A Guide To Being The Perfect Southern Belle

In the south, Southern Belles are apart of a certain tradition and have a definite charm that is unique and irreplaceable.  Southern Belles are some of the most well mannered sweet ladies you'll ever meet.  Here's a little guide to help those ladies who wish they could be a little more lady-like.  There's one thing you should always remember though, Southern Belles are born and not easily made.  It takes time and plenty of effort.  So here it goes:

Anatomy of today's Southern Belle

1. To be a Southern Belle, you must first be presented into society, which means debutante balls or cotillions. (Good thing I did that in middle school!)

2. A true Southern Belle has the most perfect manners.  Always say "Please" and "Thank you" and never forget to always be polite to everyone. (Yes, that means even if you're not too fond of them)

3. Respect your elders.  This means calling anyone you meet "Ma'am" and "Sir" unless they of course ask you to do otherwise.  (My mom thinks it makes her older than she is if she's ever called "Ma'am")

4. Make sure you always dress well, and are presentable at all times.  Clothes that are too revealing aren't attractive.  Southern Belles love wearing dresses, pearls and heels. (I know it's hard to do this in college, especially if you have an early EARLY morning class like myself, but hey, give it a shot.  Eventually we'll all have to wake up early and look nice in the real world so why not start now?)

5. To go along with that, keep yourself looking clean and neat.  Shower EVERYDAY, wear perfume so you're smelling nice, DO YOUR HAIR, keep your nails manicured and polished and never, I mean NEVER, cake on the make up.  Less is more.

6.  Southern Belles are very family oriented.  ALWAYS help out your family, spend time with them and love them.  Call your Mother, "Mama" and your Father, "Daddy", no matter how old you are.  (I always do this, though my Father passed, I'm still "Daddy's little girl", always have been and always will be)

7.  Take all compliments well.  When someone compliments you, do NOT try to shoot down the compliment.  When someone says "You look very pretty today!", smile warmly and say "Thank you!" with a compliment back to them.  Complimenting back shows them that you're a kind hearted person.

8.  SMILE.  A true Southern Belle always has a nice, warm smile on her face.

9.  Have southern hospitality.  Southern Belles are sweet, kind and generous to everyone they come across.  This is where "Southern Hospitality" comes in.  Like I said before, if you don't like someone, still be polite and sweet.  (Mama always taught me that if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all.  This is where that comes into play)

10.  Learn how to make sweet tea!  The more sugar the better!  It's a southern staple and it tastes delicious.

11.  Do your "Mama" a favor, and clean the house.  Doing chores for your mother shows her that you care and respect all the sacrifices she does for you!  (I hated chores when I was little, but now that I'm at school and looking to rent my own house in a month or so, chores have really become way more important to me and I thank my mom for "making" me do them growing up)

12.  Finish school.  A Southern Belle has an education, and a good head on her shoulders.  (Don't just go to school to earn your Mrs degree, that's not very bright.  Southern Belles should be able to do just fine by herself, we don't need a man to make us happy)

13.  Don't drink excessive amounts of alcohol.  A Southern Belle would never be caught singing drunk at parties.  (Though I don't completely agree with this one, since I know we're all guilty of this at parties, A Southern Belle should just stay classy while doing so in my opinion)

14.  Never swear.  Use euphemisms instead.  Say "Darn" instead of "Damn, and so on.  You can guess the rest.  Swearing shows lack of intelligence, it sounds dirty, and is completely unnecessary.   ( I know for a FACT we're all guilty of this, even me.  I'm trying to tone it down a bit so we'll see how that goes)

15.  Never speak of using the restroom to anyone.  If you need to use the restroom, simple excuse yourself.  (As bad as it sounds I'm guilty of this too.  Something I'm not very proud of and working on as well)

16.  Southern Belles are very religious.  Respect your religion, and those of others, as well.  God is your number one go-to advice-giver.  (Side note:  I need to start going to Church more, New Years Resolution, anyone?)

17.  Have a genuine, sweet, down-to-earth attitude.  Plain and simple.  (Thankfully, everyone I know says these things about me, and that makes me happy)

Last, but certainly not least, to pull it all together I present you with the final rule:

18.  Pay attention to how you present yourself.  Hold your head up high, stand up straight, and have a neat, groomed appearance.

I believe every woman should strive to be as sweet, charming, and lady-like as Southern Belles.  It's a commitment, no doubt about it, but it's one we should all try to make.  Especially those of us that are from the north.  The Southern Belle doesn't have an off day, or an off moment for that matter.  Life's to short for unpleasant or bad behavior.  Ultimately, to sum it all up, the Southern Belle is all about self-respect.  She takes care of herself and makes sure people treat her right.  Some girls are brought up to be Southern Belles, but that's not the only way to get there.  I was certainly raised right by my Mama, but I keep working at it and I thank her everyday for raising me to be who I am today.  Just because you live north of the Mason-Dixon line doesn't mean you can't be a Southern Belle.  So put this advice to work, where ever you may be and I'm sure you'll accomplish everything you've ever wanted.

A Guide To Being A Southern Gentleman

Although Valentines Day was just last week, being a southern gentleman and knowing that we as ladies deserve to date southern gentlemen, never goes out of style.  A couple of days ago I found these two articles that provide today's generation of not so "polite" young men with a few tips to become a little more well-mannered in hopes of proving that chivalry isn't dead.  Unless you're extremely lucky, like I consider myself to be, to have a southern gentleman in your life, I suggest that you show these two articles to your boyfriend or guy friends.  They need to know that we're not going to lower our standards so they are going to need to up their game a little.

Here is the first article.  It's a video of the cutest little boy ever that shows college guys how to be gentlemen.  And it really is the cutest video.  This little guy was without a doubt raised right and though he may be young he is going to make one lucky lady very happy one day.

The second article is a little longer.  It gives a list of qualities that a real southern gentleman should have. However, it also goes into detail about the awful dating habits of men and women.  It discusses exactly what I said earlier, that women need to stop lowering their standards and men need to try a little harder.  We want to be taken out, wined and dined.  Granted you don't have to spend a ton of monday on us, but don't slack off especially after a few months into the relationship.  Sure, you might have impressed us on the first date, enough to go on a second and maybe even put a label on our relationship, but there should be many more dates after that.  Simply put: the romance should never stop.

So try a little harder guys, I promise it'll be worth it for us all in the long run.

This is my southern gent and I on Valentines Day 2014

38 Signs You're From North Caronlina

Since I'm not originally from North Carolina, some of the things on this list came as a surprise to me.  Only some though.  Even though I'm from Maryland, my mom is originally from North Carolina so big family dinners with greens, ham and beans have been apart of my life since I could eat solid foods.  I already knew I was a tarheel fan, GO HEELS! I already knew the Wagon Wheel song, and loved it, and sweet tea and Cheerwine... I've been drinking them for years now.  But when it comes to barbecues and pig pickins', I had no idea something so simple could be so delicious.  It blew my mind, all the different types of sauces, vinegar based and ketchup based, how did I live without these before?

One thing I discovered upon moving to North Carolina is Bojangles.  Talk about AMAZING.  I eat it way to much for my own good.  However, I'll always choose bagels over biscuits and football over ACC basketball.  When it comes to snow, I mean, come on I'm from the north one inch of snow is nothing to me.  I remember every winter at least getting a foot every once and a while but hey, one inch of snow here and they close everything down? I'll take it.

Looking at this list, I would absolutely love to visit the Grove Park Inn during gingerbread house season, I would love to drive along the Blue Ridge Parkway to see the leaves changes beautifully during the fall, and Christmas Town USA? I need to go there as soon as possible.

Without a doubt there's so much more I have yet to experience living in beautiful North Carolina, but living in Charlotte and soon to be moving to Wilmington, I can only imagine what else this state, and the south in general, has to offer and I can't wait to share my experiences.

"Because it’s home, and even with some of the more backwards aspects of it at times, it truly is fantastic and beautiful and has the best people ever."

So here’s to you, North Carolina. Thanks for being awesome.