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Share the Love

1/30/2015

2 Comments

 
The very first memory I have of Valentine’s Day takes me back to Mrs. Lois’s preschool class.  
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My first day in Mrs. Lois's class.
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This class was held in a bright and beautiful room complete with a felt story wall and a “Sugar Chair” (where you were made to sit when you displayed less than perfect behavior) at Ocilla Baptist Church.  I have many memories of the stories told on that wall, time spent in the “Sugar Chair”, and celebrating special days.  

Mrs. Lois most definitely made Valentine’s Day one to remember.  We spent, what seems like days now, handcrafting the most perfect valentines mailbox one could imagine.  All you needed to construct this masterpiece was a shoebox your mom let you empty, construction paper (preferably pink and red), glue--and if you were well behaved, glitter!  Once everyone was finished making what would collect letters of love, we lined them up on one long table ready for delivery.  We waited in anticipation for day 14, when we were allowed to fill each box with our premeditated love gifts.  

The best was yet to come.  Once everyone had taken their turn, we were told to grab our overflowing boxes and return to our seat.        

I vividly remember thinking how sweet and special Valentine’s Day must be.  What a pure joy it was to be 4 and filled with love.   

We at The Southern Mercantile want to recreate this feeling for people of all ages.  We want to share the love!

Let us introduce you to Hannah, the founder of More Love Letters.  Hannah started sharing the love in her own small way and now thousands, maybe even millions, have been loved.  Click this link to learn more about her story: https://moreloveletters.squarespace.com/

We hope you feel inspired by her mission.  We have provided a printable card for you to write your own love letter and leave for someone who needs it most. Share the love!

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moreloveletters.pdf
File Size: 112 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

- Tara
2 Comments

Alder Street Social Club

1/23/2015

12 Comments

 
 I count myself lucky to have grown up in a very social home.  My parents’ house always seemed to be the center of the party when I was young.  All of our neighbors would show up fairly often for porch parties and pot luck dinners, and I learned a lot about impromptu entertaining.
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My parents' first home on Alder Street.
What a wonderful time in history for our neighborhood!  Our block was full of young folks, looking for fun and fellowship.  I've heard fabulous stories of “fry” parties at Clark's house (everyone brings something to drop in the fryer), game nights with cards and dominoes, folks spending the evenings on my parents’ porch.  This little group was dubbed the “Alder Street Social Club”, and I am hoping to bring it back!  How great to live in a small town and not just know your neighbors, but get along with them and fellowship together.   A place where kids can go from yard to yard and sweet tea is best served on the porch in the company of good friends.  
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The home where I grew up on Alder Street.
This is the feeling we are hoping to bring back with our Alder Street renovation.  I am so excited to be involved in the revitalization of our neighborhood!  I can't wait to share pictures and insights of our adventures in the remodel of our house. 
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Our little project.
I especially can't wait to host my first porch party on my newly renovated porch on Alder Street.  If we can create and capture half of the energy and character of the original Alder Street Social Club, we will be living fabulously!

-Roxie

12 Comments

Pecos the Calf

1/16/2015

0 Comments

 
This past summer, my friend Melissa and her sweet husband David decided to move their little family to a small home on her family's farm.  I, of course couldn't have been more thrilled because she now only lives about 20 minutes away!  This now means more friends and fellow creative folks to hang out with!  It is also very convenient that we were both remodeling our little homes at the same time.  You know misery loves company!

We look forward to featuring Melissa and her company, Greener Grass, here at The Southern Mercantile.  We can't wait for you to get to know her, we already consider her a part of the family!

To get to know Melissa better, visit her at:
http://melissadark.blogspot.com/

Here are a few words from a fellow Southerner:


In the midst of the moving and renovating this summer, we also acquired a cow.
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A baby cow. That needed to be fed twice a day with a bottle. 

He's adorable and we named him Pecos.
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One of Daddy's rancher friends originally owned Pecos, but when he was just a few days old he was accidentally separated from his mama. Isn't that sad? Then, by the time they reunited mama and calf, the mama wanted nothing to do with the baby. It was like she had forgotten about him. 

Are you crying? Yeah. Me neither.
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This is evidentially fairly common in the ranching world. Mama's won't feed their babies or they get separated and these little orphan cows are sometimes sold at a steep discount because of the extra work that feeding and caring for them requires. 

Daddy got this little calf to start Ford his own herd. By the time Ford is 30 he should have about 200 head of cattle. Just kidding.

Kind of. 

Anyway, now we're ranchers and we're feeding this sweet little cow twice a day and trying not to get too attached. BUT HE'S AN ORPHAN BABY! I'M FEEDING HIM WITH A BOTTLE! Yet, one day we will load him onto the cattle trailer to take him to the sale. Farm life is emotional, y'all. 
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As the summer came to a close we decided that it would be best if Pecos joined the rest of the herd. He loved watching the other cows from his stall in the barn and you could tell he was feeling lonely. (I'm not emotionally invested in this animal at all.) So we turned him out and now he plays with the other calves and eats grass all day.
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We still give him one or two bottles a day, depending on what's going on that day. Pecos comes up to the fence by our house and let's out these little moos to let us know he's there and wants to eat. Ford can usually hear him and he'll start chanting "Feed Pecos! Feed Pecos! Pecos is huuuuuungry." 
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Now that Pecos is hanging with all of his herd friends, I think he's embarrassed of me. When I go to feed him he runs up excited to eat, but when I try to give him a little love he just ignores me and walks off like he doesn't even know me. I share a movie on Instagram of him giving me the cold shoulder. 

Pecos was not too proud, however, to chase David and I across the entire pasture yesterday. We were cutting through the cow pasture to walk to my parents house and when Pecos saw us come through the gate he ran up to us wanting to eat. I sweetly told him that I didn't have his bottle and that I'd be back later to feed him. He couldn't imagine a world were we had other things to do besides feed him so he followed us the whole way nibbling on David's shorts and HEAD BUTTING ME IN THE REAR.
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 You've got a lot of nerve little Pecos. Good thing you're cute.

-Melissa
0 Comments

Drawn South

1/8/2015

0 Comments

 
When I decided to move home after graduation, most everyone in our little town asked me why.  Well, the reason why is simple:  I love my family, I love this slow paced life, and I love my job.  Everyone in my immediate family lives within 10 minutes of me, and my Nana lives right next door.  The only time traffic gets backed up is for a parade or a tractor.  I work for the Fourth and Cherry Company serving our community,  running a retail store, developing websites, and planning events.  I get to do what life was meant for--enjoy it.  
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Since moving home, I restored and am living in my great grandparents home, I am raising a puppy, and I recently became engaged to my high school sweetheart. 
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I could not ask for life to get any sweeter.  I haven't realized how much has actually happened in the last year of my life until this very moment.  What a year!  I am so thankful and blessed to be surrounded by people who love me and appreciate my gifts and talents.  If you are reading this, I am sure you will be reading many other posts about my home and how it came to be, my sweet Breezy girl (a boykin spaniel), and my future husband and the life comes along with him.  
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I love to travel, I love trying new things, and I love experiencing new cultures--but there is only one place I desire to call home.

- Tara
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