...it is impossible for a hatless woman to be chic. ~Etiquette. 1959.

First of all, Happy Race Day, y'all! As you know, the Daytona 500 is one of the early signs of Spring here in The South. Aside from that, it's just awesome! On with the blog...

I think all 3 of y'all probably already know this about me, but just in case anything is unclear, I love, Love, LOVE living in the south. Yesterday was absolutely beautiful and the thermometer hit right around 70. Daffodils are beginning to sprout. Spring is imminent, folks! It was the perfect day for Miss D- and I to go take pictures at the Botanical Gardens. D- is a budding photographer who wanted some practice with fashion shots. I love to put on fabulous clothes and feel pretty, so it was basically a match made in heaven.

Photos by Diana Zylow

SO FUN! Then we followed it up with more fun at Lumpkin Cafe because the Botanical Gardens always put me in the mood for chicken salad and tea. Lumpkin Cafe does not boast my favorite chicken salad or tea in town; however, it is the type of place ladies go to discuss Junior League meetings. I pretty much love it.

As if all that wasn't enough, I headed straight from lunch to CB's house to watch the basketball game. The Dawgs were up by 15 when I got there, but they quickly blew that. The other day, CB's friend, Dave, accused me of being a jinx and I was starting to believe him. Turns out I'm not, because the Dawgs pulled out the 69-63 victory over the Vols (you know, those folks from east Tennessee that wear that vulgah shade of orange. Bless their hearts).

Post game we took CB's dog, Boomer, for a walk in the park. It seems that every dog owner in Athens had the same idea because they were everywhere. We had a lovely walk, though, that made me long for spring hikes and summer kayak trips. It's so close!!! If I was a yankee, warm weather would be months away instead of weeks. Just sayin'. I know that we'll have a couple more cold snaps before winter's really over, but there's a light at the end of the tunnel, so...YAY!

As if that wasn't enough, we changed things up a bit last night with a trip to Gwinnett County to see what we could see. Colonel Brandon had his very first trip to a Pro Bass Shop. He did a good job of containing his emotion, but I know he was ready to burst with excitement. Then (as payback, perhaps?) I got my first trip to the Museum Replicas store. As CB is not currently in the market for guns and ammo and I am not currently looking to purchase an authentic replica Jedi cloak, we did not buy anything. We did, however, have a surprisingly delicious dinner at Mimi's Cafe which I had never tried before because it looks kind of sketchy.

All in all, a delightful day. Looking forward to watching The Race this afternoon! And, for those of you wondering when you should start being jealous of me, 9 days to Orlando!!!

Fondest regards,

The Lady