I made a quick dash over to New Orleans to visit The Garden District Book Shop. Any excuse to go to New Orleans is great, but a visit to this well-known book loving shop was incredible. I’m so happy they will be carrying “Exploding Hushpuppies, More Stories from Home.” I’ve been to The Garden District…

Before the day comes when I get a daughter-in-law of my very own, I think it’s wise to go ahead and make a list of all the suitable baby names available for our family. Don’t you think that’s a thoughtful way for me to “help?” This list was created by the guidelines of the Committee…

by Leslie Anne Tarabella with Linda Higbee Smith Karl and Erika Pellinat in their adopted city of Fairhope, AL It isn’t a lack of words that makes this story difficult to tell. Instead, it’s because there is so much to tell, it’s hard to know where to begin. Karl and Erika Pellinat’s love story is…

Valentine’s Day 2020 was one of the last big flings we had before the world shut down with COVID-19. If we had only known how strange things would get the next month, I think we would have all celebrated on an even larger scale. Here are the cookies I baked and decorated in 2020. And…

Stanley Tucci begins the forward of his family’s cookbook with the story, “almost every night in the middle of dinner, my father would shake his head and ask, “What does the rest of the world eat?” With that culinary lineage, it’s no wonder Tucci co-wrote, directed and produced the 1996 film, “Big Night.” The centerpiece…

. . . the link to the Zoom event is at the bottom of the post! I mentioned on social media back in November that I was going to be moderating a ZOOM chat between my favorite author/actress/gameshow host, Fannie Flagg and the Fab Five of Fiction — Mary Kay Andrews, Kristin Harmel, Kristy Woodson…

When my parents would go on a trip, they’d bring me an “S.” It was a small surprise I wasn’t expecting. I have no idea why we started referring to it by a single initial, but I was always excited to see the little gift.  Most families in this area call these unexpected treats a…

2020 has squeezed every bit of niceness out of most of us and we’re grumpy and tired. But hold on honey, the ladies of the South will come to the rescue. We are preparing a beautiful holiday feast like never before because . . . it’s how we love you.  All you have to do…