Arts + Culture

Connecting People Through Art and Emotion

A local artist finds inspiration and themes in communication, shared experience, and womanhood Article by Krista Minard | Photography by Tom Honeycutt As a self-taught visual artist living in El Dorado Hills, Volha Naruta-Johnson creates textured pieces exploring the human experience—layered and imperfect. Her figurative oil series, “Being a Woman,” visits the often-pervasive tension between motherhood, career, and female identity. Born in Belarus, Naruta-Johnson studied Cultural Heritage...

Travel

Granite Splendor

Always alluring, Yosemite National Park is the place for hiking, waterfall viewing, and basking in nature’s glory. Article by Krista Minard | Photography by Various The forests, glacier-carved rock formations, rivers, creeks, waterfalls, flora, and fauna within Yosemite National Park create an unforgettable experience for some 4.4 million sightseers who come each year to enjoy the park’s spectacular vistas and commune with nature. In the valley and the high country, no matter the season, the...

Entertainment

Adventure by Chance

A local production company films an adventure travel documentary built on a roll of the dice Article by Kristy Murdoch | Photography by Charlene Taylor When most people set out to create a documentary, they begin with a destination, a subject, or a carefully structured storyline. But for the production team behind Pure Chance , the journey began in an unexpected way—through a Craigslist ad and an unconventional idea. What followed was a new take on the traditional travel documentary...

Food + Beverage

The Old-Fashioned

Some background on the classic rich-amber cocktail Article by Krista Minard | Photography by Chris Gora It seems it all began in the early 1800s, when cocktails were very simple: spirits plus sugar plus water plus bitters. Such a concoction was first documented in a New York publication in 1806 and identified as a “cocktail.” Nowadays, pretty much any mixture including hard liquor is called a cocktail, and that original mixture of whiskey, sugar, and bitters has undergone plenty of creative...

Auto + Marine

A Collector’s Classic

EDH Motors presents the 1966 Pontiac Bonneville Convertible from its curated collection Article by Todd Murdoch | Photography by Charlene Taylor The Bonneville is widely considered Pontiac’s flagship model, serving for decades as the brand’s most luxurious offering from its introduction in 1957.  Its long, sculpted body lines, stacked headlights, and signature wide grille create an unmistakable presence, while the convertible top invites open-air driving. Inside, spacious seating emphasizes...

Home Services

Keep Your Cool

Summer means air-conditioning, and American Energy Home Pros shares insight about ways to help your AC system do its job Article by Krista Minard | Photography by Kaela McGuire Here we go—it’s 103 degrees outside at 5 p.m. on a Friday in June, and the air-conditioning isn’t working. Maybe it’s blowing tepid air or none at all, and that metal box in the yard isn’t sounding the way it should. Delays and dollar signs and sleepless nights start adding up, and whether you’re facing a simple repair...

Wellness

Reclaiming Confidence in the City of Empires

A personal journey from uncertainty to action through hair restoration in Istanbul Article and Photography by Todd Murdoch For me, the first signs of a thinning crown didn’t happen all at once. It was gradual, easy to ignore at first, until it wasn’t. Like a lot of people, I went down the rabbit hole of possible fixes: low-level laser therapy caps, specialized shampoos, supplements. Some of it helped in small ways, but none of it really addressed the bigger issue. At a certain point, it...

Beauty

The Power of Color

Discover the hues and shades that light you up with the help of a color consultant Article by Krista Minard | Photography by Jacqueline Pilar Theresa Breitton spent 14 years helping launch new lines in the fashion industry in New York—for Gap, Ralph Lauren, and Tommy Hilfiger. “Each launch had its own color story,” she says, citing rich palettes and carefully curated combos. “Color wasn’t just aesthetic. It was strategic, emotional, and powerful.” Now a double-certified color consultant and...

Health + Wellness

Listen Up

A woman-owned clinic in EDH helps people reconnect to the sounds they’ve been missing out on Article by Krista Minard | Photography by Charlene Taylor of Charm/SmackDab Studio Hearing aids have gotten cool. Nowadays they’re bits of refined technology practically invisible to the naked eye, with all kinds of special features that can be customized to the wearer’s experience, such as blue tooth connectivity and heart rate monitoring. Here in El Dorado Hills, Gold Country Hearing & Balance helps...

Food + Beverage

Farm Fresh

From Capay Valley roots to seasonal tables, a family farm shares recipes, stories, and connection Article by Samantha Durbin | Photography by Molly DeCoudreaux Raised on his parents’ organic farm in Capay Valley, Amon Muller once dreamed of escaping it for a seemingly simpler life in a city. But after college and stints at renowned restaurants—including Chez Panisse—he returned to the farm and ended up staying there because of a mature appreciation for tending to the land and homegrown...