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A young tourist came home from a family vacation in South Carolina with the “find of a lifetime” earlier this month. Riley Gracely, 8, of Lebanon, Pennsylvania, was vacationing with his parents and brother in Myrtle Beach when they ventured out to Palmetto Fossil Excursions, an educational fossil-hunting expedition facility in Summerville. There, Riley “was walking around the bases of these piles of gravel and dirt and noticed what he thought was the edge of a tooth,” his father Justin told Fox News....

Sharing is caring in the South during the holidays, when bags, boxes, and casseroles loaded with delicious foods fill fridges, counters, and tables. But if you’re looking forward to sharing the season’s bounty with your dog, you might want to think twice. “The day after Thanksgiving is a busy day for us,” says Elizabeth Pirkle Rasor, a senior veterinarian with Shandon-Wood Animal Hospital in Columbia, South Carolina. “Our dogs are family, so it’s easy to forget that foods we love can be life threatening for them....

Mascara is one of those things, for better or worse, that we do the exact same way every single day. Odds are we apply it the same way we did when we first started wearing mascara five, ten, fifty years ago. Odds are this is the same way we would watch our mother apply it in the mirror when we were still too young to wear mascara. Swipe, wiggle, repeat—all the while looking down (or up!...

So you like pea-cans? Oh no you don’t, you like puh-cahhhhhns. Or is it the other way around? Either way, the American Pecans Council is on a mission to settle the pronunciation debate around the popular nut once and for all. To that end, they’ve launched The Super Safe Pecan Debate, where fans of the mildly sweet nut can weigh in on what they believe to be the proper articulation: PEA-can or puh-CON....

Johnny Morris, the founder and CEO of Bass Pro Shops, is expanding his outdoorsy resort empire into Florida. Last week, flanked by Gov. Ron DeSantis and key leaders of the Florida Keys recreational fishing and conservation communities, Morris presented his plans for Valhalla Island Resort: a new nature-based fishing resort in the Florida Keys. Situated on 175 scenic acres and boasting more than a mile of breathtaking beachfront property in Marathon, Valhalla Island Resort will be the largest resort property anywhere in the Florida Keys....

If we were on a desert island, along with essentials, food, and a very strong cell phone connection, we’d hope that we’d have plenty of Dolly Parton albums to keep us entertained. Who’s with us? So many of the Smoky Mountain Songbird’s tunes are etched into our hearts forever, and we’ve often found ourselves wondering what inspired Parton to pen such beautiful pieces, from “Jolene” to “I Will Always Love You....

“I don’t trust anyone that does their own hair. I don’t think it’s normal,” Truvy says in Steel Magnolias. She’s right. Southern women don’t cut or color their hair at home. Southern women go to the salon. Simple as that. Where else would they catch up on the town gossip? Where else would they talk about their problems? Have you ever seen how fast a hair stylist can make or break a budding romance?...

From mini Key lime pies on Mother’s Day to a Nick Saban-inspired treat for football season, I’ve been working on my baking skills slowly but surely throughout the year. Since my husband is a shoo-in for best chef in the house, I’ve been trying to solidify my spot as our resident baker. As Southerners know, there’s no better season for baking than the holidays, and I had the perfect opportunity to whip up something special for a few close friends at a recent ornament swap....

It’s no secret that kitchen sponges are a hotbed for bacteria and germs, especially if you use them for too long, or leave them sitting wet in the sink or on the countertop. At best, they will start to smell moldy after awhile. At worse, they can harbor serious bacteria like salmonella. Studies have shown that sponges are the dirtiest object in your house—including the toilet. And cleaning them isn’t necessarily effective: An oft-cited 2017 study published in Scientific American reported that sanitation methods including microwaving sponges or washing them in the dishwasher could actually increase bacteria....

Krispy Kreme has unveiled its latest trio of sweet treats, and our Southern palates sure are delighted. Available now at participating Krispy Kreme shops for a limited time, the new Desserts Doughnuts Collection includes three fabulous doughnut flavors: Banana Pudding, Coconut Cake, and Mississippi Mud Pie. As Southerners, and chocolate fans, we must admit we’re most excited for the Mississippi Mud Pie Doughnut, which the company press release describes as “filled with Chocolate Pie Kreme, dipped in chocolate icing, topped with cookie and graham crumbles, and finished with a marshmallow drizzle....

It seems impossible that Loretta Lynn is gone. It also seems impossible that she’d been with us for 90 years, because she always seemed ageless. She retained the iconic image of the strong woman of the South throughout her life, and her astonishing rags-to-riches life story was an inspiration to anyone who knew it—and millions of people all around the world did know it, because of her music. Perhaps she’s known best for her hit song “Coal Miner’s Daughter....

Bright, beautiful, colorful flowers, can often lift your mood. But the sentiment behind a special flower delivery can often do even more to raise your spirits. At Mission Hospital in Asheville, North Carolina, the sentiment behind the regular flower delivery to the oncology unit is one of the most moving we’ve heard. Every Monday, an anonymous donor sends a bouquet of flowers to be given to “the patient on the floor who could use some cheering up the most....

While preparing this story, I shared a few photos of me and my mom with fellow editors to show off just how young she looks. This resulted in a flurry of reactions — some called us “twins,” another had to double-check that a photo of my mom wasn’t actually a shot of me — but this wasn’t surprising. My mom and I hear similar comments pretty much any time we’re together despite the fact that we’re undeniably 30 years apart in age....

Last week, seven-year-old Cameron Simoncic returned home after school to find his worst fear: his father lying unconscious in the kitchen. “My dad has diabetes and whenever he has these episodes and whenever it happens, his brain can’t function,” Cameron, a second-grader at Ellen Woodside Elementary School in Pelzer, South Carolina, told WSPA. He said he tried to unlock his dad’s cell phone to call 911, but he didn’t know the passcode....

Now is the time to catch your favorite home decor, garden, beauty and fashion items on sale, because Walmart’s Deals for Days is officially here. Beginning June 20 and ending June 24, the Deals for Days promotion extends across multiple categories, with some of Walmart’s best products offered up to 40 percent off. And don’t worry: You don’t need any kind of membership to take advantage of the sale — it’s open to everyone....

For lovers of Junior League cookbooks and fans of church potlucks, we’ve officially found the perfect gift: Georgetown Cooks, a new community cookbook benefitting the Lombardi Cancer Center at Georgetown University Hospital. Featuring illustrations by Southern Living 2019 Tastemaker LouLou Baker, the leather-bound volume highlights a selection of signature recipes from residents of the beloved, historic D.C. neighborhood. “Georgetown has long been looked to as the place where the most influential writers, politicians, journalists, diplomats, and government leaders gather to break bread and make deals that can change our country and ultimately, the world,” write Carrington Tarr, Elizabeth Hague, and Elizabeth Miller in the cookbook’s opening letter....

Limp, lifeless strands. Slow hair growth. Flat roots. These are all very common hair issues that the average woman deals with on a daily basis. While we can certainly throw as many hair products as we want at those downtrodden roots, it all really comes down to scalp health. A healthy, clean, exfoliated scalp ensures that follicles aren’t blocked or suppressed and oil glands aren’t over-stimulated, which are two of the biggest contributing factors to slow hair growth and dull strands....

With coronavirus completely halting our ability to travel as we all remain safely at home, we’re grateful for the internet helping us travel to some incredible destinations from afar. We’ve taken a virtual whirl around Southern botanical gardens. We’ve streamed Broadway shows from NYC and beyond from our couches. We’ve e-hiked our way along the Grand Canyon. Now, we’re happy to learn via a recent article on Lonely Planet of all the things we can remotely tour in the United Kingdom amidst the coronavirus crisis....

Hurricane season is well under way. As we stay on the lookout for upcoming storms, it’s important to think about what to keep on hand in order to be prepared. Even if you’re not in a storm’s direct path, it’s worth it to keep a survival kit around and stocked in the case of tornadoes, other hurricanes, or flooding. An emergency preparedness kit can literally be life-saving—and good for peace of mind....

Aside from immediate family, my earliest culinary training was under the televised tutelage of the Barefoot Contessa. By the age of 12, I scoffed at imitation vanilla extract and pre-shredded cheese (in my mother’s words, “Ina Garten had created a monster”). Nevertheless, my parents took my “ingredient requests” and tacked them on to the grocery list so I could experiment with recipes for the family. Eventually, the grocery list became my grocery bill, and my years in college quickly taught that a practical meal needed to yield leftovers that could be repurposed in different ways....