Rozzie’s Best-Ever Pumpkin Bread
Cooking and baking have always been one of my favorite pastimes. I come from a large Italian family, where food and faith are the center of our home. I look forward to the holiday season as it gives me time to do what I love most, cooking and sharing. For over 46 years I have been baking my Pumpkin Bread. This recipe was shared with me by my first mother-in-law, Delores Cotter. It has become my staple holiday gift and I love that my friends enjoy it just as much …
A New Generation: FAITH over Fear
When you think back to your childhood days, does it make you feel warm and fuzzy inside? For most of us, our childhood memories include fun, stress-free times and happy experiences that usually involved our family, our friends, school events and church functions. Most of us were shielded from the ugly and heavy burdens of life, especially worldly and political ones. Our parents purposefully kept those sorts of things from us, and back then it was easier to do so. With no such thing as social media or 24-hour news …
Handwritten letters will never go out of style!
My collection of notes and letters is quite impressive. I have saved every note, letter, or card that I have ever received. Once every blue moon I read through my giant box of treasured letters. Each time I read through them I laugh, cry and hold on to all these little pieces of my life collected in this box. From the hundreds of folded notes all beginning with “What’s up? NMH!” (Nothing much here!), the lingo of Ruston Junior High 1996, to letters from pen pals met on vacations and …
Healthy Holiday Options: Staying on Track this Holiday Season
Other than encouraging moderation and balance, I like to tell the people I teach to color their plates, and this salad is one of those dishes that accomplishes that. What I love about this recipe is that it’s simple to make, but looks beautiful and elegant. I’ve found that any balsamic vinaigrette really pairs well with this salad. Of course, it’s usually better to make your own dressing, but sometimes that’s just not realistic in the midst of preparing for a holiday meal. When choosing a salad dressing at the …
Rose McMaster: Lola Magazine’s Intern Making Her Way In NYC
Around three years ago, I was at that oh-so-pleasant point in life where I had absolutely zero inkling about where I wanted to go or what I wanted to do. To be fair, I was only 19 at the time; I don’t think anyone was expecting me to have my life properly planned out. Still, I was feeling utterly and completely lost. I was attending a college I wasn’t happy at, I was fresh out of a break up, and I had no clue where my future was heading. All …
Fertility in the Age of the ‘Super Woman’
As my partner Dr. Jack Ward and I embarked on the establishment of our Lifestyle Medicine practice, PairO’Docs Bio-Rejuvenis, we initially concentrated on what is now one of our 10 tenets, tenet #8, Hormonal Balance. In the dawn of our practice, the organic draw was women in some spectrum of menopause…pre, peri, and/or full-blown menopause. Soon after, younger women were seeking us for proactive measures dealing with their fertility. That has been so heartwarming for me to be able to guide a woman in laying the groundwork for a healthy …
MLK Health Center & Pharmacy: Improving the health of our community and the patients we serve
Rebecca Montgomery reached a milestone birthday and knew it was time to take better care of herself. An ad on social media caught her eye and put her on a path to a healthier lifestyle. The first stop on her journey — MLK Health Center and Pharmacy. “I’d seen an ad on Facebook about MLK Health Center offering free mammograms,” Montgomery said. “I wasn’t going to a doctor regularly, and I hadn’t had a mammogram since 2012. I turned 50 this year, so I thought I would take advantage of …
Give Thanks: The Science of Gratitude
Shortly after my husband and I returned to Shreveport following residency, we hosted Thanksgiving dinner at our home. After our family gathered around the dinner table for the feast, we took turns saying what we were most thankful for in the previous year. My father, a foreigner by birth but U.S. citizen since 1985, stood up and announced that Thanksgiving was his favorite holiday because, while surrounded by those he loves most, it provides a special opportunity to recognize that for which he is most grateful. And that makes him …
THE HUB: Where Culture & Music Unite
For many years, Monroe was an entertainment hub for Northeast Louisiana. Back in the ‘60s and ‘70s, artists like Ray Charles, Sonny and Cher, Elvis and many others made Monroe a stop on their touring schedules. As the years went by, other artists like Prince, George Strait, and Reba McEntire included Monroe on their tour rosters. As the cultural landscape of Monroe changed and those artists grew in their careers, Monroe was no longer a dot on their maps for touring. The music in Monroe never died. It merely became …
Hostess with the Mostess: Christmas Morning Magic
If only for a short day, the rest of the world is turned off, closed, and seemingly quiet. Christmas morning is for families. It’s a time to relax and make memories. It’s a time when we look forward to our family traditions, no matter how simple they may be, because they bring us together after a long, busy year. When I was a child, I can remember my dad turning up loud George Strait’s country album while we sleepily walked into see what Santa had left. We would sit around …
Front Door Therapy: DIY with Bridget
In need of a refresh? Give your front door a facelift! If you believe the exterior is in need of a refresh, there’s an easy and inexpensive DIY project that really packs a punch: Give your front door a facelift! Paint your front door and get ready for your neighborhood to take notice. Finally it’s fall (some say winter, but ya’ll know we rarely have winter), so you can tackle this project. Pick a day when it’s not too hot or raining because you will need to leave your door …
Introducing Glow Alchemy Kitchen
I wanted a place to feel comfortable and interactive. The kitchen is open and inviting. Feel free to sit at the counter and chat with one of our team members while you sip your matcha latte. Pop in and grab a cold-pressed juice and dinner to go from our open-sale fridge. Order a hot lunch and stay while you catch up on emails. Sign up for one of our cooking classes or wellness workshops. Rent the space for a private dinner or event. I wanted this to be a multi-functioning …
Gifts of a Lifetime
The Spirit of Giving is a gift. That “give the shirt off your back” kind of generosity is something only a few people truly possess and yet it is a trait that can be given to others simply in the training of it. When I was young, my mother told me that JOY was spelled Jesus-Others-You, meaning that you put God first, then others, then yourself last. In today’s society we often get this backwards and yet it is so important in raising our own that we continue to reach …
Women in Business: The Gig Economy
Rhonda Denman is a 63-year-old woman who is on a roll, literally! With Uber expanding to every parish in Louisiana, she is taking full advantage of the perks of setting her own schedule and earning residual income in the process. After working for CenturyLink for 37 years, Rhonda retires on September 7, 2018, and five days later she starts driving for Uber. She recalls, “I was at the DMV in West Monroe and I saw a good friend of mine sitting in the car waiting on someone. He and I …
The Boss of Southern Cuisine: Old Fashioned Tea Cakes
The “Us Up North” Kitchen 300 North Allen, 71101 www.usupnorth.com 281-701-7432 Try adding this true North Louisiana favorite to your Christmas baking list this year When I make Tea Cakes, it takes me back to my childhood when our babysitter, Ms. Rosie Faye, made them. I remember watching her as she would beat the butter and sugar together by hand until fluffy. The smell of the batter after she would add the vanilla and nutmeg still lingers to this day. She and her mother, Ms. Angie, were and probably still …
What if ADHD is real?
Sit down for this one! According to Russell A Barkely, Ph.D. and Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at University Medical Center in Richmond, VA, children with ADHD are twice as likely to die in childhood, 2.5 times as likely to abuse alcohol or other drugs, five times as likely to attempt suicide when depressed, and have an average life expectancy 13 years shorter than their peers who do not have the disorder. Approximately 25% will develop clinical depression and about 50% develop an anxiety disorder. As many as 80% will have …
Long drive with small kids? You need a family audiobook!
How audiobooks save our sanity on the road… It was, of course, a family obligation that took me to New Orleans one weekend a few years ago. I was the lone adult, with both kids in tow. Faced with an hours-long drive both to and from our weekend wedding festivities, I was beginning to dread the whole ordeal. This was going to take something stronger than the standard road-trip entertainment ammunition. To combat the insanity of who-picks-what-movie, or who-used-my-headphones, or why-won’t-this-dvd-load, and my-battery-is-at-2-percent, we boldly sidelined all electronics and downloaded …
Allied Forces: The Powerful Force Between Mother and Daughter
I’m pretty certain that my daughter is the one raising me. I’m not sure when this role reversal happened. That was never my intention. Her entrance into this world was shared with her much larger twin brother. The physician told us that her brother had the “sweeter spot” in utero. But from the moment that beautiful 3 pound 11 ounce baby girl entered this world, she’s been a source of strength for our family. Parenting boys is like playing defense in the game of dodgeball. If you’re not on your …
Travel Matters: North to Alaska
Tracy’s King Crab Shack in Juneau, Alaska, is 3,417 miles from my home in Monroe. Not a weekend jaunt. But I dreamed of dining there as I began planning our Alaskan vacation. My research revealed the best way to taste Alaska within the one- to two-week time frame most people have for a vacation is through a cruise or a land-cruise journey. That’s where it gets complicated. You can go to whatever cruise line you want and book directly. I recommend you consult with a travel agent to plan this …