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Issues with your favorite china? Let us help! It’s no fun dealing with porcelain staining and discoloration, but sometimes you can’t avoid it. Heirloom china can harbor tiny cracks in the glaze that become discolored, or your relatively new wedding china may become marred by utensil marks. Stains happen because we’d rather be enjoying our pieces—not looking at them stacked, unused, in the china cabinet. So start taking care of your porcelain and work to reverse the damage that comes from using and enjoying your favorite plates, bowls, and table settings....

The Sasanqua camellia (Yuletide camellia) is one of the classic plants that define our region and its beauty can dominate autumn. Cultivated in Japan since the 14th century and in the American South for nearly 200 years, this shrub lacks the attention it deserves. Sasanquas display laxity, grace, and airiness unmatched by common camellias. A common camellia looks dense and stiff in the landscape, but a sasanqua’s branches reach up and out....

Chilled soups, like gazpacho and cucumber, are delicious—especially on a hot day. But they’re not for everyone. However, even if cold soup is not usually your thing, we think there’s a good chance our Chilled Strawberry Soup will make you a convert. With a taste somewhere between a berry smoothie and melted strawberry ice cream—without the heavy sugar content—this sweet-and-tart soup makes a memorable appetizer or dessert for summer parties. The best part: It’s incredibly easy to make (there’s just one step), hardly any cleanup, and it looks impressive....

James Spann wishes you would forget about the tornado sirens and buy a weather radio. (And no, he doesn’t sell them or endorse a particular brand.) Also, as his huge audience already knows, he wants you to “Respect the polygon!” The enormously popular chief meteorologist at ABC 33/40 in Birmingham has devoted his entire career to keeping Southerners safe from severe weather, working at stations in several metro areas within his home state and even doing an award-winning stint in Dallas before returning to Alabama....

Everyone loves hydrangeas—especially Southerners. They’re fluffy and vibrant, and for many, a symbol of nostalgia. The only downside? Their premium blooms can come at a premium price when bought at plant nurseries, especially if you want them to be foundational to your landscape (alongside other icons, of course). This downside comes with an easy solution: propagation. Instead of purchasing new shrubs, grow them with cuttings! It only takes five simple steps....

Carrot cake is one of America’s most classic desserts, and for good reason—when properly prepared, it’s a deliberately sweet and spicy confection. So it’s only fitting a cake this dreamy would get its own national holiday, which just happens to be today. Yes, we have the whole day to celebrate the best way to eat carrots. Not to mention, it gives us the perfect excuse to break our New Year’s resolution....

Hey, Dallasites, if you or someone you know is searching for a romantic way to ask for that special someone’s hand in marriage, take a hint from Alex Drummond’s fiancé Mauricio Scott. Recently, the couple got engaged in the Dallas, and mama Ree Drummond has been kind enough to give us all the inside scoop on the proposal. The stunning venue? Nasher Sculpture Center, a modern and contemporary art museum with a beautiful outdoor sculpture garden....

Whether we’re cooking up a Pioneer Woman recipe for dinner, sporting a colorful, billowy blouse, or simply laughing at ourselves when we make a burned biscuits-level mistake in the kitchen, we all do what we can to channel a little bit of Ree Drummond in our own lives. Now, we’re ready to take that Pawhuska Princess inspiration to our walls. That’s right, the Food Network star has debuted a peel-and-stick wallpaper collection, available exclusively at Walmart....

I brought my family to live in Italy based on all ill-conceived theory I have about the effects of expatriation on writing. I’ve always thought that writers should spend part of their lives abroad testing themselves in the crucibles of alien cultures. As a Southern writer I’ve worried that my prose would smell too much of okra and sweet potatoes, that my vision would begin and end along the drifting, surreal avenues of small Southern towns, and that all my novels would be summed up in the phrase “the night the hogs ate Willie in Carolina....

West Virginia is now home to the world’s first fully accessible boutique hotel. The Schoolhouse Hotel in White Sulphur Springs, the world’s first hotel to fully comply with Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) regulations, celebrated its grand opening this week. The Schoolhouse Hotel was built in 1912 as the White Sulphur District High School. The building housed various schools until 2019, when it was purchased by The Disability Opportunity Fund and converted into The Schoolhouse Hotel....

This cottage comes in under 2,000 square-feet and is perfect for down-sizing. Why We Love It This 1,787-square-foot three-bedroom, two-bath house looks dressy only from the outside. Inside, it caters to a laid-back lifestyle. Step into a living room with views that extend through the kitchen to the almost 36-foot-wide back porch. (It’s meant to be treated like your good-weather family room!) A fixed staircase leads up to the attic, where you have the option of turning this 436-square-foot area into a bed and bath or using it for storage....

Ten years ago, friends Jackie Craig and Beth Smoot started collecting extra household items in a closet at their church in Raleigh, North Carolina. They saw an unmet need in their community to provide home furnishings for people transitioning out of homelessness. The pair quickly grew out of their closet space and founded The Green Chair Project, a nonprofit that reuses donated furniture and household items to renew lives of those in need....

There are two types of people in this world: those who make their beds in the morning and those who don’t. So, what is it that makes certain people prioritize bed-making in the wee hours of the morning and others to overlook this mundane chore entirely? The mattress review website Sleepopolis.com ventured to find out. With help from OnePoll, Sleepopolis conducted a survey of 2,000 Americans to see what making (or not making) your bed might say about other aspects of your personality....

If I’m on the road for any longer than two hours, I’ve got two main concerns. What am I listening to? And what am I eating? Making sure I have enough gas in the tank to get where I’m going registers as a distant third. On the playlist front, I typically tailor my picks to the destination I’m visiting. When the coast is the objective, Jimmy Buffet and Jack Johnson are my jam....

When it comes to cabinetry styles, we’ve given you plenty of inspiration. From crisp white and matte black to every shade in between, there are countless ways to play up your personality by bringing a favorite color into your kitchen. Even though it’s the hardest-working space in the house, we aren’t ones to sacrifice an ounce of style for function, so we’re always looking for ways to marry the two....

We’re spending more time at home than ever, and now, with school winding down and the days getting longer, the backyard is quickly becoming our go-to destination. With timeless outdoor wicker furniture and laidback Adirondack chairs, porches and patios become comfortable extensions of the living room. Add some kid-friendly lawn games and you’ve got a veritable outdoor playroom. There’s one game, though, that can really dial up the vacation vibes and bring the whole family together for some friendly competition: ping pong....

A giant 500-pound black bear has been safely relocated after spending years roaming around residential neighborhoods near Tusculum University in Greenville, Tennessee. According to the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA), who have kept tabs on the bear known as Big Bruin over the years, the nuisance bear had become habituated to human and unnatural foods. In a Facebook post from the agency, Wildlife Sgt. David Carpenter said Big Bruin had regular access to garbage, birdseed, and pet food over the past couple of years....

A jam-packed schedule of performances is helping Wynonna Judd grieve the loss of her mother and musical partner, Naomi Judd. “I’m somewhere between hell and hallelujah,” Wynonna told Hoda Kotb on Today this morning. “And these shows are healing me, one show at a time. And all my friends are coming and it’s like the greatest party you throw yourself before the end,” she explained. “I feel like I’m doing a victory lap and the fans are watching me and they’re for me because they grew up with me....

Let’s take a moment to appreciate the silver linings of this crazy year. Dolly Parton coming to the rescue with…everything. Finally mastering the best pancake recipe ever. Knitting so many beautiful pieces we could stretch a sweater arm to Tennessee and back. And, of course, flowers. Oh, let there be flowers. Recently, we’ve spent more than our fair share of time rejoicing in the simple magic of flowers, and if there’s ever been a time to savor the little things in life, it’s now....

I don’t like to admit it, but I’ve blown through a lot of money I really didn’t have on not-so-pretty ideas while redoing several apartments and houses. But with age and experience comes wisdom. So while I’m in the thick of redecorating for the zillionth time, I thought I’d share 10 tried-and-true decorating rules that have worked for me in most situations. When you just want a room to be “warm white,” meaning not too yellow or too peachy or too anything else, then go with Benjamin Moore Ivory White (925)....