November 2020 Issue

Lux Libations | Traditional Sours

Jack Rose — not quite a household name when it comes to cocktails, but maybe it should be. At first glance, there isn’t anything special about a cocktail like this. Simple measurements, three ingredients, two of which are quite common (you’ll recognize them if you read last month’s article), but then you taste it. It’s lush, delicious, clean, and complex, and it’s PINK! What more could you possibly want? A traditional “sour” like the Jack Rose utilizes a tried and true cocktail template. The basic 2:3/4:3/4 ratio is darn-near perfection. Don’t believe me? Ever hear of a gimlet? Whiskey sour? daiquiri? (Yeah, that’s right, a daiquiri!) They all use the

Be Challenged

Publisher’s Letter From Your Fearless Leader “Change does not change tradition. It strengthens it. Change is a challenge and an opportunity, not a threat.” Prince Philip of England What a wild ride we have taken on the rollercoaster of life in the last few months. In August, we were getting “Back To” life. September was our “Change” issue, which rolled into October with our “Creativity” issue. We decided to get creative with our branding and we revamped our focus to #bebetterbebella, to start where we are and to find our voices. We are telling our truth. We are honoring the process by accepting where we are at and identifying what

The Nutcracker | An Iconic Christmas Tradition

For many, Peter Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker is a holiday tradition that kicks off the holiday season. When the music starts, you can close your eyes and allow visions of sugarplums, snowflakes, flowers, and an enchanted place enter your imagination. The Nutcracker is based on E.T.A. Hoffmann’s popular 1816 story “The Nutcracker and the Mouse King.” The idea to use the story as the basis for a ballet came from the impresario and director of the Russian Imperial Theaters, Ivan Vsevolozhsky, who had conceived of The Sleeping Beauty. Vsevolozhsky and the ballet master Marius Petipa, who had choreographed The Sleeping Beauty, wrote the libretto, or story line, for The Nutcracker and

A Tradition of Women

There is a decades-old tradition among the people of the Hawaiian Islands — among the women specifically, and those of Polynesian descent in particular — to take to their boats and pay tribute to their ancestors in a challenging and meaningful annual event. They race in outrigger canoes between the shores of two islands across wildly open ocean waters. And when they do so, they honor their mothers and grandmothers and all the women who have gone before them, and become an example for all those to come. They use only their own human strength: the power of their arms and backs, their wrists and hands and legs, their will

The August Bella Book Club Review | The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo | Aiken Bella Magazine

The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires – by Grady Hendrix

Bella Book Club Monthly Selection by Nichole Miller The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires, by Grady Hendrix, provides an unusual combination of classic horror and old Southern charm. Patricia Campbell is a stay-at-home mom who is trying her best to raise her teenage children and care for her senile mother-in-law. Her husband, a psychiatrist, is never home and is little help, and Patricia’s sanity is starting to run thin. After embarrassing herself at the snooty local ladies’ book club, she walks out to find some of the other members forming a new book group where she is introduced to true crime stories and a group of amazing women

Traditions!

“But it’s a tradition … because of our traditions, everyone knows who he is and what God expects him to do.” Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof Traditions are funny things. They occur one moment at a time over a lifetime, and often we don’t even realize they are happening. I remember our granddaughter’s face crumbling into tears one Thanksgiving Day when I mentioned that I had prepared a different sweet potato casserole than our usual. The 4-year-old sobbed, “But Mimi! We always have the one with marshmallows on top!” Guess whose Mimi beat a path to the kitchen to make a real sweet potato casserole! Traditions are nothing to

Photo of the Month | Joseph Sanders

Photo of the Month: Joseph Sanders My journey in portrait photography came in stages that were out of order from what one would typically think. Most of the time, someone will start with taking photos of family and friends, slowly learn the mechanics of the camera, and eventually master the editing techniques needed to produce professional looking headshots. For me, it was quite the opposite. Starting my freshman year at Williston-Elko High School, I began to explore the world of Adobe Photoshop in my computer graphics class. I liked it so much that I took that same class twice over my four years there just for fun. Once I moved

Journalism in the Classroom | Traditions

Traditions By Kyleigh Huse and Samantha Tran What traditions does your family have? My family has many traditions but Christmas has the most for sure. My personal favorite tradition is when we get to eat Christmas dinner with the whole family and open Christmas presents. I would imagine this being a common holiday tradition, as I share this with many people. Personally this tradition is my favorite too. My plans wouldn’t change for Christmas would not change. Where I come from my grandma usually prepares Christmas dinner we all go to her house, drink hot chocolate, and open Christmas presents. Another tradition we have is baking cakes, cookies, pumpkin roll,

What’s In the Reflection of the Mirror to Your Soul?

What would I look like if I actually accomplished what I set out to accomplish? I find myself in the midst of a construction project in which others are following my vision. I am mindful of having a vision that is clear enough for others to follow. This requires having a clear picture of the project, drawings even, and having a clear picture of the steps we are going to take to accomplish the vision. That’s my job. But as I thought about writing the vision, a deeper understanding came to me. I was having this thought early in the morning when I walked past the bathroom mirror, and again