Dress Like A Southern Gentlemen

I think it's safe to say that people in various regions of the U.S. dress differently. We have an immense country with a huge range of climates, and that naturally calls for different attire. When I lived in Nebraska, we needed heavy coats in the winter. But when I went home to Florida for this past Christmas I wore shorts one day! 

Being here in the South I have noticed that there are distinct styles to different regions, and my friend Jonathan is the poster child for Southern attire.

Seersucker. It's lightweight, 100% cotton, and textured, so pretty much perfect for hot and humid Southern summer days. Normally people wear striped blue and white seersucker (like Jonathan is above), but it comes in other colors as well as checkered. I've seen seersucker jumpers for little boys, shorts for men, dresses for women, and ties. But this is the first time I have ever seen seersucker pajama pants!

Short shorts. Southern men love showing off their legs (almost as much as they love their polos! Please notice how Jonathan matched his polo with the shorts. The logos compliment each other!). I recently saw a photo of my father in his younger years where he was wearing shorts that looked more along the lines of Daisy Duke's than the knee grazing long shorts I'm accustomed to the German guys wearing. I was speechless. His response, "They were in style and I was looking good!"

Here Jonathan graciously models his new swim shorty-shorts with a four-inch inseam. I think Southern guys just really like showing off their quadriceps.

Every Southern man needs at least one belt with little animals on it. Here Jonathan has two: fish and whales.

She's a bit confused at why he has more ties than days of the week.

More tiny animals. You can never have too many!

Bow ties! (and ties) in gorgeous pastels. Southern men can pull this off looking like a classy man. And yes, the bottom tie IS seersucker. You are becoming quite the seersucker spotter. :)

Shopping - SC style

I went shopping the other day with some friends, but it was most definitely shopping South Carolina style. Where else is there so much camo? Or men's shorts with embroidery? Or hunting stuff? Needless to say I did not buy anything, although there were some pretty spiffy bow-ties I was loving.

Would you like some swordfish on your shorts?

Maybe you want the South Carolina state logo on you, or Clemson tiger paws?

I know you really want these corduroy pants. Because Columbia is famously hot with its 100 degrees days plus humidity.

This was also in the store, so it's really more of a one stop shop: clothes, fake animals, hunting DVD's...

They are going to be sitting in your lap!

Camouflage!!

Can you find me? Ya, I'm not really in there.

Everything just became one giant camo blob blending in together.

Camo overalls. Win!

Hunting DVD's. I'm not really sure what these do. Do you just watch people hunt? Learn to do bird calls?

Mr. Deer, chilling on the wall

Grocery Store Find

Yum? 

I've never had a pickled egg. Kimchi or Korean fermented vegetables is probably the closest thing I've eaten to pickled eggs. I do enjoy kimchi with my bulgogi and rice, so maybe one day I'll try this. 

One day that probably isn't in the too near future...

I like how they dyed it red like an Easter Egg. It makes them a festive food.

This Is Not A Lemony Snicket Book

Did you ever read The Series of Unfortunate Events? I really really liked them when I was younger - but not the movie, that wasn't very good. But while we were road-tripping I saw this sign and immediately thought of Violet, Klaus, and Sunny.

Dismal Swamp. That just makes you depressed.

Road Trip!

So the family and I recently did a little road-tripping, and I made the request to stop at one of my favorite places from when I was younger. That amazing place is South of the Border! Or a rest stop between North and South Carolina with a Mexican theme. Is it garish? Yes. A little gaudy? Possibly! But it is the one and only. I mean seriously, what other rest stop area has a giant sombrero that you can climb a million steps up to so that you can get a scenic view of the highway and some pine trees? What other rest stop has a reptile house, a hat store, and giant statues of zoo animals?

WELCOME!

The South of the Border main man is Pedro. Here he is as a giant letting you know where you are.

Another Pedro a few stories tall!

Lots of South of the Border signs! Because you might forget where you are....

The giant sombrero in the back, and another Pedro.

South of the Border is definitely one thing that cannot be found anywhere else but the United States.

Preseason Football Practice

So I recently went to the first preseason practice for USC's football team. -  I'm trying to get more excited about SEC football, or really football in general, seeing as how when I hear football I still think that means soccer. Oops!  - Some friends were going and I thought, "Why not? I'm up for an experience."  I underestimated just what an experience it would be.

Let me set the scene for you. There were hundreds of middle aged men. A few little boys, fewer women, and a handful of students all trying to get a view of the players five to fifty meters away. There was also a police presence in and around the area in case fans got a little too crazy after seeing #7, our huge freshman who is expected to be an impact player, in the flesh.They had roped off the area where we were allowed to stand, one side of the practice fields, and everyone was pushed up as close as they could go. Luckily that wasn't too close because even though the sun was setting it was humid and HOT. So hot in fact that they issued a heat advisory. At EIGHT at night! People were standing on top of the fence that surround the field. Other people had parked their cars behind that fence and were standing on hoods to get a better view. Quite a few people had nice cameras, every other person had out their cell phone taking pictures of the little specks running around in white and garnet, men were there videotaping the practice, and some people even had binoculars. (Binocular men = committed fans in my book.) A hush kind of covered the practice fields and the only thing that could really be heard were the blows of whistles and the occasional collective oooh's and ahhh's of the crowd when there was a good pass or a bad hit.

I have to admit the highlight of this event for me was not seeing the football stars, or seeing all the old(er) men spout off their knowledge of Gamecock football, or even hearing how one man's son had played with one of our star baseball?! players. My highlight was watching the kickers. It was something that I would stand out in the hot, humid Southern night for! Someone was kicking a ball!! Finally a concept I fully appreciate.


Because pictures are worth a thousand words (even if they are blurry).

Notice the guy standing on a stool with a huge camera.

I don't think that I mentioned that EVERYONE was dressed to support the team. Impressive. I mean I saw a woman in a Gamecock checkered skirt.

People standing on car hoods/backs of pick-up trucks. People with chairs. People with drinks. And one man with some fanny-pack awesomeness going on.

We were all trying to get a good look at these little specks.