Congratulations Betty Cantrell, Miss America 2016

Being a huge pageant fan, I'm still on a high from the Miss America Pageant last Sunday night. Congratulations to Betty Cantrell on winning the crown!  The $50,000 scholarship prize will go a long way in helping Betty to finish her college education and go on to pursue her dream of performing on Broadway!


I saw Betty compete at the Miss Warner Robins pageant last year and knew that she was destined to win at the National level.  She is a beautiful girl and her talent is beyond fabulous.

My town of Warner Robins, Georgia is so proud of Betty and rightfully so.  I mean, what are the odds of having a Miss America from your town?  My husband estimates that the odds to be 1 in approximately 18,000!  Not since 1958 has a Miss Georgia won the crown, back when Neva Jane Langley--from the next county over (Bibb) brought home the title.  So yes, Houston County is excited and you can tell from the newspaper covers and signs all over town.

I was happy to see four of my Top Five picks make it to the finals (GA, LA, SC, TN), along with AL, CO, and MS.


"Healthy Children, Strong America" is Betty's platform and you can tell that she has been eating right and working out...she looked fabulous in her bathing suit.  Lord have mercy, I have no idea how those girls prance around on the stage wearing those shoes!

Can we talk about Betty's talent gown?  Take her stunning red gown, add a gorgeous necklace and perfect hairdo, then pair that with her voice...a goose bump inducing opera performance of Tu Tu Piccolo Iddio, from Made Butterfly.  It was hands down THE best performance of the evening.

Betty, I'm in love with this song and your performance!

Now there has been a lot of controversy about Betty's crop-top evening gown.  I have to say that when contestants began wearing these several years ago, I was not a fan.  But they are popular and I have grown to love them. 

 Betty was not the first Miss America to wear a two piece evening gown.  Deidre Downs, Miss America 2005 wore a crop top and looked stunning also!

I think Betty rocked her gown.  With a figure like hers, she can wear anything and look great!

Betty looking very happy the morning after the pageant at the annual toe dip in the Atlantic Ocean...surely she was on a natural high!

Congratulations and good luck during your reign Miss America!

Miss America 2016

The 95th Miss America pageant is this Sunday and the winner will be crowned by Miss America 2015, Kira Kazantsev during the live ABC broadcast from Atlantic City, 9-11pm.  

Chris Harrison and Brooke Burke-Charvet will be the hosts for the evening.

 But the big news is...

Vanessa Williams will return to the Miss America stage as a Head Judge!  Remember her Miss America reign?  In 1983 she became the first African-American woman crowned Miss America.  Seven weeks before the end of her reign, a scandal arose when Penthouse magazine bought and published unauthorized photos of Miss Williams.  She relinquished her title and was succeeded by the first runner-up, Suzette Charles.  

Vanessa Williams then launched a career as an entertainer, earning multiple Grammy, Emmy, and Tony Award nominations.  There just might be drama y'all, so you don't want to miss it!

Vanessa was beautiful in 1983 and is just as beautiful 32 years later.

So, who will win the coveted crown this year?

Here are my picks for the top five...in no particular order:

Miss South Carolina, Daja Dial

Miss Georgia, Betty Cantrell

Miss Florida, Mary Katherine Fechtel

Miss Louisiana, April Nelson

Miss Tennessee, Hannah Robison

It's a weekend full of football games and my favorite pageant ever.  Good luck to all the contestants!

Miss Universe 2015

The new Miss Universe will be crowned tonight.  I'll be watching with my popcorn and diet caffeine-free coke and cheering for Nia Sanchez--not only because she our country's reigning Miss USA, but because she gorgeous!  Her red gown was my favorite of the evening at Miss USA last year!

The 5'8" brown-haired, brown-eyed beauty is not just a pretty face with a fabulous figure.  She's a fourth degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do.  I'm not sure exactly what that means, but I wouldn't want to make her mad.

I LOVE this green gown...pageant perfection!

Of course, she is tall, slim, and toned.  Look at those long legs!  She said that she is counting down the minutes until she finishes the swimsuit competition and she can finally indulge in her favorite treat.  "I have a jar of Nutella I'm going to have backstage."

The pageant will be televised tonight at 8pm EST on NBC.  Here's hoping she brings home another crown tonight!  Good luck Ms. Sanchez!

Kim of Queens Returns

With my disappointment in the Miss America finals {no, none of my favorites won} still on my mind, I'm jumping right back into pageantry on TV.  Kim of Queens returns tonight on Lifetime network at 10pm EST.  Kim Gravel, Miss Georgia 1991, knows what she's talking about as she mentors and trains young girls to compete in pageants.  This season she will continue to work with country girl Addison as well as some new clients!  The show will deal with real life issues of autism, anorexia, obesity, and homelessness.
Kim will be joined again by her beautiful Mama Jo...a former beauty queen herself!

and her adorable, spunky sister Allisyn!

I love watching this show and the transformation that takes place in the young girls Kim mentors.  I'll be tweeting over at SocialGraces101.

Miss America Trivia

The preliminary competitions have begun in Atlantic City on the final road to crowning a new Miss America.  The Miss America pageant is a tradition I look forward to each year.  Some people have "watch parties" but I prefer to watch the pageant alone...'cause I'm commentating more than the hosts...

The Miss America pageant started in 1921, a talent competition was added in 1935, and scholarship money given in 1945.  Vocal talent has proven to be the number one talent to win the crown...can't wait to see the talent the girls bring this year.

The crown, sash, and the sceptor (a miniature of the crown) are all keys to unlocking doors for the future. Miss Americas use their scholarship money to earn law degrees, etc. and the Miss America Organization is the largest provider of scholarships for women in the world!

The winner also receives this fabulous brooch!  Wouldn't you love to wear this Miss America pin (brooch)?  (shown here worn by Miss America 2012, Laura Kaeppeler).

Lee Meriweather was the first Miss America to be crowned on television in 1955 and this year she will be one the distinguished judges.  I have always loved Lee Meriweather, especially on Barnaby Jones!

So I'm watching the preliminaries to see the standout girls and choosing my favorites, meanwhile...these are some of the contestants in the news...

~Caitlin Brunell, Miss Alabama, is the daughter of former NFL quarterback Mark Brunell and she was Miss America's Outstanding Teen 2008.  She is one of the contestants favored to take home the crown.

~Teresa Davis, Miss District of Columbia, was born in South Korea.

~Victoria Cowen, Miss Florida, was 1st runner up in the Miss Florida pageant and assumed the title one week later due to a miscount.  She won the swimsuit preliminary last night...wearing a hot pink bikini and looking fabulous!

~Sierra Sandison, Miss Idaho, is a Type 1 diabetic and made news when she wore an insulin pump attached to her bikini bottom during the swimsuit competition of the Miss Idaho pageant.

~Ramsey Carpenter, Miss Kentucky, was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2012.

~KT Maviglia, Miss Michigan, was diagnosed with sensorineural hearing loss at age 9.

While Southern girls historically do well in pageants, California, Ohio, Oklahoma, and Michigan have won the Miss America title 6 times!

Which states have never taken home the crown?  New Mexico, Alaska, West Virginia, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Wyoming, Louisiana, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, Maryland, Maine, and Montana.

I'll be back tomorrow to talk about "The Gown, The Swimsuit, and the Talent."

Miss National Sweetheart Pageant

Jordan Krinke
2013 Miss National Sweetheart

The Miss National Sweetheart pageant will be held on Sunday, August 31, 2014.

Miss National Sweetheart is a United States beauty pageant created in 1941 where runners-up from the Miss America state pageants are invited to Hoopeston, Illinois to compete for the title of Miss National Sweetheart.

The event, which has no official ties to the Miss America Organization, is sponsored by the Hoopeston Jaycees and is held on Labor Day weekend in conjunction with the town's Sweetcorn Festival.  Most contestants placed first runner-up in their state pageant, however second and other runners-up are invited if the the first runner-up chooses not to attend.  The winner of the National Sweetheart title receives a $1,000 scholarship and a pendant shaped like an ear of corn.

Winning this title does not guarantee that a contestant will win a Miss America state title, but since 1980, five Miss National Sweetheart winners have gone on to win both their state and the Miss America title...

Pam Eldred, Miss America 1970; Rebecca King, Miss America 1974; Grace E. Ward, Miss America 1982; Debrah L. Turner, Miss America 1990; Carolyn Sapp, Miss America 1992; Leanza Cornett, Miss America 1993; Tara Dawn Holland, Miss America 1997, Katie Marie Harman, Miss America 2002; Caressa Cameron, Miss America 2010.

 The judges for this event are from the Miss America Systems and the girls compete in swimsuit, evening gowns, and talent.

These are the girls competing for Miss National Sweetheart 2014:

Good luck to all the contestants!

Congratulations to Kalie Wright, the new Miss National Sweetheart!

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!!!

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.

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