The holidays' hottest toys

Not all the testers for Good Housekeeping's annual Best Toys list wear lab coats. Some are barely out of diapers.

Small plates at the Heritage and Millar scores in James Beard

Incredible food lineup for Saturday night at the Heritage Center in St. Joe includes chocolate-covered bacon mousse and Reserve Chef Matt Millar is in James Beard semifinals. --Pat Colander, Associate Publisher and Editor, Shore magazine

True comfort of corned beef hash and eggs

A few years have gone by since I was in the right place--six.one.six in Grand Rapids in winter--at the right time to have corned beef hash and eggs. --Pat Colander, Associate Publisher and Editor, Shore magazine

Eating in the woods in winter

By not spacing out on the time zone and other mishaps of previous years, we managed to arrive at Bev's Second Season Ball in LaPorte Saturday almost an hour early. --Pat Colander, Associate Publisher and Editor, Shore magazine

Adventures in Everyday Living: Shorelines, Thursday, February 9th

Romantic adventures with NISO's concert of requited (Schumann) and unrequited (Tchaikovsky) tomorrow night and a collaborative work about George Mallory's frustration with Mt. Everest and on Saturday an exhibition by inspiring artist-couples. --Pat Colander, Associate Publisher and Editor, S…

The first of many Titanic centennial dinners

I have officially received the first announcement of 2012 for a Titanic dinner, a memorial for the centennial year of the disaster. The last dinner for first class passengers was 11 courses. --Pat Colander, Associate Publisher and Editor, Shore magazine.

Adventures in Everyday Living: Shorelines, Thursday, February 2nd

Great visuals are coming up, including the Abstract Expressionism of Robert Rauschenberg opening tonight at GRAM; Anthony Droege's paintings at Main Street Galleries in Benton Harbor starting tomorrow and an exhibit for Black History Month at KIA. --Pat Colander, Associate Publisher and Edit…

Chef Jean Joho and Everest awarded Michelin star

Chef Jean Joho and Everest are awarded 3 Michelin stars and Wyncroft Winemaker Jim Lester reaches out with news about what happened in 2011, vintages on last call and an invitation to stop by. --Pat Colander, Associate Publisher and Editor, Shore magazine.

Adventures in Everyday Living: Shorelines, Thursday, January 26th

CBS Morning Weatherperson Megan Glaros and her brother Matt co-host Shore Bridal event Sunday; Tryon Farm's Eve and Ed Noonan present at Cliff Dwellers next week and Andy Urschel and Justin Treasure direct Albee's 'The Goat' at CTG opening Friday. --- Pat Colander, Associate Publisher and Ed…

The Year of the Dragon Starts Monday

The Chinese New Year begins Monday, January 23rd and, for those who keep track of baroque personality quirks and tendencies, it is the Year of the Dragon. Count on plenty of drama, especially if you have friends and family turning 24-36-48, etc. in 2012 ---- Pat Colander, Associate Publisher…

A Fine Cava for 2012 and Outstanding Breakfasts

Raventos 1 Blanc, Sant Sadurni d'Anoia, Barcelona, Reserva Brut 2008 Cava was recommended to me for New Year's Eve and I thought it was better than many champagnes I've had. --Pat Colander, Associate Publisher and Editor, Shore magazine.

Adventures in Everyday Living: Shorelines, Thursday, January 12th

Weekend excitement includes a birdhouse auction featuring the work of local artists including Fritz Olsen, Stephen Holkansen, Bruce Niemi, Eric Shaw, Rick Ott and Roger Harvey tomorrow night.--Pat Colander, Associate Publisher and Editor, Shore Magazine.

Countdown to the end of 25 years for Charlie Trotter's

Big national food news this week was the announcement by Charlie Trotter that he would close his iconic, landmark Lincoln Park restaurant on August 17 after 25 years, to pursue a master's degree in philosophy and political science. Chef Trotter surprised both staff and clients.

Adventures in Everyday Living: Shorelines, Thursday, January 5th

Cheers for favorite holiday gifts created and brought to us by Rick Kaempfer, Brendan Sullivan, Roger Ebert, Christopher Hitchens, David Mitchell, Woody Allen, Christopher Reid, Alan Rickman and Emma Thompson, among others, this year. --Pat Colander, Associate Publisher and Editor, Shore

Eating Italian this season was never better

There was no avoiding Italian eating this season and it was, of course, magnificent. It started with a couple hours of the beef-tasting menu at Mario Batali and Joe Bastianich's Carnevino in Las Vegas.

Adventures in Everyday Living: Shorelines, Thursday, December 29

The special Happy New Year's Eve issue in which we end with a look back at the perfect meal at Chef Jean Joho's LV Eiffel and forward to the major Rauschenberg extravaganza GRAM Director and CEO Dana Friis-Hansen has planned for 2012.

Just the start of an incredible dinner at Eiffel

Chef Jean Joho's Eiffel Tower restaurant is in the Paris complex in Las Vegas, where I was lucky enough to have the best dining experience of my life a few days ago.