Hello Spring!

It's a beautiful day in South Florida!  Our house has been painted a bright yellow and now I'm putting my final touches on the front porch decor and sprucing up the garden.

My "Spring Friendship Gifts" are ready...little polka dot boxes filled with shred and jelly beans.

A sweet little Easter basket is on the way to Mama...full of her favorite candies and gift cards.

My Lilly shifts have been cleaned, pressed, and are ready to go!

Yesterday, I served a lite breakfast to husband and our friend Mark on the front porch...with a little Spring theme.

Last night I walked up to the town square at Tradition and feasted on goodies at the Food Truck Invasion.  If the trucks are ever in your area, you must go...on a cheat day.  Lord have mercy, it was delish!

Today I putting together my "Derby Day" outfit.  Of course it will feature this Lilly print...

Happy Spring y'all!

Prissy Brooches

Brooches are nice accessory pieces to add to your wardrobe.  Here are a few of mine...not precious stones, but still prissy and cute!

The gold Chanel brooch with pearls is my favorite!

Brooches, at the most proper place, are pinned to a garment high up on the left shoulder.  Of course they may be worn anywhere...on a collar, on a purse, at the center of a button on a collared blouse, and they also look nice to secure a scarf or shawl.

Some more of my favorites...

Of course, the Queen of Brooches is Queen Elizabeth II.  Her brooches are very tasteful, eye-catching, and priceless!

Love the "True Lovers Knot" brooch she wore to Prince William's wedding.

On Christmas Day 2012, she wore this fabulous "Eternal Dove" brooch.

At Royal Ascot in 2011...wearing the "Williamson Jonquil" brooch.  This brooch features the finest pink diamond in existence!

On a trip to Australia, she wore the "Australian Wattle" brooch.

The "Jardine Star" is said to be her favorite brooch and she wears it regularly.

Have you ever seen the Queen photographed without a brooch?  Her pearls, hats, gloves, and prissy pocketbooks are always elements of her Outfit of the Day.  Before you start thinking that brooches are just for us Senior ladies...take note that Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge likes to rock a brooch too!

You don't have to spend as much as the Queen does to accessorize your wardrobe with brooches.  Department stores and places like Target all carry cute brooches...Dress like a Queen y'all!

How to Get your Children to Behave in a Restaurant

You are finally seated at your table in a restaurant and starting to relax for an enjoyable meal.  You hear the screams from the children at the next table.  Then there's the sound of the flatware being banged on the tabletop. Now the children are up and running around the restaurant.  Oh my goodness!  You try not to stare.  Has this happened to you?  I have certainly experienced this.  In fact, if that behavior is going on in a restaurant, you can bet it's happening right next to my table!  And...9 times out of 10, the parents are on the phone or chatting with their table guests and not paying attention to their children while all the shenanigans are going on.  I realize that parents need time out...especially the Mamas!  But I also think that more parents should make sure their children are behaving like civilized human beings in public.

An Italian restaurant in Washington state is concerned about the unruly behavior of rowdy children in their restaurant.  They offer discounts to the parents of well-behaved children!  How do y'all feel about this?

Listen to this...Lord have mercy,  McDain's restaurant in Monroeville, PA has banned children from eating in their establishment.  You can read more about this here.

Other restaurants around the country are posting signs reminding parents to make sure their children aren't screaming, running around the restaurant, or misbehaving in any other way.  I have to tell y'all that my Daddy never needed to be reminded about his children's behavior in a restaurant.  One wrong glance in the wrong direction and we were history!  Seriously!

 Find a Babysitter  recently wrote an article "How to Get Your Kids to Behave in a Restaurant."  It is a very interesting post...explaining steps parents can take to prepare children for "Dining in public" and reiterates that parents are ultimately responsible for teaching their children how to behave in public.

So, how do you feel about parents receiving a discount if their children "behave" or what do you think about restaurants posting signs with "rules of behavior" or even banning children?  

Cursive Handwriting...A Dying Art?

Don't you just love to receive a card or letter in the mail from someone who writes in a nice cursive?  Cursive writing is an elegant and flowing style of writing taught to children after they learn print handwriting.  There is talk all around the country that cursive handwriting is a dying art!  Lord have mercy!  I guess the powers that be feel that with the rise of technology, more emphasis should be placed on typing.  I admit that keyboarding skills are a must in today's world.  I was lucky to learn print handwriting, cursive writing, and typing in school.  With my typing skills, I'm a real speedster on the keyboard--I can even type without looking at the keys.

Now, I'm ashamed to say that my handwriting is a mix of print and cursive.  I'm always in such a rush and don't take the time to connect my letters when writing in cursive...it comes out as mixed up mess!

I was happy to see a tweet a couple of months ago from Susan Branch regarding her love of cursive writing.  Susan is the author of 14 best-selling "Heart of the Home" lifestyle books full of homemaking advice.  She is an artist and creates the cutest nostalgic watercolors.

She did a blog post back in January about her love of cursive here and has declared Sunday, March 10, 2014 "I Love Cursive Day!"

I remember when I first started learning cursive and struggled with each letter and then when I learned them all, trying to connect them.  If I remember correctly, my maternal grandmother died when we were learning to write the "Q" and I fell behind...still can't make cute "Q."

I have saved all the letters my Daddy sent to my Mama when he served in the Army during World War II...all written in his fancy cursive.

    

I get lots of cards and letters from people everyday...while I do love a cute print handwriting, I especially  love to receive correspondence from those ladies who write in cursive.

So what do you think?  Do you think that the schools should teach cursive handwriting today or do you feel like the time should be devoted to other skills?  How will children learn how to sign their own name without learning cursive?  Will our signatures become a thing of the past?

Today I think I'll send out a few notes written in my fanciest cursive style!  Happy "I Love Cursive Day" y'all!

My Prissy Peignoirs

I'm so happy that my Mama saves everything.  When I visited her recently up in Georgia, I was organizing her closet and found my Prissy Peignoirs from the 60's!  I call them "Prissy" because they are very feminine nightclothes made of chiffon...pajamas you can wear when you'll be seen and you want to look your best!

I have such fond memories of these peignoirs.  Although my Mama worked outside the home as a Secretary, she was always there for me whenever I was sick.  If I stayed home from school, Mama would stay home too and fix me my favorite "I feel puney meal" of Campbell's Chicken Noodle Soup, Saltines, and Coke.  Mama would tell me to wear my favorite peignoir...just in case a friend dropped by.  I clearly remember propping my prissy self up on my white French Provencial bed, wearing these peignoirs and waiting for my friends to come to visit me.

Mama would peek inside my pink bedroom and check on me..."How are you feeling honey?"   Until this day, I don't like anyone calling me honey except for my Mama!

This peignoir is a full-length chiffon gown in a champagne color.

The coat has 3/4 length sleeves, lace, and a satin bow.

The gown features lace from the top to the bottom...with another satin bow.

This little mint green peignoir appears kind of boring right?  Well, unless you have ever worn a peignoir, you would not know how nice they feel and how they flow...they are so soft and just so feminine!

Of course the sweet gown has lace and little bows down the front.

I liked hot pink way back in the 60's...

Comfy, but sweet.

This yellow peignoir was my very favorite.  I always thought it was so cheerful!

I think I'll take a bubble bath later tonight and then wear this one!

Back in the 60's, ladies wore peignoirs during hospital visits...when recuperating and walking down the halls.  I remember being hospitalized for a minor surgery and receiving guests while wearing my peignoirs.  I think they are much nicer than the "hospital-attire" worn today.

Did y'all know that Southern ladies in the Deep South were buried in their prettiest peignoirs?  I like that idea!

The Southern Buffet

Southerners love a good buffet restaurant.  While I was in Georgia visiting my Mama, we went to the Ole Times Country Buffet.  Lord have mercy.  It's been awhile since I dined at a buffet-style restaurant and this one was very good!

The first thing you do after you pay the cashier, is get in line and pick up a clean plate.

At Ole Times, all the Southern favorite foods are offered...Chicken and Dumplings...

Fried food fest..chicken, okra, pork chops, fish, et cetera

Of course, delicious greens are served.

Homestyle creamed corn, butter beans, and black-eyed peas...

Mashed potatoes and beef gravy...

After you finished your main course, there is the dessert bar...

Peach cobbler, which is fabulous...

Banana pudding...Mama's favorite.

Buffet Etiquette:

~Use a clean plate for each return trip to the buffet line.

~Use the serveware provided to transfer food from the buffet dish to your plate.

~Don't eat your food while you are waiting in line.

~Don't break in line.

~Children should be accompanied at the buffet line by an adult.

~Food or beverages should not be taken from the restaurant...don't even ask!

~And...from the Ole Times Country Buffet notice "If it goes on your plate, please make sure it gets ate!"

I loved the Old Times Country Buffet and am giving them my "Miss Janice's 5 Silver Spoons Award" for good food, cleanliness, and friendly waitstaff.

I loved it and am giving the Old Times Country Buffet 5 silver spoons...

The Ole Times Country Buffet has restaurants throughout Georgia in Valdosta, Tifton, Douglas, Brunswick, Warner Robins, Macon, Dublin, and Lake City.