Is it me or is there a lot of reasons to cook this summer? I’ve got birthday parties, baby showers, anniversaries and everything else, all piling up in a matter of six weeks or so. This is no time to to skimp on the skills: this summer make sure you put your best food forward. Check out Cooking at the Counter with Dean, a new series of local cooking classes featuring none other than Dean Fearing himself (you know Fearing’s, that chic little restaurant inside Uptown’s Ritz Carlton.)

Fashion has never really been a serious issue on the golf course. Just look at all that plaid and argyle, yeesh. Thankfully, someone has taken it upon herself to change all that, and top female golfers all over the nation are singing her praises. Welcome, Donna Bonn.

You’ve always wanted the best for your child, from those cloth diapers (that lasted about four days) to their spruced up dorm room. Now that school is out for good and they are entering the workforce, you want to give them something that will set them apart from the rest of their cap-tossing counterparts. Here’s a few ideas.

We know how to do things here in Texas. We’re not as much Wallstreet as we are Willy Nelson, more Daisy Dukes than capri pants. Oh, we also know how to barbecue some serious meat. Which is why Memorial Day weekend is so dadgum important to us Southern folks: it’s our opportunity to shine (that and July 4th, we’re pretty good with settin’ fire to things, too.) So, ’tis the season to love all things Texas, and kick the summer off right with something that just says I Love the Lonestar State.

It’s not really a stretch to recognize how important yoga can be in our daily lives. Meditate on the following haute 5 yoga studios in the Dallas area.

In case you live under a rock which is your unfortunate hairdo, Blaine’s Color is hosting his annual color collection preview tomorrow evening on the rooftop of the Mosaic downtown from 7 to 10pm. Open to the public, the sunset soiree is always a big hit so make sure you RSVP ASAP! (visit blainescolor.com) Known as our city’s color master, Blaine Schlaudt has been painting the tresses of Dallas’s hautest femmes for 14 years, updating his color collection with every summer season, and we can’t wait to see what he’s got in store for us this year.

Garden’s great, garden’s good….

You can’t deny the intrigue of natural beauty. You witness this every day at the gym, or flipping through cable channels. However, ’tis the season to become a fan of the vivid colors and lush greenery that our local parks and gardens have to offer. So smell the roses before the rays get too hot.

The Four Seasons Hotel in Irving played host as usual for the annual Byron Nelson Championship this weekend, seeing a flood of golfers, avid fans, celebrities and those wishing to mingle with the glitterati poolside or in air conditioned villas. A premiere location on the US PGA Tour, the Nelson’s 43rd event was held May 17-23, with Australian Jason Day earning the win by two strokes, making it his first PGA Tour title. It’s quite a surprise, considering Day’s iffy health throughout the tour, which lead him to actually pull out of a tournament back in March.

Friday evening at photographer Paul Schiefer’s large studio west of downtown, guests gathered for a mixed-media exhibition centered on a “Forbidden Fruit” theme, sipping wine and Casa Noble tequila cocktails and enjoying bite sized morsels catered by Jorge’s. All proceeds from the event were to be donated to the Central Dallas Ministries to help fight hunger and poverty in our community.