my city life

with Sue G. Collins

 Waking up with the warm sun at Civana Wellness Resort & Spa just outside Scottsdale, Arizona, the raw beauty and peaceful pace of the Sonoran desert beckoned, along with a full itinerary of healing spa treatments, creative movement, enrichment arts and healthy cuisine. Stretching, pausing for a prayer of gratitude, pushing aside the black-out drapes, there’s that sun splashing across our very own patio not far from the pool. Civana was graced with a multi-million dollar renovation four...

While travel has been curbed for me during the last 10 months, I decided to venture out recently on a road trip from Atlanta to explore the nearby North Carolina mountain towns of Banner Elk and Blowing Rock. My grown kids shook their fingers at me, reminded me of the death tolls and relentlessness of the virus, and begged me to be careful. I postponed the trip a few times, then packed my masks, sanitizing wipes, disposable gloves, hand sanitizer, and warm clothes and headed north in November...

While I'm not a fan of launching Christmas too early, I am a fan of presents—giving AND receiving.So, together with a few special generous partners, our four Atlanta magazines are giving away a gorgeous fresh fir tree, personal shopping and delish food, while benefiting The Giving Kitchen!Lifestyle Publications Atlanta has partnered with Tradition Trees, Botica Restaurant and Taste & Tenacity to offer a COVID-friendly Christmas, which includes...

For the better part of three hours standing in the middle of the gin-clear Noontootla Creek in Blue Ridge, Georgia, I was laser focused on a 2-inch piece of green yarn. I’d glance up occasionally for a new cast, looking for foam or those treasure troves of cold dark water. My affable guide, David Hulsey, was patient, then pushy when that green indicator dipped ever so slightly. Six times over that morning, I won the battle with strong and willful trout, learning when to let the fish run and when...