It was late, and the ferry felt cool in the summer’s evening breeze. We were only a week into my summer in Istanbul, but in our short time learning basic Turkish, navigating public transit, and hopping between Asia and Europe the way I do now between Highland and the Bypass, we felt like naturals. The warm glow of the nearest café’s neon sign welcomed us to the European shore where the five of us girls were staying for the week, and we didn’t need much convincing to stop in for a late-night dinner of pasta and whatever scrumptious-looking mystery pastry the shelf held.

Gather: February 2020

Don’t let the cold weather keep you cooped up all month! Get out to catch some unique events offered this February for lovebirds and professionals to kids and students.

All the Greens in Jackson, TN

I probably wouldn’t have decided that 2019 was the year I was going to eat all the greens in Jackson if I’d grown up in the South, but I’m an adult convert, someone who moved here twenty years ago, tried greens for the first time, and decided they were brilliant. Good greens bring flavors together in ways few other foods do; they’re salty, sweet, bitter, savory, and often smoky and meaty, and they embody the sorcery of cooking: homely plants that taste like grass clip- pings, with a mouthfeel like eating stiff construction paper, are transformed into something unctuous and satisfying and harmonious.

Shootin' the Breeze

You can find them at the corner of Westwood and Summar, really anytime of day—the group of men of various ages, sometimes a few women or children mixed in. They gather around in a circle in white, resin chairs, discussing sports, the daily goings on in the news, or updates on their kids and grandkids. (That’s at least what I imagine; they could be talking about nuclear physics or the Kardashians, what do I know?) These gentlemen seem to be the epitome of “community.”

Finding Joy (and Keeping It)

When was the last time you thought about what you wanted to do with your life—what you really wanted to do? When you thought about your dreams and wondered if it’s time to take a risk? Last summer, Beth Wilson and her husband, Lee, sat down to take an honest look at their lives and ask questions about where they wanted to be. Through that conversation, a business was born. Beth’s business, Wisdom House, launched on November 7, 2018. Through it, she sells distinctive and/or vintage home décor items, as well as offering home design styling and consulting.