Grace Under Fire - fashion, food, style tips and the soulful stories of REAL women doing life on their terms.

Wedding season has arrived, and with it comes the excitement of finding the perfect dress to wear to all the upcoming nuptials. Whether you're a bridesmaid, a guest, or the mother of the bride or groom, Southern Soul Collectives has...

Without further southern gal chit-chat, here is my cake version of the famous “bunch-a-crunch” ice cream bars we used to eat in school. Your choice was either chocolate or strawberry. You couldn’t beat getting a dessert for $.25! 

There were many tears, trials and tribulations as well as joy and celebrations. My resounding theme is to be open to pivoting. You never know where you are going to land so sit back and enjoy the ride!

I was a 19 year-old teen pregnancy statistic who had big dreams of being a Photographer. Now pregnant and a Wife, I had this belief in my head that my dreams had to be put on hold to take care of my new family.

In March 2020, I was one of the millions of Americans whose job was eliminated. While most would see this as a negative as losing a job could have devastating effects, I look at this life-changing event a little differently.

How could she possibly go from a high-powered executive to an on-the-road Queen of her RV? 

If you are like me, my body shape is like a block of cheese. No curves.

I have a tendency 1. to never measure and 2. order sizes too big. In my mind I am thinking, well… I can either cinch it, sell it or eat my way into it! Don’t online shop like me, obviously!

As we inch closer towards 2022, I bet you all are wondering what fashion trends await us in the New Year. Do “trends” even apply to those of us over 40? Maybe not in their totality, but we can still take age- appropriate fashion queues from the younger fashionistas and what they are able to pull off, youthful skin and all.

With every adoring fan comes the not so adoring. How does Stefanie handle this? Although she has been known to put a sassy mouthed customer in their place (well deserved, I might add as a witness), she handles the unpleasantries with true southern grace. 

I heard a rumor that Weird Al Yankovic single handedly destroyed the coolness of these packs with one song, White & Nerdy. 

YOU REALLY CAN BE ANYTHING YOU WANT TO BE. Let that marinate……and I will repeat it. YOU REALLY CAN BE ANYTHING YOU WANT TO BE. It’s not just something your parents said to you as a child when dreaming of being a ballerina or a dinosaur.

Sooo…. I am hosting Thanksgiving this year, albeit reluctantly. I say this because being three weeks away, my type A, almost, but not quite, perfectionist personality is starting to switch gears into over drive.

According to fashion bloggers (a lot more experienced than me) this mystical, mystery outerwear is a cross between a shirt and a jacket. Pretty obvious, right? The wonderful thing about this new hybrid wear is that it is suited for...

A southern girl with an ever wandering gypsy spirit and a love for affordable fashion, Southern Soul Collectives was born from a lot of soul searching and asking myself, “what do I want to be when I grow up?” Mind you, I am in my early forties and quite the grown up so this question seems pretty silly to ask at my age. Well, let me tell you how it all began.