Book marks

A friend helpfully pointed out to me the other night that I am, beyond any doubt, the most utterly nerdy example of uncoolness. I recommend this website to you with his words ringing in my ears. BibliOdyssey is without a doubt a nerdy website, but it is also a treasure trove of human accomplishment and […]

Republic of Belmont

First they got themselves a coffee shop (La Taza), then a jazz club (Saxx), the Bridge/ Progressive Arts Institute, their own BBQ spot and now a neighborhood wine and cheese shop. Some call it Soho, some call them Bobos (Bourgeois Bohemians, that is)—but we just call them damn lucky for living within walking distance of […]

Corn to be wild

Note: This recipe is part of a year-end series of classic Acquired Tastes from the C-VILLE archives. This one first ran in 2004. Easy to overlook in the Gleason’s building on Garrett Street, Baker’s Palette stands ready to satisfy cravings from the sweet and flaky to the hot and frothy. Open Saturdays and Mondays from […]

We Ate Here

We walked into Baggby’s at high noon on a Wednesday—the exact middle of the week—and were reminded in a pleasant way of elementary school. It’s hard to explain, but something about this experience just took us back. Maybe it was having our name written on a brown bag that would later hold our lunch (the […]

Sex Files: Put on your party hats

The wake-up call to use safer sex methods came in the 1980s. People realized that unprotected sex could give you HIV/AIDS and kill you. In a nutshell, safer sex means using techniques to prevent sexually transmitted infections (STIs). Some of these methods, such as using condoms, can also prevent pregnancies, but the main goal is […]

Design, living and trends for home and garden

Chillin’ Custom flavors, on ice Design-your-own cone: If supermarket ice cream just doesn’t deliver what you need, try ordering custom flavors from a local kitchen. So your BFF has a birthday and you know her favorite treat is apple pie ice cream. You design her ice cream’s base and ingredients, name it and write a […]

News and ideas for sustainable living

And the winners are… Waldorf awards single out the good guys Plenty of businesses are capitalizing on the green-living trend—so many, in fact, that it’s helpful when a third party recognizes some of the leaders in that ever-more-crowded field. The Waldorf Foundation has done just that with its third annual Commonwealth Environmental Leadership Awards, handed […]

Fire it up!

You got questions? We got answers. If you’ve always lived with a heat pump and a knob on the wall that you twist to make things get hotter, using a fireplace might carry visions of primitive tools—splitting wedges and pokers—and a whole bunch of flaming, smoky, insurance-policy-canceling danger. Yes, managing a fire in your house […]

Ground Rules: Beautiful, but…

The beginning of winter marks the return of the sun. The winter solstice on December 21 is the shortest day of the year, with the angle of the sun at its lowest. Every day afterward is a little longer as the sun begins to climb back higher into the sky towards spring. The high point […]

Adjusting expectations

Frank Sinatra might have crooned the songs that make the world sing, and Steve Jobs may very well single-handedly create the toys that make the world shop, but nobody (but nobody) can set the price of real estate, not even your agent. That, my friend, is the market’s job. Buyers may well look suspiciously at […]