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Back Porch – Traditionally or not, celebrating momsMay 2013
Melissa Garlington’s enthusiasm for celebrating her mom, Betsy Striegler, is contagious. The director of development at the Children’s Museum of Houston says Mother’s Day is like all their family holidays – everyone together at their farm in Chappell Hill, relaxing, “making memories.” With one caveat: On Mother’s Day, mom Betsy will be perched at the kitchen island, glass of wine … For Good or Bad, Happy Mother’s DayMay 2013
If you’re a parent, you’ve been there. The moment you realize you’re not behaving like the role model you thought you were. When life gets in the way and instinct takes over, and something stops you and makes you say, “Wow. I am that person.” To kick off the month devoted to moms, we thought it would be fun to … Back Porch – Well-heeled?April 2013
They say a good pair of heels will carry you far. I don’t know who “they” are, but I’m betting they’ve never tried making serious headway standing tippie-toed, propped up by two posts no bigger in diameter than a man’s finger. Some women make graceful work of walking pointy-toed and perched. Those are special women. For the rest of us, … Spring CleaningApril 2013
Debbie Greenberg calls herself a domestic engineer. The just-over-5-foot-tall mom of three always has a project going, whether it’s volunteering at her kids’ school or putting together a new business (she opened the Donald J. Pliner store in Highland Village and ran it for several years before selling it and recently has been selling a friend’s jewelry line). But one … Seeing DoubleMarch 2013
It’s not a bad gig. About once a week, Fay School teacher Carlisle Weaver Brock fields the question, “Do you know who you look like?” Although she knows what’s coming, Carlisle humbly asks, “Who?” Inevitably the answer is, “Cameron Diaz.” It’s got to be a confidence boost – not to mention fun – to be told weekly that you’re a … Back Porch – Ditching ResolutionsMarch 2013
We’re two months into the new year. Two months into our resolutions for 2013, into life lived virtuously, nose to the grindstone, passing up the cupcakes, speaking kind words or none at all. But after two months of clean living, it’s time for spring fever to hit hard. That menacing voice starts as a whisper and gets gradually louder, urging … Back Porch – Keeping our faith (while losing my mind)February 2013
Quick primer: A bat mitzvah (bar mitzvah for a boy) is the ceremony that marks a Jewish girl’s entrance into religious “adulthood.” At a bat mitzvah, usually held around a 13th birthday, a child leads a religious service and reads from the Torah, symbolically becoming responsible to uphold the values of her religion. It takes months of preparation (and goading … Serendipity: Fluke or Fate?February 2013
Alberta Totz says a year before she and her attorney husband Andy started dating they began seeing each other “in very random places, very often.” “I knew him growing up but hadn’t seen him in years. Then all of a sudden he was everywhere.” At the car-repair shop, at a baby shower in Austin, at a party they’d both been … Back Porch – Feeling gratefulJanuary 2013
For the first Back Porch column of 2013, I wanted to write about the power of thinking positively. Until I visited with Brené Brown. “I struggle with the whole positive-thinking movement,” Brené says. “Sometimes what we’re walking through isn’t positive. Telling someone they should be thinking positively in any situation can shut them down from feeling what they’re supposed to … A Healthy StartJanuary 2013
January 1. The ultimate new start. Fresh motivation to set goals, try new things, be better versions of ourselves. And, of course, get healthy. Coming off the debauchery that started months ago with Halloween candy and continued through cocktail parties, cookie exchanges and New Year’s Day tamales, a detox is usually a pretty welcome idea. So where to start? Read … Back Porch – All lit upDecember 2012
A long time ago, a friend likened me to a fish in a bowl – attracted to all things sparkly. So when the holiday lights pop out, I’m in heaven. The more tinsel on the tree, the better. In Dallas, where my sister and her family live, horse-drawn sleighs travel nightly from Highland Park Village to neighborhood streets. Every year, … Christmas CheerDecember 2012
Nothing says “cheer” better than a holiday cocktail. And in the South, no cocktail says “holiday” better than milk punch. Rooted in Colonial times, milk punch is a storied classic, especially at Christmastime. It was originally concocted for medicinal purposes, possibly the impetus for its reputation in New Orleans as a day-after elixir, like a holiday Bloody Mary. Ben Franklin … Turkey DisastersNovember 2012
In the mid ‘80s, when John Duncan was in seventh grade, he had no business driving. But the day before Thanksgiving, he took his family’s truck for a ride in the woods behind his East Texas house. “He immediately got it stuck,” says his mom Mary Duncan. “So he ran home and got all the boys [his three older brothers] … Back Porch – Turkey TalkNovember 2012
Growing up, Thanksgiving was magic. The fall air, the full house, the smell. We would wake up to that delicious once-a-year smell, my mom, like a Thanksgiving fairy, having risen hours before the rest of us to start the turkey. Her turkey always looked Norman Rockwell-esque – big, brown and perfect. (See a revision of her recipe in this month’s … Old-School HalloweenOctober 2012
When did giant blow-up Halloween spiders become ubiquitous and grocery stores start filling aisles with orange and black plastic – in August? And since when did buying a mass-produced Halloween costume (that’s bound to be worn by someone else on your block) require a two-hour wait in line? Has Halloween has lost its charm? Happily, there are still a few … |
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