Last month, we started discussing nuggets to lessen the fear of public speaking. These are proven practices I use with coaching clients and talk about in my presentation seminars.

Fork & Stix recently opened its doors on the eastern edge of the U. City Loop just off Delmar Boulevard, and local foodies have been talking and blogging about the place ever since. On our recent visit, we learned first-hand what all the hype was about.

The Metropolitan Match Play Championship trophy has many familiar names etched on it, including such amateur standouts as Don Bliss, Jim Holtgrieve, Skip Berkmeyer and Justin Bryant.

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?”

Ladue’s own GRANT WEBER will be featured on the Lifetime Television show, The Balancing Act. Weber is the CEO of Riley’s Premium Pet Products, a local manufacturer of healthy dog treats that are good enough even for humans to eat. In fact, we’re told that most of the Lifetime crew sampled the treats during filming! Weber’s segment on the show will air on Lifetime June 4 and 11 (6 a.m. St. Louis time).

It is considered the most important day of your life—and you don’t want to spend it worrying about tables, décor and dealing with vendors. Brides who want to plan their own festivities often feel overwhelmed by the way things will—or will not—come together on the big day, and St. Louis event organizer Kate & Company offers a unique semi-planning services to help these brides stay blushing, not flustered.

Lots of events on the books now that the weather has (hopefully) come around:

Get close. Closer. Eww, not that close.

ST. LOUIS • The St. Louis University High baseball team adopted a motto going into its Class 5 District 5 championship game against visiting Ladue on Tuesday.

From trips to camps and days spent enjoying the sunshine, summer is the best time of year for kids. We asked the third-graders at Reed Elementary in Ladue what they’re doing this summer, and here are some of their responses. Good times ahead!

Cini is now open in Ladue’s Colonial Marketplace. The ‘fast-casual’ Italian restaurant concept was created by DAVID JONES and DOUG TIEBER (developers of Buffalo Wild Wings in the St. Louis area), along with FRANK and CARMELO GABRIELE of Il Bel Lago. Short for ‘arancinis,’ the name comes from a traditional fried Italian street food staple made with rice and vegetables, which will be handmade daily at Cini. Also open at Colonial Marketplace is The Original Pancake House, known for its mouth-watering breakfast treats like the Dutch Baby and Apple Pancakes. 

This summer, think of your backyard as the next decorating frontier. Use designer-quality furniture, rugs, lighting and charming decorative accents for stunning results.

As vibrant as Seattle days are, after-dark activities are equally as spirited with untold clubs and bars ranging from the Old World elegance of Oliver’s Lounge to great jazz at Dimitriou’s Jazz Alley.

Farotto's Italian Restaurant has long provided a little bit of The Hill in the county. A recent trip back after a long absence was a reminder of just why we used to keep their number at the ready.

The work-life balance: Every professional knows the phrase, and every employee tries to find that harmonious level of give and take to somehow manage it all. For parents, this may be an even bigger challenge. But at the law firm of Carmody MacDonald, the support is there for employees to thrive in the courtroom, as well as at home. 

Spring means spring cleaning, and we know you’ve worked so hard to tidy up this season. Now imagine, after wiping away the dust, making repairs and clearing out the junk, you find you’re left with a boring—or worse, outdated—home. With its assortment of products and customizable design service, hidden gem B. Davis Design is here to help.

Food in America is more than a necessary aspect of survival: It’s a part of our language, culture and social experience. We gather around meals. Our idioms and phrases make food references. We represent and define areas and events by the meals or snacks that coincide. While this may be many people’s America, dinner isn’t on the table for every family. Despite misconceptions about hunger, a lack of food is a sincere problem for Americans every day, including the approximately 57,100 individuals who depend weekly on the St. Louis Area Foodbank.

World-class artists are once again coming together for Sing for Siteman, a one-night-only performance to support cancer research for Siteman Cancer Center.

This is a story of a family home’s last surviving member, who set out to preserve his family’s example of a Victorian way of life to be enjoyed by others for years to come.

We recently made a return trip to the newly reconfigured Cheshire Inn to try out another of its eateries: Basso.

When Annie Seal’s daughter was 15, she was diagnosed with an eating disorder. After intensive, comprehensive treatment, she has fully recovered, and is now a junior in college. But there is not always a happy ending for those with this complex illness. For 20 percent of them, it’s a fatal disease, Seal says.

The common wisdom is that people who love their work are those who find the most success. Here, we feature three women who prove that common wisdom right: By following their dreams, each built a business that has seen more success than most of us would dare to dream for. As John Updike once said, “The refusal to rest content—the willingness to risk excess on behalf of one’s obsessions—is what distinguishes artists from entertainers and what makes some artists adventurers on behalf of us all.”