Southern Charm Up North: Tales of a Maine Magnolia

Southern Charm Up North: Tales of a Maine Magnolia Join me as I navigate the unique blend of cultures, climates, and cuisines that is MS-meets-ME!

Tell me I don’t have the cutest great-nephew on earth — I’ll wait.Sweet Charles is already dressed and ready for Maine i...
11/17/2025

Tell me I don’t have the cutest great-nephew on earth — I’ll wait.
Sweet Charles is already dressed and ready for Maine in his little lobstah sweater, and I swear my heart can barely stand it.

I have this dream of hosting Camp Davis every year at our place — our old 1840 home that once served on the Underground Railroad. And upstairs? Two huge rooms just begging to be bunk rooms for all our grands and greats… sleeping bags, flashlights, late-night giggles, the whole thing.

And looking at these pictures?
Y’all…
I think Charles might just be our very first camper. ❤️🦞✨

11/16/2025

So anybody who truly knows me knows I love a good prank better than life itself. I won’t crack a smile at a comedian, but let somebody fall or fart? I’m gone. Completely deceased.

Well… I made the tragic mistake of seeing a prank video the other day involving “fart spray,” and naturally my first thought was, I need that. It arrived yesterday, and right before Ricky climbed into the truck, I gave his seat a couple enthusiastic spritzes.

Let me tell you something: this smell does not fade. It grows. It evolves. It becomes sentient.

He sat down, and the look on his face was PRICELESS. Now keep in mind, I’ve got a colonoscopy later this week, so after a few seconds of trying to pretend he didn’t notice anything, Ricky looked over and said, “Damn, honey…”

I was already wheezing, tears rolling, trying to say, “It’s not that bad…”

Then he asked if I’d already taken “a couple of those pills” for my test. At that point I was laughing so hard I was basically praying for oxygen.

A second later he gagged, rolled his window down so fast it nearly flew off, and proceeded to express—very passionately—his thoughts about cow p**p, my internal organs, and a certain unspeakable act he was absolutely convinced I had performed in my pants.

Y’all… I am STILL crying-laughing every time I think about it. That man is going to put me in the ground one of these days, but yesterday? Yesterday was worth every single tear.

I rarely fix dessert… but that may officially change after today.Y’all — Nigella Lawson’s Chocolate Guinness Cake might ...
11/16/2025

I rarely fix dessert… but that may officially change after today.
Y’all — Nigella Lawson’s Chocolate Guinness Cake might just be the one that converts me.

It’s rich without being too sweet, deep and dark with that little whisper of stout that makes the chocolate taste even more chocolatey. Pure heaven.

And after a dinner of filet mignon, with asparagus, and portobello mushroom risotto that could make a grown man cry… this cake was the perfect ending to a perfect meal.

Recipe in the comments — and trust me, you’ll want it.



The winner of the Bixby Chocolate Advent Calendar is Tami Turner! Congratulations Tami!
11/13/2025

The winner of the Bixby Chocolate Advent Calendar is Tami Turner! Congratulations Tami!

✨ A Maine Magnolia Start to the Holidays — and a Sweet Giveaway to Go With It! 🎄🍫

The holidays have a way of stirring up the sweetest memories — the smell of something baking, the hum of laughter from another room, the quiet moment when the tree lights are the only glow in the house.

This season, I wanted to share something that captures a bit of that warmth — Bixby Chocolate, one of my favorite Maine-made treasures. Handcrafted right here in Maine, their chocolate tastes like care and comfort wrapped up in one perfect bite.

To celebrate, we’re giving away a Bixby Chocolate Advent Calendar — a little daily joy as you count down to Christmas.

To enter, just tell us about your favorite holiday tradition in the comments below.
💫 Bonus entries for liking and sharing this post!

Giveaway ends 11/12/2025, and the winner’s calendar will be mailed right to your door — from Maine, with love. ❤️

Learn more about the heart (and art) behind this beautiful chocolate here:
🔗 https://bixbychocolate.com/

11/11/2025

Being a veteran in 2025 is… complicated. I see the dysfunction. I hear the nastiness. I feel the weight of the ineptitude from people in leadership who should know better. And yet — in spite of all of it — there is still a fierce, unshakable pride beating in this American heart.

Because my service was never about politicians.
It was never about parties or popularity.
It was about people.
It was about home.
It was about my kids, your kids, and the generations who deserve a country better than what we’re watching play out right now.

This video — Clara singing God Bless the USA while Chess keeps the beat — is my every “why.” My whole heart in motion. Standing as Grand Marshal of the parade with my children beside me… that was one of the greatest honors of my life. Pride, joy, gratitude — all wrapped up in that moment I’ll carry forever.

And it reminded me of something important:
I may not wear the uniform anymore, but the fight didn’t end when I came home. I will always speak up. I will never sit quietly. And I will protect their rights — and yours — with every ounce of courage this country taught me.

Because America is still worth fighting for.
Because freedom is still sacred.
Because the soul of this nation belongs to its people, not the ones shouting the loudest or dividing the deepest.

Happy Veterans Day. May we honor not just the service, but the responsibility that comes with loving this country enough to want it to be better.

🇺🇸❤️

✨ A Maine Magnolia Start to the Holidays — and a Sweet Giveaway to Go With It! 🎄🍫The holidays have a way of stirring up ...
11/08/2025

✨ A Maine Magnolia Start to the Holidays — and a Sweet Giveaway to Go With It! 🎄🍫

The holidays have a way of stirring up the sweetest memories — the smell of something baking, the hum of laughter from another room, the quiet moment when the tree lights are the only glow in the house.

This season, I wanted to share something that captures a bit of that warmth — Bixby Chocolate, one of my favorite Maine-made treasures. Handcrafted right here in Maine, their chocolate tastes like care and comfort wrapped up in one perfect bite.

To celebrate, we’re giving away a Bixby Chocolate Advent Calendar — a little daily joy as you count down to Christmas.

To enter, just tell us about your favorite holiday tradition in the comments below.
💫 Bonus entries for liking and sharing this post!

Giveaway ends 11/12/2025, and the winner’s calendar will be mailed right to your door — from Maine, with love. ❤️

Learn more about the heart (and art) behind this beautiful chocolate here:
🔗 https://bixbychocolate.com/

Some days just call for soup — not the fancy kind, not the kind you plan ahead for — just a warm, cozy bowl that feels l...
11/04/2025

Some days just call for soup — not the fancy kind, not the kind you plan ahead for — just a warm, cozy bowl that feels like home.

Today it’s Chicken & Wild Rice Soup, the kind that fills the kitchen with the smell of thyme and butter and makes you slow down just a bit.

There’s something about the sound of a spoon against a pot, the steam fogging up the windows, and the first bite of something familiar that heals a little part of you.

Maybe that’s why I love this season so much — it’s not loud or flashy. It’s quiet and nourishing. Like a soup that doesn’t try too hard.

🐓Recipe in comments 🐓

Chicken, thyme, and a little lemon magic — bubbling away while the world slows down. Cozy season is officially in sessio...
11/01/2025

Chicken, thyme, and a little lemon magic — bubbling away while the world slows down. Cozy season is officially in session, y’all. 💛

Today’s the day I’ve dreaded for ten days.That familiar ache hit the moment I woke up — the one that comes when it’s tim...
10/27/2025

Today’s the day I’ve dreaded for ten days.
That familiar ache hit the moment I woke up — the one that comes when it’s time to leave Maine. You’d think I’d be used to it by now, but it never gets easier.

I have a beautiful life — Mississippi included — but my heart? It lives somewhere between the rocky coast, the salt air, and the chatter of crows in the pines.

We wrapped up this stay surrounded by awesome new friends and a whole lot of laughter, and I’m already counting the days until I’m back.

Until then… if someone would kindly feed my crows, my squirrel (yes, I know he’s fat), and my sweet little chipmunk in the woodpile, I’d be most grateful.

P.S. They prefer their eggs scrambled. 🖤

10/26/2025
When life gives you apple cider, caramel vodka, and champagne…You don’t follow a recipe — you make one up.And y’all… it’...
10/25/2025

When life gives you apple cider, caramel vodka, and champagne…
You don’t follow a recipe — you make one up.
And y’all… it’s delicious. 🍂🥂

Caramel Apple Cider Mimosa

Ingredients:
• 3 oz apple cider (chilled)
• 3 oz champagne
• 1 oz Kissed Caramel vodka

To make:
1. Rim your glass with a little caramel sauce and dip in cinnamon sugar if you’d like. (I did not)
2. Pour the apple cider and caramel vodka into a flute.
3. Top slowly with champagne.
4. Garnish with a thin apple slice or cinnamon stick.

✨ Tastes like a caramel apple in a glass - sweet, crisp, and bubbly.

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Stockton Springs, ME
04981

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+16626439433

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