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The bond between dog and dog owner is a precious one indeed. And long after Lauren Henderson’s beloved dog Timber ran away, her love for her pup remained. Amazingly, some three years after Timber ran off in the woods near Henderson’s Staunton, Virginia, home she was reunited with her dog, thanks to a chance occurrence. As the Staunton News Leader originally reported, Henderson found a dog on the side of the road, near her job in Bath County, about an hour away from Staunton....

Tennessee just got even more inviting. Country star Brad Paisley and Tennessee Governor Bill Lee just teamed up to announce a new program that not only welcomes visitors back to the state, but rewards them for the effort, too. Now that’s what we call Southern hospitality! The new program, called “Tennessee on Me”, is giving away 10,000 airline vouchers worth $250 to folks who purchase a two-night stay at one of the participating hotels in either Nashville, Memphis, Chattanooga, or Knoxville through the website TennesseeOnMe....

The durable stainless steel grinders have glass windows, so you always know exactly how much salt or pepper remains in each. There’s an adjustable knob within each mill that lets you switch it up from a fine to a coarse grind and a cap to put back in place when they’re not in use. “The design is sleek and elegant and the stainless steel tops are perfect,” one shopper wrote. “They look great and also work well!...

All aboard the Pigeon Key Express! After 15 years, a new train has finally arrived in Pigeon Key toting passengers ready to explore the wonders of the island. Passengers stepped onto the bright blue-and-gold trolley known as the Pigeon Key Express on August 8, marking a new chapter for the island—and giving visitors a new great reason to make a trip to the idyllic spot. The custom built train will run daily at 10AM, 12PM, and 2PM and can seat up to 20 passengers per ride....

Southern Living couldn’t be more excited to be working in Austin. The Texas capital is well known for its music, food, booming real-estate market, and, now, a burgeoning classic design scene. We tapped the decorator (and showroom owner) at the epicenter of the city’s traditional style movement, Meredith Ellis of Meredith Ellis Design and James Showroom. Ellis along with Chris Sanders of Sanders Architecture, and husband and wife building team, Catherine and David of David Wilkes Builders, are reimagining a circa 1980s house in Northwest Austin to be a gracious home for family and entertaining....

As someone currently living without a porch, I’m hesitant to condemn a porch of any size—I’d take a Juliet balcony at this point if I could. A porch is a porch, and as any Southerner will attest, it’s not something to be taken for granted. But, for those of you lucky enough to be adding a porch, or maybe just altering your current one, there are certainly a few parameters to be considered....

I have a friend who loves to cook for other people and regularly sends me home with delicious leftovers. She’s super picky about her kitchen essentials and only buys the best of the best, so it’s no surprise that plastic storage containers that stain, warp, and leak are nowhere to be found in her kitchen. After years of trying various brands and styles, she found a set that met all of her expectations and now refuses to use anything else....

Cookies have a way of doing their own thing in the oven. But this holiday season, we’re saying goodbye to wayward edges and uneven browning thanks to a brilliant trick from baking extraordinaire Dorie Greenspan. Greenspan, the author of countless cookbooks, including Dorie’s Cookies, told Epicurious that she learned through trial and error that baking cookies in small metal ring molds are the best way to give them a clean, tailored look....

Hold onto your Ranch Waters! If you’ve had a hard time finding the star ingredient of this summer’s hottest cocktail recently, you’re not alone. A spokesperson for Topo Chico confirmed to Austin’s KXAN that they’re currently experiencing “extremely strong consumer demand” coupled with “a shortage of raw materials,” which has led to a dearth of the sparkling mineral water on store shelves nationwide. “We’re working hard and implementing contingency plans to keep the products people love on shelves during this temporary shortage,” said the company....

It should be no surprise that fresh and in-season crabs are best. The good news? You can get your hands on recently caught crab any time of the year, depending on the type of crab. Knowing the season for each type will help you find—and look forward to—the freshest options, whether you’re buying from the fish market or ordering them at a restaurant. When Is Crab Season? The primary season for all crab species is October to January, when they are often at their largest and populations are highest after spawning....

If there’s one thing we Southerners know how to do right, it’s host. Being hospitable is right up there with the Ten Commandments and the Golden Rule when it comes to house rules. After “yes ma’ams” and “no sirs”, the first thing we’re taught as children is how to be a gracious host. So, what makes a great host? Outside of making sure your guests feel comfortable and valued, hosting is all about the food....

You could recite some table etiquette rules in your sleep: Keep your elbows off the table. Place the napkin in your lap. Don’t speak with your mouth full. But there are also some finer points of table etiquette that feel murkier and may make even the politest guest unsure of what to do. Here, we’ve tackled the trickier details, so you don’t have to, and so you can make your mama proud next time you take a seat at her table—with a clean shirt and hands, please....

This piece originally appeared on Barking Up the Wrong Tree and Motto Your life is busy. Work/life balance is a challenge. You feel like you’re spreading yourself so thin that you’re starting to disappear. Most of us feel that way. But not all of us. The most organized people don’t. As NYT bestselling author and neuroscientist Daniel J. Levitin explains, the VIP’s he’s met don’t seem scattered and frantic. They’re calm, cool and “in the moment”, not juggling nine things and worried about being done by 7PM....

‘There’s no place like home’ might have been Dorothy’s chosen phrase in The Wizard of Oz, but for Southerners, there’s truly no place like Grandmama’s house. There’s a singular charm and nostalgia that belongs to the homes of our family matriarchs, and they can be directly attributed to the gracious hosting habits of the women who live there. Here, our editors share the multitude of thoughtful ways their grandmothers made their homes the most welcoming places to spend time....

The customer-loved PVO Portable Projector is only 5.6 inches wide, 3.7 inches long, and 2.1 inches tall, so you can easily tote it between your home, your outdoor area, and even the houses of friends, who will no doubt want to take advantage of your pocket-size movie theater. And despite being so compact, the quality is thoroughly impressive, according to buyers. BUY IT: $55.99 with coupon (orig. $69.99); amazon.com While most reviewers expressed their excitement about using this product all throughout the summer, others found ways to use it year-round....

If the coral-striped awning and sherbet-hued bistro tables outside didn’t indicate that you’re about to enter the happiest ice cream shop in the Birmingham area, the cheery greeter holding the door for you with a lively “Welcome to Scoops!” might. Opened August 6, Unless U Scoops is staffed by the students of Unless U, a non-profit organization that serves and empowers adults with developmental disabilities. “We wanted to create a fun, exciting work environment for our students,” says Unless U founder and executive director Lindy Cleveland of the shop, which peddles artisan flavors from local creamery Big Spoon....

Wooden cutting boards are beautiful, but are they safe to use for all of your culinary ventures? While using them for cheese boards and carved meats is one thing, what about raw poultry and fresh produce? We asked two food safety experts: Lisa Robinson, Vice President of Global Food Safety and Public Health at Ecolab, and Britanny Saunier, Executive Director at the Partnership for Food Safety Education, to share their wooden cutting board wisdom and if there are any foods we should avoid cutting on them....

Southerners know and love the Florida Panhandle, but on the yearly race to the Gulf sands, it’s easy to miss DeFuniak Springs. While you’ve probably seen the signs for this community, an inland spot with old Florida charm and a dose of tranquility in the outdoors, the next time you’re passing through, you should take the exit and go exploring. DeFuniak Springs is the seat of Walton County and has a population of about 6,500....

Here’s your chance to experience the wild and gritty world of 1883 firsthand. 1883: The Journey West is a new exhibition at the National Cowgirl Museum & Hall of Fame in Fort Worth that gives fans of the Yellowstone prequel the chance to get up close to props, costumes, and photography from the record-breaking Paramount+ series from Fort Worth native Taylor Sheridan. Organized by the museum in partnership with 101 Studios, Visit Fort Worth, and the Fort Worth Film Commission, the exhibition includes costumes, props, and photography from the show, which was filmed in and around Dallas-Fort Worth from July to October of 2021....

The tale of a tiny snowman’s heartwarming Florida vacation began back in November, when Robin Hughes, a teacher at SouthShore Charter Academy in Riverview, finished reading her kindergarten class a book about snow. She couldn’t help but notice the puzzled looks on the faces of her young students. “I was shocked that they had not seen snow,” Hughes, who originally hails from Kentucky, told The Washington Post. “It’s hard for kids to understand the concept because they don’t have the relevant knowledge....