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Living

Allen and Son Barbecue during a busy lunch hour.

Living

NC has lost one of its historic barbecue joints, which just quietly closed

Allen & Son opened 48 years ago by Keith Allen, making some of North Carolina’s most famous barbecue. Allen closed his barbecue restaurant Wednesday in Chapel Hill.

Tonya Petrucci of Durham, who owns Confections of a Cookie Addict, makes a variety of themed cookies including holiday cookies.

Latest News

Think outside the cookie cutter: An expert’s guide to making holiday treats.

Cookie maker Tonya Petrucci, owner of Confections of a Cookie Addict, shares tips for baking and spicing up your holiday cookies.

Health & Family

Curbside delivery: Mom makes it to – but not inside – hospital to have her baby

Genet Sebani almost made it into the hospital in time to deliver her baby on Dec. 10. Almost.

The Charlotte Hornets will soon launch “fan-friendly” concession pricing through the team’s mobile app for the upcoming season at home games at the Spectrum Center. Prices on the six most popular concession items at the arena will be 35-45 percent lower than normal menu prices, the team said.

ESPN study puts Charlotte’s stadium and basketball arena at the top of the list of the pro sports facilities with the highest percentage of critical health-code violations per inspection in a nationwide study.

Lachlan Watson in the Netflix episode, “Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, A Midwinter’s Tale.”

Entertainment

Young NC actor breaks through the witchy world of ‘Chilling Adventures of Sabrina’

Netflix’s “Chilling Adventures of Sabrina,” starring Kiernan Shipka of “Mad Men,” features Lachlan Watson of Raleigh. Lachlan’s character of Susie is queer; Lachlan identifies as non-binary.

Kaison (left) and Kody Sims will get toys this Christmas thanks to the Salvation Army Christmas program.

Empty Stocking Fund

During a rough family transition, donors help bring joy to two boys at Christmas

It’s been a year of ups and downs for Keianna Sims and her sons. Donors are stepping up to help them as part of the Salvation Army’s Christmas program that is supported by The Observer’s Empty Stocking Fund.

Living

Preview: ‘Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown,’ appears ready for takeoff

After an interminable wait, "Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown " is on the runway ready for takeoff. First announced in 2015, the latest chapter in the fighter jet saga was supposed to come out in 2017, but delays have pushed back the game's release to 2019.

Health & Family

Heidi Stevens: Harvard women’s soccer player reminds us how toxicity lingers from sexist ‘scouting reports’ written by male players

Hannah Natanson, managing editor of The Crimson, Harvard University's student newspaper, has written a gut punch of an essay about the voices that find their way into our heads and derail our dreams.

Living

Game review: ‘Super Smash Bros. Ultimate,’ ultimate warriors

It's been nearly 20 years since Nintendo first gathered up all of its beloved mascots in a single game for the express purpose of having them beat the snot out of each other. The "Super Smash Bros." series started out as a simple concept, but has grown into a full-blown celebration of Nintendo gaming throughout the ages. It didn't look like it could get bigger than the previous "Super Smash Bros." game, but "Super Smash Bros. Ultimate" absolutely lives up to its name and offers the best that the series has to offer.

Home & Garden

On Gardening: Leslie Ann looks as exquisite as rare porcelain china

The beautiful Leslie Ann is a Camellia sasanqua that has had admirers bringing out their cameras for many years. It debuted in 1960, 58 years ago, thanks to nurseryman Ray Davis of Alabama. The next year in 1961 it won the coveted Ralph Peer Camellia sasanqua award. According to one website in Alabama it is one of two Camellias sasanqua to win the award twice.

Health & Family

Parents @ Play: Building strong families

Building, whether it's with blocks, bricks, paper, metal, pipe cleaners, or anything else, is one of the very best ways for parents and children to spend time together. Here are some new products that will help you keep busy and close during those long, winter evenings.

Health & Family

Mecklenburg County says it does thousands of food service inspections annually

In this April 2018 video, the Mecklenburg County government explains that it conducts 11,000 food service or restaurant inspections each year, naming some of the violations it looks for during those inspections.

Gary Crunkleton of The Crunkleton in Chapel Hill.

Food & Drink

Hold your drink order: That hot cocktail club has updated its opening date

The Crunkleton sets a new date for its opening, blaming snow delays. Here’s when you can expect it to open now.

Aslihan Aydogan, 17, of Istanbul, Turkey, spends an afternoon sorting donated toys at the Salvation Army Christmas Bureau. She’s spending a year in Charlotte as part of the Academic Year in America program.

Empty Stocking Fund

For these foreign exchange students, volunteering at Christmas center is eye-opening

While volunteering at Salvation Army Christmas center, foreign exchange students get a glimpse of American charity. About 7,300 children are registered to receive toys and clothes through the program.

Living

Volunteers try to make life ‘a little bit better’ for neglected dogs

DETROIT – Volunteers with C.H.A.I.N.E.D. have seen it all. Dogs loose in backyards walking amid shards of broken glass. Dogs confined in spaces virtually covered in feces. Dogs who have frozen to death. Dogs rife with mange. And even dogs who have accidentally hung themselves with their chains.

Home & Garden

Jim Rossman: Home security and automation

So, it's almost 2019 and I still don't have a flying car, but I can turn on the lights in my house with my voice.

Health & Family

‘The portraits are so meaningful’: Holiday photos for young moms working to get back on their feet

Amid a cacophony of playing children, a buffet of holiday food and a live choir singing Christmas carols, young moms like Davia McDaniels and Tabitha Rogers tried to hold their children still long enough to look in their eyes for a second or two.

Home & Garden

CNET: Great home appliance gifts for the holidays

Here's a tip if you're shopping for good gifts this holiday season: Seek out things that your lucky loved ones can use every day. Appliances fit the bill surprisingly well – but which ones are worth the cash? Here are four of the best smart appliances suited for gifting that CNET has seen this year.

Style

Flashy fashion designer Stevie Boi calls Havre de Grace his home

When flashy fashion designer Stevie Boi isn't jet-setting around the world building his brand, he is relaxing and recharging at home in Havre de Grace.

Whole wheat pancakes are the way to go. (Christina House/Los Angeles Times/TNS)

Food & Drink

How to have a pancake social at home

One of the annual class projects at the Midwestern boarding school where I grew up was making maple syrup. After collecting sap from the local stand of sugar maples, we’d stay up all night, boiling the stuff into syrup in a wood-burning contraption we’d set up near the decrepit tennis courts. Then we’d celebrate the season’s haul with a pancake social. It was a party we looked forward to all year – an excuse to pull an all-nighter outside when normally we’d be under curfew in the dorms, followed by the reward of towers of pancakes as night turned into morning.

Living

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