I remember when I first learned the difference between regular pajamas and “the good pajamas.” My grandmother was preparing to go to the hospital overnight for surgery. In her bag, she had packed her favorite red lipstick—which she swiped on her lips right when she woke up in her hospital room, I can attest—and brand-new fancy pajamas. Until then, I had never seen her in a matching pajama set. Not once....
Even though our calendars are full of virtual get-togethers and our loved ones are just a phone call or FaceTime away, there’s still a sort of magic in an old-fashioned letter. As Amy Packham writes for HuffPost, there’s something about sending and receiving mail that feels even more personal amid the coronavirus pandemic… more needed and appreciated than ever before. “Doing something nice for someone else makes you happy, especially if you know they’ll really like it,” Deborah Smith, a positive psychologist and mindfulness expert, told Packham....
Wynonna Judd continues to make good on her promise to “continue the spectacle” in honor of her late mother Naomi. The singer surprised audiences by joining Carly Pearce for a duet of The Judds’ 1984 hit “Why Not Me” at the CMA Fest in Nashville on Friday. Before inviting Wynonna onstage, Pearce spoke about how the mother-daughter country duo inspired her own career. “CMA Fest, we lost one of our absolute pillars in country music earlier this year: Miss Naomi Judd,” she said....
You loved your grandmother’s beautiful, showy hydrangeas so much that you made the decision to plant some in your yard, right? Good call, but, after a visit to your local nursery, you are a bit confused over which type you should plant. Grandma grew the tall French hydrangeas, overloaded with coarsely toothed leaves and balloon-shaped blue blossoms. As much as you love those flowers and would cherish cuttings from her plants, that particular hydrangea variety would grow too tall and wide for your small garden....
An Outer Banks town has had enough after finding a “massive” hole left unattended on the beach this week. Kill Devil Hills shared a photo of the town’s ocean rescue supervisor looking peeved while standing in a grave-sized hole Tuesday. The frustrating discovery prompted a stern warning of the dangers unattended holes can pose to beachgoers, wildlife, and even first responders. “I guess we need to say it a little louder for the people in the back,” Kill Devil Hills wrote alongside the photo on Facebook....
A small bird of prey native to Mexico and Central America is making headlines after its apparent decision to spend the winter in Texas. The now-famous bat falcon was spotted for the first time at the Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge in Alamo around Thanksgiving. According to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), this is the first recorded time that a bat falcon has ever been seen in the U.S....
Bath & Body Works isn’t all Winter Candy Apple and Vanilla Bean Noel. There’s no doubt that they’ve mastered the seasonal scent market—we’re talking candles, soaps, the whole nine—but there’s a softer, more therapeutic side that some of us might remember, the customer-favorite Eucalyptus Spearmint Stress Relief collection. It’s soothing, uplifting, and just the fix we need before the holidays set in full force. And you know the countdown is already on....
As fans of HGTV’s Home Town well know, Ben Napier is just about the sweetest husband around (and Erin Napier has called her hubby “Super Dad,” too, when it comes to taking care of their toddler, Helen). He’s thoughtful, loving, devoted, and we hear he makes one heck of a beautiful kitchen island table, to boot. As if on a mission to make all other partners out there look bad, did we mention he also writes his beloved wife a love note every morning?...
Breakfast lovers are singing the praises of Darius Rucker after the Hootie & the Blowfish singer quietly treated diners at an IHOP in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, to a free meal over the weekend. Rucker is reportedly a regular at the city’s North Highway 17 location, where he visits a couple of times each month. General Manager Stephen Vitale told WCSC that Rucker approached him after finishing his meal on Sunday and asked about paying for the meals of everyone eating at the restaurant....
What can’t your KitchenAid stand mixer do? The workhorse kitchen tool can make everything from ice cream to pasta with the help of attachments. But if you own older attachments or had a secondhand KitchenAid gifted to you, you may wonder if these attachments work with a newer KitchenAid or if an older KitchenAid works with new attachments. Thanks to KitchenAid’s Attachment Fit Guarantee, stand mixer and attachment parts should be compatible, regardless of how old they are....
While most humans cringe at the thought of billions of cicadas emerging from the ground en masse, one animal in particular is preparing for the buffet of a lifetime: the wild turkey. Cicadas, it turns out, are the ultimate turkey delicacy, leading experts to predict an increase in wild turkey populations following the arrival of Brood X. For the hefty birds, it’s a month-long smorgasbord 17 years in the making....
Disney World was a little more magical than usual on the morning of Thursday, January 16th, when U.S. Army Staff Sergeant Byron Yates, of Pinellas County, Florida, surprised his five kids at the Orlando theme park. As ABC’s WFTS-TV, out of Tampa, Florida reported, Staff Sergeant Yates returned from a year-long deployment to Syria earlier this month. In all, Yates has served in the army for a total of 13 years in the Aviation Medivac Unit based out of Clearwater, Florida....
You don’t need to be to be an egghead to grow eggplants. They’re just as simple as their tomato cousins, and they like the same conditions. Plant them in a kitchen garden, or use one as the centerpiece of a flower-filled container. You’ll enjoy their star-shaped blooms and beautiful, delicious fruit. SelectWhile “Black Beauty” is a common selection in grocery stores, consider venturing beyond the everyday sort. “Florida Market” is a prolific heirloom with excellent flavor, faring well in our long growing season....
You may have been warned not to go chasing waterfalls, but after hearing about West Virginia’s new Waterfall Trail, we strongly disagree. While West Virginia may be called the Mountain State, it could also be called the Waterfall State, because it’s home to more than 200 of the natural wonders. To highlight these gorgeous cascades, the state has launched the first-ever statewide Waterfall Trail, featuring 29 of the many watery wonders found around the state....
Congratulations are in order for Marissa Helms and David Mayo! The happy couple were whisked together in holy mayomony on October 24 in Hendersonville, North Carolina. As is appropriate for a bride and groom whose last names evoke Hellmann’s mayonnaise, the socially distanced nuptials featured various nods to the emulsified condiment thanks to the mayonnaise brand. According to The Takeout Helms and Mayo shared the good news with Hellmann’s while planning their wedding....
I’d like you to forget what you know about boiling corn. Pretend you’ve never even done it before. (Boiled corn? What boiled corn?) Don’t even think about recipes with a 20-minute cook time or tell you to boil the corn in a pot of butter and milk. Super-fresh corn on the cob hardly needs to be cooked, let alone boiled. If it’s delicious enough to eat raw, you certainly don’t have to cook the life out of it, which is why I boil corn for one minute....
A Southern staple, these juicy, heart-shaped fruits spooned over sweet, moist biscuits are a faithful crowd-pleaser. But don’t let the thought of making biscuits scare you into buying those pre-packaged spongy cups. Our Classic Strawberry Shortcake recipe is easy to make—no rolling or cutting involved. And the difference in taste is well-worth the tiny bit of extra work. Because the biscuits freeze well (just be sure to wrap them in foil and a zip-top bag), prebake them in advance and defrost them the morning you plan to serve....
Although we love the flavor of thick, creamy egg salad (made with full-fat mayonnaise) just like Grandma’s recipe, there are some occasions where you may need to make a few swaps. One serving of egg salad can run you anywhere from 200-300 calories, and swapping in low-fat mayo can save you 50-100. If you’re looking for a lighter version of this classic Southern dish or, you’re one of the rare Southerners who can’t stand mayonnaise – you don’t necessarily have to compromise on a flavorful, silky texture....
If you fastidiously check on your tomato plants more than once a day, you probably already know that pruning can be an important part of your plant care routine. Pruning tomato plants is an optional, yet recommended, technique that some gardeners use to keep plants tidy, manipulate fruit size, and even hasten ripening. Before we talk about how to prune tomato plants, let’s talk about why and which types of tomato plants you should prune....
One bite of a juicy vine-ripened tomato can capture the whole essence of summer. Let your teeth break through the shiny skin, and the sweet flavor instantly delivers everything the season promises. And what’s even better is that growing them is easy. Use this simple planting guide, and you’ll have an abundant harvest you’ll be proud of. Good RootsThe key to tasty tomatoes is limiting how much water is inside the fruit....
