on the road: oxford, mississippi

In the heart of northwest Mississippi is the small town of Oxford, home of the University of Mississippi.

Other than the University, the crown jewel of Oxford is the historic town square. It has been painstakingly preserved and is home to the beautiful courthouse and many of the best restaurants in the city. The smells alone are worth a visit. After a meal, visitors and locals alike enjoy people watching and strolling through the many quaint, locally owned shops. Square Books, Off Square Books and Neilson's Department Store are our personal favorites, and we rarely leave town without a new book or three. 

A short walk from the square leads to Ole Miss where the Lyceum, Ventress Hall and the Grove are the most well known and photographed landmarks. While we are partial to Oxford in the spring and early summer, everyone should experience football season in Oxford at least once. Tailgating is an art form, the people watching is off the charts and of course SEC football is the best in the country. 

Oxford is distinctly Southern with a rich literary history and a growing reputation as a mecca for food and the arts. April is a great time to visit -- there's the Double Decker Arts Festival on April 25 and 26 and plenty of Ole Miss sports to enjoy the rest of the month.

I want to have a picnic in the Grove before the summer heat sets in....

family stories: jennie moore cannon

Jennie Moore Cannon was my grandfather's mother. Sadly, she died in 1920 as a consequence of his birth. When I was young, my grandfather told me he was born prematurely, and they put him in the oven to keep him warm. Recently, my aunt told me that the doctors wanted Jennie to have an abortion to save her life, but she bravely refused. She is buried in a field near Sweeny, Texas.

After she died, my great-grandfather left my grandfather to be raised by Jennie's mother, Martha, and her second husband, Jacob Van Bibber, in Corinth, Mississippi. He returned to Texas for work, but he was in and out of my grandfather's life.

The photograph below shows my great-great-grandmother Martha and her husband Jacob, their two children Jake and Mayme Van Bibber, and Jennie and Andy Moore, Martha's children from her first marriage. The Van Bibbers, my grandfather and his father are all buried in Henry Cemetery in Corinth, Mississippi. 

why mississippi?

The South has been my home for 22 of my 30 years. Before I found myself in the small town of Booneville, Mississippi, I called the Royal Boroughs of Windsor and Maidenhead in Berkshire, England my home.

People always want to know how my family ended up in Mississippi. It's a long story, but this article sums it up quite nicely. A chance meeting over tennis initiated a love story that would span the generations. It would eventually lead my grandparents back to Italy for 30 years, where my American born father would meet my American born mother, who was studying abroad in Rome. My dad's career in the music industry sent them to England, where my sister and I were welcomed into the world. My grandparents retired to Mississippi in 1990, and our family joined them two years later. Because my parents chose Mississippi over California (where Joan lived), and my grandparents retired to Booneville instead of Meridian or Corinth (where they had previously lived), I shared a hometown with my future husband. Although our own love story didn't begin until we became neighbors (also by chance) at the University of Mississippi, many of our childhood memories and acquaintances are the same. After college, Jonathan's career brought us across the state line to Tennessee. At that time, we were ready for a break from Mississippi. We needed a fresh start.

Over the past eight years, we have happily adopted Tennessee as our new home, but all it takes is a weekend trip to Mississippi to remember where we -- and our parents, grandparents, great-grandparents and great-great-grandparents before us -- began. This article is a brilliant reminder that Mississippi is very much a part of our past, present and future. Our roots will always run back to Mississippi.

on the road: taylor, mississippi

A few miles down the road from Oxford, Mississippi is the village of Taylor. Taylor occupies 4.1 miles and boasts a population of less than 500. To call it a village is a bit of an overstatement, but what it lacks in size, it makes up for in charm.

It's the kind of place where dogs sit in the back of pickup trucks while their owners eat dinner at Taylor Grocery, the local catfish joint. Dogs, rusty pick up trucks and tin roofs are the norm here. The pace is slow. The line in front of the restaurant is out the door, so everyone drinks their beverage of choice in the parking lot while they wait. On certain nights, a local band serenades patrons while they eat dinner off red and white checked tablecloths. The grilled catfish is delicious, the hushpuppies are decadent and the only thing missing from the entire experience is sweet tea served in Mason jars. When the rest of the world thinks of the South, they think of a place like Taylor. Taylor doesn't disappoint.

And just to further prove that we're crazy about dogs in the South, here are a few photos of our dog Porter playing with his new lab cousin Easton.

Neither one would sit in the back of a truck to wait for us to finish dinner.

City dogs...