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In 2016, Sidney Collins Freeman went home to tiny Livingston, Alabama, just to touch base—she was fresh out of graduate school and wanted a break before choosing a city and embarking on a career. But she walked into a drama of sorts. Lakewood, the spectacular antebellum mansion where she’d grown up, had long been in disrepair. The raised Greek Revival home with its elegant wrought iron double staircase was in such bad shape that, four years earlier, the Alabama Trust for Historic Preservation and the Alabama Historical Commission cited it on their Places in Peril list....

You’ve bought your Thanksgiving turkey, dutifully thawed it a few days in advance, brined it, dried it, rubbed it with butter, tucked some fresh herbs inside the cavity, and nestled it snug in its roasting pan. Into the preheated oven it goes! About halfway through the cooking process, you start to smell the unmistakable aroma of Thanksgiving: buttery, herby turkey juices bubbling away in the oven. Time to find your trusty turkey baster, which has inevitably been unused since last Thanksgiving....

Okay, we Southerners like all sorts of bread, from biscuits to yeast rolls to crusty whole-grain loaves, and most everything in between. But we can hold special affection for store-bought loaves of uniformly sliced, soft, absorbent, perfectly flimsy, white bread for certain sandwiches and as accompaniments to classic recipes. Humans have been baking bread for about 30,000 years, but sliced commercial loaves have been around for less than 100 of those years....

Working from home has its perks. For starters, the coffee here tastes better. And then there’s the more comfortable dress code. Video conferences still require good old-fashioned workwear, of course, at least from the waist up. But even when you have to swap out the nubby old sweatshirt for a tailored top, there is comfort in knowing that no one can see what you’re wearing on your feet. A little sole secret, if you will....

Now here’s something you don’t see every day! Employees at Geneva State Forest Wildlife Management Area (WMA) in Geneva County, Alabama, came across a bizarre scene while working on land improvements in April 2021. What appeared at first to be some sort of misshapen dinosaur egg was actually something more. Upon further inspection, they realized it was actually a pair of snake eggs laid inside the shell of a small, dead turtle....

Many of us have reacquainted with the great outdoors in the last few years. From strolls around the neighborhood to hikes on local trails or visits to nearby National Parks, we’ve reconnected with nature in many ways. It’s no wonder that paint colors are trending toward bringing the harmonious, serene shades of nature into our homes. Draw some inspiration for your next DIY project with nature-inspired paint colors that exemplify the pastel shades you’d find streaked through a coastal sunset, the earthy tones of a mountainside, or the hues of the South’s summer fruits....

Last week, American Airlines celebrated the 100th anniversary of Bessie Coleman becoming the first Black woman to earn a pilot’s license with a special honorary flight. Friday’s flight from Dallas to Phoenix was operated by an all-Black, all-female crew. From the pilots and flight attendants, to the cargo team members and the aviation maintenance technician, every aspect of the flight was handled by a Black woman. Also onboard was Gigi Coleman, Bessie’s great niece....

From tornados to floods, Kentucky has been through a lot in the past year, and country star Chris Stapleton has shown up for his home state each time. Most recently, the Staffordsville native has been helping residents impacted by historic flooding that has claimed the lives of at least 37 people in the eastern part of the state. In addition to Stapleton’s Outlaw State of Kind Fund collecting donations to the Kentucky Red Cross and Appalachia Crisis Fund, the superstar has been spotted quietly helping out on the ground....

From the offbeat mountain town of Asheville to the coastal city of Wilmington, North Carolina is home to a diversity of destinations—and climates. The scenic Blue Ridge Mountains that lace across the Western half of the state give way to the urban areas of Charlotte and Greensboro. Further east, you’ll stumble upon the hip “Triangle” of Durham, Raleigh, and Chapel Hill before reaching the coastline, comprised of 300 miles of barrier-island beaches—including the famed Outer Banks....

Erin Napier has never been shy about her Drew Barrymore fandom. From her love for her breakout hit ET, to how Drew’s ’90s haircut inspired her own short ‘do, the Home Town star has been singing the actor’s praises for years. And this week, they finally got to meet. “This is Erin’s dream come true,” Erin’s husband Ben told Drew after they joined her on set for an appearance on her eponymous talk show, The Drew Barrymore Show, on Wednesday....

Good news for little turtle lovers: The Loggerhead Marinelife Center in Juno Beach, Florida, has moved its educational programs online amid the coronavirus pandemic in an effort to keep young minds engaged during these unprecedented times. Under normal circumstances, the Loggerhead Marinelife Center—a nonprofit sea turtle research, rehabilitation, and educational institution—serves more than 350,000 guests and upwards of 74,000 registered students each year. To combat the center closing due to the COVID-19 crisis, they’ve begun sharing daily, live broadcasts featuring educational programming from their Outdoor Sea Turtle Hospital, available for free to viewers around the world....

Allow us, dear reader, to reveal to you just a few of the treats we’ve been baking up during quarantine life. There have been glazed buttermilk donut cakes. There have been Ree Drummond’s dark chocolate brownies. There have been bonus batches of Ree Drummond’s aforementioned brownies. There have been pies, galettes, and cobblers. There have been crisps, crumbles, buckles, and slumps. Cookies and cupcakes galore. And oh, has there been Funfetti, adding countless sparks of color and joy to the humdrum realities of hunkering down at home....

While text messages, e-mail, and social media platforms are popular means of communication, there’s no avoiding the still-ubiquitous phone call. Love it or hate it, someone’s always on the line. Thanks, Alexander Graham Bell. We receive telephone calls daily, and each has a different purpose. However distinct the rings, there are a few etiquette tips that always apply. No matter who’s calling, these strategies will help to ensure a polite and professional impression when picking up the phone....

The results of a ground-breaking study out of Spain might mean earlier dinnertimes for millions of late-night diners in America. The findings, which were published in 2018 by the International Journal of Cancer—have a 20% lower risk of breast and prostate cancer than those who eat after 10 p.m. or go to bed shortly after the final meal of the day. “The mechanisms are not clear,” Dr. Manolis Kogevinas, a research professor at the Barcelona Institute for Global Health in Spain and lead author of the new study on the topic, told CNN....

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Where do you stand on this bath linen debate: white vs. solid-colored towels? On the one hand, white towels bring a spa-like feel to the room and a little bleach can make them look as good as new after every wash. On the other, solid-colored towels can not only hide dirt and stains but can also liven up a bath’s design scheme. No matter the shade, investing in high-quality towels can upgrade the look and feel of any bath (and will also impress overnight guests)....

“A camellia is a man’s plant,” states Tom Johnson. “That is because it’s pretty much idiot-proof, and men don’t really like to be challenged.” Though said tongue in cheek, it partly explains how he finds himself today overseeing the country’s largest camellia collection at Magnolia Plantation and Gardens in Charleston, South Carolina. Established on the bank of the Ashley River by Thomas Drayton in 1676, Magnolia is still held by the original family....

About 10 minutes North of the Charlotte Motor Speedway, you can shop in the South’s largest antique mall. It’s hard to miss the 88,000 square-foot building nestled in the heart of Concord, North Carolina. “We’re definitely a destination,” Janna Jordan, the general manager of The Depot at Gibson Mill, says. The Depot is located in a former Cannon Mill textile plant and houses antiques from over 750 individual vendors. You could spend a whole weekend exploring the rows of merchandise and leave without stepping foot inside every treasure-filled booth....

More than 30 years after Steve Martin first made us laugh as the bumbling and reluctant George Banks, Father of the Bride is being rebooted for modern audiences. Directed by Gaz Alazraki, HBO’s remake is a fresh update on the timeless classic featuring an ensemble cast led by Oscar-nominee Andy Garcia alongside Gloria Estefan, Adria Arjona, Diego Boneta, Isabela Merced, and Chloe Fineman. Though most of the plot is familiar, there are some big differences....

Many years ago, the Shag was born on the beaches of South Carolina. Quick and smooth, the dance rose in popularity among young people in the 1940s as they stepped and twirled to “beach music.” Before long, well-known fast dancers such as Billy Jeffers and ‘Chicken’ Hicks emerged as leading influencers of the easygoing community birthed from the dance that rocked the beaches and, later, the nation. It solidified its name throughout the 1940s and 1950s and has ebbed and flowed in and out of popularity since....