There is only one man in the world allowed to take care of me.

I have a pretty good track record with males in my life. And I think my luck, or good judge of character, can be traced back to the very first male in my life- my father. This is a man who laughed instead of getting angry when my brother and I accidentally set the toaster on fire. A funny man with leathery skin that smelled like summer after he would mow our lawn. A man who taught me to make the gooiest grilled cheese sandwiches, the value of working hard, and the art of asking for help. Financial adviser, roadside assistance operator, and giver of honest hugs.

I was able to be home on the day we are told to honor and recognize all the father figures in our lives. We celebrated with church, a trip to Best Buy (how cliché) and arguing over who would fill my car with gas (I lost...surprise surprise. I'm a spoiled girl, but at least I know I'm spoiled, right?)

I was also home long enough to scrounge up these gems of us in all our 80s glory.

Weekend Lessons

Summertime is here, and that means great live music in abundance. Sadly though, almost all of these shows require a bit of travel, and travel requires tanks of extremely pricey gas. So even though one of my favorite bands was playing at one of my favorite venues this weekend, I opted to play it cheap and find adventures here in town.

I finally visited the local art museum, and while the flashy Egyptian exhibit was impressive, I was drawn mostly to two smaller galleries upstairs. One displayed the amazing photographs from Constantine Manos' book, "A Greek Portfolio." The other was a small collection of etchings by Alfred Hutty depicting Charleston and various lowcountry beauty. Hutty arrived in Charleston in 1919 and immediately sent his wife the message, "Come Quickly. Have Found Heaven." Oh Al. I know exactly how you feel.

In addition to the museum, I fought off the triple-digit heat by lounging in the pool, hopping from one air conditioned boutique to another, and grabbing gigantic iced mochas from Adriana's. I also realized that Publix commercials will make me tear up for the rest of my life (have you seen the new Father's Day one? I'm such a sap), and that I could probably spend entire Sunday mornings in bed (and probably would if the sun didn't come out).

It was a good weekend. But that doesn't mean I'm not willing to travel for some of the good music happening this summer. Who's with me?