Be Bella

Ladonna Armstrong

October 6, 2020

Publisher’s Letter From Your Fearless Leader

“If ever there is a tomorrow when we’re not together, there is something you must always remember. You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think. But the most important thing is, even if we’re apart, I’ll always be with you.”

A. A. Milne

It is Fall Y’all! The air is crisp and the leaves are beginning to change. The colorful pallet across the earth sparks vibes of creativity and stirs my soul. Inspiration appears in the pumpkins adorning doorways and leaves gently falling from the trees. This month’s issue is all about creativity.

We have been joyfully getting creative with ideas as we mold and grow our Bella. After all “The Change” in last month’s issue, we are deepening our roots to prepare for our future growth. These are exciting times!

Bella Magazine has been a tradition in the Aiken community for decades as it sought to bring the community together through local history, arts, culture, humor, stories, projects, events, engagements, and valuable information useful to those who live near us. With the world continually growing and changing, and with all of the negative messages that seem to press on all of us daily, the Bella Magazine team has resolved to focus increasingly on helping people find the positive lining in even the hardest of times.

Our goal is to be your resource for health, fitness, friendships, relationships, events, and more, as we struggle and celebrate together. We are focusing on how we can all collectively be better — Be Bella.

We are excited to add many new creative voices to Bella this month. Heading up our online content is our new Digital Director Julie Keating. She is the Cruise Director on the Love Boat of relationship advice. Find her article “An Impossible Mission: Getting a Narcissist to Chase You” online, along with many others chock full of creative ways to evaluate your relationships.

For a creative way of getting outside for some health and wellness, walk through the labyrinth at Hopelands Gardens here in Aiken. We welcome new writer Julie A. Starr to the Bella family. Find out more about labyrinths in her article “Finding Peace and Harmony on the Labyrinth.” I happened upon a labyrinth on an out of town excursion and found myself feeling like a little girl again as I journeyed in and back out again. I have learned to celebrate my youthful moments and cherish the memories.

You must take a peek at another new writer, Zach McCabe of All.Equal.Parts, as he gets creative with mixology in our new Lux Libations column. The Apple Bondage is a delicious sipping concoction that warms your insides and feels like drinking autumn. Look for weekly articles online from Zach as he stretches the boundaries of mixology.

More creative changes will be implemented in the coming months! Online content, new writers, YouTube channel, and podcasting — OH MY! We, collectively, promise to remain eternally positive, to believe in you when you might not believe in yourself, and to let you know that we are always and forever in this together. Bella Magazine wants to be your inspiration to transform and transcend difficult life circumstances to be the healthiest you possible. If you are ready to Be Bella, please join our attempt to be the best we can possibly be. #bebetterbebella

Ladonna Armstrong

Publisher of Aiken Bella Magazine.

Ladonna Armstrong

Publisher of Aiken Bella Magazine.

In the know

For the Love of Your Dog

It surprised me when I realized I haven’t put a lot of thought into how my dog’s collar and leash fit him. It makes me wonder what else I take for granted… I have a 12-year-old Maltese named Pip (PIP – Pretty Important Puppy). He was supposed to be my daughter’s dog, but ended up mine, and I totally love the little guy. He is usually pretty content to stay right beside me when we walk. He never pulled on the leash, but as he has gotten older, the collar and leash seem a little more challenging. I was introduced to UDogU last month, and I have fallen in love

Romance in the Rural South

Humor is everywhere — you just have to keep your eyes and ears open. As I have always said, you can’t make this stuff up. I was speaking in a small town outside of Winchester, Virginia, around Valentine’s Day, and I mentioned to the audience that it warms a wife’s heart to be given fancy lingerie. After the program, a sweet young woman approached me and said how glad she was I had made that suggestion. “My husband only buys me the Hanes Her Way drawers that come up real high. They are nice drawers, but I sure would like some of them fancy high-cut drawers. The only thing I

Scraps of Love

It is a rather small scrap of simple cotton cloth. It is faded cream in color with a pattern of soft blue leaves printed across it. And it is fastened onto a large page of paper, along with half-a-dozen other small lengths of different bits of cloth and folds of ribbon. The page is one of many pages, bound into a very large, very old, book. And there are rows and rows of books just like it. And they are shelved and preserved within the Foundling Museum in London, England. England in the 1700s was constantly wet, slicked and grimed, bone-deep cold, with steel-colored skies and frozen rivers, struggling through

A Dialogue with Singer Songwriter: Chris Ndeti

Recently, Bella Magazine caught up with Chris Ndeti for a round of 5 questions. Who were some of your musical heroes and influences growing up? Do you find elements of them in your work today? My mom grew up in Brooklyn during the 50s. She sang with her local girl group at The Apollo Theater before it was televised. So I grew up listening to the doo-wop, rock, and pop of that era. My dad is from Kenya, so I would listen to popular tunes from Kenyan artists. In my tween years I began branching out on my own music ventures. I started listening to an Atlanta radio station 99X.