Happy Memorial Day!

Happy Memorial Day! A huge thank you to all the men and women who have served in the past and presently. A special thanks to these special men:

 

Cleo Stovall, my grandfather who served during WWII. He fought in the Battle of the Bulge.

Christopher's grandparents who both served in the Navy during WWII.

And of course, this kid! Ya'll know how proud I am of lil bro! (See his graduation post here.)

Thought y'all might appreciate learning the history of Memorial Day. (found here.)

Memorial Day, originally called Decoration Day, is a day of remembrance for those who have died in our nation's service. There are many stories as to its actual beginnings, with over two dozen cities and towns laying claim to being the birthplace of Memorial Day. There is also evidence that organized women's groups in the South were decorating graves before the end of the Civil War: a hymn published in 1867, "Kneel Where Our Loves are Sleeping" by Nella L. Sweet carried the dedication "To The Ladies of the South who are Decorating the Graves of the Confederate Dead" (Source: Duke University's Historic American Sheet Music, 1850-1920). While Waterloo N.Y. was officially declared the birthplace of Memorial Day by President Lyndon Johnson in May 1966, it's difficult to prove conclusively the origins of the day. It is more likely that it had many separate beginnings; each of those towns and every planned or spontaneous gathering of people to honor the war dead in the 1860's tapped into the general human need to honor our dead, each contributed honorably to the growing movement that culminated in Gen Logan giving his official proclamation in 1868. It is not important who was the very first, what is important is that Memorial Day was established. Memorial Day is not about division. It is about reconciliation; it is about coming together to honor those who gave their all.

Memorial Day was officially proclaimed on 5 May 1868 by General John Logan, national commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, in his General Order No. 11, and was first observed on 30 May 1868, when flowers were placed on the graves of Union and Confederate soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery. The first state to officially recognize the holiday was New York in 1873. By 1890 it was recognized by all of the northern states. The South refused to acknowledge the day, honoring their dead on separate days until after World War I (when the holiday changed from honoring just those who died fighting in the Civil War to honoring Americans who died fighting in any war). It is now celebrated in almost every State on the last Monday in May (passed by Congress with the National Holiday Act of 1971 (P.L. 90 - 363) to ensure a three day weekend for Federal holidays), though several southern states have an additional separate day for honoring the Confederate war dead: January 19 in Texas, April 26 in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and Mississippi; May 10 in South Carolina; and June 3 (Jefferson Davis' birthday) in Louisiana and Tennessee.

THANK YOU TO ALL OUR SERVICE MEN AND WOMEN! PRAISE GOD FOR ALL OF YOU!!!

Now what?

Despertate Housewives has ended. I just got into it less than 2 years ago, and now it's over. Fortunately, it is on Netflix, so we can relive those moments over and over again. Remember this?

I LOVED when Gaby turned frumpy and finally saw what all her friends had gone through when they had small kids.

Okay, so knowing that DH was ending I comforted myself in the fact that I could watch GCB. Love Annie Potts as a big-haired, rich Dallas debutante:

I got to enjoy her more, since my favorite show is Designing Women. But, alas, GCB was cancelled.

SO, I will take comfort in knowing that in June DALLAS is back on the air!!!! I hope it's as good as the original! I used to watch it back in the day with my mom.

Who could forget this landmark moment in television history?

It was all a dream!!! Now JR getting shot was NOT a dream. Question is

WHO SHOT JR?

(Reader's note: Mom, you do not get to answer this!)

Colored Denim

I want. I need.

Spoiling My Husband

I spoil my husband. I know this. I have had more fun making him dinner every night. Here are some of the things we've had so far since getting married:

Chicken fried rice (made in one of the fabulous new skillets my in-laws gave us at a shower)

Minute steaks and fried corn (made in my great-grandmother's iron skillet, talk about a well-seasoned skillet!)

Bourbon glazed salmon and parmesan vegetables (thanks, Pinterest!)
Who says it has to be a special occsion to eat on good china? And don't you love how I'm drinking Crystal Light out of Waterford? (Thank you, Allyson!)

Crock pot chicken (again, thanks Pinterest!)

And this is my battle wound from making chicken parmesan. When I was switching out pieces, the hot grease splattered on my arm. Needless to say, it did not feel good. However, my hubby would make a great doctor. He took care of me.

So, yes. I am having fun spoiling Christopher and making him dinner every night. Okay, not every night but I'd say at least 4-5 nights a week. Last night, I cheated and we ate a Hot n Ready and watched the Grizz. (What a game! Nail biter!) Again, I would be perfectly happy to stay home all day, make dinners and clean house and make crafts.  Gloria Steinem, forgive me.

New name, new blog!

Welcome to the new blog! I decided that I needed a new look to go with the new chapter in my life. I have had more fun picking out china patterns, stationery, making yummy dinners for my hubby and basically trying to live the life of a 1950's housewife. Combine that with my love of all things Southern and boom! A blog is born! A big shout out to Miss Nikki AKA (The Fashionable Wife) over at Delightful Designs for designing it for me. She is uber talented and does fabulous work. Not only does she design blogs, but stationery, business cards, invitations, etc. She did our save the dates, rehearsal dinner invitations and bridesmaid brunch invitations. Go check her out!So look forward to posts about my life as a newlywed and how I will try to keep etiquette and tradition alive in a world where people send Evites and thank yous via Facebook.
Here's how we spent the first week of marriage:

Stay tuned!