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Whenever a new kitchen appliance or cooking gadget hits the market, it is hard not to rush out and buy one. After all, these new tools are supposed to make preparing meals a lot easier for us, right? Oftentimes, we find that these gizmos and devices don’t save us any work or time at all, and they just wind up taking up space in a drawer or cabinet. I am thinking about my electric knife right now, but who will admit to buying a garbage bowl?...

It can be hard to keep up with all of the food and skin product recalls out there, but for anyone who has noticed the recent news around various sunscreens and hand sanitizers, there seems to be one term that has popped up again and again in the past year: benzene. Here’s the lowdown on the carcinogenic chemical, and why you especially do not want it to be in your sunscreen, hand sanitizer, and beyond....

Readers sometimes complain that I don’t write about enough native plants. Let me be clear – I write about good plants, whether they’re native or not. But lest native plantophiles consider me a bigot, I offer praise here for a group of native plants most of you disdain. Sumacs. People generally consider these suckering shrubs to be weeds because they’re so easy to grow in USDA Zones 3 to 9. They tolerate almost any well-drained soil, have few pests, need little care, and thrive in sun or light shade....

My kitchen counter is clean enough to dine from, but hiding in the cabinets below are no less than seven nonstick pans in varying degrees of deterioration, wobbling atop each other with the occasional wooden bowl mixed in. Some have bent handles, some have handles that swivel precariously when you grip them, some are scratched, some are dented. Sound familiar? Well, here’s one telltale sign that it’s time to toss out your nonstick pan or other nonstick cookware: “If your non-stick [sic] pan is scratched, it’s probably still useable (albeit slightly less non-stick), unless the coating is actually chipping off....

Don’t tell my grandma, but nonstick pans just might beat cast-iron for frying eggs. I mean, they just slip right out of the pan! While they aren’t quite as beloved as the versatile and classic cast-iron skillet, nonstick pans are extremely useful in the kitchen for whipping up frittatas, pancakes, stir-fries, or anything that might stick to the pan. Of course, that seemingly magic ability only works if you take care of your pan, and nonstick pans do need a little extra TLC....

Please join us in wishing the happiest of birthdays to Sarah Wilder of Mobile, Alabama! Wilder, who currently resides at Little Sisters of the Poor’s Sacred Heart Residence, just celebrated her 106th birthday and the former teacher is still “as sharp as a tack.” The oldest of ive children, Wilder was born in Carbon Hill, Alabama, on May 4, 1915. The Vanderbilt University graduate went on to teach for many years at Baker High School and Barton Academy in Mobile....

We’re going back to Wetumpka, y’all! Ben and Erin Napier will revisit the small Alabama town that was selected by HGTV to receive a whole-town makeover in the smash-hit series Home Town Takeover, on Small Business Saturday, November 27. The announcement of the new, one-hour special comes after HGTV put out a broad casting call looking for towns and community leaders across America “that were motivated by Erin and Ben Napier’s work to revitalize Wetumpka” back in August....

Darius Rucker’s highly anticipated Chapel Hart collaboration is finally here! Today the Grammy winner released “Ol’ Church Hymn,” a gospel-inspired love song featuring the Mississippi trio. The new single comes on the heels of another collaboration between Rucker and the group, who joined forces for a performance of Bonnie Raitt’s “Something to Talk About” during the season finale of America’s Got Talent earlier this month. Chapel Hart shot to fame after their Dolly Parton- inspired “You Can Have Him, Jolene” performance earned them a Golden Buzzer on their AGT debut back in July....

There’s no denying that smartphones have changed the world. Whether you’re watching a TikTok, reading a recipe, texting your bestie, watching a Dolly Parton video clip, or snapping a photo of your dog, smartphones are incredibly useful. One of the most helpful things smartphones have done, though, is make it nearly impossible to get lost. While we all have one parent who can still manage to go astray, smartphones with their built-in GPS and map apps mean that you can always find a gas station, a diner, or the fastest route to Nashville....

Chores can have such a negative connotation. Nowadays we think of things like scrubbing tubs, unloading and reloading the dishwasher, and countless loads of laundry. But if you grew up in the South, your first chores were likely anything but mundane. Chore times were often some of the best times. Even if a few of them did start with a little bit of manual labor, before you knew it, you were often having the time of your life and making memories destined to last a lifetime....

Two things will be noticeably missing from this year’s national championship football game. Not only is tailgating barred from tonight’s big dance, but Georgia’s beloved canine mascot will reportedly not be in attendance when the Bulldogs’ take on TCU in Los Angeles. According to reporter Adam Murphy, Uga X and his famous doghouse won’t be making the cross-country trip. The Seiler family, which has bred the bulldogs that have served as Georgia’s mascots for more than 50 years, told WTOC that they believe that the trip would be too difficult for the nine-year old bulldog named “Que....

You’ve likely noticed that ground beef is sold in several types of packaging at your local grocer depending on the brand. Does it matter what type of packaging is used for ground beef for safety and preservation? We asked Lisa Robinson, VP of global food safety at public health, Ecolab, who says that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approves all food packaging materials, all of which must be formulated in compliance with the agency’s requirements....

When it comes to the kitchen, we all know that this space can be the heart of our homes. Whether your kitchen (or ideal kitchen) is bright and airy or takes design notes from classic blue and white patterns, a beautifully functional kitchen is a welcoming space for all to cook and dwell. For many home cooks, the recipe to success depends on having reliable and functional kitchen countertops, ideally adding to the overall aesthetic as well....

There has been a lot of discussion about how to load a dishwasher, how to clean a dishwasher, and why aluminum foil and dishwasher salt may be your washer’s best friends. There have been articles about why you should stop rinsing dishes, some surprising things you can run through the wash, as well as what you absolutely should never, ever stick inside your beloved appliance. However, not much has been said about when to run it....

I can’t count the number of times I have found myself standing in a grocery aisle, holding loaves of bread, bags of chips, and bottles of wine, trying to do the mental math of how much food and drink to buy to feed a crowd. I’ve done it at the holidays, trying to figure out how big a turkey I need for 12 people, and I’ve done it in the summer, calculating how much cold beer and sandwich meat my friends and I will need for a week at the beach....

Got curls? There’s something—okay, a few things—you should know. Most importantly, though, if you’d never dream of hitting the pillow before brushing through your locks, it’s time to put that vintage beauty practice to bed. We don’t mean to disagree with Mama, but we’ve come to find that curly hair should never be detangled when it’s dry. When you run a brush through your dry curls, you’re basically breaking down your spirals with each pass through....

Whether you made too much soup or you stocked the freezer for a rainy day, now you’ve reheated a frozen block of it and it just doesn’t taste as great as it did before the trip to the freezer. It might be slightly watery from freezing, or the herbs, once vibrant and green, are now a little flat and lifeless. It’s not beyond repair though. All it needs is a little sprucing up to make it as good as fresh....

The stars were out in full force at the Academy of Country Music Awards on March 7, 2022. There were performances from some of the biggest names in country music, from Thomas Rhett and Carrie Underwood to Jason Aldean, Luke Bryan, and the Queen of Country herself, Ms. Dolly Parton, alongside Kelsea Ballerini. Once all the awards were given out, with Chris Stapleton and Carly Pearce winning big as this year’s Male and Female Artist of the Year, there was one final surprise left in store....

Some good company is comin’, indeed! Actor Leslie Jordan, whom you might recognize from Will & Grace, released Company’s Comin’, an album of traditional and original gospel hymns earlier this month, and it’s more than just, well, music to our ears—it’s got cameos from more than a few famous friends including Dolly Parton, Eddie Vedder, Tanya Tucker, Ashley McBryde, and TJ Osborne, among others. Even Chris and Morgane Stapleton’s musical chops are featured on the album....

If you go back 20 years or so, the phrase “multigenerational living” might have conjured up images of a fun-loving cousin, probably pushing 30, who refuses to move out of his parents’ basement. Grown kids bunking up with their parents was, once upon a time, the type of behavior that might inspire a punchline. But, according to research, as more people search for solutions in an uncertain, COVID-era economy, inviting aging parents—and, yes, grown kids, too—home to live with you is becoming increasingly normal....