No, Really, You SHOULDN’T HAVE. Top 10 gift ideas to skip this year
Friends, we’ve all had a rough year, and we most definitely should commemorate the end of 2020 by exchanging tokens of affection and friendship. After all, nothing says “happy holidays, and congrats on surviving this insane year” like swapping thoughtful gifts over food and cocktails. This year, however, there are guidelines, and there are certain gifts that should be left off of Santa’s list. Not sure what you’re getting people yet? Allow us to narrow it down by process of elimination. Here are 10 gifts that 2020 has deemed either redundant, inappropriate or just plumb useless. You’re welcome in advance for saving you money.
Service You Can Count On: Kelca Counters celebrates 20 years of rock-solid reliability in creating beautiful kitchens
In the year 2000, Michael Kelca was forced to make a complete change in careers when he was employed by an area quartz distributor as controller, and the only option of compensation was to trade some slabs for salary owed. Prior to this, Michael had always worked in corporate finance, traveling the country auditing various mills and manufacturers. The countertop world was one that he found intriguing. He has a natural talent for art and creating and loves a good day of hard work. To turn slabs into countertops and other surfaces was a challenge he welcomed. He was determined to make lemonade out of sour grapes!
WHAT ABOUT ME? Self-care: The gift that keeps on giving
Raise your hand if you are exhausted: your multi-tasking, people-pleasing personality keeps you going through the motions, but your body, mind and spirit are screaming for a break. If you find yourself living in this constant state of stress and overwhelm—taking care of everybody else’s needs with no time for yourself—stop it! Because running around like a headless chicken is (a) unattractive (b) draining the life out of you, and © stealing your joy. It’s time to start looking out for number one.
Pandemic Panacea: Improve your mental health with these natural remedies
Can’t concentrate? Can’t sleep? Can’t stop binge-eating your feelings? In a year of unparalleled anxiety—from Covid-19 to an election year for the books—people everywhere are sharing stories of stress eating, binge drinking, cancelling appointments (who can possibly sit through any more Zoom meetings?), and putting themselves to bed for a week.
Musicians in Bathrooms Featuring Quintin Smalls
A Q&A with Local Artists
The New Face of Kitchens: N-Hance offers two cost-saving solutions for putting a fresh face on your cabinets.
All year, you tried your best not to look at your dreary, dated kitchen cabinets.
With lockdown, it got even harder. Suddenly you found yourself housebound, the entire world now shrunk to the space within your four walls.
Budget Blinds Hilton Head & Beaufort: Where window solutions are made simple
Blinds, shades, shutters—what is the difference? And is neutral the way to go, or is this a good time to spring for pattern and color? What about installation, embellishments? And before we go any further, how much will I have to spend?
Egan + Ella Boutique: Experience the empowerment and confidence that comes with the right outfit
Passion peeks out from behind a hot pink facemask as Afton Ryan calls a cheerful, “welcome in” to the customer who has just stepped into her charming Bluffton boutique, Egan + Ella. In spite of a pandemic that shut her doors just three months after opening, Ryan’s eyes gleam with a contagious energy you’ll want to catch.
Pilates Hilton Head: The workout that works for every body
I don’t want a flat stomach,” said no person on the planet ever. If you’re still walking around with that stubborn belly pooch in spite of all the crunches, planks and mountain climbers you’ve been doing (or not!), it might be time to add Pilates to your workout routine.
Moving Forward: Perhaps no field has been rocked by the pandemic as much as education. But at Hilton Head Prep, a swift response and an emphasis on safety has helped keep standards high.
It can be a little tricky to take the long view these days, with so much still so uncertain about what the next few months or even the next year will bring. But one thing is certain: each of us is going to have a “where I was when the pandemic broke out story” that we’ll carry around forever. Much in the same way you may remember where you were when you heard Kennedy had been killed, you’ll be able to recall exactly what those first few weeks were like. For educators, those stories will be particularly harrowing.
Taking Back Soundboy Sunday
Before they were the Traveling Wilburys, they were just Jeff, Bob, Roy, George and Tom—five guys who had already changed the world of music. When they came together to form the legendary supergroup, it wasn’t because of each individual’s status in the pantheon of rock gods. It was because they just enjoyed hanging out with each other.
Fore the Love of the Game: 8 Local Golf Professionals
If you really want to learn about anything, you should take notes from those at the top of their game.
That’s exactly what we did this month as we interviewed eight local golf professionals who represent some of the best clubs in the Lowcountry. In addition to the CH2 girls getting a lesson from each (see the video on our Facebook page), we chatted with the pros about where they like to play golf, which club they like using the best and what tournament is the most fun to watch.
On Course to Live the Dream: After a decorated junior and collegiate career, Bluffton’s Bryson Nimmer is scoring wins en route to PGA stardom
Even when you’re a first-team All-American and ACC Player of the Year and have a family name synonymous with success like Bryson Nimmer, there is no magical fast pass to PGA Tour fame. To earn stardom among thousands of wannabe legends, the 23-year-old Bluffton native knows he must first surrender to the process—one to two years on development tours (the PGA’s minor leagues), constant travel, and Monday PGA Tour qualifier pressure cookers, fighting for a big-league tee time in tourney fields full of teen phenoms and 50-year-old former stars.
The Lens Man Behind an Online Golf Revolution: Odds are if you’ve watched a golf instruction video online, Dave Lavery crafted it.
Dave Lavery was a known commodity in the Lowcountry creative community long before he had the best five-minute meeting of his life. He’s had news footage on every national network, won a litany of awards for his commercials and short films, and impressed national brands and worldwide celebrities with his videography.
Editor’s Note: November 2020
Why are YOU here? This is a question I ask myself a lot about people in my life. I think the universe/God/the spaghetti monster (shout-out Kelly Stroud)/whomever or whatever you believe in, puts people in our life for a reason. Some are meant to bring joy; others are...
Changing the Game: Teeing off for the very first time this November, the Elite Invitational aims to welcome the next generation of golfers to the pros
Mason Carmel is not your typical golf instructor. That’s not to say in any way that he isn’t an effective golf instructor. Far from it. It’s just that there’s a maverick streak in him that urges him to zig when others zag.
The Rockin’ Realtors: Dream sellers by day, melody makers by night: meet this quartet who achieve peak bliss at the intersection of music and real estate
They are two professions at the core of the growth and soul of Hilton Head Island. Yet, while there are more than 3,000 registered real estate agents in the Lowcountry, only a handful of those realtors are getting paid doing the musical side hustle.
Weathering the Storm: Anderson Insurance Associates
After successfully and innovatively writing insurance on the coast since 1981, what better move for Anderson Insurance Associates than to expand into one of the greatest coastal locations: Hilton Head Island?
Beaufort Memorial opens Okatie Medical Pavilion
Finding high-quality healthcare is about to get easier for residents of southern Beaufort and Jasper counties. This month, Beaufort Memorial Hospital (BMH) will open its long-awaited Okatie Medical Pavilion, offering a wide array of practices and services from basic primary care to complicated cancer treatments.
Finding Contentment: A personal journey to joy
If there was an advantage of growing up poor, it was not knowing I was poor. You can’t long for or miss what you don’t know exists.
First Tee – The Lowcountry: Beyond the green: building a brighter future, one duffer at a time
On paper, First Tee exists to teach young people the game of golf. But then again, on paper, the game of golf is just putting a ball into a tiny hole. Like so many things, it’s not about the goal, but how you get there.
Investing in People and Services Key to Treasurer’s Office Success
Invest in resiliency. It sounds like a catchphrase you might hear in a commercial, but for Beaufort County Treasurer Maria Walls, CPA, it became a mantra and a concept to live up to, both in leading her staff and delivering services for residents.
Musicians in Bathrooms featuring Silicone Sister
A Q&A with Taime Downz, Billy C, Rob Foxx, and Jani St. James
A Note from Mayor Sulka: Welcome Police Chief Stephenie Price!
Bluffton’s new police chief was sworn in on Monday, October 12, and on behalf of Town Council, Town Manager Marc Orlando and all the men and women who serve the Bluffton community, we are thrilled she is here. Chief Price was the former assistant chief of police for Savannah, Georgia, and she plans to make Bluffton her new home. Her conviction, compassion and dedicated to best practices made her shine among the more than 100 candidates who applied for this position.
A Note from Mayor McCann: 2020-2040 Comprehensive Plan Guides the Way
You may be familiar with Benjamin Franklin’s quote, “If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail.” What I know for sure is our town is never planning to fail, and we never fail to plan. Planning is synonymous with all of our actions, and we rely on the planning process to guide our path forward to the future.
Forsythe Jewelers Presents Marco Bicego Jewelry: Trunk Show, Nov. 19-21
Since 1981, Forsythe Jewelers has been bringing the world’s best designer jewelry and gifts to Hilton Head Island. Carrying the most popular designer brands, this family-owned business delivers an unhurried, small-town shopping experience to every customer who enters the store. Over the past three decades, Forsythe Jewelers has established itself as an island landmark, where customers are able to slow down and shop at a pace that only a vacation can provide.
A Lowcountry Thanksgiving: Traditions and Recipes
Here in the Lowcountry, we find no shortage of things for which to be thankful: beautiful surroundings, good-hearted neighbors, and delicious food abound. Thanksgiving is a time to express gratitude, tell the stories of our history, honor long-standing traditions and share an indulgent meal with the people we love most.
Farm-to-Table Holiday
We live in an ideal place for growing delicious produce: rich soil, plenty of rain and sunshine, and temperate winters make the Lowcountry a farmer’s paradise. From watermelon to peaches, sweet potatoes to peanuts, The Palmetto State produces countless agricultural crops year-round. This time of year, sweet potatoes, greens like kale and collards, carrots and herbs are all being harvested by local farmers right here in our community. What better way to enjoy the holidays than by building a feast around locally grown foods sure to impress your guests, delight your tastebuds and nourish your body well, all while supporting your neighbors who love cultivating this land we call home.
A Matter of Trust: Light, open and airy, this Hampton Hall home exemplifies Lowcountry coastal chic. But the story it tells goes far beyond bricks and beams.
Imagine yourself moving down here for the first time. Let’s even imagine that you’re moving down here all the way from Ohio (and statistically, you probably did). Now imagine trying to coordinate the building of a home—not just any home, but your dream home—over the phone. Through Facetime. Through text messages. Now try to imagine doing all that in the middle of a global pandemic.
Don’t Fear the Boom: 2020 has been a bit of a nightmare. Just don’t tell that to our local real estate market, where we’re waking up to unprecedented success.
In the real estate world, there’s a certain hesitance to use the word “boom.” A decade since the housing bubble burst, lingering memories remain of the downward spiral that followed the dizzying heights of the early 2000s. For every boom, it stands to reason, there must be a bust.