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HGTV darling Erin Napier has a trick for getting the smell of smoke out of a house that she can only describe as “magic.” The Home Town star took to Twitter with a friendly PSA after working on a house that “has been smoked in for many, many years.” We can only imagine the smell! Fortunately, she has an affordable trick for banishing the ghosts of smokers past. “A six-hour treatment with an ozone generator that cost $99 has completely gotten rid of the smell in the 4,000-square-foot house,” Erin added along with the hashtags #voodoo and #magic....

There’s no better place to be than in the garden. Planting seeds, watching your garden grow, soaking up the sunshine—gardening is a mood booster and a welcome escape from life indoors. It’s also a great place to teach kids about growing and tending. Kids are great help when it comes to digging, watering, and harvesting, and gardening together will provide precious time together and fun memories to keep forever. From digging in the dirt to planting pots to sowing wildflowers, there are lots of fun garden activities kids will love to get involved in and help out with....

Amidst the current coronavirus pandemic, we’re all more consciously taking note of what we have in our kitchens and looking for simple ways to extend the shelf life of our food. Thankfully, with a little storage savvy, it’s easier than you think to make food last longer. Below, five easy tips to get started. Long after the glorious day when social distancing ends, we have a feeling we’ll keep using these ideas....

Hyacinths are beautiful additions to Southern gardens. They provide vibrant floral color with tall spikes of eye-catching blooms and bright green foliage. Hyacinths are members of the Asparagaceae family; they’re perennials that produce striking, fragrant flowers, the likes of which will have you looking forward to their blooms every year. Read on to learn about hyacinths and how to plant, tend, and maintain them everywhere, including in your gardens, containers, and windowsills....

It’s officially baby sea turtle season in South Carolina! That’s right y’all: The state’s first known sea turtle nest of the summer hatched on Kiawah Island over the weekend. The South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR) told The Post and Courier that volunteers with the island’s Turtle Patrol discovered dozens of tiny loggerhead sea turtle tracks leading from the beach to the ocean early Saturday morning. Michelle Pate, a SCDNR sea turtle biologist, said that the nest was laid on May 6 and incubated for 66 days....

Little Palm Island Resort on Little Torch Key, Florida, will welcome guests for the first time following Hurricane Irma starting this Sunday, March 1st. Following the devastation of the hurricane in September 2017, the Florida Keys private island getaway underwent a complete re-imagination of its four-acre grounds. The decidedly upscale resort has been known to attract U.S. presidents and celebrities, and now features a total of 30 redesigned thatched-roof suites with panoramic views of the Atlantic Ocean....

Amongst Texas’ slightly more well-known and highly visited regions like the Hill Country and Gulf Coast, West Texas doesn’t always get quite as much attention—primarily because it exists on a metaphorical desert island of its own, hours away from the nearest big cities and airports. However, those who do end up venturing westward quickly find out that West Texas is full of hidden gems and unique attractions. Nestled away in the northern part of West Texas, Lubbock is largely known for two things....

Did someone say floral blousy tops? Ree Drummond is debuting her first clothing line with Walmart today and we have your first look. The unofficial queen of Pawhuska, Oklahoma has long been cultivating her empire from turning her small town into a tourism destination with The Mercantile, The Boarding House, and even a pizza joint, to her extensive brand of kitchenware and home goods sold at Walmarts nationwide. She even has an interactive virtual series with the big box giant, “Set the Table with The Pioneer Woman where Drummond shares tips and tricks for hosting and setting the perfect table....

With the launch of the “Heroes with Heart” contest in June, American Girl asked families to nominate a hero who has made a difference in their lives during the pandemic. This week, the beloved doll brand revealed the winners of the contest, including a 12-year-old girl named Lacey who nominated her aunt: a paramedic working on the frontlines in Richmond, Virginia. Richmond Ambulance Authority EMT April O’Quinn was one of five Grand Prize winners selected out of the more than one thousand nominations....

It’s bluebonnet season in the Hill Country, and it’s not to be missed. The Texas Hill Country—with its rolling landscape and charming small towns—has long been a destination for seeing wildflowers in the early spring months. While you’re spotting blooms in the green hills, you’ll have your pick of small towns to explore, and Marble Falls is a great one. This small town is located on Lake Marble Falls, a reservoir on the Colorado River in Texas’s Highland Lakes region, and it has become a popular place for outdoor adventure....

Iowa-based pork producer Smithfield Packaged Meats Corp. has issued a recall of ready-to-eat (RTE) bacon topping products. The food processing company announced May 20, 2022 that 185,610 pounds of RTE bacon toppings were being recalled because they may be contaminated with metal pieces. The recall was initiated after a customer contacted Smithfield and complained they found metal in their bacon topping product. To date, no confirmed reports of injuries or adverse reactions have not been reported....

The best two places in the world to enjoy sweet tea this summer are: 1. your front porch; and 2. Summerville, South Carolina. Though the first likely needs no explanation, the second might. For the uninitiated, Summerville is a historic town outside Charleston known fittingly as the “Birthplace of Sweet Tea.” Today, visitors there can experience the beloved Southern elixir at the source, taking in the sights and the sips via the town’s Sweet Tea Trail and posing for photos with “Mason,” the World’s Largest Sweet Tea which stands 15 feet tall and can hold up to 2,524 gallons....

There’s something downright nostalgic about a tomato sandwich. One bite, and you’re transported to the wide, creaky porch of a weathered beach house, or whisked away to your favorite countertop perch in your grandmother’s kitchen. It’s also downright delicious, a sweet reminder of the summer season’s glorious bounty. But for something that should be so simple, there are a lot of ways to ruin a tomato sandwich. Here’s how to get the Southern favorite just right....

The OKP Life K2 Robot Vacuum has more than 7,300 perfect ratings and 2,500 five-star reviews. It includes four specialized cleaning modes (auto clean, spot clean, wall-follow clean, and manual clean), and shoppers like that they can control the robot vacuum’s power and cleaning mode via an easy to use app or Alexa or Google Assistant. BUY IT: $89.98 (orig. $399.99); amazon.com “I have had other robot vacuums, and I absolutely love this one,” wrote a five-star reviewer who has “a dog who sheds a ton,” that their last robot vacuum couldn’t keep up with....

It’s summer in the South, so as sure as the sky is blue, it’s hot outside. Really, really hot. “Hot as blue blazes,” as Mama would say. That means we’re taking every strategic action we can to keep our cool. From sticking to oven-free recipes to investing in cooling fans for every corner of the house, Southerners know how to avoid the heat and humidity. Recently, we reached into the Southern Living archives and found our new favorite go-to way to chill out—Sweet Tea Julep Pops....

Around the same time every year (you know, when the heat becomes downright oppressive), Southern women head to their hair salons in droves to chop off their locks for a more heat- and humidity-friendly cut. This time, we’re pleased as can be that the style du jour is a sensible, yet fashionable, choppy bob. And, ladies, it looks good on everyone. The chobby bob a mid-length short cut with long layers that are slightly stacked toward the back....

Peonies have simply got to be one of our favorite type of flowers. We love white “Shirley Temple” peonies, reddish-pink “Felix supreme” peonies, and pale pink “Monsieur Jules Elie,” to name a few. We love a single peony in a vase on our desk, we love a festive bunch greeting house guests in our foyer, and we love a peony-studded spring floral arrangement on our dining room table. But what we really love?...

When it comes to cooking up a delicious meal, we trust country crooner and cook-er Trisha Yearwood. As a cookbook author and the host of the Food Network’s Trisha’s Southern Kitchen, it’s clear this Georgia native knows how to navigate a kitchen. And where did she gain such fine culinary skills? Her family. “I learned to cook after I moved to Nashville. I was homesick and missed my mother’s cooking, so I tried to make her potato salad....

Even Southerners who pride themselves on excellent manners occasionally have no choice but to cancel plans. We all have family emergencies, work conflicts, broken pipes, urgent vet visits, car trouble, and other upsets to our daily routines that can waylay the best-laid plans. Good friends will understand, of course, but if you want to keep your friendship intact there are a few rules to follow when you have to cancel plans....

It’s only twelve miles south of Charleston’s historic homes and manicured window boxes, but the salty little town of Folly Beach ditches the Holy City’s refinement in favor of an easygoing, barefoot sensibility that feels a bit more California than Carolina. Known to locals as the Edge of America, Folly is everything a beach town should be. Surf shops line the main drag; cover-ups count as appropriate lunch attire; and nobody takes themselves too seriously (they drop a pair of LED-lit flip flops to celebrate New Year’s Eve)....