The Ultimate Beach Trip Packing List, According to Our Water-Loving Editors

It's 2025—Of Course Pamela Anderson Sells Pickles (& Of Course They're Pink)

Yahoo

2 days ago

Yahoo

It's 2025—Of Course Pamela Anderson Sells Pickles (& Of Course They're Pink)

PureWow editors select every item that appears on this page, and some items may be gifted to us. Additionally, PureWow may earn compensation through affiliate links within the story. All prices are accurate upon date of publish. You can learn more about the affiliate process here. You can learn more about that process here. Yahoo Inc. may earn commission or revenue on some items through the links below. Read the original article on Purewow. If you're on the internet at all, odds are you've heard Pamela Anderson and Liam Neeson are dating. Although there's much to discuss about The Naked Gun couple, as a food editor, I'm more excited about *this* news: Pamela Anderson just launched her own pickles, and they're finally available for purchase. As a Food Editor and Music Nerd, I Have *Thoughts* on Ina Garten's Spotify Playlists Flamingo Estate The 58-year-old actress developed them in collaboration with Flamingo Estate, a lifestyle and wellness brand in LA. They took nearly six months to perfect, and honestly, I'm chomping at the bit to try them. The base recipe was passed down to Anderson by her great-aunt Vie. The pickles, which are thick, crunchy cucumber spears, are packed with rose, dill, mustard and garlic for an aromatic, herbaceous and unexpected spin on everyone's favorite burger accompaniment. Think: the tangy, sour complexity you crave meets flowery delicacy. Anderson is famously vegan—and hot—like her pickles. So, it's no surprise that 100 percent of the proceeds from Pamela's Pickles go to the California Wildlife Center, a nonprofit that's rescued, rehabbed and released thousands of wild animals native to the California Coast for almost three decades. Flamingo Estate 'The hearts and brains behind Flamingo Estate are truly inspiring,' Anderson said in a press release. 'What a delicious to meet at their glorious home was a kindred becoming. The care that goes into these grounds and into sincere collaborations is authentic. Brandon, Dylan (her sons) and I are so proud to share our mutual love of condiments (especially pickles) with you. And to give the proceeds to California Wildlife Center, with so much need, is a prophetic call back to many Malibu lemonade stands and hours of volunteering. A heartfelt thank you to Richard (Flamingo Estate founder) and Harvey (his partner) for their love, genius and wildly good taste.' This release couldn't be better timed, between her aforementioned performance in The Naked Gun and the resurgence of pickle culture both online and IRL. With the crunchy snack in the middle of a renaissance, pickle fans are their pickliest selves as of late (see Selena Gomez's birthday cake, crowned with pickle-shaped candles, or Sonic's limited-time pickle menu), and Anderson is no exception. Personally, I can't wait to add these to my ever-growing collection. $38 at Flamingo Estate Martha Stewart's One-Pan Pasta Recipe Is Wildly Popular—but How Does It Taste? Here's a Food Editor's Review

A Harry Potter-Inspired ‘Return to Hogwarts' Party Is the Best Way to Fend Off the Back-to-School Scaries

Yahoo

3 days ago

Yahoo

A Harry Potter-Inspired ‘Return to Hogwarts' Party Is the Best Way to Fend Off the Back-to-School Scaries

PureWow editors select every item that appears on this page, and some items may be gifted to us. Additionally, PureWow may earn compensation through affiliate links within the story. All prices are accurate upon date of publish. You can learn more about the affiliate process here. You can learn more about that process here. Yahoo Inc. may earn commission or revenue on some items through the links below. Read the original article on Purewow. Heading back to school can bring a wave of excitement—and anxiety. What will my teacher be like? Will I make friends? What if everyone is over Labubu and I get laughed out of class for my prized Lafufu collection dangling off my backpack?! Sixth grade was a huge adjustment for me, so much so that I dreaded every day of it, those first few weeks—but Harry Potter got me through it. Immersed in a world so fantastical, with characters so oddly relatable (despite the giants and thestrals and a certain immortality-seeking, murderous wizard), I devoured each book so quickly that I had to ration how many chapters a day I'd read, just to extend the storyline a bit longer. So, when my daughter, nieces and nephew seemed less than thrilled at the idea of summer ending—and teacher friends described combatting the 'back-to-school scaries'—I thought, what if we could turn some of that magic into a back-to-school party? Thus, the Return to Hogwarts party was born. Armed with a little creativity, a modest budget (my goal was to spend $150 or less) and roughly three hours to throw it all together, here's what I did—along with some ideas if you want to take things to the next level. (If you do, please send me your photos! I'd love to see them.) What to Make 1. Send the Invites Paperless Post Nobody has time to train a snowy owl to deliver personalized, wax-sealed letters of acceptance (though for $25, you can score a customized Hogwarts letter and supplies list that's frame-worthy). As a cheaper—and more timely alternative—might I suggest modifying Paperless Post wizard party invites (26 cents each) or creating and sending your own for free with Canva? 2. Create Your Own Platform 9 ¾ original photos: candace davison Cover the door—or even a portion of it—with brick bulletin board paper ($12), then tape a Platform 9 ¾ sign to the outside to set the tone of the party as people arrive. I made the Platform sign using the DM Serif Display font within a large circle on Canva (which I'll share here), which I printed and cut out. It took less than 10 minutes, but it made a big impact. 3. Set Up the Great Hall original photo: candace davison Confession: I had aspirations of buying Poly-fil, sheets and LED lights to create a stormy sky, like this phenomenal TikTok, but given my time and budget constraints, I wound up pointing my projector toward the ceiling, playing a loop of a starry sky, and hanging floating candles ($35; $25). Nobody seemed to mind; they were too busy passing around the wand that came with said candles—it functioned like a remote, allowing you to flick on and off the lights with the press of a button. There are a few designs like this sold online, but I've found Michaels Ashland candles are the most reliable and easiest to use. (On that note, shoutout to Michaels in general, because their Ashland line inspired half the decor—like this LED-lighted mantel scarf, $25, LED pillar candle set, $30, and ceramic cauldron, $12, all of which I can re-use for Halloween. Also, I saved 30 percent on my entire order by ordering online for a curbside pickup, which saved me time to boot, since I didn't have to scour stores for what I needed.) original photo: candace davison To further my theme while remaining budget friendly, I bought eight sheets of felt (67 cents apiece), in each of the four Hogwarts houses' colors. I cut them into four flags, using the other four pieces of felt to cut out a giant letter for each house's name, and glued it on top as decorations to hang on the walls. 4. Conjure Up a Sorting Hat Photo Opp original photo: candace davison If you have a statement armchair—or in my case, a swing chair—use it to your advantage. If you don't, you'll have plenty of leftover brick bulletin board paper you can use to cover a wall as a backdrop. To make more of a statement, I flanked the chair with these floating acceptance letter garlands I found on Amazon ($15). They come pre-strung on clear nylon, though I found I needed to use clear packing tape or string them from my curtain rods so they wouldn't immediately (and constantly) fall down. Still, it was worth it, especially when paired with the Official Sorting Hat (at $32, it was my 'splurge,' but it was a must). What to Serve 5. Concoct 2-3 Semi-Spooky Snacks original photo: candace davison There's no shortage of Harry Potter-inspired treats you can serve at your party (Snitch-inspired chocolate bon bons! Butterbeer fudge! Pumpkin Pasties!), but that can get pretty time-consuming. I try to stick to two or three 'statement' snacks (I made green chocolate-drizzled, candy-eye topped "Madeye Moody's popcorn" and pretzel-rod wands) and then round things out with a few kid-friendly basics, like tater tots, pizza cut into two-bite pieces and a basic crudité platter. 6. Rebrand a Few Tried-and-True Classics original photos: candace davison To that end, just because you're not constructing the Marauder's Map out of puff pastry doesn't mean you can't infuse a little magic into the food table with a few creative name cards. That veggie platter? Well, it's Professor Sprout's garden, of course, and the mango-pineapple juice? Trade out the bottle for a pitcher and some test tubes; it's a Polyjuice Potion now. (And, as my niece declared, it was 'the key' to turning her into Hermione Granger—not the costume that my brother-in-law had brought her in.) Even pigs in a blanket can be, uh, Basilisks in a Blanket, with the right signage. What to Do 7. Make Grade School Pennants (or Charm Bracelets) original photo: candace davison Since I was entertaining a gaggle of kids entering second through fourth grade, my crafts were relatively low lift. I put out colored pencils and crayons, along with these printable 'I'm entering ___ grade' pennants our PureWow team designed (which you can use too; just save this PDF). After decorating them, the kids could cut them out and tape them to a bamboo chopstick for their Sorting Hat photos. If you're entertaining an older crowd, they may be down with a goofy sorting hat pic…not so much coloring flags. In that case, pivot! Backpack charms are having a major moment, and if my crew were a bit older, I would've scooped up these Hogwarts and Horcrux charm sets ($15), basic beads in Hogwarts colors and a few Keyring Lobsters ($5). 8. Visit the Wand Shop original photo: candace davison Bamboo Chopsticks ($6) were another Hogwarts party MVP: Not only did I use them for the pennants, but I broke them apart and used them as the base for my wand-making station. Before the party, I used a hot glue gun and glue sticks to design swirls, criss-cross patterns and polka dots along the bottom half of several chopsticks, to give them the engraved and knobby looks of the wands from the Harry Potter series. I covered my table with posterboard, and let each witch and wizard take turns playing with the wand options, as they searched for their perfect fit. Once 'the wand chooses the wizard,' the kids got to paint them, then we moved onto snacks before returning to embellish them with metallic Sharpie markers. In hindsight, I would've added some rhinestones and glue, just for some extra flair for the Luna Lovegoods and future Beauxbatons transfers among us. 9. Get 'Sorted' into Your New Grade original photo: candace davison You're not a regular mom, you're a wizard, 'Arry! Oh, wait, I'm conflating quotes, aren't I? Ah, well. While other parents opt for the standard First Day of School chalkboard sign, I vote that you give your kids a different cheesy photo opp to cringe over in five years! We had fun putting on the Sorting Hat and having kids shout out which grade they were going into, before flashing their pennant (and biggest grins) for a pic. 10. Watch the Movie original photo: candace davison One of the nice things about Harry Potter is that the series grows with its audience, so my younger crowd appreciated seeing the first movie, whereas older kids—as in, 10 and up—may prefer to watch later films, like Prisoner of Azkaban and beyond. (Funny enough, we didn't even get through the movie—the kids were having too much fun pretending to be witches and wizards with their new wands.) The Bottom Line: Don't Overthink It original photos: candace davison It's so easy to turn Pinterest into a Portkey, racking up so many DIYs that you'll need three weeks' time and five figures to create The Core Memory of a Lifetime. But the thing is, all you really need are some floating candles, a wand-making station and solid snacks to have a great (and unforgettable) back-to-school party. Promise. 15 Harry Potter-Inspired Airbnbs You'll Want to Apparate to, Stat

How to get a Jimmy Buffett getaway if you're planning a trip to the Florida Keys

Miami Herald

08-08-2025

Miami Herald

How to get a Jimmy Buffett getaway if you're planning a trip to the Florida Keys

Summer is about over, except for one last getaway. Labor Day holiday weekend. Need a distinctly Floridian thing to do for that Aug. 29-Sept. 1 weekend? Retracing Jimmy Buffett's steps in Key West where the late troubadour began his musical career nearly 55 years ago to a soundtrack of his music could be the last blast of summer fun before fall studies and the height of hurricane season take over. MORE: 'The longevity of mischief.' Jimmy Buffett looks at 50 years after his first Key West gig Key West hosts its second annual Buffett-themed 'Just a Few Friends: Key West Favorite Son Celebration' with a four-day schedule of events, many of them free. The idea: 'remembrance with revelry,' organizers say. The son of a son of a sailor died two years ago on Sept. 1, 2023, after battling Merkel Cell Skin Cancer for four years. Highlights include a walking tour that takes in the streets and bars and personas Buffett immortalized in his songs; a memorial parade down Duval Street featuring Buffett's music and a party in Truman Park near the water. That party features some musicians, vocalists and songwriters playing songs you — and they — know by heart. They would be familiar with this material. Some of these people, including vocalist Nadirah Shakoor, former 1970s Coral Reefer guitarist Roger Bartlett, and composer Will Kimbrough, who co-wrote Buffett's posthumously released 'Bubbles Up,' toured with Buffett. "This is about more than music," co-organizer Paul Menta said in a statement. "We honor Jimmy's memory by immersing people in the island he loved — the people, the history, the sunsets, the flavors. It's a celebration of a way of life.' MORE: You can now cruise Jimmy Buffett Memorial Highway with a Margaritaville license plate Buffett's biggest fans may want to take everything in at one of nearly 50 events spread over the four days. There's a Cruisin' Tiki Sunset & Music Cruise and Mimosa-Ville Brunch: A Buffett Buffet. There's a Coconut Telegraph Trolley Tour. A Pool Party at The Marker and a Pencil Thin Mustache Contest at the Chart Room. Sunset & Bubbles: Songs & Stories with Will Kimbrough at Sunset Pier's big stage. But if you can't get away for all four days, here are a few events to consider. Second Line Memorial Walking Parade. When: 5 p.m.-6 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 31. Free. This procession celebrates the life and times of Buffett in the Keys, the era when he cut his first batch of core Key West albums including 'A White Sport Coat and a Pink Crustacean,' 'Living and Dying in ¾ Time,' 'A1A,' 'Havana Daydreaming' and 'Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes.' For that LP, Buffett finished writing his biggest hit, 'Margaritaville,' when he was stuck on the Seven Mile Bridge west of Marathon waiting for a fender bender to clear in 1976, he told the Miami Herald in April 2023 when his sole Billboard Top 10 song was entered into the 2023 National Recordings Registry of the Library of Congress. He honed his music for these albums at Key West places that no longer exist like Howie's Bar and some that still do, like the Chart Room. The procession steps off from the lower 100 block of Duval Street, parades five blocks down Duval, turns onto Southard Street for another five blocks, and ends at Truman Waterfront Park for a casual celebration. Expect live music, group singalongs, and island-style outfits. You're encouraged to dress up in tropical attire and take in the Park: Nadirah Shakoor & Friends Tribute to Bubba. When: 6 p.m.-8:30 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 31. Free/badge perks. This is where the parade leads you to at Truman Waterfront Park. Rotating live music performances by a lineup including Shakoor, Howard Livingston and the Mile Marker 24 Band, and other local musicians. Bubba, by the way, was a term of endearment Buffett's bandmates and friends used around a Few Friends Walking Tour. When: Noon-2:30 p.m. Friday, Aug. 29; 10 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 30; 10 a.m.-12:30 a.m. Monday, Sept. 1. Cost: $45 each day. You will meet up outside Shrimp Boat Sound, Buffett's private recording studio since 1988's 'Hot Water' album through his last one, 'Equal Strain on All Parts' in 2023. Country superstar George Strait also recorded a string of his albums at Shrimp Boat. The recording studio was once a shrimp storage cooler (hence its name) and sits in the Key West Historic Seaport near the shrimp docks between Schooner Wharf Bar and Conch Republic Seafood Company. You're welcome to leave a memento or sticker on the white wall outside the studio as you take off on the 90-minute guided walking tour through some of the Key West places frequented by the Keys' favorite son over his history on the island. We bet you'll see the Chart Room or the supermarket Fausto's on Fleming Street where Buffett popped in for chocolate milk in the lyric of his 1976 'Havana Daydreaming' tune, 'My Head Hurts, My Feet Stink and I Don't Love Jesus.' Probably Caroline Street where that woman was seen goin' crazy in the song of that name on the same album. You'll almost certainly see Buffett's Margaritaville restaurant on Duval Street at some point — either on this tour or along the parade route. Buffett tried out new songs on the joint's small stage. Capt. Tony's Saloon on Greene Street should figure, too. Buffett sang about stopping in here on the title song of his 1985 album, 'Last Mango in Paris. MORE: Why was a Florida sea creature named for singer Jimmy Buffett? Researchers have a reason Many of the events are free. Others like the cruises and walking tours and brunches and restaurant events carry a cost. A $35 laminated, double-sided Event Badge is not only a commemorative souvenir but it gains you entrance to some invitational events like the Kimbrough Songs & Stories event or it can get you closer to the stages and other perks from event sponsors. Badge holders will also have access to a log-in link to participate virtually if you or your whole family can't make it to the Keys that weekend. Badges can be purchased at Donations can also be made on the Badge site to help support the Community Foundation of the Florida Keys, which will donate proceeds to the Bahama Village Music Program; Reef Relief; and the Key West High School Marching Band. 'The Key West Just a Few Friends is not sanctioned by the estate or Margaritaville. We are not involved at all, but in the spirit of keeping Jimmy's party going, we hope everyone has a blast,' said Mindy Espy-Reyes, Coral Reefer Band spokeswoman. Speaking of the Coral Reefer Band, its key members, including lead vocalist and guitarist Mac McAnally, Buffett's frequent co-songwriter since 1981, are on the road this summer through Sept. 18 opening for the Doobie Brothers on the Walk This Road Tour. The band is fulfilling Buffett's edict just before he died to 'keep the party going.' There are no Florida dates on this leg of the Doobies/Coral Reefers North American tour. More dates are to be announced according to the Doobies. More information on the Aug. 29-Sept. 1 Just a Few Friends: Key West Favorite Son Celebration event at

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It's 2025—Of Course Pamela Anderson Sells Pickles (& Of Course They're Pink)

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How to get a Jimmy Buffett getaway if you're planning a trip to the Florida Keys

The Ultimate Beach Trip Packing List, According to Our Water-Loving Editors

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It's 2025—Of Course Pamela Anderson Sells Pickles (& Of Course They're Pink)

A Harry Potter-Inspired ‘Return to Hogwarts' Party Is the Best Way to Fend Off the Back-to-School Scaries

How to get a Jimmy Buffett getaway if you're planning a trip to the Florida Keys

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