all things southern, part 3

Time for more southern charm!

Vintage furnishings and architecture are one of my very most favorite thing about living here.  In my opinion vintage is the new black, and nobody does vintage like The South.  There is a real appreciation for things with character, history and charm here.  Not everything is new and shiny and perfect.  Kind of like life.  I have made it a priority to include vintage pieces into my decor and those are the things people always comment about!  It's not the brand new couch you paid $3k for.  It's the $100 side table that sits beside it that you picked up at an antique mall.  Go figure. :)

Another thing I love is outdoor living and entertaining.  While we still get snow once or twice a year, it is not ALWAYS too cold to be outside.  People regularly eat dinner with their family on their patios, have a backyard barbeque or spend their weekends gardening.  There is quite a bit of homeowner pride in outdoor spaces and for good reason!  It is more visible to the rest of the neighborhood than your interior space and is one of the best things you can do for resale.

We plan to add a fence, stone or brick patio and some awesome outdoor furniture very soon!  These images are a great inspiration for me and I hope they are for you as well.

Southern food is actually not one of my favorite things about living here, BUT I know there are so many people out there who love it.  So here's a few Southern traditional dishes you should try.

collard greens

bbq pork

shrimp n grits

po boy sandwich

Mertz (Heart and Soul) is probably my favorite place in Charlotte for soul food.  Everything there is yummy, but I especially like their soul rolls and collared greens.

I hope you've enjoyed the "all things Southern" blog posts!  If I did my job right and really showed some Southern hospitality, tonight you'll dream about sitting outside under a canopy of Spanish Moss in your entertaining space drinking an Arnold Palmer from your mason jar in a vintage rocking chair with a southern gent in a bow tie who promises to add bead boarding to your beach bungalow.  hehe ;)