Posts

Airbnb is pitching in to help those displaced by the deadly tornadoes that hit Nashville and Middle Tennessee Tuesday. In the aftermath of the disaster that claimed the lives of at least 25 people, Airbnb announced its Open Homes program would offer free, temporary housing to those in need of it in Tennessee. “This includes relief workers, neighbors who’ve had to evacuate, and others impacted by the event,” the company’s website states....

Alabama couple Betty and Bill Green are both in their 90s and have been married for more than 70 years. But they were in for the surprise of a lifetime when Bill’s wedding ring, which had been missing for 30 years, was found last month. According to their daughter, when the couple was wed in 1951, they couldn’t afford rings. Over time, they were able to purchase each other “proper rings,” which they both wore until the 1990s when Bill’s was lost during the build of their lake home on Lewis Smith Lake in North Alabama....

Jeffrey Rease has spent the past few years on a mission. He’s determined to preserve pieces of history before they’re gone. Stories of heroism and survival before they’re forgotten. The graphic designer and photographer from Birmingham, Alabama, is photographing America’s dwindling population of World War II veterans as part of his photo series, “Portraits of Honor.” Rease, whose own family has a legacy of military service, was inspired by a friend and fellow photographer based in England, who takes similar portraits of British veterans....

Put your walls to work supporting an oh-wow collection of art. Your display can be anything from a tightly edited selection of photographs to a wild assortment of prints and 3-D objects. To create your arrangement, follow these tips. Set a spending limit for each piece. There are no set rules for style. When buying art, go with what you love. Scour web sites, thrift stores, and even old books for works to frame....

Poached eggs are more popular than ever, showing up atop all sorts of dishes in all sorts of restaurants, from diners to fine dining. Social media is full of appealing shots in which a fork slips inside the egg, releasing a rivulet of warm, silky yolk. Too bad they’re a pain to make, because there’s nothing like a poached egg. Or is there? Behold, baked eggs to the rescue. Poaching eggs – even just one– isn’t easy for most of us, no matter how skilled we are with other types of egg cookery....

Sorry Juliet, it turns out that a rose by any other name doesn’t smell quite as sweet to today’s grandparents. It used to be that the best baby names were the ones that were both easy to say and easy to spell—strong, unassuming, and preferably shared with a close relative. But not anymore. Today, parents seem to prefer the kind of names that stand out. Names guaranteed to trip substitute teachers up during roll call....

Dolly Parton isn’t afraid of living outside the box. In fact, it seems there isn’t much that scares the Southern songstress. The country icon who wakes up at 3am every morning, wears high heels while cooking, and keeps her Christmas decorations up well into January, also goes her own way when it comes to finding inspiration. And sometimes, that means spending time in cemeteries. “My niece and I had a picnic in a graveyard three days ago,” Parton shared in a September phone call with Taste of Country....

Easter, Christmas, or any special occasion—for many people, a holiday meal is not complete without a beautiful, spice-studded, sweet, and salty ham as the centerpiece. Growing up, you remember Mom pulling a glistening ham out of the hot oven, but you never thought about where ham comes from or how to purchase one. But now it is your turn to choose ham for your holiday gathering, and you are overwhelmed with the different cuts and types....

Front walkover, roundoff, back handspring, back tuck. This was competitive cheerleader Maddie Denenberg’s signature tumbling pass, one that she’d execute multiple times during a routine. Competitive cheerleading, a sport that combines dance and gymnastics, requires high energy, but also intense athleticism; a typical performance lasts only 2 1/2 minutes, but those minutes are planned out down to the millisecond, and they fly by at break-neck speed. With fast-paced pop mash-ups blasting and strobe lights flashing in rhythm with the music, competitive cheerleaders execute tumbling passes, aerial stunts, and coordinated jumps on stage, all while in full hair and makeup....

Few flowers look as good in a pot as these do. They blend handsome foliage with large clusters of show-stopping blossoms in colors of red, pink, rose, salmon, orange, lavender, violet, or white. Although many people use geraniums as bedding plants, we think they perform even better in containers. Read on for geranium container ideas and how to care for these gardener favorites. Types Of Geraniums If you search enough garden centers, you can probably find four or five different types of geraniums....

Thanks to its charming historic downtown, antebellum homes, and idyllic waterfront vistas, it’s no surprise that Charleston is a popular location for TV shows and movies to film. But one of the most iconic films to use Charleston as its backdrop is undoubtedly The Notebook. While Nicholas Sparks originally set the book in New Bern, North Carolina, the movie places Noah and Allie in Seabrook, South Carolina, a small town about an hour south of Charleston....

If your mother-in-law just gifted you the air fryer you’ve always dreamed of, chances are it’s still sitting in your pantry collecting dust because you don’t know how to properly use it. While the air fryer sounds intimidating, this appliance is actually easier to use than your oven, and the recipes are certainly tastier. Air fryers are essentially portable convection ovens that cook food with circulated dry air. The end result: Your food is crispy, tender, and done in half the time....

Southerners know their chicken salad. There’s mamaw’s go-to recipe. Your neighbor’s potluck staple. And, of course, there’s your own special riff on the classic dish. But Ina Garten has wowed us with her innovative riff on your typical chicken salad. In an interview with Epicurious, the celebrated chef shared her secret to amazing chicken salad, every time. “Instead of boiling chicken for chicken salad—which takes the flavor out of the chicken, and then you have to deal with all these big pots of boiling water—I’ve found if you roast chicken breasts with the skin on, and then take off the bones and the skin when it’s done, you end up with really delicious, well-flavored chicken for chicken salad....

When it comes to language, Southerners are not normal. And we like it that way. We shun the simple, straightforward, and direct in favor of more colorful means of self-expression, Southern style. Why would Daddy settle for “We’ve been having fried chicken quite often” when he can present us with a fully realized picture of his situation: “I’ve been eatin’ so much fried chicken lately that I feel called to preach!...

Reminder to North Carolina hikers: you are not alone. An increasing number of black bear encounters lead the U.S. Forest Service to issue a warning for hikers visiting the Joyce Kilmer-Slickrock Wilderness inside Nantahala National Forest on Friday. No injuries have been reported, but wildlife experts urge visitors to avoid bears and take appropriate precautions. “Encounters include bears stealing food and backpacks,” the North Carolina arm of the Forest Service wrote on Facebook....

Whether you’re planning for a major renovation or a simple refresh, the bathroom can be a tricky space for homeowners to tackle. It’s also one of the few rooms that can reveal the age of your house instantly. Bathrooms consistently see big trends take over, from bright pink everything to oversized jacuzzi tubs to wet rooms. For a long time, the bathroom was seen as a purely functional place, however, the recent emphasis on wellness has impacted decisions we make for the space....

More than ever, we’ve all started to deeply appreciate the value of public parks, especially for urban dwellers who may otherwise not have easy access to nature. But in light of the coronavirus crisis, it’s clear that the way we savor time in our great public park spaces will change, at least for the immediate future. Some parks, like Trinity Bellwoods Park in Toronto, which has painted social distancing circles on its grounds to keep people at a safer distance from each other, have already began implementing changes to the park experience....

It’s back! The Nordstrom Half-Yearly sale has officially begun, and the savings are just as good as we hoped. Although now is a good time to stock up on everything from apparel to home essentials, we’re most excited about Nordstrom’s beauty sales. Just because Christmas is over doesn’t mean you can’t do a little holiday shopping for yourself. Brands like Laura Mercier, Murad, Bobbi Brown, and Erno Laszlo (which Jackie Kennedy famously used) are up to 50 percent off now through January 2....

Besides the eco-friendly glass packaging that makes quite the pretty addition to your vanity, the antiaging product has some of the ravest reviews we’ve seen in a while, like this one: “I have literally suffered from dark circles for four decades due to health issues as a child. After many, many attempts to conceal them and copious amounts of wasted money buying ‘miracle’ creams, I stumbled across Wake Eye Gel…It took a few weeks to see the effects, but for the first time in my life I have no dark shadows and can actually see the color of my skin underneath my eyes....

It’s easy to love a farmhouse table. These tables add substance and style to any dining room design and are also exceptional places to make memories with family and friends. The classic furniture style still has a lot of variety, so you must consider the design, form, and function before investing in this essential dining room or kitchen staple. The best option for you and your decor depends on your choice of everything from the legs, apron, and even the wood itself....