Working in family services at Bellerive Gardens, Jodi Wimmer is used to helping families through a time of grief. “We want to provide good service and help them find a nice resting place for their loved one in a time of need,” she says. But Wimmer urges families to think about burial plans before there is an immediate need, such as during estate planning. “We’ve had families tell us, I’m so glad my mom and dad picked out their marker. Everything is so nice for the family when they’ve done that—they can grieve without worrying, Did I do the right thing for Mom? Would she have liked that?”

NOTE: The review below was written for the original presentation of Stupefy! last December. The latest production features three new cast members, including Chris LaBanca, Ben Ritchie and John Wolbers, who are replacing Blaine Adams, Rob Suozzi and John Foughty, respectively. Additionally, the new rendition includes a 5-minute video pre-show as well as new scenes and a new ending, all in a “faster than last time” 90 minutes.

Story: The time is December 4, 1956 and the place is Sun Records in Memphis. The tiny, unremarkable building once housed an auto parts store, as owner and producer Samuel Cornelius Phillips reminds himself and visitors, before Sam turned it into a tiny recording studio a couple of years earlier.

Weather conditions and human activities affect the population of monarchs. And according to Dr. Chip Taylor, a continued decline could mean the migration of these butterflies could be lost.

Just when it seems like the ethnic design trend has run its course, these out-of-the-ordinary patterns demonstrate their staying power. In fact, designers say ikat, susani, and batik-inspired patterns are so enduring, they’ve become staples in American design, just like traditional and modern.

SweetArt Bake Shop in the Shaw neighborhood is a marriage of food and art. And that works out beautifully for owners Cbabi and Reine Bayoc, who happen to be husband and wife.

Story: Chiclet Forrest wants desperately to be included in the fun times of the local Malibu surfer group. She’s a bit reserved, perhaps because of the quiet life she lives with her mother. It’s 1962, and Mrs. Forrest likes to dress up and sip a martini while doing the domestic chores.

After living in Chicago for a few years, St. Louis natives Anne Pennick and John Smith returned home shortly before the birth of their son, Evan. Missing the urban, walkable lifestyle that Chicago offered, the  couple moved to the Central West End in fall 2011. Anne, a faculty manager for Kaplan’s online classes, and husband John, an attorney with Callis, Papa, Hale & Szewczyk, appreciate the closeness of everything the CWE has to offer, as well as the diversity of their neighbors. We asked Anne to share more about the appeal of the Central West End.

Born and raised in St. Louis, Cindy Oberkirsch graduated from Parkway Central H.S., while her husband, Marc, graduated from Parkway South. Last December marked three years for the Oberkirsch family in their Chesterfield home. Their sons, Jacob, 11, and Justin, 7, attend Chesterfield Elementary. The family also has a dog, a golden retriever named Milo. Cindy serves as contact center director for Enterprise Holdings, and Marc is a sales representative for Stryker. Cindy shared more about what she and her family enjoy about life in Chesterfield.

A tough economic climate, an aging baby boomer population and the high prevalence of social-media use are predicted to create the biggest hurdles for local attorneys and their clients this year. 

The father-and-son team of Bob and Steve O’Loughlin is going non-stop, working to create or redesign the next the next big St. Louis hotel ‘experience.’ In the past couple of years, the tandem has been even more successful than usual. The highlights include opening the hugely popular Three Sixty atop their Hilton St. Louis at the Ballpark and re-energizing the storied Cheshire Inn. At the same time, they made major purchases: Among them, the Marriott St. Louis Airport, Westport Plaza and one of the crown jewels of St. Louis, Union Station—yes, Union Station!

The following luxury homes sold the last week in December and the first week in January:

Every month of the year has a 'movie personality.' October is set for thrillers and horror, while February is the month for romances. December is family films and Oscar contenders, and July is action—we seem to enjoy seeing things explode in July. But what about January? There’s no big holiday in January to give it a movie theme. Award hopefuls all have been submitted. What kinds of movies get released in January? I will tell you the answer: bad movies.

The following luxury homes and condos went on the market the last two weeks in December:

The following luxury homes and condos went on the market the first two weeks of December:

Franco in Soulard has announced that JOHN DREJA, late of Vin De Set, is the new executive chef, taking over for chef KRIS JANIK.

While Clayton was incorporated into a city in 1913, its presence was established long before it became official. Born out of the separation between St. Louis city and county and the need for a new county seat, the city took roots in 1877, when Ralph Clayton donated 100 acres of farmland and the Hanley family added four more. The fact that 36 years passed before Clayton became an official city was especially intriguing to Mary Delach Leonard when she wrote Clayton, Missouri: An Urban Story, just in time for the centennial anniversary. “You look at that, and wonder why it took so long for Clayton to become a city. But when you learn about the history, you discover that there was this group of people who just knew how to get things done, so they didn’t feel the need to establish an actual city with a mayor, etc.”

Every December, I go back and review the 'hits and misses' from the season’s runway looks. This year, rather than just saying what was wrong with my 'not-so-favorite' looks, I wanted to single out a piece that does work, and then find items that--in my humble opinion--work better with it. Here are my runway 'fixes.'

The following luxury homes and condos sold the last week of November and the first week of December:

Yule Style

Story: Well, there’s this young wizard named Harry Potter who has great mystical powers. Harry is an orphan who now lives with his non-magical, “Muggle” relatives, dullards who hope that he will turn out ‘normal.’ Nonetheless, he and his best pals, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, become students at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, presided over by Albus Dumbledore.

Story: Jewish accountant Matt Friedman met Sally Talley, a nurse and member of a prominent Protestant family in Lebanon, Missouri, in her home town while vacationing in the Ozarks region in 1943. A year later, Matt returns from his home in St. Louis determined to ask Sally to marry him.