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Lisa Edelstein is looking more beautiful than ever with full gray hair.

Edelstein, 60, has had a long and successful career in Hollywood. She found fame on House, the popular FOX medical series starring Hugh Laurie as a brilliant diagnostician. She later headed to E!, where she starred on Girlfriends’ Guide to Divorce. More recently, she appeared on The Kominsky Method, an acclaimed Netflix series. Also an artist, Edelstein frequently features her amazing paintings on her social media. But in a new shot, the stunning star celebrated the first night of Rosh Hashanah with a delectable loaf of challah bread. Showing that her famous curls have gone entirely gray, Edelstein looked absolutely stunning.

“Shana Tovah! (And thank you @challahprince for the inspiration!)” Edelstein captioned her fun photo.

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How Does Lisa Edelstein Feel About Aging in Hollywood?

NBC / Getty Images

Edelstein previously opened up about how she believes it’s a “wonderful thing to be over 40 in Hollywood.”  

“I think Hollywood mirrors what’s happening in our culture, so it’s not like it’s in its own separate track,” she told Bravo’s Daily Dish back in 2017. “But certainly for myself, I got this job [on GG2D] when I was 48 to be the lead of a romantic dramedy, and that wouldn’t have happened 20 years ago, that wouldn’t have happened 10 years ago. I don’t know what shifted, but it’s a wonderful thing to be able to tell a sexy, fun, lively story about a woman in her late 40s.” 

The actress continued, sharing that it’s great to be able to be herself, rather than have to hide her real age.

 “And no one’s trying to hide that I’m that age,” she continued. “It’s not like I’m trying to squeeze myself into a 35-year-old character, which would be miserable because I think it’s a wonderful time in a woman’s life when you’ve sort of figured a lot of sh– out and you can kind of move forward with confidence and knowing yourself in a way that you just can’t possibly do in your 20s or 30s or even your 40s.” 

Related: ‘House’ Alum Lisa Edelstein, 59, Is Picture Perfect with Gray Hair and Yellow Bow on the Red Carpet

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Fall is almost officially here, and if you’re looking for a simple way to bring the season into your home, you don’t necessarily need to go overboard with pumpkins and plaid. A few smaller swaps can go a long way, especially when they’re pieces you already need around the house. 

If your kitchen could use a new dish towel or two, the Martha Stewart Autumn Harvest Kitchen Towel 3-Pack Set gives you a practical reason to make the switch. Right now, it’s just $12 at Amazon. The 100% cotton towels feature pretty seasonal designs in warm autumn hues. Shoppers have fallen in love with the “cute” sets, saying the towels are “perfect for fall.”

Martha Stewart Autumn Harvest Kitchen Towel 3-Pack Set, $12 at Amazon

Courtesy of Amazon

Shop at Amazon

The set is available in three patterns on Amazon right now. You’ll score the best price on the $12 falling leaves set in cozy shades of tan, red, and green. Prefer a different fall motif? The collection also comes in mushroom and pumpkin patterns in other autumn-inspired colors for $13.

 These dish towels measure 16 by 28 inches. Each three-pack includes two decorative printed towels and one solid terrycloth towel, giving you a few to rotate through the kitchen, whether you’re drying dishes, wiping up spills, or keeping a fresh one by the sink. Every towel also comes with a hanging loop so you can place it on an oven handle or kitchen hook when it’s not in use. 

Martha Stewart Autumn Harvest Falling Leaves Kitchen Towel 3-Pack Set, $12 at Amazon

Courtesy of Amazon

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Shoppers have already fallen in love with these towels. One reviewer raved about the “very nice quality,” while another called the set “really cute” and said they were “probably the best kitchen towels” they had ever bought.

The towels have earned praise for their performance, too. One shopper called them their “favorite kitchen towels to dry dishes,” noting that they “don’t shed” like towels they had used previously. They also said they liked the towels enough to purchase several different styles. 

Shop More Deals

• Aqdzcnf Flower Table Lamp, From $25 at Amazon
• Giantex Clothes Rack With Pants Hanger, $30 (was $37) at Amazon
• Trendy Queen Long-Sleeve Shirt, From $8 (was $15) at Amazon

Related: Martha Stewart’s $18 Ceramic Leaf Dish 4-Piece Set Pulls Double Duty as Fall Serveware and Cute Catchalls

For anyone looking to bring warm and cozy style in their kitchen while keeping things budget-friendly, the Martha Stewart Autumn Harvest Kitchen Towel 3-Pack Set is an easy addition for just $12. Be sure to grab yours while it’s still in stock and available at this price!

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It’s never easy to pass up a cute cake stand—who is with me on this? I don’t really need another one, but I’m a bit of a collector at this point. Some people collect stamps or coins; I prefer platters for serving desserts. And if I spot a cake plate that makes me stop and think, Oh, that is cute, I’m going to have a very hard time leaving it behind. Consider this my warning label.

The thing is, cake plates are surprisingly handy even when there’s no cake involved. When I’m having people over, I love using them to serve appetizers, pile up cookies or give a few little snacks some height and make them feel a bit more special. But they’re just as fun for everyday meals. A cake plate can turn a stack of pancakes into a weekend-worthy breakfast or make an ordinary Tuesday night dinner feel like you actually did something. And when a pretty piece is also useful—that’s a weakness of mine.

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Made in India 13×5.25 Carved Walnut Wood Cake Plate, $19.99 at Marshalls

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Made in India’s Carved Walnut Wood Cake Plate is the kind of piece that makes even a humble batch of cookies feel like it deserves its own little spotlight. It has a pretty carved design and a pedestal base that gives whatever you’re serving a little extra height, while the raised edge helps keep everything nicely in place. At 13 inches across and 5.25 inches high, it has plenty of room for a cake, loaf, pastries or a spread of dry snacks when you’re hosting.

Related: Aldi’s Pretty Purple Lidded Soup Mug Is the Coziest $4 You’ll Spend This Fall

The warm walnut wood is pretty enough that you can leave it out as part of your kitchen decor when you’re not serving anything on it. Just keep in mind that it’s intended for dry foods only, so this is not the place for anything saucy, drippy or likely to leave a puddle behind.

A cake plate doesn’t have to be reserved for, well, cake. Style it with a candle, small vase or other decorative touches, or keep it on the counter to corral to miscellaneous stuff. It earns its spot in your kitchen because it’s useful and looks good sitting around.

Related: IKEA Is Selling a Gorgeous Lidded Glass Bowl That’s the Prettiest Way to Store Snacks

Francis Ford Coppola broke free from his acclaimed mob films for a short time in 1974 to create a cult classic mystery thriller starring the late Gene Hackman that was tagged as one of the best films of the era.

The acclaimed director released The Godfather in 1972 to critical acclaim and an Oscar win. A few years later, he also released its sequel, The Godfather Part II, which also led to an Oscar win for Best Picture. Coppola tried his hand at a different genre in the time between the two films and developed The Conversation.

Rolling Stone released a list of the best films from the 1970’s, with The Conversation ranking at No. on the list. They reported that Coppola created “a different sort of masterpiece, one that tapped into the paranoid mood of the moment.”

The Conversation starred Hackman, an already well-established Hollywood star who was known for Oscar-winning roles like The French Connection and the western Unforgiven, as well as for playing Buck Barrow in Bonnie and Clyde. The Coppola film starred Hackman as Harry Caul, a surveillance expert who faces a moral dilemma. His latest assignment has him listening in on a couple and revealing the details of a potential murder. Caul realizes the professional challenge and feels the pull of a mystery.

“It was a good experience, because he’s such a confident filmmaker. It was great because it was about something. It was about paranoia, the whole idea of eavesdropping,” said Hackman, according to GQ.

He also commented that working with Coppola was one of the “most interesting working relationships” he’s ever had. Hackman wasn’t Coppola’s first choice for the role of Harry Caul. The director originally wanted Marlon Brando, with Hackman saying it wasn’t “too bad to be second” to the Godfather actor.

When it came to Coppola’s decision to do the film, he told Filmmaker’s Newsletter, “I think I want to do a film about eavesdropping and privacy, and I want to make it about the guy who does it rather than about the people it’s being done to.”

Coppola also credited Michelangelo Antonioni‘s Blowup from 1966 as an inspiration for the film’s overall themes. It was also reported that the film used the same surveillance and wiretapping equipment as members of the Nixon Administration during the Watergate scandal.

The Conversation also starred a supporting cast including John Cazale, Allen Garfield, Cindy Williams, and Frederic Forrest. Harrison Ford appeared in the film in a credited role, and it was one of his earliest supporting roles at the start of his career, alongside American Graffiti.

It did moderately well at the box office, having only made $4.6 million against its $1.6 million budget. The film ended up winning the Palme d’Or at the 1974 Cannes Film Festival and received three Oscar nominations. Rotten Tomatoes has the film with a 94% rating. Decades later, it was selected for preservation by the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress.

Related: 1998 Tom Hanks Movie, With a 94% Rotten Tomatoes Score, Ranked as One of the Best Movies of All Time

Titanic, the 1997 hit movie that turned Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet into global superstars, not only became a global box-office phenomenon but also ranked among the highest-grossing movies of all time.

Directed by James Cameron, the award-winning film secured the No. 6 spot on Box Office Mojo’s Top Lifetime Grosses chart with over $2.2 billion worldwide across its original theatrical run and subsequent re-releases, including the 2012 3D version.

During its initial run, Titanic accumulated over $1.84 billion in global grosses and became the first film in history to reach the $1 billion mark.

With a production budget of over $200 million, Titanic became one of the most expensive films ever made at the time, with the majority of the cost allocated toward physically and digitally recreating the iconic ship and building the massive production facilities needed for filming.

At the time, Cameron opted for a custom-built studio and had the production team construct an almost full-scale replica of the RMS Titanic at 20th Century Fox’s Baja Studios in Rosarito, Baja California, Mexico.

“Titanic” directed by James Cameron with Kate Winslet as Rose and Leonardo DiCaprio as Jack.

CBS via Getty Images

However, despite the complicated setup and massive production, Cameron revealed that building the ship or tackling its technical challenges wasn’t the hardest part of making Titanic.

“The hardest thing to do was to balance the most intimate, quietest, softest character moments with this big spectacle and have it all seem to be one thing and one story,” he shared in an interview.

Cameron added that he felt the movie “works pretty well,” particularly because of how they “care about Kate and Leo’s characters.”

“And because of little moments and not because of big moments,” the filmmaker added.

Speaking of the cast members, Kate Winslet, who played the role of the wealthy aristocrat Rose DeWitt Bukater, reportedly made $2 million, while Leonardo DiCaprio, who portrayed the free-spirited struggling artist Jack Dawson, earned $2.5 million as his talent fee, as cited by Collider.

As for the supporting characters, each was paid between $500,000 to $1 million for their part.

Despite the massive production budget, it was all worth it for the film, which earned not only a record-breaking box-office gross but also won 11 Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director for James Cameron, Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography, Best Costume Design, Best Film Editing, Best Original Score, Best Original Song for Celine Dion’s “My Heart Will Go On”, Best Sound, Best Sound Effects Editing and Best Visual Effects.

Related: 1986 CBS Show, Ranked Among ‘Best TV Sitcoms of All Time,’ Still Holds Up 33 Years Later

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If you’re wondering whether a credit freeze after a data breach is enough, the short answer is no. It is one of the strongest steps you can take to block new credit accounts, but it does not stop every form of identity theft.

This is a widespread concern after the recent IDScan breach. The identity-verification company confirmed that hackers stole driver’s licenses from its cloud systems. The exposed information includes full names, driver’s license numbers and identity numbers from other government-issued documents, including passports. TechCrunch reported that a dark web site had offered searchable information tied to more than 150 million people in the U.S. and Canada. The FBI is investigating.

A credit freeze is still worth doing. But it should be one part of a broader response.

Need identity protection now? Aura offers a 14-day free trial with identity monitoring, alerts and recovery support.

Is a credit freeze enough after a data breach?

No. A credit freeze is designed to prevent new creditors from accessing your credit report, making it harder for someone to open new credit accounts in your name. It does not protect existing bank or credit-card accounts, monitor every use of your identity or address misuse of a driver’s license. Additional monitoring and account-security steps are necessary.

What a Credit Freeze Does—And Doesn’t Do

The Federal Trade Commission recommends credit freezes as a way to make it harder for identity thieves to open new accounts. A freeze is free and remains in place until you remove it. But you’ll need to contact Equifax, Experian and TransUnion to place freezes with all three bureaus.

Protection

What it helps protect against

Credit freeze

New credit accounts opened in your name

Fraud alert

Credit applications that require additional identity verification

Account monitoring

Unauthorized activity on existing financial accounts

Identity monitoring

Certain signs that personal information is being misused

DMV notification

Misuse of a compromised driver’s license

Strong account security

Unauthorized access to existing online accounts

The FTC specifically notes that a credit freeze does not stop someone from making unauthorized charges on existing accounts. You still need to watch bank, credit-card and other financial statements for unfamiliar activity.

Does freezing your credit lower your credit score?

No, placing a security freeze on your credit report will not lower your credit score. According to the Federal Trade Commission and major credit bureaus like Experian, a freeze strictly blocks new creditors from accessing your credit file. It does not alter your existing credit limits, penalize your score or prevent you from checking your credit. You can freeze and unfreeze your report as often as needed without any impact on your credit rating.

Can identity thieves still open accounts after you freeze your credit?

Yes. While a credit freeze prevents criminals from opening new credit cards or personal loans that require a credit check, it does not stop all identity fraud.

According to the Federal Trade Commission and recovery guidance from IdentityTheft.gov, thieves can still open utility service accounts, cell phone lines or government benefits in your name without a hard credit pull. Additionally, a freeze fails to block unauthorized charges or takeover attempts on your existing financial accounts.

What should you protect after a driver’s license breach?

Start with your credit, then look beyond your credit report. Review your existing financial accounts, secure important online accounts, monitor for misuse of your personal information and contact the agency that issued your driver’s license if you receive evidence that the license has been misused. Keep records of suspicious activity and report confirmed identity theft through IdentityTheft.gov.

1. Freeze Your Credit With All Three Bureaus

If you haven’t already done so, place a security freeze with Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. You can temporarily lift a freeze when you legitimately need to apply for credit.

You can also place an initial fraud alert. Unlike a freeze, a fraud alert does not block access to your credit report. Instead, it tells businesses to verify your identity before opening a new account. An initial fraud alert lasts one year and requires contacting only one credit bureau; that bureau must notify the other two.

2. Check Existing Accounts, Not Just Your Credit Report

A freeze does nothing to stop a thief from attempting to use an existing bank or credit-card account. Review recent transactions and turn on account alerts where available. Pay attention to unfamiliar purchases, transfers, password-reset notices or changes to contact information.

Aura’s guidance also emphasizes that identity theft can extend beyond new credit accounts. Its monitoring services include driver’s license number monitoring, along with alerts if registered personal information is detected online or used in suspicious identity-verification activity.

A credit freeze is an important first step, but it won’t catch every form of identity misuse. Aura adds three-bureau credit monitoring, dark-web monitoring and financial account alerts to help you spot suspicious activity sooner.

3. Watch for Driver’s License Misuse

A compromised license number presents risks that a credit report won’t necessarily reveal. The FTC’s identity-theft recovery guidance recommends contacting the state motor-vehicle agency when driver’s license information has been stolen or misused. Depending on the state, the agency may flag the license number or recommend replacing the credential.

Aura likewise warns that stolen information can be used to impersonate someone while opening accounts in their name or committing other forms of fraud.

That does not mean everyone affected by the IDScan incident needs to replace a driver’s license immediately. IDScan has not published a final count of affected individuals, and its investigation remains ongoing. Follow verified notices from IDScan, your state DMV or another organization that confirms your information was involved before taking document-replacement steps. TechCrunch

What else should you do after the IDScan breach?

Secure the accounts that could expose more information if compromised. Use unique passwords, enable multifactor authentication and be cautious about unexpected calls, texts or emails asking you to verify your identity. A large breach can also create convincing follow-up scams because criminals may know legitimate details about you.

The FTC recommends visiting IdentityTheft.gov for a personalized recovery plan if you discover that your information is being misused. It also advises checking your free credit reports for accounts or activity you don’t recognize.

Be especially skeptical of messages claiming to be from a bank, DMV, credit bureau or breach-response service. Do not provide additional personal information simply because the sender already knows your name or other details.

Aura’s current protection offerings include data breach alerts, dark web monitoring, identity alerts and identity-restoration assistance. If identity theft occurs, Aura says its Expert Fraud Remediation team can help create a personalized recovery plan and assist with steps such as contacting banks, creditors and credit bureaus.

How long should you monitor your identity after a breach?

There is no short cutoff for watching your identity after sensitive information is exposed. A credit freeze can remain in place until you remove it, while account and identity monitoring should continue as long as the exposed information remains useful to criminals. Keep records of breach notices, suspicious activity and reports you make to financial institutions or government agencies.

Driver’s license information is different from a password: You cannot simply change your name or date of birth if those details are exposed. That makes ongoing detection more useful than relying on a single protective measure.

The IDScan investigation is still developing. For consumers who believe their information could be involved, the practical response is straightforward: freeze your credit, watch your existing accounts, secure your online accounts and pay attention to signs that your identity or license information is being used.

If you want ongoing help monitoring for identity theft after the IDScan breach, Aura offers credit and identity monitoring, dark-web alerts and Expert Fraud Remediation if identity theft occurs.

When No. 1 Ohio State faces No. 4 Texas today, college football fans will have plenty to talk about, from the matchup on the field to the traditions that make a fall Saturday feel like a party. One of the most recognizable college football traditions all started with a pop song, and it has nothing to do with football.

When Ohio State percussion student John Tatgenhorst heard “Hang On Sloopy,” the rock version of the earlier song “My Girl Sloopy,” he immediately thought it would make a terrific marching band arrangement. In just four hours, he created his own arrangement and convinced band director Charles Spohn to let the band give it a try.

@its_teresa4

1965..Hang On Sloopy..The McCoys🎸🎤..Released Again In 1975 With 19 Year Old Dancer..Lisa Leonard Dalton🔥..#musicvideo #song #songlyrics #tiktok #fyp

♬ original sound – Teresa 🎥🎞

The Ohio State Marching Band performed “Hang On Sloopy” at Ohio Stadium on October 9, 1965, when the Buckeyes faced Illinois, just one week after The McCoys’ version hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. Rain kept the band from taking the field, but the song was a hit regardless. Fans soon began asking to hear the band play it again.

How “Hang On Sloopy” Became an Ohio State Tradition

For more than 60 years, Buckeyes fans have been treated to “Hang On Sloopy” as part of the team’s game-day traditions. This isn’t a fight song, and you don’t have to know anything about Ohio State football to join in the camaraderie that comes with an enthusiastic fan base getting hyped up by a shared anthem.

The Ohio State Marching Band still performs “Hang On Sloopy” as part of its football traditions, with fans joining in and the familiar O-H-I-O response. The song is generally played between the third and fourth quarters, turning an unlikely pop hit into one of the defining sounds for generations of fans who know that Saturdays in the fall are all about college football.

Related: 1968 Hit Song by a Rams Legend Written by Bobby Womack Was Inspired by His Friendship With Bobby Kennedy

The 1965 Hit Behind the Ohio State Tradition @drumlinemom.740

‘Hang on Sloopy’ always gets the crowd on their feet! 🔴⚪️ #OSUMB #MarchingBand #skullsession

♬ original sound – Drumlinemom740 🥁

That’s what makes Ohio State’s game-day tradition so much fun. “Hang On Sloopy” isn’t a fight song, nor does it have anything to do with football. It’s simply a catchy tune that was adopted by generations of Ohio State fans, becoming part of the shared experience of rooting for the same team.

The McCoys’ version became a No. 1 hit in 1965, but the song actually started a year earlier. “My Girl Sloopy” was recorded by The Vibrations in 1964 before The McCoys gave it a rock ’n’ roll makeover the following year, changing the title to “Hang On Sloopy.”

There’s also a fun detail hiding in the song itself. The familiar McCoys version contains only two verses, even though the original song had three. The third verse was cut for the 1965 single, making the shorter version the one generations of listeners grew up hearing.

More than six decades later, that catchy two-verse song has become something much bigger than a pop hit. Whether you’re watching Ohio State take on Texas today or simply remember hearing “Hang On Sloopy” somewhere along the way, it’s a reminder of how a familiar song can become part of a place, a crowd and a memory. And sometimes, the songs we remember most aren’t the ones that were written for the moment—they’re the ones that generations of people turned into their own tradition.

Related: 1979 NFL Star Captured Houston’s Super Bowl Dreams With an Unexpected Disco Song

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The 1960s were filled with so many bright pop-rock hits that there are too many to count. It was a great decade for music, but there were a few songs that stood out from the crowd and made a lasting impact. One of these was a song called “Happy Together” from the band the Turtles.

Written by Garry Bonner and Alan Gordon, the rock band recorded the track in January 1967 and released it the same month. Surprisingly, the song was passed over by many other bands before the Turtles, who were at a low point in their career, decided to take a chance on it.

Before “Happy Together,” the Turtles’ last few singles didn’t perform well. It almost led the band to break up. But thankfully, the success of the new song saved them.

In an interview with Uncut, band member Howard Kaylan explained how much they searched for their next song, knowing how important it was that it was a hit. He said, “We went through stacks and stacks and stacks of records to find the next one to record, to bring us into that good-time arena.”

They had a lot of faith in the potential of “Happy Together” after hearing the demo. The song first came out as a single for the Turtles before being released as a track on the album of the same name that came out in April 1967.

The Turtles worked hard to promote the song, and as it started getting more popular, the band was even invited to perform on The Ed Sullivan Show in May 1967.

Mark Volman of the Turtles explained to Uncut that it took some time for the song to really make an impact: “‘Happy Together’ was no sure thing, though – it wasn’t an instantaneous smash, but it had really long legs – it took a while to show itself but it dug in and held the charts.”

It made it into the Top 20 on the Billboard Hot 100 after a few weeks, going on to be a No. 1 hit. Because of the song’s success, the band got to travel overseas and was compared to other big bands of the era, like the Beatles and the Beach Boys.

“Happy Together” broke into the Top 20 in plenty of other countries as well, including Canada, Sweden, South Africa, Norway, the U.K., and more.

Related: 1970 Folk-Rock Song, Written in a Few Minutes in London, Became One of the Best-Selling Singles of All Time

These days, the song is still remembered as a smash hit and fun-filled track representative of the 1960s. In fact, it has been included in multiple lists of the “Greatest Songs of the 1960s,” like VinylMapper‘s edition, although it’s usually more under the radar than other well-known ’60s hits. Far Out Magazine even declared “Happy Together” the “greatest pop song chorus of the 1960s.”

In 2007, “Happy Together” was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame, while BMI included it in its “Top 100 Songs of the Century,” ranking music released between 1900 and 2000.

Related: 1988 Soft Rock Song, Written for Cheap Trick, Among ‘Best Rock Love Songs’ of All Time

It’s hard to imagine anyone other than Kathy Garver as the big sister on Family Affair. The then- 21-year-old college student played teen Cissy Davis from 1966 to 1971 on the CBS sitcom, alongside co-stars Brian Keith (Bill Davis), Anissa Jones (Buffy), Johnny Whitaker (Jody), and Sebastian Cabot (Mr. Giles French), as it followed a businessman (Keith) raising his orphaned nieces and nephew in New York City.

During a September 2026 appearance on The Patrick Labyorsheaux podcast, Garver, 80, looked back on the audition process for the beloved family sitcom 60 years prior.

Garver already had a list of impressive acting credits under her belt when her mother called her sorority house to tell her she had an audition.

“And she says it’s already cast and they’re shooting the pilot which has already been sold and they’re looking for the teenage girl, the one that they had they couldn’t use,” Garver told host Patrick Labyorteaux. “And I say, ‘Okay, mom.’ She says, ‘The thing is they want somebody blonde.’ Well, at that time I did not have my lovely blonde locks. I was brunette. I had dark hair and dark eyes. My mother, ever the problem solver, comes over to the sorority house and she sprays my hair with this stuff called Streaks and Tips.”

“Now, back in the 60s… this was this substance that you just sprayed on your hair, and it changed it a different color,” Garver continued. “Not to purple or yellow or red that we have today, but like brown or brunette. So, it went blonde.”

Garver recalled that she was interviewing with Family Affair creator Ed Hartmann when he asked her, “What’s the matter with your hair?”

He then informed her, “It’s turning green.”

In light of the bad hair day, Hartmann sent Garver to get a wig.

“They sent me to Max Factor,” Garver shared. “I had this long blonde wig, and I went to wardrobe and I had this blue and white check dress on. I looked like Alice in Wonderland. …I did the screen test. My agent calls me the next day, and she says, ‘Well, you got the part. You’re going to play Cissy.’ And I said, ‘Oh, great.’ She says, ‘The only thing is never wear that wig again. And the other caveat, never wear that dress again.’ I said, ‘Oh, it’s a deal.’”

RELATED: Kathy Garver Reveals What Really Made ‘Family Affair’ a Classic

During her years on Family Affair, Garver’s character was known for her stylish side ponytail. But the actress wasn’t a fan of Cissy’s sweater sets and modest outfits.

“I was always wanting Cissy to be cooler,” Garver told Woman’s World in April. “I wanted miniskirts and discos. But the producers said, ‘You can save that for your off-screen life.’ They had a definite mission for how they wanted the show to be.”

CBS Photo Archive / Getty Images

Years before booking Family Affair, Garver had an easier audition for one of her earliest roles in the 1955 movie The Night of the  Hunter. The film starred Shelley Winters, Robert Mitchum, Lillian Gish, and Peter Graves.

“I’ll never forget, and it’s still a picture in my mind when I went on the interview at RKO and there was Charles Laughton, who people knew as Hunchback of Notre Dame. This was going to be the first movie he had ever directed,” Garver told Labyorteaux on his podcast.

“So, we’re chatting and we’re talking and then he says, ‘I want you to uh run down this alley,'” the Family Affair alum recalled. “So being competitive with my brothers, I ran as fast as I can. …And he says, ‘Okay, now come and do it like a six-year-old would do it.’ And I said, ‘Okay.’ So I stumbled along and he says, ‘Okay, you’re hired.’ And that was my first movie. And it was really a treat.”

Related: Kathy Garver Gives Update on Relationship with TV Brother 60 Years After ‘Family Affair’

In 1974, Maria Muldaur became a star with the sultry “Midnight at the Oasis,” but more than a decade before her signature song became a Top 10 hit, she had a front-row seat to another musician’s rise: Bob Dylan.

Muldaur, who turns 84 on Sept. 12, was born Maria D’Amato in New York City’s Greenwich Village in 1942. Growing up in a neighborhood that would become one of the epicenters of the American folk revival put her in the middle of an extraordinary musical community.

She began performing in the early 1960s, playing with John Sebastian, David Grisman and Stefan Grossman in the Even Dozen Jug Band before becoming a featured vocalist and occasional fiddle player with Jim Kweskin & the Jug Band.

And somewhere in that bustling Greenwich Village scene, a young Bob Dylan caught her attention.

In a 2016 interview, Muldaur recalled the folk clubs clustered around MacDougal and Bleecker streets, where musicians could play a set, pass a bread basket around for tips and then pack up their instruments and head to another club.

Dylan was one of the musicians she encountered during those years.

“About 1962 is the first time I remember noticing Bob Dylan,” Muldaur recalled, describing how he “kind of sauntered onto the scene with his little cap and his guitar.” She remembered frequently seeing him at Gerde’s Folk City and being struck by his performances.

Muldaur admitted that she hadn’t been particularly interested in the protest music dominating parts of the folk scene at the time. Dylan was different.

“I sat up and took notice and realized that his songs were very different and very deep,” she said, citing songs including “Masters of War” and “Only a Pawn in Their Game.” She felt Dylan’s songwriting offered a more universal perspective than much of what she was hearing around her.

Muldaur’s own career eventually took her far beyond the Village. After her years in the jug-band scene, she launched a solo career and released her self-titled debut album in 1973. The album climbed to No. 3, while “Midnight at the Oasis” became her breakout hit, reaching No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1974.

Her connection to Dylan’s music also came full circle decades later.

After hearing Dylan’s “Moonlight,” Muldaur told him how much she loved the song and that she was considering recording it. According to Muldaur, Dylan encouraged her, telling her he thought she could do a great job with it.

That conversation helped inspire Heart of Mine: Maria Muldaur Sings Love Songs of Bob Dylan, her 2006 album devoted to Dylan’s romantic songwriting. Muldaur said she wanted to find her own way into the material rather than reproduce Dylan’s recordings, ultimately giving many of the songs a bluesy, Louisiana flavor.

More than six decades after she first noticed the young songwriter “saunter” onto the Greenwich Village scene, Muldaur remains part of the remarkable musical history that surrounded Dylan before either of them became famous.

Related: Rock Hall Legend Makes Candid Admission About Bob Dylan: ‘Sometimes I Don’t Know What the Hell He’s Talking About’

When planning a cruise, it’s easy to fixate on the exciting decisions: picking between a balcony or an oceanview, debating the merits of an unlimited drink package, and counting down the days until you are lounging on the pool deck.

With so many moving pieces, travelers often assume the costliest mistakes happen on the ship—like overspending at the casino or racking up runaway bar tabs.

According to professional travel planners, however, the single biggest financial trap happens the second you enter your credit card information. And it has nothing to do with what you pack or which excursions you choose.

“In my opinion, the most expensive mistake is treating travel insurance and protection as an afterthought,” says Emma Guse, a travel advisor with Travelmation and river cruise specialist at PlanYourRiverCruise.com. “A medical emergency, evacuation, flight disruption, or family crisis can turn a significant vacation investment into tens of thousands of dollars in losses or unexpected expenses.”

While casual travelers often wave off coverage with an “it won’t happen to me” attitude, Guse cautions that timing is everything. Waiting until weeks or days before departure to look into a policy usually means you’ve already missed the boat.

“I encourage clients to review coverage soon after making their first deposit because benefits such as pre-existing-condition waivers and Cancel for Any Reason coverage may have early-purchase requirements,” Guse explains. “The goal isn’t simply to buy a policy, but to understand its covered reasons, exclusions, reimbursement amounts, and benefits. An emergency is difficult enough at home; during travel, the financial challenges can be far greater. You think ‘it won’t happen to me’…until it does.”

Beyond ignoring travel protection, Guse warns that cruisers routinely fall into a handful of other deceptive booking traps that bleed wallets dry before embarkation day even arrives.

Related: The Golden Rules of Stress-Free Cruising, According to a Lifelong Traveler

The “Bargain Fare” Illusion

It’s the oldest trick in travel marketing: flashing an eye-popping $399 base rate on the homepage to get you to click. But stripping away standard vacation perks to reach that rock-bottom sticker price often ends up costing more in the long run.

“The lowest fare isn’t necessarily the best value. I often start with the experience a client wants and work backward to determine which inclusions they’ll actually use,” Guse says. “Drinks, Wi-Fi, gratuities, specialty dining, and excursions can quickly narrow the gap between a base fare and a bundled package. For someone who plans to purchase several of those extras, the bundled fare may cost less overall. The important number is the realistic bottom-line cost, not the large and bold price advertised on the homepage.”

Related: The No. 1 Cruise Cabin Booking Mistake That’s Ruining Vacations for Travelers Over 60

The “Guarantee” Cabin Roulette

Selecting an unassigned “guarantee” stateroom to shave a couple of hundred dollars off the invoice might feel like a savvy insider hack, but Guse cautions that relinquishing control over your location is a high-stakes gamble.

“You’re giving up control over the exact location and often the view,” notes Guse. “You could be placed beneath a busy deck, far forward or aft, or away from family members…and changing cabins later may not be possible. If sleep, motion sensitivity, accessibility, group proximity, or the view matters, spending a few hundred dollars more to choose the cabin can be well worth it. A cabin isn’t merely where you sleep; its location can affect the entire trip.”

Gambling on Same-Day Flights

Booking a morning flight that lands just four hours before the ship pulls up the gangway remains one of the most perilous gambles in modern travel. In an era of unpredictable airline scheduling, a single maintenance delay or summer thunderstorm can derail your entire journey.

“Flying to the port on embarkation day is one of the risks I push back on most strongly,” Guse warns. “If the ship leaves without you, reaching the next port becomes your responsibility. You may find yourself making expensive arrangements while relying on the cruise line, ship leadership, and local authorities to determine where, or whether, you can join the sailing. You cannot simply arrive at another port and assume you always will be allowed to board.”

Her baseline rule? Arrive at least 24 hours before your ship departs—and build in a full two-day cushion for long-haul international flights.

Related: 5 Types of Travelers Who Should Never Book a Flight

Waiting for Last-Minute Wave Discounts

Waiting around for dynamic cruise algorithms to slash prices at the eleventh hour is largely a myth of the past. As sailings fill, cruise lines steadily ratchet up base rates on the remaining inventory, leaving late bookers with the worst cabins at the highest rates.

“Cruise pricing often changes with demand, so as a sailing fills, the most desirable cabins disappear and fares can rise,” Guse explains. “We also live in an almost constant promotional cycle. Waiting can be especially costly when rising airfare offsets any savings on the cruise itself.”

Ultimately, avoiding a vacation-ruining financial hit comes down to planning with clarity from day one.

“The goal is not just to find a deal,” Guse says. “It is to make sure the money spent delivers the vacation the client truly hoped to have.”

Related: The 10 Best New Cruise Ship Restaurants to Book Right Now, According to Cruise Experts

Bon Jovi is full of surprises.

The Grammy-winning rock legends, who just wrapped up their Forever Tour in London’s Wembley Stadium, announced to the crowd that they are far from ready to hang up their leather jackets. In fact, they’re going to be hitting the road again early next year.

“I ain’t done,” frontman Jon Bon Jovi yelled, via the Asbury Park Press, to the crowd. “I’m taking it all in, because after tonight, it’s going to be a long five or so months before we go back on the road. We are booking a tour right now for next year.”

Note: No dates, venues, or further tour information has been announced just yet.

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Also during the finale, the band stunned fans with two songs that hadn’t yet been played on the two-month tour. Per Ultimate Classic Rock, the first was “Captain Crash & the Beauty Queen From Mars,” last played live in June 2019, and the other was “Love’s the Only Rule” from 2009’s The Circle.

The songs and the tour plans were the only shockers. Jon Bon Jovi brought the house down with his vocals, which had recently been on the mend.

In 2022, Bon Jovi underwent a rare and specialized vocal-fold medialization procedure to address problems with his vocal cords, which had been affected by atrophy and nerve issues. In other words, one of his vocal cords was basically “living on a prayer.”

“I’d often joked and said the only thing that’s ever been up my nose was my finger,” he told People. “I never did anything to hurt the cords; I didn’t have any excesses. I’m a trained vocalist. I’ve practiced the craft. So when a doctor had to explain to me that one of the cords was literally atrophying, it was confusing.”

Following the surgery, Bon Jovi often jokingly referred to the procedure as a “facelift for the vocal cords” or his “bionic voice.” Fans also learned that he sought advice from fellow singer Shania Twain, who underwent the same vocal-fold medialization procedure in 2018 and also connected him with her surgeon.

The years-long recovery from his 2022 surgery to his intense vocal rehabilitation was heavily documented in the band’s four-part Hulu docuseries, Thank You, Goodnight: The Bon Jovi Story. Their Forever Tour marked Bon Jovi’s first full-scale tour since the surgery.

“I’m fully recovered,” he added to People. “It was longer than I’d ever expected, but it had to be right. We never lost faith.”

Bring on 2027.

Related: 1983 No. 1 Hit, Written by a 2-Time NFL Pro Bowler, Launched an Unlikely Second Career

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There are songs that come around every so often that are so emotional, they stop us dead in our tracks. I cannot tell you how many times my playlist has done me dirty on the drive to work. But in the lexicon of emotional songs, there are a few that are just complete gut-wrenchers, and without a doubt, Joni Mitchell‘s “Little Green” is one of them.

According to Far Out Magazine, Mitchell’s 1971 track is among one of the “most devastating folk songs” of all time, “beaten” out only by Nick Drake‘s “Black Eyed Dog.” Mitchell wrote the tune at the height of her fame for her highly lauded Blue album, and used it to reflect on a particularly harrowing point in her life.

Related: Brandi Carlile Plays Hard-Rock Cover of ‘90s Legend’s Powerful Hit, With Fans Calling It a ‘Face-Melter’

The Lore Behind “Little Green”

The song takes listeners back to 1965, when Mitchell’s songwriting career was not as lucrative and life wasn’t as promising. Mitchell was left in a boarding house by her boyfriend, pregnant and alone.

She had her daughter and named her Kelly Dale Anderson—which, according to American Songwriter, was inspired by a verdant shade of green—in February 1965. Being an unwed young mother in a time when that carried immense societal stigma, she ended up marrying fellow folk singer Chuck Mitchell out of convenience. While the pair raised Anderson for six months, they were soon divorced, and Mitchell made the painful decision to place her daughter up for adoption.

It would be 32 years before the two were reunited, after both Mitchell and Anderson (renamed Kilauren Gibb by her adoptive parents, David and Ida Gibb) began looking for each other. Her “Little Green” called Mitchell’s agent when she found out who her biological mother was, and the two finally met.

“I’ve had pain and joy in my life, but nothing like this. It’s an unparalleled emotional feeling,” Mitchell said of the reunion, according to her website.

Related: Brandi Carlile Duets with Tim McGraw’s Daughter and She Sounds Just like Her Mama

The Reimagination of “Little Green”

It would be long after the events of 1965 and the reunion that the song would see another life through the talents of Brandi Carlile. In 2017, Carlile covered Mitchell’s entire Blue album in concert and earned rave reviews for her performance.

Admittedly, Carlile wasn’t a fan of the folk legend at first. An illuminating story in the Los Angeles Times previewing the show brought that to light.

“I was mortified that the headline said [something] like ‘Non-believer learns to love Joni Mitchell.’ What the hell? [But] you know what, it’s honestly true,” Carlile reportedly confessed during the show. “T Bone Burnett played Blue for me in about 2005, and I was a young girl, and I wanted to spit and swear and cuss. And I still do all that. But I didn’t understand how much toughness there was in femininity.”

It was meeting her wife-to-be, Catherine Shepherd, that helped her see the error of her ways.

“I was like, ‘Yeah, I don’t love Joni Mitchell.’ And Catherine’s like, ‘Why the hell not?’ I said, ‘Because I don’t like the lyric “I want to renew you, I want to shampoo you.” It bothers me; it’s really heterosexual. She doesn’t sound tough.'”

It was then that Shepherd explained the deep and powerful meaning behind “Little Green,” and it shifted Carlile’s entire perspective.

“It changed my life. It didn’t just change the way I view music. It changed the way I view women, and what tough means. So, when I delved into Blue, I made up for lost time. As you can see, I’m an obsessive person,” she said. “And now,” Carlile added, “I love the lyric ‘I want to renew you, I want to shampoo you.’ I don’t think I’d ever really had anybody shampoo me at that point in my life. I needed a little bit of falling in love.”

Carlile ended up forming an extremely close bond with Mitchell and even convinced her to take the stage at the Newport Folk Festival after years of avoiding it.

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Oasis fans have been playing detective, and they may finally have a date for when the mystery ends.

The British rock band has been dropping a series of cryptic video teasers on Instagram, sending fans into overdrive as they try to decipher what the clues could mean for Oasis’ next chapter. Now, the group has added its biggest message yet: Sept. 14, 2026.

A spectacular drone display over Manchester first formed the Oasis logo before transforming into the date “14.09.26” and the time “4PM BST.” The band shared their own footage of the display, soundtracked pointedly by “Lyla” and “The Shock of the Lightning” – two songs conspicuously missing from last year’s Live ’25 setlist, which only deepened the speculation. 

Add to that a series of location-specific teasers that have had fans guessing for weeks, with clues seemingly pointing toward stops in Glasgow, Paris, Amsterdam, Boston, and Rome, and Monday is shaping up to be an epic day in the Oasis calendar.

So what exactly is coming? The smart money is on 2027 tour dates (and links to purchase them) – potentially including a 12-night homecoming residency at the Etihad and a long-awaited return to Knebworth, where Oasis played to 250,000 fans across two legendary nights in 1996.

The teasers also arrive alongside the release of Don’t Look Back in Anger, the documentary chronicling the reunion, created by Peaky Blinders’ Steven Knight.

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The latest tease is particularly significant for Manchester, the Gallagher brothers’ hometown and the place where Oasis’ story began. The band made a triumphant return there during its Live ’25 reunion tour, which marked its first shows with both Liam and Noel Gallagher in 16 years.

Now, another homecoming could be on the horizon. 

While Oasis has yet to reveal its 2027 dates or announce when tickets might go on sale, fans won’t have to spend much longer decoding the clues. The band has given them a very specific date and time to watch.

Considering the elaborate way Oasis has chosen to tease what’s coming, whatever is announced on Monday is going to be biblical. Let’s hope there are some US dates included on that list.

Fifty years ago, the ‘man in black’ and his wife guest-starred on one of the most popular TV shows of the time. The Grand Ole Opry recently celebrated the anniversary of Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash’s appearance on Little House on the Prairie with a star-studded tribute.

Members of the original cast reunited, and Cash’s children took the stage to mark this special occasion. 

Last month, Dean Butler (Little House on the Prairie’s Almanzo Wilder) recently told People, “This reunion, it’s to honor Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash on the 50th anniversary of their appearance in the season three premiere of the Little House called ‘The Collection.’ It’s a wonderful performance on their part. It’s a very interesting episode. It plays right into the sweet spot of who they are and what they’re about.”

Butler added, “We decided because of Johnny and June’s status as icons of country music, we’d take this Nashville and go one step farther and go to the Grand Ole Opry with this. And when they pitched this idea to the Grand Ole Opry, they said, ‘Yes, yes, yes’ instantly.”

What happened in Johnny Cash’s episode of ‘Little House on the Prairie’? LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE — “The Collection” Episode 1 — Aired 09/27/1976 — Pictured: (l-r) Johnny Cash as Caleb Hodgekiss, Michael Landon as Charles Philip Ingalls (Photo by NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images via Getty Images)

In ‘The Collection,’ Cash played Caleb Hodgekiss, with his real-life wife costarring as his on-screen wife Mattie. Hodgekiss rescues an unconscious Reverend Alden from a runaway wagon incident, and later dresses as a reverend himself to con the Walnut Grove out of the disaster relief donation money. 

Of course, Hodgekiss eventually gets to know and love the people of Walnut Grove. He opens his heart and finds himself unable to carry through with the heist, eventually confessing his plan. 

Who performed at the ‘Little House on the Prairie’ reunion at the Grand Ole Opry?

The Friday night show featured some of Cash’s nearest and dearest. Cash and Carter Cash’s son, John Carter Cash, his wife Ana Cristina Cash, and Carter Cash’s daughter/Cash’s stepdaughter Carlene Carter performed at the Grand Ole Opry Little House on the Prairie reunion show. Fiddle player Matt Combs joined some of the original cast members on the stage for a rousing rendition of ‘Ole Dan Tucker.’ 

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Little House cast members who attended the reunion show included Alison Arngrim (Nellie Oleson), Rachel Greenbush (Carrie Ingalls), Sidney Greenbush (also Carrie Ingalls), Charlotte Stewart (Miss Beadle), Dean Butler (Almanzo Wilder), Patrick Labyorteaux (Andy Garvey), Melissa Francis (Cassandra Cooper Ingalls), Pamela Roylance (Sarah Carter), Stan Ivar (John Carver), Wendi Lou Lee (Baby Grace), Jennifer Donati (Baby Rose Wilder), Charles Bloom (Perley Day Wilder), and Todd Bridges (Solomon Henry). 

Along with the 50th anniversary celebration of Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash’s Little House episode, the cast is set to appear at additional reunion events in Nashville throughout the weekend.

Terracotta is having a major moment in home and kitchen design, and honestly, we get it. The warm, earthy shade brings instant coziness to a space without feeling too rustic or overly precious. From clay-colored accents to sunset-inspired textiles, this spicy orange-brown hue has a way of making everything around it look a little more inviting. And now, it’s making its way to the dinner table.

The Bloomhouse Corsica Clay 12-Piece Stoneware Reactive Glaze Dinnerware Set in Burnt Apricot Terracotta, has a stunning color name to match its appearance. Sold at Target, the set has the look of something you might discover at a chic little pottery studio, but with the everyday practicality you actually want from dinnerware. It includes:

• Four dinner plates
• Four dessert plates
• Four cereal bowls

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Bloomhouse Corcisa Clay 12 Piece Stoneware Reactive Glaze Dinnerware Set, $89.99 at Target Target Bloomhouse Corcisa Clay 12 Piece Stoneware Reactive Glaze Dinnerware Set

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The real star here is the finish. The terra-cotta stoneware has a reactive glaze with subtle artisanal flecks, giving each piece a slightly individual, handmade look. With this, your dinner table can look thoughtfully styled without requiring much effort otherwise.

And shoppers seem to be very into it. The showcases reviewers repeatedly calling out its appearance, quality and functionality.

One reviewer summed up the aesthetics simply: “It’s literally the most beautiful set of bowls and plates I’ve ever had.” Another called the dishes “very well made” and praised the “stunning” glaze finish, adding that guests have asked about the dinnerware when it comes out.

Related: Costco’s Gorgeous New 2-Piece Stoneware Baking Set Is Made for Casserole Season

Then there’s the review that really seals the deal: “Without a doubt, the most beautiful dishes I’ve ever owned.” That shopper also appreciated the shape of the plates, noting that it’s functional enough to keep food sitting nicely in place.

Fortunately, this isn’t a case of choosing style over substance. The stoneware set is dishwasher- and microwave-safe, and the pieces are designed with both form and function in mind. The brand also says it plants one tree through One Tree Planted for every set sold.

So, if your kitchen could use a little warm-toned personality—or your current plates are giving more “college apartment” than “dream dinner party”—this terra-cotta set might be the tablescape refresh you didn’t know you needed.

Related: Everyone Is Excited About These 23 Sam’s Club Finds for September

Families and collectors are heading into fall with a fresh wave of additions to their Toniebox shelves, as fans of the storytelling audio platform Tonies look to expand their growing collections with some of the most popular characters yet.

From superhero favorites to animated classics, Tonies continues to roll out figures that connect with kids through familiar voices, music, and stories. 

This season, the demand is especially high for many character-based figures tied to major franchises, and Tonies is more than delivering.

Following the success of the younger-skewing Spidey and His Amazing Friends Tonies, MARVEL assembled the Tonies Avengers collection. It was released in July and August 2026, featuring Captain America, Spider-Man and Iron Man, providing plenty of action-packed adventures for kids ages 7+. Each character boasts three stories with run times of about an hour.

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With the 30th anniversary of Pokémon on Sept. 14, 2026, it’s only fitting that the latest collection includes four new Pokémon Tonies—along with a lightning yellow box—including Pikachu, Charmander, Bulbasaur, and Squirtle. You simply gotta catch ’em all! (And this one is a super fun listen for parents who grew up watching and collecting Pokémon cards, too!)

The 4-pack of Tonies is for ages 5+.

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“Our iconic Toniebox is instantly recognizable by kids – and so is the lightning yellow of Pikachu. To celebrate our partnership with Pokémon, we are thrilled to bring both together. This release is a nod to the creativity and spirit of discovery that define both our brands. With Pokémon’s 30th anniversary this year, we found the perfect stage to make this launch even more special,” Tobias Wann, CEO of tonies, said in a press release.

The Paw Patrol crew is getting another new addition! The adorable baby T. rex named Rhubarb from the Paw Patrol Dino Movie has also arrived, along with a Tonieplay PAW Patrol Dino Movie: Dino Island Rescue Mission Game featuring over 35 missions and bonus games.  It’s a whole new adventure, perfect for ages 3+!

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“You got me with the Pokemon and now I’m getting these too 🤭🤭,” one fan wrote on social media.

“@tonies.us is dropping all of these amazing Tonys at once and I need you guys to slow down because my bank can only take so much😂 my daughter’s Christmas list already has 6 tonies😂♥️ BLACK FRIDAY HERE I COME,” another parent joked.

“Literally ordered them all 😂😂😅😅 my kids are obsessed,” someone else said of the Pokémon collection.

Kids 7+ can also grab the new Avatar: The Last Airbender – Aang Tonie, along with a new Kitty Halloween-themed Tonie for ages 1+ that includes a spooky playlist of songs perfect for trick-or-treating, including “Monster Mash” and “Ghostbusters.”

There are also a few unreleased Tonies that you need to have on your radar, especially if you have a little Baby Shark fan at home.

One of the most exciting arrivals coming soon is the Baby Shark Yellow Shark Tonie, which allows you to “dive into a fin-tastic world of music, movement, and learning.” It features plenty of your favorite songs to sing along to and get you moving. It’s perfect for ages 3+! 

Additionally, Peppa Pig’s brother George is getting a Tonie on Sept. 15. Fans can join him as he “adjusts to wearing his hearing aid and discovers new sounds,” while “his family learns how best to support him.”

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Going into the holiday season, Tonies is giving you plenty of options for gifts, helping kids grow their collection and bringing their favorite stories and songs into their everyday listening routines—without screens.

I know for a fact that at my house, our night isn’t complete if we don’t listen to our Tonie before bed! 

If you’ve ever taken a classic European river cruise, you already know the routine: finish your morning coffee in the lounge, grab a numbered whisper headset, and fall into line behind a guide waving a brightly colored umbrella or paddle on a brisk march past historic landmarks before boarding a waiting tour bus.

It’s efficient, sure—but as Celebrity Cruises prepares to enter European waterways in summer 2027 with its first custom-built river ships, Celebrity Compass and Celebrity Seeker, the line is betting modern travelers want something a whole lot more personal.

Backed by an ambitious order of 20 river vessels, Celebrity is aiming to shake up the market by ditching the impersonal “follow the lollipop” herd walks. Instead, they are capping groups at around 15 guests and structuring their shore days into four distinct pillars: The Storyteller Series, The Skillmaster Series, The Keys to the City Series, and the exclusive Celebrity Takeover Series. Best of all? Unlike typical ocean sailings, Celebrity’s river fares will include at least one of these locally guided excursions in every port, right alongside your Wi-Fi, drinks, and all dining.

To see how that plays out in real life, I headed to Amsterdam with a small crew of fellow travel writers—including Chris Gray Faust, Executive Editor of Cruise Critic—to test-drive sample itineraries from the new lineup.

Related: I Got an Early Look Inside Celebrity’s Sold-Out River Cruise

The Storyteller Series: Maritime History and a Secret Stroopwafel Basement

The core of Celebrity’s program is the Storyteller Series, which pairs guests with residents, artists, and generational locals who reveal the memories, rituals, and routines shaping everyday life. Rather than a packed sprint through central tourist hubs, my group set off on a food-and-history crawl exploring Amsterdam through the lens of the historic Dutch East India Company.

Our walk began right near the waterfront, passing through the Passenger Terminal Amsterdam (PTA) and along Cuyperspassage—the striking, photo-worthy Delft tile tunnel—before weaving through the bustling local market stalls of Nieuwmarkt.

From there, our guide led us away from the crowds to Schreierstoren—the 15th-century defense structure historically known as the ‘Weeping Tower’ or ‘Widow’s Tower,’ where wives once wept as their sailor husbands departed on long voyages for the Dutch East India Company (VOC). Sitting inside Café De Schreierstoren surrounded by dark wood, VOC heritage, and old-world charm, we took our time sipping rich coffee and nibbling spiced Dutch cookies before heading off to Reypenaer Cheese Tasting Room to sample aged varieties crafted right in the surrounding countryside.

The real highlight of the afternoon, though, happened completely behind closed doors. We headed down into the historic brick basement of Melly’s Stroopwafels—one of the most beloved family-run bakeries in central Amsterdam—to learn the craft of authentic stroopwafels directly from Daniel Mellicovsky, nephew of the original founder. Slicing through steaming, paper-thin waffle rounds fresh off the iron and slathering the center with warm, spiced caramel syrup transformed a classic souvenir snack into an intimate masterclass in Dutch baking heritage.

It’s the exact kind of insider access Celebrity is planning across Europe—like exploring hidden canal passages and boarding a legendary trading ship with an Amsterdam canal captain, or touring centuries-old Czech breweries like U Vejvodu Tavern in Prague guided by a generational brewmaster.

Related: Celebrity River Cruises: Ships, Sailings, How to Book

The Skillmaster Series: Trading Tour Signs for Spray Cans in Amsterdam North

While I was knee-deep in caramel, Gray Faust and her group experienced an entirely different side of the city via the Skillmaster Series—hands-on workshops where guests don’t just observe local culture, but actively participate in it.

Led by local street artist Alex Pope, her group skipped the crowded center altogether, hopping the free public ferry over to NDSM-Werf in Amsterdam North—a gritty former shipyard that transformed into a creative haven and graffiti hall of fame. Their tour took them inside STRAAT, a massive museum dedicated to street art, before quickly turning participatory.

“I really enjoyed the hands-on part of our street art tour. In the end, it’s the experiences that you remember when you get home, not so much the endless facts and figures,” Gray Faust shared. “Being able to do something totally out of your comfort zone—like don a jumpsuit and grab a spray can—is extremely memorable (not to mention photogenic). I think if Celebrity continues to source tours that bring what you’re doing to life—whether you’re in the kitchen, at a studio or learning to tag with new friends—that will bring something new to river cruising.”

Suited up in protective jumpsuits and masks, the group stepped up to legally cleared outdoor walls to create their own vibrant collaborative mural.

“Other river lines do have similar tours where you’re hands-on,” Gray Faust noted. “I did a Van Gogh-inspired painting class in Amsterdam once before, learned how to waltz in period attire in Vienna and even handled live honeycombs in a bee outfit in Austria. But all of those excursions cost extra, and weren’t part of the included offerings. By making small group experiences part of the included product, Celebrity is definitely setting themselves up to do something different in the river cruise marketplace.”

Another media group tested that exact artistic intersection: they toured the Van Gogh Museum alongside an independent local painter to analyze original canvases before heading to a private studio to learn his signature brushwork and create original paintings of their own. Elsewhere on future Danube sailings, Skillmaster outings will see guests shopping Budapest’s Central Market Hall with a Hungarian family matriarch before heading into her kitchen to cook secret family recipes.

Related: Celebrity’s Viral European River Cruise Is About to Get a Whole Lot Easier to Book

Keys to the City & Bringing Ocean Cruisers to Inland Waters

For days when you’d rather explore completely on your own schedule, Celebrity is introducing Keys to the City. Instead of an organized herd, guests receive curated digital guides and interactive maps that unlock exclusive access to neighborhood artisans, scenic hilltop trails like the hike up to Bratislava Castle, and local craft spots at their own pace.

The fun question now is whether this fresh energy will tempt travelers who’ve always stuck to big ocean ships to try river cruising for the very first time.

“While people who love river cruising might be enticed to ‘jump ship’ from their favorite line to give Celebrity a try, I think the ships are more apt to draw longtime Celebrity fans who might have been interested in river cruising, but weren’t sure what brand to go with,” Gray Faust told me. “Having a familiar name and some smart carryovers from the ocean ships will bring in those new people.”

“The AMA readers who were new to river cruising were very excited about what they’ve heard about the ships so far,” she added. “They do want more details about dining and amenities onboard. Part of the challenge of river cruising is that you don’t have room for some features that ocean cruisers are used to—like a casino, spa or fitness center. So they are curious to see how a Celebrity river cruise will still feel like the experience they already know and love.”

If our sneak peek in Amsterdam is any indicator, stepping off the ship won’t feel like an obligatory lecture tour. It feels like getting out there and playing—whether that means tagging a mural, learning to paint like Van Gogh, or savoring a warm stroopwafel fresh off the iron.

Related: Celebrity River Cruises Announces New Premium City Extensions for European Sailings

We have all been there. You leave a lunch date or hang up the phone with a close confidant, but instead of feeling uplifted, a heavy, sinking feeling settles in your stomach. You nervously replay the conversation in your head, suddenly questioning your recent life choices, your relationship or the healthy boundary you just tried to set with a family member.

While we are often taught from a young age to watch out for the “bad crowd” or obvious bullies, as adults, negative influences are rarely so cinematic. They don’t always wear leather jackets, act outwardly aggressive or pressure you to break the law. Instead, the most toxic people in our lives often arrive disguised as well-meaning friends. They are the ones we trust with our deepest secrets, but whose subtle commentary leaves us feeling drained, doubtful and perpetually off-balance.

Psychologists warn that one of the most powerful and overlooked indicators of a toxic friendship isn’t outward conflict—it is an internal barometer that we can call the “decision regret” rule. If you find yourself constantly making choices you wish you could take back immediately after spending time with a certain someone, you might be under the spell of a negative influence.

Recognizing this covert dynamic is the first, often painful step toward reclaiming your authentic self. It requires taking off the rose-colored glasses, listening closely to your gut and confronting the reality that someone you deeply care about might secretly be holding you back from the life you deserve.

Related: 8 Types of Toxic Friends You Should Cut Out of Your Life, According to Psychotherapists

Understanding the ‘Decision Regret’ Rule in Friendships

At its core, a negative influence slowly chips away at your sense of self until you start living on their terms, not yours. Jackie Shiels, PsyD, a psychologist at Kaiser Permanente in Walnut Creek, California, previously explained to Parade that a negative influence is “any person who consistently affects your thoughts, behaviors, emotions or decisions in a way that hinders your well-being and/or growth.”

The clearest symptom of this hindrance is a recurring sense of regret. When you are around a toxic friend, you may feel an unspoken pressure to agree with their pessimistic worldview, engage in workplace gossip or participate in habits you have been actively trying to quit. You might snap at a partner because your friend riled you up, or abandon a personal goal because they convinced you it was unattainable.

Related: 5 Telltale Signs of Gaslighting in a Friendship, According to Psychologists

“Regret can point to what we wanted or hoped for instead, and often happens with time in hindsight,” Dr. Shiels shared with Parade. “This can show up as impulsive decisions in the moment, acting in a way that feels inauthentic or misaligned with the person you want to be.”

If your actions consistently feel out of character when this specific friend is around, the friendship has crossed into toxic territory.

Related: 12 Phrases to Shut Down a Toxic Friend, According to a Psychoanalyst

The Hidden Toll on Your Mental Health and Personal Growth

The danger of a subtly toxic friend is that the damage compounds over time. Because the negativity is often disguised as “just venting” or “being realistic,” you might not realize the toll it is taking on your mental health until your self-esteem is severely compromised.

Peggy Loo, PhD, director and New York City-based psychologist at Manhattan Therapy Collective, told Parade in the same article that the depth of the toxicity often correlates with the closeness of your bond. “The more complicated the relationship or context, or the greater the influence, the more negativity can trickle into your life,” she said.

A truly toxic influence will also quietly sabotage your personal growth. Instead of cheering you on when you get a promotion or start a new wellness journey, they might change the subject, highlight the potential downsides or subtly belittle your progress. As Dr. Shiels pointed out, “Their lack of encouragement to your aspirations can keep you from achieving your full potential. Their focus is often on themselves, not you.”

Related: 15 Genius Phrases to Respond to a Toxic Friend’s Text

How To Set Boundaries and Reclaim Your Inner Voice

Walking away from a friendship—even a toxic one—is an emotionally grueling process. But once you recognize the pattern of decision regret, you have to take action to protect your peace. The antidote to a negative influence is establishing firm, unwavering boundaries.

If you decide to confront the situation, be prepared for resistance. These narcissists or gaslighters often use guilt to maintain control. “I encourage my patients to establish limits on how much time, energy or emotional investment you give them,” Dr. Shiels advised. “Be firm in protecting your personal wellbeing. And it’s OK to feel guilt or shame. Those are temporary feelings that are completely normal.”

You do not have to navigate this emotionally fraught transition alone. Dr. Loo recommended seeking outside perspective from a trusted, unbiased source to help you see the reality of the friendship clearly. Surrounding yourself with supportive loved ones or speaking with a licensed therapist can provide the clarity you need to step away from the negativity and finally step back into your authentic self.

Adapted from Parade’s “9 Signs Someone Is a Negative Influence on You, Psychologists Warn” by Shelby Deering

Up Next:

Related: Psychologist Warns: This 1 Subtle Sign Reveals a Friendship Is ‘Definitely Unhealthy’

Sources:

• Jackie Shiels, PsyD, psychologist at Kaiser Permanente in Walnut Creek, California.
• Peggy Loo, PhD, director and New York City-based psychologist at Manhattan Therapy Collective.

You can only have classic grilled cheese so many times before you’re craving something a little different. Sure, adding in different types of cheese can change up the flavor, but sometimes you need something bolder. Enter the viral chopped grilled cheese.

This chopped sandwich recipe takes your classic bread, cheese and butter combination and throws in new flavors to create something entirely new. It also chops the ingredients in advance, allowing you to get an impressively blended mixture in every bite. Think of this as the grilled cheese version of the chopped salad. It’s super cheesy and much less healthy, making it naturally delicious.

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I’ve made grilled cheese a zillion times and, while it’s tasty, I really needed a way to mix things up. Of course, when I came across the viral chopped grilled cheese recipe, I knew I had to try it.

There is a little trial and error here, since the recipe doesn’t give a lot of specifics. But once you get it down, you’ll never go back. Here’s what I discovered after making (and re-making) the viral chopped sandwich.

What Is the Viral Chopped Sandwich Trend? (And Why It Works)

Courtesy Korin Miller

At baseline, a chopped sandwich is a sandwich where the ingredients are all put on a cutting board, chopped together, seasoned and dressed and then scooped onto bread. There are a bunch of variations on the chopped sandwich online, but the chopped grilled cheese sandwich from @JunkSavvyMomma is getting a ton of attention.

The dish, which was shared on Instagram, is the brainchild of creator Stacey Allen. In the now-viral video, Allen can be seen smearing cream cheese on a cutting board, before tossing a mound of shredded cheese on top. That’s followed by jalapenos and bacon, that are chopped up, scooped onto bread and cooked on a buttery stovetop.

People flipped in the comments, and fair. “Don’t ever invite me to your house because I WILL NOT LEAVE,” one person wrote. “I think this could fix my generational trauma,” another joked.

Related: 7 Aldi Pantry Staples That Professional Chefs Actually Keep in Their Kitchens

My Review: Is the Chopped Grilled Cheese Actually Better?

Courtesy Korin Miller

This is way better than your standard grilled cheese and for a few reasons. A big one is the cream cheese. This allows you to work through the issue of having grilled bread but cheese inside that’s not quite melty enough (I always end up having to fiddle with the heat or toss my grilled cheese in the oven on low to try to get the melt just right). The cream cheese heats up quickly, adding instant creaminess to your sandwich while also helping to melt the “regular” cheese inside. It’s a win-win.

But we also can’t forget the extras that really make this sandwich shine. Jalapenos and bacon are a near-perfect combination. When you chop those together with cream cheese and cheddar, it creates a melty, gooey jalapeno popper sandwich.

That said, this wasn’t a perfect sandwich from the start. Allen didn’t provide measurements for her recipe, which means you’re left to guesstimate while pulling all of this together. I found that my first attempt had too much cream cheese and not enough cheddar, making it a little too cream cheese.

You’ll also need way more jalapeno and bacon than you’d think. I had trouble getting the proportions right at first, giving me too much cheese and not enough extra flavor. But, once I really piled the mixing in there, I had plenty of heat, cheesiness and smokiness in every bite.

Ingredients Needed

Courtesy Korin Miller

Here’s what you’ll need to make the viral chopped grilled cheese at home:

• Bakery bread
• Crispy bacon
• Cream cheese
• Shredded cheese
• Jalapeno

How To Make the Viral Chopped Grilled Cheese (Step-by-Step)

There’s no exact recipe, per se, but Allen demonstrated her viral chopped grilled cheese recipe as she went, making it pretty easy to figure out how to pull this together. Start by plopping a block of cream cheese on a cutting board. Then, smush it down.

Courtesy Korin Miller

Adding a heaping pile of cheddar cheese on top. (Allen calls this “Cabot” cheese, but that’s a brand. I went with Cabot cheddar cheese.) Follow that with extra crispy bacon and chopped jalapenos.

Courtesy Korin Miller

Then, take a butcher knife and chop it all up, like you would a chopped salad. Once it’s nice and finely chopped, scoop your cheesy mixture onto a slice of bread and place another slice on top.

Courtesy Korin Miller

Melt butter in a pan, and sear your chopped grilled cheese on both sides to create a nice golden crust.

Courtesy Korin Miller

When your crust is golden and your cheese is nice and melty, pull your sandwich off the heat, slice it and enjoy.

Courtesy Korin Miller

4 Pro Tips for the Perfect Chopped Melt

I picked up a few tips along the way while making this chopped melt.

• Heap on the bacon and jalapeno. You’ll need much more than you think. Plan to do a half cup of jalapenos and a half cup of bacon for every cup of cream cheese you use to balance things out.
• Don’t skimp on the shredded cheese. I made the mistake at first of doing equal parts cream cheese and shredded cheese, but that ended up being way too cream cheese-heavy. Instead, try using double the amount of shredded cheese that you have cream cheese.
• Cook your grilled cheese on low. This is technically helpful for any kind of grilled cheese, but is worth mentioning. Cooking your sandwich on low allows you time to brown your bread and get a perfectly melty inside without running the risk of burning your outer layer.
• Experiment with your mix-ins. There are no rules here, so add in what you like. Prosciutto, apples, tomatoes, spinach, avocado, basil…there’s a lot that can really make this sandwich shine. So, have fun with it.
  

Courtesy Korin Miller

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