EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE, you meet a person so endearing, so unapologetically authentic and genuinely gifted, that you can't help cheering for them. America experienced that times three when they got wind of Chapel Hart. Everyone who saw their viral America's Got Talent audition in July instantly fell in love with their witty reimagining of Dolly Parton's "Jolene" and sparkling stage presence. When the women teared up after receiving the coveted Group Golden Buzzer, the nation did too.
A month later, when I met up with the ladies of Chapel Hart (sisters Danica and Devynn Hart and their cousin Trea Swindle) on the set of our photo shoot, I found their energy every bit as infectious as advertised. With a little magazine magic, coordinating Christmas plaids, and a soundtrack of holiday hits that Danica (dubbed "Mrs. Claus" by Devynn and Trea) couldn't help singing along to, we set to work creating Christmas in August at Circle P Ranch in Mount Juliet, Tennessee.
Although they have only recently captured mainstream attention, the band from Harts Chapel, Mississippi (a community so small you're better off looking for nearby Poplarville on the map), has been writing music, releasing albums, and fighting for a spot in the country-music world for years. They moved through our day with the ease of seasoned professionals and the joy of kids on Christmas morning. They even have a system to coordinate their facial expressions. Call out a number from one to five, and watch the women fall perfectly in sync. It was easy to see why the band is known for chill-inducing harmonies.
They took the day in stride, finishing one another's sentences, fixing one another's hair, and cracking up over inside jokes. It's the kind of connection you might associate with twins, or (in this case) three women who grew up with 108 cousins in a tiny Deep South community named after their giant family.
Esta historia es de la edición December 2022 de Southern Living.
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Esta historia es de la edición December 2022 de Southern Living.
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Forging a Legacy - A Fredericksburg, Texas, couple is creating a new class of heirloom cast-iron cookware
When Jay Mallinckrodt pitched the idea of crafting cast-iron cookware to his wife and business partner, Heather, in 2020, she was hesitant. I immediately said no, she recalls with a laugh. But I finally agreed as long as we made something that we would actually want to use ourselves. Like many others during the initial throes of the pandemic, their multigenerational family operation, Heartland Enterprises (which specializes in machining parts for jet engines and gas and oil equipment), was seeing a lull. “No one was flying; no one was drilling, says Jay. So we had time to try something different.
A Butterfly Haven - In the Texas Hill Country, a conservationist is helping monarchs adjust to the changing world
Twenty-four years ago, Monika Maeckle bought a small property on the Llano River in Central Texas as an escape from fast-paced San Antonio. A journalist and marketing professional by trade, she didn't at first realize the value of the location on which she and her husband would later build their ranch. She also had no idea how this decision would eventually transform her life.One October evening a few years later, a friend invited Maeckle to their nearby house, which sat on a watershed with several large cypresses. All these butterflies dropped from the sky and started to gravitate toward the trees, she recalls. Stronger people who could swing a big 12-foot-long pole began trying to capture them, and we waited. By the end of the evening, we'd tagged a couple hundred butterflies, and I left there enchanted.
Oktober Feast!
While I respect your right to serve spooky food in October, you won't find any gory grub at my house this month. Instead, I'm hosting a gathering that's inspired by biergartens across the pond. The focus of the menu is a fondue made with Gruyère cheese and crisp Riesling-like beer-cheese dip but more elevated. It's served with a smorgasbord of dippers such as smoked sausage, grapes, apples, and a few amped-up store-bought snacks, like Mustard-Glazed Pretzel Bites and Smoked Paprika Potato Chips. (Just one taste, and you'll want to add this spice to every bag you open.) Pour yourself a Cider Shandy, and get ready for a good time. Prost, y'all!
The Roast With the Most
Embrace the changing seasons with a cozy pork supper
Roll With It
Company's coming? Bake a batch of these apple-stuffed delights
VIRGINIA PASTORAL
IN MIDDLEBURG, THE COMMONWEALTH'S MOST STORIED SMALL TOWN, OCTOBER WELCOMES A HOST OF TREASURED TRADITIONS
TAKING ROOT
Turn the season's freshest veggies-beets, parsnips, sweet potatoes, carrots-into colorful fall sides
THE FAMILY PLACE
When it came time for a young Georgia couple to make an 1800s farmhouse their own, they took it apart piece by piece-then rebuilt it into a home ready to welcome the next generation
Loving Life in Fayetteville
This Northwest Arkansas college town is easy to love and hard to leave
The Road That Raised Me
This lesser-known drive offers the most breathtaking views in the Smoky Mountains
