A Touch of Southern Grace

Thursday, March 21, 2019

Oldies But Goodies

Not to sound like an old person, but is there anyone else out there who thinks today’s TV show can be a little too intense? Full on confession: I used to love Grey’s Anatomy, but I stopped watching it about it about three years ago; there was just too much drama for me and I hated the fact that someone was always going through something negative. I like to sit down at night, decompress, watch something on TV that hopefully has a good ending, and just zone out for an hour or so.

I don’t if it just seems this way, but the way life is portrayed 50, 40, and even 20 years ago seems so much simpler than today. Sometimes I resort to watching old sitcoms that were on TV Land back in the 90’s and were even the shows my parents watched growing up. After a hard day the last thing I want to do is sit down and watch a show with a strained and problematic character relationships. So for those of you who are with me, here are a few oldies but goodie TV show that will send you to bed feeling a bit happier than you were before you turned on the TV.

Bewitched// This is probably one of my all time favorite shows. Samantha and Darrin are just such a cute couple and I always love how Samantha’s family members are literally always popping in and out.

I Love Lucy// Lucy probably one of the most iconic tv shows that has every existed. I have started watching this one again on Amazon Prime and have fallen in love with the show all over again

Save By The Bell// Hands down, one of the best TV shows of the 90’s. I used to watch this everyday after school; even at the age of six I was rooting for Zack and Kelly!

Tuesday, March 19, 2019

Guest Post :: 5 Ways Stress And Anxiety Affects Your Skin

Along with a breath of new air, beautiful flowers, sunshine, and the sense of everything being renewed, Spring can also bring a little stress. No matter what your age the spring seems to have stressful moments… tax season, holidays, and if you’re still in school – exams. As much as we all hate to admit it, everyone is guilty of letting stress get the better of them and in return it can affect your skin and health. Today Peter Minkoff is sharing five ways stress and anxiety affects your skin and what you can do about it.

Stressful and anxious situations are something most of us have to deal with on an everyday basis, and they can often get the best of us. Not only does stress trickle from our brains to our bodies, but it can show up on the skin as well, and even exacerbate existing physical and psychological conditions, which in turn wreaks havoc on our complexion. Here are five negative ways stress and anxiety affect our skin:

1. Flushed face

When you feel anxious or stressed, you breathe in short and shallow breaths, and can even find yourself holding your breaths for longer periods of time, which can often lead to flushing of redness. In order to calm your face down, try breathing in a scented candleor a soothing beauty elixir that contains calming ingredients, such as chamomile and patchouli, which will keep you from feeling overly stressed and anxious. It may sound too simple to be effective, but it’s crucial for achieving a properly functioning system and lowered levels of stress.

2. Flare-ups and breakouts

Whether you’re prone to acne, psoriasis or eczema, stress can cause all sorts of existing skin conditions to flare up. When it comes to acne, stress and anxiety activate cortisol, which can throw off the other hormones in your body and cause breakouts on any part of your skin. Stress also has the tendency to disrupt the balance between the good and bad bacteria in your stomach that can then show up on your skin in the form of acne, whether you’re prone to breakouts or not. In order to prevent this from happening, try to drink a lot of water and eat a healthy, balanced diet, as your body can’t handle stress well if it’s not properly nourished.

3. Cold sores

Cold sores are small, but painful sores or blister-like lesions that appear on certain areas of the skin, such as the lips, chin and cheeks. They are caused by a highly contagious virus called HSV that remains inactive most of the time once it enters the body. However, if a common trigger like excessive stress or anxiety activates the virus, itchy and painful cold sores can develop. While there is no way to prevent the appearance of cold sores, a high quality cold sore creamcould reduce their frequency and duration, or even get rid of them completely.

4. Rashes and hives

Both rashes and hives are caused by dysbiosis, or an imbalance in your gut. They occur when stress or anxiety takes over and too many bad bacteria outweigh the good. In order to help minimize the chances of getting a rash or hives when you’re stressed out, try to practice some deep breathing exercises. Take a big breath that fills your whole stomach, hold it in for a couple of seconds, then exhale slowly through your mouth, and repeat the process until you’ve managed to calm yourself down.

5. Fine lines

Constantly making the same facial expressions, such as furrowing your brows or pursing your lips when you’re stressed, could lead to the appearance of deeper wrinkles in those areas over time. So, be mindful of making unconscious facial expressions when you’re feeling anxious, especially while sitting at your desk. If you need help training your muscles to relax, put a piece of clear tape between your eyebrows or above your upper lip when you’re at work. That way, when the muscles contract, the tape will crinkle, reminding you to relax and eventually helping you drop the habit.

Since we can’t avoid the stress of everyday life completely, the best thing we can do is learn how to manage it properly and treat it adequately, in order to avoid any negative consequences.

Sunday, March 17, 2019

Sunday Night Thought

Saturday, March 16, 2019

Happy Hour Time

Aloha Friday! It’s so wonderful to see you again! March is finally here and spring is in the air! The flowers are blooming, the days are getting a little longer, and the weather is getting a little warmer {thank goodness}, and it’s St. Patty’s Day weekend! Here’s to dancing a jig, enjoying a few potatoes, a little luck, and some basketball. Cheers!

“We must dare to be great; and we must realized that greatness is the fruit of toil and sacrifice and high courage.”

~ Teddy Roosevelt

Drink Special!

Goat’s Delight

¾ounce brandy

¾ounce kirschwasser

½teaspoon cream

1 dash pernod

1 dash almond-flavored syrup

Ice cubes

Stir with ice and strain into cocktail glass

Around Town!

Nashville, TN: The Book of Mormon at TPAC, March 12 – March 14

Franklin, TN: St. Patty’s Day Bash at Mockingbird Theater with Molly Ramone, Sunday, March 17, 6:00pm

New Orleans, LA: Pink Beautiful Trauma World Tour at Smoothie King Center, Sunday, March 17, 7:30pm

Savannah, GA: St. Patrick’s Weekend in Savannah at Embassy Suites, Friday, March 15 – Monday, March 18

Charlotte, NC: 2019 ACC Tournament at Spectrum Center, Friday, March 15 – Sunday, March 17, 5:00pm

Friday, March 15, 2019

Guest Post :: The Best Paint Colors For Each Room In The House

Spring is the perfect time to rearrange and paint to give your house a fresh feel after a long winter. Today Lisa is guest posting on the blog and is sharing the best paint colors for each room!

Source: Sherwin-Williams

Are you interested in giving your home a new feel? If the answer is yes, it might be time to spruce up your interior with a fresh coat of paint. Paint makes all the difference in a home. It’s amazing how a simple change, like the color on the wall, can completely transform a space.

However, choosing a paint color is no easy task. How in the world are you supposed to sift through the thousands of paint colors out there? The answer is, you can’t.

Before you go flipping through dozens of paint color fan decks, you might consider this:

Color has a psychological effecton our brain.

Yep—it’s true. Paint is more than just a color on a wall. In fact, the colors we choose to put on display in our homes can affect our emotions, even our mood. While certain colors calm us, others stimulate our brains.

With the power of color in mind, you can narrow down your color choices by matching the purpose of the room with the right color.

1. The Kitchen

Warm colors tend to work well in the kitchen. That’s because colors in this palette are known to stimulate appetite. If you’ve ever wondered why every fast-food restaurant features warm hues, this is why. Contrary to popular belief, warm colors can be done tastefully. The goal is not to replicate your kitchen after the local McDonald’s franchise.

One of our favorite warm colors, is Sherwin-Williams’ color of the year, Cavern Clay.

2. The Bedroom

When choosing a color for your bedroom, stay away from intense colors like reds, purples, and oranges. Colors in these hues tend to energize and stimulate our brains, which the opposite of what we want to achieve here—sleep.

Source: iStock Photo

The best colors for sleep are cool tones that help you feel relaxed. Try out light shades of blue and neutral when creating your sleep haven. Hues in this color family have been proven to lower blood pressure and help you relax. Not to mention, blue psychologically stands for serenity, calm, tranquility and peace.

However, the color on the walls isn’t the only thing that promotes a good night’s sleep. Make sure to manage the light, noise and mattress you are sleeping onto get your best night’s sleep each and every night.

3. The Living Room

Next up is the living room. The room of congregation, relaxation and Netflix binges. After a long day, there’s nothing like coming home, kicking off your shoes and plopping down on the living room couch to relax.

A great color for the living room is green. Here’s why:

Green is said to be the color of balance, harmony, refreshment and comfort. For one of the most popular rooms in the house, you’ll want this space to be an inviting place to relax and host guests. Green helps you achieve an inviting ambiance.

Source: iStock Photo

1. The Master Bath

Last but not least, the bathroom

The best color for your bathroom is white. White represents cleanliness and offers a cool, refreshing feeling. Just walking into a crisp, white bathroom will make you want to pop in the shower.

All in all, your paint choices should be a representation of you and your style. This is simply a guide to navigate the endless sea of color options.

Wednesday, March 13, 2019

Spring Party Dresses

With hints of spring in the air everyone seems to be in a signigicintyly better mood and climbing out of their winter rut. After all, who couldn’t help but walk with a little extra spring in their step when longer days, sunshine, newly bloomed flowers and dress, and of course, a new wave of fashion on the way!?

I always think it’s a bit funny {in a good way} that people are always so ready to break out the next season’s wardrobe a little ahead of time. In Nashville, it can be 79 degress outside in September and people will start to break out cable-knits and boots {me included} then in March, once it hits 65 degress…Hello Spring!

I’m cold-natured so I usually have to hold off till April to start doing Spring clothes, but let me just say, there are some sup cute spring party dresses out there this year!!! Whether you are looking for a garden party dress or a dress for the races…her e are some of my favorites!