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Christmas is no time to go rogue. No matter how adventurous we might be the rest of the year, when it comes to holiday foods, the buck stops at Memaw’s recipe box. Southerners want all the time-honored recipes from our family and community: Miss Billie’s peanut brittle, Nanna’s ambrosia, Aunt Vertie’s old-fashioned orange slice candy, Great Aunt Margaret’s fruitcake . . . We love rich fudge made from a recipe that has been printed on the cocoa can (or jars of Kraft Marshmallow Crème) FOREVER, plus sugar cookies, eggnog, and boiled custard....

The Andy Griffith Show may have gone off the air in 1968, but that hasn’t stopped people from loving it, and remaining curious about all the behind-the-scenes antics. Yes, that’s right, the wholesome ’60s classic had plenty of hijinks going on off-camera, mostly at the hands of the show’s boss, Andy Griffith. Here are five fun facts about the show that will inspire you to binge-watch this timeless series again....

Skincare routines vary for everyone, but most regimens involve a moisturizer. If you’re using a product (and spending money on it) more than once a day, you want to be confident that it’s helping your skin, not hurting it. If you’ve been noticing changes in your skin — even if you’ve been following the same skincare regimen for decades — you may need to change up your moisturizer. However, don’t try to fix these issues on your own....

Have you been putting off painting your home for a while now? Well, it’s time to put all that procrastinating to a halt, thanks to some exciting new offers from Ace Hardware. The hardware giant is rolling out some pretty cool painting perks in light of recent consumer intel showing just how much people have been delaying the popular home-improvement project: Some 84% of respondents in a February 2021 YouGov survey of 1,008 DIY painters said they have a room in their home they want to paint, yet 52% say they plan to paint someday in the next six months or a year....

Alton Brown always seems to have a trick up his sleeve, whether he’s helping us brew better coffee or teaching us the many joys of a bench scraper. Recently, Atlanta magazine took a tour of his Marietta, Georgia, loft that he shares with his wife, interior designer Elizabeth Ingram. She spearheaded the home’s design. Now, we can’t get enough of this funky, inviting space. While we might not be able to renovate our own abodes with exposed brick, a stunning master bathtub, and art-filled bookshelves by tomorrow, there’s one design move we’re definitely stealing: Hanging our cast iron skillets on the kitchen wall....

It’s counterintuitive, but sometimes, the makeup that gives us the best coverage isn’t actually covering up much at all. CC and BB creams, products that minimize imperfections while letting natural complexions shine through, are refreshing alternatives to heavy foundations and concealers. Best of all, color-correcting creams (CC creams) and beauty balms (BB creams) improve the quality of your skin with every use. Shoppers say it leaves a radiant finish that makes your skin glow....

When I was a kid, we’d go up to the Smoky Mountains to spend a few weeks with Grandma and Grandpa in the summer. My grandparents’ house in North Carolina has always been a very warm memory for me, and one of my favorite times in the Henson Cove was during blackberry season. As kids, we’d put on overalls, boots, and long-sleeved shirts in 90-degree weather, the sweat prickling our necks as we pulled out our buckets and trudged across the lawn to Grandma’s blackberry bushes....

You don’t have to pay extra to gaze at the water from your balcony if your home-away-from-home is literally on the water—as in floating on it. Panama City, Florida, has a number of floating Airbnb opportunities on St. Andrews Bay, which wraps around the P.C. neighborhood of the same name. These “floating house” rentals generally stay docked at the marina unless you book an excursion with one of their captains. So no boating or sailing skills are required....

Many of us grew up hearing that it isn’t safe to eat fresh oysters in months without an “R” in them, which is to say May, June, July, and August. Summer, in other words. Yet we see oysters year-round in markets and on menus, which begs the question of whether the old advice is still good advice. The rationale behind skipping oysters during the warmest months was to avoid oysters that might not taste good or, even worse, be unsafe to eat....

When I was 12, I found three kittens abandoned behind a grocery store. After confirming that they were indeed homeless, I picked them up, tucked them into my bicycle basket and brought them to a nearby shelter. Of course, by that time I reached the shelter, I was already in love and called my mother to tell her the situation. I had inherited my soft spot for animals from my mother and sure enough she agreed that one of the kittens could join the menagerie of dogs, pet rats, chinchillas, hamsters, and birds that lived with our family....

Many of the best family memories are made while sitting on a porch on a summer evening in the South. Until the mosquitoes come out anyway. As the spring gives way to summer and we all spend more time outside, mosquitoes become a real pest and most people look for ways to repel the little bloodsuckers. While dousing your family in DEET may be effective, many families prefer a more natural alternative, like citronella....

Erin Napier is a children’s book author! The Home Town multihyphenate teamed up with friend and artist Adam Trest to write and illustrate a heartwarming book called The Lantern House, published in May 2022. The Lantern House is told from the perspective of an old house as it watches its occupants grow, love, learn, grieve, and move away over the years—each leaving their mark on the home. “Our homes, when loved and cared for, become part of our families....

We’ve got news for you: your earrings could be gross. (Yes, of course they are pretty, too.) We’re simply acknowledging the fact that they’re probably covered with grime. Airborne pollution, dirt, hairspray, makeup, body oils, sunblock, moisturizers, and more are just a few of the things that can coat your earrings and interfere with their luster and sparkle. Luckily, it’s easy to clean your earrings and return them to their original shine....

Lazarus Lynch does Southern cooking differently. Lynch may not be from the South—born to an Alabamian father and Guyanese mother, Lynch himself grew up in in Jamaica, Queens—but he gained an early education in soul food at his dad’s restaurant, Baby Sister’s Soul Food. Meanwhile, as he explored places like New York, Beijing, and Rwanda, Lynch started to develop his own culinary sensibilities. He may be inspired by his Alabamian father’s true, honest soul food, but he was born and bred by the bodegas and bagel shops of New York City....

We have always been told to eat our greens, and when those greens come in such a delicious package as Swiss chard, we will willingly dig in. There is so much beautiful produce to choose from at the farmers’ market that you might have overlooked this vegetable, or perhaps you just didn’t know what to do with it or why you need it. Time to give Swiss chard a closer look....

We’re not sure if you’ve noticed, but the South is positively brimming with fresh produce. This is especially true in the spring in summer when our favorites—looking at you, peaches—make their return to the farmers’ market stands. If you’re looking for another way to use your fruit (or vegetables), consider infusing them into your cocktails. This will take your summer drinks up a notch and help prevent food waste—win, win....

We fully advocate for having a statement drink when hosting a party, and there’s no cocktail that makes an impression more than one named the Queen Bee. Unlike traditional cocktails like the Sazerac or an Old Fashioned, there isn’t a strict recipe for the Queen Bee. The only must-have element is honey, hence the name. With it’s deep sweetness, honey, unlike sugar, plays well with any spirit and provides a syrupy counterpoint to stronger flavors like those from herbs, peppers, or spices....

They’re a breakfast basic and a true Southern staple: The scrambled egg is the unsung hero of all easy-to-prepare cuisine. Whether deepening the flavor of your fried rice, starring in your brunch burrito, or being served with bacon and toast, scrambled eggs provide a warming and light flavor that enriches even the mildest foods. But they’re challenging to perfect. Most folks spend years experimenting with ingredient measurements until they find a recipe that works for them....

Nothing says “Merry Christmas” like a good old-fashioned game of scheming and stealing! Whether you call it White Elephant or Dirty Santa, the game sticks to the same format. We’re not sure where the name “Dirty Santa” originated, but it’s meant to refer to game participants, the “Santas,” stealing desirable gifts from each other. As opposed to Secret Santa, where participants are trying to guess who their personalized gifts are from, Dirty Santa adds a fun, competitive twist....

This week, Rhonda Minardi’s longtime dream of providing a sanctuary for senior dogs got one step closer to fulfillment. Now, with the foundation finally poured, what was once an empty field outside of Austin, Texas, will soon become a safe haven for “un-adoptable” dogs. A number of experiences drive Minardi’s passion for senior pups. She told KXAN that old dogs were an afterthought prior to her mother falling six years ago....