Key West isn’t the only Southern spot putting a regional spin on the traditional Christmas tree. In tiny Smiths Grove, Kentucky, you’ll find the ultimate holiday ode to the Bluegrass State: a 30-foot Christmas tree made out of bourbon barrels. Now that’s what we call a Kentucky Christmas, y’all! Cody Vincent and his family made the unique tree out of bourbon barrels they sell through their business, Bourbon Barrel Brothers....
A late-night grocery store run to satisfy a dessert craving ended in a $100,000 windfall for a Tennessee woman over the weekend. A hankering for pie led Diana Chabrier to the Food Lion on U.S. 1 in Franklinton Saturday night. But when the pie she was looking for was unavailable, she decided to purchase a different kind of sweet treat: a $30 200X The Cash ticket from the Food Lion....
It’s that time again! The legendary Shamrock Shake and its pal the Oreo Shamrock McFlurry will make their triumphant return to participating McDonald’s restaurants nationwide beginning February 21—just in time for St. Patrick’s Day. But wait, there’s more. This year, the fast-food chain is celebrating “Shamrock SZN” by sharing the hexadecimal color code that corresponds to the company’s beloved mint green beverage: #cbf2ac. McDonald’s explained its decision to unveil the code in a news release....
In October 1871, a choral ensemble from Fisk University went on tour to raise funds for their school, the first American institution to offer a liberal arts education to “young men and women irrespective of color.” The students performed spirituals, sharing the music of enslaved people with the rest of the world for the first time. Now, 150 years later, the acclaimed a cappella group still tours, ensuring that the musical legacy stays alive....
Southerners have a tendency to go seriously old school during the holidays, especially where our collective sweet tooth is concerned. We don’t want the hip and happening for Thanksgiving and Christmas. We want old-fashioned candy like pralines and Fantasy Fudge; other old-fashioned sweets like gingerbread and oatmeal raisin cookies; in short—Memaw’s recipes. We polled our Southern Facebook Brain Trust to see which old-fashioned homemade sweets they can’t live without this time of year....
It has come to the Grump’s attention that many of you love, love, love peonies. You think about them night and day and worry yourselves sick about their health and welfare. You want to know if the care you’re giving them will encourage the production of gargantuan, fragrant flowers again next year with which to torture your jealous neighbors. Keeping peonies pruned is important to those beautiful blooms, but you don’t want to make the mistake of doing it at the wrong time....
I was 30-something years old when I realized seesaws were a thing of a bygone era. My mom recently mentioned a seesaw to my son and he stared at her with the blank expression a child gets when he has no earthly idea what a grownup is talking about. I quickly started taking a mental inventory of the many playgrounds we’ve visited in his six years and didn’t recall a single seesaw....
Ladies grab your sisters, your daughters, and your friends and start making your way to Palm Beach, Florida, because the ultimate destination for your next girlfriend getaway is here. Behold, the “Sisters Suite” at The Colony Hotel, the beautiful brainchild of style aficionados Danielle Norcross and Beth Aschenbach of Palm Beach Lately and Serena & Lily. Talk about a dream team! Thanks to the stylistic talents of Norcross and Aschenbach, the hotel’s historic 1,200-square-foot villa has gotten a major refresh and is now light, bright, airy, and totally Palm Beach....
When it comes to the way we decorate our homes, Southerners aren’t exempt from the allure of the day’s latest and greatest trends. But even as we scroll Instagram and take note of designers’ dos and don’ts, there are some decorating ideas we’ll never part with—no matter what the pros say. Here, we’ve rounded up nine timeless design ideas that will never go out of style in our Southern homes....
History will be made at next week’s Super Bowl when two Black quarterbacks will compete for the sports’ highest prize for the first time in history. Patrick Mahomes of the Kansas City Chiefs and Jalen Hurts of the Philadelphia Eagles will face off in Super Bowl LVII on February 12 in Glendale, Arizona. Aside from making football history, Mahomes and Hurts have something else in common - both began their football careers in the state of Texas....
We aren’t kidding when we say that everything is bigger in Texas. That’s especially true when it comes to a high school tradition known almost exclusively to the Lone Star State: homecoming mums. Mums started out as a simple corsage made up of one or two chrysanthemums—the classic flower of fall—and maybe a few ribbons to show school pride at homecoming events. These days, however, mums have little to do with the actual flower....
The indomitable Julia Childs is credited with the phrase “I enjoy cooking with wine. Sometimes, I even put it in the food.” That is a lovely thought, but while many of us enjoy a glass of wine while we are cooking, that same wine may not be the right type to add to what we are cooking. For instance, you may not want to mix an earthy Pinot Noir into a light and breezy summer pasta dish....
Ladies and gentlemen, it’s time to bust out your coziest flannel PJs and that burnt orange mug you only use during Halloween season: Hallmark’s “Fall Harvest” lineup has arrived. The much anticipated annual event will take place on Saturday nights at 9 p.m. ET/PT beginning September 19, and the five new original movies sounds quite delightful. Hallmark Channel enthusiasts, you are in for quite the treats. First up on September 19, is Love at Daisy Hills (pictured above), starring Cindy Busby and Marshall Williams....
There are few experiences that bring people together more than a good road trip. I learned this by traveling all over the South with my father, John Evans, starting at around age 10, when I became—bear with me here—a competitive skeet shooter. I wasn’t good at much else in terms of sports, but I had an uncanny ability to hit a clay target with a shotgun, just like my dad. So he started taking me to shooting tournaments on summer weekends....
It’s the most important meal of the day and ultimately what drags us out of bed in the morning: breakfast. Whether you prefer biscuits and grits, bacon and eggs, or simply a strong cup of coffee, there’s nothing quite like taking time to make the first meal of the day extra tasty. It gives us the energy to take on whatever life has in store. And, while breakfast casserole, eggs benedict, and homemade French toast tend to excite our Southern hearts, a fresh-out-the-oven frittata will impress even the pickiest breakfast connoisseurs....
It all started in 1917. During that year, Texas dairy farmer Paul Trowbridge happened to stop overnight in the tiny North Alabama town of Florence on his way to a dairy convention in North Carolina. He was so enchanted by the community that by the time he made it home, his mind was made up. He packed up his wife and son and moved across the country to Florence. The following year, he opened Trowbridge’s Creamery on North Court Street, where he served homemade ice cream, including the orange-pineapple flavor the ice cream parlor is still known for today....
If you are regretting not taking full advantage of fresh strawberries this spring, Wendy’s just announced the best news you’re probably going to hear all week: A new Strawberry Frosty is hitting menus just in time for summer. Monday, June 6, the Ohio-based burger company tweeted a teaser that showed the top of a delicate pink ice cream-like confection. In the replies, they confirmed what it seems thousands were hoping for: The new Frosty flavor is already in stores....
There are many things that we don’t exactly love about our refrigerator. For one thing, that weird humming noise it occasionally makes. For another, all the grimy bits stuck in the vegetable drawer. But here’s one thing we sure do love: The handy built-in section by the door for storing eggs. It’s convenient and a high-visibility spot always reminds us that delicious eggs are just a few steps away. Well, it may be time to rethink that....
Nestled deep within the very heart of Hill Country, Texas, is the tiny town of Luckenbach. The residential population might be small within the town’s border, but don’t let that fool you. The unincorporated community that sits about 60 miles north of San Antonio has much more going on than you’d expect. Here are three things you need to know about Luckenbach, Texas, before heading over for a visit. It Was Founded By German Farmers According to the Texas State Historical Association, the small community was founded in the 1840s by German farmers....
It was nearly 75 years ago that Karolyn Grimes and Jimmy Hawkins starred in one of the most iconic holiday films in cinematic history. They were just children when they stole hearts as Zuzu and Tommy Bailey in Frank Capra’s It’s a Wonderful Life, but their memories of working alongside the late, great James Stewart remain fresh. Grimes and Hawkins, now 80 and 79 respectively, spoke to Fox News about what it was like bringing the beloved Hollywood classic to life—12 days of filming that has impacted generations of viewers....
