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While we may love to admire the beauty and craftsmanship associated with various architectural styles, it’s good to remember that each historic house style came to be because of practical reasons like local lifestyles, climate, and available building materials. One such example in the South is a less common house type: the dogtrot house. Dogtrot homes are characterized by the large, open breezeway that runs through the middle of the house, with two separate living areas on either side, all under one roof....

We all experience seasons in life that can be discouraging and stressful. Whether you’re dealing with the loss of a job, the death of a loved one, or an overall confusion about where life is heading, reading through inspirational Bible verses is an excellent way to lift your spirits and gain a new perspective on a difficult situation. The word of God has a profound way of encouraging its readers to be strong and courageous in the midst of tumultuous circumstances....

Give us an excuse to get more of Ben and Erin Napier in our lives, and we’re in faster than you can say “Laurel, Mississippi.” That’s why we were so excited by the launch of Home Town: Ben’s Workshop on the streaming network Discovery+ earlier this month, in which the woodworking wizard does his thing alongside special celebrity guests. Little did we know, however, to expect a special cameo from his wife, Erin Napier, working on a very meaningful project for their nearly three-year-old daughter, Helen....

Call it the HGTV effect. Call it the Ben and Erin Napier magic wand. Call it Southern spirit. However you want to label it, Wetumpka, Alabama, is on the rise following the debut of Ben and Erin Napier’s Home Town Takeover series on HGTV in which the couple along with some celebrity pals, community members, and a hard-working team of builders and renovators came together to breathe new life into the Southern town with a population of around 8,250 individuals....

Ask any national park enthusiast, and they’ll tell you the same thing—there’s nothing like a hidden gem. While there’s no denying the majesty that made Yosemite or Yellowstone household names, there’s a unique allure and seclusion that comes with spending time in a lesser-known natural wonder. You just might not see any other visitors for miles. The trees alone inspire a sense of tranquility, but the land’s biodiversity keeps things interesting....

Transforming Laurel, Mississippi, into the shellacked gem you see on HGTV Home Town isn’t always true to reality—and the show’s star Erin Napier will be the first to admit that that’s OK. Evolution is a process, and watching Laurel grow makes all the long hours logged when the cameras aren’t shooting worthwhile. Sometimes, things in town aren’t as perfect as the TV set portrays, but we can all learn and grow from setbacks just as much as strengths....

Dale Chihuly’s magical glass sculptures are known throughout the world, in cities, museums, and gardens from Atlanta to Japan. Suspended from soaring ceilings and displayed on pedestals, his delicate blown glass is better seen than touched. But now, thanks to a new limited-edition collection with The Rug Company, you can walk on it. (With shoes off, please and thank you.) These statement pieces will cost you, but if you ask us, they’re worth every penny....

Turnip Green Recipe: Southern Turnip Greens and Ham Hocks As the daughter of an Air Force pilot, I was fortunate to live in various regions of the country. Still, I spent much time in the South where my dad was stationed most often. I grew up enjoying down-home Southern food as my family moved from state to state, but it wasn’t until I met my Georgia-native husband that I truly experienced my first bowl of turnip greens....

You never know what you’re going to get when you live in the swamp. From alligators running through parking lots to an Internet-famous bald eagle couple, Florida is known for its frequent, and often outlandish, wildlife encounters. This week, the state added another crazy critter tale to its ever-expanding list when a Clearwater man found a 5-foot-long snake in his new couch. The resident of Marilyn Pines Condominiums called the Clearwater Police Department for reinforcements when he realized that a snake had slithered into his sofa....

Working at Red Lobster means seeing a lot of lobsters. So when employees at a restaurant in Hollywood, Florida, spotted a bright-orange lobster in a recent shipment, they knew they had come across something special. The one-in-30-million find would not be going in a pot. The restaurant’s employees contacted Ripley’s Aquarium of Myrtle Beach about finding the orange lobster a safe home. The South Carolina aquarium was more than willing to help....

“Yes, ma’am” and “no, ma’am” are givens. So are “please” and “thank you.” But Mama’n’em have traditionally expected more in the way of etiquette and manners for children—much more. In this modern age of insta-this and insta-that, we fear some of the South’s time-honored good manners for kids might’ve fallen by the wayside. So we polled our Facebook Brain Trust and asked this: When it comes to teaching kids manners, what forgotten rules should Junior and Sissy still be learning?...

Birthday wishes are in order for Today With Hoda & Jenna show co-host Hoda Kotb who turns 56 this Sunday, August 9th. Despite an incredibly trying year amidst a global health pandemic, there’s also been much joy for Kotb, who became engaged to boyfriend Joel Schiffman in November of 2019. Now, the television personality couldn’t be more excited to celebrate her upcoming birthday since she’ll be reunited with her mom, Sameha Kotb, whom she hasn’t seen since before the coronavirus outbreak in the U....

Refreshing temperatures remind me that autumn is near. I love autumn weather because, at last, I can escape my air-conditioned prison and garden outside in comfort. What will Grumpy be doing? Planting spring bulbs. And while most of you know about daffodils, tulips, crocus, and hyacinths, one spring bulb doesn’t get the widespread love it deserves: the snowflake. Its official common name is “summer snowflake,” which is terribly misleading as it blooms in February and March in Alabama in my USDA Zone 8A garden....

For a long time, you’ve probably heard that breakfast is the day’s most important meal. Southern cooks readily agree, having excellent recipe collections for breakfast casseroles, pancakes, and shrimp and grits. When learning how to make breakfast, most novice cooks start with an easy egg recipe, like scrambled eggs. Since this is often a cook’s first dabble with the breakfast world, they might wonder, does adding milk make scrambled eggs fluffier?...

Mac and cheese is the ultimate comfort food. There’s something so satisfying about that combination of pasta and ooey, gooey cheese. Whether you opt for a boxed version or macaroni and cheese from scratch, it’s a rich dish, which almost always results in leftovers. Reheating Made Right This classic recipe tends to lose something when you heat it up the next day. Namely, the moisture. Reheated macaroni and cheese has an unfortunate tendency to become hard and dry if you don’t reheat it the right way....

What memory from your Mississippi childhood do you cherish most?Looking back from where I am now, what stands out is being a little boy, around 5 years old. It was a time of freedom. I’d wake up in the morning and didn’t have to ask if I could go play. I’d just leave. Later I’d hear my mom calling me from the other end of the neighborhood. Ju-nior! Why live in Mississippi today?...

There’s nothing better than a little off-the-cuff chitchat between TODAY show co-hosts Jenna Bush Hager and Hoda Kotb. Whether we’re hearing the two catch up on their weekend plans or sharing tips from quarantine life amid the coronavirus outbreak, we love any chance we can get to learn more about these lovely ladies. Most recently, we’re grateful to have learned a sweet story about Mama Bush Hager’s nickname, from her daughter Mila....

Get ready to break out those margarita glasses and pour it out with the ladies of Serenity! Finally, after months of rampant speculation, Sweet Magnolias star JoAnna Garcia Swisher revealed on Instagram Sunday that filming on the second season of the Netflix hit is just around the corner. In fact, it has likely already begun! “First day of #spring and off to Atlanta. Season 2 of @sweetmagnoliasnetflix is about to start and we are all so excited,” Swisher wrote alongside a photo of herself wearing a “Midnight Train to Georgia” shirt and holding up two fingers....

“South Carolina is the number one peach producing state in the South,” says Ann Marshall of Charleston’s High Wire Distillery. “We felt we had a duty to celebrate the peach tradition.” That tradition isn’t baking peach pies or pickling peaches. It’s distilling them into brandy—and fine brandy at that. Southerners have long forgotten about peach brandy, but two centuries ago most of the region’s orchards were producing fruit not for eating but for putting into copper stills and transforming into high-proof spirits....

Friday night brought an outbreak of tornadoes that stretched across as many as eight states. Several towns across the South and Midwest are in ruins and many families are now having to plan funerals instead of joyous holiday celebrations. But amid all the tragedy, there are points of light. As often happens in the wake of natural disasters, we are also learning the heroic stories of neighbors helping neighbors. As the sirens wailed in Monette, Arkansas, the staff of Monette Manor nursing home acted quickly and moved many of the elderly residents into the hallway by the nurse’s station....