Bluffview Estates of Camino Real is an older neighborhood tucked in between Silverhorn Golf Club and Bitters Road. Graced by stately oaks, the homes are products of architectural dreams. Along one of the winding streets is a three-story Spanish Revival house behind an...
Small Changes Can Lead to Big Results
As small business owners, we often tend to look for radical changes when it comes time for a new direction or to boost revenues. We set our sights on increasing profits by 10 percent or cutting expenses by 20 percent to have an even better year. But instead of...
Katie Pell Puts Herself Into Her Art
Like a gracious hostess, following greetings, Katie Pell give her visitor a tour of the premises. She and her husband, Peter Zubiate, a fellow artist and master craftsman, live and work in a former commercial building downtown that they have adapted for their needs....
A Mommy Moment: The value of family diversity
"Mom, can we have chicken for dinner?" "No, I hate chicken! Let';s have spaghetti." "Can we go swimming?" "No, let';s go to the arcade." "I want to see the new Harry Potter movie." "I want to go to the planetarium." "EZ';s!" "Cheesy Jane';s!" "Operation!"...
Fashion Forward or Foot Fiasco?
As a little girl I remember watching my grandma take off her knee-high nylon stockings at the end of the day. I marveled at the jagged curves, curled toes and bony protuberances that were her feet. They didn't look like my feet at all. Mine were just long, narrow...
Texas BBQ: Old-time favorites and the sides that go with them
Want to fire up a hot debate? Try defining the word barbecue. Now try running that by a Texan. Texans love to argue about barbecue, almost as much as they love to eat it. It's no surprise that Texans have developed their own unique brand of barbecue, but you'd be hard...
Her Own Bit Of Texas: Marjie Christopher
No cowboys are galloping around, but the 130-acre Rio Cibolo Ranch, just 25 minutes northeast of downtown, is a bucolic site where longhorns roam and huge pecans tower over the landscape that the owners describe as "a little bit of Texas and a whole lot of fun."...
Following in Dad’s Footsteps: Daughters prove to be worth business partners
The bond between a ather and his daughter cannot be denied. From the time she is born, Daddy's little girl has him wrapped around her finger. As she grows, that bond grows stronger until beore he knows it, Daddy's girl is a grown woman with a family of her own. If...
Events Don’t Just Happen: Planners make the preparation painless
The women featured here have event planning and venue management down to a science. They cannot only provide you with the place for your meeting, wedding or celebration, they can coordinate the décor, menu, flowers, music and more around a central theme for an event...
A Global Outlook: Neeta Singh
NEETA SINGH Age: 35 Occupation: Associate professor of nutrition, University of the Incarnate Word. Background: Diplomat's daughter who was educated in several countries on three continents, earning three advanced degrees. Personal: Single but open to cross-cultural...
Elegance at Rockwall Ranch: Payne home blends Texana with big city sophistication
Leigh and Don Payne's home in Rockwall Ranch in New Braunfels is an ode to Texas elegance. The Tuscan exterior is a mixture of stucco and limestone, leading a visitor to expect a Mediterranean interior. But beyond the heavy wrought iron double doors lies a home...
A Visual Storyteller: Marilyn Lanfear makes art about life using buttons and lead
In artist Marilyn Lanfear's bedroom hangs a huge panel depicting a woman, a large old-fashioned bed and three small children. Titled Every Night She Latched All the Windows, Locked All the Doors and Put the Babies in Her Bed, the panel is based on a story Lanfear's...
The Right Clothes For You: Controlling the wrath of grapes, apples, pears, green beans and other body types
Whether you're "built" or can pass as Bill, it seems practically all of us would like to change something about our bodies. Just look at all the ads for products and services to do just that. Wanna lose weight? There are bazillions of pills, shakes, herbs, teas,...
Smart Move: Get customer/client feedback
Do you really know how your customers/clients feel about your products or services? And even if they're very satisfied, wouldn't you love to know if they have any ideas for improvements? The simplest way to find out is to ask! Now you might send out some type of...
Job Hunt: Your resume is you
"Any fact facing us is not as important as our attitude toward it, for that determines our success or failure." –Norman Vincent Peale In the last issue, we talked about getting your job search skills out of the Stone Age by using social networking sites, cleaning up...
Greens, Revisited: Updated versions of an old favorite
In her book, Mediterranean Grains and Greens, celebrated cookbook author and culinary hunter-forager Paula Wolfert relates a telling Turkish folk story. She writes: “During the reign of Sultan Abdülhamud II (1876-1909), a doctor was appointed to a medical posting in...
The Big Read For Summer: Ray Bradbury’s Farenheit 451 takes the heat
In the Big Read, the National Endowment for the Arts partners with libraries to revitalize reading in America by promoting a single book annually for citizens to read and discuss within their communities. This year's book is Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 — the...
Service Plus Caring: CEO Pamela Bain
Plaques and awards are not an unusual sight in executive suites, but Pamela Bain has a very special one in her office: an unobtrusive little trophy designating her business as one of the Best Places to Work in San Antonio in 2008. Given by the San Antonio Business...