REAL LAUGH LINES
J. Chad A graduate of Auburn University and Vanderbilt University, Chad has degrees in science, but his guilty pleasure is writing and, even more so, storytelling. Enriched with Southern roots, Chad admits he’s a huge fan of the Southern lifestyle and the characters which make it up. With that fascination, he’s translated his family’s experiences into humorous tales in the true fashion of the South. As a father of three and husband to an admitted “cosmetic junkie”, Chad offers a man’s perspective on beauty and serves up real laugh lines for us and our readers.
CHRISTY DISHES
They say you can tell a Southerner by how they remember every experience based on what food they had.
“How was your trip?” “Oh, it was wonderful. We had the best peach cobbler…”
History has wired Southerners to think this way. We relate our experiences to what was served, what was prepared… Celebrations center around dishes steeped in tradition and memories of Great Granny preparing her special rolls or pie.
I spent my childhood hearing stories from my great grandmother about a lifetime of sharecropping. They lived in little shack houses provided by land owners where, as a child, my grandmother planted and raised cotton in exchange for lodging and a few monthly staples such as a 25-pound sack of flour and dried beans. Still, their childhood was filled with memories of wonderful food, thanks to the tradition of great Southern cooks having been firmly embedded in the family root system generations earlier when they were among the first to settle the Tennessee Valley.
Generations later, I’m a busy mom and wife working from home with my laptop on the kitchen counter and my iPhone to my ear as I try to build a business which I had originally begun purely as a hobby. My days are spent responding to hundreds of emails, taking photographs of food, writing columns, shipping cookbooks, managing a website with over 100,000+ page views per day, and trying to wrangle in time to talk on the phone to food industry execs without my daughter screaming “Mama, Mama!” in the background.
I wake up singing and hit the ground running. My day seems to start without me and I spend the rest of it trying to catch up with my own life and loving every stinking moment of it. I have two great kids who alternate between making me laugh and want to pull my hair out, but we mostly laugh – together.
Join me as I branch out from food blogging. I’ll still bring you recipes but I’ll also share the insanity of my wonderfully crazy life. I’ll just bet you can relate!
Gratefully,
Christy
CLASSY MOMMA JEN
Jen Hinton is a 25 year old wife to Dustin and a mother to one year old son, Boston. She is a New Orleans native and loves the culture that surrounds the Big Easy. Jen says becoming a mother has been the most rewarding of any other accomplishment she has made in her life. She has taken a big interest in social media for years but has truly gotten into the scene once she became a WAHM after Boston was born.
When Jen is not changing diapers, she is hosting her morning radio show Chicks Who Chat a talk show for women. Jen also enjoys other aspects of social media and that is why she started the social network for “chicks” The Classy Closet. Some other projects Jen is involved in are National Editorial Director for US Family Guide, NAOFP Mentor, Keep It Real Blogging Advisor and PRtovlogs.com.
SCOT’S FLOWER POWER
Scot Wedgeworth, the creative vision behind Scot Wedgeworth Weddings, Events and Entertaining, has become one of the most innovative and acclaimed floral and event designers in the Southeast and has quickly risen to the forefront of wedding and event design. Renowned for his floral displays with visual impact, his love of flowers and design makes each event a setting that exudes style and creativity-regardless of the wedding size or budget. His complete attention to every detail is immediately evident, as he guides his clients through the entire design process from start to finish.
Approaching floral design with an unmatched understanding to meet the needs of his clients, including notable celebrities, Scot continuously strives to exceed all of their expectations. He customizes every design to reflect each clients personality and personal taste-from the simple to “over the top abandon.” Scot has won many prestigious awards in art and design and has most recently had the honor of joining the design teams of internationally famous celebrity designers.
MOTHERHOOD MATTERS
Allison Dorman is a writer/mother who lives in Atlanta, Georgia. She enjoys spending time with her (usually) adorable husband and (mostly) precious daughters. You will not find any mom jeans in her wardrobe.