Packing for the Road Trip to Mama's

This morning I'm off to Mama's house in Georgia.  I promise y'all that it takes me a week to get ready to go out of town and a week to get my stuff organized upon my return home.  I'm so high maintenance!

I'm still on my "Clean Living Diet" so I have to pack my road trip lunch...no fast food for moi.  I stuck my monogram on the plastic container lid cover and my Lilly 'Coral Me Crazy' water bottle is also monogrammed!  The decals are from 2PreppyGirls.  

Lunch:  Tuna salad, avocado, and mini triscuits...with cold water.

The Lilly 'Later Gator' lunch tote is perfect for road trips.

Of course, my new prissy cooler is making the trip!

I still love to use my Vera Bradley "Elizabeth" {retired} garment bag and overnight bag, along with my Lands' End monogrammed tote.

I still love this pattern after all these years!

Y'all know I have to tie my calling cards onto everything with a yellow gingham ribbon bow!

I'm looking forward to spending a few weeks with my sweet Mama!  Thanks for visiting with me today. 

Happy Mother's Day!

I would like to wish all my followers a Happy Mother's Day!  While I will not be able to spend today with my Mama, I'm excited that in a couple of weeks I'll be traveling to Georgia to visit her and will be spending the Summer with her...just not sure if I'll stay with her up in Georgia or bring her back with me down to Florida.  Anyway, I feel blessed that I'm able to spend precious time with her.  At almost 90 years of age, Mama has always lived her life for God, her family, and her friends.  Now it's time for me to watch over her.

My Mama...Miss Pauline

Today, I went to church.  Of course, the message is always about Mothers on Mother's Day, which it should be!  On this day, my heart goes out to those of you, who like myself, are not Mothers and I pray for those who want children of their own but are unable.

"HERE'S WHAT I WORE"  The shift is 'Cabana Banana' by Lilly and the cardi is also by Lilly.

Love the pattern with the cabanas and palm trees...

Pink Revas by Tory Burch

The accessories:  Pearl necklace, bracelet, and studs, 'Eternity' wedding band by Cartier, pink grosgrain pony bow, and a white iPhone cover with pink monogram.  

The basket purse is by Queen Bea Studio.

I would like to congratulate Paula at Virginia Sweet Pea blog...she is the winner of my giveaway of a new Lilly Pulitzer iPhone cover sponsored by Lifeguard Press!  Now y'all practice proper blog giveaway etiquette and be polite...congratulate Miss Paula.

Fourth Sunday of Advent

It is the fourth Sunday of Advent and the purple Angel's candle is lit. This week of Advent is the week of Love.

"But the Angel said unto them, do not be afraid. Behold I bring unto you good tidings of great joy!" ~Luke 2:10

Day #15 of my Christmas Season 2011 Bucket List...

Sunday night, Mama and I watched a movie...popcorn and diet caffeine-free coke was a must!
"It's a Wonderful Life" is always one of my favorite movies to watch during the Christmas season!
Day #16 Mama and I started off the day with a light breakfast...This is the table setting for her kitchen table. The dinnerware is 'O'Tannebaum' from Macy's...purchased many years ago.
Red velvet doughnuts from Krispy Kreme and The Fresh Market's 'Christmas Blend' coffee hit the spot before a day of shopping at the local "tacky mall". {If you follow me on Twitter, you know that I always affectionately refer to a mall without a Saks or Neiman's as tacky! In fact, I probably use the word "tacky" a million times everyday!
The Red Velvet doughnuts from Krispy Kreme as sooooo good y'all! However, the "Hot Now" light must be on before I will enter the place!!!
Day #17...I wore a red turtleneck and some tacky jingle bell earrings and my "Get Even, Give Fruitcake" badge!
After lunch, I fixed Mama some of her favorite fruitcake and coffee...This is the tablesetting at her dining table...The china pattern is 'Cranberry Hill', from J C Penney.

Mama LOVES fruitcake, but of course, it has to be Claxton Fruitcake. I'm sorry y'all, this stuff is just gross.

Day #18...Wednesday morning I fixed Mama some biscuits and served them with my Apple Butter and hot tea.

Etiquette tip: Remember to serve jellies and sauces on the side. Tear off the piece of biscuit that will go into your mouth and spoon some of the jelly onto the biscuit.

Mama's breakfast bar...set with dinnerware and teaware in the 'Plaid Tidings' pattern from The Cracker Barrel.
Mama's sweet breakfast china...
Day #19...My little Pepi picked out this outfit for me to wear around town...running errands, shopping, and getting even more into the Christmas spirit. {Even while wearing a tacky Christmas sweater}!
Day #20...Little Pepi and I had some Peppermint Ice Cream...I'm obsessed with peppermint everything right now!
Day #21...I wore my new little gingerbread apron...serving Candy Cane tea and made some gingerbread pancakes! 'Tis the Season to eat, eat, eat!!!
Thank you for visiting with me today! Ho Ho Ho y'all!!!

Third Sunday of Advent

It's the third Sunday of Advent and the third {rose} candle will be lit. The rose candle represents "Joy and Rejoicing" at the mid point of Advent.
I'm in Georgia right now visiting with my Mama and enjoying time with her during the Christmas season. I've been working on my "Christmas 2011 Bucket List" everyday...

Day #8...Sunday...I made Nutella Hot Chocolate. I don't think there's anything that doesn't taste great with Nutella. I added a heaping tablespoon of the chocolate goodness to 1 1/2 cup of milk. I heated this over the stove and kept whisking away until the mixture was blended. It was fabulous with marshmallows on top!

Monday night, I sipped Merlot from a custom-designed Christmas goblet. This goblet is part of a set which was hand-painted and gifted to me by my late friend Betty Marston. Miss Betty gave me these precious goblets the last time I saw her at my home near Memphis.

Tuesday night, I sipped Merlot...yes again...while packing for my trip to Georgia! This time I brought out my whimsical gingerbread men goblets.

Wednesday night, I spent some time with my best friend in Augusta, Teresa Jane. Peppermint milkshakes were our choice of beverage for the night...we stayed up late talking about the good times, bad times, and downright embarrassing times!

Of course, Teresa Jane and I both have the same LVs!!!!

Thursday night I spent relaxing at Mama's house...addressing my Christmas cards. Tradition. Must do these at Mama's house!

On Friday I decided to wear a "Tacky Christmas Sweater" for the day...It was okay 'cuz Mama likes the Christmas sweaters!

I wore these festive Christmas tree socks and green Revas...

We filled up the thermos with hot chocolate and headed out at dark to see the neighborhood Christmas lights.

On Saturday, I wore another "Tacky Christmas Sweater" with red suede ballet flats and candy cane Christmas socks.

We had lunch at The Swanson House in Perry...Mama and I both love this restaurant.

Mama...aka "Miss Pauline"

After lunch...we stopped at Starbucks for a peppermint fix...Peppermint Mocha and the Peppermint Cake Pops!

The Peppermint Pops have brownie cake fillings!

I'm looking forward to spending more time with my Mama and hope y'all are having a wonderful Christmas season!

Update on Mama and Giveaway Winner.

Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers for my Mama. Although she wouldn't want me "broadcasting" the details of her recent illness, I'm sure she won't mind if I just say that she had a crazy reaction to a new medication that was prescribed to her for dizziness, an inner ear issue which she has dealt with for many years. Bless her heart, she was non-stop delusional for about 72 hours--no sleep at all...just talking out of her mind about true stuff and to people who were not in the room. {She was also talking about spiders and roaches crawling up the wall & cute little kitty cats on her bed beside her--so scary y'all!} Of course, we were terribly afraid that she was going to be diagnosed with dementia or some other serious brain issue. They gave her all the necessary medical tests and she cleared them all. The Doctors and Nurses said it was just a reaction to a medicine that was way too strong for her! We feel so blessed that she is on the road to being back to her usual self now.

Mama lives with my brother J.D. who takes special care of her, but as those of you who care for your elderly parents know, he needs to have some time for himself. We decided it was best to hire a lady to come in and watch over Mama. So, I feel really good about her now. She came home from the hospital this morning and is feeling very good.

I know that Mama's happy to be back in her home and be able to watch Fox News, some Lifetime Movies, and just sit on the porch and admire her gardens.

Soooooo, I'm happy to announce the winner of my 2PreppyGirls giveaway. It's Pastor Ali from Southern and Lovely. Lord have mercy, when I drew this entry, I was shocked that a "Pastor" was even following my blog! Pastor Ali is co-Pastor with her husband Drew at the Lebannon United Methodist Church in Mebane, North Carolina. I love that in her blog profile she says "I'll be writing about fashion for young clergywomen." Congratulations to you Pastor Ali! Please contact me at: Miss Janice {at} Miss Janice {dot} com and provide me with your contact information so that I can provide it to Margaret at 2PreppyGirls.

Keeping it Southern Y'all!

Last night we prepared pork chops on the grill. I served them with with fresh corn, green beans, and Mama's homemade potato salad.

My apron is red gingham with a skirt of little red flowers, trimmed in more red gingham! I purchased this from a street vendor at the Mt. Dora Spring Festival...

The red rooster bowl is the Country Living 'Feathered Friends' pattern, available at KMart!

Recipe for Miss Pauline's Potato Salad:

Potatoes
Eggs
Mt. Olive Chopped Sweet Salad Cube Pickles
Chopped Vidalia Onions
Salt & Pepper

Wash, peel, and cut up potatoes, then boil until soft. Drain the potatoes. Meanwhile, boil the eggs and chop. Add the chopped boiled eggs to the potatoes, along with Mt. Olive chopped sweet salad cube pickles and chopped Vidalia onions. Stir in the Duke's mayo; add salt & pepper. Serve warm!

You must use Duke's mayonnaise {never evah use Miracle Whip--that would be tacky}! Duke's mayonnaise is a must-use ingredient in potato salad and no other mayo was ever allowed in my Mama's refrigerator. Duke's Mayo is a longtime Southern favorite...whether it's spread on the sandwich bread of a BLT, used to prepare homemade pimiento cheese, cole slaw, or of course, potato salad.

The Bread and Butter pickles by Mt. Olive are the go-to pickles for Southerners. They are Picklicious y'all! These pickles are so tasty with potato salad. Of course the pickle/relish dish is a de rigueur item on the bridal registry of savvy Southern brides.

Keeping it Southern...Ladies in the South would never dream of serving potato salad on their good china--it's a very casual food y'all!

After dinner we watched the World Series of beauty pageants...the Miss USA pageant! Lots of Southern states were represented in the finals...Miss South Carolina, Miss Alabama, Miss Tennessee were some of my favorites. Congratulations to the new Miss USA 2011, Alyssa Campanella from California. She is very beautiful and her evening gown was absolutely gorgeous!

It's My Mama's Birthday Y'all!

Y'all please join me in wishing my Mama 'Miss Pauline' a Happy Birthday! She's 88 years old today!!! Here's a recent photo of Mama...Martha Pauline Clifton Sessums--born and raised and lived her whole life in Georgia. Mama is the epitome of a Southern Lady. She loves the Lord. She loves her family. And...like all other Southern ladies, she loves to shop and entertain. Now, when Mama was younger, she never spoke of her age. Even her relatives had no idea of her exact age:-) Not the case now! Every year it's "You know I'll soon be 85, 86, 87", et cetera. She lets us all know she is now the Matriarch of her family. Bless her heart, even today, she still thinks of others first...delivering her homemade cakes and pies to friends, neighbors, and relatives; shopping for bridal and baby gifts, and so forth. Mama taught me that...Do a little something everyday to make someone happy! If you are a long-time reader of my blog, you know that something else Mama taught me was to "Never show up empty-handed at someone's door!" It's all these little things that Mama taught me that I'll be remembering today..."Things Mama Says." If you follow me on Twitter, you can read all about them! Thank you for visiting with me today!