My friend is having growing pains. On the phone she tells me how difficult it has been to make changes in her life without having those changes be at the detriment of some of her friendships. The activities that once were the basis for those relationships have lost their appeal to her, and she notices it as much as her friends do. She wants to be there without partaking. She wants to be herself ...

Amy Kartheiser's career arguably began in childhood. The daughter of an interior designer, Amy evidently watched on as her mother played shop. In time, she would parlay the firsthand knowledge gleaned into designs for her own bedroom. And, in more time, would enter the world of professional design as a full-fledged adult...with her mom as her partner. That story alone would be reason enough for me to want to spotlight her, what with my soft ...

Well, call me timely, because this week I'm serving up a bevy of seasonal subjects. Yesterday, it was ways to counteract the increasing inability to pry open one's peepers in the AM. Today, it's a place to wipe those booties you'd better not forget because it's getting coooooolldd out there! (Side note: who can recall the song that repeats in the movie from whence that last sentence originates?) (Other side note: who can decipher what ...

I recently saw a post on instagram that said something like, "I would love fall a lot more if it didn't end in winter." Amen mister sister. Sure, the beautiful changing leaves can't be beat. But the prospect of descending deeper and deeper into the darkness of winter? That's not exactly a thought that's getting me out of bed in the morning. Speaking of: is anyone else noticing that waking up is starting to feel ...

I was recently captivated as I read about one woman’s first encounter with India. From the moment the author exits the airport, she is surrounded by people pleading with her for money. The sight, sound and smell of a street so densely filled with people, from single beggars huddled under paper huts in the middle of the road, to whole families crowded around a small pot of food, to mutilated children standing alone with arms outstretched, ...