A Few of My Favorite Things

My first post on my brand new blog, Polka Dots and Pearls. First of all, why in the world is this named Polka Dots and Pearls?! The answer is simple. I am a Southern belle.  I have a love for polka dots and pearls and the classiness with which they are associated.  So I decided it is only appropriate to combine two of my MOST favorite things into my blog title.

For my first post, I would like to share some of my favorite things. As you have probably already seen in the title, I love old movies. Of course, The Sound of Music is one of them. Julie Andrews is truly a beautiful, elegant lady whom I wish to meet one day. If America ever needs a queen, my vote is for Julie Andrews. Anyway, I digress. Back to the movies. I love Old Hollywood. A few of my favorite old movies include: An Affair to Remember, Casablanca, The Quiet Man, Sleepless in Seattle, You've Got Mail, It's A Wonderful Life, The African Queen, The Philadelphia Story, Notorious, oh the list goes on and on. I'm not completely crazy though I love these new movies too. Yes, I'm a romantic comedy kind of gal. I'm a sucker for cheese pizza and chick flicks. However, no one will ever convince me that the men in Hollywood these days will ever compare to Jimmy Stewart, Cary Grant, John Wayne, etc. No one will ever replace them! A few of my favorite actresses include Audrey Hepburn, Julie Andrews, Sandra Bullock, Reese Witherspoon, Ingrid Bergman, Donna Reed, ah... the list goes on again.

Now, I am not a complete couch potato. I do like to do other things besides watch movies. I love to read. In fact, I am an English major. I hope to one day teach English and/or history at the junior college level. (Which is part of the reason why I started this blog. Hopefully all this writing will put me ahead of the game!) I am just recently falling in love with old literature. I was the girl who read all the chick lit, contemporary stuff. Well let me tell you, Jane Austen, Wordsworth, and Flaubert had a thing or two to say as well! I have a wonderful literature teacher who has made me fall in love with literature. Currently I am reading Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy. Reading is a beautiful escape. You can go anywhere in time, anywhere in the universe, without moving at all when you read. In the words of C.S. Lewis, "We read to know we're not alone." This quote has such power. Anyone who knows how to read never has to be alone. I become overjoyed each and every time I read those words.

As I continue my list of favorite things, I would like to say that I also enjoy cooking. I come from a long line of "good, Southern cooks." I have been taught that food is a glorious thing. It truly is. What do we do (here in the South) when we hear that someone has died? We take a casserole or a cake over and share in the grief. Food brings people together, and I enjoy making new creations, as well as continuing old traditions and recipes that have been handed down to me.

Friends, I am also a coffee addict. Coffee is comforting, smells divine, and is always there for you when you have a paper due in four hours. (Yes, I am a procrastinator as well.)

I believe it is now time to share my great love of the 1940s with you all. I love history, but the 1940s just fascinates me. I love everything about it; the clothes the women wore, the way they did their hair in "Victory Rolls," the music, and above all I love the way the United States pulled together in the middle of a terrible war. I used to say I was born in the wrong time era... but I have realized that had I been living in the 40s... I probably would not think that the time I was living in was so great after all.

I also have this wonderful urge to travel. I want to see all the places I have read about. I will be finally starting my journey to EUROPE next spring! I have the opportunity to go to Somerset, England, for 10 days on my spring break! EEEKK! So excited!!!! (Pictures will definitely be coming!)

I am sure I haven't touched on everything, but now you know a little about me. I'm a small town girl who loves polka dots and is living her very own fairy tale. Life does not always have fairy tale endings, but I can always look at the bright side... because God's got this thing called my life all under control.