to take the crown!

*EDITED*
Congratulations to Olivia.  She is the new Miss America's Outstanding Teen!!!

Happy Birthday Jackie Kennedy

Happy Birthday to Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis, born this day in 1929.  Here a few of my favorite photos of America's Queen.

1951, Vogue Magazine, Double strand of pearls and white-gloved hands

What must have been one of the most special days in the life of a lady who surely had so many!

Perfectly poised in pink and a double strand of pearls

1962, conducting a tour at the White House.  Perfection.

Jackie O, the style icon

Jackie O...The working girl

In her later years...stunningly beautiful

Party Etiquette

If you love parties like I do, make sure you practice "Party Etiquette" so that you'll be invited back!

 
R.s.v.p.  If you don't R.s.v.p., you are committing a huge etiquette faux pas and will surely be taken off the host' party list.  Also, do not bring an uninvited guest.

Don't arrive early.  The host will be busy with last-minute preparations and will not have the time to entertain you.

Bring a gift to the host {champagne or wine}.

Greet your host and say thank you for the invite.

Mingle with the other guests.  Don't be a wallflower.

Don't overindulge in alcohol and don't eat like you are a starving field hand.

Remember to practice good dining etiquette skills.

Offer to help clean up.

Don't overstay your welcome.

After you have said your goodbyes to all the guests, thank your host before you leave.

Remember to send a thank-you note to your host.  The. Next. Day.

The Pimento Cheese With Soul

 

 

I grew up eating pimento cheese sandwiches...made by mama and daddy.  We carried these sandwiches to school, on road trips, and served the Southern delicacy on open-faced sandwiches at Mama's parties.  Along with loving the pimento cheese sandwiches at The Augusta National golf course, I also developed a liking to The Fresh Market's pimento cheese.  Well, now I'm obsessed with the Palmetto Cheese...regular, bacon, and jalapeno.  I have to admit that the Jalapeno is my favorite.

Palmetto Cheese is the pride of Sassy and Brian Henry.  They enjoyed batches of Sassy's original recipe at Braves tailgate gatherings in the 1990's.  In 2002, the Henrys moved to Pawleys Island, SC to take over the the historic Sea View Inn.  It is there that Palmetto Cheese became a favorite appetizer for low country shrimp boils served on the inn's oceanfront porch.

 

 

 

The first retail container of Palmetto Cheese was sold in 2006 at a local seafood store in Georgetown, SC.  Today, Palmetto Cheese has grown from a local favorite into the most sought after pimento cheese on the market today.

So yes, it pays to enter those contests on Facebook y'all!  I replied to Palmetto Cheese's post and said that the Jalapeno is my favorite and they sent me 3 containers of their Palmetto Cheese...It is so good!

A few weeks ago we entertained friends for Happy Hour and I served the Jalapeno Palmetto Cheese with crackers and chips.  Everybody loved it.

I'm always craving grits and the other day I prepared my grits with some of the regular Palmetto Cheese and grilled shrimp.  Delish y'all, trust me!

I added more of the Palmetto Cheese on top of the grits...yummy!

Palmetto Cheese Grits and Shrimp

2 cups grits

4 cups water

1 cup heavy cream

1 tblsp salt

1 cup Palmetto Cheese with Bacon4 large shrimp

Garlic

Olive Oil

Sautee the shrimp in a pan with a bit of olive oil and garlic and set aside when done.  

Boil the water and then remove the pot from heating element and add the grits and stir.  Then add the cream and salt, stirring until there are no lumps.   Cook the grits on low until done, about 10-15 minutes.  Add ¾ cup of the Palmetto Cheese and stir.  Place the grits into a bowl and add remaining Palmetto Cheese on top.  Garnish with shrimp

Tonight I decided to make some Palmetto Cheese Cornbread to go along with our chicken and dumplins, lima beans, and turnip greens.

Recipe for Palmetto Cheese Cornbread:

1 box Jiffy Corn Muffin mix

1 egg

1/3 cup milk

2 tblsp. vegetable oil

1 cup Palmetto Cheese with Jalapeno

Grease pan with the vegetable oil just until hot.  Place cornbread mix into large bowl.  Add egg and stir.  Add the milk and the excess oil from pan.  Add ¾ cup of the Palmetto Cheese and stir all ingredients very well.  Bake at 400 for 15-20 minutes.  When cornbread has cooled a bit, add the remaining pimento cheese to the top.

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Game of Crowns

Meet the cast of the new Bravo TV show "Game of Crowns."  I'm not sure if this show is Toddlers and Tiaras for the married woman--but whatever.  The reality show follows six pageant wives competing on the "Mrs." pageant circuit.  From trophy wives to pageant moms, these ladies will stop at nothing to win pageants.

I never watch any of the Real Housewives' shows, but you can bet I'm going to be watching Game of Crowns!

Pageants solely for married women...I love it!

Here's a peek at the ladies you'll see on the show:

Shelley Carbonne, 41 year-old mother of 4 and former Mrs. Connecticut America and Mrs. America 2011.  She's writing a book "Please stop calling me ma'am."  Lord have mercy, why?  Beautiful lady!

Lynn Diamante, a 40-something year-old pageant lifer...Mrs. Rhode Island after being Miss Rhode Island 20 years ago.  Lynn loves Louis Vuitton and she's a classical pianist.  Okay, I like that.  What do y'all think of the hair?

Leha Guilmette, 34 year-old Mrs. Rhode Island 2013, loves horses and is obsessed with Disney.  Very pretty.

Susanna Paliotta, 40 year-old pageant mom, 2 daughters, pilot, and animal lover.  She was Mrs. Rhode Island United States 2013.  I like her.

Lori-Ann Marchese, Mrs. Connecticut 2013 is the youngest and a fitness consultant and trainer.  She works out a LOT.

Vanessa Sebastian, a breast cancer survivor, was Mrs. Connecticut 2012.  She is a Nurse Anesthetist and is married to the part-owner of Foxwoods Casino.  So we know he can afford all her expensive evening gowns!

Tune in tonight at 9:00 p.m. on the Bravo Channel.  There will be pageant drama for sure!

Miss Florida USA Pageant

Tonight is the Miss Florida USA 2015 pageant, live from Hollywood, Florida at 7:00 - 9:00 pm.   Of course, I'll be watching.  If you live in South Florida, you can view the pageant on WPLG or WTVX.  If you live outside the area, you can watch the live stream at news4jax.com.

Brittany Oldehoff, Miss Florida USA 2014 will be crowning the new Queen...She is gorgeous!

Brittany was the 4th runner up at Miss USA 2014.

The 5'11" brunette beauty was a model on Season 7 of "Project Runway" and she was one of my favorites in the Top 5 at Miss USA.  I thought she would be Top 3 with Miss Georgia and Miss Nevada.

Brittany says that "she's naturally thin and focuses on weight lifting at the gym."  Of course, she avoids carbs and eats mostly protein and vegetables.

These are my favorites that I'll be watching tonight...in no particular order, of course!

Miss North Broward County, Connor Boss

Miss Cape Coral, Amanda Cardoza

Miss Leon County, Kendrea Crite

Miss Palm Beach County, Anh Do

Miss Emerald Coast, Ashleigh Lollie

Miss Miami Shores, Kerissa Nelson

Miss Orlando, Christina Nicholson

Miss Coral Gables, Leeza Ovalle

Miss Space Coast, Rachel Stacy

Miss Central Florida, Kailyn Perez

Miss Florida Keys, Melissa Ramirez

Miss Tampa Bay, Stephanie Ziajka

Miss South Miami, Kassandra Montandon

Miss Fort Lauderdale, Glenda Pietri

Miss West Broward County, Melissa Ziegler

and...

Miss Pensacola, Tristi Bond



Good luck to all the contestants!


*Edited*
Congratulations to Ashleigh Lollie, the new Miss Florida USA 2015.

Con

Happy Birthday to Krispy Kreme

Happy 77th Birthday to Krispy Kreme Doughnuts!  

Growing up in Georgia I would go door-to-door every Saturday morning selling boxes of these doughnuts for cheerleading uniforms or other fundraisers.

Seriously, how sweet would it be to wake up to this darling truck scooting around your neighborhood...selling Krispy Kremes door-to-door?

The "Hot Now" sign is what separates Krispy Kreme from other doughnut chains.

 The most famous and best-selling is the Krispy Kreme original glazed, so light and airy--200 calories with 11 grams of fat...and not the good kind either...and a whopping 10 grams of sugar.  It will take a jog of 22 minutes or a walk of 53 minutes to burn it off.  But it's worth it!

Can't get to the local Krispy Kreme when the "Hot Now" sign is on?  Pop the doughnut into the micro for a few seconds and it's a melt-in-your mouth treat--almost like getting one from the Krispy Kreme store when the "Hot Now" sign is on!

Walmart now carries the Krispy Kreme Iced Coffees...in mocha and original glazed.  Unfortunately, these have been very difficult for me to find and I've searched numerous Walmart stores in Florida and Georgia.

Many, many more years Krispy Kreme!