Fashion Update

First off I want to say sorry for being MIA last week. Work has been crazy with the big opening but I am back and ready to write! Secondly I want to say thanks to those of you who have been telling people about the blog project. I am excited to get a few of those guest bloggers in here for opinions and thoughts other than my own. Should be exciting!

On to tonight’s topic of fashion. Last week I noticed an interesting fashion trend that seemed to not discriminate against who wore it. I asked those around me to confirm that they were seeing the same thing I was. Sure enough they were and apparently I missed the memo that it has been in style for a while. What is this fashion trend you ask about? It is seersucker; you know that blue and white striped suit I am talking about. If you don’t, here is a picture for you.  The more I looked the more I noticed men and women both wearing it. Some were in full suits, others in shorts and some had fitted jackets and some of it actually looked good. I said some, not all! Then yesterday this trend was completely confirmed for me. I opened my current issue of Southern Living and the very first article is entitled “Best of the South”. Anyone want to take a guess what the short article was on? That’s right – seersucker! Now that I have learned about this fashion trend I am even more interested to find out where it came from.

The story of seersucker turns out to be quite interesting. Apparently back before air conditioning was available in Washington the senators from the south felt it was important to still look proper. In 1907 a New Orleans clothier designed an all cotton blue and white striped fabric into suits for these men. It was called seersucker from the Persian words milk and honey. The method in which it is thread together gives it the wrinkled looked, allows it to stay away from the body and doesn’t require ironing. Trent Lott decided to bring seersucker back to the Senate in the 90s and started a trend that is still followed today by both the men and women of the senate, seersucker Thursday observed in June. In addition to the Senate, it was also common for nurses to wear during World War II and also by the first female United States Marines as their summer service uniforms.

Personally I still don’t love seersucker as a fashion trend but I have much more of an appreciation for the southern heritage the fashion comes from.That is something I can support!

Sources:

http://www.senate.gov/
http://www.wikipedia.org/

Vocabulary Lesson - Biff it good

I like to be "in the know" but I have taken many of the things I learned at face value. I am enjoying doing the research on these for the blog because now I know why it is that way. For example, the word of the day today is biff. In my world biff means to trip, fall, hit, get injured etc... It would be used in a sentence as such: while taking pictures the hubby tripped on the stairs and almost biffed it. Hold that image for a minute.When I use the word around here people usually look at me and scratch their heads or I get the agreement nod with the confused look.Alright, about that mental image, a few weeks ago we are home for lil sis's wedding and during rehearsal the hubby is taking pictures from the balcony of the church. All of the sudden I hear laughing around me and someone says "he biffed it" and then there was applause a few seconds later when he reappeared. I couldn't help breaking into laughter, not at hubby tripping but at the pleasure of being surrounded by people who used one of my favorite words!    

Ok so back to the meaning of the word biff. I decided to do a little looking around and apparently there is some disagreement on what the word means and where it comes from. The most popular response is that it is short for biffy, which is an outhouse and it is a British word common in Canada. While my mom hails from this area and all, I am pretty sure I have never heard an outhouse called that. Additionally, biff also means to whack, blow, punch or hit. At least these are physical occurrences and are similar to the meaning I grew up with.I personally prefer to use it in the fall or trip form.

There is the vocabulary lesson for the day and what have we learned; no matter what the definition is biff is never a good thing!

For a great biff video click here Thanks Adam and Keri (and Carson)

Great News!

In reviewing the Culver's website it would appear that there will be a location within two hours of me!!! Murfreesboro, TN will now be my new favorite place to visit. Happiness is here

Accents

I want to talk about accents for a moment today. When I am at home many of my friends and family give me a hard time for the accent I have picked up. Around here though I get a lot of "you aren't from around here are you?" question. I feel like an accent outcast, like I don't belong anywhere. I find myself saying that no I haven't picked up the southern accent and yes I do still talk like I am from the Midwest but no one accepts that. Oh well, I have learned to deal with that fact and move on. I am proud of my mix of accents, it makes me unique! Last night I had an interesting discovery though. Many of you know I am obsessed with reality TV. It is my guilty pleasure. Well for those of you who watch the Bachelorette you know there is a contestant on there named Kirk and he is from Wisconsin. Last night, while I was getting caught up on this weeks show, I realized I was smiling every time Kirk came on TV because his accent was familiar to me. I could actually hear the Wisconsin in his voice. Hearing is my strongest of the 5 senses, in fact my mom calls me rabbit ears, and my boss hates it but none the less it is. I always found it strange that I have never noticed accents of my friends and family back home, but now that I am away from it, I find comfort when I hear that familiar sound. It is amazing to me that I have been away from it for so long now that I can actually pick it out of a crowd, it truly is the sound of home.

More yummy goodness

I can tell you since i moved south there are two restaurants that i really miss getting to eat at. The first is Perkins, oh what i wouldn't give for their breakfast and a blueberry muffin. The second and most important is Culvers. Oh how i miss Culvers. We will talk about this more in an upcoming post but today I was reminded of Culvers when i saw this coupon. They are famous for their butter burgers. It makes me drool just thinking about it. Well Steak 'n Shake has a Wisconsin butter burger substitute. Though it isn't the same, if you are in the south where Culvers has not yet moved, this burger is a good start. Now if i could just find some lemon ice...