If there’s one good thing that’s come out of quarantining, it’s that we’ve all gotten very familiar with our own spaces. We know precisely which part of the house stays the coolest on sweltering summer days and exactly where to sit with a cold drink when the afternoon light hits its sweet spot. It’s also got many of us thinking: It’s time for a new sofa. What once served simply as our nighttime retreat has now taken on multiple roles....
The spirit of Christmas has a tendency to get lost to the hustle and bustle of the holidays. But it’s more important than ever to stop and reflect on the true meaning of the season. With Christmas approaching, we’re finding extra significance in a 60-year-old tune by Johnny Cash. “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day” is an adaptation of a Henry Wadsworth Longfellow poem from 1863. The poem is about the despair of hearing Christmas bells as the Civil War tore apart the nation....
For most people, a microwave oven is as essential in a kitchen as a stand mixer or a food processor. And while it is a handy thing to have when you need to reheat soup, steam vegetables, or even bake a mug cake in minutes, not everything should be heated in a microwave. Read on to find out what to avoid. Reheating Eggs Boiled eggs can become hazardous when reheated in the microwave, giving you a nasty surprise when they burst under extreme pressure....
We’re long past thinking we can outrun time, find the fountain of youth, and skip happily into the sunset with plump, glowing skin—at least, not without a little help. Southern women are masters in the art of aging gracefully, and we aren’t too proud to get assistance from a set of anti-aging tricks. But no matter how much retinol we’re using, it might as well be for naught if we’re covering up all that hard work to stay youthful looking with makeup techniques that aren’t having the right effect....
Affordable, simple to cook with, and fairly easy to find in grocery stores, dried chiles can add a lot of flavor to a dish, if you know how to use them. In Mexican cuisine, dried chiles are the backbone of many traditional dishes and while you may know how to work with their fresh counterparts, head to the spice aisle and start exploring the earthy, smoky, sweet, and complex flavors that dried chiles have to offer....
In the northeast corner of Mississippi lies Tupelo, a dynamic town of 38,000 residents that’s best known for its most famous native son: Elvis Presley. The King was born there decades ago, but thousands still flock here annually to experience the community that raised him (including the Elvis Festival, which takes place every June). There are many ways to experience spots he frequented growing up, but that’s not the only reason to come to Tupelo....
Don’t you wish removing wrinkles, acne, dark spots, and scarring was as simple and instantaneous as waving a magic wand over your problems? Us, too. While we’ve yet to find a fairy godmother to whisk away all our skincare woes, shoppers have found a skincare product that delivers near instant results. Biossance’s Squalane + Lactic Acid Resurfacing Night Serum targets your complexion concerns over night, and customers swear you can see the difference by morning....
For many people who grew up in the South, it was a special day when, thanks to your mother’s unexpected generosity on a hot day, you were allowed to get ice cream—especially the classic dipped cone from Dairy Queen. To this day, nothing quite compares to the ultra-sweet, quick-to-melt vanilla soft-serve ice cream coated in a crispy shell of hardened liquid chocolate all balanced on top of a crunchy cake cone....
There’s no doubt that Dolly Parton’s charity, Imagination Library, changes lives by giving away free books to kids from the ages of 0 to 5, but seeing the proof in the life of a small child is always incredible. Parton was a guest on a recent episode of The Kelly Clarkson Show and she got to hear from a mom whose daughter benefited from the Imagination Library in a very special way....
Are you a couple that loves Whataburger just as much as you love each other? Well, now you can say your “I dos” with a side of jalapeno ranch. That’s right y’all, Whataburger is getting in on the business of happily ever after. The Texas-based burger chain announced last week that it’s offering couples a chance to win a wedding or vow-renewal ceremony inside one of six different Whataburger locations, including the store’s flagship “Whataburger by the Bay” in Corpus Christi....
Beau MacVane returned from his fifth combat tour in the Middle East in 2006. Shortly after, he was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Determined to approach the disease holistically, the young army vet walked into Yoga South, the Boca Raton studio where Judy Weaver taught. Although MacVane’s debilitating disease progressed rapidly, Weaver worked with him twice a week until his death in 2009. “I saw how this practice kept the whole family out of depression,” she says....
My grandmother, Ouida Walters Rasberry, kept the dented aluminum biscuit bowl in one of her two little closet pantries, beside the strainers, jars, and presses she used for canning. A layer of newspaper loosely lined the linoleum floor of the closet for reasons unknown. In the other pantry closet, freezer tape on the back of the door marked the heights for me; my brother, Clark; and my cousin Jim for a decade....
The most wonderful time of the year has come and gone, which means it’s time for the next most wonderful time of the year: Girl Scout Cookie season! Today kicks off the first day of the annual cookie season, which runs from mid-January through April. Over the next few months, you’ll have plenty of time to order—then maybe put in a second order—from your favorite local Girl Scout. But before you start ticking those little boxes to secure your yearly stash of freezer Thin Mints or late-night Do-si-dos, it’s time to meet the new cookie variety vying for a spot in your order lineup and in your heart....
If we close our eyes and picture that magical experience of witnessing baby sea turtles hatch and crawl across the sand for the first time, or even just recall the viral video we saw of these newborn reptiles, we can almost escape reality for a few fleeting moments. We’re grateful for organizations around the South (and world) which help protect and care for them, like The Turtle Hospital in Marathon, Florida....
When twin sisters Abbey and Hayley Hester had visions of starting a business together, it wasn’t difficult to figure out where to focus their attention. “Our love for design and hosting parties combined with our love for the beach, and the VB Picnic Co. was born,” they say. Their business, founded in 2020 in Virginia Beach, hosts curated pop-up picnics against a glittering coastal backdrop, providing everything from chairs and tables to cornhole sets....
Florida has many beautiful things going for it—jaw-dropping beaches, mermaids, and Florida Orange Grove Pie, to name a few. It also has mosquitoes, though—lots of mosquitoes. Most Southerners accept them as part of the cost of living in the swamp. However, one corner of Florida doesn’t have the little buggers—Disney World. Step foot into the Magic Kingdom, and it’s doubtful you’ll get bitten by one of those pesky bloodsuckers. While it feels like part of the magic that makes up the “Most Magical Place on Earth,” there’s a lot of elbow grease and science behind it—and some chickens, too....
Let’s take a moment to appreciate how soul-soothingly delightful the Netflix original series Sweet Magnolias is. The restaurant scenes at Sullivan’s, the sweet friendships of “The Sweet Magnolias,” the Southern setting in the fictionalized town of Serenity, South Carolina (the show was actually filmed in Georgia). In just one seasons of this binge-worthy Netflix original series, there’s a whole lot to fall in love with and we’re already looking forward to the next season....
There are nearly endless ways to make potato salad. We can confirm that considering we mixed up about, oh, 73 different renditions last summer (hey, there were a lot of backyard barbecues). But we’ve now learned about a new addition that works in just about any recipe, and it’s a complete game-changer. No, we’re not talkin’ truffle oil or an obscure type of olive or a hot sauce that is hotter than hot....
At first glance, it looks like a hot dog topped with meaty chili, what some call a chili dog. On closer inspection, we discover there’s no hot dog buried under there, just chili. Behold the chili bun, a beloved treat in the Appalachian Mountain South. Chili bun chili is the same as used on hot dogs, and the best places make it from scratch using ground beef and a little gentle spice....
It’s time for a trip to Jacksonville. Which one? Jacksonville, North Carolina, of course. This lovely seaside retreat has a fun downtown, great restaurants, riverside views, and Southern charm to spare. Jacksonville is located in eastern North Carolina on the banks of the New River, just a stone’s throw from the Atlantic Ocean. It’s known for Camp Lejeune, the U.S. Marine Corps base and training facility located there. Jacksonville is an ideal location for a vacation thanks to the nearness of the coast (with ocean breezes aplenty), and because it’s situated near the picturesque Croatan National Forest....
