Southern Archives - Page 2 of 3 - Inspired Southerner

Christmas memories found in cooking Christmas breakfast

December 18, 2017 By Kara Kennedy

When I moved back to Birmingham from Washington, D.C. several years ago, I began a tradition of cooking breakfast Christmas morning. [Read more…] about Christmas memories found in cooking Christmas breakfast

Sonya Clemmons tells inspiring southern stories through her artwork

November 19, 2017 By Kara Kennedy

Inspired Southerner, Sonya Clemmons — Photo courtesy of Sonya Clemmons

If you’re looking for Christmas gifts that show your Alabama state pride, look no further than at artist Sony Clemmons’s folk art. Her whimsical Alabama folk art ornaments, prints and textiles can be found in stores throughout North Alabama. [Read more…] about Sonya Clemmons tells inspiring southern stories through her artwork

“Made South”

June 4, 2017 By Kara Kennedy

Birmingham residents had an opportunity to have the Made South experience this weekend at the Hoover Met. I have been following the Made South and Southern Makers phenomena for a couple of years now on Instagram, so I jumped at a chance to go to the show when a friend told me about it coming to Birmingham. It was a perfect show to meet the entrepreneurs I have been following on social media. I also got the chance to support some of them with purchases of Southern-made goods.

There were several vendors and products that caught my eye. I loved to seeing two Alabama distillers participating in the show: Redmont Distilling and John Emerald Distilling Company. I sampled the Redmont Vodka again I had sampled it at Birmingham’s Sloss Fest last year. It didn’t disappoint. I have been following the progress of Emerald Distilling on social media and I really was looking forward to trying their products. I am not particularly fond of whiskey, but their Alabama Single Malt Whiskey is smooth! I highly recommend it!

Other vendors I found interesting at the show were:

The vendor Red Land Cotton sells sheets, pillow covers and other Alabama cotton items from cotton grown on a farm located in Moulton, Alabama near the foot of the Bankhead National Forest.

Statesboro, Georgia’s H.L. Franklin’s Healthy Honey is to die for! I’d never heard of Creamed Honey until today. It was so good and unfortunately it had sold out. I did, however, buy their Crystallized Cotton Honey, my second favorite.

I tried the tasty Delta Blues Rice grits from Mississippi. I learn something new every day, and found out that rice was grown in northern Mississippi.

Marc Nelson’s custom-made denim out of Knoxville, Tennessee had samples of hand-made jeans and denim items.

Of course, I sipped on sweet tea from the Alabama Sweet Company and Honest coffee.

One of the highlights of the show for me was meeting an Instagram friend, Here A Chick There a Chick, a company owned by Kerry Leasure. She is an artist who makes jewelry out of vintage items and with each piece also comes a story about vintage piece that makes up the jewelry.

And what southern maker show would be completed without a Forrest Gump impersonator, none of course!

When you get a chance, you should go to a Made South show.

Trick or Treat Anyone?

October 28, 2016 By Kara Kennedy

Halloween signifies the beginning of the holiday season, which I consider a fun and festive time that carries us through to the end of the year. My love for Halloween stems from my childhood memories. Mother would take my sister and me to the fabric store weeks before Halloween so we could pick out a pattern for a costume that she would make. As far back as I can remember, she always made our costumes. In fact, she still sews costumes for my younger nieces when she can. When Halloween arrived we would rush home from school, do our homework and after dinner we would put on our costumes for Trick Or Treating. Family dinner on Halloween night usually was chili or some other quick meal. My sister and I would eat quickly so that we could dash out of the house for the night’s big event. My dad would take us to every house in the neighborhood and our Halloween buckets would be filled with good candy. When we got home with our treats we weren’t allowed to eat any of it until my parents went through it to “make sure it all was wrapped and ok to eat.” I believe that was just a ploy so that my dad could pick out his favorite candy from our stash. He’d never ever admit that though.

When I was in 7^th or 8^th grade it was no longer cool to Trick or Treat or dress up. Instead we went with a group of friends to a haunted house in Auburn which a fraternity hosted in order to raise money. I remember thinking that it was not a big deal and there was no way I was going to show I was scared. The fraternity on the other hand had something totally different in mind. They wanted it to be as frightening an experience as it could be. It was a terrifying experience. I didn’t cry, but some of the girls in our group did. I was scared and when one of the monsters followed me out of the house I was really frightened. To this day I have a love/hate relationship with haunted houses.

My grandmother Kennedy also helped make me love the holiday because she would decorate her house for Halloween and it was complete with a pumpkin that she carved. She would put a candle inside it to make it extra spooky. Her decorations were not that elaborate but they were fun and festive.

As I have gotten older and just like my grandmother did, I now like to decorate my home for Halloween. It gives me a sense of nostalgia to do so. I have even been known to dress up my dogs up in costumes, which they hate.

On Halloween night, I love to see what costumes my sister has come up with for my young nieces. Modern trick or treating involves fall festivals with tricks and trunks. It is sort of sad that traditional trick or treating has gone away.

As for me, I have been known to dress up on occasion to celebrate Halloween. I don’t always dress in a full costume, but most people get that I am celebrating the holiday. As for the day, it marks 60 days until Christmas. As I child I would ask my mom why Halloween couldn’t be Christmas and she would get frustrated and say that “it will be here soon enough.” Now as an adult I understand why she was so frustrated with my asking that question because it’s only 60 days until Christmas.

Happy Halloween y’all!

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