Lagniappe: from New Orleans creole; a small gift given with a purchase to a customer, by way of compliment or for good measure; bonus.
A while back I mentioned that I'm working on making a Mary garden in the little alley outside of our kitchen window. It's almost done now, except for adding the actual Mary statues. I decided to use all of the chalkware statues that have broken either in transit or after arrival, but first I needed to figure out how to fix chalkware.
In a perfect example of why Google continually mystifies me, I stumbled upon an awesome Southern blog while searching "how to repair chalkware" or some such nonsense. Glory be. Such wonders hidden in the depths of the internet. This blog didn't tell me how to repair chalkware, but it is quickly teaching me how to be the best Southern girl I can be.
Deep Fried Kudzu. Ya'll, is that not the best blog name?! I think I may have known from the Google blurb that it wasn't going to tell me how to glue the Virgin Mary's decapitated head back on, but how could you not click on a blog name like that?
The blog description and "about" blurb read:
Deep Fried Kudzu is a web page about life in the Deep South - food, restaurants, hotels, Southern culture, traditions, and folklore.
Hi, I'm Ginger, a 34-year-old, 7th-generation Alabamian.
I am a graphic designer. I like to make things look pretty.
Good Lord, does she ever.
I'm not much one for crafts (I don't even know how to work a glue gun or sew a button), but I'm all about hotels and restaurants, not to mention Southern tradition and folklore. I think I must have gotten lost on her site for hours. It was ridiculous.
Ya'll check her out and let me know what you think. The only thing I don't like is that you can't leave comments, but you can email her and she's quick to respond if she's not off gallivanting around at the Drive-In or resting her pregnant ankles at the Hotel Monteleone (one of my favorite New Orleans hotels), making Page Pebble Refrigerator Magnets, or having a little bit o' Come to Jesus at roadside groceries.
Her site makes me want to load the boys up in the car and go exploring. Take some old back roads and find more hidden treasures. The kind of hidden treasures that truly enrich your life. She makes me want to go out and touch, taste, smell, and explore.
Live a tangible life.