I spent most of my free time over the holidays catching up on my Criterion Collection watch list. I guess it was to combat my brain turning to mush from too many Hallmark holiday movies? I've always loved older movies, so it was a no-brainer for me to subscribe to the Criterion Collection earlier this …
Southern Squared’s Summer Reading List
School started this week in Georgia, and like quite a few students this year, this 42-year old is learning outside of the classroom from her home. Okay, so my reading assignments aren't quite Catcher in the Rye, the Great Gatsby and Madame Bovary like in Mrs. Tomblin' 10th grade American Literature or Mrs. Epperson's AP …
Southern Squared Reads
Many of my friends and family know that I am a voracious reader. As a child, I could usually be found reading a book, even when it was bedtime, and I hid under the covers with a flashlight. No meal was complete without a book in front of my plate. No road trip could begin …
Atlanta’s turbulent relationship with historic preservation
If you're from Atlanta, you've heard the jokes. Atlanta loves to tear down history and build new or just make everything parking.In 1959, Atlanta literally razed a 80 year old, 7 story building to build a parking deck which still stands today, 61 years later. The Kimball House was built in 1885 to replace the …
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I want to be Julia Sugarbaker when I grow up
My latest binge-fest has been Designing Women. I'm making my way through the 80's - Golden Girls was last month's infatuation. I never got to watch these shows when I was a kid because we were limited to one tv show per week, and we picked The Cosby Show. Needless to say, I just don't …
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Capitol idea on a Friday morning
Sitting around for the last few months while job hunting, I realized there are so many things to do around the city during the day that I could never do when I had a full-time job. So when I'm not freelance writing, working part-time in a retail store, or interviewing for that dream job, I …
Beyond Ellis Island: Immigration after 1954
I'm embarking on a project that has been on my mind since 2008 when I first visited Ellis Island and had my first glimpse of the Statue of Liberty. I wondered, what was the process for immigrants after Ellis Island closed in 1954? For immigrants like my grandfather? In 2008 when I first thought about …
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Classic Christmas Flix
Before Hallmark, Netflix and Lifetime filled our heads with fairytale romances with awful scripts and the same plot, Christmas movies featured a variety of themes, genres and plots. Some funny, cute, dramatic, and all heartwarming enough to cool even Scrooge's cold heart, they provided a variety to choose from that you would be hard pressed …
Thankful
I am thankful to have family all over the world. I am thankful that I was able to visit my family in India two years ago with my parents. I am thankful that just this past year, I have visited family in Louisiana (twice!), San Diego, Las Vegas, New York and now, Tucson this weekend. …
Movies That Moved Me
Movies have been an integral part of my life. At one point in high school, I wanted to be a film critic. I did a study abroad program through the University of Georgia that allowed us to write critiques and reviews of films, plays, concerts and art shows. I worked at Blockbuster Video for 3 …