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Preparing Thanksgiving dinner is a marathon, not a sprint. It requires a lot of planning and strategy, or it can easily get overwhelming, even for seasoned cooks. There’s all the grocery shopping, working around limited oven space, and then there’s the dessert. We asked a few professional chefs across the South for their advice on executing the big meal. These pros are accustomed to cooking in large volumes and do it regularly under a time crunch....

Cyber Monday is here, and we’re taking some time after giving thanks with loved ones to shop from some of the best deals of the year. No need to stand in line for hours on end—shopping the best Cyber Monday deals online makes it easy to stock up on a budget. And now is one of the best times of the year to snag deals on big-ticket items like vacuums. The savvy shopper will take some time on Cyber Monday to shop for gifts for loved ones at great discounts....

‘Tis the season for a treat or two. While Christmas pinwheels, cornflake wreaths, cranberry Christmas cake, classic eggnog, and eggnog french toast casserole are all delicious, Dairy Queen has the answer for when you want a festive dessert but don’t feel like making it yourself. Once again, DQ has brought back a fan favorite: The minty Candy Cane Chill Blizzard Treat. This one is a peppermint-lover’s dream with candy cane pieces and chocolate chunks blended into vanilla soft serve....

Some of us Baylor University alums remember when the only way you could be entertained in downtown Waco was to leave there and go to Dallas or Austin. But then along came the Gaines train, rolling into town. “Before, we might have had somewhere between 400,000 and 500,000 visitors a year,” says Carla Pendergraft, director of marketing for the Waco Convention & Visitors Bureau. “Now we’re at 2.6 million, with 1....

What if we told you that that ancient brush you’ve been using since George W. Bush was president could standing between you and the good hair day of your dreams? It turns out that beautiful hair starts with a good, clean hairbrush, which, experts say, is where many women go wrong. John Stevens, research and development lead of Goody Hair Products, told Today that a good rule of thumb is to change your brush every six months....

There’s more than one way to apply eyeliner. That being said, no matter whether we’re talking about how to apply liquid eyeliner, how to apply pencil eyeliner, or how to apply gel eyeliner there are a few hard and fast rules that are universally applicable. No eye pulling, heavy lower-lining, or applying when you’re in a rush. The last of these always ends terribly. Most other eyeliner transgressions are easily forgiven—if not up to personal discretion....

Tiny, tasty, and remarkably easy to grow, cherry tomatoes offer everyone the chance to channel their inner farmer. Whether you tend to an acre of land in the country or a container on a patio in the city, you can grow these colorful gems and enjoy your own farm-to-table produce. Cherry tomatoes are relatively fuss-free as long as you follow a few simple rules, so with varietal names such as ‘Golden Sweet’, ‘Isis Candy’, and ‘Black Cherry,’ your hardest job will be in choosing which one to plant....

Here’s a sentence we’d never thought we’d say: Cincinnati Bengals fans are embracing Louisiana culture ahead of the Super Bowl. Why? Joe Burrow, of course! The second-year quarterback—who won the Heisman Trophy and the national championship for the LSU Tigers in 2020—led the Ohio-based team to Super Bowl LVI and ended a 30-year playoff drought. Bengals’ star wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase was also a part of LSU’s championship winning team....

It’s the holiday season and between exchanging gifts, hosting holiday parties, and decorating your home for Christmas, you’ve accumulated one or more poinsettias, the ultimate festive plant that displays the colors of the season. Poinsettia is Euphorbia pulcherrima, which translates roughly to ’the fairest,’ and it’s easy to see why. The large, often crimson (but sometimes pink or white) leaves that surround the small, yellow flowers are some of the most attractive seasonal foliage....

The Notebook holds the title as one of the greatest love stories ever told. This timeless movie centers around the improbable summer romance of mill worker, Noah Calhoun and wealthy, Allie Hamilton. Their love is put to the test when the summer comes to an end and the looming question arises about the fate of their relationship. Does love really conquer all? The Notebook radiates relationship goals, from Noah and Allie slow dancing in the street to Noah writing Allie 365 letters every day for a year....

A nudge is a way of influencing someone’s behavior without giving them an incentive (like an allowance) or requiring it (like a mandate). Nudges have been studied as part of economics and behavior science for a long time with “nudge theory” even helping garner a Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences in 2017, CNN notes. Nudges aren’t just for fancy economists, though, they can also help get kids doing chores, your coworkers taking care of business, and even help you make healthier decisions at the dinner table....

Any Ina Garten fan will recognize the simple red, green and white façade of the culinary maven’s [tempo-ecommerce src=“http://www.amazon.com/San-Marzano-Whole-Peeled-Tomatoes/dp/B000SEJ8F6” rel=“sponsored” target="_blank">all things, it should come as no surprise that the only tomatoes Garten uses are widely considered the crème de la crème: San Marzanos. But what exactly are they, and more importantly, are they worth the money? According to The Kitchn, San Marzano tomatoes are a specific variety grown in one particular region of Italy: the Agro Sarnese Nocerino of the Sarno River Valley near Mount Vesuvius....

Don’t get into a car with Tim McGraw unless you’re ready to listen to the Eagles. The road trip-loving country star, who has a habit of turning car rides into singalongs, recently took a road trip to Napa with his two half-brothers, Mark and Matthew McGraw. Tim shared a clip from the ride that shows the three of them belting out the Eagles classic “Hotel California.” The siblings also happen to be wearing matching Adidas track suits courtesy of the Grammy-winner’s wife, fellow country singer Faith Hill....

At first glance, the similar delicate layers of yellow cake and rich fudge frosting may lead you to mistake Maryland’s Smith Island cake for New Orleans’ Doberge cake, or vice versa. But while the two confections are similar in appearance, residents of both locations will be the first to tell you that they are not one and the same—especially when it comes to their history. So, what’s the difference between Maryland’s Smith Island Cake and New Orleans’s Doberge cake?...

The pandemic has made everything slow down, and many of us have found solace in crafting and elaborate baking. In St. Louis, chef Rob Connoley has been slowing things down since the 2019 opening of his fine dining restaurant Bulrush. At the now-reopened restaurant (after a rocky COVID-19 year), Connoley pays tribute to 19th century Ozark cuisine and utilizes lost crops native to the Ozark region through a partnership with local scientist Natalie Mueller at the Washington University....

Ol’ Man Ginn’s Barn (SL-1997) is a popular choice for Southern Living House Plans shoppers lately because it’s the perfect rustic retreat. Throughout the pandemic, we’ve seen a spike in interest for accessory dwelling units, sheds, pool houses, and other backyard escapes. We’re right there with you—after a year cooped up in our homes, we all need some extra room to spread out. A small outbuilding can be a practical addition to your property....

Sweet Magnolias is a series that just begs for us to re-watch it as soon as we’ve wrapped our viewing of the final episode. The drama, the humor, the friendship…even though the Netflix series only debuted a few months ago, we’re all eager to head back to the town of Serenity. Thankfully, Netflix recently announced the show has officially been renewed for a second season, but with that still quite some time away, we’re definitely enjoying digging deeper into season one of the runaway hit....

Gone are the days of spending hours at furniture stores. While there’s really no substitute for plopping down on seven different couches to compare comfort levels, the process can be inconvenient for many customers. Now living can rooms get an upgrade with just a click of a button. Online shopping is an easy alternative—the web offers seemingly infinite options in a wider range of prices, and the pieces will be delivered straight to your door....

When you’re just starting out in the world of baking, it’s important to set yourself up for success. Our first piece of advice: Read the recipe from start to finish. Our second piece of advice: Invest in some quality bakeware. While we may love and cherish the bakeware passed down to us from Grandma, it’s key to think practically about your baking materials and how they will impact the resulting baked goods....

Ever since show creator and executive producer Dan Fogelman brought the Pearson family into our homes in 2016, we’ve loved following every second of the Big Three’s journey into adulthood, parenthood, and all the trials and tribulations both bring. As we near the end of our six-year relationship with This Is Us, we can’t help but wonder: Is this it? In the show’s final panel at the Television Critics Association last week, Fogelman gave some insight into a possible future for the beloved Pearsons once the series finale airs on May 24....