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April 27, 2012
Simply the Best - I

From an overachieving Pomeranian to a game-changing CEO, from Cinderella’s Castle to Tiffany’s mansion, we’ve got it all in part one of our annual salute to the coolest people and places in Orlando. |READ|

Simply the Best - II

From an overachieving Pomeranian to a game-changing CEO, from Cinderella’s Castle to Tiffany’s mansion, we’ve got it all in our annual salute to the coolest people and places in Orlando. |READ|

Neighborhood Eats

Sometimes all you need is a favorite dish and a familiar face. Here are a few of the local hangouts where you can find sustenance for both body and soul. |READ|

This Degree is on FI-YA

One of the hottest graduate-school programs at the University of Central Florida offers would-be video-game designers a chance to create bizarre characters and strange worlds for fun and profit. |READ|

Slipping into Spring

The colorful, Mayan-themed architecture of the historic Maitland Art Center, part of the Art & History Museums-Maitland, provides a perfect backdrop for showcasing this season’s bright and breezy fashions. |READ|

How to Build a Dream Home

All those screwball-comedy nightmares that plagued Cary Grant and Myrna Loy when they embarked on a big-screen building project are easily avoidable, with a little preparation. |READ|

The Case for Remodeling: When to Simply Stay Put

Jim Blandings didn’t set out to build a new home. He and Muriel originally bought a ramshackle, Revolutionary War-era relic with the idea of restoring it to its original glory. |READ|

What if the Utility Company Sent You a Monthly Check?

What if your home was so energy efficient that the utilities company sent you a check every month instead of a bill? It’s rare, but the technology is available to build so-called “net-zero” homes, which actually produce as much or more energy than they consume. |READ|

Three Visions Three Weddings - Pretty in Pink

The Waldorf Astoria offered the perfect backdrop for Scott and Maryam Brazdo’s elegant ceremony, which also featured international flair and some moments of musical mirth. |READ|

Three Visions, Three Weddings - Beachside Bash

Crystal Blauweiss describes her wedding theme as “classic elegance.” And indeed, the beach wedding held at Costa d’Este in Vero Beach was timeless and beautifully designed. |READ|

Three Visions, Three Weddings - Traditional and Hip

As a young girl, Jessica Lannes-Duprey often daydreamed about her perfect wedding. “I wanted everything to be romantic and magical, and for my vision of this day to become a reality,” she says. |READ|

OH&L Weddings - Dearly Beloved

With all of the hotels, convention centers, ballrooms and other event spaces throughout Metro Orlando, there are almost too many options. |READ|

OH&L Weddings - Sweet Beginnings

It’s just dessert, right? Ask any bride that question, and watch how she responds. Wedding cakes have never been just dessert. |READ|

OH&L Weddings - Making Room for Four-Legged Family

You wouldn’t think of excluding a beloved family member from your wedding. Particularly a family member who, unlike your fiancé, loves you unconditionally and licks your face when you feel sad. |READ|

OH&L Weddings - Foodies in Love

When Gabriela Othon Lothrop was planning her wedding, she and her husband-to-be, Michael Lothrop, knew they wanted to make the food a big part of the celebration. |READ|

OH&L Weddings - A Bridal Bouquet of Budgeting Tips

As a wedding planner, I’ve grown familiar with the glazed look on the faces of the bride, groom and parents when I ask them, “What is your budget?” The look tells me they don’t know where to start. Well, to coin a phrase: I do. |READ|

Sweet Spots

They’re not just desserts. The cupcakes of Holly Wilder, the tortes of Patti Schmidt and the truffles of Marci Arthur are culinary works of art. |READ|

Why I Give

Four Central Florida philanthropists have made life better for our children, our health-care resources, our cultural landscape and the world at large. |READ|

2011 Silver Spoon Awards

We have a food truck that offers five-star cuisine, a restaurant with a view of giraffes and wildebeests, a chef with a green thumb and another who invented a whole New World. |READ|

Still Running Against the Wind

Downtown Orlando’s oldest and longest road race has seen many changes over the decades, and three runners have been there since Day 1. |READ|

Lake Nona's Medical City

You may never have heard of Joe Lewis. And that’s probably okay with him. Lewis, a British billionaire, is the principal in the Tavistock Group, a private investment company with interests in more than 175 firms worldwide. Lewis keeps a low profile locally, but when the history of Orlando is rewritten decades from now, he will undoubtedly rank alongside Walt Disney as the most important businessperson ever to turn a shovel of Central Florida sand.

2011 Home of the Year

Despite the sour economy, homebuilders and remodelers in the upper price ranges remain busy, as evidenced by the response to our 2011 Home of the Year competition.

Artful Allure

Nearly every available surface at McCrae Art Studios, from the worktables to the walls, is covered with canvas, splattered with paint or crowded with odds and ends of metal, plaster and clay. If it isn’t art already, it’s on the way to being there. The ramshackle warren is shared year-round by 23 of the area’s best-known painters, sculptors and graphic artists. For one afternoon, we transformed it into a showcase for our own fall fashion creations.

The Can't Miss List

Actors and musicians, puppets and vampires, storytellers and a dog-powered robot: They’re all part of the wide-ranging and ambitious arts-and-entertainment season in Orlando.

Let's Go Lego

The soon-to-open Legoland Florida has created a whole new job category: “Lego Master Model Builder.” We talk with a member of this elite group of overgrown kids, and offer a preview of the new theme park at the old Cypress Gardens site.