I implore you to find a person less “cool” than me. I’m a mom. I’m a teacher. I wear slacks and cardigans and argyle socks. But I would be doing myself a disservice if I did not note that under all of my GAP and Banana Republic apparel lies a vodka-seeking chameleon, a former barfly attuned to the necessity of variety in one’s drinking establishments.
There is something to be said for having “your” bar; Norm had Cheers, Ted and Barney have MacLaren’s, and I, in my …

We’ve all been there. Friends or family come in from out of town and we scramble to clean our house and stock the fridge and keep our guests entertained. But the entertaining part doesn’t have to be difficult or expensive. In fact, there is a plethora of free or low cost things to do to show off the city of Wichita and have fun while you’re at it. Of course, you don’t have to be with out-of-town guests in order to take advantage of these opportunities.

Catch a matinee at the …

Wichita Chaps | Photo by Matthew Sauer

During this time every year, gym parking lots seem to be noticeably fuller. You can’t walk right on to the elliptical and you have to squeeze into your normally not-so-crowded Pilates class. Gym rats everywhere know exactly what I’m talking about; January, February, and March are the highest traffic times for commercial gyms. Fresh off the New Year’s Resolution train, people of all ages are hitting the gym in their quest to “exercise more.”
So if you haven’t already bailed on this resolution or are stepping up your fitness …

Out of simple curiosity, I decided to count the number of houses I’ve lived in. Nineteen. I’m 23 years old. Needless to say, I was a child totally unphased by spontaneous relocation. As an adult, I’m intrepid. With all of this packing and unpacking, and the strange collection of homes I’ve claimed, it takes a truly remarkable location to make an impression. For instance, the cement-walled hostel I lived in while working in West Africa, or the farmhouse nestled between two sloping hills of purple wildflowers in eastern Tennessee. Or …