It’s a cool and breezy morning on Blackbeard’s Ranch in Florida’s Myakka River Valley. Clouds conceal the early hints of sun and allow the dew to nestle a bit longer on the grass. It’s quiet, barring the rustle of droopy palm fronds in the wind and the distant lowing of grazing cows. You’d never guess that the powdery beaches and bright blue waters of the Gulf of Mexico are less than an hour’s drive to the west....
In 2010, when Katherine Mull and her husband, Stuart, were newlyweds in their mid-twenties, they began the search for their first home in Hickory, North Carolina, a town of just over 40,000 people east of Asheville. On his lunch breaks, Stuart drove around town, lingering whenever he saw properties for sale. Down a dead-end street near his office, he came across a farmhouse built in 1928. It was snow white with a whimsically steep and generous roof, and the two remaining shutters were embellished with half-moon cutouts....
As a young man, Tom Perini spent holidays with a ragtag group around his family’s table. After his father passed away in 1965, his mother, Maxine, invited their neighbors (the Wagstaffs), as well as friends who would have otherwise spent Thanksgiving or Christmas by themselves, to join her for celebratory meals. “Mother would not let anyone be alone on these holidays,” says Perini. “For all those years, this is what we had—family, friends of family, and family who had lost family....
Brittany Starks knows what it’s like to struggle. She also knows what it’s like to be the recipient of somebody’s generosity. And what happened when she found herself in between houses at the start of the school year last month, inspired her mission to pay it forward. “Everything was in storage, I didn’t have anything for my kids to wear to school, and I wasn’t getting paid for a week,” the single mother of two from Nashville, Tennessee, recalled....
In the design world, the color beige is about as basic as it gets. The ubiquitous neutral is a go-to hue for many homeowners in the living room and beyond—and for good reason. It pairs well with just about any color and style, and can transition with the trends through multiple generations. But while beige may have a reputation as a use-it-anywhere hue, a new study suggests there’s one room in the home where you might want to reconsider....
For fans of Truman Capote’s inimitable novella, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, it’s hard not to evoke an image of silver screen darling Audrey Hepburn when thinking of the character Holly Golightly. Hepburn did, after all, play the role of Golightly in the 1961 film rendition of the literary sensation. But when the author conceived the timeless character, on whom did he based her? The answer is multi-layered and complicated. According to a fascinating piece from Town & Country, there are many alleged contenders for who inspired Capote to pen the unforgettable character....
An easy way to add a little bit of magic to your Christmas décor is by putting candles in the windows. Not only do candles make your home feel cozy and festive from the inside, but they offer a glowing display from the outside. While the modern-day use of candles typically calls for flameless battery-operated styles that reduce risk and cost, traditional candles were first used in windows during Christmas centuries ago....
“On this International Nurses Day, my family and I want to join in the chorus of thank yous to nursing and midwifery staff all over the country and indeed the world,” Prince Charles said in a moving video message from The British Royal Family shared on this year’s International Nurses Day, Tuesday, May 12. We join the sentiment of gratitude for these selfless men and women who work so hard to help patients around the clock, 365 days a year....
Gatlinburg SkyLift Park celebrated the addition of its new SkyTrail with a heart-pounding performance worthy of the high-altitude attraction. At numerous points throughout the weekend, members of professional highline team Rucksack Circus delighted visitors by walking alongside North America’s longest pedestrian suspension bridge. That’s right: alongside. During each performance, members of the highline team traversed a two-inch-wide line suspended 150 feet above the ground across the Crockett Mountain Gap —all while providing commentary and fielding guest questions....
It’s date night. You selected two gorgeous, meaty salmon fillets to bathe in miso for dinner. The table is set. The wine is decanting. But as you pull the salmon out of the oven, you notice gooey white stuff seeping out of the fish. What is this mood-killing substance emerging from your pinky salmon fillets? Short answer: albumin. It’s a liquid protein hidden inside the fish when it’s raw. It coagulates and moves to the surface as the meat cooks....
The Mississippi River has long been a character all its own in the South, brought to life by the words of Southern writers and musicians, as well as through those who have traveled it. The river runs over 2,300 miles and spans 10 states, with a popular stretch running from Memphis to New Orleans. During the early 1800s, steamboats began running up and down the mighty Mississippi, offering a new kind of access to all the towns and ports in between....
Calling a dog “man’s best friend” hardly seems to cover the relationship between dogs and people. They are loyal, kind, and offer nearly unconditional love, endless joy and enthusiasm, and occasionally too much affection. They are always happy to see you, never tire of your presence, and never mind if you make a fool of yourself. They are some of the greatest creatures on this planet, truly wonderful companions who feel like members of the family, and the only animals that specifically evolved to be friends with humans....
Another year, another nail trend to get excited about. 2021 is already seeing increased searches and even more popularity for abstract nails, and we couldn’t be more into the personality-packed trend, particularly because it feels like a trip down memory lane. The characteristic swirls, dots, and colors are giving major retro energy. The best of the 1960s and 1970s can live right on your fingertips, from groovy swirls to mod-inspired shapes....
As news of her passing sinks in, Betty White is being remembered for more than her decades-long career in television and film. White, who died at the age of 99 on December 31, is also being celebrated for her enduring commitment to animal welfare and conservation, including a previously unknown Hurricane Katrina rescue effort. Audubon Nature Institute revealed on Friday that the beloved Golden Girls star paid for a private plane to relocate the aquarium’s otters and penguins from New Orleans to the Monterey Bay Aquarium in California in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina....
If wearing a nightgown in public is wrong, I don’t want to be right. Have you seen the options out there lately? These pretty little numbers deserve to see the light of day. With richer fabrics, flowy cuts, and breezy silhouettes, the best nightgowns aren’t just for bedtime anymore. To create an outfit that doesn’t make you think twice about prancing out the front door, it’s best to pay heed to the accessories....
We’re fortunate to live in a place where winters are typically mild, but dramatic temperature shifts do happen and they can be a real pain for both people and plants to adjust to. In order to set your yard up for success, it’s important to choose plants that are hardy enough to make it through your zone’s typical winter-weather patterns. “When it comes to selecting plants that will thrive in the South’s cold, start by picking plants that are suited to your area’s USDA Zone,” says Kip McConnell, plant expert for Southern Living Plant Collection....
Fear not, Hallmark Christmas fans! The feel-good network isn’t giving up on the winter magic just because we’ve taken our Christmas trees down. For the third year in a row, Hallmark is following up its annual Countdown to Christmas with Winterfest: a heartwarming continuation of cozy romance delivered fresh throughout the month of January. Winterfest 2020 is serving up five new movies to keep the warm and fuzzies going into the new year....
From barbecue pork and fried chicken, to collards and okra, the South’s culinary heritage is based firmly in its agriculture. Put plainly, we cook best what we grow best. But doesn’t mean that there aren’t exceptions. Take, for example, banana pudding. No Southern potluck, wedding, funeral, or summer cookout is complete without a fresh-from-the-fridge pile of custard, bananas, and Nilla Wafers. According to The Post and Courier, banana pudding may be one of the first desserts in the South to feature an item completely unrelated to the area’s agriculture....
It has taken decades of work and millions of dollars, but now, after more than half a century on the endangered list, federal wildlife officials have begun the process of downgrading the status of the red-cockaded woodpecker to “threatened.” This week, WABE published a fascinating look at the relationship between the rare bird and the U.S. government and the essential role that military bases have played in their comeback. Before commercial logging, there were millions of red-cockaded woodpeckers in the southeastern United States....
Bruno De Faveri/AGF/UIG/Getty Images Over the course of countless conversations with Southerners throughout the years, one truth stands heads and tails above the others. Southerners love snakes, especially females. Realtors will tell you that when it’s decision time to buy a house or not, the deal-breaker for women is not granite countertops, size of the closets, number of bathrooms, or the floor plan. It’s “Does the yard attract snakes? ‘Cause I can’t live without lots of snakes....
