all things southern, part 1

When I moved to North Carolina, I had no idea it was considered "The South".  I didn't think people even used that kind of wording.  The only thing I DID know was that I did not want to get my accent back.  I'll explain.  I grew up in West Virginia, which by the way is NOT the south.  I lived about an hour south of Pennsylvania, we had cold winters and I did not live on a farm.  For those of you thinking of a funny joke about West Virginia right about now, no I did not go barefoot and yes I am literate.  Anyway, my mom was from the southern part of West Virginia and I guess her accent rubbed off on me.  When I moved to Ohio for college, people made fun of me for said accent.  What's worse is that after a few months of living "up north" my family made fun of me for my lack of one!  They thought I talked like I was Canadian!  haha I couldn't win.  A few years after we moved to Charlotte, my southern drawl came back with a vengeance and I couldn't be happier.  Why the change of heart?  I've decided...I love all things southern!

Some of my favorite southern things?  Bow ties, bead boarding, and rocking chairs.

Bow ties are rocking my socks right now.  The more colorful and crazy, the better!  You have to be a strong and confident man to pull one of these babies off.  Wouldn't this be a super fun project for some wall art?

If Emma was a dude, she'd be wearing this sweet thing right now.

It is pretty normal here in "The South" to wear a bow tie to a wedding in lieu of a regular tie.  It's even semi-normal to add suspenders to the mix!

While at a recent wedding here in North Carolina, I decided the bow ties were too fabulous to ignore, so I went around asking the men during cocktail hour if I could take a quick picture of their colorful accent piece.  Most of them looked at me like I was a little loco, but being the southern gentlemen that they were, they allowed me to take the shot anyway.  I love it, I love it, I love it!

Next up?  Bead boarding.  My first real experience with this glorious decorative wall mount was on Bald Head Island.  I was helping out with a workshop that my boss was teaching and we stayed in one of the houses there.  Every inch of the place had character, in an upscale but casual sort of way.  Exactly my style.  Since then, I vowed that when we owned a house it would have bead boarding.  Or wainscotting. Or something like that.  Adding some is one of my goals for 2011.  Until then, I'll just drool over these pictures!

Would you not DIE for this laundry room?  Seriously.  OK not seriously, but you know what I mean.  Don't die.  Cause then nobody would be alive to read my blog. ;)

Lastly, I've decided that once we get our back yard graded and landscaped, I'm getting a rocking chair.  Or two.  And I'm going to sip tea out of a mason jar while holding a bow tie.  Then I'll be truly southern.

Rocking chairs can go in the "granny" direction pretty quickly, but I am LOVING the ikat pattern and the mid-century modern vibe of this one.  Amazing.  And southern.

What about you?  Do you have a particular southern tradition or item that you are attached to?  I'd love to hear about it in the comments!  I'll be doing at least two more posts on all things southern, so maybe I'll use your thought!