Shelf Life: A Mother’s Heart
Kate Bartel Kromann’s legacy lives on through Little Free Libraries. When Kate Bartel Kromann became a mother, her whole world changed, like it does for any mother. As a journalist, Kate had a dedicated, inquisitive spirit. Upon the birth of her children, she embraced this spirit and threw herself wholeheartedly into her new assignment as […]
Pinkies Up
The Cascades Cocktail Club gathers for tea and lighthearted fun — with a splash of champagne. Styled by Adonica Coleman, A2D EventsClothing courtesy of My Sister’s Circus and Kelly Fields Boutique Amused by their experience (and eventual eviction) at a local wine club meeting gone awry, Adonica Coleman, Stephanie Escott, and friends began holding their […]
Giving Back: How Does Your Garden Grow?
Brandy Schrag develops a love for cooking fresh food thanks to her Opportunity Garden. Feeding picky kids a healthy dinner is something most parents struggle with. Brandy Schrag, a single mom of two kids with special needs, understands this struggle intimately. But her resources got a little more interesting when her son Kannon brought home […]
Seasons: Home Is Where Mom Is
Embracing the season of the empty nest. It’s Christmas morning and the house is still. A gray, gloomy sky stretches beyond the window. The refrigerator hums in the background and the only glow shines from a single strand of twinkle lights strung across the mantel. There is no tree towering over the living room or […]
Auld Lang Syne, Gatsby Style
Peachtree Catering celebrates a year of Sunday Suppers with flair. Lively crowds gathered ’round tables to lay down bets on games of craps and roulette. Couples and singles took to the dance floor to sway and spin and sashay. Champagne flowed, glasses of gin clinked, and camera shutters snapped open and closed, capturing the last […]
Artist Profile: Joe Marshall
Local craftsman celebrates Mid-Missouri’s wilderness with mid-century modern furniture. “When they need something unique made, they come see me,” says Joe Marshall. Joe crafts warm mid-century modern pieces that harmoniously merge the juxtaposition of a wood’s nature and modern design. While Joe originally hails from Ireland, he embodies the Japanese idea of simplistic practicability. He […]
Seasons: Stitched with Love
When I knit, my mother is close. The older I get, the more I’m drawn homeward. When the weather turns cold, my craving for soup on the stove, a fire in the hearth, and time to knit begs to be slaked. Chilly temps find me cruising arts and crafts stores, feasting on colors and textures […]
Ditching Distractions
What I learned from giving up alcohol and Netflix. I just finished binge-watching the Netflix series “Marvel’s Luke Cage” while also sipping some wine. It was satisfying in a numbing kind of way. At the same time, I also had a sense of dissatisfaction — overall, sort of a blah feeling. The following morning, I […]
Destinations: Discovering Historic St. Charles
Main Street offers a full-sensory winter experience. As the temperature plummets into the 30s, I dig out my hat and gloves, load the CR-V with my editorial teammates, and hit the interstate ready to lose myself in the day. Our destination: downtown St. Charles, once a thriving riverport trading center and now a nationally registered […]
Shelf Life: “The Catcher in the Rye” & Me
Finding inspiration from a beloved classic. “The Catcher in the Rye,” by J.D. Salinger, is a novel that transcends time. With the primary theme being the idea of innocence and the loss of it with the passage of time, this novel resonated with me in my senior year of high school when I read it […]
Unleashed: Emotionally Connected
Rye Shade bonds with his two tabbies, Winter and Theo. At first glance, Winter and Theo seem like ordinary house cats. The 1-year-old male tabbies enjoy a leisurely life of sleeping, eating, and playing in Tara and Scott Shade’s large home on the east side of town. But to Rye, one of their four sons, […]
Savor the Flavor
Columbia Culinary Tours offer a taste of the best downtown has to offer. Columbia is filled with so many culinary gems that it may feel overwhelming trying to decide which ones to visit first. Columbia Culinary Tours allowed me to get a glimpse of some of the best locally-owned restaurants that downtown has to offer. […]