by Hollie Blanchard | Nov 1, 2025 | Arts, Noteworthy
It’s November, and family/friends are eagerly awaiting to gather around our tables. Original artwork within our abodes add curiosity, and as we break bread together, conversations can be had regarding what is seen or felt through art. In this case, the artist starts...
by Renée Stewart-Hester | Oct 1, 2025 | Uncategorized
When beauty and fashion come together, as they do in this issue, creative self-expression can take center stage. Readers, how do you blend the two elements in your lives? When it comes to personal fashion, it’s an evolving notion for me. I recall, not so many years...
by Alison Feik | Oct 1, 2025 | Landscape, Noteworthy
To create an authentic, late fall backdrop (including Halloween), refrain from cutting back flowering plants. The seedpods turn shades of black, brown and cream after a hard frost and remain in the landscape as a dynamic silhouette. Imagine the tall Joe Pye weed...
by Renée Stewart-Hester | Oct 1, 2025 | Gift Guides, Noteworthy, Shops, Style
Sometimes, what’s old is … never really gone. From 2000–2011, Excelsior business owner Kelly Harrington ran Edina’s Serifina, which featured upscale monogramming services. This summer, Harrington rebranded her 366 Water St. business from Clubhouse 366 to Serifina2,...
by Ellie Heyerdahl | Oct 1, 2025 | Entertain, Outdoors
Wayzata’s Boo Bash offers family-friendly competitions, community events and scary-good food. The Wayzata Boo Bash Dash returns on October 25 in downtown Wayzata. The fun-filled event kicks off with a 10K at 9 a.m., followed by a 5K at 9:15 a.m., the Competitive Lake...
by Jessica Hilde | Oct 1, 2025 | Noteworthy, Style
Fall is my favorite time of year when it comes to fashion. It can also be a time when we ask ourselves, “What do I wear this season, and what do I need to buy?” If you’re not in the fashion world, keeping up with trends can feel daunting. After attending New York...
by Madeline Kopiecki | Oct 1, 2025 | Book Club, Local Makers
After a Crohn’s disease diagnosis and years of unsuccessful treatments, Emily Maxson landed upon a solution that brought her back to the kitchen: the Specific Carbohydrate Diet. The Medina cookbook author developed recipes in keeping with the grain-free, low-lactose...
by Emily Gedde | Oct 1, 2025 | Arts, Education, Style
Minnetonka High School weaves fashion with economics, offering students a classroom creative twist. The next Coco Chanel, Calvin Klein or Ralph Lauren just might be a Minnetonka High School (MHS) student, taking the newly offered fashion design course. Established...
by Mollee Francisco | Oct 1, 2025 | Entertain, Local Makers
Minnetonka grad serves up savory waffle cones. Roon Johnson can’t stop yawning. “I’m so sorry,” he says. “I guess I need more sleep.” It’s no wonder he’s tired. The 2013 Minnetonka High School graduate has been busy turning the food world on its head with his...
by Madeline Kopiecki | Oct 1, 2025 | Photo Contest
Photographers bring the Lake Minnetonka area into focus. Over the past year, residents have been cataloging local life around Lake Minnetonka. This summer, these same shutter bugs shared some of their favorite shots in our Lens on Lake Minnetonka photo contest. We...
by Renée Stewart-Hester | Oct 1, 2025 | Shops, Style
Highcroft and Wendy Carr match up to craft elegant and custom pajama sets. Sleepwear has been having a moment, which doesn’t seem to be retreating—thankfully. Many are feeling more comfortable, literally and figuratively, staying in pajamas or comfort wear beyond...
by Renée Stewart-Hester | Oct 1, 2025 | Photo Contest
Another title for Naomi Hamer’s photo, Ominous Autumn, could be Happenstance. The Orono resident was headed out to walk the quarter mile to her mailbox when she noticed this crow, “… just sitting there on a tree branch all alone, perfectly still and silhouetted...
by Jennifer Pitterle | Oct 1, 2025 | Shops, Style
Excelsior shop showcases versatile menswear. Even for the most style-savvy among us, it can be difficult to know how to dress in a post-pandemic world—where we take meetings via Zoom in our PJs and transition from work (at home or at the office), the gym and dinner...
by Renée Stewart-Hester | Oct 1, 2025 | Entertain, Outdoors, Recipes
Some food just tastes better cooked over an outdoor fire. Let’s be clear; we will always support s’mores as the bonfire foodie champ. No doubt. No question. No argument. But, as Minnesotans, we appreciate making the most of our time outdoors, and that includes during...
by Renée Stewart-Hester | Oct 1, 2025 | Entertain, Outdoors, Recipes
Placing a portable firepit front and center of Halloween candy distribution efforts is becoming de rigueur for some families. Driveways and extended front yard patios serve as ideal spots to greet trick or treaters. (Fingers crossed the weather isn’t devilish that...
