Most of us don’t organize our pantry as often as we should, but when we do, we nearly always have something in common–the discovery of expired food. Whether it’s a can of soup or a forgotten can of cranberry sauce, you might be tempted to throw them away. Not so fast! According to the USDA, shelf-stable foods are safe to eat indefinitely and you can eat them well past their expiration date....
Needlework is an age-old handicraft that has been adorning cloth for about as long as cloth has existed. Cross-stitch embroidery in particular has been around since at least the Middle Ages. According to Encyclopedia Britannica, in those times “it was known as opus pulvinarium, or cushion work. As its name implies, cross-stitch is a double stitch diagonally crossing intersections of the horizontal and vertical threads of the fabric.” It is a square- and cross-based form of embroidery that involves patterns and counting....
Traveling these days can feel like a chore. It takes mathematic skills to fit everything you need in a carry-on bag. Here are some tips from the professionals to help make that task a little easier. Evaluate What You Need Rethink Your Packing List How often have you packed for every possible scenario that could arise on a trip and ended up using half of the clothes you brought? Don’t worry....
Plants do an excellent job of adding life to living room corners, putting a finishing touch on a stack of coffee table books, or softening up a fireplace mantel. Décor benefits aside, some indoor plants can even fight dry air in the winter by adding humidity back into your home. Take that, dry skin. According to Gardening Know-How, the tip is to stick to plants with large, waxy leaves that can act as natural humidifiers....
There’s a quote that states, “Life doesn’t come with a manual, it comes with a mother.” Thankfully, for Jabez and Christopher Jenkins, their manual — or mother — found a creative way to keep their tiny toddler fingers safe around a sewing machine. And as a result, she turned them into successful business owners. Queenie Jenkins worked in the fashion industry and in her spare time, made matching scarves and skirts on her sewing machine at home....
Police officers are trained to handle anything and are taught to always expect the unexpected. But we’d venture to bet that this Louisiana deputy wasn’t expecting the crazy fate that befell him during a routine traffic stop. A deputy with the Livingston Parish Sheriff’s Office in Livingston, Louisiana was on duty last week when he made a traffic stop for an arrest—pretty standard stuff for an officer of the law. The encounter turned out to be anything but routine when the driver’s pet squirrel decided to dispute the arrest using physical force....
Amanda and Edwin Acevedo were planning a beach wedding when Amanda unexpectedly went into pre-term labor. When their son Oliver was born on June 14, he was 30 weeks and three days old and weighed just three pounds and 14.6 ounces. During their time in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at WakeMed Hospital in Raleigh, North Carolina, the couple revealed to a nurse that they had decided to forgo a beach ceremony and get married at a courthouse instead....
He might be one of the winningest coaches in college football history, but don’t expect to find Nick Saban watching football games as a fan. In fact, during his weekly radio show on Thursday night, the legendary Alabama coach admitted he’d often rather watch Netflix. “I really have a hard time enjoying the game, to be honest with you, when I watch it,” Saban shared. “All the time that I spend, whether it’s watching a defensive team for our offensive preparation or the other team’s offense for the defense’s preparation....
Jay Cobb knows what it’s like to be a nine-year-old with a second chance at life thanks to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Four decades after winning his own battle with Burkitt lymphoma, Cobb, a 49-year-old civil engineer in Oklahoma, will do almost anything to raise money and awareness for his favorite cause. In addition to TV interviews, podcasts, and hosting a fundraising golf tournament, Cobb has kissed both a cow and a pig for St....
Move over Bubba Watson and Tiger Woods. There is a new contender for entry in the World Golf Hall of Fame—Mary Ann Wakfield, an 84-year-old Ole Miss fan who sank a long putt to win herself a brand-new car. Wakfield was one of hundreds of fans packed into The Pavilion on Saturday to watch the Ole Miss men’s basketball team face off against Alabama. When she was given the chance to win a 2020 Nissan Altima as part of the Cannon Motors of Mississippi Putt for a Car challenge, she took her shot—and totally sank it....
You’ve likely heard Willie Nelson referred to as the Red Headed Stranger. While you may think the nickname comes from his 1975 album, Red Headed Stranger, the backstory is a little more involved than that. In fact, the Red Headed Stranger isn’t a Willie-ism, but rather a song title of a tune first written in 1953 by entertainment critic and lyricist Edith Lindeman and composer and radio announcer Carl Stutz. As shared in Lindeman’s obituary (her full name was Edith Lindeman Calisch, but she wrote songs under her maiden name), “Red Headed Stranger” originally had some very different plans for itself: The song was “…a Western ballad originally intended for Perry Como....
The beauty of flowers is that they don’t have to be complicated, fancy, or expensive to work their magic. A packaged bouquet or several stems from a floral display are guaranteed to bring a smile. The grocery store is a great source for fresh, affordable blooms. Choose bouquets with a color scheme suitable for your home and with multiple stems of the same flower. Avoid rainbow medleys containing only one of each type blossom–such assortments are difficult to arrange....
Christmas may be over, but it’s never too early to start shopping for next year, especially if there’s a good sale going on! And we have a gift for you: Balsam Hill’s annual clearance sale is officially here, and trees, wreaths, ornaments, and even storage bins are marked up to 60% off. Prices at the seasonal decor retailer are expected to last through the month of January. Whether you’re looking to organize seasonal odds and ends, get ahead on decking the halls, or begin shopping for gifts, there’s no time like the present to start on next year’s holiday to-do list....
It’s time for a pit stop. Countless travelers flying south for the summer via I-65 instinctively brake when they see the giant peach just off Exit 212. The water tower hovers above the tree line like a setting sun. Birmingham is 40 miles behind and Montgomery is 30 miles ahead, but neither city offers what Chilton County can. This towering testament to the fruit that makes the region famous means two things: First, you’re slap in the middle of Alabama’s peach country; and second, you better take a nearby exit if you want the freshest and the sweetest....
There are a million reasons to love the Outer Banks. In addition to beautiful beaches and rich local culture, North Carolina’s barrier islands boast a variety of unique wildlife. Aside from the wild horses—arguably the region’s most famous full-time residents—the Outer Banks also hosts a number of transient creatures throughout the year. Its sandy shores provide a safe haven for nesting sea turtles in spring and summer and a rest stop for migratory birds in fall and winter....
On cold winter days, a warm cup of tea and a good book—we hope with a fire roaring in the background—is our fastest track to relaxation. As CNN Underscored recently put it in a review of the electric kettle, the ability to designate your desired water temperature on this appliance is a boon for beverage-making. “Coffee and teas all reach their optimal taste at a certain temperature (coffee for instance, is right around 205 degrees, while green tea is much lower, at around 170 degrees)....
L’Opossum Sur La Colline de l’Orégon. The full name hints at mischief—and mystery. Besides Hollywood Cemetery, Richmond’s Oregon Hill neighborhood isn’t known for grandeur, so a grandiose appellation for a Virginia varmint is a clue that L’Opossum’s executive chef and sole proprietor, David Shannon, appreciates cheek. The chef has a Cheshire cat smile, but he’s not about to disappear from this wonderland, which he opened to acclaim in 2014. As the accolades for L’Opossum keep coming—Shannon was named a James Beard Award Best Chef Mid-Atlantic semifinalist in 2016—guests are smitten by his refined and irreverent restaurant, a major player in the city’s dining renaissance....
When Lisa Eicher (above center) and her husband, Joey, adopted their son, Archie, who has Down syndrome, her eyes were opened to a new world. “I started to realize just how afraid people were of difference,” she says. Curious children would point or stare when they walked by, and parents, embarrassed by their behavior, would quickly shut them down. Eicher often wished they’d ask questions instead. “If we don’t have those conversations and make people comfortable, then we’re never going to have the inclusion that our community really desires....
A Virginia airport worker earned himself a unique nickname after wrangling a wild animal from the runway at Washington Dulles International Airport recently. TSA Explosives Detection Canine Handler Shelby Tibbs had just finished a round of training with his canine when he spotted a groundhog scurrying around on the hot tarmac. Concerned for the safety of the animal, which appeared to be suffering in the sun, Tibbs got into his vehicle and drove to where he spotted the groundhog....
I won’t keep you in suspense. There is no significant difference between a 13- by 9-inch cake pan and a 9- by 13-inch cake pan. They are the same thing. Yes, you read that correctly. For example, pans made by different manufacturers may vary slightly by depth—two inches versus 2¼ inches. But whether the pan’s labeling says 13- by 9-inch or 9- by 13-inch, it should have a volume of about 14 cups (or 3....
