We Are Becoming True Southerners
When we relocated to Bluffton, South Carolina a little less that 2 years ago, we noticed that almost all of the homes in our neighborhood had beautiful porches.

Our home is no exception. We LOVE having this special spot to sit, relax, read and of course enjoy a sweet tea. Porches are a perfect place to keep cool, shaded and to have a refreshing iced sweet tea OR a chilled glass of Sauvignon Blanc after a long, hot day.

Porch Sittin’ Is Becoming One Of Our Favorite Pastimes!
Evidently, “porch sittin” is a “southern thing”. In fact, a couple of months ago, a friend and I attended a fundraiser that featured a Porch Stroll.
What a fun concept! We drove to the charming town of Summerville, which is located just outside of Charleston. We were able to tour so many beautiful homes, B&Bs and all with the most inviting porches.
Each of the homes had treats, sweet tea and entertainment for us to enjoy. We love our tea with lemon and fresh mint from our new raised garden (pictures to follow). We ALWAYS have an abundance of lemons for cooking and of course ready for some sweet tea.

Summerville Is As Sweet As Sweet Tea
Summerville is recognized as the “Birthplace of Sweet Tea”, so we thought we should venture out to see what this is all about. The town is so quaint, and the people we met were as sweet as the tea they are famous for.
After our visit to Summerville, it just seemed to make sense to “spruce up” our front porch. We cleaned and gave our chairs a fresh coat of paint, added some ceiling fans and a new hanging fixture. And, we added another special touch.
If you have ever traveled to the south, you may have noticed that many of the ceilings on the porches are painted a light blue color. There is a reason for this and southerners take this very seriously.
No Evil Spirits For Us
We want to fit in to our new environment, so now our ceiling is painted a light blue called “haint blue”. People in the south paint their ceilings haint blue in order to repel evil spirits. The color was meant to look like water in an effort to keep the haints or spirits away. Well, we definitely do not want any haints or spirits here – oh no!
Also, another benefit to painting your ceiling haint blue is that it is supposed to keeps bugs away. Evidently, they see the blue color and think it is the sky and do not settle there. We shall see if this is true. Stay tuned.
Let’s Just “Chill”
Anyway, we are embracing our new home here in Bluffton and loving all that it has to offer. It is the perfect place to slow down a bit, take time to enjoy life and just CHILL. Anyone that knows me, knows that slowing down is a bit of a challenge for me, but I am working on it and this is the perfect place to be.