Southern Style

 

When I was a little kid, we would go to a local amusement park named Six Flags, theoretically titled for the Six Flags ( i.e. nations, historical periods, or cultures) that influenced the history of the Lone Star State. There was Little Mexico with the giant sombrero ride and taco stands, (hey, we never claimed to be P.C.), a Wild Wild West Frontier Town that had a shootout every day and a steak restaurant, a bunch of others I can't remember ....somehow Space The Final Frontier seems to have been rolled in as Future-ville, also maybe something French although I can't remember what - a pirate ride named  after LaSalle?  Oddly, Germantown didn't even rate a section, although the German settlers were at one time among our state's largest, and contributed importantly to our local cuisine, which is why Texans eat Bar-B-Que and brats together. Somewhere in this mix was Southern -ville, with a faux Mississippi Riverboat ride. All that fun is now just a baby boomer's memory; Six Flags has since morphed into a national chain with cartoon character super hero based theme rides.

My point is that Texas does see itself as a part of the South; it was a member of the Confederacy, had slaves, shared an initial agrarian economy. Early settlers were from Kentucky, Alabama, Tennessee. That's part of what makes Texas unique - this blend of cultures. Southern culture is just as important as the better known southwestern food, music, decor, religion, fashion, economic lifestyle in Texas, especially among older, moneyed Texans. The region of East Texas identifies closely with Louisiana and other parts south, and my own mother was a typical little old lady from East Texas who spent her life visiting flower shows, cooking southern food, shopping at Neiman's - all staple activities.

The magazine Southern Living has been  Bible of sorts for the lifestyle ever since I can remember . If you want recipes, gardening, shopping and decorating info, this is your go-to source.

http://www.southernliving.com/home-garden/

Recently (at my hairdresser's, so typical) I discovered a new fave magazine that celebrates the southern lifestyle, Garden and Gun. What I especially like about this publication /website is that : a) it is very upscale  b)it covers other aspects of the culture, such as: the arts, literature, travel, history, culture/pop culture and shopping.
http://gardenandgun.com/