If the state map had a star on it marking the "Antique Capital of Texas," it would likely rest on a tiny black dot in Fayette County on a pretty little place called Round Top, population 77. But ask any woman within a 200-mile radius of this little east-central-Texas...
The adage "When momma's not happy, ain't nobody happy" can also be applied to Mother Earth. She's giving us all kinds of passive aggressive and sometimes downright aggressive signals that our guardianship has been less than stellar. Normally the Health Matters section...
Years ago, if you'd told Ursula Pari about the job she has today, she'd have insisted that you must be thinking of someone else. As the 5 and 10 p.m. TV news anchor for KSAT, Pari is familiar to San Antonio viewers. Delivering the day's top news stories, she's...
A leader in her own right She may be a friend of presidents and a big-league philanthropist, but Peggy Mays in person comes across as a down-to-earth, matter-of-fact kind of woman — a true Texas gal who loves the land and the outdoors. When we meet to talk about her...
The heartbeat of ingenuity, creativity and entrepreneurship is beating strong in the Alamo City. In many cases, it is young women who are turning dreams into designs and passions into profits. If you've ever thought about taking that career leap of faith, read on and...
Once San Antonio's founding nearly 400 years ago, the city has amassed a substantial physical record — artifacts and documents — without stopping in its eventful history to figure out what to do with all this stuff. Not long ago, for instance, a ceremonial sword...
Walk down any residential street in San Antonio and chances are, one house will stand out. One house will hold your attention, pique your interest and create a desire to linger just a little longer, gazing at the structure. Linda Hummel-McAlpin and her husband, Chico,...
When Sushi Zushi first hit town, in a small but smart space in the Colonnade on I-10, some of us (this writer included) were both pleased and a little perturbed. The menu was intriguing and extensive, yes, but spicy mayonnaise? Chipotle? Cream cheese? The owners might...
The start of a new year represents a new beginning, so what better time to assess how nice you are (or aren't) being to a very special person — you? If you're like most people, you spend most of your energy focusing on what needs to be done for everyone else — your...
Glitz, fun and extravagant are a few of the many words describing world-famous Aspen, Colo. It's also one of the most beautiful places on earth, which is why visitors from all over the world continue to make it one of the Southwest's most popular destinations. Founded...
Overweight, chunky, fat, husky, obese — no parent wants to hear their child labeled with adjectives like these. Never mind the gut-wrenching sadness you experience seeing a child's self-esteem whittled away by our shallow society; what's really heartbreaking is a...
As I prepared for my interview with Diane Gottsman, the founder and director of The Protocol School of Texas, my mind started whirring. Earlier that morning she had changed our meeting from a coffee locale to breakfast at a restaurant. I didn’t think anything of it at...
Saint Mark the Evangelist Catholic Church on Thousand Oaks Drive is one of those contemporary temples designed to appeal to a minimalist's taste in décor and atmosphere. There are no paintings or statues in nooks and crannies along the walls, no fancy columns to pull...
Adoption is certainly not a new thing, but like everything else in our society, it has undergone changes in the last couple of decades. Babies are no longer adopted under an ironclad cloak of secrecy, international placements are common, and singles have joined the...
Automobiles have been a male-inspired industry dating back to 1769, when the first selfpropelled mechanical vehicle was designed by French inventor Nicolas- Joseph Cugnot. (Some dispute who was first to create a motorcar.) But any way you look at it, men have...
It takes a special talent to look at an old house and see possibilities. The Monte Vista neighborhood, one of the largest and oldest historical districts in the United States, has its share of beautiful renovations. Here and there, though, there are structures whose...
Carmine's, a New York transplant to Texas, celebrated its first anniversary in September, and chef/owner Phil Sprio was feeling philosophical about business when he came out to our table after dinner. Still feeling like a pioneer, too, in the fine-dining desert that...
I am about to embark on the decluttering project(s) to end all decluttering projects. According to Julie Morgenstern in Organizing from the Inside Out, this means creating a system based on my specific personality, needs and goals. It focuses on defining who I am and...
