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On July 8, Crystal Dunn wagered $20 in a Kentucky Lottery instant win game and it was her lucky day. Just a few seconds after placing her bet in the online game, she got a message saying she had won $146,351.74, according to a press release from the Kentucky Lottery. Dunn was understandably gobsmacked at the stroke of luck. “I never thought I would win something like this, but this goes to show it can happen,” she said, according to the release....

It’s always a good idea to have a pound (or even more) of ground beef in the freezer. This quick-cooking protein is the foundation of so many comforting meals—spaghetti sauce, meatloaf, casseroles, meatballs, tacos, and of course, burgers. Think of ground meat—whether it’s beef, turkey, chicken, or pork—as a secret weapon that can be combined with whatever happens to be in your refrigerator or pantry to make dinner happen at a moment’s notice....

It isn’t difficult to understand the allure of donning sleepwear around the holidays. Warm and cozy, pajamas are just about the perfect complement to evenings snuggled up by the fireplace with your favorite Christmas movies streaming in the background. But, once regarded as strictly loungewear, Christmas jammies have gone the way of the ugly sweater: Cute, kitschy, and too good not to show off to your entire social media following....

I can’t even tell you how many times my bathroom sink drain has been clogged, mostly from hair. When the dirty water takes forever to drain after I’ve washed my face or brushed my teeth, it leaves a dirty film around the bathroom sink bowl, and is a true pain to continuously wipe off. According to Sara San Angelo, a professional home cleaner and founder of Confessions of a Cleaning Lady in Charleston, South Carolina, there are many reasons bathroom sinks get clogged....

If you’re sniffing the air for the source of a mysterious musty smell, we have some bad news. It may be coming from your clothes. You can try washing them again, but once mildew smells penetrate the fabric, it usually takes more than a regular wash cycle to remove them. This is a serious problem since mildew smells aren’t only unpleasant, they wreak havoc on your sinuses and allergies. Don’t worry, saving your favorite outfit is easier than you think....

It is well known that eggshells make for great composting material, but now we are learning how they can do so much more in the garden. According to Apartment Therapy, eggshell water may be the nutrient-rich drink your plants have been looking for, as it is a highly effective, convenient, and inexpensive fertilizer option. Whether you save the water from hard-boiled eggs or you make it using empty shells, eggshell water is a great way to repurpose and get more out of your eggshells....

With the holidays set to look and feel a little bit different this year, one Kentucky senior living community is asking for help making sure their residents still enjoy the magic of the season. Springhurst Health and Rehab in Louisville is looking to deck their halls with over 10,000 Christmas cards by December 24. “Our residents are currently utilizing virtual platforms to stay in contact with their loved ones, so our hope is that these Christmas cards will bring back a grand sense of Christmas tradition that would otherwise be lacking this year,” Alicia Redfern, a representative for the center explained to Southern Living....

Hungry for cookies? Always. But what type of cookies you crave may have something to with what state you reside in — at least according to a recent infographic shared by Instagram revealing the most popular holiday cookies by state on the social media platform. According to Insider.com, Instagram determined their findings based on the number of likes and mentions of different types of cookies from a combination of Instagram and Instagram Story posts over the past month....

You know the feeling. It’s been a long day. You had a salad for lunch, and maybe for dinner too. It’s time to treat yourself to something sweet. When such a craving strikes, sometimes an OREO is the only thing that will do. (Okay, or OREO Cookie balls). Well, how about satisfying that hankering with a Strawberry Frosted Donut OREO? Come March, you’ll be able to indulge in just that with Nabisco’s latest limited-edition release of the beloved OREO cookie....

Want to live like you’re royalty in the Bluegrass State? Set your sights—and vacation plans—on The Kentucky Castle. About 30 minutes from Lexington, Kentucky, in Versailles, you’ll want to rally up your favorite ladies for a getaway to this medieval-style castle with a boutique hotel, restaurant, spa, and more. “Whether you are seeking bourbon, horses, Kentucky cuisine, or Southern hospitality, The Kentucky Castle is the perfection location to visit. The property boasts a 13 room hotel, farm to table restaurant, event venues, a spa and a working farm all of which our guests are encouraged to enjoy,” Christie Eckerline, Chief Operating Officer of The Kentucky Castle shares with Southern Living....

When a bride goes wedding dress shopping, she arrives full of expectations. She’s already imagined the big moment over and over again: Her mom is there, the veil is brought out, tears are shed, bubbly is popped, and she’s off to the chapel. Well we’ve watched enough Say Yes to the Dress episodes to know things don’t always go so smoothly, especially when it comes to budget. Wedding dresses are expensive—like, really expensive....

Less than three weeks after Hurricane Laura left more than a third of Louisiana a disaster zone, the Gulf Coast is bracing for yet another dangerous hurricane. Now a Category 1 storm, Hurricane Sally is expected to strengthen before making landfall early Tuesday as a potential Category 2. The slow-moving hurricane is forecast to strike southeastern Louisiana, though it’s still too early to determine exactly where Sally’s center would move onshore....

Do you prefer country fried steak or chicken fried steak? This debate might be as polarizing as the one over whether or not you can put sugar in your cornbread, although that one can get pretty heated. Whichever way you grew up loving this tenderized fried piece of beef, however, that is the way you think it should always be cooked. Both methods, country fried and chicken fried, are similar, but there are just enough variations in the recipe to create two entirely different, yet equally delicious, dishes of pure comfort food....

Like most of you, Grumpy loves a gardenia. If there is a plant on Earth whose flowers emit a more powerfully sweet scent, I haven’t smelled it. Thus, my next-door neighbor and just about everybody else on the street (including me) have a gardenia in their yard. From observing this, I have come to the following conclusion. There are many places to plant a gardenia, but the worst location is right in front of your house....

One of the greatest friendships in Southern fictional history is that of Idgie and Ruth, the two women at the heart of the classic film Fried Green Tomatoes. Based on Fannie Flagg’s classic novel, the movie tells the intertwined stories of two friendships. Ninny Threadgoode (Jessica Tandy) keeping Evelyn Couch (Kathy Bates) entertained with stories of her colorful past. Ninny’s most engaging tales involved the exploits of her free-spirited sister-in-law Idgie (Mary Stuart Masterson), who owned a small Alabama café in the 1920s, along with her best friend Ruth (Mary-Louise Parker)....

The Zesica Turtleneck Pullover Sweater, which starts at just $30, is being called “pretty darn perfect” by reviewers who love how it looks with everything from jeans to leggings. (Whoever said style and comfort don’t go together never met this oversized sweater.) Buy It: Starting at $30; amazon.com The turtleneck has a knitted look with a ribbed design around the neck, cuffs, and midriff for a bit of dimension. Although the chunky knit material has a lightweight feel, reviewers say it gives off a decent amount of warmth, making it perfect for sweater weather and beyond....

It happens like clockwork each year. As late spring inches toward early summer, I find myself unloading an overly ambitious farmers’ market haul into my already crammed refrigerator. I may have hit the pavement with a (somewhat) planned list of what I needed to buy, but after a winter spent waiting for bright berries and fresh veggies, I can’t seem to help myself. (Don’t get me started on how many fresh cut flowers make their way into my basket too....

The Polar Express may only be a fantasy book, but, if you’re looking to get a real taste of that railway Christmas magic you can do so by hopping aboard a train in Texas. Holiday Magic in Grapevine, Texas As you may or may not already know, Grapevine, Texas is the place to be for the holidays. The town, with a population of 53,000 people, located just outside of Dallas has become well-known as the Christmas capital of the Lone Star State....

While school field trips and family vacations certainly go a long way towards funding Colonial Williamsburg, tourism isn’t the only source of revenue keeping the beloved living-history museum afloat. Behind the tri-corner hats and muskets is the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, a private non-profit foundation initially endowed by the Rockefeller family. The foundation’s little-known product development arm has been quietly helping support the museum through licensing since the 1930s. And, with a whole lot of help from one perennially popular floral pattern, it’s been doing a spectacular job....

Alana Woerpel loves creating elegant rooms in fine old houses for clients who expect the best. One of the Charlottesville-based decorator’s unsung talents, though, is recognizing beauty in overlooked places. Her family’s soulful weekend cottage on the Virginia side of the Potomac River is one of them. She and her husband, Kurt, discovered it twelve years ago during a time when he was traveling regularly to a tiny riverside neighborhood called Sandy Point, near Kinsale, Virginia, to work for a lumber company....