Southern Living June 2019

No. 1 Mind Your Manners Want to be part of the liveliest conversation on Facebook? Join our group, There’s No Excuse for Bad Manners, where we cover it all, like proper wedding etiquette (no, you do not have a year to send a gift) and why you should put down your phone at the grocery store checkout. “I always use ma’am and sir. It’s how we roll here in the South!” No. 2 Get New Recipes Every Day From easy appetizers to no-bake desserts—receive recipes, cooking tips, and secrets from the Southern Living Test Kitchen delivered to your in-box daily. Sign up for our “What’s Cooking” newsletter at southernliving.com/newsletters. No. 3 Learn Some Party Tricks Watch our new IGTV series Hey Y’all with Test Kitchen Professional Ivy Odom, and become a wiz at entertaining—whether it’s a…

SUMMER IN THE SOUTH can get a bad rap. As someone who lived in New York for a while, I still have friends and colleagues above the Mason-Dixon Line who ask in concerned tones how we’re holding up under all the heat and humidity. It’s almost as if they think we don’t have air-conditioning or porches or iced tea. I used to argue that it’s actually wonderful down here, that the beaches are less crowded, the mountain towns are charming, the festivals are more fun, and our peaches taste better. But as I’ve gotten older (and hopefully wiser), I’ve started protesting less. I feel like a fisherman who has finally found a great spot, and if some people think it’s too hot to make the trip, well, that’s just fine. Between…

WHY PURCHASE a bouquet of flowers when you can pick your own? That is what Holly Vaughan’s husband, Bobby, asked himself about 10 years ago, when he decided to plant a field of zinnias on their farm in Shorter, Alabama. “Rather than buy me flowers for Mother’s Day, he grew them so I could pick them myself. It became a gift that keeps on giving,” says Vaughan, who’s a floral designer in Birmingham. The secluded 435-acre property has been the family’s weekend retreat since 1987. They built a pine log cabin themselves, a project that took over two years (and countless hours of “sweat equity,” as she describes it) to complete. After one successful zinnia-growing season, Vaughan added sunflowers the next year, putting 4 more acres of the farm’s fertile Black…

“IT’S APPROPRIATE that I found my house in the same way I find a lot of my furniture—online,” says Brittney Forrister of the home she saw for sale on Facebook. The buzz around Nashville’s up-and-coming Woodbine neighborhood had sparked her interest, but what sealed the deal? Storage for her book collection in the living room. “Every time I walk into a house and see built-in shelves, I’m sold. I love and live in books,” she says. The 1940s bungalow needed only a cosmetic face-lift, so she applied fresh paint and decorated with her self-described “sentimental and collected” style. An unstoppable thrift-store shopper, Brittney learned the art of the “curated knickknack” from her grandmother. She accented her investment pieces with an eclectic mix of vintage decor, family hand-me-downs, budget-friendly finds, and…

YOU MAY BEAT the summer heat beneath a porch roof, but it’s hard to find colorful flowers that will thrive without sunlight. Before you reach for the typical fern, try this more sophisticated foliage combo. The textural leaves of these four tropical-inspired plants make a splash, especially when added to a simple white container. We used elephant’s ear, rex begonia, nephthytis, and blue crisp fern. Let the elephant’s ear stand tall and proud, taking center stage, while all of the smaller plantings fill in around the edges beautifully. These picks require regular water, so be sure to keep the soil moist, and place the container out of direct light.…

1 Bespoke Stationery with Engraved Monogram Edged in seafoam green, this design leaves plenty of space for handwritten messages. Custom, price upon request; iprintery.com 2 Foil Pressed Notecards in Blush Pretty everyday pink card stock gets all dressed up with this fancy gold-foil monogram. $59 for set of 25; markand graham.com 3 Rose Pink Chintz Stationery “This pattern feels like my childhood home,” says illustrator LouLou Baker of her design, which mimics a favorite floral fabric from her youth. $150 for set of 25; louloubaker.com 4 Greek Key Monogram Stationery Set The personalized touch paired with the unique vertical orientation makes this piece stand out from other styles. $52 for set of 25; paperandplay design.etsy.com 5 Fiesta Notecard Texas-born artist Gina Langford looked to the Mexican-influenced style of the old Gage Hotel in Marathon, Texas, when painting this vibrant…