As a kid, the thrill of spying marshmallows and graham crackers among the camping supplies was on par with plunging to the bottom of the Happy Meal for the plastic toy. “S’mores are such a nostalgic treat,” says Michelle Snow Bracke...

With nods to D.C.-area roots, design TV guru Vern Yip is both diplomatic and a voracious multitasker. He’s the soft-spoken-but-opinionated host of HGTV’s “Design Star,” which starts its fifth season Sunday (root for hometown c...

Like so many other crossover hits (Taylor Swift, “Glee”) the beer cocktail is rooted in tradition while toasting current trends. A far and fizzy cry from dive bar chuggables like car bombs and boilermakers, lately beer-infused tipples hav...

Filmmaker and actor John Waters has been called a lot of things over the years: Prince of Puke. Pope of Trash. Sultan of Sleaze. But the eccentric Baltimore native’s label as cult icon is most salient, from that signature ‘stache to his g...

IF WE LEARNED anything from the infamous White House gatecrashers, it’s to never underestimate the worth of a planner with his or her finger on the party’s pulse. Indeed, the role of an event planner is that of soiree CEO, charged with sh...

LIKE MANY NONPROFIT workers, Michelle Foncannon has had her share of disheartening days at the office. As a campaign assistant for the puppy mills project at the Humane Society of the United States, the 25-year-old is often faced with difficult anima...

IN GRANNY’S HEYDAY, dining rooms tended to be prim-and-proper lairs of etiquette queens like Emily Post, no-man’s-lands for elbows on the table or chipped china. But just as heels and hose have been traded for peep-toe pumps (or beachy fl...

YOUR SALT-NUMBED LIPS once smacked at the sight of a frozen-margarita machine. But unless you’re Jimmy Buffet, your tastes have likely evolved toward more grown-up gulps. Luckily, margaritas and maturity needn’t be mutually exclusive. Fet...

TO THOSE WHO think the two kinds of tequila are Cuervo Gold and Silver, take note: There’s a reason Tequila Night often turns into a murky morning after. Popular bar brands, called “mixto” tequilas, contain a minimum of 51 percent b...

ONCE UPON A time, pledging till death do you part meant booking the church, synagogue or backyard. Nowadays, couples richen their big day by vowing a lifetime of sharing the TV remote at places steeped in history, from colonial manors to beaux-arts b...

BACK IN DORM-ROOM days, you earned cred sharpening your MacGyver-style cooking tactics (though, admittedly, that Swiss Army knife got the most play as a bottle opener). You’ve since traded ramen for risotto, but a pint-size kitchen can still ma...

THE TERM “MAN CAVE” conjures chest-pounding imagery of prehistoric bachelor pads. But just as today’s man wields a Wii controller instead of a caveman club, so, too, has the Neanderthal’s nest gone modern. “More and more...

WHETHER IT’S A basement hideaway or just a tiny corner of a condo, any section of the home can serve as a place where a guy can express himself. » Who: Bachelors hypnotized by white-walled ennui, cohabitating men who seek a bit of me-time...

CRAVING BURGERS AND bacon is as patriotic as Little League and “American Idol.” So, it’s no shock that, as vegan and vegetarian diets claw their way into the mainstream, mock-meat makers have piggybacked on the country’s patty...

ASKING VEGETARIANS INCREDULOUSLY how they get their protein is more than a cliche — it’s also a slap in the face to cookbook authors such as Lynn Alley, author of “The Gourmet Vegetarian Slow Cooker” ($20, Ten Speed Press). He...