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Essays
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Celebrating My “Mother of Affection”
In the summer of my eighth grade, I moved with my adoptive mother and stepfather to a beautiful, quaint community that had been seriously marred by escalating drug abuse at that time. Only a few weeks into the school year,…
Mother Knows Best
Without saying a word, my mother taught me a truth that has set me free. I was a teenager when my 39-year-old, stay-at-home mom decided to become a nurse. She did not drive, and we lived on a lake in…
Bad Boy! Bad Boy!
My second son’s third kid, three-and-a-half months old, was soon to be christened. Although we couldn’t make it to the baptisms of the older two, we decided we’d trek up to New York for this one. Also, it was the…
The Language of Kindness
My son, Evan, was born with a kind and generous spirit. It was recognizable from an early age when he demonstrated concern for his friends and family members. People complimented my husband and me and told us we were doing…
Cover Artist: Yvonne Coleman Burney
As a self-taught artist, Yvonne Coleman Burney discovered the child inside her, which is an element that has remained a key ingredient in the evolution of her art. Her work has always had a collage focus as she creates colorful…
Lady Luck & Fashion
by Erika Hoffman On Facebook, my friend Laura posted a score she’d obtained playing WORDLE. “What’s WORDLE?” I asked under the post. She replied by posting the UK link. The first time I played, I guessed the five-letter word in…
White is fine… Anytime!
“No white until Easter” is a fashion rule Sasee women chose to stop following a long time ago. And not only do white jeans match everything, but they also add an elevated touch that blue denim often cannot. White jeans…
Home Reflections
Robin and I were new acquaintances with a lot in common. We were both about the same 60 something age and had moved from the northeast to South Carolina with our husbands. I was excited to be invited to tour…
Sasee Gets Personal with Monica Vogel: Bleu
“I owe my passion for fashion all to her!” Monica stated when speaking of her mother. Monica grew up in a small town in Illinois, about 50 miles from Chicago. The youngest of four girls, her Mom loved to shop,…
Pretty in Pink
The classic jean jacket is positioned squarely at the top of our list of outerwear essentials for 2022. The light denim layer has been around for decades and continues to go beyond seasons and trends, regardless of your personal taste.…
Dress Relief
There are two types of people in this world: those who think cleaning out closets is a chore, and those who consider this project one of life’s most satisfying events. I’m in the latter camp. I live in an older…
Scents, You Ask
Whenever I unpack something of my grandmother’s from storage, there wafts a soft, powdery fragrance that calls her to mind and I can see her as though she were standing next to me, black hair pulled back in a headband…
Lavender
Pink. So, so much pink. When I was little, it was like I lived off the color. Drawing my energy and life force from the vibrantly colored dye. Oh, and dresses, and skirts. I fought with my mother anytime she…
Cover Artist: Heatherlee Chan
Heatherlee Chan’s paintings tell stories centered upon whimsy, romance, and nature. Painting images of book-loving girls and friendship are especially close to her heart. Entirely self-taught, Heatherlee’s watercolor art now decorates products across the marketplace including tabletop, kitchen textiles, stationery,…
Blossoms for Books
In 2021, The Friends of the Waccamaw Library (FOWL) hosted their first-ever Blossoms for Books Garden Tour. This fundraiser was created as a safe and Covid-friendly way to raise money that specifically benefits the Waccamaw Library, as many of FOWL’s…
From Crop Failure to a Harvest of Friendship
When we lived in a house with its own yard, I reigned. But when we downsized to a condo townhouse, I only ruled a patio and had access to the homeowners association’s modest garden plot that had lain fallow for…
Sasee Gets Personal with Sharon Turner: Creative Landscapes
As a Georgetown native and Clemson University graduate with a Horticulture and Landscape Design degree, Sharon became the owner of Creative Landscapes in 1979. Although her business offers outdoor space designs and installations, she loves to garden at home during…
Nicole Saenz: Best Buds Creating Community Love
Taking care of her house plants was Nicole’s favorite way of relaxing between a long day of working a stressful 9-5 job and family time in the evening. Once she lost her healthcare position, due to the pandemic, she started…
Terri Springs: Life is a Garden, Grow with it
As a child, Terri learned about symmetry, color, and texture from her father. She explained, “He had a mindset for designing beautiful things; he was an artist in many ways.” She was the one outside with him creating and keeping…
The Campout
As friendships go, Alta, Cindi, Kim, and I made a good foursome. Alta and I were best friends and Cindi and Kim were best friends, all in seventh grade. We hung out at school, sat together at church, and went…