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To help us all weather the storm of the coronavirus pandemic safely from home, leave it to Dolly Parton to come up with ways to enrich our days. To name a few: On Sunday, she gave a moving Easter performance on her social media platforms. She’s also made nearly 100 of her songs from recent albums available once again on streaming platforms for our listening delight. Another Smoky Mountain Songbird initiative that has us grateful?...

Just ask the Gulf Shores/Orange Beach crowd what they like best about this 32-mile stretch of sugary sand, and they’ll immediately start naming restaurants. That’s because they consider the sand and surf a given. Besides the food, outdoor riches here are remarkable: Gulf shoreline, bayous, rivers, and lakes. Opportunities for adventure await at every turn with its family-friendly beaches and area attractions, including watersports, nature trails, and entertainment. Here are the top things to do during your getaway to Gulf Shores and Orange Beach, Alabama....

Front yards blooming with showy hydrangea shrubs can be dreamy, but there are other ways to enjoy these favorite flowers at home. Enter the container garden. Containers are a beautiful way to bring hydrangeas into your garden without the in-ground commitment. Defining Moment Dress up a front porch with pots of French hydrangeas. This popular shrub also grows well in containers when given morning sun, afternoon shade, and regular water. Line the steps with a mix-and-match collection of neutral vessels planted with mophead blooms in various colors for a dramatic display....

Craig Melvin is many things, but the Today host is first and foremost a Southerner. Y’all know that with that distinction comes the right to strong opinions on everything from mayonnaise brands and NCAA teams to the best way to prepare grits. Melvin, a native of Columbia, South Carolina, recently revealed where he falls on the age-old issue of sweet versus savory grits. Responding to a tweet from fellow South Carolinian and CNN commenter Bakari Sellers, the broadcaster came down firmly on the side of savory....

Joe Delery has been attending the 7 a.m. Mass at St. Rita Catholic Church in New Orleans every day for years. The retired New Orleans police officer recently spoke to the Clarion Herald about the celebrity who joined him for a period of time. “I get there typically about a half-hour before Mass and watch everybody come in, and also to tell everybody ‘good morning,’” Delery, a lifelong Catholic, told reporter Peter Finney Jr....

If you were looking up at the sky over southeast Georgia Sunday night, you would be forgiven for getting in touch with your inner Chicken Little and thinking that the sky just might be falling. After all, it’s not every night that a giant fireball blazes across the sky. The bright light was spotted streaking across the night sky at about 10 p.m. on Sunday, according to the NASA Meteor Watch Facebook page....

Did you hear the new “Orange Peach” single? If you think that has a nice ring to it, you’d perhaps be onto something, as the now famous country music duo are said to have brainstormed that name as an early suggestion for their group’s title, as CMT.com recently reported. With one half of the duo, Tyler Hubbard, hailing from Monroe, Georgia, and his co-pilot Brian Kelly, of Ormond Beach, Florida, the moniker is a playful riff on the famed fruits of each of their home states — and a pretty sweet name if you ask us....

When my brothers and I were shipped off for summers at my grandfather’s house in rural Virginia and sibling frustrations were running high, my grandmother would gather us up, point outside the screen door, and tell us, “Go pull weeds!” It was her proven remedy for many of life’s woes. While all of us kids grumbled about it, once we were outside tugging up misplaced plants, smashing dirt clods, and making the garden look nice, we always felt better....

Every Southerner knows about “The Good Silver”. It comes out for special occasions and occasionally “just because,” but with it, The Good Linens also emerge from the drawer where they’re stashed. Mama’s favorite cloth napkins will require ironing before Christmas dinner (And yes, people are still doing that), but what about Grandma’s heirloom tablecloth? In our family, we walk on eggshells to not spill a drop of gravy on my great-grandmother’s gorgeous lace tablecloth....

To me, the best part of a plate of hash browns is the frizzled, shatteringly crisp outer edges. If you are cooking a batch of hash browns at home, this is inevitably the part you’ll want to eat right out of the pan. If you’re a fan of the crunchy bits, the key is to wring as much liquid as possible out of the raw shredded potatoes. Wet foods do not brown when cooked, and potatoes are full of water....

All I want for Christmas is…cows. As strange as it sounds, such was the Christmas wish list for country star Carrie Underwood. And hubby Mike Fisher wasn’t about to let his wife down over the holidays. “My husband said, ‘what would you like for Christmas’ and I said ‘I would like cows,’” Underwood said during an interview with Country Now and other media. “Just for pets, you know…He went and got me a couple of cows....

If you’re a fan of snacking on dried blueberries or stocked up because of a sale, go check your shelves right now. Natierra Organic Freeze-Dried Blueberry pouches are being recalled because they may have lead in them. Yes, the same stuff that is toxic in paint and gasoline may be in your freeze-dried blueberries. The FDA has issued an urgent recall of the product after routine testing revealed levels of lead above the FDA’s recommended limits....

A few key things make our Southern worlds go ‘round . . . college football, Mama’s advice, and homemade chicken pot pie—not necessarily in that order. Our recipe for Old-Fashioned Chicken Pot Pie has been a fan-favorite since 1992, when Peggy Smith, a Southern Living test kitchen professional, originally developed it. Peggy knew the importance of quality ingredients, which can make or break a meal. And while we always opt for homemade cooking over the store-bought version, life sometimes gets in the way....

For many Southerners, including this one, summer means stone fruit. I love watermelon and berries of all kinds, but in warmer months, it’s peaches and nectarines that I crave. And while peaches are hailed as the iconic Southern fruit (next to the tomato), nectarines are grown here as well, and are readily available at farmers’ markets and grocery stores. Both of the ripe, rosy red-yellow fruits are tender and juicy, with a honeyed sweetness that is balanced out nicely by a little acidity....

Since their original shampoo was launched in 1971, Herbal Essences has delivered some of the most memorable scents in the industry. Over the years, the formulas have evolved and new products have been launched, but the brand remains true to its botanical heritage and holistically designed fragrances. We talked with Herbal Essences Senior Scientist Rachel Zipperian and P&G perfumer Stacy Hertenstein to learn about the history and development process of some of the brand’s most iconic scents....

At some point in our lives, snow goes from being an exciting treat to a routine-disrupting headache. For many adults, that childlike wonder went out the window right around the time we became saddled with responsibilities, schedules, and aching joints. But kids aren’t the only ones who find joy in the frigid white stuff. For the vast majority of dogs, snow is a very, very big deal. If you’ve ever seen a pup experience their first snowfall, you know: it’s their version of Christmas morning....

When it comes to food, Southerners can be a finicky lot. We all have strong opinions about what should and most certainly should not go into everything from potato salad to grits to chicken casserole. And when we’re dining out, we scrutinize that menu for foods to avoid before we commit. If a restaurant serves CRAYfish, for example, we bail. It’s CRAWfish, and if they don’t know that, they can’t be trusted....

There is so much to love about hydrangeas. Showy blooms, cottage appeal, what’s not to love? But add in those brand-new varieties with blooms that keep on hitting all summer long, like the grand finale at a fireworks show, and you’ve got some happy gardeners. While their bloom cycle is certainly appealing, the fact that they make it a little easier on their caretakers by blooming on both new and old growth makes them no-brainers....

Every car purchase comes with plenty to ponder, from the cost and size of your future ride to the bells and whistles you can’t live without. Afterall, a new or used car is one of the biggest buys you can make besides purchasing a home. But when it comes to considering an electric vehicle (EV), there are unique factors to consider, like how far it can get on a charge, where you’ll charge it, and more....

We’ve all heard the story about a friend who pops into Target to buy one thing and leaves the store an hour later with over 10 items in her cart that she could not live without. If we are being honest here, we’ve been that friend on more than one occasion. Target first opened its doors in 1962, and since then the department store has been the one-stop-shop for all of your needs from home decor to toothpaste....