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How far would you go to boost the morale of your friends? Bake a cake for a birthday? Send a handwritten note? Invite pals to come over for a socially distanced, outdoor Thanksgiving dinner? Probably no matter the answer, Chick Donohue has you beat. This week, just in time for Veterans Day, current Pompano Beach, Florida, resident, John “Chick” Donohue released his memoir, The Greatest Beer Run Ever: A Memoir of Friendship, Loyalty, and War detailing the wild and true story behind just how far he went for his buddies....

Peppermint lovers, rejoice! Dairy Queen is once again spinning up your favorite seasonal treat. The Candy Cane Chill Blizzard is back just in time to ring in the holidays. The beloved special-edition Blizzard features the brand’s signature vanilla soft serve blended with real candy cane pieces and choco chunks. It’s basically Christmas cheer in a cup, and it’s guaranteed to put you in a wintry mood, regardless of whether there’s a real blizzard raging outside....

Hotel beds are one of the best parts of travel. The sheets are always perfectly white, incredibly soft yet still magically crisp, and the absolute best part is that you don’t have to make it. When you do un-make the bed, though, you may notice something peculiar—most hotels don’t use fitted sheets. Instead, the bottom sheet is a flat sheet tucked in with hospital corners for a perfectly smooth fit....

If you missed experiencing Gatlinburg SkyBridge transformed into a tunnel of lights for the holidays, you’re in luck. This month, lovebirds will definitely want to pay a visit to Gatlinburg SkyLift Park for some Cupid-inspired fun on the longest pedestrian-only suspension bridge in North America. The popular Gatlinburg attraction is getting a makeover for Valentine’s Day, with a “Love is in the air” celebration featuring red-and white lights on the SkyBridge and a floral display wrapped around the gateways on each end of the bridge....

Currently filming The Witches in London with Anne Hathaway, Octavia Spencer will dive immediately into her high-profile Netflix series about Madam C.J. Walker, the first African-American female self-made millionaire, followed by a comedy called Thunder Force, with her friend Melissa McCarthy. Also, be on the lookout for Truth Be Told, a thriller for Apple TV+ that examines the American obsession with true crime. In her spare time, Spencer writes her children’s book series, Randi Rhodes, Ninja Detective....

Retired Sgt. Victor W. Butler is turning 100 this month, and the WWII vet only has one wish: birthday cards. Butler is believed to be the last surviving Tuskegee Airman in Rhode Island, WJAR reports. “Oh, I’ll read every one of them,” he told the Providence-based news station. Butler was a mechanic for the legendary Tuskegee Airmen, the first all-Black unit of the WWII Army Air Forces. “The airfield was very nice....

Just a short drive north of Baltimore’s hustle and bustle, you’ll find the bucolic community of Monkton, Maryland. Land of horse farms and vast swaths of verdant countryside, the quiet locale is also home to what the Garden Club of America has deemed the “most outstanding topiary garden in America.” Opened to the public in 1971, Ladew Topiary Gardens is a living tribute to one man’s passion and the work of those who cared enough to preserve it....

Remaining at home all this time in recent months during the coronavirus pandemic has meant that a lot more of us are spending more time in the kitchen than ever before. Perhaps you’ve become a veritable Ina Garten, whipping up tomato soup with grilled cheese croutons for lunch, just because. Perhaps you’ve simply enjoyed brushing up on some baking skills. Well, after logging all these extra hours at the cutting board, you’re thinking your culinary haven could use a bit of an upgrade, we’ve got some inspiration for you....

Thou shalt wear team colors. But think twice before adorning yourself with body paint—you don’t want to be the Internet photo that goes viral. Thou shalt know—and sing—your team’s fight song from beginning to end. Sure, you can “watermelon watermelon” your way through the alma mater, but not memorizing the fight song is a fan failure. Thou shalt keep your language clean (unless, of course, the quarterback fumbles on fourth and goal)....

When our Test Kitchen Director Robby Melvin owned a professional catering company, his clients would rave over his roasted potatoes and root vegetables. While he was happy to let them think he was a genius in the kitchen, he also knew that the secret to making the best oven-roasted vegetables is also one of the easiest tricks he knew. The ideal roasted potato has a caramelized exterior with a nearly creamy consistency on the interior, but just throwing diced potatoes on a baking sheet with some olive oil won’t accomplish the mission....

When Jacqueline Bouvier walked down the aisle to marry John F. Kennedy at St Mary’s Church in Newport, Rhode Island, she wore an exquisite white gown. It had a portrait neckline, and a bouffant skirt with gorgeous, intricate details that has gone down in history as one of the most iconic wedding dresses of all time. While it’s hard to imagine today (between Instagram and breaking celebrity news every second), at the time no one was able to figure out who had designed the stunning gown....

The coronavirus pandemic is no match for the spirit of Mardi Gras. With parades canceled due to the ongoing Covid-19 crisis, the people of New Orleans still found a way to laissez les bons temps rouler this Carnival season, converting their stoops, porches, and balconies into stationary “floats.” What started as safe way to fill the void of parades and put unemployed artists back to work has bloomed into a city-wide phenomenon....

Willa Gray. Ada James. Lennon Love. Thomas Rhett and wife Lauren Akins have come up with such beautiful names for their three daughters. Recently, we were thrilled to learn the sweet backstory of the name of their youngest daughter, Lennon Love, born in February of this year, courtesy of an interview with Rhett’s record company, Big Machine Label Group. (Rhett’s newest release, “Be a Light,” which broke the top ten list on the country music charts earlier this month, is donating part of its proceeds to the Recording Academy’s MusiCares COVID-19 Relief fund....

Many of our weeknight dinners are usually composed of a few essential elements: a meat, a vegetable, and a grain. This basic formula takes many forms and can be traced in a diversity of dishes. In its most transparent fashion, it’s a one-pan dinner, like our Chicken Bog. Slightly more dressed up, it can be a dinner party-worthy meal, like our Italian-Style Grits and Greens with Pulled Pork and Mushrooms. It often assumes regional flair; in New Orleans, you’re sure to find Shrimp and Okra Gumbo, served over a generous bed of basmati rice....

You’re hanging out on the couch with your dog when you glance over at him, and he lovingly winks at you. Say what? Did my dog just wink at me? Apparently, he did. Who knew dogs can wink?! “Winking is an intentional behavior with a variety of meanings,” says Dr. Megan Conrad, a veterinary consultant at Hello Ralphie, a telehealth company providing virtual care to pet parents across the U.S. “However, it can also be unintentional,” she says....

Planning a home renovation? Perhaps you’ve spent plenty of time dreaming about how you’ll upgrade your kitchen, but there’s one oft overlooked, yet super functional thing you may want to consider adding to your design plans: a breakfast nook. HGTV’s favorite design-loving siblings, The Property Brothers, really want their fans to embrace this practical feature when they embark on their kitchen renovations. As a recent article on Realtor.com profiling Drew and Jonathan Scott’s design style over the years pointed out, The Property Brothers once were big proponents of a large dining room table for families and loved ones to gather with lots of chairs crowded around....

In the South, we love to celebrate all types of occasions. But the guidelines for being considered a well-mannered guest or hostess are constantly changing. When etiquette conundrums surface, we turn to Erika Preval of Charm Etiquette school in Atlanta to answer questions on proper social protocol. Q: My sorority sister’s first daughter is almost 18-months-old, and she’s expecting her second child in early spring. I’d like to host a baby shower to celebrate her good news....

With the coronavirus pandemic impacting our ability to travel this spring, we’re grateful for the many ways Southern travel experiences have been brought into our living rooms while we hunker down. Chief among them? The dose of inspiration we’ve gotten from virtually exploring the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina. While we’re indeed sad that we can’t visit the sweeping grounds and zen gardens firsthand, the staff at the sprawling mansion built for George Washington Vanderbilt II in the 1880s and 1890s is teleporting us there through our screens....

Before the arrival of the coronavirus pandemic, we already knew Dolly Parton was a beacon of light and strength. Now, we’re more certain of that than ever as we’ve seen the Queen of Country sweep in to provide financial support to Vanderbilt Medical Center’s urgent work on the coronavirus front (see the video below), to help distribute medical supplies to essential workers through Dollywood, and to boost our spirits from many a video pep talk and musical performances from her home....

Wildlife officials in Louisiana have a lot to shell-ebrate after the recent discovery of sea turtle hatchlings on the Chandeleur Islands. The Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority (CPRA) and Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) reported hatchlings of the endangered Kemp’s ridley turtles in the Breton National Wildlife Refuge Wednesday. It’s the first known sighting of wild sea turtle hatchlings on the barrier islands in at least 75 years....