The middle layer of cream cheese and sugar are spread over the sweet-savory crust. I find it easier to spread by placing dollops all over the crust, then connecting them.

The last layer of frozen strawberries and strawberry gelatin are poured on top. 

Refrigerate overnight to allow the gelatin to set up. Serve as a side dish or dessert - or leave it up to your guests!

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My husband and I have taken on quite a project!  We bought a 980 square foot bungalow that is in desperate need of some tender loving care!  This home was built in the 1940’s and was a rental property owned and rented out by the owner of the local lumber mill.  There are many of these little mill houses around town, many beyond repair but for some, there is still hope and great potential.  This house also happens to be next door to my parents!

When I left Ocilla and headed for college I never dreamed I would find myself back here.  I really never dreamed I would own a business in a building that I helped to remodel in our tiny downtown.  

I never, ever thought I would live next door to my parents!  My parents bought the house I grew up in in 1977.  Their house was built in the nineteen teens and was a fabulous place to grow up.  It has a big front porch and a huge back yard.  My brother and I spent hours outside in our yard, but also roaming around the neighborhood.  When we were kids we rode our bikes all over town, met up with friends, and pretty much went wherever we wanted.  Our neighborhood is conveniently located just two blocks from downtown.   ​

​In more recent years our neighborhood has suffered.  The rental houses on our block have fallen into disrepair and with that have come less than desirable neighbors.  When the little house next to my parents came up for sale, my husband and I jumped at the chance to snatch it up.  Thus began a new life and a new vision for our street!  We rent a little house just around the corner from our new house, so it couldn't have worked out better for us to stay where we are while we take on this project.  We have been looking to buy a house for several years, but nothing ever seemed to line up and be the right opportunity at the right time.  Our town is very small, so I know this will sound silly, but I was really hoping to stay in the neighborhood I grew up in. For years I have felt a passion to stay there and to contribute rather than flee and let the homes fall apart.

Once our little purchase was official, my auntie decided she would like a little project of her own.  Until now she has divided her time between Tennessee, Colorado, and Texas.  She has joined us in our mission to change our neighborhood and purchased two little bungalows on the other side of my parents.  Not only are we thrilled that she will be spending more time with us, but we are so excited that the revitalization of our neighborhood continues! Things are looking up! 

I wanted to share these before pictures with you so you will be able to fully appreciate the magnitude of work it has required to save this house.  It has definitely a labor of love!  I can’t wait to share pictures of our progress and share my tips of how we managed such a big project on a small budget!

While in the spirit, we're going to get a little creative with book pages!  Our friend, Melissa Dark, has a wonderful tutorial for making a book page wreath.  We asked if she would like to teach all of you, and she has graciously accepted!  Take it away, Melissa!

I picked up this novel during finals week of my last semester in college.  I knew I’d be moving home in a couple of months, so this piece of nostalgic southern literature was just what I needed to remain sane during my last few tests.  I love reading a good book,  a happy book, a funny book, a book about love, a book about life--and that is just what I got.  I was taken back in time to a life that seemed simpler, but was it really?  This book was set in 1906, but no matter what year it is or what the newest technological advance is, the fundamental struggles of life seem to remain the same.  Life, death, faith, love, money--these things shape who we are and who we will become.  If you haven’t had the pleasure of reading this delightful novel, I won’t give too much away.  

The narrator of the story, Will Tweedy, is fourteen and he lives in Cold Sassy, Georgia. This town was modeled after Commerce, GA, as that is where the author, Olive Ann Burns’s father grew up and pulled colorful stories from. Will’s grandmother has just passed away and he finds himself dealing with death for the first time.  Will is especially close to his grandfather, Rucker Blakeslee, a confident man who teaches Will about the important things in life.  Adventures and heartbreaks during this pivotal time prove to be influential in who he will become. The ways of this silly, small, Southern town lighten the weight of the more dramatic parts of the story.  In Cold Sassy, gossip spreads like wildfire, age is not just a number, bright colors and bold prints are for floozies, and you should only socialize with your “own kind”.  Some things have changed over time, and sadly, some have not.  In the end, it’s the wisdom that pours out of Rucker’s mouth, the fun filled adventures of Will Tweedy, the importance of family and the emphasis on true love that make Cold Sassy Tree a book to remember.

I think this book had such an effect on me because of a few reasons other than my Southern roots. One month after moving home from Athens, my Papa passed away. 

This is one of my favorite quotes from the book (notice the language--the way in which you read this in your mind could be my favorite thing about this book):

“Well’m, faith ain’t no magic wand or money-back gar’ntee, either one. Hit’s jest a way a-livin’.  Hit means you don’t worry th’ew the days. Hit means you go’n be holdin’ on to God in good or bad times, and you accept whatever happens.  Hit means you respect life like it is--like God made it--even when it ain’t what you’d order from the wholesale house. Faith don’t mean the Lord is go’n make lions lay down with lambs jest cause you ast him to, or make fire not burn.”  -Rucker Blakeslee

Thanks to the words of Olive Ann Burns, Will Tweedy, Rucker Blakeslee, Miss Love and all the other characters of Cold Sassy Tree will forever hold a special place in my heart. Maybe they will in yours too.

Yes, I do realize that “To Kill a Mockingbird” is so much more than a tale of two kids growing up in a small town.  The discussion of the social and political problems of racism, civil rights and women’s roles most certainly is what hits the hardest in this story, and unfortunately, while great improvements have been made, all are still relevant topics and problems today.   With that being said, there is something magical about growing up in a small, safe environment, where everybody knows everybody else.  Scout states that “Maycomb was a tired old town” where people moved slowly and took their time.  “There was no hurry for there was nowhere to go.” When reading this I instantly visualize the sidewalks of my own tired old town.  To me, this book is somehow a frozen time capsule of my own childhood memories.

When my brother and I were kids there literally was nowhere to go, except to ride our bikes to the gas station to buy a coke.   Our house was just two blocks from downtown so we were allowed to ride our bikes or roller skate wherever we wanted to go.  Jem and Scout had “summertime boundaries” that were in calling distance of their maid, Calpurnia.  Troy and I had similar boundaries, we had to be within whistle distance of my dad, and he has the loudest whistle of anyone I have ever heard.  I have tried and tried to replicate it but am afraid I do not possess that talent.  My friend’s dad owned an appliance store downtown and sometimes we would venture down there to claim a refrigerator box.  I would give anything to have a video of the three of us walking home with a box that was bigger than all of us put together! Those boxes provided hours and hours of backyard fun.  Life really did seem so simple then.  If we weren’t in school, we spent most of our time outside. We spent hours acting out dramatic scenarios, like escaping from an orphanage on a boat made of lawn chairs.  We made up our own games like obstacle kick ball and “Miss Geronimo”, a game we made up to play with our very energetic dog Neva. 

I could, and can still, relate to other things mentioned in the book, such as not really being “from” a place unless you have proof of many generations of ancestors there.  Or things like the mystery surrounding Boo Radley.  All small towns have their own version of Boo.  Folks just need something to talk about.  Mysterious secrets and rumors to keep the good townspeople entertained.  Harper Lee had such a brilliant idea, to tell the story of growing up in the south through the eyes of a child.  Though both the good and the bad aspects of growing up in a small, southern town are represented here, this book will forever remind me of being a child in a small town in South Georgia.  I have such happy memories of rambling around town with my brother.  Some days, how I long to go back to those simple times!