Posts

I’ve tried and swatched an unimaginable number of blushes as a beauty writer, and Youthforia’s BYO Blush is the first to truly leave me speechless. The oil-based blush initially appears green in color upon looking at its packaging, but its plant-based formula reacts to your skin’s pH level, creating a custom color for each person that applies it. BUY IT: $36; amazon.com My particular color of BYO Blush was a rosy red when applied to my cheeks....

Even though I think my husband prefers hanging out with me to eating chocolate, his love affair with chocolate is admittedly much longer than ours. So when I came across Southern Living’s Fudgy Flourless Chocolate-Pecan Cookies online last year, I had to make them. I’m lucky enough to not have any food intolerances or allergies, so I had never made a flourless dessert, and I was interested to try this recipe....

Head to the mountains this year to celebrate 50 years of adventure with Nantahala Outdoor Center. The North Carolina hub is commemorating half a century of fun in the great outdoors with a year full of experiences on water and on land. The center’s 500-acre Bryson City campus offers up countless opportunities to make memories in nature, and this year, things are getting even more exciting. Set in the Nantahala National Forest, the Nantahala Outdoor Center (NOC for short) got its start in 1972 and in the years since has outfitted and led adventure seekers on trips in the forest, across the South, and abroad....

Dolly Parton is a busy lady. She’s making music, writing books, creating perfumes, and of course, finding all kinds of ways to give back to those in need. But in case you forgot, she also owns the ever popular Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, theme park that bears her name, Dollywood. And Ms. Parton is always keeping things fresh at Dollywood. The Tennessee native recently announced that the newest attraction coming soon to Dollywood Parks & Resorts is the Big Bear Mountain Roller Coaster that will be almost 4,000 feet long....

Sure, getting Ina Garten’s quarantine cooking tips and recipes amidst the coronavirus pandemic is great and all, but what we could really use to soothe our souls right about now is a full episode—or eight billion—of her hit Food Network show. Well, we’re pleased to report that fans of the Barefoot Contessa are in luck: A new season of Barefoot Contessa: Cook Like a Pro debuts on Food Network on Saturday, May 16th at 12:30pm (ET/PT), per a Food Network press release....

So, you just popped by the farmers’ market and bought some fresh green beans (or maybe you grew them yourself), but you only have a week to enjoy them before they’re past their prime. What’s a home chef to do? There are a few simple steps that you can follow to get the most out of fresh green beans. With so many recipes to enjoy throughout the year like Balsamic Green Beans with Pearl Onions or an Old-School Green Bean Casserole, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t be freezing fresh green beans....

Chances are, a burned pie might be the oven’s fault, not yours. The best way to prevent your pastry from burning in the first place is to buy an oven thermometer. Your oven might be running too hot (or not hot enough) and this is the only way to tell. Another way to prevent your crust from burning is to bake it in the lower third of the oven, where it will cook from the bottom up, avoiding the common problem of burnt edges and a soggy bottom crust....

A few months ago, I found a square of natural light in my apartment and snapped a few makeup-free selfies. No, it wasn’t for a social media challenge or even my own entertainment. I was taking pictures of myself to send to Ilia, a beauty brand that will help you find the right shade of makeup for your complexion via email. I’d heard a few coworkers mention the brand before, specifically its Super Serum Skin Tint, which is a skin-friendly tinted mineral serum with SPF that’s equal parts skincare, makeup, and sun protection....

When it comes to delicious yet approachable cocktails, there’s nobody we trust more than Ina Garten. The Barefoot Contessa is known for her fun-loving (and oversized) cocktail tutorials on Instagram, and her latest demo doesn’t disappoint. The celebrity chef took to Instagram Thursday to show us how to make her Summer Rosé Sangria, a light, refreshing, and simple cocktail she describes as perfect for July 4th celebrations. “After this past year, I like to remind myself that there is still so much to celebrate....

Martha Lou Gadsden’s cooking skills aren’t the product of culinary school, or even a weathered, worn-in family cookbook. The Charleston native is completely self-taught. She had children to feed—nine, in fact—and putting food on the table was a necessity. “I taught myself by doing. I had to feed all those children,” she says. “I had to learn to cook.” Gadsden describes her style of cooking as “a dab of this and a dab of that....

Imagine the peppermint ice cream of your childhood. Maybe it was pink in hue, studded with chunks of candy cane. Maybe it was a snowy white, swirled with minty red and green flakes. The colorful shards of crushed peppermint undoubtedly bleed bright color into the pint, creating delightful ribbons of pink or green that swirl through the fluffy ice cream. No matter the look or hue of your childhood peppermint ice cream, you’d recognize the distinct taste anywhere....

If there’s one thing being cooped up inside all day has afforded us, it’s time to fantasize about trading in our current digs for a shiny new model. For some, it’s a dream that seems completely unattainable (particularly if your thought bubbles star visions of Palm Beach McMansions). But if you’re open to downsizing, meet your practical and totally-in-reach ticket to a new pad in Florida. Located a quick drive from the Sunshine State’s famed sugar-white sand beaches, Escape Tampa Bay Village is a brand-new, intimate community of 10 tiny homes each designed with eco-efficiency in mind....

One Texas high school teacher used distance learning to embark on a history-fueled road trip that would make even Kevin Costner proud. Between August 21 and September 5, Cathy Cluck, an AP U.S. History and AP European History teacher at Westlake High School in Austin, racked up nearly 4,000 miles living out her “Great American History Road Trip.” The 27-year teaching veteran crisscrossed the country for 15 days, conducting virtual lessons from historical sites like Gettysburg and the Lincoln Memorial....

You’ve come to the nation’s southernmost paradise to party at night and see quirky sites by day. Though the island is full of fun watering holes (not to mention every kind of Key lime pie you can imagine), now you’re ready to lay back and soak up some rays. Take a time out, rent some beach chairs, and visit one of our favorite sandy beaches on Key West. Smathers Beach The most popular stretch of sand in Key West is Smathers Beach....

The South is blessed with hundreds of exceptional barbecue joints, and they vary greatly in technique and style, making it almost impossible to declare any particular one the very best. Fittingly, the voting for the South’s Best Barbecue Joints ended in a dead heat with the winner of last year’s contest, Southern Soul Barbeque of St. Simons Island, Georgia, and the North Carolina icon Lexington Barbecue receiving the exact same number of votes....

Did you adopt a pandemic pup or cat? You wouldn’t be alone. As we all hunkered down at the start of the Covid-19 crisis, pet adoptions saw a giant increase. All of the working from home, schooling from home, and generally being at home created the perfect time for many families to add a furry friend. Trupanion, an insurance company specializing in medical coverage for pets, keeps a database of clients that includes pet names and they have noticed a new trend of monikers that are specific to the times....

We all know that dresses can be the ultimate throw-on staple item in our closet to be depended on any day of the week, and once you figure out how to make one dress work for the most versatile of occasions—from day to night, casual to dressy—the real stress relief begins. As far as being the chameleon of all dress types, a good maxi dress almost always fits the bill....

An 82-year-old Navy veteran is happily retired after a video of him working as a cashier at a Walmart in Cumberland, Maryland, went viral on TikTok last month. It’s thanks to a GoFundMe campaign launched by TikTok user Rory McCarty, that Warren “Butch” Marion was finally able to hang up his blue vest for good. McCarty, who already had a sizable following thanks to his bug extermination business, said he was “astounded” to find the “little older man” still working eight- or nine-hour shifts when he stopped by his local Walmart for batteries back in December....

With the coronavirus pandemic continuing to rear its head nationwide, Americans from coast-to-coast may be unable to travel to the famed National Cherry Blossom trees in Washington, D.C. for the National Cherry Blossom Festival, but that doesn’t mean the pale pink beauties can’t come to us. Together, The Trust for the National Mall, and The National Cherry Blossom Festival will once again be streaming the BloomCam—donated by EarthCam—which will display live views of the cherry trees at the National Mall Tidal Basin....

While sorting through Grandma’s recipe box you found a baking recipe that instructs you to “scald” the milk. That sounds like extra work, but this is baking after all, so you drag a pan to the stovetop and start heating the milk. But is it necessary? Some say that scalding the milk is an old-school holdover that people do for nostalgia more than anything else. Although the technique does have origins in antiquated food safety rules, it still has its advantages today, especially when it comes to enriched breads, like buttery rolls....