Living briefs

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CHEW ON THIS

And you thought chewing gum was just a treat. today, companies are cramming more into those bubble-makers.

Coming Tuesday

SEE THE BEAT

We see them in short shorts, sometimes with batons, but mostly they just keep the beat of the band and provide a little flash. Xtreme goes behind the scenes with a few of the "dancing girl" squads in the area.

Coming Tuesday in Xtreme

QUICK COOKING

Grilled cheese goes gourmet in Karin Calloway's smashed prosciutto, gorgonzola and preserves baguette.

Coming Wednesday

COOL CONTEST

Pick Augusta's top singer-songwriter

Have your say in The Augusta Chronicle's Singer-Songwriter contest.

Each artist's submission has been posted online, and we're asking our readers to check them out, consider carefully and vote for their favorites. Please, only one vote per contestant.

The top three, along with three critics' picks, will move onto the finals, where they will perform in front of a panel of judges, beginning at 7 p.m. Sept. 16 at the Arts in the Heart of Augusta festival.

The performance will take place as part of the opening-day festivities for the festival.

Mailed-in ballots must be cut from the newspaper; no photocopies are allowed. Questions? Call Features Editor Tharon Giddens at (706) 823-3347 or send e-mail to tharon.giddens@augusta chronicle.com.

Click here to vote online

'I DO'

To this day, Taneka Watkins doesn't know how Bradford Collins got her phone number, but it hasn't mattered.

Ever since he called and asked her out, she has been impressed, intrigued and, later, in love.

"He called me and asked me right off the bat, 'When are you going to let me take you out,'" she recalled. "I was like, 'OK, he's outgoing and he takes charge.' I like that."

Add to that Mr. Collins' good heart and, she said, she couldn't want anything more in the man she's spent the past eight years dating.

"We work well together," she said. "Everyone says that we're made for each other."

The couple exchanged vows Saturday at Old Storm Branch Baptist Church in North Augusta.

See www.augustabrides.com for their wedding announcement.

REACH US

Contact Lifestyles Editor Erica C. Cline at: 828-2946 or erica.cline@augusta chronicle.com.