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Whether you’re looking for an easy day trip from Atlanta or Chattanooga, a quick stop off of an I-75 roadtrip, or a longer stay, Cartersville has something for everyone. The town was incorporated in 1854 and thrived thanks to its key position along the railway, but the history of the surrounding land dates back much farther. Creek, Cherokee, and prehistoric Native Mississippian cultures all called it home. Now with a population of fewer than 25,000 residents, Cartersville exudes small town charm along with sophisticated attractions....

As a kid, I imagined that my adult self would indulge in all kinds of luxuries: room service at swanky hotels; endless movie rentals; and cinnamon-sugar pretzels from the mall for dinner whenever I wanted. How disappointed my 11-year-old self must be to learn that my favorite indulgence as an adult is not a soft pretzel from the mall, but rather, a bottle of laundry detergent. Now, in defense of my adult self, this detergent is not your ordinary sudsy solution....

I live for Christmas cards. I love opening the mailbox to find the usual stack of bills and catalogs replaced with red and green envelopes stuffed with holiday greetings and smiling photos of loved ones. But while I love receiving them, my family and I weren’t always the best about getting them out the door in time. Our Christmas cards sometimes turned into New Year’s cards, Valentine’s Day cards, and next year’s Christmas cards....

These are high times for those of us lucky enough to be able to grow hellebores. The most popular kind, Lenten rose (Helleborus hybridus) is busy decorating the garden with stunning winter flowers in colors of burgundy, pink, white, purple, nearly black, bright green, and yellow. Blooms may single, semi-double, or fully double and last for weeks in the cool weather. They need little care beyond light shade and well-drained soil, but there’s one more thing you should do now to augment their beauty and health....

For the average home cook, knowing when to use a blender and when to use a food processor can be a difficult distinction to make. They look so similar! And they do similar things too, right? Not exactly. Long story short: A blender is ideal for foods that will end up mostly liquid (like milkshakes and smoothies), whereas a food processor is better for foods that will end up being mostly solid (like pesto and textured spreads)....

When I first moved to Birmingham, Alabama, from Virginia six years ago, I found myself bewildered by and in awe of three things: white barbecue sauce; the use of “Roll Tide” or “War Eagle” as a greeting; and the Pants Store, a shop I presumed sold pants and pants alone. A few months into living here, around the same time that I pledged loyalty to mayonnaise-based barbecue sauce and the Crimson Tide, I learned what the locals already knew: the Pants Store does, in fact, sell more than pants....

You don’t have to be from South Carolina to know the unbridled enthusiasm that consumes the Clemson club. Any Georgian or Alabamian has lost at least one of their own to the renowned public institution after high school, and those kids have been bleeding orange ever since. Out-of-staters don’t mind, typically. Who does mind? The Gamecocks. The state rivalry between the two colleges is legendary, but we’re not here to dive into the intricacies of the Palmetto Bowl....

We like them mashed, baked, roasted, and fried. We like them dressed in butter, sour cream, herbs, or ketchup. Potatoes are a mainstay side dish for weeknight meals and barbecue menus, but these starchy tubers are also important in baking tasty and tender breads, such as this Southern Living classic Potato Bread. The kitchen pantry holds many secret ingredients that can make baked goods even better – for example, mayonnaise is the key ingredient in this ultra-tender and moist Chocolate Mayonnaise Cake....

Weddings are often one of the most exciting and memorable events in a young couple’s life, but we all know there are several details to consider long before the bride and groom say their “I do’s”! The wedding ceremony is beautiful event to demonstrate the love two people have for each other, and when the reception rolls around, it’s time to dance! Choosing the best music for a fun and enjoyable reception is an important task....

Less than 30 minutes from Huntsville, the city of Decatur, Alabama, is located along the Tennessee River in an area that was originally a river crossing for settlers west of the Appalachian Mountains. Incorporated as a town in 1820, it became the eastern terminus of the first railroad line west of the Appalachian Mountains, which enabled the city to grow rapidly. After being mostly burned to the ground during the Civil War, it rebuilt and rose into a buzzing city in the roaring ’20s....

It’s been two years since BBCs adaptation of Normal People brought Daisy Edgar-Jones international fame. The previously unknown Brit has been busy since then, appearing in a number of critic-loved projects including Hulu’s black comedy Fresh, and the true-crime television series Under the Banner of Heaven. But Where the Crawdads Sing, due in theaters next week, is easily Edgar-Jones’ biggest role yet. The 24-year-old stars as Kya in the Reese Witherspoon-produced adaptation of Delia Owens’ best-selling book....

It’s a slow cooker. It’s a casserole dish. It’s both, and somehow much more. In a phrase: It’s everything you’ve been missing in the kitchen. If you love casseroles as much as we do—and oh do we, as evidenced here, here, and here—you need a casserole-shaped slow cooker in your life. (Trust us.) Why? Let us count the ways. Easy to Love Rather than the typical round or oval slow cooker, this particular version is the shape of a casserole dish—a form that we, as Southerners, cannot get enough of....

Hershel “Woody” Williams, the last living WWII Medal of Honor recipient, died on Wednesday at the age of 98. Woody was reportedly surrounded by his family at the Hershel “Woody” Williams VA Medical Center in Huntington, West Virginia—the hospital named after him in 2018. “Today at 3:15am, Hershel Woodrow Williams, affectionately known by many as Woody went home to be with the Lord,” the Woody Williams Foundation announced on Facebook. “Woody peacefully joined his beloved wife Ruby while surrounded by his family at the VA Medical Center which bears his name....

There is nothing we love more than a stunning layer cake. When it comes to cake decorating, we firmly believe that you can achieve bakery-quality results at home—all it takes is a bit of practice. In our Test Kitchen, we’re constantly experimenting with new frosting techniques, streamlining the tools and supplies necessary to make these designs achievable in your home kitchen. Today, we’re giving you the lowdown on how to frost a ruffle cake....

In an effort to serve the nation’s “displaced learners” amid the coronavirus crisis, the Internet Archive announced this week that it’s suspending waitlists for the more than 1.4 million digitized books in its online lending library. Book lovers can access the non-profit’s new National Emergency Library for free through June 30, 2020, or the end of the US national emergency. “During the waitlist suspension, users will be able to borrow books from the National Emergency Library without joining a waitlist, ensuring that students will have access to assigned readings and library materials that the Internet Archive has digitized for the remainder of the US academic calendar, and that people who cannot physically access their local libraries because of closure or self-quarantine can continue to read and thrive during this time of crisis, keeping themselves and others safe,” a blog post announcing the creation of the library explains....

When it comes to chocolate chip cookies, we are a big fan of Joanna Gaines’ sage wisdom: “Depending on what you’re in the mood for, you can add ½ cup more or less chocolate than what is called for.” Of course, 90% of the time, that means tossing in that extra handful of chocolate chips. “My dad has an intense sweet tooth, just like me. One afternoon when I was around ten years old, Dad got a hankering and he enlisted me to help him make Toll House chocolate chip cookies....

With summer fast approaching, lemons are going to be in high demand. Juiced for cocktails, squeezed onto grilled veggies and incorporated into easy-action cobblers and custards, the tangy party will go on for months. While juicing a lemon is a pretty basic activity—you know, cut in half, smush in one of those pit-catching devices—turns out, we may have been doing it wrong all along. According to TikTok, the year’s authority on neat cooking tricks, there’s another way, and it’s way more fun....

Attention all cold brew and lemonade tea lovers (between those two groups, that should cover practically everyone): Chick-fil-A is testing some exciting new products. In a recent blog post on their company blog, The Chicken Wire, the Atlanta-based fast food chain announced that they’re testing two seasonal tea lemonade flavors, as well as a new cold brew. On the tea lemonade front, they’ll be testing Mango Passion Tea Lemonade made with their signature lemonade and freshly-brewed unsweetened iced tea, combined with natural flavors from mangoes and passion fruit....

Good news for leaf peepers. Fall is officially here, and the foliage on Grandfather Mountain is reportedly off to an auspicious start. Buckeyes, which are among the first tree species that turn at Grandfather every year, have already started changing to yellow. Maples, with their vibrant shades of red, aren’t far behind. According to experts at the North Carolina landmark, moist soil from August rain, warm temperatures during the day, and cooler temperatures at night have triggered the trees to begin the dazzling process of going dormant for winter....

The Southern Living Test Kitchen has baked dozens of cover-worthy Christmas cakes over the years. And just like children, it’s hard to pick a favorite. Our Gift Box Cake (complete with edible Fruit By The Foot ribbon) has been a reader favorite since it graced the magazine’s cover in 1996. Since then, we’ve experimented with fillings, flavors, frostings, and cake layers (and shapes, of course.) Our star-shaped cake from 2000 was probably the most polarizing, while the pure white-on-white simplicity of Mrs....