Everybody knows that smell—that flavorful, permeating, eye-opening aroma wafting through places as diverse as home kitchens, restaurants, cafés, potlucks and weddings. Yes, we're talking about coffee, that ubiquitous drink served at every occasion. But some coffee just tastes better than others. What's the difference? Master roasters Christopher Ruess and Shane Mosby share a few secrets.

In business for more than three decades, Victorian Sales offers quality products including gas burning, wood burning, outdoor living, chimney venting, heating and AC, specialty hearth and waterfalls to suit your style and heating needs.
 

SLHL: What are the advantages to a wood-burning fireplace?

When chef Cassy Vires and her husband Josh Renbarger opened Home Wine Kitchen--a Maplewood eatery dedicated to traditional, scratch-made cooking with local and artisanal ingredients--in 2011, they wanted to create an environment and experience for diners that brings out the best parts of food and drink in our lives.

Everyone has memories of Christmas growing up. Whether it was leaving cookies and milk for Santa, putting your favorite ornament on the prime spot on the tree or stringing popcorn for garland, some holiday traditions carry over from year to year. After moving into their new Frontenac home, the owner wanted to incorporate touches of her childhood Christmases into her family’s contemporary-styled residence, keeping things fresh with just enough tradition.

“Subtle and muted” aren’t words one typically associates with the colors of the holiday season. But that was this homeowner’s objective as she planned for Yuletide festivities in the spectacular custom home in Webster Groves that she and her family have enjoyed since its completion in May of 2011.

If you are looking for that holiday gift for someone who has everything, you might think about picking up a pond. Whether it’s hardly bigger than a puddle or large enough to swim in, people who have added ponds or waterfalls to their landscapes are passionate about the way a simple little (or big) water feature has changed their lives. They use words like “tranquility” and “peace” and “world away” to describe coming home and simply sitting beside some bubbling water.