A Southern Belle!

Hey Hey Hey! Another Guest Post from the coolest free spirit in the blogging world, miss Baily! She is fun, fiery, and most importantly a role model in her faith. She is always inspiring, and I know she will inspire you too!

Hello! I'm Baily - a Twitter/Instagram/Blogger/FB friend of Kai's.  I am so stoked to guest post today and share some time with you!  Kai is off working, playing, and making us all jealous in New York City.  Not that her geographical location in San Diego doesn't make me jealous on the reg, because it does, but who doesn't love a getaway to the Big Apple every so often? 

 

 I'm a Florida girl who was born in North Carolina and went to school at the University of Alabama. A blend of all different kinds of Southern.  When I think about settling down and raising a family one day, I rarely imagine myself living anywhere other than below the Mason-Dixon line in some friendly community outside of some fine city of the South. I'll need to be driving-distance to my family who sprawls across the Southeast. (I received a baby nephew a week ago today and it is killing me that I'm 10 hours away now that I'm back home.  Even this seems too far!) 

It is intriguing to me when I imagine a life in San Diego - or NYC - or any of the other places that my non-Southern blog friends live - because I just don't know what it is like to live anywhere but in the South. 

From the mountains of western Carolina I moved to one of the last small-Southern towns in Florida and then on to Tuscaloosa, Alabama - right in the heart of Dixie.  I am a proud of where my roots are and I thank God every day for allowing me to live amongst steep traditions and deep accents.  Even though I am a bonified Steel Magnolia, I am blessed to have such wonderful friends from all over the country (and world!) because of the relationships built with the help of social media.  Just because I grew up in a certain region and have values that were born in the so-called 'Bible belt', doesn't mean I discriminate against any other region and there cultural preferences. 

Like for instance, I love the free-spiritedness of California.  I think Chicago is one of the coolest cities I have ever visited.  There is something magical about Manhattan.  I think Texas is a bad-ass place, and I hope they always "Keep Austin Weird."  There is nothing more breath-taking than the view at the top of the Rocky Mountains, and I think there is something sexy about Montana and all of it's open spaces.  I could eat New England chowder everyday of my life and never get sick of it (as long as it can be shipped down to Dixieland) and I hope one day I can see the dessert skies of Arizona in person.  I may be a mix of Carolina, Florida, and Alabama... but I have admiration for all sorts of places. 

I especially admire the places that my social media friends call "home."  I think it is fascinating that so many people from so many different places can come together and form a sense of community because of the technological phenomenons that our generation has been active in taking a part of. 

Since Kai is in NYC and hails from San Diego, I thought I would offer her blog some sweet Southern hospitality while she is away!

Here are a few of my favorite things about my beloved South-land: 

 Sweet Tea.

(tastes the best in a Mason jar!)

Magnolia blooms.

NASCAR.

(you either love it or hate it)

Pearls. That's all.

Cowboy boots!!!

SEC Football.

Roll Tide Roll!

Dogwood blossoms

Southern Charm at it's best.

Shrimp & Grits

The Gulf Coast's white sandy beaches.

There is an endless list of reasons why I love life in the South.  There is a sense of pride that is instilled at birth here in the South.  It is a state of mind, being a Southerner, but it is even better when you are amongst neighbors, friends, and family who have a love and respect for the same things you do.

On the other hand, though, it is another amazing state of mind to be a free-spirit who has friends all over the place.

Like I said, I am very thankful to Blogger, Twitter, FB, and the other social sites that have allowed me to meet so many awesome people and build friendships from afar.  It is a gnarley thing!

Thanks for letting me come hang out and leave a little love from the South on this awesome California girl's blog!  I look forward to having Kai as a guest blogger on my blog soon!  I have been so out of it and in a funk when it comes to blogging because of all my summer travels but hopefully I'll be back in action on the reg now that things are settling down.  Come say hi on my blog and tell me about all the things YOU love about where you come from!

Peace & Love

Baily

pickingwildflowersblog.blogspot.com

"Growing up Southern is a privilege, really.  It's more than where you're born - it's an idea, a state of mind that seems imparted at birth.  It's more than loving fried chicken, sweet tea, Friday night football, and acoustic guitars.  It's being hospitable, being devoted to front porches, MoonPies, Sun Drop, and each other.  We don't become Southern - we're born that way."