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Buc-ee’s is one step closer to world—er, Southern—domination after announcing plans for its first-ever Mississippi location this week. The Texas-based convenience store chain is reportedly investing $50 million into a sprawling new development off Interstate 10 in Harrison County. According to WLOX, Buc-ee’s planned Mississippi travel center will measure 80,000 square feet—larger than both the giant new Buc-ee’s in the works for Sevierville, Tennessee, and the current world-record holder in New Braunfels, Texas....

Bridgerton, Shonda Rhimes’ groundbreaking debut series for Netflix, has stolen hearts, sending endless fans to pine for high tea in the English countryside. It was only a matter of time before hotels and restaurants in the U.S started playing up our Bridgerton-mania. The Hermitage Hotel in Nashville, already a historic destination, is one of the first to jump on the trend, announcing its limited-run, Bridgerton-themed Talk of the Town tea service....

A Florida man is going viral after he was filmed trapping and relocating an alligator using only a trash can this week. Eugene Bozzi, a military veteran from Philadelphia, only moved to Mount Dora a year ago. “I don’t know the procedures, so I did it my own way,” he told WESH 2 of his unorthodox removal technique. “Somebody’s gotta step up and do something, we all got to look out for each other right?...

This week in feel-good news, a Gatlinburg police officer helped a woman avoid a fiasco on her wedding day. The bride, Judy Frazier, who hails from New Orleans, was in the Gateway to the Great Smoky Mountains, for her wedding when she got herself into a bit of a pickle. As Knoxville-based WATE 6 originally shared, the bride inadvertently locked her car keys in the trunk of car on her wedding day this past Sunday, March 1st, and realized she did so after she and her bridal party had finished their hairstyling appointments....

Though Hoda Kotb lost her father suddenly while she was in college, her memories and the influence of her beloved father persist to this day. In a recent TODAY show segment about the upcoming Apple TV+ documentary, Dads, from director/producer Bryce Dallas Howard, which she also produced with her dad, Ron Howard, Kotb gave fans an intimate glimpse into what made her dad, Abdel Kader Kotb, so special. “He just led by example....

There are some chores that no one wants to do. Cleaning the oven is definitely one of them. Not only do 41% of Americans list cleaning the oven as their least favorite chore (right behind scrubbing the commode!) but that hatred is universal—it’s also the UK’s most hated chore. Since nearly everyone dislikes scrubbing down their ovens, it makes sense that people would want to buy ovens with self-cleaning modes where with one push of a button the oven does the hard work for you....

You don’t need a map to know when you’re in the South, just listen for the double names. When you hear mamas calling for little Sarah Jean or Bobbi Sue, or the waitress’s nametag reads Eliza Jane, you’ll know you’re in the South. Southerners love a good double name, especially when it comes to naming little girls. But where did it all begin? In Europe, many countries that had strong ties to the Roman Catholic Church and wanted children to be named after a saint, but since things could confusing in a classroom filled with nothing but Annes, Barbaras, and Catherines learning their ABCs, clever parents started to double up on names....

You might see them on Valentine’s Day—the Osiria rose is unmistakable, even amongst its fellow red-hued peers. Though it possesses the same shape as the other standard grocery store varieties, the one thing you can’t miss about the Osiria rose is the two-tone, striking red and white petals with a gentle ombre. It’s anything but generic. If you’re thinking about a new addition to your garden, consider the Osiria rose, a hybrid tea rose that produces velvety, voluptuous blooms in the late summer and fall....

When I was a kid, tin containers from friends and family littered the counter around Christmastime. By the age of 10, I prided myself in guessing where a tin came from as soon as the lid came off. Maw Maw’s were filled with oatmeal cookies made with Crisco instead of butter, one neighbor made buckeyes bigger than golf balls, and little mounds of divinity always sat somewhere in the mix. Next to the fridge was usually a small box with a clear lid displaying a pile of little shards of sugar that looked like stained glass coated in white dust....

Like citrus fruits, a pineapple is sweet, juicy, tangy, full of vitamin C, and grown in tropical climates, but the similarities end there. These two types of fruit couldn’t be more different, botanically speaking. A side-by-side comparison makes it pretty clear. Unlike oranges, lemons, limes, and other citrus fruits, pineapples do not grow on trees. They are bromeliads, a family of plants that grow in soil, typically have stiff, brightly colored leaves, and sometimes produce flowers or fruit....

Jackie Kennedy was such an influential style icon that even though it has been over 50 years since was in the White House, she is still setting trends. Case in point, button earrings. Larger than stud earrings, button earrings are typically round, post-style earrings that are designed to sit right on the earlobes. They were one of Jackie’s favorites and they are popping up on fashionable earlobes everywhere lately. The Wall Street Journal even covered the trend, dubbing the return of the button earring “the most unexpected new jewelry trend”....

The next time you’re walking through the aisles of your local Lowe’s, picking up paint rollers, picture hanging kits, and refills for your hot glue gun, be aware that you’re walking through history. The home improvement giant started right here in the South over 100 years ago. The Lowe’s story began in North Carolina when Wilkes County farmer L.S. Lowe decided to start his own store, opening Lowe’s North Wilkesboro Hardware in 1921....

The sun is high, the sky is blue, a Gulf breeze is blowing, and the scent of coconut oil is in the air. This can mean only one thing: You need a beach doughnut. Have we got the spot for you. Panama City Beach combers have been happily braving the line at Thomas’ Donut & Snack Shop since 1971, and who can blame them? Located on Front Beach Road, in the Laguna Beach community of “PCB,” this Gulf Coast institution sells both yeast and buttermilk cake doughnuts—including some so big that your wrist would fit through the center hole....

Many of us assess the success of our pie on the success of the crust, no matter the type of filling, and can feel vexed and disappointed when our pie shell slumps or sags in the pie pan, or turns out soggy on the bottom. Here are some tips for making attractive and effective pastry pie shells. Make Sure the Pastry is Large Enough Whether rolling out a homemade crust or turning to the quick convenience of a store-bought pastry roll, make sure the round is large enough to cover the rim of the pie pan....

For more than two decades, Steven Raichlen has been America’s top grilling guru, and his fifteen cookbooks are chock-full of meaty preparations for smoking, grilling, spit-roasting, and barbecuing everything from steaks and chicken to lobster and lamb. He’s even devoted entire volumes to specific meats: Best Ribs Ever, Beer Can Chicken, The Brisket Chronicles. For his latest book, though, Raichlen took a decidedly non-carnivorous turn. It’s called How to Grill Vegetables: A New Bible for Barbecuing Vegetables over Live Fire, and it offers recipes like smoked spice-crusted chickpeas and a veggie paella with grilled artichokes, beans, and corn....

Picking out hydrangea macrophylla is a lot like ordering iced tea. You’re going to have to make a decision: Sweet or unsweet? Mophead or lacecap? There’s no right or wrong answer; it’s all about personal taste. Hydrangea macrophylla, also called bigleaf hydrangeas, have blooms that are categorized as mopheads or lacecaps. And like iced tea—sweet or unsweet—both are Southern staples. Mopheads are the most popular. Coveted for their voluptuous blooms, ranging in size from as small as a baseball to bigger than a cantaloupe, they fill the summer border with heavenly shades of blue, pink, and white the way no other flowering shrub can....

Your daily shower is supposed to be a small break from the day’s busy schedule, perfect for resetting your mind, body, and soul—hey, why not?—with just a wash of warm water. That is, unless your water pressure is about as weak as my willpower around a salty basket of hot French fries just out of the fryer. Water pressure makes all the difference between an enjoyable shower experience and one that takes about ten extra minutes to wash out your shampoo....

When spring cleaning season arrives, or whenever the urge to purge hits you, when the dust settles, the floors gleam, and the decluttering is done, you’ll most likely have a pile of things you no longer want around the house. While some items are undoubtedly trash, you may want to donate the rest to the thrift store. Thrift stores are a great addition to the retail landscape. They let folks find a new home for items they no longer want or need and let people pick up new clothes, books, furniture, and more at a bargain price....

Another day, another mysterious object washing up on Southern shores. The latest treasure to make headlines recently appeared on a beach near St. Augustine, Florida. National Park Service officials documented a nearly 100-year-old steamer trunk that mysteriously washed ashore at Fort Matanzas National Monument on Friday—just over a week after Hurricane Nicole wreaked havoc on the area. The park service shared photos of the waterlogged trunk bearing the brand name “Neverbreak....

Asking the difference between a rump roast and a pot roast is like asking the difference between a ribeye and a steak. There is no difference, but there’s also all the difference in the world. “Pot roasts” (and “steaks”) are names for preparing meat cuts, while a rump roast (or a ribeye) is a specific cut of meat from a particular part of the animal. If this question of the difference between a rump roast and a pot roast isn’t a direct comparison, then why ask it?...