Posts

An anonymous do-gooder known only as “Ms. Claus” has blessed the residents of Gallatin, Tennessee, for the second time this holiday season. Gallatin City Government revealed on Facebook that “Ms. Claus” paid off her neighbors’ past-due electricity accounts on New Year’s Eve. “The Gallatin business owner, who wishes to remain anonymous, said her children had weighed in and wanted to do more during this challenging year,” explained the post. “Together, the family donated more than $10,000 to pay off past due [Gallatin Department of Electricity] accounts....

Virginia Settlers arriving in the New World penned letters marveling about oysters the size of dinner plates to friends and family back home across the pond, but colonists were hardly the first to sing their praises. “In Roman times, a day’s worth of work equaled one oyster,” says Dudley Patteson, owner of Hope and Glory Inn in Irvington, who was instrumental in creating the official Virginia Oyster Trail. “They were so valuable that Roman soldiers had to guard them....

By mixing together a couple cups of kosher salt and some egg whites, you can create a “salt tomb” to bake a fish in. The salt and egg white mixture becomes hard and seals the fish as it bakes. By creating a barrier that prevents moisture from escaping, the fish cooks in its own moisture and is flavored by the other ingredients used to stuff the fish. I’ve prepared many fish in my day, and this is undoubtedly my favorite way to bake a whole fish—not to mention how dramatic and fun it is to break the fish out of its salt shell!...

When they released a special pack of beers featuring adoptable dogs from a local animal shelter last month, Motorworks Brewing in Bradenton, Florida, hoped to help four shelter pups find their forever homes. They never expected to reunite one of the dogs with her long-lost family in Wisconsin. According to KSTP, Monica Mathis was living in Iowa in 2017 when her beloved terrier mix, Hazel, went missing. She searched everywhere, but months turned into years and Hazel remained nowhere to be found....

You’re not alone if you’re loving Jonathan and Drew Scott’s new HGTV Series Property Brothers: Forever Home. The new show centers around renovating family homes to last through all phases of life, and provides in equal parts, sentimental stories and the expected light-hearted banter of the brothers. And along the way, the duo doles out some pretty amazing home renovation advice. On a recent episode, titled “Suburban Las Vegas Upgrade,” there’s one tip we can’t get out of our heads: As Realtor....

My desk is a mishmash of beauty products, which I personally excuse as part of the job—as a beauty e-commerce writer, knowing about the Internet’s best beauty products is a requirement. And in the throes of COVID-19, to balance makeup with the reality of mask-wearing, I dove deep into eye makeup. After testing hundreds of eyeshadow palettes, I’ve finally settled on one I love best: PYT Beauty’s just-launched Upcycle Eyeshadow Palettes....

You never know where you’ll find your forever town. Consider Bonnie and Michael Hearn, who were living in Florida when they retired early a few years ago. They realized that even though they lived just a few miles from the beach, they hardly went there. So they left a place that many think of as the ultimate retirement destination for one that truly suited them. They returned to Chattanooga, where they had previously lived and where Michael was from, and to a climate where they can be active outdoors every day....

As the largest city in Texas and the fourth-largest city in the U.S., Houston offers visitors a huge helping of culture and cuisine, along with a side of sports and swagger. No two visits to Houston are quite the same, as there is always something new to discover in this diverse and vibrant metropolitan area that has contributed many gifts to the world, from the U.S. space exploration program to Beyoncé....

You know the smoky, burnt smell all too well. You know it happens every time you turn your oven on and isn’t going to go away unless you clean it. Or maybe every time you open up your oven instead of seeing freshly baked cookies or a sheet pan of roasted veggies, all you can see is a reminder that you need to clean your oven. However you got to this point, you’re here and it’s time to clean your oven and not put off the task any longer....

One reviewer described the beauty benefits: “I shower and style my hair at night, and after sleeping on these, my hair looked freshly blown dry the next morning. I’m not exaggerating, my hair looked the exact same in morning as it did after I styled it the night before…I can only imagine how my face is loving it.” What makes the Bedsure Satin Pillowcase Set different from the basic ones you’ve always used comes down to the smoothing fabric that keeps frizz and split ends at bay, stops your skin from sinking into and scratching on fibers (which speeds up the development of fine lines and wrinkles), and maintains a cooler temperature throughout the night....

The cast of Virgin River is busy filming the show’s fourth season, but they’re still making time to have a little bit of fun with fans. This week, producers introduced two new series regulars with more behind-the-scenes videos on the series’ official Instagram account. In the first video, Alexandra Breckenridge (Mel Monroe) and newcomer Mark Ghanimé can be seen dancing on a porch to Montell Jordan’s “This Is How We Do It” between scenes....

A family of wild horses on the Outer Banks was spotted taking a rare dip in the ocean. Corolla Wild Horse Fund, the nonprofit that oversees the herd of wild horses that roams barrier island, shared a video of the moment on Facebook. “One of the most common questions we get is ‘do the horses get in the ocean?’” the fund wrote alongside the short clip. “When it’s hot and buggy, they do!...

Southerners have always been gifted at making the best out of anything, such as using leftover mashed potatoes to make old-fashioned potato candy. It’s a trait borne out of both a good attitude and stubborn resilience. We like to imagine that’s how a toxic weed that you can find throughout the South became a side dish, and while it might be forgotten amongst most people today, there was once an Appalachian delicacy known as poke salad....

While most states in the country are divided into counties, since the 19th century, Louisiana has been divided into parishes. It’s evidence of the state’s history and the shifting influences of colonization on the map and its borders. The only other state with differing organizational terms is Alaska, which has regions separated into boroughs rather than counties. The term “parish” has ecclesiastical origins. Before the Louisiana Purchase of 1803, the area we know as Louisiana was colonized by France and Spain....

We’ll let the fact that one McDonald’s has turquoise arches slide. But have you ever wondered why McDonald’s signature logo is red-and-yellow? Like almost everything in restaurant marketing, there’s likely a very specific reason behind the move. According to Reader’s Digest, it all comes down to psychology. “The color red is stimulating and is associated with being active. It also increases heart rate, which helps to jumpstart (sic) your appetite,” writes Morgan Cutolo in the piece....

Situated in that small section of Alabama that steals the Gulf shoreline away from Florida, Mobile is a treasure that often remains under the radar. The Port City offers visitors a quaint escape full of history, seafood, and Spanish moss—oh, and a family-friendly, annual Mardi Gras Carnival with a saga that started long before New Orleans. From azaleas to Antebellum homes, here are eight reasons to make Mobile your next adventure:...

Do you ever feel like you’re constantly spending hours cleaning, only to find that your home seems to be dirtier than before? It happens to the best of us. You might be surprised to find that some of the things you do to get a tidier space might actually be making your home more dirty in the future.Below, we tapped two experts to explain the cleaning mistakes that make your home dirtier, and how you can avoid making them next time you clean....

It’s no secret that Alton Brown is a culinary genius. So, when the cookbook author, television host, and certified food science whiz says he’s found a better way make something—whether it’s coffee or popcorn—you better believe we listen. Thanks to Buzzfeed, Brown’s trick for making “perfect popcorn” recently caught our attention. Unlike some of his more complicated kitchen hacks, fortunately neither beakers nor Bunsen burners are required to pull this one off....

Apple season is approaching. As stores, menus, and Pinterest-worthy tablescapes start filling up with fall’s favorite fruit, you may find yourself pondering one of the season’s perennial questions: What exactly is the difference between apple cider and apple juice? What is Apple Cider? The Kimmel Orchard & Vineyard in Nebraska City, Nebraska defines cider as “raw apple juice that has not undergone a filtration process to remove coarse particles of pulp or sediment....

Is it just us, or are alligators developing a taste for fast food? Not long after a gator made headlines for chasing people through the parking lot of a Florida Wendy’s, news broke of a taco shop in East Texas that was forced to close its drive-thru after an alligator got in line and then fell asleep. The scene unfolded at Jucy’s Taco in Henderson Wednesday morning. According to the Henderson Police Department, an eight-foot alligator made the 500-foot journey to the taco shop from a nearby lake....