The Story Behind Parlour and Porch

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Parlour & Porch was born from something very simple—and very real. As I’ve gotten older (and yes, I’ve earned every one of these 70 years), I realized that my world had quietly become smaller. I had downsized my home, which meant I no longer had the space—or the energy—to entertain the way I once did. Friendships that once filled my calendar had faded over time. Life happened. People moved. Connections loosened.
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And somewhere along the way, I noticed I wasn’t socializing much at all. Wedowee is a small town with a big lake in its backyard. That lake is the reason many of us are here. It draws people from all over—retirees, dreamers, second-chance seekers—hoping for a slower pace and a fuller life. I’m one of them. 

Through my years of publishing the magazine, I heard the same quiet refrain from women again and again:
“There’s just not much to do here.” 
Not because they were bored—but because they were longing. They want a connection. Conversation. Friendship. Something beyond the lake, especially for those who live here year-round.
They weren’t asking for nightlife or noise.
They were asking for a place to belong.

Parlour & Porch is my answer to that longing—mine and theirs.
It’s a space created for people to gather without pressure, without pretense, and without needing an invitation to someone’s living room. It’s for games and laughter, learning and lingering, for showing up exactly as you are and knowing there will be a chair waiting.
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Because sometimes community doesn’t magically appear.
Sometimes you have to build the porch yourself—and invite people to sit a while.