LIfestyle

A few weeks ago, I helped with my granddaughter’s nighttime routine. It always starts the same way: she selects four books from her impressive library, hops in my lap and follows my narration.

Recent cancer treatment isn’t stopping Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg from her scheduled appearance in Raleigh in September.

Taken with tiny houses but unsure what it’s like to live in one? Try it out for a weekend at River and Twine, the world’s largest tiny house hotel.

The African American Cultural Festival of Raleigh and Wake County is an annual celebration of art, culture, food, music and dance held Labor Day weekend.

It can be challenging to be fashionable, especially if you are trying to reduce your carbon footprint and looking for…

Travel writer Jason Frye knows North Carolina, a state he fell in love with during vacations when he was growing up in West Virginia. He’s written several guidebooks about the Tar Heel State and his two latest are “Moon North Carolina: With Great Smoky Mountains” and “Moon North Carolina Coast: With the Outer Banks.”

To get there, drive west from Atlanta or south from Memphis through the flat, rich alluvial plain in Mississippi. Start your immersion at Tunica’s Gateway to the Blues Visitor Center, built in a circa-1895 train depot.

My introduction to chitlins was at the The Big Dinner sponsored by Washington County Sheriff Harvey Tackett. A friend later drove me miles up river to the ’Coon Hunters Ball, featuring turtle soup, squirrel stew, venison and oh-so-tender broiled rattlesnake.

I hopped off the Southern Crescent from UVA, hurried to my Great Aunt Bolling Spalding’s funeral and fell in with other embarrassed latecomers walking behind her casket at the cathedral door. A distinguished, somehow familiar gentleman nodded. At the cemetery, my father introduced: “Meet your cousin, Walker Percy.”

My seventh grade English teacher’s homework assignment was one sentence by William Faulkner. Simple, right? It carried on for five pages – and the rest of my life. I lose myself in its tumescent portrayal of the taming of the Mississippi Delta. Start here, with “Big Woods,” an assemblage of Faulkner’s hunting stories.

Thanks to B.B. King’s relentless touring schedule – appearing in 342 shows in 1956 – he was known worldwide as “The King of the Blues.” He reworked a 1951 blues song, “The Thrill is Gone,” lifting it to a Grammy award in 1970.

Listen carefully in the juke joints, restaurants or the impressive interactive museums in Tunica, Cleveland, Clarksdale and Indianola, and you’re bound to hear fans talking about their love of the blues – many with international accents.

Working as newspaper reporters in 1978 in Greenville, Mississippi, David Saltz and I jumped on a last-minute media invite to…

Somewhere over the rainbow, near Beech Mountain resort, Oz lovers can head off to see the wizard during Land of Oz’s Journey with Dorothy.

Cleanse your palate and prepare to sample spirits from over 40 different distillers at the Spirits of NC Festival on June 15.

Escape the urban jungle for the serene forest of Eno River State Park, a 3,900-acre refuge with secluded trails and soothing sounds of the river for which it’s named.

Over 50 food trucks and beer vendors from near and far will make their way to Fayetteville Street for the Downtown Raleigh Food Truck Rodeo on June 9.

Many in our society are focusing on making their lives greener. But for some, the concept seems so vast that it’s hard to understand the lingo.

While you may think of camping sites, lodges and cabins for park accommodations, some offer lodging a bit more out-of-the box. We recently stayed in a 1970s barrel cabin in Unicoi State Park in North Georgia, so named because it’s shaped like a giant barrel.

Places that are fun for you can be stressful for your dog. The sights, sounds and smells are unfamiliar, which can cause anxiety for your pet.

I hadn’t seen a $2 bill for years when I noticed schoolmate Rip Black tipping with them. Having loved them since attending its 1976 re-introduction, I adopted Rip’s paean to Mr. Jefferson, tipping with them since. I gave one to an Uber driver recently – he stared at it, announcing, “This one’s going in the wallet!”

In six months, you’ll be close to touching the clouds when the largest traveling Ferris wheel in North America comes to the 2019 N.C. State Fair Oct. 17-27.

Diners in downtown Raleigh have a huge appetite for eating well and doing good. Need proof? A little over a year after opening, A Place at the Table, the pay-what-you-can cafe, is expanding to meet the demand.

After taking over Instagram feeds in New York and Boston, Japanese sweet treat Koiyaki has finally made its way downstream to the Triangle.

Did you know car tires would last a lifetime if they stayed in a climate-controlled warehouse? But since we use them in the real world, there are several factors impacting the life of your tires:

Lately, safety concerns related to ride-hailing apps like Uber and Lyft have increased. These apps offer so much convenience, but they also demand extra responsibilities. Remember these safety tips:

The season for poolside get-togethers with friends and family is quickly approaching, and with it the need for parents and caregivers to keep water safety top of mind.

For three years, I’ve written the same words on Airbnb’s reservation field that says “tell your host why you’re in town.”

Get ready to put the smackdown on the Easter Bunny as you and your friends race to find 15,000 eggs at Spring Fling at Dorothea Dix Park on Saturday, April 13.

Asking people to name their favorite barbecue joint is like discussing religion, money and politics during Sunday supper; you just don’t do it. But, we’re pushing past politeness and laying out our list of the Triangle’s best barbecue (we’re sure you’ll let us know if we’ve forgotten your favorite):