Posts

The city of Roanoke, Virginia—originally known as Big Lick for its salt marshes that attracted animals like buffalo and deer—first landed on the map around the 1880s. Its location at the crossroads of what would become the Norfolk and Western Railway, along with the local production of steam locomotives, marked the start of its rapid growth. Today, modern Roanoke is a vibrant cultural hub of local shops, breweries, attractions, and restaurants, all with a mountain influence from Virginia’s Blue Ridge....

Picture this: You’re reclining blissfully in a pool float in the middle of the lake this summer when you finish your book, and that pile of magazines you wanted to tackle next is sitting on the dock. Sitting on the dock, far, far away. Alas, the sun is high, your energy is low, and the idea of paddling yourself back to the shore seems daunting. Or how about this? You’re in the deep-end of the pool and need a drink refill, but the cooler is back by the steps to the shallow-end....

There are many Southern small towns that are worth a visit, and one I keep revisiting lately is Moultrie, Georgia. (Not only because it’s my hometown, but also because it’s so inviting.) Located in southwest Georgia, Moultrie is a neighbor of Albany, Tifton, Thomasville, and Valdosta, and its calling cards are its neighborliness and hospitality. Moultrie also has a thriving community of locally owned businesses, many of which are located on the Square, the downtown area surrounding the Colquitt County Courthouse....

Unlike typical Mondays that often drudge up feelings of misery and despair, Cyber Monday is all about shopping (yay!). Wrapping up an entire month of early deals and a savings-packed weekend of Black Friday price cuts, Cyber Monday is one of your last chances to take advantage of major deals before the end of the year. It’s a great opportunity to knock out your holiday shopping even if you ignored Black Friday in favor of relaxing at home after feasting on Thanksgiving....

You’ve probably made pasta salad more times than you can count. We bet you could make it with your eyes closed, without even consulting a recipe. Maybe you have your own signature recipe. However you like your pasta salad, there is one small thing you can do to make it even better. And it requires no special skills or ingredients, only patience. Follow these simple steps and your pasta salad will be the best dish at the potluck....

Ben and Erin Napier are extending their footprint in Laurel, Mississippi, to include a retail store dedicated to fragrance. Introducing: Laurel Mercantile Scent Library! Speaking exclusively with Southern Living, Erin shared that the new library-themed brick-and-mortar shop —located across the street from Laurel Mercantile—will sell all the beloved Mercantile fragrances they’ve launched over the years with a fun, interactive twist. “The store is going to be such a unique experience, with fragrances grouped by subject like you’d find in a library,” Erin explained....

Do some good while doing your belly good, too, next month with Cracker Barrel Old County Store’s special offering to honor our military heroes: This November, the Lebanon, Tennessee, based restaurant company will donate a $10 Cracker Barrel gift card to Operation Homefront for military families for each Country Fried Turkey Family Meal Basket sold through the end of the month, up to a total of $50,000 worth of gift cards for these deserving families to use....

When firefighters Mike Stageman, Joshua Adell, Bentley Andres and Zac Bass pulled a badly-burned puppy from the wreckage of a burning Asheville, North Carolina home in October, they didn’t expect her to make it. Still, they put the tiny black and white pup named Hex on oxygen and hoped for the best. “She had kind of nuzzled herself underneath a pile of clothes and I could just barely see a little bit of movement for her belly,” Bass told WLOS....

In cultures across the globe, ladybugs have come to symbolize prosperity. It’s even been said that finding one of these beetles in your home signals good luck. While the symbolism may seem fortuitous, an infestation of ladybugs in your home can be a pain. If you’re finding uninvited ladybugs crawling around your home, read on for some helpful information about repelling them. Are Ladybugs Harmful? Ladybugs are not known to be harmful to humans, but they do have the ability to release a noxious, smelly fluid from their joints when frightened or stressed....

Memphis residents woke up to disheartening news Thursday morning. Popular restaurant, Hog & Hominy suffered significant damage from an overnight fire and will be closed for the immediate future. While flames destroyed much of the building itself, the good news is that the fire broke out in the early hours of the morning while it was closed and empty. No one was hurt from the fire. Local news reporter Jalyn Souchek posted photos to Twitter of the burned-out shell of a restaurant....

Former president George W. Bush’s childhood home in Midland, Texas, is under consideration to become part of the National Park System. The Bush family, which included two future presidents (George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush) and a first lady (Barbara Pierce Bush), lived in the modest home on West Ohio Avenue between November 1951 and November 1955 before relocating to Houston. According to its website, the National Park Service (NPS) preserves sites permanently for “enjoyment, education, and inspiration of this and future generations....

I recently moved into a 1950s brick ranch on a pine-shaded street in Birmingham. It’s the kind of neighborhood where puppies and strollers outnumber cars and the houses are generally forty-some years older than the people who live in them. I appreciate so many elements of our house, but, as most first-time homeowners will tell you, there were also a few things that immediately inspired a makeover wish list. Giving our exterior a fresh coat of paint landed at the very top....

When was the last time you swapped your kitchen sponge for a new one? For many of us, the answer to that question is: Too long ago that I can’t even remember. Unfortunately, that’s not the best strategy for keeping things clean in the kitchen. Kitchen sponges collect bacteria like few other items, and that bacteria can have harmful effects on your health—it also makes it difficult to get your dishes truly clean when it’s time to wash up....

Tipping a hairstylist is a no-brainer. Does the tipping etiquette change when a stylist is also the establishment’s owner? Skipping the tip to the salon’s owner is highly debated, especially as a way to trim your final bill. Providing a tip is a way to express gratitude for the service performed in addition to the value assigned to the service. Gratuity, or tips, are generally offered to an individual instead of the establishment and can sometimes be a significant portion of that individual’s income....

A dishrag here, a bathing suit there… Admiral Galacticat’s laundry heists earned him quite a reputation this summer. In fact, the gray-and-white “klepto cat” stole so many cloth items from his Metairie, Louisiana, neighborhood, that his owner Heather Bardi erected a hand-written sign near her house that read: “My cat stole your kid’s bathing suit—knock!” Continuing his adorable crime spree throughout quarantine, the naughty kitty was an internet sensation by early July....

Growing up in eastern North Carolina in the 1950s, we were taught that if you ate dessert after a seafood dinner, you would die (just like swimming after lunch). No explanation—in those days, you believed what your elders told you. For some reason, the one exception to this rule was lemon pie, so all of the restaurants in the beach towns along our coast had that on the menu. Their crusts were often made of cracker crumbs (saltines, Ritz, or Captain’s Wafers), but they were all good—and you never found this dessert anywhere else....

It’s that time of year again. Things are getting hot. Really, really hot. You’ve cranked up your AC. You’ve dusted off your hand fans. You’ve removed extra blankets from your bed. And yet…you’re still not comfortable. At all. Things remain really, really hot. And you’re ready to talk about it until the cows come home, ready or not. We hear you, dearest readers from the depths of Texas and the hollows of Virginia....

It’s been a long road for Katie and Albert Miniel. Their daughter Sophia has dealt with seizures and autism since she was a baby. And as Katie puts it, “Going into teenage years has been very rocky.” Violent outbursts and escalating behavioral issues led them to being homeschooling her in 2015. Then in 2017, the family’s brand-new home in Alvin, Texas, was destroyed by Hurricane Harvey. Fortunately, The Arc of the Gulf Coast, a non-profit organization that supports individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, stepped in....

Redbirds–also known as northern cardinals–often appear as popular images in holiday decor. Their inquisitive beaks and lively red colors make them eye-catching additions to Christmas cards and ornaments, but how the birds became associated with the holiday season is a more mysterious story. That tale begins with the color red, a hue with many Christmastime connections, and includes the winter season, the habits of cardinals, and the symbolism that has developed around them over centuries....

For the last three years, residents of a neighborhood in Savannah, Georgia, have been faced with a unique problem. The quiet suburb of Windsor Forest has reportedly been overrun by 14 wild peafowl—and the situation is anything but beautiful. “They make very eerie sounding calls, especially in the middle of the night when it’s dark and you just hear it out of nowhere. It’s kind of creepy,” resident Leah Hammons told WJCL....