Betsy Cribb

6 days ago | southernliving.com | Betsy Cribb

For many of us, summer vacation is an excuse to sleep in and enjoy the relaxed schedule that so often accompanies time away from school or work. But it's also an opportunity to catch nature's early-morning spectacular-if only you're willing to skip the snooze button. Here's why you should set the alarm for at least one sunrise on your next beach trip, or wherever you find yourself this summer.

1 week ago | southernliving.com | Betsy Cribb

As far as I'm concerned, King's Hawaiian rolls are something close to the divine. That might just be because my childhood United Methodist church paired the sweet loaf with Welch's grape juice for our monthly communion, but even if my eucharistic experiences hadn't involved the stuff, I think I'd still be inclined to call them downright heavenly. Call me sacrilegious, but there's one place that a King's Hawaiian roll tastes even better than the altar rail, and that's at the beach.

1 week ago | southernliving.com | Betsy Cribb

Come summertime, Katie Jacobs' yard is something of an Eden. Tall rows of corn and sunflowers reach toward the sky, raised beds burst with candy-colored zinnias, and climbing vines hang heavy with miniature green-striped watermelons. But that wasn't the case four years ago. "We couldn't grow grass behind our garage because it gets full sun there, so it was this dead area," recalls the author and stylist.

1 week ago | yahoo.com | Betsy Cribb

Come summertime, Katie Jacobs’ yard is something of an Eden. Tall rows of corn and sunflowers reach toward the sky, raised beds burst with candy-colored zinnias, and climbing vines hang heavy with miniature green-striped watermelons. But that wasn’t the case four years ago. “We couldn’t grow grass behind our garage because it gets full sun there, so it was this dead area,” recalls the author and stylist.

2 weeks ago | southernliving.com | Betsy Cribb

If you're lucky, summer is the season of invitations to lake houses and backyard barbecues, beach cottages and picnics. And while propriety may relax a bit on some things (flip-flops and cover-ups, for instance, usurp the other seasons' more buttoned-up dress codes), manners still matter; and as with any other time of year, it'd be plain wrong to show up for any of the fun empty-handed.